Singing until the end

The incomparable and inspirational Miriam Makeba, or Mama Afrika as she was also known, singing Pata Pata on tour in Brazil, 1968. Miriam Makeba died November 10 2008, after a performance in Castel Volturno, Italy.

Sunday in the Park

After a couple of days of grey November weather the sun came out this morning so we took the dogs to Coindre Hall in Huntington for some exercise.
Beautiful isn't it? We're really lucky to have free and unlimited access to the grounds of the Gold Coast mansions that were previously owned by robber barons, but Coindre Hall is one of the best because it's also an off-leash informal dog park. That's the Coindre Hall boat house in the foreground, Huntington lighthouse in the middle of the bay and Connecticut in the background. Amazingly even this late in the year there are still a few boats out on the Sound.


Here's a short video that covers the dogs' behaviour at the park. They run around with their doggy chums for 5 minutes, graze for ten more and when Polly lies down the visit is over.

Simmering gently today

I'm absolutely exhausted from the emotional tsunami of Tuesday, and the mojito, beer and overloaded nacho party we had while waiting for the results. Anyway, I will be returning to Cool House stories soon. Till then, pop over to the delightfully welcoming Marilyn at Simmer Till Done who bribed me with chocolate-tinis to tell her (and the internets) some fascinating facts about my food philosophy. OK done with the alliteration now.

Global Celebration

YES WE DID


It's a new day for America and the rest of the world.
Change is coming.

UPDATE: It just gets better


HOT!

If you are reading this

I expect you have
a) early-voted
b) voted earlier today
c) are ineligible to vote

If not

GO VOTE

Nature's Bounty

We have visitors over from Belgium who looked at the above plate of apples and walnuts and wanted to know a) why the apples were so shiny and b) what those nuts were. The shiny apples I could understand because apples over there never shine unless you polish them on your sweater. Even though these are organic they look fake. But the walnut thing had me confused for a second, after all they have have walnuts in Belgium, we used to have a walnut tree in our garden. Then I got it. These walnuts have been washed and dried, whereas back in Europe we used to gather them when they had fallen while they are black and softish. Then we were reminded that it is mushroom gathering season in the woods and the Foret de Soignes is full of Portobello mushrooms. Sob. And it is wild game season, too. Grouse anyone?

Seasonal change

The hibiscus may still be flowering but there is a 50% off sale at the nursery so I wandered over there this morning and selected three evergreens, two Russian conifers and a dwarf blue spruce that can overwinter in the big pots outside the garage.


Of course we'd didn't just discard the hibiscus. After the lovely surprise I had when last year's plants flowered again this year I got Sadie The Guy to dig three holes in the same sheltered south-facing spot and plant them. Even if they don't make it through the winter they will probably still flower for a couple more weeks.

Saturday Morning Quote

Today's prize for the most dumb and/or insensitive remark made in this economic climate goes to ex-"Top Chef" host and cookbook author Katie Lee Joel:

“I love real estate. To me, real estate is the ultimate tchotchke. We have five houses; we like our real estate.”
New York Magazine

Most Americans just have to worry about one house, the roof over their heads, but for Katie Lee Joel houses are just collectibles. You can enable her to pick up another real estate ornament by dropping by her book signing tour (if you're quick you can catch her at the Book Revue in Huntington, NY tonight). And with 81,312 homes being repossessed by lenders in September I'm sure they will plenty for her to choose from.

You want to know what kind of tchotchke Katie owns?


Thanks to Domino Magazine you can view her Manhattan townhouse, where she arranges her smaller tchotchkes


Then changes them (and the chairs) out for something more soothing in brown.
And there's more about her Long Island houses over here.

Friday night special: The staying in version

Friday night is cocktail night but as it's also Hallow'een and I really don't want to think of a theme and go sit in a bar dressed up, I thought I'd throw my cocktail on some beef and make Martini Brisket instead. Yes really, brisket and onions in a beefy tomato sauce, finished with vodka, vermouth and olives. What could be better? The ice cold shaken martini that will go in my chilled glass, obviously.
And while I'm happily assembling the ingredients maybe you'd like a little Friday afternoon hiphop with MC Yogi?



