Fresh



This is a picture of Momo in 1969, right after she was selected as the Queen of the Anna-bal. She doesn't look much different in this picture than she looks today -- though her clothes make me think a little of an Easter egg. . .

. . . a super hot Easter egg . . .


EASTER MAGIC!

Most of the T-D family will be in D.C. for Easter this weekend, and I've been toying with the idea of taking the train down to join in their holiday shenaniganery. Unfortunately though, I have so much work to do over the next few days that the probability of my little sojourn actually happening is very small. Harumph.

While I *probably* won't make it to D.C. for Sunday, I've made a list of what I would do and make if I was there:


1. Decorate some eggs using this tutorial

2. Arrange some tiny egg shell bouquets

3. Make an egg tree (this is actually a Tillemann-Dick family tradition & this one is nothing short of spectacular!)

4. Try to recreate this cake. I'm pretty sure it's made of magic.

*Swoon* 

Bucket list



Premal and I are set to make our big move to Colorado in just under three months.  I still feel rather conflicted about the whole thing, but I’m trying to avoid devoting too much energy to my long list labeled “fears for the near future.”  Instead, I've made a more positive agenda of things to do in D.C. (and surrounding areas) before leaving. Some of the items are classics that I've somehow never gotten around to (i.e. the reading room at the Library of Congress—don’t judge), while others are long shots (dinner at Mini Bar), but most are things I've done a lot, but love so much that I want to be sure to squeeze in a few more memories of them before I’m gone for a good while.

Last night Premal and I tackled one item—a date to Baltimore—on a weeknight-whim. It was one of those evenings when you expect everything to go wrong, but fate surprises you and it all turns out just right. We were both able to get out of work at a decent hour, traffic was a breeze, the play we saw was hilarious, and my favorite college haunt stayed open late just for us. Then we wandered around our old campus gape-mouthed as we ogled the beautiful renovations that have taken place since we bid Hopkins adieu.

It was a quick trip, and I still have a lot of things I’d like to say farewell to in Baltimore before we leave. Yet I won’t be sorry if this is the last memory I make of the place for many, many years.

Sigh, I wonder if saying goodbye, even if it's just for now and not forever,ever gets easier...

Oh, one more thing! The adorable Ms. Jennifer Stagg has a post about us over on her lovely blog withHeart

Surf, Sand, Singing and Manatees


I was in Miami for work last week but it felt more like spring break. We stayed a few days after the performance so we could enjoy the surf, sun and sand with some friends who live nearby. And while I love snow and winter, I couldn't help but enjoy the balmy weather, the company of friends, my one and only Yoni Doron and a few creatures for good measure!

Why is this night different from all other nights?

Because it's Shiloh's birthday! We're so lucky he was born. We love you, Uncle Shi!!

Passover con Queso!

Pretty much the most delicious part of any Passover table is charoset, the sweet, fragrant paste that is supposed to remind us of the mortar used by our enslaved ancestors in Egypt. Traditionally, it's a combination of raw fruits and nuts, chopped or ground together and spiked with cinnamon, honey, sweet wine and lemon. You can vary the combinations with endlessly delightful results: pear/apricot/pistachio; apple/date/almond; fig/chestnut/pomegranate.... People have been making this stuff delicious for a couple thousand years, and I don't have much to add. Except for cheese. Mexican cheese, to be exact.

Details after the jump!

Moving. . . Somewhere? Ask 5.


Dear Five Sisters,

My husband and I are at a crossroads and can choose between A) moving to a place with a stable job in the middle of the desert and B) moving to another continent with nothing but our love, good intentions and entrepreneurial spirit.

In your experience(s), when is the time to make the Smart Choice (and please your in-laws)  and when is the time to make the Awesome Choice on the road less traveled?

Five awesome answers after the jump!

Gingered Matzo Balls With Lemon Grass Broth

Being kosher for Passover is much easier when you have more than matzah brei and maztoh pizza for alternate foods. Here is a new take on Matzo Ball Soup. This lemon grass broth uses coconut cream for depth and lime juice for extra brightness. The sauteed veggies add a crunch and it might become part of your regular repertoire for entertaining. 

Back in Connecticut


Mercina, Shiloh, and I had a dreamy spring break in sun-dappled Colorado, filled with adventures and puppies and good mexican food. But, alas, this morning we awoke to the frost-nipped air of New Haven. suppose it's alright -- as long as they keep a few of these unattended excavators sprinkled around town.I hear tell they're excellent for digging for treasure.

