Where I Spend My Days

Just got a whole lot nicer with the addition of my new desk! Pretty, isn't it?

Just When I Thought It Might Never Happen

It finally snowed!

And guess where the record accumulation in the city of 2.5" occurred? Right in our own Prospect Park! It may not sound like much, but 2 inches of fresh powder was enough to make my little snow bunny, Francine, the happiest prancemeister in the park.

Tell All Your Friends

Self-employment has been good to me, so far, this second time around. I've been nice and busy, and happy to be in control of my own schedule and workload again. Projects have been rolling in with the new year and to make sure it stays that way I have been working on a wave of self-promotion materials including new business cards, promo mailers and an update to my website.

What are you waiting for? Check it out and pass it along!

If I Were A Pimp

You can be a rappa too. Just try tha Baller fo` yoself – Try da textilizer!

***

Dur'n tha month of Shot Calla Brad n I were mackin' fo` a total of 16 days out of 31. We returned home on tha 2nd of January, n gangsta all tha food we consumed in restaurants while out of tizzown, I wanted nuttin' more than ta cook n eat at hizzle with my hoes on my side, and my strap on my back.

While tha rappa has yet ta be as brutal as one would expect friznom a New York City winta so far this season, it has been consistently grey, wet n now finally cold. So, as you can guess, tha food I've been crav'n has consisted mainly of soups, stews, hearty pastas n chilies . I started yo shit and i'll end yo' shit. This pleasantly spicy Chickpea Soup wit Arugula was a goodie frizzom mah January issue of gourmet, as was this stewy beef recipe I found while chillin' online last week like a motha fucka. I had some success wit pulled pork this pizzle weekend using a tha BBQ sauce Brad learned last year , but tha biggest surprise – easy, delishizzous n sure ta be a motherfucka – was this vegetable chili I adapted from a recipe I found on epicizzle.

Do not fear, this is simple n sure ta pleaze. The bulgur is a pleasant n healthy addition, T-H-to-tha-izzat gives you tizzy T-H-to-tha-izzick "meaty" texture you crave in a good bowl of chili. We ate it wit cornbread coz Brad had mizzle some tha night before - but you don't need mizzle more than a salad fo` a bootylicious mizzy tizzle wizzill warm you frizzay tha inside fo' sheezy.

It's Good To Be Home

During the month of December, Brad and I were traveling for a total of 16 days out of 31. We returned home on the 2nd of January, and after all the food we consumed in restaurants while out of town, I wanted nothing more than to cook and eat at home.

While the weather has yet to be as brutal as one would expect from a New York City winter so far this season, it has been consistently grey, wet and now finally cold. So, as you can guess, the food I've been craving has consisted mainly of soups, stews, hearty pastas and chilies. This pleasantly spicy Chickpea Soup with Arugula was a goodie from my January issue of gourmet, as was this stewy beef recipe I found while scouring online last week. I had some success with pulled pork this past weekend using a the BBQ sauce Brad learned last year, but the biggest surprise – easy, delicious and sure to be a repeater – was this vegetable chili I adapted from a recipe I found on epicurious.com.

Do not fear, this is simple and sure to please. The bulgur is a pleasant and healthy addition, that gives you that thick "meaty" texture you crave in a good bowl of chili. We ate it with cornbread because Brad had made some the night before - but you don't need much more than a salad for a great meal that will warm you from the inside.

Spicy Vegetable Chili

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
1 sweet potato, chopped
1 large poblano pepper, seeded, chopped
3 large jalapeño chilies, seeded, minced (about 4 1/2 tablespoons)
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (fire roasted if you can find 'em)
4 cups chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
2 15-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed, drained
1/2 cup bulgur (cracked wheat)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
salt and fresh ground pepper
1 cup freshly chopped cilantro

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, sweet potato, poblano and jalepeño and sauté until onion and carrots are almost tender, about 8 minutes.

2. Add garlic and spices and cook, stirring until spices are fragrant evenly coated on vegetable, about 2 minutes more.

3. Add tomatoes, broth, beans, bulgur, white wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until bulgur is tender and mixture thickens, stirring often, about 20 minutes.

4. Stir in cilantro and ladle chili into bowls to serve.

End Times

As we rung in 2007, Brad and I were stranded in Colorado for nearly 3 days thanks to snow storms that blanketed the deserts of New Mexico like I never could have imagined. Less than a week later, having returned to Brooklyn, we experienced a taste spring fever when temperatures topped 70˚ on January 6th. And now, only 4 days later, I looked out the window this morning and saw the first snow flurries of the season.

