please don't go, incandescent!

I wish I could say that the EU's ban of incandescent light bulbs appeals to my love for a greener planet. But this is not true, sadly; shamefully. I can't help it. I am addicted to the light quality given off by incandescent bulbs, and I have yet to find a suitable and acceptable replacement. I have tried to switch over to warm colored compact florescent energy saving bulbs. Although, even these contain mercury, which while better in terms of using less energy, now put toxic mercury into a landfill when the bulb wears out. And then there are LED light bulbs, oh…except that none of my lamps are actually wired to accept LED bulbs.

I might have to start hoarding incandescent light bulbs the way that the main character hoarded Coke in Colson Whitehead's book, Sag Harbor, when Coke switched to new Coke — if the world as a whole finally switches over. Although, hopefully, I will never be caught stealing light bulbs from the pantry of a friend's house at a party. However, surely I cannot be the only person who is caught in this dichotomy of wanting to be a good person with regards to energy consumption, yet who is loathe to give up the lovely warmness of "real" light versus the weird shadows and harshness of compact florescent bulbs.

Pepsi Natural

I was reading about Pepsi Natural today and not sure why my interest is at all piqued. I don't drink soda anymore, and even when I did, it was Diet Coke all the way. I have never been a Pepsi fan, yet I am secretly super interested in Pepsi's natural cola. In the same way that I was secretly dying to try the limited edition Green Tea Coca Cola that I saw at the Hamburg Airport. But since I don't drink other natural cola beverages, I am still perplexed as to why I would even care. Maybe it is because I am such a consumer that I just love any new things being launched by yet another multi-national corporation despite my own misconceived perception that I am all about "buying local." Regardless…it is an interesting move on Pepsi's part, trying to tap into the hearts of their die hard Pepsi fans, by making a soda that seems to be emotionally better for them. But I am not sure how Natural Pepsi is truly any better for someone when compared to the real Pepsi. They both will cause tooth decay, and probably give you gas, and both have bubbles that eat off your tooth enamel. The only difference is that one using beet sugar versus corn syrup. Hmm...the bottle is really nice looking though.

Macarons from Madeline's

Strawberry, Pistacio, Cassis, Apricot, Chocolate,

not sure of the speckled one, maybe Mocha?

Pistacio-Rasberry, Caramel Fleur de Sel, Lime, Peach? Lavender, Mocha, Orange

After seeing 500 Hundred Days of Summer, Hafeez and I stumbled across Madeline's Patisserie...which I have heard only rave reviews about from Rob and Dana. There was absolutely no way that we could resist going inside. Partly because the movie required a serious sugar fix to take away the sting of that scene on the park bench, and partly because both Hafeez and I are quietly obsessed with Parisian macarons. But we were not prepared for the amount of choices with regards to macarons that Madeline's offered. There was lime, lemon, rosewater, pistacio-raspberry, cassis, lavender, mocha, vanilla, chocolate, caramel fleur de sel, strawberry, apricot, orange, unadorned pistacio, mango, passionfruit, and I forgot the rest. Flavor overload. I opted to get ten of the most tasty sounding, Hafeez got twelve — but he is taller than I am — and had to call it a day. Any more than ten, and they all were for myself, was just plain gluttony I reasoned with myself, and any less than ten was just not enough.


Rating: B (they didn't always look perfect, and the height was not quite reminiscence of a mini hamburger.)

a Cranberry macaron for breakfast

from Bouley Bakery.

Freedom + Ties that bind

Tonight I went to yoga at a new place on Court Street, with Helen. I have not been to yoga in many months and there has been an emptiness in my life I can only describe as being spiritually devoid. So we went to Mala Yoga and I was not sure to expect, as I sort of always expect the worst from small studios. Yet, this place was so clean, despite the 95ºF humid weather, and the teacher seemed to practice a cross between Anusara and Iyengar. Perhaps that would make it straight up Vinyasa? Whatever. And she came around during shavasana did that thing where the teacher rubs your temples and shoulders with lavender oil and did something with my head that just made me feel so content inside — some sort of metaphysical adjustment. The point is, she made tonight's practice about freedom, and it deeply resonated with me.

The premise was that when we are free, it is about being without — the feeling of being liberated. Freedom can be without rules, or without our ex-boyfriend, or without the paradigms of our cultural norms. And in the act of becoming free, we are no longer bound to anything or something…so it is also about not having a connection. When we are bound to something or someone, we are deeply connected (albeit, not always happily), and very aware of the presence of that thing or person, or whatever it might be. It is always there, where ever you look, or breathe…it is a part of you. So you are never without…rules, your boyfriend, your cultural norms…when you are tightly bound. And life is that interplay of wanting to feel free, yet to also feel connected. Because there can be freedom in being bound, in the sense of security you have as you push against those ties that bind, knowing that they are always there to support you, but hopefully they will stretch to allow you to grow. And when we are free, we revel in the open-ness and space of the liberation, but there is a sense of vulnerability in being so liberated, which in itself, is kind of its own bind. It is that dichomtomy, that balance, that we search for through out life. How to be free, while still staying connected. And how to stay in touch without losing your sense of self.

