Blend it

Now that the kitchen is up and running there is one small appliance I miss. About a zillion years ago I tried to make some margaritas and my KitchenAid blender could not cope with the task, it stalled and died. I was very negative about the whole experience and didn't want to spend a couple hundred dollars on something that couldn't even make a drink so I got an immersion bender for sauces, soups and purees and gave up on the whole crushed ice thing. I've since heard that it isn't just me mistreating the appliance - others have had the same experience. Now I'd like to make the occasional smoothie and figure this would be a good time to go ahead and splurge but I want to make sure I'm buying the best heavy-duty blender out there. Amazon has a couple of 900 watt models that should be able to mash bananas and crush ice and a super expensive one that I would expect, for that price, could mix concrete! Do you have any recommendations?

Anniversary Night

Me (waking up with a start and glancing at the clock): Get up! It's 5:35! You have 10 minutes to get out of the house
Him (jumping out of bed): #%*!.
Me (a couple of minutes later, actually awake enough to look at the clock and process information): Did you check the time?
Him: No!
Me: It's 2:37, not 5:37.
Him (pulling off socks and shirt): #%*!

I'm surprised we're still married.

Double Faucets

I used to think the Kohler Karbon faucet reminded me of an 80s Italian car manufacturer but this image reminds me of storks at the waterhole.
I really wanted to find out why I would need dual Karbons in the kitchen, after all it articulates so surely it will reach to every corner of the sink, no? Unfortunately as usual with Kohler when you click on the photo it takes you to an article that DOESN"T MENTION THE FAUCET AT ALL. Does Kohler know how infuriating this is? If you're gonna make me look you'd better be sure I'm satisfied with what I see. Anyway, it looks as though one is for washing up or maybe rinsing vegetables and the other is for... soaking the chips 'n' dip??? Please guys at Kohler, link the images to the relevant articles in the future and put me out of my misery by telling me what to do with the second Karbon faucet.

Done, done, done

and tick! All those things on the Fall list were completed... and because we had some leftover mortar The Guy decided to re-grout the patio where it had cracked after those extremely heavy kitchen appliances had beaten a path to the kitchen door. A reprise of this, in fact. No mess, no fuss - just a couple of hours graft (although I could have done without the high humidity) and we are good to go for the next few months.

Catching up

The kitchen floor has been sanded and resealed. There's a 3'x4' piece I'm unhappy with - it looks like it was missed or wiped over while still wet - but I'm undecided whether to get it done for the third time, after all in a few months people will be tramping snow through the kitchen and the animals will have given it a not-so-gently-distressed look. The wallpaper backing came off with a 1/1 solution of fabric softener and water. This was the first time I'd bought fabric softener since 1990 and I'm sure I paid $1 for a bottle back then. Big sticker shock but the kitchen smelled snuggly for a couple of days. And a decision was made on the baseboards. That's all I'm saying. Watch this space.


And we finally changed the lightbulb on the balcony after ::cough:: eighteen months. These are all good things. On the rest of the renovation promises have been made. On the last day of September the kitchen punch-list will be checked, rechecked and the items will be tackled methodically and purposefully until every last one is done.
Then there is the Fall list. That's the list you get when you walk around the house one coolish day in September making sure everything is ready for the six months of ice, snow and freezing temperatures that make up a Long Island winter and discover a whole bunch of things you are sure weren't there a couple of months ago. Like the paint that peeled off the front door step... and the basement windows... and the chunk of window that's fallen off the latter. Off the window mind, not the trim. And not through rot either. This piece is clean and smooth and hard, it just isn't attached to the window any longer. Then you realise there's a hole in the mortar under the sliding door in the great room that's big enough to shove a baby's fist through - or for a whole nest of mice to crawl in and out of and a gap in the slate that will allow all that snow to melt though to the subfloor and you'd better fix that pronto.
At this point the idea of selling up and moving to a condo with a very friendly and super handy on-site maintenance person seems a very attractive idea. And if you could make that condo somewhere dry and warm with a mid-century vibe it would be almost irresistible.


The only other option would be to take a very long nap...

Inspirational Decor

One of my favorite inspiartion rooms. Black & White Salon from Marie Claire Maison featuring the "Bouquet" chair by designer Yoshioka Tokujin. I love the way all the black elements in this tall room bring your eye down to ground level and that the ethereal quality of the chair is balanced by the weighty ceramic bird. Beautiful.

The downside of induction

I love, no I LOVE my new Electrolux induction top, it's fast and controllable and I've been cooking up a storm since I got back from Europe, mostly soups and other one-pot meals. On Sunday though, since The Guy finally made it home, I planned on making a giant pancake-just the one-to serve with a bottle of Blueberry maple syrup we bought in Maine (and which I have saved these past two months as it's been too darn hot for cooked breakfast). I grabbed my trusty cheapo Belgian pancake pan, turned on the heat and the blue light flashed at me. I knew what this meant as I'd already had to consign one sauté pan to the recycle box when it proved to be non-magnetic - it meant no pancakes. We had cereal.
Later that day I started to chop veggies for stir-fry when it occurred to me to test the wok before I got too committed. The wok didn't work either. At that stage it seemed prudent to test all the pans. The majority of my cookware is Le Creuset and cast iron is induction friendly, so at least I can make casseroles and soup. The big pasta pot from ikea works fine, the small deep-sided frypan from the same store? Not so much. Of course the copper pans don't conduct, nor did an All-Clad omelette pan. I ended up retiring five pans, all ones I had used frequently.
Today I purchased a Cuisinart saucepan that I'll have to return tomorrow; not all stainless steel is created equal. The lesson I learnt from this experience is to take a magnet with me when I go cookware shopping!

