Lefferts Gardens Dreaming

I won't be updating for a while yet, because A. and I are getting ready to move to Brooklyn on the first! We've been cooking lots but all stuff I've posted about before: crusted tofu with baked potato and broccolini, mac 'n' cheese, and pizza. Maybe soon I'll put up a quick pic and recipe of the simple but delicious tomato sandwich A. makes.

Favorable product review: I've been snacking on Amande almond yogurt and I advise you do the same if you're missing that particular dairy product. Best flavors are peach, coconut, and vanilla with fresh strawberries and banana.

Unfavorable product review: The mint chocolate chip flavor of Tofutti Cuties = wack attack. They should rebrand for that flavor only as Tofurri Curries, because the aftertaste of the minty chemicals cycles through caraway to garam masala.

What you see above is the fruit platter my mom put together for lunch a few days ago. Thanks for sending me the photo, Dad!

And now for a poem.

Lefferts Gardens is the name given to a residential neighborhood in Flatbush in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Lefferts Gardens is a good buy for families looking for a more affordable (for the moment) version of their favorite Brooklyn nabes. Lefferts Gardens is served by the B/Q subway line, as well as the 2 and 5 trains and is a relatively short commute from Manhattan. Lefferts Gardens is getting in on the action too. Lefferts Gardens is the #106 most walkable neighborhood in New York. Lefferts Gardens is in limbo. Lefferts Gardens is lined with dozens of hair salons. Lefferts Gardens is the new Brooklyn Heights? Lefferts Gardens is one of the select locations where we're testing this experience.

Nietzsche is Dead Ethiopian Stew with Kale and Bulgar

Friedrich Nietzsche died in 1900. I like to imagine his ghost and the Holy Ghost in eternal and mutually resentful company.

We're back in Providence again after a week and a half in Ontario. Best part of that trip: Canada's Wonderland, which was nothing short of wonderful (even with expensive bad food). The best ride ever! (This endorsement brought to you by the future self of a child traumatized by Disney World's Rocky Mountain Railroad.)

(The quality of food photos will here and henceforth regress due to poor lighting.) Last night A.'s friend came over for dinner. I made this Ethiopian stew from Vegan Dad; A. steamed some red kale and made bulgar. She also whipped up her signature salad dressing (oil, vinegar, garlic, shallot, spices, magic) to put over arugula.

Hurricane Irene is on the way. We're going shopping for bottled water, something I never imagined I'd do. Prepare the ark for Providence floods.

Latest installment of A Thousand K.s: "Book how?"

Taliesin Portabello Mushroom Burger with Mashed Potatoes and Broccolini

On August 15, 1914 one of Frank Lloyd Wright's servants, Julian Carlton, set fire to the living quarters of the Taliesin studio in Iowa. He then murdered seven people with an axe, including Wright's mistress and her two children. Carlton survived but died in jail six weeks later. Wright built Taliesin II, only to have it burn down again (due to accident) little more than ten years later. Taliesin III still stands.

The US is not a place of pure evil, it turns out, but only a place where people do evil things, as in all places. A. called her insurance provider this morning, and was only on the phone for half an hour before settling that she did not have another US insurance plan and so does not have to pay the several exorbitant bills she received. And her wallet turned out not to be lost but only hidden under some posters designed by our friend D., which say: "Hope keeps you down." Not losing things will raise you up.

Last night, A. made what you see above: mm-MM! Ingredients and directions involve guesswork on my part.

servings: 2

prep. time: approx. 45 min.

INGREDIENTS:

2 large portabello mushrooms

1 red bell pepper, cut into 6-8 strips

red onion, sliced

hot banana pepper rings

arugula

balsamic vinegar

olive oil

Vegenaise

cayenne

1 clove garlic, pressed

olive oil
lots of lemon juice

brocollini

2 Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 Tbsp. Earth Balance

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

almond milk

salt

pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Rub balsamic vinegar and olive oil on the mushrooms. Bake for 30 min., or until tender.

2. Boil the potatoes in water. When a fork goes through them, drain and mash in a bowl with the garlic, nutmeg, Earth Balance, and as much almond milk as it takes to get the potatoes creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Fry the broccolini over medium heat. Do the same for the red pepper, but get it hot enough to char a little.

4. To prepare the aioli, whisk the Vegenaise with olive oil and garlic. Mix in cayenne.

5. Put the burgers together, with the ingredients listed above or whatever else you want.

"We begin bombing in five minutes" Stuffed Peppers with Tzatziki

On August 11, 1984 Ronald "Satan's Little Helper" Reagan was about to deliver an address on NPR and made the following sound check joke, which later got leaked: "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." The USSR condemned the joke, but what they really should have done is begin bombing the US in five minutes so that the latter wouldn't develop into the Land of the Negatively Free, Home of the Cowardly. So that its politics wouldn't devolve into a theater of absurdist tragedy, that it wouldn't promise equality while fucking the working class over and over again, that it wouldn't etc. A. had to spend some time in the outpatient center of a VA hospital not so long ago, and now she's getting billed an amount of money one could live on for six months. Bricks + windows = justice.

Before the bills ruined our weekend, lovely A. made some lovely stuffed peppers for a couple of friends. She used this recipe, and added oregano and tzatziki made with Tofutti sour cream. As it turns out, bulgar is so delicious and we didn't even suspect.

I'm having trouble writing right now because the bills are emanating toxicity. I leave you with my latest and greatest film review.

Anne Hathaway is Dead: Travel Update

Not that Anne Hathaway! Shakespeare's wife died August 6, 1623. She was eight years older than her husband and is the subject of some rather dull scholarship.

Haven't updated in many moments because A. and I have been doing some moving around. We were in the Okanagan at A.'s friend's family's orchard last weekend. Their pet turtle, Turtle, fed on little fish until he finally let one grow up. Now Turtle has a constant companion and make-out partner in Fish. (Literary response forthcoming.) We are house-sitting for another of A.'s friends. A recent night, a raccoon knocked down a window screen, sauntered downstairs to eat all the cat food, ripped open a bag of cat food and dragged it back upstairs and out the window. (Pest control response probably, unfortunately, forthcoming.)

The above meal is lentils with grapeseed oil and lemon, pepperoncini, and fried onions, rice, and kale.

In A.'s hand is a cookie I've forgotten the name of. It's Italian. 4-5 c. water mixed with 1 c. olive oil, 1 c. white wine (careful, vegans), 1 c. sugar, and 2 Tbsp. anise seeds. Can't remember the name of the cookbook that recipe comes out of.

Yesterday's lunch, above. Rice cooked with Earth Balance spread and a clove of garlic (minced); cauliflower, black beans, and little Roma tomatoes cooked with cumin, cayenne, Montreal steak spice, two cloves of garlic, (minced, sliced), and lime juice; Tofutti sour cream; lime slice.

Last night we went to dinner at Paradise Vegetarian Noodle House in Burnaby. It was noise-making good. The fake meats are incredible, as are the stuffed eggplant and spring rolls. And you can watch Supreme Master TV to your heart's content.

New comic.