Potpourri without the pesky perfume.

Some time ago I said that I was going to try to be more more email-esque in my postings. But it's hard. My life is generally pretty dull and that makes spicing things up more difficult than it should be. But, like Amélie, I'll try to jazz up the banal, but without an adorable bob.

Essentially, at this point, all I am thinking about is Europe. The days are dwindling down and there is still a good amount to do. It's been a while since I've been so goal-oriented: thinking of things to do before I go, what to bring, what I'm going to see, what I should see, how insanely broke I'll be at the end of it, et cetera, et cetera... I imagine this is what a pregnant woman feels like, except instead of changing diapers, you're cheesing in front of national monuments and eating your weight in gelato. Also, there are no stretch marks where I am going... except for gelato-related stretch marks.

Today is opening day at Fenway Park and I'm 4 blocks from the Stadium. The game starts at 2:15, which means I'm probably going to be heading home the same time as thousands of insane Bostonians with Sox hats yelling something about "Manny being Manny."

Thus begins the never-ending baseball season.

As for other things, I cooked some more this weekend. Parmesan mashed potatoes and chicken baked with white wine, leeks and pancetta... at least pancetta was the plan. I had to substitute smoked bacon in its place, which would have been ok, had I expected the major change in cooking time. Another lesson learned: a little fresh rosemary goes a LONG way. The chicken was alright, but the leeks were goners. On the plus side, the potatoes came out really well and the brownies I threw together with the help of Mr. Jamie Oliver were frickin' awesome. Here's the recipe (I did without the dried cherries and walnuts, but it's extra fantastic with a little whipped cream.)

Fifteen Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
7 oz dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids, broken up
Optional: 2 1/2 oz dried sour cherries
Optional: 1 1/3 oz chopped nuts
3/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 3/4 cup superfine sugar
4 large free-range eggs

Optional: zest of 1 orange
Optional: 9fl oz crème fraiche

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12 inch rectangular baking tin with parchment paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter & chocolate & mix until smooth. Add the cherries & nuts (if using) & stir together. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa, flour, baking powder & sugar, then add this to the chocolate & stir well together. Beat the eggs & mix in until you have a silky consistency.

Pour your mixture into the tray & place in the oven for around 25 minutes. Don’t overcook them, the skewer should not come out clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle. Allow to cool in the tray then transfer to a large chopping board & cut into chunky squares. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche mixed with orange zest or eat them as they are.

Sound awesome? It is. I was tempted to just eat the batter, but chose the conventional slightly more cooked version over the version requiring a spoon and complete lack of shame.

A bit of infrastructure business: I'm thinking of changing the blog name. It seems like a bit of a misnomer, seeing as how it's been some time since I've really done any art... and also, this blog doesn't really paint much of a portrait, either. I'm hoping that I'll be struck with inspiration for more art, a new blog name, or a more vivid autobiographical approach when I head abroad in twelve days. Holy crap.

Twelve days.

"That's all gab disemboweling."

Up until Friday evening, my kitchen had been disemboweled... for three weeks. It was in various stages of undress/uselessness (no oven for three weeks, no sink and dishwasher for much of it.) It was annoying and borderline stressful (I like cooking... and not having to rinse my cup out in the bathroom sink.) It began with replacing a dishwasher which didn't need replacing and elevated (spiraled?) into a full-on remodeling project.

My dad was replacing the built-in dishwasher and found a flaw in the shelf. While trying to peel up the corner of Formica counter, a jagged piece of vivid orange history came off.

Thus began the Epic Re-tiling of 2008 (aka ERT 08).