Bundling Blossoms

Happy Spring! I am very ready for some warmer weather (New Haven is still freezing), so I'm hoping the official arrival of spring will result in warmer temperatures. Fresh flowers are such a joy - and when I was home in Colorado over spring break, I indulged my obsession of flower arranging. I picked up a delightful assortment of blossoms at the supermarket. They were lovely....And they called to me....
  • Spray roses = $8
  • Snap Dragons = $8
  • Cool green blooms (not sure what they're called) = $4
  • Red berries = $4
  • Daisies = $5
  • White roses & baby's breath = from my sweet boyfriend
  • Baby daffodils = from our garden
          Total = $29

My rules for buying flowers -
They must strike me as being especially pretty
They must be very fresh
They should be a good deal (I usually get them from the grocery store)
The easiest way to make a lovely arrangement is to get all the same color of flower or all the same type of flower
I always try to stick to a pretty explicit color palate (e.g. pink/yellow/white/cream, red/white/blue, etc.)

The first thing I do after returning with my spoils is find vases for them. I usually try a few before I'm happy. If the arrangement is going to be involved, I stick with a simple vase. If the flowers are on the simpler size, I tend to use more exciting vases.  
Before doing any arranging, I set the flowers in the vase(s) - just to see how they look. 

Sometimes this is *almost* all I do with flowers. A lot of flowers look lovely by themselves in a vase. If I like how they look by themselves, I simply chop off the bottoms of the flowers at an angle -to the desired length, and put them in the a vase full of water.  

If I'm not wholly satisfied with a simple arrangement, I decide what shape of arrangement I want to make. Then I figure out which vase I want to fill - and choose the flowers I want in the center of my arrangement. An old art teacher told me to build my paintings out from the center; that's what I do when I arrange flowers, too. I start with the nucleus and carefully build from there - adding blossoms as I go. I try to use an odd number of each type or color of flower to keep things looking natural.

I alternate between different flowers and sizes. I try to pay attention to the shape of the arrangement, and do a lot of bundling - with rubber-bands and twine - to keep things nice and tight. 

When I have a nice bundle, I put the flowers in my vase, and add loose blossoms and leaves around the edges until the vase is comfortably full.  

I filled 7 vases!

Ahhh.

I love Spring!

Karpas salad


I appreciate a good cry. I've indulged in them in taxis, at work, on the toilet, and that's just in the past few weeks. I'm pretty sure there are some sweet health benefits that come from exercising the good ol' lacrimal glads, so why not honor tears at the table. The Seder table no less, where a lot of us will be close to tears anyway due to the fact that we've already been there for 4 hours, and all we really want is a big crusty piece of bread--or maybe cake. Yeah, probably cake.

Anyway. My salad, inspired by the karpas--or herbs dipped in salt water in remembrance of tears our people wept while they were slaves in Egypt--is actually nothing to weep over. That is unless they are tears of joy. This salad is delicious. And pretty. So, cry for our people* this Passover, but not for your belly, 'cause we got yo back.



KarpasSalad
  •          1 bunch curly parsley
  •          1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
  •          2 cups arugula
  •          1 bunch white radishes
  •          ½ cup dried cherries (chopped)
  •          ¼ cup quick preserved lemons (recipe below)
  •          Olive oil
  •          Honey
  •          Greek yogurt

Remove parsley leaves from stems, wash and dry all greens. Wash and dry radishes, then using a mandolin, slice them suuuuuper thin. Throw all of that in a bowl. Throw there cherries in there too. Separate lemon chunks from lemon juices, saving both. Give the lemon chunks a quick rinse under cold water, and dry them. Now, carefully, throw them in your bowl. Take some of your saved salty/sour/sugary lemon juices and mix them with some olive oil. Taste. If it’s good, that’s dressing. If it’s too sour add some honey, too salty add some yogurt and/or more oil, basically, adjust to taste.

Who’s crying now?    




Quick Preserved Lemons
  •          Lemon
  •          Equal parts salt and sugar

Cut the lemon into small pieces (about the size of my pinky-tip, which means, I don’t know, ½ x ¼ inch strips?), and place in a bowl (or jar if you’re planning to save some for later). Add the sugar and salt, with 2 tablespoons each for every lemon used. Let sit for at least an hour, and as long as a day before using or moving to the fridge for storage.  