Apparently, the few minutes of snow flakiness I witnessed was the latest recorded first snow in New York City in 129 years. What's going on?

The Wig Rides Again

The holiday season was off to quite a start with Heather N' Brad's Holiday-O-Rama. The holiday spirits, including rosemary and cinnamon vodka, bourbon-spiked homemade eggnog, single malt scotch and a variety of Christmas ales, flowed freely in our crowded apartment. The $1.99 present swap couldn't have been a bigger hit - even if Brad hadn't invented the double-or-nothin' coin toss - and the word on the street is that a great time was had by all.



Once we cleaned up and recovered from the festivities, a week of Christmas shopping and holiday preparations ensued. Brad and I had some delicious Christmas Eve Eve dates with close friends and our own little present exchange before heading off to visit our families. The holiday itself was spent in New Jersey were Brad decorated our new car with Christmas Eve vomit and I cooked a Christmas day feast for the Marold clan.

After that we headed to Colorado Springs for a little Thomason time, and if all were going according to plan we'd be in New Mexico right now gearing up to ring in the New Year in Santa Fe, but the weather just won't let that happen. Today is day two of being stranded in Colorado because the interstate has been closed since Friday, and with just 12 hours of 2006 to go, we're weighing our odds on a standby flight back to Brooklyn in time for midnight. At this point I'd say festivities have pretty much ground to a screeching halt.

Wet Rat

A few weeks ago we took Francine to the vet and dropped a few hundred clams. One of the things we tried to address in doing so is why she's always so darn itchy. So, we've been feeding her supplements and an antibiotic for her coat for three weeks now with little change, and then it occurred to us . . . perhaps the problem is the cat.

We gave Turtle a bath the other day to rid her of any potential flees or other itch inducing bits in her coat. Have you ever seen a cat claw her way up a glass shower door? I have, and I have some nice welted scratches up my arm to prove it. But we pulled it off, I held her down while Brad gave her the scrub. And although she was not happy, she certainly came out clean and soft.


The other main to-do this week has been the preparations for our holiday party tonight. Brad and I are hosting a Holiday-O-Rama featuring a selection of "holiday spirits". I've been infusing vodkas, making peanut brittle and in an moment I'm gonna head into the kitchen to started cooking up some spiked egg nog. The apartment is glistening with Christmas lights and the only thing left to do is wrap up some gift swap presents and put on our "outfits". It outta be a good one!

It's Been Too Long Since This Blog Has Seen A Recipe!

My oh my it is good to be home. Brad and I returned late yesterday afternoon to our little apartment in Brooklyn, and it sure does feel big. Eight days in a little hotel room with nothing but restaurant food and home feels like a palace. We had a good time in Miami, saw lots of art, furniture design and more art. We attended the occasional party, drank a few cocktails, had a day on the beach, some time by the pool and watched plenty of bad TV.

Brad did a bit of shopping while we were there. He couldn't help himself in the presence of fashionable men's boutiques and brought home a few great new wardrobe items. I on the other hand brought home a nasty case of strep throat. After fighting it for the last few days of our trip, the plane ride did me in. Brad returned to work today and I happily spent the day in bed hoping to sleep off the last of it. So, despite my complete and total exhaustion with mediocre restaurant food, I am not so inspired to cook tonight and thought to fall back on one of our very favorite frozen meals, yummy homemade veggie burgers.

Veggie Burgers

*One of the great things about this recipe is that there is lots of room for experimentation (or error).

4 carrots, grated
4 parsnips, grated
1 large or two small sweet potatoes, grated
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4-6 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg
1/2C bread crumbs
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 handful parley, chopped
1 handful cilantro, chopped

whole wheat English muffins
good cheese and Dijon mustard for serving

Combine all veggies in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. In batches, pulse in a food processor adding oil as needed to process until coarsely chopped and moist. Return mixture to large bowl.

Mix in 1 egg, breadcrumbs, seeds, chopped herbs, salt and pepper. Use your hands like you would with any burgers to mix until well combined. If the mixture is too moist, add more breadcrumbs.

Form the mixture into balls, and place on a non-stick backing sheet. Press flat with the palm of your hand to form patties. The mixture should yield approximately 8 burgers.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the patties are soft and golden brown. Serve on a toasted English muffin topped with some good cheese, like goat or sharp cheddar, and Dijon mustard if you'd like. Goes great with a big mixed green salad.

