another Spring dish

Inspired by this AT Spring greens pesto recipe, I made my own version with kale, spinach, chicken and pine nuts last night. It was a big hit with the Mom. She said, "You're getting all your cooking ideas from reading blogs? You should read more of them, this technology is great."

I do need to take better photos though, make the food more appetizing looking.

The Kitchen

So I've been clicking onto AT's The Kitchen more and more these days, which explains my sudden rush to want to make good food, not just eat it. I found this beautiful version of the Spring Roll, with spicy peanut sauce. I'm ready for more.

everyone gets a star

Jane sent along a sneak preview to the Syracuse University BFA Photo Exhibition. It will be a one night event on Saturday, May 3rd from 6-9pm at the Delavan Art Center (501 W. Fayette Street, Syracuse, NY 13204).

I'm wondering if I can sneak away to go up on Sat... All that hard work, why is it only one night???

(photo by Claudia Nieto)

Spring Rolls a la Rona

This is what went down for dinner last night. And ok, these are the worst photos ever, but I was too lazy to reach for my rebel and my little elph is on its deathbed, plus the lighting isn't so hot in the dining room.

The Components:
1. shredded english hothouse cucumber, shredded carrots, and chopped cilantro on the big plate.
2. lime juice with a big scoop of vietnamese vegetarian hot sauce in the center.
3. baby shrimp stir-fried with Trader Joe's Thai chili and lime leaf peanuts, top right.
4. sliced mango, bottom right.
5. mini vietnamese rice wrappers (not shown.)


Close-up of the shrimp and peanuts


Mini Spring Roll (I had six! So yum.)


Once the weather gets hot, I'm going to make different variations of these rolls so that I won't have to slave over a hot stove.

Hakka heritage

In the travel section of the NYTimes, I found this article on The Earthen Homes of Yongding County, in Fujian, China. I had seen a miniature version of this type of structure at "Windows on the World" in Taiwan. The Hakkas (I am ethnically Hakka on my father's side) have built these interesting earthen structures and they are now being considered for UNESCO heritage site designation.

On another Hakka note, I was sorting through a box of my dad's stuff last night and found our family genealogy handbook. I brought it to my mom, who helped me sort out how I should decipher the charts. Hakkas tend to favour male decendents and no where is it more obvious than in the family charts where only male decendents are listed. For example, our family tree shows my grandfather and my grandmother's name, below them, only their four sons names are listed, none of my five aunts are included. On the page where my family is listed, my father does not have any children listed under him (I have one other sibling, a sister) and my uncles who have sons have their names listed, but not their daughters. My mom commented that this was a heavy bias, maybe I should consider getting rid of the book!

(Photo by Barbara Koh from the NYTimes.)

Spring Rolls

On Friday I travelled to my favorite Indian restaurant, Karma Kafe in Hoboken. I had their lunch buffet. It made me soooo happy and satisfied. I had a great creamy caulifower, cashew dish with tons of veggies that I love with scoops of some of the other curries. Well, worth the trip. So of course, on Saturday while I was shopping at Trader Joe's, I bought some Indian "sauces". (Yes I'm still hot on the Indian food trail.) On Saturday night, I used the korma sauce to stew chicken, pumpkin, and cashews. On Suday, with the leftovers, I added more water to reconstitute the sauce, parsley, tomatoes, and a shot of some kind of chinese dark wine we have laying around in the kitchen. Ooh, it was good. Sometimes I think I should try cooking more because I certainly enjoy eating!

This morning I read this great shrimp and coconut roll recipe that gave me a good idea for dinner. I have mango, shrimp and scallions in the fridge. I can easily fix this up with some other easy ingredients (cilantro, coconut) from around the neighborhood. I will try and maybe report back with a photo.

Zak's sketchbook

Zak Smith who was in the 2004 Whitney Biennial (and went to school with me) now posts sketchs daily online.

Relax time

Yesterday when I walked through the park in the morning, the tulips were closed, by afternoon, they were wide open. It's SPRING!!! Because of the good weather and Passover, hordes of families and dogs are romping around the park this week. After work today, I plan on spending some relax time just hanging out on the big lawn before heading to Fairway to grab some weekend groceries.

Last night I watched Jane Campion's An Angel at my Table, the biography of New Zealand poet Janet Frame. Does anyone know her work? I'd like to start reading it, where should I start?

