A poster of an old rodeo: Discovering John Prine

Make me an angel 

That flies from Montgomery 

Make me a poster 

Of an old rodeo 

Just give me one thing 

That I can hold on to 

To believe in this livin' 

Is just a hard way to go 

These are the words I heard on the subway platform yesterday after work, and I scrambled to jot them down before the train came and whisked me away from the ethereal busker I had found. I only heard a few lines but the song really resonated with me - maybe because I'm trying to figure out my place in this world, maybe because I have a tendency to get restless, or maybe just because I'm a sucker for a good crooner. Regardless, I had to know more about this song, and I was hoping it was a cover as I'll probably never see that particular busker again. Luckily enough I discovered it's called Angel From Montgomery, written by John Prine in 1971 and made famous by Bonnie Raitt in 1974 on her album, Streetlights. 

I always enjoy Bonnie Raitt when she shows up on a playlist and I routinely make a mental note to check her out  but somehow she seems to consistently get buried on my never ending lists of other things to do. That is about to change. Both Raitt's lovely voice and Prine's sober lyrics leave me wanting more. And that's just what I'll get this weekend when I curl up with my iPod and a large pot of tea (with maybe a little bourbon in there for good measure). 

;-)

Tea Nerd Moment

This past weekend marked the 8th (2nd for me) annual Coffee and Tea Festival NYC, thousands of square feet of tables filled with special brews for your tasting pleasure. I sipped and sampled for hours until all the caffeine finally hit me and I bolted for some food :-) I did however pickup a few great blends before jitters set in. This years shindig was held at the 69th Regiment Armory, a national historic landmark that still houses the US 69th Infantry Regiment and hosts special events in it's spare time.

One of the more interesting vendors (if you can call it that) was Michele Brody's Reflections In Tea, a sort of  ongoing performance art piece where volunteers sit down for a cup of tea and a chat inside Michele's lovely house/cabin sculpture assembled with copper pipes and stained tea-bags. 

image courtesy of michelebrody.com at the Brenda Taylor Gallery NY, NY

These chats organically evolve into a discussion about a moment in each volunteer's life in which tea plays a role. The resulting story is then immortalized on a tea bag and absorbed into the ever growing art piece. 

....

What goes best with tea? Honey of course! 

And what do you do with all the left over bees wax?

Make adorable bunnies and honey bear shaped candles!!! I took a few home for myself!

Lasty, I'll briefly mention the gift bag/totes we got upon arrival. 

I was really looking forward to these. They come filled with plenty of samples, just in case you didn't get your fill throughout the day, as well as yummy snacks! Short bread cookies, delicious KIND Fruit and Nut bars, and these awesome boxes full of single serving flavored agave packets - perfect for traveling or keeping in my desk at work :-) 

It was a fun day hanging with Mom - my tea partner in crime! 

Maybe next year I'll even sign up to be a vendor, who knows. 

Growing Garlic

I know that this picture looks odd. What the hell are those green chutes popping out of the little glass jar? you may ask. That my friend, is living breathing garlic. Apparently when you stick a garlic clove in a little bit of water, roots suddenly appear overnight. And within another day or two, these fresh looking green stalks show up. This is really my first experiment at growing anything in my LES apartment (unless you count a Christmas Bush that I didn't water enough and promptly returned to it's original owner directly following the holiday) but so far - so good.

I trimmed my "first flush" last night to use with dinner. There really wasn't much there yet but I couldn't help myself. I had to know how they tasted. When eaten raw, they taste very subtly of garlic but they pack the same spicy punch. I decided to use them as a simple garnish for a fried rice dish that I was in the mood for.

With sausage, roasted broccoli, hoisin sauce, and sriracha, I would say that the garlic toppers paired very well :-)

Next I'm going to try the very same process - with onions! Yum!

Oh! You Pretty Thing!

There she is, a thing of beauty. Here I find all of my dreams, hopes and aspirations all bundled up into one perfect little carriage house. Only they apparently also belong to someone else.

I read about Haven's Kitchen a few months ago and I immediately knew that it was something special. Yes, coffee shops are great, but so are boutiques, and so are kitchens and event spaces!! I've never been able to choose, and I never really even wanted to - and here is hard proof that I'm not nuts! Haven's Kitchen is just that - a haven for the food obsessed. Founder Alison Schneider offers relevant-yet-casual cooking classes, serves the scrumptious left overs at her coffee bar, sells the same specialty ingredients she uses in house, and hosts oodles of fantastic events on the side! Literally a one stop shop.

I stopped by last Friday for a little pick-me-up as work had been pulling me down a bit, but I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as I took in all the sights and smells of the shop. I keep thinking that maybe, if I'm lucky, I can have this one day, too.

<3

My Not-Quite-Spring Fever

Last night with the apartment all to myself (boyfriend was at rehearsal) I couldn't help but feel a little bit cooped up. We've both been pretty busy the past few weeks and in turn, we've let the apartment get seriously dysfunctional. I dove in yesterday and started with my desk which was covered with back issues of Food & Wine and Bon Appetit that needed to be cataloged, as well as random crafty things that just seem to always multiply when you don't pay attention to them. It took me three whole episodes of Gilmore Girls to de-clutter and dust off my once again functional desk.

Among other little projects, I tackled my jewelry collection.  After quite a bit of detangling and just plain tossing a few things, this is what I got. I actually think it looks rather nice :-)

There's still plenty to do - like my closet and our pantry - but I feel better already about heading into spring.



On a side note, boyfriend treated me to late night Brooklyn taco-truck tacos!! The only way to eat 'em.

music and munchies from sunday

Sunday night at 7pm boyfriend hit the stage at Roulette with Brooklyn-based band Ensemble, et al. for the 4th Annual New Music Bake Sale :-) Check them out HERE

They rocked it!!!

Among my other favorite performances of the night = Claire Chase of ICE, and ZS - both have MAD skills

...

In between watching each set and working our table (it was a bake sale don't forget), I meandered a bit and sampled some goodies. I wasn't really in a picture mood on Saturday so I don't have much proof of all the yummy food I ate, but I did snap this one of a really cute cupcake.

The last shot I got was of some neighboring booths - my friend Molly Yeh, of blog my name is yeh, is smack dab in the middle selling deliciously addictive sriracha cheez-its and other goodies. 

Yay new music!!

Be Good or Be Gone

I've lived in New York for six years now. I've heard the stories, purchased their bottles, even walked past a few times - but somehow I never managed to actually go to McSorley's Old Ale House. Until this week!

On a random Wednesday night out with friends in the east village, we had this universal realization that all but one of us had never set foot inside this beloved landmark. We figured - why not go now? After being seated in the back room our friend most familiar with the establishment immediately ordered:

"ten lights and ten darks! That should do it." 

It wasn't long before our waiter came back, mugs in hand, and dropped all 20 down on the table at once. I have to say it was pretty impressive. We all vied to see who could pick up the most and we struggled to fit even five in each hand. Steve (our guide of sorts) then expounded on the long and colorful history of the place. I'm very glad to be around on this side of 1970, or I wouldn't have gotten in!

It's really a charming place and I plan on going back again. And again and again!

image from www.mcsorleysnewyork.com/home.html