Layer any uneaten burgers is a flat container with wax paper between them and freeze. To cook, simply place the frozen burgers in a 375˚ oven until warmed through, about 20 minutes.

The Gittery Side of Me

Last Friday, Brad and I attended the first of our holiday season parties. It was a raucous one, gift swap and all, but the most important thing that happened thanks to this event, was the discovery of our alter-egos - and they are good lookin'!


All it took was an invitation to dress up and a can of aerosol hairspray. Wind storms and tornado warnings be damned, that hair wasn't goin' nowhere. Fuhgedaboudit!

This Is An Expensive Blog Post

Maybe it's for the privilege of doing it in a overpriced bathrobe, but the internet is costing me $9.99 for 5 hours here at The Richmond. The little info card says the service is available for 1 daily fee, but when I signed on at 10am, it warned me the session would expire at 3pm. Oh, and the connection? Spotty.

Today is day 3 here in Miami and I am in fact sitting in a hotel robe watching the palm trees sway outside the window in front of me. Brad is over at the convention center installing some sculptures in his gallery's booth at Art Basel. I opted out after helping with a 9am-7pm on my feet day yesterday that left my dogs barking. And besides, I have all this important computing to do - emails, internet browsing, blogging and of course updating this year's amazon wish list* for receiving Christmas presents.

Since our arrival we have already managed to go on a shopping spree and take in a movie, as well as many restaurant meals, but tomorrow the real fun begins. The art fairs and accompanying parties will commence and Brad and I will slather on the sunscreen and hit the beach.

Maimi goal number: Return home to snow and freezing temperatures with a tan.

*Gifts accepted regardless of religious/holiday affiliation. Contact me for shipping information if you're feeling generous.

Chilling A Smelly One

I picked these leaves up off the path in Prospect Park this morning while walking Francine. It has been sunny and 60˚ in the afternoons all week and despite the fact that today is December 1st, there are still some leaves on the trees. Global warming or not, I have been enjoying the sun and the warmth.


The other thing I picked up and brought home from the park this morning was a vile of Francine's poop, per the vet's instructions. They say it is necessary for her records and when we were there last Friday they sent me home with a vile containing a tiny scooper, labeled 'prepaid'. My instructions were to bring it back half full and I have been avoiding the task ever since. But, this weekend Brad and I are heading to Miami again where we'll enjoy temperatures in the high 70˚s and attend Art Basel Miami Beach with his gallery, so today is the day to do all those chores I have been procrastinating about. That is why there is poop in my refrigerator.

Dirty Ho

One of the cooler things in our neck of Brooklyn is BAM, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, although it is so much more than it's name would imply. What we love most about it is the movie theater. They show everything from the best big studio releases to the smallest of independents.

For the past few weeks they have been showing a series of Kung Fu movies as a tribute to the Shaw Brothers and last night we attended a screening of the original 1979 release, Dirty Ho. I don't know how easy this one would be to find on DVD/video, but it comes very highly recommended from this little bomb. It's a comedy that made the audience laugh out loud with some really great fight choreography. Gordon Liu, who you may remember as the Kung Fu Master, Pai Mei, that trained Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, plays an awesome character.

This was one of those great movie experiences that made you want to clap afterwards. As we left the theater Brad told me it was the best date he had ever been on and at that point I felt the same. Kung Fu movies rule!

Time Mismanagement

Today marks an official two weeks of freedom since leaving my job. So how is it with all this new 'free' time on my hands I am always busy? I've had days of being at home alone in the apartment and the to-do lists just keep getting longer. Give the dog a bath, pick up Brad's dry cleaning, drop off my dry cleaning, call about this, fax about that, email this person, follow up with that person, move the cars, start some laundry and the apartment always seems to need a cleaning. Now all this is not mentioning those ideal to-do items that I always fancied getting around to when I was at work all day. But those things are still looming in the distance, when I get around to them.

On top of the day-to-day there is this new business of the gym. That's right, I did it, I finally joined a gym again. It was time, the dog walks just aren't enough for this butt. And besides I've got all this time on my hands now, so why not fill some of it with Yoga and Pilates classes? Oh, and I still need to have time left do things like organize our photos into albums, bake Christmas cookies and there's that talk of this year's cookbook.

