spacekadet

Cooked this tonight with Rachel and Dave. We used Mahi Mahi, which worked well, and paired deliciously with wild rice and a bottle of Tempranillo.

The yogurt marinade was light and indeed, very fragrant. We made extra for veggie kebabs. I thought it was especially well suited for eggplant.

We recommend omitting the fennel - it was weird. But maybe we don't know our arse from our elbow when it comes to fennel.

The cilantro and lime are essential!

Indian Grilled Fish Skewers in Fragrant Yogurt Sauce

Courtesy of: Central Market

4 servings

1 1/2 pounds firm white fish, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup plain yogurt
1 serrano chile, seeded
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of cloves
2 large red bell peppers, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 large fennel bulb, separated, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 large green bell peppers, cut into 2-inch pieces
chopped fresh cilantro
lime wedges

Rinse the fish and pat dry. Place the fish in a shallow glass dish. Combine the yogurt, serrano chile, ginger, cardamom, coriander, cumin, peppercorns, salt, turmeric, cinnamon and cloves in a blender container and process until smooth. Pour the yogurt sauce over the fish. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours. Thread red pepper, fennel, green pepper and fish onto skewers, repeating the process twice on each skewer. Grill over medium-hot coals for 7 to 8 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork, turning one-fourth turn every 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and lime.

Posted by monica at 08:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

the "Christo and Jeanne-Claude" exhibit opened this weekend at the Austin Museum of Art. Christo and Jeanne-Claude are a married couple who envisioned and produced "The Gates" in New York City's Central Park last year. today i learned that "The Gages" project was in the works since 1979: it took 26 years to get the City's approval to install the 7,503 gates running for 23 miles throughout the park. in fact, it's so difficult to obtain permits for their vast environmental undertakings, that only 18 of their projects have been produced.

the AMOA exhibit consists mostly of conceptual drawings of proposed installations. these works are incredible in their own right - in fact, Christo and Jeanne-Claude self-fund their installations by selling their artwork. looking at these sketches, it's easy to assume that they are portraits of the installed works. but they become even more beautiful when you realize that these are actually portraits of their vision before the works were ever installed. according to Christo, the two are always blown away when they realize that the installed piece is even more beautiful than they could possibly imagine (the biographical video is yet another highlight of the exhibit; Christo is clearly the spokeswoman for the duo, and their banter is adorable).

i would have really loved to have seen "Valley Curtain", installed in 1972 in Rifle, Colorado, between Grand Junction and Glenwood Spring in the Grand Hogback Mountain Range. It's a sad story, really: just 28 hours after completion of the Valley Curtain, a gale estimated in excess of 60mph made it necessary to start the removal of the piece.

Posted by monica at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well worth a listen. Mary J. Blige is amazing. Great interview, and great clip of her and Bono singing "One".

(Image above by Annie Leibovitz.)

All Things Considered, January 21, 2006

Before there was any such thing as American Idol, kids who aspired to singing careers had to find other paths to stardom. In 1989, a young girl from the New York projects stepped into a Karaoke booth at a White Plains mall and sang an Anita Baker tune. Today it's Mary J. Blige's songs that young girls sing.Along with the Grammys and the glitz, Blige has been to some very dark places along the way. Her music is a candid commentary on what she's been through. She talks with Debbie Elliott about her latest album, The Breakthrough.

Posted by monica at 09:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

i've really taken to my saturday morning grocery routine at the central market. i love food (this goes without saying) and central market is nicely browseable, with samples a'plenty. it's a nice change from the rushed after-work pitstop at Wheatsville to buy eggs or cottage cheese or whatever it is i plan to subsist on for the next night and day.

this afternoon, before drowning myself in a sea of edible bliss, i decided to visit central market's neighbor, The Gap. i am a girl, after all, and sometimes we girls need to buy new things, just for the novelty of it all (that, and i needed a pair of sweat pants and the gap is one of the few semi-tolerable clothing shops in my radius of "bikeable Austin").

(a temporary distraction: i'm writing this from the Flight Path, where i normally adore my light columbian roast coffee and relative anonymity, but when i walked in, a large group of people, apparently having some sort of meeting, turned and looked at me as if they were expecting me to join them. i decided i was being overly self aware and headed for the coffee counter. after finding coffee and a seat, i only then realized that the group was clearly a 'ghey' girl thing. i'm not sure what they're meeting about; they don't seem to be talking about lesbians, or vaginas, so what do lesbian clubs meet for? simple solidarity i suppose. ok, i'm talking like an asshole. really i'm just jealous. i want to be in a club! i want to be in on the scene! but i just can't join a club based solely on sexual preference alone. sigh, yet again, i am stymied by my inability to understand the social fabric of society.)

back to groceries, cycling, and other routines i adore. as many of you know, this year i i became a full-time bicycle commuter. this has been a life-changing experience in a most positive and exciting way. since i now rely on a bicycle alone for all of my city travel, i have also discovered all sorts of life-changing bicycle accessories that i've come to adore.

after today's afternoon of joyous consuming, i have to pay homage to my bicycle panniers, aka saddlebags, aka rear bicycle bags.

