summertime in july

 firstly, can we stop and look at the majesty of this brownie, please? i dislike brownies- they are such the middle child between chocolate cake and chocolate fudge. but this, this is comely (and, incidentally, free of charge).

Artisan Confections, Merrifield.

 Taken while i was working hard at spending hard. Nothing to write about except perhaps the atmosphere and the wondrous Sunday afternoon lighting. Mom's fritatta was modestly good.

Dean & Deluca, Georgetown.

 Homemade brunch. And if your family is anything like ours, you'd run out of jam for toast. But we all know it's about a proper egg yolk.

 Matchbox Merrifield

 holy affogato

 pistachio & ricotta cardamom

Dolcezza Artisanal Gelato, Merrifield

And finally- I'm banishing all of my soy candles. Man Can (Coffee) is here.

homemade father's day

birthday splendor

 Duck confit

 Squid ink pasta, Clam, Crab, Shrimp

 Dry Aged Rib Eye

Classic goodbye to teenagehood with peanut butter & jelly

1789, Georgetown, Washington, DC

the one day I pretended to speak Japanese

Momo Sushi, Alexandria, Va

2

roasted bone marrow

 

chicken liver pate

 hudson valley duck breast

 bronzini

moroccan chicken

Maple Ave Restaurant, Vienna, Va.

black bean chocolate chili cherry cookies.

c/o my new roots

brunch/ 2 days

 - - -

1.

Zaytinya, Washington DC

Co Co. Sala, Washington DC

Killer E.S.P., Old Town Alexandria

seychelles

ripe with summer adventure.

the summer hit list.

in reading order- 

Freakonomics- Steven Levitt 
We Were the Mulvaneys- Joyce Carol Oates
The Year of Living Biblically- A.J. Jacobs

A Year in Provence- Peter Mayle Toujours Provence- Peter Mayle

The World is Flat- Milton Friedman
Raising the Bar: The Story of Clif Bar, Inc.- Erickson

Great Britain to 1688- Ashley Things Fall Apart- Chinua Achebe
Roots- Alex Haley
The Memory Keeper's Daughter- Kim Edwards
John Steinbeck- Jay Parini

Saving Fish from Drowning- Amy Tan Thirteen Moons- Charles Frazier

the constant perusal- 

History of Art- H.W. Janson
The Diary of Anais Nin Vol. One
The Enduring Hemingway
The Feminist Papers- Rossi
A History of Modern Chinese Fiction, 2nd Ed.
Lives of the Artists Vol. 1- Vasari

primer: cooking for one in spring.

 life has changed, and the weather changed it.
i woke up at 8:30 today, when my alarm clang at 6:30. and there, in the 10 o'clock sepia-soaked morning light, the breeze still tender enough to be susceptible to a tinge of coolness, i glossed a shiny art book, sipped earl grey- a wamp of leaves packaged in tissue paper like a fat dumpling- and calculated and studied and thought about how sinful it would be to waste such a remarkable saturday inside.

when i allow myself to be exposed to them, i get these incredible daydreams. the other day, when a buddhologist spoke in my idolatry class, i slipped from his words and dreamt about vancouver, and salt water taffy, thick wool sweaters, tall tall trees and wisps of cold air.

then i thought about the magic of his mindfulness after i slipped on some stone steps- the beauty of soft flesh against industrial hardness, and concentrating on the pain, i felt no pain at all, only nubs of miniature marbles ascending my thick, plastic-skinned calves- the feeling of the coming of a bruise.

 the key to feeling these intricate moments is solitude- adventures for one. these are the first things i remember from the week, because they are the most important memories.

small blood orange

ingredients for a small stew of sorts

 

beautiful, crusty dessert bread from albemarle baking company

granny smith apple slices, monastery's brandy infused honey, local strawberry jam, sliced havarti cheese on buttered bread

and an enigmatic mango pit