Six months of working at an agency with a head spinning amount of responsibility and I never needed to keep a calendar, just an ongoing list on my desk with reminders and the rest was all up in my noggin. But this stay home, unemployed/freelance business is crazy! I think I may need to implement a management system so I can get it all done and still have time to make dinner and watch a movie at night. Let's be honest, now that I own my time again I have to prioritize what's really important, relaxing.

Delayed Turkey Time

Close call. . . but we pulled it together and I was thankful!



Our oven got fixed at 11am on Thanksgiving morning and still many more obstacles lay ahead. Brad and Heather's Thanksgiving bonanza, featuring guest chefs Steve, Shamus and Masako, felt like the meal that might never happen right up until we sat down to eat after 8pm. Half of our party faced obstacles getting to our house on time, and when Brad finally drove to pick up Masako and her pies because she could not get a car service to answer her call, he got lost driving in the rain and disappeared for an hour while a roasted turkey was already resting on my counter!

But eat and eat well we did. The menu featured a 17lb. herb roasted, farm-raised turkey, sausage and cornbread stuffing, sweet potato pureé, brussel sprouts with bacon and apples, creamed spinach, parsnip pancakes, a salad with roasted squash, goat cheese and pumpkin seeds, cranberry chutney and gravy that flowed almost as freely as the booze. As if all that wasn't enough, we topped it all off with pecan/pumpkin and apple pies, Irish coffees and ice cream. It was goooood.

Happy and fed we were in the end, and the celebration went on past midnight. Thanksgiving is truly the best American holiday - good food in the company of good friends. We'll continue to enjoy our leftovers into this coming week and I have some turkey soup in the works. Soon I'll start dreaming of next year's feast.










Oh, and since I feel like I should share a recipe, here's something even better - the secret to my perfect gravy. It's not really mine, it's Martha Stewart's and you can find it here. You won't believe the results and your guests will be impressed, I promise!

A Case of VERY Bad Timing

It is officially count down to Thanksgiving time. While I have spent the last few days pondering the possible benefits of a maple glaze and whether or not to brine the 17lb. farm raised turkey thawing in the fridge the most unimaginably aweful thing happened - our oven broke.

Yes, that's what I said - 17lb. turkey, dinner guest list is apporaching 8 and we have no oven to cook in! Our landlord has been working with us to remedy the situation since we realized it's seriousness on Monday, but unfortunately, a holiday week is no time for rush orders.

The repairman was just here and he diagnosed the problem as a broken safety valve. I don't know what that means, but I do know that without a new one, the oven will not work. So maybe he has one at his office and if so he will make an emergency visit on Thanksgiving morning to install it. But, if not, the situation is grim. 5-7 days, thanks to this darn, wonderful holiday, for them to order and receive a new one.

I don't know what exactly my chances are - so we'll call it 50/50. Right now I am just waiting for the phone to ring with the good/bad news.

New Leaf

I am actually sitting here watching the near last of the yellow leaves fall from the tree outside my window as I type this post. Isn't that poetic? But really, today is the first day of my return to independence, following my resignation from Public New York.

You know what that means, right? More time for blogging again! I also need to start collecting the best of the best of this year's recipes for what I hope will be mine and Brad's annual collection. Heather and Brad's Recipe Book: Greatest Hits from 2005 was a very popular Christmas Gift last year.

So yes, recipes, photos and more stories to come now that that blog hiatus, otherwise known as a full-time job, is over. Check back soon . . . Thanksgiving (otherwise known as the holiday that is all about food and cooking) is right around the corner!

Halloween Happiness

These pictures are worth many thousands of words.

Throwing a Bone

You think I don't love you anymore? I do. I've just been busy galavanting around in silly outfits.

Tomorrow is halloween you know, quite possibly Brad's favorite day of the year. Some costume fun has already been had and photos will come, but first I have to wrestle my camera back from the jaws of a Doberman named River who is holding it hostage. Five bottles of wine, four people, some duck and a dog and these things can happen. Did I mention that the cat spent the night locked in the basement?

Confused yet? Me too.

Look out for those costumes. And if you you need to keep busy while you wait, check out Brad's latest project.

In the Moment

Because it was in the fridge . . . how's this for a salad?

Rainy Night Fall Salad
greens
shaved fennel (1 small bulb + veggie peeler)
handful of fresh dill sprigs
roasted acorn squash (400˚ tossed with olive oil, salt, peper and rosemary till tender)
lemon honey vinagrette (olive oil + white balsamic + blob of honey + splash of lemon juice + salt and pepper)

Well I'll tell you - it was delicious. Try it some time.
Goes great with a good October Fest!