*This salad, while well suited for the occasion, is totally not confined to pesach consumption. In fact, its deliciousness is constant regardless of when or by whom it is eaten!  

Pasta for Passover: Fried Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Goat Cheese and Preserved Lemon


As Yoni and I prepare for Pesach, there is an endless list of things that aren't kosher for Passover. So I've decided to focus on what we CAN eat! Last week, we did an unlevened test run. The result was some of the best food I've ever had. We'll share more recipes over the weekend, but here is a preview...


Rainbows




Apparently, at the end of ours, there's blue cheese...

Capital bound on a budget? Ask 5.

Q: On Saturday, I board the Empire Builder in Seattle and, for 46 hours, get to bumble about on a train until I reach Washington D.C. on Tuesday. I have six days (and a limited budget) to saturate myself with this village. Any suggestions on what to do with a day? I don't plan on eating out (lentils, onions, and rice for dayz), but if I were to, are there any places that would be worth throwing dollars at (or nicely handing the dollars to the folks)? Favourite tree?



As:

Smelly



Perfume. I want some.

I think that I'm looking for something not too flowery or sweet, but pleasant smelling none the less. I'm not sure whether I want something deep and cozy or fresh and bright (my research has informed me that these are appropriate words with which to describe nasal phenomena), but I'm thinking something in either of those ranges. Apparently, I have no shortage of options.

For the time being, I'm carless and lazy, so my research has been relegated to the webisphere. But I want to get to the. . . perfume store(?) over Spring Break. Here are the type of scents I've found intriguing thus far.

(Note: Yes, there is a pattern of inelegant exactness in the below perfumes' titles; internet fragrance research favors the explicitly named)



These next four all fall into the category of 'Things I Rarely Ever Smell Like":

    Je Reviens Worth


And these are in the "Generally Splendid Smells" category:


So what do you smell like? . . . I'm not sure if that question could be much creepier.

Taking into account the context of this post, what do you smell like? (Still creepy.)

Do you have any suggestions for scents I should try once I get my lazy bum to the perfumery?

Crusty Peasant Bread

Last November, a wonderful friend taught me how to make this magical bread. It's crazy good, and super simple; it only requires four ingredients! We whipped up four loaves yesterday; they were scrumptious. Do yourself a favor and make some TONIGHT! 




Recipe after the jump

Ask away!


$67 billion is a lot of money. It could buy you an airplane, and a pony, and a private island off the coast of Italy. It could buy you jewels, and paintings, and box seats at every opera house in the world. It could buy you a city’s worth of sports teams and the stadiums to go with ‘em. $67 billion is enough to buy you a soapbox.

In case you couldn’t tell, I met Bill Gates last week. In general I’m not one to swoon over celebrity, but as I prepped for Mr. Gates' on stage interview (as well as the one for Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs biography) I became fascinated by the idea of him. I had two running lists, one of questions my boss would ask him, and one of things I couldn’t help but wonder. Guess which these are from?

Do you have a hard time trusting new friends?
What did you dream about last night? 
When was the last time you had your heart broken?
On that note, what made you go after Melinda?
What felt better, making your first million, or giving it away?
What’s one question you wish people would stop asking you?



Big thanks to Gary FongGreg Schneider and Carter Smith not only for their lovely photos, but also for their fantastic company! You guys are great! 


How about you? If you had Bill Gate’s attention, what would you ask him? 
Folks on Reddit did just that a while ago, here are his answers!

In Tandem


 

 Yoni and I have a new tradition. Instead of getting one another gifts that we may or may not like, we get something we both want. For Valentine's day, we got a tandem bike. It's something we've wanted for a long time but seemed too expensive to get on a whim. The place we got it is in this tiny town in Maryland. They have over 2500 bikes and one of the biggest collections of tandems in the country. Ours id a fully restored, All-American 1970 Schwinn. It looks like something out of a print media campaign and rides like a dream. Today we took our first, real ride.

Me and my Eternal Man Friend at the Lincoln Memorial; Washington Monument; Yoni with the US Capitol; The Smithsonial; Also... Since I ride in the back, I can take pictures and bike, text and bike, take selfies on the bike... I feel like such a bad citizen, but it's kind of fun; The National Gallery; Then the guys of The Delta Routine asked us for directions to a bar. Since we weren't very helpful, we let them check out our rad ride instead... Actually, I asked them to because I thought it would make a cute picture.. then i didn't look cute... onto other things .... ; Out various modes of transportation. 

As the pictures indicate, we had a pretty good time...