Grape flavored Gatorade

I am currently nursing a quiet love affair with Grape flavored G2 Gatorade, which is not as readily available as the ubiquitous Fruit Punch, Orange and Lemon-lime flavors, to be clear. I have to search this flavor out amongst the local delis and drug stores, and whenever I find it, I tend to buy in bulk. Perhaps I am not the only person in Brooklyn Heights so enamored with this flavor, which is why it so hard to find. Not sure. Regardless, I know that there is a big push towards drinking plain water, from the tap, utilizing a BPA-free water bottle. Please note that I do this too, as well. But I find the taste of water to be so boring, and when I am so dehydrated that I look like a little raisin, which is pretty much all the time, I have to turn to flavored waters in order to force myself to drink enough liquid. There is absolutely zero way I could have drank (is that proper English? Drank?!)80 oz of water in one day...so, I guess what Gatorade needs to do is come up those little packets of G2 Grape flavored crystals that I can dump into my BPA-free water bottle and then pour Britta'd water on top.

Gatorade, are you listening?

Nett Tampons

I know that this is a little weird to post about, but I saw these online videos for Nett tampons (a brand that Johnon + Johnson owns in France) today in a presentation at work, and was oddly affected by how distinctly NON sanitary protection that they were — they totally connected with the emotional elements and benefits of using a digital tampon. Not the boring and totally usual ads where there is a demo showing HOW the tampon works, with the petri dish full of blue liquid and the ubiquitous white capri pants. I wish that we had campaigns like this in the US. I think it would totally make the category relevant to so many more women.

Playing for Change

I just saw this documentary on WLIW, one of my favorite channels. It is by the group, Playing For Change, and they are performing Bob Marley's One Love. So great...

Blueberries from Michigan

I finally had the chance, and was in the the right mental space, to begin reading American Artisanal, by Rebecca Gray — a holiday gift from my friend Lara — on this past Sunday morning, and the first chapter was about Rebecca's father's blueberry farm in Michigan. For whatever reason, I had no idea that Michigan was even a blueberry producing state, let alone the number one blueberry state in the country. I always thought blueberries came from Maine, and the ones you can pick in New Jersey were like some small crop on the side, because everyone knows that New Jersey is pretty much a corn and tomatoes state. Which goes to show you that I know nothing about state agriculture in this country, it turns out. Not only does Michigan produce blueberries, apparently it produces some of the best in the country. Rebecca's dad's blueberries come from Grand Junction, Michigan. (I paid $4 for two pints at my local deli called Fruits + Vegetables, in case anyone cares.) So check your labels the next time you buy blueberries...maybe you too are eating Michigan blueberries! Because after having a conversation about this last night with some friends, who were aware of Michigan's great blueberry-ness, I checked the label this morning, when I decided to eat an entire pint for breakfast in hopes that the anti-oxidants would make me feel better, faster. (I stayed home sick, today.) And despite the lack of local-ness, I was thrilled to see that I had some Grand Junction blueberries in my fridge. How serendipitous! I hope that as I read more chapters of Rebecca's book, I have similar experiences...perhaps, a Clear Flour Bakery will be opening a branch a Brooklyn?!

By the way, eating a whole pint of blueberries is not recommended in one sitting.

Vegan zucchini bread

I bought a giant zucchini at the farmer's market yesterday with the intentions of making some zucchini bread...I have been craving it for a while now. So armed with my giant baseball bat of a squash, I dug out my mom's recipe which I have completely adulterated into my own, and then was faced with the dilemma that I only had jumbo sized eggs, and technically you should only bake with large eggs. And while I am all about changing the recipe, I don't mess with ratios. Jumbo eggs would have screwed everything up. My friend Lani suggested leaving out one of the yolks, but I then remembered reading about using ground flax seeds mixed with water to create "fake eggs." Randomly, I just happen to have a giant tupperware container full of ground flax hanging out in the fridge for exactly these sorts of moments. The conversion is 2.5 tablespoons of ground flax seeds to three tablespoons of water, per egg equivalent. I dumped all the ingredients into the mixer, together with the recipe specified canola oil, and lo and behold, it whipped up into something remotely egg-like. The loaves baked perfectly (despite me napping through the timer) and the egg-less batter meant that they did not rise as high as they usually did, which I was cool with. It also meant that the insides were not overally moist which sometimes happens and then the bread falls in a sadly spectacular way...in fact, it caused the bread to have a very nice cake-like texture, instead. I am never using eggs again in my zucchini bread...I never in a million years thought I would be converted to a "vegan" baker. What is next, I wonder? Using tofu butter?

Strawberries!

I have had a small strawberry plant growing on my window sill for about two months. It really has remained rather sparse and straggly, and I had given up hope that it would produce anything other than its cute fuzzy leaves. But this morning when I watered it, I happened to notice that it had two very tiny strawberries growing on it, that must have developed over night. I am so excited by the fact that I am growing wild strawberries right in my apartment! Mind you, they are the size of my pinky finger nail, and I do not have the heart to even eat them, as it will be like this tiny blip of flavor drowned out in my gigantic sea of snacking. In order to even appreciate its little voice of flavor, I might have to fast for a day or so.