Happy Earth Day!

I heard that it's nice outside (I work in the dark with no access to a window). I had a good walk into work this morning and will have another one on my way home. The sea lions in the Central Park Zoo have been lounging around lots on their sunny rock. Enjoy the day and check out this great list of 50 ways to help the planet.

I found this quirky tool from spell with flickr to spell out anything you want.

I must be sick

One day last week, I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about all the designer chairs I'd like to have in my home and couldn't fall back asleep for hours. The womb chair is on the top of that list.

(image from Clinton Kelly's home on Apartment Therapy Chicago)

Recent fortune

I don't remember when I put this one in my wallet: Nothing gets in the way of your vision of yourself in the future.

It's been a bit hectic lately, moving house, editing my life down, and pursuing my dreams. That little slip of paper reminds me that I'll make it.

Corey Arnold fisherman/ photographer

You can listen to Corey Arnold's fish tales on NPR along with a slideshow. I love the first and fourth shot in his Lofoten series. Reminds me a bit of my time there.

Another possible purchase?

I'm also in love with this Krakatoa poster from little red stuga by Elisabeth Dunker. I'm running out of wall space!!!!

(photos from little red stuga)

Carlo's Bondi Baths

I just made my first ever purchase- Untitled (Bondi Baths, Sydney, Australia) 2007 by Carlo Van de Roer- from Jen Bekman's 20x200 venture. To be honest, I had a hard time deciding whether or not it was I should do it because I felt that the deal was selling the artists short and goes so much against the grain of limited editions (small ones). In the end, I decided that Carlo (who I met and had a great time talking to at fotofest) is ok with this deal, I can afford it (and in a big way, I'd like art to be more democratic, hence the two-sided debate in my brain), and it's a wonderful image. I'm still kicking myself (really hard) for not buying Carlo's gorgeous Astoria Park photo and Bert Teunissen's La Alberca (I was in Houston when that happened so maybe I can be excused).

(Carlo's photo from 20x200.)

Mangosteens available for Maggie

This NYTimes article declares that mangosteens are now available in the US. It's a great fruit for those who have not tried it and hooray for my best friend Maggie because it's her favorite fruit and she's been been craving it so.

Polidori's Versailles work

Robert Polidori's Versailles series opens tomorrow at Edwyn Houk. I'm excited to see this series as I am unfamiliar with it.

Edwyn Houk
745 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10151
April 17-June 14

On a path to India

I've been on a path to India via Jackson Heights (and my stomach) ever since I started reading Malgudi Days. I've never craved Indian food this much before. Last night's adventure took place at Roti Boti Shaheen on 72nd St. and Broadway. I shared aloo palak, beef kabab, tandoori lamb, vegetable rice, nan, roti, rice pudding, and another piece of dessert. I loved the nan- fluffy, warm, and rather large for the $1 price tag. I would go back and try more of the vegetable dishes ($4 each) and maybe a curry dish with a healthy dose of nan. The meat dishes (around $8) weren't bad but not my thing. And since it's pretty close, I might just be returning soon.

Bridging the Gulf

The BBC reports on the China-Taiwan meeting that recently took place in Southern China. If the gulf is indeed bridged, travel restrictions will be the first indicators of this, allowing Mainlanders more access to the Island. Personally, direct flights between China and Taiwan would simplify and shorten travel for me when I visit family in both places.

"The People's Republic Learns to Drive"

I just read Peter Hessler's Wheels of Fortune where he chronicles his driving history in China along with some observatory remarks as a foreigner from the Nov. 26, 2006 issue of the New Yorker. It is a wonderfully insightful article on Chinese road behavior.

Britney Against The Music

My photo is on the cover of the current issue of the New Haven Advocate, there are some additional ones with the article.

The performance on Sat. was great and hanging out on the Yale campus was nice.

Organizing my snapshots

When it comes to my old snapshots, I have stackes of them in cardboard boxes (very bad, I know), still in the envelopes that they came in from the photo store. I'm going through a major clean-up and will throw out most of them. For the ones I want to keep, I'm thinking about using Kolo albums. They seem to be straight-forward, nice and easy to use. They are available at Sam Flax, so next time I go downtown, I might stop by and pick one up.