my panniers are red Ortlieb Backroller Classics. when i first bought them, i was a little alarmed by their design: imagine a very large plastic grocery bag, with its top open. what? no zips? i was skepticle. but it didn't take me long to fully appreciate the simplicity of their design. two simple waterproof bags with no sub pockets to worry about, simply roll the top to close, snap them on the rear rack (which takes ~6.54 sections) and wa-la.

these bags have changed my life!

in addition to my bag of gap shopping (which included sweat pants and 3 shirts), my panniers also fit 5 bags worth of groceries:

1 dozen eggs
1 tub of yogurt
1 tub of cottage cheese
1 L of soy milk
1 bottle of wine (tempranillo)
1 pack of garden burgers
1 loaf of bread
1 pack of tortillas
1 package of pasta
1 box of cereal
2 Texas-sized grapefruit
1 orange
4 apples
2 pears
1 bunch of spinach
1 head of broccoli
1 red onion
1 green pepper
3 tomatoes
5 bananas
1 tube of toothpaste
mushrooms
granola
muesli
peanut butter
couscous
ground cumin
horseradish
cheese (feta)

my mind is officially blown. and guess what: my bike still rode like a dream.

Posted by monica at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

jason visited austin. we had a blast and i took some pictures.

the parlor has a myspace account (too bad myspace is t3h suck).

i acquired two life-changing camping tools: a headlamp, and a campstove (the msr "pocket rocket" - ultralight, pocket-sized, a dream for morning tea and oatmeal lovers!)

i biked over 100 miles last weekend, from austin to buescher state park, and back. this made me feel unstoppable, powerful, and tired!

i worked over 50 hours this week. this made me feel ambitious, cranky, and tired!

i started taking yoga. meanwhile, tracey's started her own yoga studio, Tapas Yoga, in new orleans. it opens TODAY! congratulations to tracey!

Posted by monica at 08:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Splooge.

Powered by a dual-core Intel engine. Up to four times the speed of the PowerBook G4. Eight times the graphics bandwidth. With built-in iSight for instant video conferencing on the move. And Front Row with Apple Remote to dazzle everyone in the room. Wait no more. MacBook Pro starts at just $1999.

It's time for a real income.

Posted by monica at 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Body Building, Cap Canaveral, Florida, 1993
Photograph by David Lachapelle.
Proceeds from the sale of this card benefit God's Love We Deliver, Inc.

(Thanks for the postcard, Matt!)

Posted by monica at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by monica at 04:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

new year's day 2006 fell on a sultry Austin Sunday. most of the city's usual dwellers were elsewhere, recovering from hangovers in places with far more livelier new year's eve offerings. so Austin itself seemed very sleepy, trafficless, still, but warm and sunny and beautiful. i like Austin during UT's intersession - i feel like i have the city to myself.

together, Austin and i eased into the new year at a Turtle's pace, joining Rachel, Dave and Friends at Friend's Delicious Condo in east austin for brunch. would could be finer than afternoon omelets, french toast, and mimosas?

Rachel's Buttery Bliss Hallah Toast

* 1 loaf of hallah bread
* 1 cup orange juice
* 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1 dash ground nutmeg
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar for dusting

1. Cut loaf ends off and reserve for nibbling. Cut remaining loaf into 1 1/2 inch slices.
2. In a 9x13 inch baking pan, combine orange juice, cream, eggs ground cinnamon and white sugar. Place bread slices in pan and turn until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
3. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add bread slices and cook until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Dust generously with confectioners' sugar and serve warm.

Posted by monica at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey, happy new year! Just 2 days into 2006 and already I'm frantically trying to accomplish this years' goals.

1. Move away from Austin
2. Cycle Europe
3. Get a new job.
4. Find a home I can settle in for a while.
5. Find the courage to accept the things I cannot changet, etc., etc., and so forth...

So how do I align 1. with 2. with 3.? I'd like to have a job lined up for after I accomplish 3. But what if I get a job offer? Would I put 3. on hold or turn the offer down? Can I accomplish 3 prior to 2. and 1.? Or does 5. really need to come first? And why is 5. the scariest thing of them all? 4. is really optional, more of a best case scenario provided 1. and 3. go according to plan.

Plan? No matter how much planning I do, 2006 is poised to be just as crazy as 2005. But this time, I hope to have a little bit more control over the changes. Let the changes roll with me, I say.

What is the human mind
If not a conscious and constant
Comfort-search-attempt?
- Sri Chinmoy

I learned about Sri Chinmoy from the Victory Banner Restaurant, a slice of veggie heaven in Roscoe Village on Chicago's north side.

From the VB website:

All of us who work here are students of meditation, and study with the Indian Spiritual Master Sri Chinmoy. The restaurant is a reflection of the impact Sri Chinmoy has had on our lives, and it is inspired by him. His philosophy encourages a sincere inner life with an active outer life. By meditating on the spiritual heart, he teaches, the seeker can discover his own inner treasures of peace, joy, light and love.

Posted by monica at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)