Remember Vote for Hope

America

A thought struck me the other day. We've now lived at The Cool House longer than we lived in our previous house on Long Island. The first four years in the States seemed to go by slowly, we learned coping strategies for the huge portions in restaurants but not before we'd each gained five hundred pounds, one of us learned to say watuh so we could get a drink with our meals, and we allowed people to bring coffee and other beverages into our car. In short we adapted. The past four years in this house have simply flown by but in all this time there was one thing that still irked The Guy, there was one image of America he'd gleaned from the movies that had never become reality. He, bless, had thought that anytime a new person moved into the area, neighbors dropped round with pie. Or at least left one on the porch. (I know. He's thinking of 1950s America. Bless again). He'd talked to Americans about this and some had mentioned being given zucchini bread many years ago, but this was in real America not Long Island.

Then on Sunday something happened that renewed The Guy's faith in his dream, his ideal America. A knock at the door, a neighbor bearing a baking dish. Pie? No. Even better, the Awesome Designer sent the Loyal Blog Reader over with Mac 'n' Cheese. Not just any mac 'n' cheese, mind you, but Mac 'n' Cheese with White Truffles. A truly magnificent dish and a gesture that meant so much to The Guy. I swear there were tears in his eyes as he ate it. It might have taken eight years but the spirit of America was embodied in that casserole. Thank you, neighbors.

Now, America, if you'd just get out and vote for Obama on November 4th, you would make my dreams come true, too.

Fall Flavors

OK, it may be autumn but I just got a new paddle for my ice cream maker and I'm in the mood for ice cream. Kind of nuts really - the weather turns chilly and I turn the ice cream maker on but I guess you could always serve it with a steaming slice of pie, right?
Anyway, I have been experimenting with mixes that don't need eggs because no eggs means no cooking and cooling so the whole pocess goes much quicker and, based on the couple of recipes I've made so far, I prefer the taste and the texture.
I was intrigued by this recipe from Jenni Britton of Jenni's Splendid Ice Creams in Columbus Ohio. It uses cornstarch and a little cream cheese but she does boil the milk. I couldn't quite see why it was necessary so I did some more research and found another recipe that didn't. However, it did call for a whole lot of cream cheese - an entire 8oz package! That's a little too much Philly for my taste. So I amalgamated the two and came up with this Maple Syrup and Ginger Ice Cream to celebrate the fall season.

Maple Syrup and Ginger Ice Cream
2 cups whole milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 tbls cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped

Blend cream, milk, cream cheese, sugar, maple syrup and salt until smooth. Churn in ice cream maker and add chopped candied ginger. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze.

Then at the weekend I got in the holiday season with another kind of eggless recipe: Whiskey and Cranberry Sour Cream Ice. This one is based on this recipe from Desert Candy. It turned out to be The Guy's favorite, I slightly preferred the other but I will make them both again and vary the flavorings.

Whiskey and Cranberry Sour Cream Ice
2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup cup sugar
2 tbls maple syrup
3 tbl whisky
I/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Soak the cranberries in the whisky for an hour or so.
2. Blend all other ingredients until smooth. Place in the refrigerator and chill while the cranberries are soaking. Pour cream mix into ice cream maker and add cranberries.
If I were making this again I might add some finely chopped candied orange peel to the churning ice cream to make it even prettier.
There are no photos of the ice cream because it was eaten so quickly so you'll have to be content with the tree that I snapped while waiting for a train on Monday. Pretty, no?

40 years on

Today in the occasional series celebrating the 40th birthday of our house we bring you 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Considered one of the Greatest Films Ever, we attempted to watch this 1968 classic on Thursday evening without the use of psychedelic drugs and we were defeated. It's not that we don't appreciate the metaphors and the message but did it have to take SO. FREAKIN'. LONG?
I actually gave up at the 2 hour mark, yelling "Enough already, I get it at the screen". The Guy, poor fella, who doesn't remember seeing it before, kept saying "Wait, it's nearly over, it must be nearly over". More in desperation than in hope, I think.
For those who can't sit through the iconic movie, or don't have the requisite acid on hand, can I suggest this multilingual site. It explains the movie so you can fake it when challenged by your film buff friends and you save a couple of hours of your life.