Looking outside

Warm days, cold nights, falling leaves, rain showers and the occasional tornado - the transition from summer to autumn on Long Island.

Androgynous

This confused The Guy no end. One of a pair marking the restrooms at our hotel in Paris. Très chic mais pas évident.

Name Your Price

I like to keep my eye on what's for sale in the Incorporated Village - call me nosey, I can take it.


I get an email alert every time a house comes on the market.


Sometimes I get a bonus.


The same house 40% off. Pick one!

Avez-vous déjà vu?

Did you ever see: The not so perfect crime. My favourite from a series of five irreverent videos available on the youtubes. Via My Little Paris, an iphone app and website available in French and English. Enjoy!

Sunday Morning Belgian Style

Yes, there are stalls selling socks - and even mattresses - but Belgian markets are first and foremost about the food,


shopping for lunch, brunch or the rest of the week


mouthwatering rotisserie chicken


something sweet and nutritious for dessert


choosing flowers for the table


and enjoying a treat while you browse.

Strip Feest

That's strip as in comic strip or BD (Bande Dessinée) Brussels 2010, not the kind you catch at the "gentlemen's club".

A two-day celebration of comics starting with a balloon parade through the centre of town on Sunday afternoon. This gets better and better every year.

If I had better planned my life I would be there this weekend through the next so I could join in the fun and catch Josh Ritter at the Botanique on Thursday. Next time!

Aligot, aligot, aligot

In the 1ere arrondissement in Paris stands a brasserie, Chez Flottes, that offers good reasonably-priced traditional food and specialities from south-west of France, including aligot, a comforting combination of mashed potato with Tomme or Cantal cheese, garlic and butter. It's easy to make at home and now that cooler weather is coming I can contemplate a plate of cheesy mash.

Aligot
Peel and boil a couple pounds of baking potatoes, drain, return to a low heat and mash with half a stick of butter and a good tablespoon or so of cream or creme fraiche, Stir in one finely chopped garlic clove and 8 oz of Cantal, tomme de Savoie or sharp cheddar cut into tiny cubes. Season with salt and pepper. The secret is to have enough heat to melt the cheese but not to overcook the mixture. Pull the spoon up out of the pot as you stir. As soon as the mix becomes glossy and forms big strands pour it into a serving dish.

You can serve it with pretty much any well-flavoured meat, Confit de canard, pavé de boeuf or sausages. It would also work as a base for a filet of firm white fish such as cod, haddock or monkfish. If it's done right and you like mashed potatoes and fondue you'll love this hearty dish, cooked too long and it's like glue & sits in your stomach like the hills of the Auvergne.

Bare, Naked Ladies

Look it's Paris and it's art, so no modesty patches or drapes and no stupid pixels disguising the beauty of the sculptures.


No sensibilities offended, no youth corrupted, just the artist's interpretation of the female form. Enjoy!

Slow Food Belgian Style

"What are "petits-gris de Namur"? I asked the waitress at Le Trois Chicons in the Marolles district of Brussels
"Escargots, madame" she replied
All the years I'd lived in Belgium I'd never seen this offered as an appetiser. Normal sized escargots - in or out of their shells - I've been eating since I was a schoolgirl; les crevettes grises, those tiny pinky brown morsels of shrimpy deliciousness often served in croquettes, I'd first consumed even earlier in my childhood on the edge of the North Sea, sold fresh the off shrimping boats in "pokes" but the tiny petits-gris, a delicacy of Namur in Wallonia, I'd never come across let alone sampled. "I'll try those" I said.
They were served in a puff pastry shell with a sauce of white wine, finely diced mushrooms, garlic and herbs; tiny, tender and delicate they were much superior to the escargots I'd eaten the previous Friday in Paris. The farm "Vieux Tilleul" in Bierwart near Namur has been raising these snails in a sustainable manner since 1987 and appropriately enough they are part of the locavore or Slow Food movement. I discovered many recipes for the speciality but for me the simpler the better to allow the snails to shine.

Petis-Gris de Namur
First procure your snails (6 per person), rinse them and warm very gently - you don't want to boil them or dry them out - above all avoid making them explode! Set them aside. Heat four individual puff pastry shells. Finely dice a mirepoix of two carrots, one shallot and the white part of a leek, sweat this in an ounce of butter until the vegetables are tender but still have a little bite. Add salt and pepper and 7 fl oz dry white wine, then carefully add the reheated snails and another ounce or so of butter to make a homogenous sauce. Divide between the pastry cases and dust with finely chopped parsley or, for an extra crispy topping, garnish with fried parsley. I'm going to sprinkle a tiny pinch of the Sel Fumé HALEN MON I bought on the market at Watermael-Boitsfort over mine.