(photo from Kolo)

Congrats Ofer

Congrats to Ofer Wolberger who is the Spring '08 recipient of the Humble Arts Foundation emerging artist grant. He is the author of one of my daily reads Horses Think.

Kent Rogowski's Bears

I met Kent at fotofest and loved his series and book Bears. Here is a brief description from Kent:

Bears, is a series of portraits of the most unusual sort: ordinary teddy bears that have been turned inside out and restuffed. Each animal's appearance is determined by the necessities of the manufacturing process. Simple patterns and devices never meant to be seen are now prominent physical characteristics, giving each one a distinctly quirky personality: their fasteners become eyes, their seams become scars, and their stuffing creeps out in the most unexpected places. Together these images form a topology of strange yet oddly familiar creatures. They are at once hideous yet cuddly, disturbing yet endearing, absurd yet adorable, while offering a metaphor for us all to consider. These bears, which have lived and loved and lost as much as their owners, have suffered and endured through it all. It is by virtue of revealing their inner core might we better understand our own.

(image copyright Kent Rogowski)

Sze Tsung Leong in the NYTimes

Nina posted this discussion by Phillip Gefter in the NYTimes about the work of Sze Tsung Leong. For those of you who have not seen the show, do go and see it. There are lots of images to be seen and presentation in the gallery is quite important to this body of work. I had a better understanding of the project as a whole after seeing it in person.

Earth Day is coming up

Earth day is coming up and I just read a great article in the NYTimes about a grassroots movement by some parents of Pubic School 154 in Brooklyn to boycott polystyrene trays and privately fund the use bagasse (the fiber left after the extraction of the sugar-bearing juice from sugar cane) ones instead. How cool is that? At work, we used to use paper products, and when they switched to styrofoam polystyrene products, there was an uproar. We were told that both types of products are equally bad for the environment. Huh??? Thankfully though, this year, we are back on track with biodegradable products.

One other thing- Tekserve is hosting a e-waste recycling event. April 26, 27 10am-4pm and April 28 4pm-7pm. Acceptable items for recycling include: computers, monitors, fax machines, copiers, DVD or VCR players, radios, telephones, cell phones, televisions, cameras and stereo equipment. They cannot accept the following items for recycling: Home appliances - including microwaves, stoves, refrigerators and air conditioners. I'm planning on bringing in an old hardrive that I dug out of my Mom's closet. Spring cleaning!

I covet this map

I saw this map on Absolutely Beatiful Things today and now I really, really want it. Plus my Mum and I talked about getting a map for the living room just yesterday.

(image from Absolutely Beatiful Things.)

Tuna sandwich for breakfast

Inspired by a co-worker's lunch from yesterday, I decided to make a tuna sandwich for breakfast. That's right, breakfast. I have a humongous appetite in the mornings, so it's quite appropriate. Plus I almost always eat something savory, anything on the sweet side just makes me hungrier. I had a big chunk of ciabatta leftover from the weekend that was getting pretty hard. I microwaved it with some wet paper towels wrapped around it. Voila, edible again! Smothered some mayo on the bread, cracked open a can of dolphin safe tuna, spread it on, and doused the bread with tuna juice, you know, to make it softer. I sprinkled it with lots of celery seed, cracked black pepper, and topped it with cucumbers crom last night's salad. Easy and yummy. It was such a big sandwich that I hadn't gotten the craving for lunch yet. So simple, so yum.

By the way, Mags sent me this video that highlights Fiore's tuna, mozarella sandwich. I've never had it and I am an advocate for Fiore's, but I have to say that the sandwich in the video looks awful.

to die for- Falai's crepe cake

I got one of the sweetest birthday presents on Saturday. (My birthday was last month, coinciding with the period when I couldn't eat or talk.) A wonderful crepe cake from Falai Panetteria on the corner of Clinton and Rivington. Thanks!

Timberbrit in New Haven

This Sat. I will be going out to New Haven to see Timberbrit, an opera that my friend Jacob has been working on. See info below for details.

