I have been practicing Chinese cuisine with the help of my new cookbook “Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking” by Fuchsia Dunlop. So far every recipe has been quite easy to manage and the results have been great.

the lovely vineyards of Sonoma County

all this garbage makes me so sad…

Yummy Indian spiced scrambled eggs, I can’t to to try to make this for my husband, when I get home…

The view out my bedroom window, I switched to a larger room with a balcony for $2 more! :-)

Most of my clothes already looks like it was made in India! Ha!

Balcony reflections.

Pink on pink!  Someone left this Lonely Planet guide on the balcony.

Heading to Montréal for Mutek every year is always very inspirational and fun! Here are some vacation snapshots.

Jeff Mills

Jeff Mills

Jeff Mills

St. James Church exterior

St. James Church interior

St. James Church interior

Old Fashioned Camera Shop

Kink

Alex Smoke

Public Lover

Public Lover

Alex Smoke & Bryan

Palais des congrès de Montréal

Palais des congrès de Montréal

I love the new steps at SAT, light peaks through the glass circles

Fresh dumplings being made in Chinatown!

After a decadent Syrian food meal with Peter Van Hoesen and friends

It is always hard for me to sum up a trip. I have been going to Detroit every year for the past 4 years. This year was a bit different because we threw 3 parties at the beautiful dark wood lined club Oslo. So it was less of a rave vacation and it was more about working and party picture taking.

Our trip started out with a delicious techno family meal at Roast. I ate the best marinated smoked salmon ever to cross my lips. Chef Jeff made sure I had plenty to eat as everyone else munched on meaty treats like beef cheek and bone marrow.

Gratia, Eric, Jan

We ate like kings before The Bunker Detroit party with Jan Krueger, Derek Plaslaiko, Spinoza performing. I managed to take these photos in almost total darkness.

…and at the party I met this lovely celebrating couple that met exactly a year ago in Detroit

photos by Seze Devres

For the past two years my favorite food podcast has been the Splendid Table.  Even if you are not a big foodie the host Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s laugh and amazing personality is enough to keep your interest.  And every week she has the fabulous Jane and Michael Stern talk about their Road Food adventures.  You can download to her very informative podcast here.   She is not to be missed!

Happy birthday to Fannie Merritt Farmer (23 March 1857 – 15 January 1915).  She is know for writing one of the first cookbooks with precise measurements, her basic recipes are still my favorite.

Fannie Farmer’s Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients
pinch Cayenne
2 cups Elbow Macaroni dried
2 tblspoons Butter
2 tblspoons Flour
1 1/4 cups Milk heated
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese grated
1 1/2 cups Buttered Bread Crumbs

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
3. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don’t let it brown – about 2 minutes.
4. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more..
6. Stir in cup grated Cheddar cheese during the last 2 minutes of cooking, along with a pinch of cayenne pepper.
7. Remove from the heat
8. Butter a 1 -quart casserole.
9. Put the cooked macaroni into the casserole, pour the cheese sauce over it, and mix gently with a fork.
10. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the top and spread the crumbs over the cheese.
11. Bake, uncovered, until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes.

oh my this is perfect

4 Homemade Pizzas

+ Turkish Fig Princess – fig, blue cheese, rosemary and mozzarella
+ Pear Shaped Lady – pear, blue cheese, mozzarella and tomato sauce
+ Pixie Pixel’s  Pepperoni & Pesto Pizza – tomato sauce, mozzarella, fake pepperoni, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts & my homemade pesto
+ From the Greek Gods – tomato sauce, mozzarella, black olives, Feta, cherry tomatoes
and a Fresh Salad with a Pomegranate Apricot Mustard Vinaigrette

This is so pretty even though I never eat gelatin.
Photo and source from the Adventures of Food Slut Blog, thanks for the link Abigail.

In 2003 I had a solo show in Marsellies, France. Abi, Kim and I bought last minute tickets to France to attend my opening. It was one of the best decisions we ever made. We had an amazing time together and the best part was the few days spent in Paris. One day Kim and I randomly wandered into one of the oldest and most elegant tea salons in the world, Ladurée. I was vegan at the time but there was no way I could resist the rose petal adorned pastries and floral scented teas. ahhhhh…

Marie Antoinette (2006) directed by Sofia Coppola

Squirrel Shack

02.25.08 | No Comments

Category: food

As I was eating the amazing decadent stuffed mushroom veggie burger at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, I noticed a chubby squirrel eating directly out of a packet of mayonnaise!!!

photo by Seze