Anne's Food: Semmelkladdkaka or Cardamom-Almond Blondie

Anne's Food: Semmelkladdkaka or Cardamom-Almond Blondie: Semlor is all the rage in Sweden this time of year. Let's do a short recap: It's a yeasted bun, flavored with lots of cardamom, an...

Manon, La Traviata in movie theatres near you

Massenet Manon – New Production
Saturday, April 7, 2012 (12:00PM ET / 9:00AM PT)
Expected Running time: 4 hours 8 minutes

Anna Netrebko’s dazzling portrayal of the tragic heroine in Laurent Pelly’s new production travels to the Met from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Piotr Beczala and Paulo Szot also star, with the Met’s Principal Guest Conductor Fabio Luisi on the podium.

An encore presentation of this performance will be exhibited in select movie theatres on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 6:30 PM in all time zones.

4/14 - La Traviata LIVE
5/2 - La Traviata Encore

More : 
Fathom Performing Arts offer spectacular one-time events as well as the culture and pure artistry of the one and only Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Best of all, you can purchase affordable tickets for the entire series of Fathom’s exclusive Met Opera broadcasts and see every magnificent operatic performance while seated comfortably in a movie theater just down the street.


It's not the same as the real live theatre.  The movie theatre smells of popcorn and you do hear popcorn noise in background (may be right behind or next to you). Also you won't be part of  live audience response. But it's more accessible and of course affordable.

Sherry Bar in NYC - Palo Cortado

I want to tell you about my favorite place to drink Sherry in NYC, a tapas bar called Palo Cortado. Palo Cortado is actually a restaurant with a full menu, and it serves a wide and interesting selection of wine and beer. You can go there and have a "normal" restaurant experience, with an appetizer, an entree, and dessert. But I'm going to talk about Palo Cortado in the way that I experience it, as a tapas bar.

Let me start by saying this: Palo Cortado has as good of a by-the-glass Sherry list as anyplace I've seen. There are about 20 Sherries on the list at any time, and wines rotate in and out.

Read more @ Brooklynguy's Wine and Food Blog: My Favorite Sherry Bar in NYC - Palo Cortado

This is a great report . And a recipe for a nice evening.  Should try this place for "getogether with friends" next time I come to NYC.   Thank you, Brooklynguy.

Listmania! Kate Middlesex: my list is here

Do I like to put things in order? Not quite.
Do I like wish lists for my kitchen items - or just spontaneously buy them? The latter. 
Do I like to share my experiences - absolutely yes!
So no wish lists here.
This  is the list of recent acquisitions for my kitchen with brief reviews:
9livesofkate kitchen: kitchen gadgets, cookware, dinnerware

I'll be adding to the list as I go. 

Killer marketing tool

Target figures out 16-year-old is pregnant before her father & details on how they push your spending buttons

Wow! Data mining along with personal data in your database make a killer marketing tool.

Online shopping kills

Online shopping can be addictive and financially devastating akin to gambling. All these little pretty nothings, egg slicers, cedar moth balls, funky spatulas, honey dippers, as little as they cost - add up to hundreds of dollars on your credit card bill. But whatever.

If we look at online shopping from the other side, we see people slavin g away for $11.50 / hr at warehouses, picking and packing stuff you ordered with few mouse clicks.

The Reality Of Online Shopping

Online shopping. We point, click, and buy. Then what happens? We’ll investigate.
In this Nov. 16, 2009 photo, Reginald Armstead, Jr., of Phoenix, sends a package on its way after packing it at the 800,000 sq. ft. Amazon.com warehouse in Goodyear, Ariz. (AP)

In this Nov. 16, 2009 photo, Reginald Armstead, Jr., of Phoenix, sends a package on its way after packing it at the 800,000 sq. ft. Amazon.com warehouse in Goodyear, Ariz. (AP)

Online shopping is such a breeze. Plug in your credit card. Point, click and buy. It seems like magic. But what happens after that little e-mail that says your order is confirmed? .

Well, here’s what happens. Somewhere in America, likely in a truly giant warehouse, likely at a very low wage, often a temp worker is off like a shot to find that product and send it on its way. And they do that maybe a thousand times a day. Running like rabbits. Fire-able for any reason. Desperate. To bring you fast, free shipping.

