9/24/07

pesto and boys.



like peas in a pod, right? right? or not. let's get the boys party out of the way: I need to stop falling for smart Geminis and Cancers. I realized a few days ago that as far as I can recall (at least to high school), I think all of the guys I have dated have been Geminis, or Cancers. And I'm a Cancer. They do not mix so well. I wasn't cultivating this at all. I never even realized it. Now I'm going to have to be all weird and ask guys what their birthday is first thing. "Hey, what's your sign? Come here often?"
(Jason and the) Arg (0nauts).





Now, on to the pesto. So many of the food bloggers have been posting about canning since it's the theme of this month's Eat Local Challenge. It sounds perfect to me- having your pantry stocked with your personal tomato sauce, pesto, etc. It may not be less expensive, but at least you would know (and be able to control) exactly what is going into your food. That means quite a bit, to me. Plus, my dear Nonna always canned, and I would like to learn how. So, I took some of her old canning jars. Alas, when I got home, I realized they were all large. Too large. I would need a bigger pot to boil them in. Also, since I'm only cooking for one person (for the most part), storing many large jars of food in my pantry doesn't make that much sense. So I thought about freezing. And then I made pesto.







mmmmmm. Homemade pesto.* I used Mario Batali's recipe. From these pictures, I'm sure you can understand why I don't post many. While I think my photography skills are not that bad, I certainly don't know how to photograph food. And, my camera is very basic.




*after 2 hours with the mortar and pestle, I had a bruised, strained hand, so I switched to a food processor.

9/21/07

oodles of noodles.




Last night I made
Orangette's (hubby's) peanut noodle dish. It was delish. It just happened that I had all the ingredients (except I substituted rice noodles for soba) and I looove peanut sauce. I highly recommend this one. It was creamy and salty, juicy and bright, crunchy and slippery smooth.


9/19/07

jobs.



This is a list of jobs I have done, have considered at some point in my life, or still consider, for some point in my life:



-interior architect at an international hospitality design firm, or clothing brand (like Diesel. yaaaaah.), preferably abroad

-interior architect at a small organic architecture firm, preferably in the city (yes "the city", people.)

-owner/ceo of a sustainable developing firm

-furniture maker

-event planner/set builder

-shop owner (selling furniture, furnishings and household goods- mainly environmentally friendly design stuff)

-a job working with the government on sustainable building codes and laws

-a job working with the government on city planning, transportation planning, etc.



-chef

-host (at a restaurant)

-hospitality manager

-bartender

-cheesemaker

-farmer (small-scale and all-natural of course)



-cage dancer (always in the cage, never out. no private dancer here)

-professional modern dancer (pipe dream)

-professional soccer player (pipe dream #2)

-zoologist, specifically researching Siberian tigers... in Siberia.

--ummmmmm. well? I dunno.

9/18/07

that's how I roll.



a.k.a. that's how I feed myself.











Fridge before the farmer's market.











Fridge after the farmer's market.

9/16/07

stuff.







What? You've never seen a spring onion joint? Hah! I fire-roasted this on my stovetop. It worked quite well, but it looked so great, I had to take a picture.






Also, I finally posted the picture of the naan! Just a little tardy. You can see it here.

9/12/07

this blog.




Why did I start this blog, you may ask? Why bother adding to the countless number of blogs that exist and their din?
I wanted to record the minutiae of my life and share it with the world of course! That's actually partly true. I did (and continue to) want somewhere to record my thoughts, ideas, successes, failures, and discoveries while I try to figure out this thing called life. No guarantees on actually coming up with any answers, though! Interestingly enough, I was never good at keeping a diary, but keeping a blog seems to be much easier.



Do you have anything interesting to say or any unique premise?
Nah. It's just me and my random thoughts. Some days I think that I should start 3 or 4 different blogs, for all of my interests. One would be a food blog, one would be a design blog, one would be an environment blog and one would be just for my random musings- the day-to-day stuff that I know you're all straining at the reins to read. haha.



Eh, I guess that's it. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me!

love.






I am in love with my new bookshelf! This bookshelf. Isn't it pretty? : ) I bought it this weekend at IKEA. I suppose this picture is deceiving because it's huge. Over 6' tall and about 4' wide. It's clean, sleek, bold and has the capacity to hold all of my books, and other things. It's very impressive. Some of you might think me weird for falling in love with a bookshelf, but remember that I'm a designer and organizer (at heart). Swoon.

9/6/07

calender of events.




The last 2 weeks of August and the month of September are big architecture event times, here in the bay area. I thought I'd share all the events I'd like to go to. I'm hoping that they will reinspire me to
find a way back into the design community. More info found: here. Cheers and Happy September!




September 7, 7:00: Friday Nights at the de Young- Architectural Tour. $10.




September 8, 10 and 4: Heath Ceramics Tour, Sausalito. Free.



September 8, 1:30: Architectural Heritage Walking Tour. $8. "A Walk Along Broadway"





September 12, 5:45: Santiago Calatrava: Angle of Inspiration. Movie on Architect/Engineer Calatrava. Free.




September 14: Dwell on Design Conference. Expensive.



September 14, 7:00: Friday Nights at the de Young- Architectural Tour. $10.





September 15, 11-4: San Francisco Home Tour. $55.



September 15, 1:30: Architectural Heritage Walking Tour. $8. "Beyond Union Street- A Walk Through Cow Hollow"



September 15: Dwell on Design Conference. Expensive.




September 16, 11-4: San Francisco Home Tour. $55.



September 16: Dwell on Design Conference. Expensive.




September 19, 5:45: Blue Vinyl. Documentary on the truth behind PVC.





September 20: West Coast Green Conference & Expo. Hideously expensive.





September 21: West Coast Green Conference & Expo. Hideously expensive.



September 21, 7:00: Friday Nights at the de Young- Architectural Tour. $10.




September 22, 1:30: Architectural Heritage Walking Tour. $8. "Walk The Fire Line: Van Ness Avenue"



September 22: West Coast Green Conference & Expo. Hideously expensive.





September 23, 10-5: Build It Green Home Tours. $20.




September 24, 5:30-7:30: Living EcoCity Salon- talk on what makes a city "green". $20.




September 30, 11: Architectural Gems Bike Tour. $25.

9/3/07

news flash.








Exciting news flash! Next weekend (September 8th and 9th from 12-5pm) is the Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival. There are chocolate tastings, a wine bar; chocolate bar, demos and whatnot. I missed out last year, and I am definitely planning on going this year.