Monday, October 25, 2010
Mommy lets me watch MTV: "Everlong"
P.S. Remember kids, you need to get engaged first in order to get married ;)
P.P.S. This one's circa 1997 from The Colour and the Shape.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Did the invention of cooking initiate the development of patriarchal society?
Now, I haven't completed the book yet (relax! I'm getting there), but I recently finished "The Married Cook", the chapter that discusses the origins of male and female bonds based solely on food: the necessity, gathering, and cooking of it. Wrangham explains the symbiotic relationship between hunter (the male) and homemaker/cook (the female) and how their codependency began. Apparently, our cartoons of cavemen dragging women around by the hair aren't that innacurate. Okay, they are, but the author argues that male dependency on the female's ability to cook and provide for him ultimately led to the socio-cultural acceptance of men as the dominant sex.
Wrangham writes:
"The idea that cooking led to our pair-bonds suggests a worldwide irony. Cooking brought huge nutritional benefits. But for women, the adoption of cooking has also led to a major increase intheir vulnerability to male authority. Men were the greater beneficiaries. Cooking freed women's time and fed their children, but it also trapped women into a newly subservient role enforced by male-dominated culture. Cooking created and perpetuated a novel system of male cultural superiority. It is not a pretty picture." -chapter 7, page 177
It was a bit unexpected, since a good deal of the discussion is centered around, well, NOT modern human history. But his connection of this theory to our social custom is fasctinating. I bet Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who the author cited often in this chapter, would have a thing or two to say about that!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Poo Cakes
Monday, October 18, 2010
Mommy lets me watch MTV: "I Think I'm Paranoid"
Sunday, October 17, 2010
A pumpkin adventure by means of stove and oven
Pumpkin cream sauce adapted from Streaming Gourmet: have it with thick spaghetti, rigatoni or penne. You'll be suprised how the tastes of pumpkin and parmesan mix so well. Like pasta alfredo, it's best fresh and not leftover. Next time I want to add a bit of pancetta to add a bacony kick.
Chocolate-chip Pumpkin Muffins from angry chicken: these are a must-try AND MUST EAT. The recipe incorporate whole-wheat flour, which I try to use in all my baked goods. Make-time is very fast and they bake in 20 minutes. Instead of using two eggs and two egg-whites, I just used three eggs (I HATE wasting perfectly good egg yolks!) I think I have to leave them in the oven a little longer next time... The ones I made are doughy, but the flavor is intense.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
sips and nibbles
Some samplings of the nosh-spots I've visited the past couple of weeks:
Suspiciously quiet on Third Ave between 18th and 19th Streets is Ponty Bistro, which touts French, African and Mediterranean fusion cuisine on their website. The art on the walls signal a Moroccan vibe and funky orange pillows decorate the booth seats. Once for an after work snack I ordered their cheese plate and a kick-in-the-mouth martini. Their daily special is 2-for-1 (though at $12 it's more like 2-for-2) and they come in intriguing flavors: ginger, chocolate, passion fruit, raspberry, and apple. I've also been to Sunday brunch, where the talented/sexy duo Across Madison performs original tunes with trusty guitar and flute. I ordered the scrambled bruschetta (eggs on French baguette with goat cheese, cherry tomatoes and basil pesto), which was filling and fantastic. It came with warm hashed potatoes that they called home fries. Mr. Daniel got the maple crushed French toast that came with a sweet sugary Nutella. We were both happy and chewing and listening and smiling. The prices are fair but a bit high at dinner. My only complaint about the brunch bill was the $3 per cup of tea. Really? Oh, and Dan saw a cute little mouse under a table.
Last week I met Dan's Gram and Gramps for lunch at Jackson Hole, which is apparently a dive bar by night and decent Murray Hill burger place by day. Patty (aka Grandpa) worked up in the 40's for Bell Atlantic back when that was still around and he's been bugging me about this place since I've started working in the city two years ago. We met at the Third Ave joint, and it was just as Patty remembered: cramped, noisy, but extremely friendly and yummy. Both grandparents indulged in the daily special: cheeseburger and fries, while I chose a mushroom, broccoli, and onion sandwich with cheese. It was warm and steamy on a toasted bun, but I had to eat it like a casserole with a fork and knife. We were all fat and happy.
On a whim Shakira and I stopped at the Belmont Lounge on Irving near Union Square for a TGIF happy hour session. Inside it was sort of dark and intimidating, but Rihanna was on the speakers, so it was all good. we were seated outside in the "garden" that had to be navigated with care as it was crowded with twenty-somethings and flimsy wire tables. Happy hour specials included the basics: house wine, draft beer and well drinks. We each got a glass of Merlot and split the spinach & artichoke dip and root vegetable fries. The dip was cheesy, thick and irresistible. The fries were so-so; more like flavored, sticks of fried air. Service was a little slow and hard to grab as waitresses slipped in and out of the "garden"--only visible for a few precious seconds. We were presented with another round of drinks by accident because the "waiter doesn't speak English", and they were hastily taken off our table when I said we didn't order them. You just don't do that with wine--cheap or not!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Mommy lets me watch MTV: "Comedown"
Made famous by the Reese Witherspoon/Mark Wahlberg third-base-on-a-rollercoaster scene in, Fear (1996), Bush's Comedown is one of the precious relics that dear Mr. Rossdale decided to leave us before cruelly slipping into the wayside of SHITTY MUSIC. This single is from their first album, Sixteen Stone (1994).