This hour, On Point: The new coal miners. Inside warehouse America.

Amazon warehouse




Kiva Systems automated warehouse - could be used by Amazon or any other online fulfilling centre.



Robots may substitute warehouse pickers. Everyone happy now?

Cat jumps - now with soundtrack

LOUIS ARMSTRONG - THIS BLACK CAT HAS 9 LIVES

Endangered cat jumps for his life

9 lives, indeed...

Is French parenting really that different from American? Some people are just brats with no manners.

Why American Kids Are Brats

And their parents might be getting just what they deserve

Amidst all the talk this past week about Pamela Druckerman’s new book, Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting, there was one phrase that immediately lodged itself in my mind. It was in a sidebar that ran with the Wall Street Journal adaptation of her book, “Why French Parents Are Superior,” and it said this: “Children should say hello, goodbye, thank you and please. It helps them to learn that they aren’t the only ones with feelings and needs.”...

Read more: "Why American Kids Are Brats"  by
By Judith Warner | @judithwarner | February 10, 2012

via childfree@livejournal

I thought by the time they enter kindergarten all the little ones know how to behave politely. And if they do not,  the school will teach them in the first 100 days of school and they'll in turn tech their inapt parents.  Am I missing something in modern development, parenting and school education?
I understand why babies cry on the planes but I don't understand why a healthy seven-year old may misbehave in public place. 
 

Enjoyed this comment since it gives a different perspective:

I'm a Swede living in the French countryside and in my experience the French are not exceptional in their childrearing. Or their diets. Or their clothes. And no matter how often the French tell me it is so, they are not even that exceptional in their beaurocracy. Don't get me wrong, the French are wonderful in countless ways, but in the mostly American western narrative France is the magical negro, only white and not "inferior".

But... to some extent, even clearly spoiled children can appear a little bit more well-behaved here simply because of differences in culture. For example, even if a child spends the whole dinner party playing with a portable gaming device at the table and interrupts his father while speaking, that child (in my limited experience) will dutifully kiss me hello and goodbye, usually without prompting. In Sweden, where little value is placed on greeting anyone, that child would probably be staring at his feet during the whole greeting ceremony and not offer a hand to shake, or at the very best surrender a limp hand with a very pained expression. A younger child might scream "NO!" and run the other way when told to greet grandma, even less kiss a stranger. Being actually greeted by a child would be a sign of great parenting in Sweden, and one with limited experience (such as myself) may begin to surmise that the French are better parents.

Actually, the above article referrers  to more elaborate article from LA Times  dedicated to a new book on parenting.

A little more than a year has passed since the publication of Amy Chua's "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" — the paroxysm-inducing guide to raising better children through belittlement, intimidation and tyrannical music practice — and already we have version 2.0. Pamela Druckerman's "Bringing Up Bébé" alleges that it's the French who could teach indulgent, over-scheduling, helicoptering American parents a thing or two about rearing les enfants... 

Read more: "Tiger Moms vs. 'Bébé' moms"  (Meghan Daum, February 9, 2012).

I don't believe it's about national culture. Some kids are just brats with lack of empathy and manners. And some parents are brats with lack of empathy and manners. World is unfair and often they are not connected, parents are not getting what they deserve. I suppose such kids and adults were always around but now with the help of globalization and social diversification at all levels and in all places it becomes more visible. I suspect this book won't get such massive response as Amy Chua's book. Everyone wants to either make a statement: "I am not treating my (present, past, future) kids as Amy Chua" or agree that her approach makes sense. 

What is the way to react to suggestion to teach kids good manners and consideration to the needs of others from early age? You either succeed or you totally or partially fail.  In such case very few will argue that it's better this way. That it was not a failure but intention to bring up free self-confident people. The majority will just keep quiet and go back to their electronic devices and social networks as usual.