It was a long and arduous process (in which I was only fleetingly involved), and the kitchen is much brighter now. And the oven is back in place! To celebrate, I went a bit nuts with cooking and baking on Sunday. I wanted to try out some recipes from the new Jamie Oliver cookbook I got a few weeks ago, so I cooked up a storm. I started off by making some banana bread, then angel food cake and strawberry sauce. For dinner, I made baked panco-encrusted rainbow trout, beet root salad, and rice. I really love to cook, but can get stressed out when I do... though I can bake for hours without any real stress... how very odd. Anyway, it got a little worse when my parents called to say they were going to be 15 minutes later than they thought, as with fish, 15 minutes is sort of a big deal.

But, there wasn't much need to worry, as it came out really well if I do say so myself. My mom was the only one who really liked the beet root salad, but I'm glad I tried it - definitely satisfied my curiosity. In any case, it was quite pretty. Yay aesthetics.

Next I want to try something with leeks. And pancetta. Bring on the delicious challenge!

Il fait froid au jour d'hui.

When I checked my Dashboard weather widget this morning, it just said "9"... as if "9" was a perfectly logical and normal thing for it to say. With windchill, it's well below zero. I put aside all fashion dignity and wore my over-sized winter coat that has withstood many a New England storm, bit the hat-head bullet and stepped out of Back Bay. Coming out of the station felt like jumping into a frozen swimming pool. I consider myself relatively hardy, but I actually felt myself gasping from the shock in the wind tunnels of downtown. It throws you and completely cuts off your ability to think because all your body is letting you think is "get somewhere warm, getsomewherewarmNOW!!" It's made especially cruel, considering this day has had the only sign of sun we've experienced in over a week. Quel drag.

But enough griping. I hunkered down in the duplé and spent much of the weekend being semi-productive, i.e. writing letters and baking. I tried my hand at Italian bread, which came out.... oddly. It tasted great and had decent texture, but looked like a semi-deflated soccer ball and adhered itself to the pan with religious zealousness (though I corn mealed the hell out of bottom.) Lesson learned. Next time, I won't rush the rising, and I'll use parchment paper as well... Teflon parchment paper greased with 4-in-1 oil...

Most likely carcinogenic polyurethane compound spreading of microthin substance over a negatively charged layer of aluminum, copper, iron, lead, VHS, FYI, apple pie, FBI, and some other elements too...

Of liquid chocolate, Russians, and audial pleasure.

Oh, Boston. City of... things...

History? Patriotic beer? Guys named "Sully"? After work on Friday, I enjoyed some of the finer aspects of Boston area with some of the finer people of Boston area. I had dinner with Emily and Courtney, two of my senior year suitemates (the amazing Maura was sick - boo) at Border Cafe in Cambridge. The food was pretty good (awesome tortilla chips), but the margaritas were hit or miss. The strawberry one was watery and flavorless, but the traditional margarita was excellent - eliciting the universal response of "now that's a margarita." Afterwards, we hit up Burdick's, a chocolate shop(pe?) that was just featured in the NY Times, and rightfully so. The hot chocolate was intense. Thick and über chocolaty - the best stuff this side of the Atlantic. We called it an early night and I crashed at Em's, burrowing into her 15º-rated sleeping bag. Saturday morning, I caught up with Roberto (aka Rob) and we hit Diesel Cafe in Davis Square. Man, they have good coffee. I always forget how good coffee can really be. I think I'm over my twice a week Starbucks habit after drinking a caramel macchiato while waiting for the train after having had the espresso latte at Diesel. I've been spoiled. The Coffee Exchange, Roba Dolce and Diesel have ruined readily available, over-priced coffee places with their superior, fresh flavor and perfect foam...

But in short, it was a lovely evening/morning in Boston. I like my friends. I don't care if that makes me sound like a simpleton, but... they're wicked awesome.

Saturday night, I watched Eastern Promises by myself. How to best describe it... Raw? Gritty? Jarring? Then again, a film dealing with the Russian mafia and human trafficking is probably all of the above. Viggo Mortensen is absolutely amazing. His Russian mannerisms are spot-on - appropriately muted - creating a character who is all the more sinister due to his practiced restraint. He walks a fine line - he is physically and psychologically threatening, while also being completely magnetic. The rest of the cast does a wonderful job as well, but the film just feels like it was written for him.