Timberbrit
Saturday, April 12th, 2008, 5 pm
Sudler Hall (within Harkness Hall)
100 Wall Street, New Haven, CT
Tickets can be reserved in advance by e-mailing timberbrit@gmail.com; include name and number of tickets requested
$5 suggested donation

Britney Spears has lately become an almost fictional character for us, her tumultuous personal life providing constant entertainment and making us wonder what she could possibly do next. Timberbrit, a brand-new semi-staged opera by composer Jacob Cooper, gives Britney and her erstwhile lover Justin Timberlake the extra push they need to enter the realm of the imaginary. The story takes place in the near future: Britney’s relentless spiral into disgrace has propelled her to her final hours, and Justin, prompted by her imminent demise, expresses his undying love for her and attempts to win her back. The slow and weighty music starkly contrasts with the breezy feel of the pop tune—the songs are sometimes beautiful, sometimes haunting, and always a bit deranged. Timberbrit is of our time but completely novel; it is about our world but totally unfamiliar.
[Please Note: Timberbrit is purely fictional. It uses the names of celebrity figures for purposes of satire and social commentary. The characters and events portrayed in this work should in no way be construed as factual.]


Jacob Cooper, Composer and Producer
Yuka Igarashi, Librettist
J.J. Lind, Director

Mellissa Hughes, BRITNEY
Ted Hearne, JUSTIN
James Moore, Guitar
Trevor Gureckis, Keyboard
David Skidmore, Drums

(images provided by Jacob Cooper)

Coney Island, USA

My dear friend Anna Seidman's other half, Craig Butta, directed a short film, Coney Island, USA. It is now a finalist on Channel Thirteen's Reel 13 Shorts. If you dig it, vote for it on the Thirteen site so that it has the chance to be viewed by a bigger audience.

Brooklyn Flea now open

Design Sponge posted about the Brooklyn Flea, which just opened yesterday and will be on every Sunday 10am-5pm, rain or shine, in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. For details, check out Brooklyn Flea's site. It sounds like fun, so I may have to take a trip to Brooklyn to do that as the weather gets nicer.

Oh some Indian fragrances

Ever since I got my Unaccustomed Earth in the mail, along with Malgudi Days, I had been craving Indian food. No problem, I live in Queens, the most diverse place on earth. I had brunch on Sunday at the Jackson Diner, in Jackson Heights. It was lovely, especially the fresh dosa that my Mom queued up for. I have to say though, I still prefer my Karma Kafe in Hoboken.

A quick tip: leave your precious clothes at home when eating at the Jackson Diner. My cashmere sweater definitely reeked of onion and potatoes when I walked out.

My Blueberry Nights

Wong Kar Wai's new film My Blueberry Nights opens tomorrow. It stars Norah Jones (who I was listening to on my ipod just yesterday). Jones and Wong were interviewed on the Leonard Lopate show today, listen to the conversation here. Other cast members include Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Katya Blumenberg- who I went to college with.

Horizons

Sze Tsung Leong's new work, Horizons will be opening at Yossi Milo tonight. I am eager to see the new images and wonder what he thinks of Sugimoto's seascapes.

Jhumpa Lahiri

Thanks to a tip from Nina I was able to go down to the Barnes and Noble at Union Square to hear Jhumpa Lahiri read from her new book Unaccustomed Earth last night. It was completely packed. So packed that I didn't even get a glimpse of Ms. Lahiri. I sat in one of the rows of books and just listened to her voice flow over the microphone. I am looking forward to reading her new book!

Cake Rock Beach

I just spotted the new line of fabric by Purl Soho, Cake Rock Beach, on the purl bee. The water series immediately reminded me of Maria's cyanotypes. I love the honeycomb pattern.

(image from the purl bee)

Jane Tam's Prints for Sale

Jane Tam has opened an online store. The work is quite affordable and those of you looking to collect an up and coming photographer should seriously consider her work. This effort will help fund her senior show, which we all know costs an arm and a leg!

(image from Jane's store)

Water issues

Sorry for being an absentee for such a long while! I went off to Houston for fotofest which was great and busy but the second I got home, I fell ill! I was in bed for over a week and still have a bit of a nagging cough but definitely much better than what it was like last week. Over the weekend I started thinking about all of the feedback on the Moving Forward, Standing Still series I brought with me and started rearranging the images and playing with the editing. I basically gave myself a headache! There is more work to be done on the series, and the editing as well. One other thing that I started to dig up again was the Water Management images I started years ago but kind of left hanging because I had worked on it for so long. So here's a photo that I took in Cambodia to remind myself to find those missing negs that should go up on the site!