One Grammy winner with no name

One Grammy Award You Won't See On TV
February 12, 2012

...Ken Shipley, who's nominated for two of those: Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes.
The album that got him into consideration, where he's up against the likes of Neil Diamond and Paul McCartney, is Syl Johnson: Complete Mythology. It's a compilation of the veteran Chicago soul singer's music. Shipley is one of the founders of the record label Numero Group, which finds and preserves obscure musical recordings.
"Syl Johnson is one of those guys who fell through the cracks of — not only the Chicago soul scene — but the national soul scene as well," Shipley says. "He lived his entire career in the shadows of two of soul music's largest names." He's talking about James Brown and Al Green<...>
Shipley calls the set a "five-year labor of love." Though he's been nominated for a Grammy before, he says it would be special to win one for this project — not least because Syl Johnson himself will be in the audience.


About Numero Group

About Numero

Founded in 2003 as an archival record label by Tom Lunt, Rob Sevier, and Ken Shipley, Numero has evolved into a multi-format media company, devoted to dragging brilliant recordings, films, and photography out of unwarranted obscurity.We re on a dirty, labor-intensive mission... and it's urgent as all hell. Time kills off precious bits of passed-over sound, story, and ephemera every day, just as fast as we can haul this sprawling archive of under-heard recordings along with the musicians, writers, and entrepreneurs who created them out of exile.

Every Numero production more than 60 titles in our diverse catalog of LPs, CDs, cassettes, 45s, 12"s, and DVDs is a modest miracle of localized sound creation, shedding fresh light on the efforts of men and women who sang, played, recorded, and peddled to shallow rewards, if any. Each track lives and breathes at the nexus of story and song, preserving human work and hope gone lost into freshly etched grooves. Every recording we unearth is painstakingly re-mastered and carefully researched, with obsessive attention to narrative and factual detail unmatched in the so-called reissue field. By self-imposed law, everything numbered by Numero is a stunning new artifact of image and word, tailored to the sounds it safeguards.

Eccentric Soul, our flagship series, has documented lovingly mishandled soul labels from Columbus, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Miami. Our Wayfaring Strangers compilations collect the privately issued song-fruits of wandering folkies. Each Cult Cargo release visits the sonic shores of some tiny, isolated nation, while Good God! titles seek the spiritual, as enshrined on reels of audio tape neglected until now. And with Local Customs we investigate isolated, mom-and-pop recording outfits, each operated by a homespun Alan Lomax who gave neighbors and friends studio time, a microphone, and a shot at being heard a generation later. We've even crossed the street from time to time to deliver hidden worlds of unsung power pop, kitchen-sink New York disco and rap, kid-group soul, fiery rockabilly gospel, Franco-Belgian electro-samba, phantom blaxploitation funk, psychedelic heartland pop, orchestral UK chanteuse folk, decaying art-soul and Southside funk-blues club life captured in glorious black & white.


This Grammy award winner box set was painstakingly re-mastered by Peerless Mastering / Jeff Lipton. 
No mention in the article, no mention on Numero Group website...


Happy Valentine's Day, Jeff!  

P.S. Lost to Sir Paul McCartney in best Historical album nomination which was a noble competition, to say the least.

Us females

Source: http://campuscanoodling.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/princesses.jpg

Portuguese Fish Stew by Tyler Florence

Portuguese Fish Stew by Tyler Florence

Portuguese Fish Stew courtesy of Tyler Florence (who I happen to kind of be infatuated with)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 pound linguica or chorizo sausage, sliced in chunks
5 sprigs fresh thyme sprigs
1 handful fresh oregano, hand torn
2 bay leaves
2 pounds potatoes, sliced
3 quarts chicken broth
1 pound kale, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
1/2 pound perch, cod, or bass fillets, skin and pin bones removed (I used cod)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Recipe Rustic Crusty bread, for serving, recipe follows

Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy 4 to 6-quart pot over medium flame. Add the onions, garlic, and sausage; cook, stirring with wooden spoon, until the sausage renders out some of its fat and the onions are soft. Toss in the herbs and then the potatoes, stir that around for a minute to coat in the oil. Pour in the chicken broth and bring up to a simmer. Add the kale, season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the potatoes are nearly tender.
Uncover the pot and add the clams; simmer, covered, for 15 minutes until the clams open. Add the fish and continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until the fish is cooked. Serve with crusty bread.

There you have it, a soup pot to heaven.

