Love and other drugs…like sea salt… September 6, 2011

Chirpy-chirpy....a hot mama cardinal is in the house!!

You may remember when I came upon the body of a female cardinal in  my yard earlier this summer….killed by Muffy the ca,t is my guess, though I didn’t catch her in the act. But all summer long, I have heard and watched her mate call for her in the trees…and he never gave up. “Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp“…all summer…it’s been heartbreaking.

But this morning, I heard a weird chirping( not sure how to describe it but it caught my attention) in the front yard. I peeked out…and there was a female cardinal, clearly showing off for someone…and  on the other side of the walk, acting all cool, was my male cardinal, pecking at the ground, as though he didn’t notice. I think they are in some kind of mating dance. And while I don’t know the male is my heartbroken friend…and I don’t know for sure this is a new female, that’s what I hope has happened..that he has found a new lady love. Wouldn’t that be the best??

This weekend was spent cleaning up after the storm, so when someone asks, “How was your holiday weekend?”….I worked Labor Day, and the rest of the weekend, didn’t feel that ….weekendesque, if you know what I mean. But we didn’t lose power, a tree didn’t fall on the house, and the basement stayed dry…so all is good.

Love, love, love roasted red peppers!!

Did venture out to the Farmer’s Market Sunday morning…fearful of traffic…because of the road race downtown. Misplaced fears though…no traffic and I would say foot traffic was off by at least 30 % at the market, probably because others were scared off by traffic too.  But I bought some great, end of season red and yellow peppers….sliced them up and tossed with olive oil and sea salt, and roasted them.

Morton's gets in on the sea salt craze...

And speaking of sea salt, even Morton’s caught onto the sea salt craze….though theirs isn’t little chunks of salt, but looks like the regular stuff.

The lovely Jennifer emailed me the other day about a new place that has opened in the West Village called The Meadow-here….it is completely devoted to…yep, salt of every description.

Mark Bitterman...salt guru...

And the place looks very cool….it’s the brain child of chef Mark Bitterman(whom you may have seen on The Today Show) …one reviewer gushes “It will change the way you cook“….doubtful. Doubtful. But you can buy slabs of Himalayan sea salt, on which you actually cook food! Or in their words..” a 500 million year old slab of luminous pink salt quarried from a primordial salt deposit in Pakistan ”…..ok. The Meadow also offers cooking classes for the oh so very few of us who do NOT know how to cook on a salt slab(or why).

Maldon sea salt....of course.

For my money though, Maldon is the best sea salt…beautiful flakes that you can crush between your fingers….. as Dan Crane from  Slate magazine said about Maldon…“It’s half the price of a movie ticket in New York City. Shut up and buy this salt.” And fyi, at a website called Saltworks, you can buy a 8.5 oz box of Maldon for $6.49 and free shipping(and tons of other salts as well)…while that same amount at The Meadow will run you $11.50. I guess it’s the location….West Village real estate ain’t cheap.

Eat chi-chi-chia…turning oatmeal into a super meal! February 3, 2011

So cute...so tasty???

Yes, that chia…the wonder-pet-turned-1980s-phenomenon….Remember the commercial that we saw over and over and over and over…..for those of you too young to remember…here you go!

This is the new look for Chia....

But what you may not know about chia, which was once a staple for Native Americans in the southwest and the Aztecs long ago,  is that it’s the latest superfood-read more here…chock full of antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. If you were to put a spoonful of chia seeds in a glass of water, and left it for 15 minutes…you’d find the seeds had become almost a gelatin substance…the reaction is the result of the soluble fiber in chia. Supposedly, that gel creates a barrier in the tummy between carbohydrates and the digestive enzymes that break them down, so it slows the converting of carbs into sugar…all good! How do I use chia? 

I love these oats, and there's a quick cook method...

 On Sunday night I make a big pot of “steel cut” oatmeal( the quick way is throw a cup of oats in 4 cups of boiling water and just let it sit overnight)…put in a good helping of chia seeds, and the next morning…you have a wonderful breakfast that could last all week…depending on how many people are eating it.

Blueberries..always....

You could even put the chia-oatmeal in a loaf pan and then cut slices in the mornings, and heat it in the microwave, add some honey or artificial sweetener, some blueberries and some walnuts(also good for omega 3s)….

Love love love the walnuts...

and you have a super-quick, fiber-filled, antioxidant and omega-3 rich delicious breakfast. Don’t even tell me you don’t have time for that. Oh, and you can add chia seeds to almost anything… a salad, soup, a stew, baked goods, smoothies or soaked in fruit juice(chia fresca in Mexico)..you name it. And as for where to get them, I get mine at Whole Foods, but they’re also available online, usually around $6.99 a pound.

Doing business in my pjs….Life as we know it online… November 19, 2010

Mark, in the corner, is the guide...

It’s true…I had on my Ugg boots(of course), my favorite( and truly ancient) flannel, bright Hawaiian print pj bottoms(from Delia’s-remember them?), a sweater…and a cup of coffee in hand and a bowl of oatmeal at my side, as I sat down to close on a refinance of our house…online.

This all started a couple of months ago…like many people…with a 6% interest rate, I was thinking, I can do a heck of a lot better. And as I am already an ING customer….I get their emails…one of them talked about a refinance with incredibly low interest rates. Hmmmmm…why would I NOT do that? And as it turned out, the interest rate we got(2.99%-I know, unreal, right?), was the best anywhere…a fixed  5 year loan. In 5 years….that mortgage is finished, kaput, put a fork in it, sister.

 

Coffee, oatmeal, online closing...check.

I haven’t seen one person…in person anyway…I’ve spoken to a couple via phone over a couple of minor snafus, which were fixed pretty easily. And this morning,  guy named Mark from Iclose, who couldn’t see me(thank goodness-I was pretty rugged), but we could see him, talking us thru the closing “papers” which you saw on your computer screen, asking the questions that needed to be asked, and explaining things along the way. We can download the final documents on paper, or to a disc. All you needed was computer access, high speed internet, and a phone. Seriously, people have been as amazed as I’ve been, that you can close on a house…in your pajamas. I  love 2010!

Grey flannel sneakers, anyone? Anyone??

Ok, here’s something weird that happened yesterday….I received a  big box of shoes (that I did not order) and no one seems to have a record of this order either. They’re grey flannel sneakers(pretty sharp looking actually) from some company in California. I have no idea why they were shipped to me…about 6 or 7 pair, $320 worth, in all different sizes. ????????????????????? My first task is to find out if I was charged for the mystery order(hello), and then figure out what to do with it. I’ll let you know if I have shoes to give away. In the meantime, have a fabulous weekend, get the house all ready for Thanksgiving, and don’t throw rocks…at anyone…no matter how much you feel like it. And come home safe, ’cause we miss you. ♥