After that heavy bit of cinema, I got a call from Eryn and we swapped stories about Italia and dogs and LIFE. I think I may have laughed for about 45 minutes straight. I need to remember to stretch my facial muscles before I have a conversation with either her or A-Town to prevent strains. In spite of the pain, I definitely went to bed with a smile on my face. Fantastico.

As for an aspect of life that isn't very fun, but I'm trying desperately to make fun, I've started a more formal search for a Boston/Boston area apartment, since this commute is killing me and there are fewer and fewer reasons for me to stay in RI. The hunt is overwhelming and frustrating to a degree (I equate craigslist with a punch in the face), but I've gotten some good advice from friends in the area that'll help me narrow my search and weed out some of the nonsense.

Back to nerdy fun. Early 2007, I assembled an iTunes playlist of all the music I acquired from late 2005 through 2006. I then whittled that list down to 52 songs (to average one song per week), based mostly on play count, but also taking into account personal significance. I know - it is extremely nerdy and obsessive - but I like to see how trends and my musical taste have evolved. It also acts as a quick reference for some of my favorite songs.

I'm working on my 2007 playlist now, and to my surprise, M. Ward had the most artist plays ("I'll Believe in Anything" by Wolf Parade is my #1 played song - surprised?) This data doesn't include songs played on my iPod, on which I listen to most of my music... but still. I am sur-prised. M. Ward just ninja'd himself into the musical collection of my heart. It all started in 2006 with "Chinese Translation" - just simple, classic folk song-writing at its finest - after that, I dug deeply into his music and struck gold. As for the 2007 list, I have it narrowed down to 66 songs - not including Josh Ritter. It just can't be done. If there's such a thing as too much good music, 2007 had it.

But the real news is this: M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel are releasing the album Volume 1 under the moniker She & Him on March 18th. Sweetness in aural form. I think it's going to be a great start to my Spring. You can listen to (and download - shh!) their cover of "You Really Got a Hold on Me" here. Zooey's voice just plumb knocked my socks off.

See? They're over there. By the end table.

Cappuccino and closure - what more could a girl ask for?

Yesterday afternoon turned into a mini tour of Providence, complete with a failed attempt at brunch at Julian's on the Hill, followed by a trip to Wickenden for Pizza Pie-er, "the gourmet pizza experience" (it was ok, worth another shot I suppose), and then to Thayer for some cappuccino and dessert at Roba Dolce. Both the cappuccino and dessert (I shamefully forgot the name of the dish, but they were pastry balls of cream-covered AMAZING) were excellent. It's switched management since I was last there, and there is a noticeably positive difference in the product and the atmosphere (more cozy and slightly more formal/chic.) It's run by an enthusiastic and rather young Italian guy, though we never ended up asking him where in Italy he was from. I wanted to ask in Italian, but knew after de dove sei, I'd be at a loss for words. But my bro, Gabri, and I all received complimentary cups of coffee - score! As much as Thayer Street can be a pain and there are only so many college and high school students one can take, I'd say that Roba Dolce beats the lattes at the Coffee Exchange (though CE has the best whole beans... and the scene... and the art supply store across the street.)

And I had a pleasant surprise in store for me on Thayer - the business establishment of my last employment is now closed! Well, they've "moved locations." Whatever. It's off Thayer. It never should have been there in the first place... though I'd be ok with it not existing at all. I still can't believe how stressed that job would make me... But that chapter is now closed and I can walk down the street without shuddering every time I pass.

Infra structurally speaking, maybe I should consider a blog name change, like my twin just recently did. Mine has turned into a rather ironic title since I haven't done much art at all recently. Anyway, this is my 50th blog post since its inception in May of last year, though seven of those posts have happened just this January... can you tell I'm stepping up my game this year? Oh yeah... makin' it happen.