See Marie Cook posted this  great recipe. She is my inspiration for tonight. This dish is on the menu in one of my favourite restaurants in Provincetown, MA but, alas, not all the meat ingredients agree with me.  Tonight as a cook I'm in control , I'll be cooking this fine soup / stew with a slight tweak (beef kielbasa substituting chorizo sausage) and having it all to myself!

Super 88 now Hong Kong Supermarket

1095 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02215
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton
(617) 787-2288

www.super88market.com/

Nearest Transit: Brighton Ave @ Comm Ave (193, 57) 

Hours: Mon-Sun 8:30 am - 11 pm

Life is full of precious finds in the places where you never expect them. I was looking for "Super 88 Market" information (in short "88", Chinese lucky number,  not to be confused with 99, 96, 69) .  Apparently, I haven't been to 88 for years though I own, use and like Chinese and Japanese dinnerware bought there. Figured that the chain  owner closed 3 out of 6 stores in Boston area in 2008, filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and was bought out by Hong Kong Supermarket. It's still a large Chinese supermarket with great variety and Asian food court. And the smell which I don't mind in Asian markets. No smelly boyfriends in my life but read up. That ecstatic and genuinely funny.

Why Super 88 (now known as Hong Kong Supermarket) reminds me of My Old Boyfriend:

They smell. Just like My Old Boyfriend, Super 88 really stinks. My Old Boyfriend couldn't help it- his feet and each orifice contributed to this condition. They mean well, but they still smell.

They are cheap. My Old Boyfriend aspired to a life filled with bargains in any form and so does Super 88. They both have this attitude. Cheap is sweet.

They are big. My Old Boyfriend was 6'5", had a beer keg-like chest and size 14 (smelly) feet. Super 88 is equally large.

They are hard to read. My Old Boyfriend was an unreliable puzzle when it came to communication. Super 88 can be equally confusing.

They like food. My Old Boyfriend was always eating. During our relationship, I gained ten pounds due to the constant caloric input. Super 88 has an incredible food court in front, which offers all kinds of food. I can't comment on any of it, though, because I am trying to lose those ten pounds now that My Old Boyfriend is history.

They are popular. My Old Boyfriend was Homecoming King, Prom King and and had many friends of all sorts circling around his large, odoriferous orbit. Super 88 is popular, too, especially when key items like Sriracha Sauce are on sale.

They are centrally located. My Old Boyfriend has a great spot not too far from Fenway, easy to find on the Green Line. Same goes for Super 88.

They are not without flaws. But who's perfect, anyway? If you get involved with either of them, you'll be fine as long as you can stand the smell.

 Source: YELP / Dorothy's review: Why Super 88 (now known as Hong Kong Supermarket) reminds me of My Old Boyfriend

Specialised spoons part II

Part I 

Part II featuring Williams-Sonoma Spaghetti spoons and Pasta rakes ($$20, 24, 30, 34) and Sur La Table salt, caviar and tasting spoons  ($$3, 8, 15). 

Guess which one: this product contains lead, a chemical known to the state of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.  Now guess which one is perfect for everyday use or ideal when entertaining guests.

Zwilling J.A. Henckels Pure Spaghetti Spoon

Olive Wood Pasta Rakes

Mother of Pearl Caviar Spoon

Vintage Salt and Pepper Classic Spoon Set

The tasting spoon made of olive wood for 15$ @ Sur La Table... Even my love for specialised kitchen gadgets is not strong enough to advertise the idea of a special tasting spoon. My apologies to my readers.  


To make up for a missing spoon, I piked a different one. And now that I read more about Tomato Shark spoon, I'm wondering whether these (annoying business it is!) minutes of my precious life spent removing tomato butts are not worth these small bucks to get the tool. They say you can hull strawberries with it as well which makes me sad. Because since recently I'm a proud owner of a strawberry huller. Shouldn't I try to hull tomatoes with my strawberry huller first?

Messermeister Pro-Touch Red Tomato Shark (Amazon)

SOPA snd PIPA

Why is Wikipedia blacked-out?

Wikipedia is protesting against SOPA and PIPA by blacking out the English Wikipedia for 24 hours, beginning at midnight January 18, Eastern Time. Readers who come to English Wikipedia during the blackout will not be able to read the encyclopedia. Instead, you will see messages intended to raise awareness about SOPA and PIPA, encouraging you to share your views with your representatives, and with each other on social media.