Art Deco and All That Jazz

Ok, it was tiny, poorly laid out and badly lit but the Paris/New York: Design Fashion Culture 1925-1940 did have a couple of gems: The radiator grille from the Squibb Building in Manhattan, designed by Buchman & Kahn and the gold on glass panels from the grand hall of the SS Normandie. Then there was a tantalisingly short clip of Josephine Baker performing at a French Revue and a steel model of the Trylon and Perisphere at the 1939 New York World's Fair.
It takes almost as long to read the title of the show as it does to go round it, but really the exhibition was a sort of hors d'oeuvre - it left me hungry to know more about the relationship between the two cities in that inter-war period and reminded me to walk down Fifth Avenue soon to look at the beautiful Art Deco facades we have in New York.

Tuscan Village?

So that outing to The Arches went as well as those who know me predicted it would. I came away with a headache, a new-found admiration for the parking skills of my fellow humans and a promise to NEVER, EVER go to an outlet center again. Oh, and no, thanks for asking, I didn't buy anything either.
I knew it was a bad idea when I sat for twenty minutes waiting to get into the car park. I knew I should have turned around and gone home when the sales assistant on handbags at Saks said "Ignore those special offer prices, there's nothing here at that price. I don't know why they're priced like that, I'm waiting to speak to the manager. Oh, but you can take 20% off any handbag"...? But it was when I heard the sound of a German oompah band playing live on the Via Firenze that I knew I'd come unstuck.
Best overheard remark from two shoppers looking over the home decor section at Neiman Marcus: What's the quickest way from here to T.J. Maxx?"

Beach Finds

I never find anything useful or interesting on the beach - an empty beer bottle maybe or an old cracked comb, doggy poop certainly; but not the sea glass or shells that others seem to pick up so easily. The other day, though, I hit the jackpot - an unspoilt clamshell, a bleached white stone and this piece of amber prettiness. It doesn't take much to make me happy.

Door Lust

If I were building a house I would design it around this pair of burlwood entry doors. Simply stunning, uniquely modern.
Available from Rago Modern Auctions on ebay

Award-winning Restoration

Saturday is for... total admiration and envy. This Frank Lloyd Wright home in Millstone, New Jersey has been rebuilt by architects Lawrence and Sharon Tarantino, who also own the house.


The restoration has been so sympathetic and striking that they won a Wright Spirit Award in the private category from The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, which “honors original or subsequent Wright homeowners who have rescued a building or have demonstrated outstanding stewardship in its conservation”. Read the story of the 20 year process that included being flooded twice, and their unique solutions addressing the problem, here.

Where am I?

Spain?


France?


Italy?


No, somewhere a little closer to home.

Spoiler Alert: Dead Snake

Snake! Snake! It's a snake.

OK, it' s a dead snake, but I have never seen any sort of snake this far north before. I know we have them, I've just never seen one and certainly I never expected to see one flattened on the road outside the Cool House. Such a pity. Click the image to get the full beauty of what's left of his silvery scales. I wonder if he has any family around here?

Can You Hear Me Now?

Dear Verizon and ATT
I hear that you respond favorably to demands from damsels in distress and provide cell phone coverage to those who ask for it, no special favors necessary. I'm therefore asking you to accord me the same service you granted to Cindy McCain, so that I can be heard (and others can hear me) in this important election year 2008.
I know that you didn't grant Ms McCain any special service because Senator McCain's campaign says so: "Mrs. McCain's staff went through the Website as any member of the general public would -- no string pulling, no phone calls, no involvement of Senate staff,"(...) Just because she is married to a senator doesn't mean she forfeits her right to ask for cell service as any other Verizon customer can."
I live in an Incorporated Village where the Board decided in 2005 that we did not need twenty-first century telecommunications. I don't know the reason, the minutes aren't very detailed, but in any case I am denied coverage, which puts me at a disadvantage living in a world dominated by Blackberry's and iPhones. I am out of touch, and it is affecting both my mental health and ability to do business. It also makes us look rather backward to our friends in Europe and Asia who can't believe we live in the greatest country on earth^TM yet still cling to our landlines. I know just how Ms McCain felt missing her text messages, and I think one of those portable cell towers or "cell site on wheels" would be a solution to all my cellphone woes. Maybe you could park it right behind the Village Hall?
I know you don't like to comment on individual customers and their requests but I'm confident you will give my request the same priority you gave the McCain's and I'm looking forward to a favorable outcome and "full bars".
Sincerely
modernemama @ The Cool House.