What are SOPA and PIPA?

SOPA and PIPA represent two bills in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate respectively. SOPA is short for the "Stop Online Piracy Act," and PIPA is an acronym for the "Protect IP Act." ("IP" stands for "intellectual property.") In short, these bills are efforts to stop copyright infringement committed by foreign web sites, but, in our opinion, they do so in a way that actually infringes free expression while harming the Internet. Detailed information about these bills can be found in the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act articles on Wikipedia, which are available during the blackout. GovTrack lets you follow both bills through the legislative process: SOPA on this page, and PIPA on this one. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the public interest in the digital realm, has summarized why these bills are simply unacceptable in a world that values an open, secure, and free Internet.
More here:
Wikipedia:SOPA initiative

Ice cream recipes

Strawberry parfait 

Mine is not exactly ice cream, It's rather parfait.

Beat (1 cup of cut strawberries, 1 cup of whipping cream and 1 teaspoon of sugar) x as many batches as you want in the blender. Keep in the freezer in small batches and than thaw as needed in the refrigerator. Light and not too sweet dessert.

Three-minute Ice Cream 

from  Anne's Food (Stockholm, Sweden)

500 ml heavy cream 1 can sweetened condensed milk (about 400 g)mix-ins, optionalWhisk the cream into soft peaks. Open the can of milk, stir into the cream. Stir in any mix-ins, and pour into a tin. Freeze until completely frozen - 5-6 hours, or overnight.

  

Banana & Mango "Ice Cream"

 from Cloudberry Dreams blog (Melbourne, Australia) 

4 large, ripe bananas

2 large ripe mangoes

If you’re after a super-creamy product, peel and roughly chop the bananas and mangoes (removing the stones from the mangoes) and freeze overnight in a container. Otherwise, simply peel roughly chop the fruit and use it fresh if you’d prefer a slightly more sorbet-like result.

Place fruit pieces in a food processor ( a blender would also do nicely) and process for around 2 minutes, or until completely smooth. The consistency of the mixture should resemble a thick soup...

  The rest of the recipe is in  Banana-Mango Ice Cream recipe entry

and requires some repetitive blending,freezing and defreezing. 

By the way, it's a vegan dessert.

DIET & DIETING
Since I'm totally convinced that whatever food you make yourself is much healthier than processed foods you buy in the store, I believe that any of the above desserts are healthy and good for your diet. Unlike dieting which is typically not good for you. Eating good foods is a better way to become or stay well and fit than not eating particular foods.  

Useful kitchen tools

Anna from Sweden talks about
tools she liked and found useful in 2011.
Here recipes are also worth trying (and specials thank for putting them down in English!).

Everything pickles

Talking of pickles as seen in my "port and pickles diet" post, here they come in all shapes and forms from candles to mints to soaps at reasonable prices. I suppose these below were sketched the morning designer had a severe hangover.

Pickle toothpaste, pickle toothpicks, pickle juice:

Pickle Addicts

Great culinary blog "My last bite..."

Sur La Table is my favourite store for kinky gadgets. Crate and Barrel, Williams Sonoma are somewhat behind. Paying too much attention to cookware and (in case of Crate and Barrel) to dinnerware. Just to give you an idea: I'm in line to pay for my finds and overhear the conversation. This sharp-looking not-so-young lady asks a girl at the counter about some special spatula she'd seen on TV. - We are sold out twice!

But imagine my disappointment when I asked for truffle shaver and they didn't have one. Offered me chocolate shaver instead! I looked here and there, I looked everywhere and I found this My list bite... culinary blog through the old post about Truffle shaver the author got form Sur La Table!

I was deeply touched by the story of her childhood in Okinawa and then children's home in US.

And I liked the idea of (her favourite) food films section.
1. Tampopo
2. Mostly Martha
3. Ratatouille
4. Big Night
5. Eat, Drink, Man, Woman
6. Like Water for Chocolate
7. Under the Tuscan Sun
8. Woman on Top
9. Dinner Rush

I would add
10. "Babette's feast" (1987, Denmark)
11. "The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover" (1989, USA)
12. "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971)

more to come