Quick Dinner: Tofu, Mushroom, Red Curry Soup

Last night we had soup for dinner.  The original recipe for this soup came from Sasha Wilkins' lovely Liberty London Girl blog.  At the end of the post, she suggests various ingredients one can use to make different versions of the soup.  I love recipes like this because it gives a blueprint from which a lot of different soups can be made.  For instance, I have never used Tom Yum paste in my soup - it has always been red curry paste - because all the tom yum pastes I have come across so far have had msg.  I also always saute the mushrooms with a little chopped shallot and dry sherry because I like the extra flavours.  And instead of coconut cream, I use coconut milk from the carton.

Last night's version involved a box of organic "Chef's Selection" mushrooms and roughly half a box of organic baby spinach from Whole Foods.  Just for fun, I added some cherry tomatoes and cilantro from the Union Square Farmers Market.  The tomatoes look good in the photo, but I am not sure they added much to the soup.  The cilantro, however, added quite a lot.  The fragrance reminded me of home.

Somewhere Else

I once looked at an apartment whose bathtub view was down onto this church spire.  It was the best thing about the apartment.  Whenever I see this view in the evening, for a few moments, I imagine that I am somewhere far away from the city, with a good mystery round the corner.

English Roses

From the Farmers Market.  I was warned that they would only last three days - other roses usually last a week - but I still wanted them.  Their fragrance was so intensely sweet I felt as if I could get drunk every time I smell them.  And I loved the way they looked even as they shed their petals.

White Peaches

Sometimes, I think I live to eat white peaches from the Farmers Market in the summer.  I hauled home close to seven pounds' worth of white peaches and white nectarines this morning.  This particular farmer is only at the market on Fridays and I wanted to make sure that we had enough peaches and nectarines to last the week.  The lovely man at the stand gave me some donut peaches to try and a small piece of melon to sample as well.  The donut peaches need to ripen before I try them, but the piece of melon was perfect.  Three very ripe peaches - they really tasted as if they had been sweetened with honey - were devoured for breakfast when I got home.

Toigo Orchards
Union Square Farmers Market on Fridays
Tompkins Square and Stuyvesant Farmers Markets on Sundays

My Barbour Beaufort Jacket

I am a little confounded by how I have a Barbour Beaufort jacket which is a men's size 40.  It is way too big for me.  Yet, I wore it through art school and many years after.  I think it was a different time and wearing something oversized did not seem so odd then.

Still.  It has been quite a while since I last wore the jacket.  I think it was a rainstorm and I was certainly dry, but I did rattle around in it.  So when I started the latest wave of clearing and organising, the jacket was on the to-go list.  Bags of clothes went out, but I could never bring myself to send the jacket away.

Recently, I read Lizzie Garrett Mettler's blog, Tomboy Style, about "Worn-In Classics".  Of course, I thought of the jacket.  I had another look.  It had been re-waxed a couple of months ago and looked almost as good as new.   The sleeves and hem had been reinforced sometime years ago and there was a tear on one of the pockets...  But these details gave the jacket its particular character.

Big as it is, the jacket is not going anywhere.  

Gladioli

I am engrossed in "Broadchurch" tonight.  So here is an image of the gladioli from last week.  I am trying to extend the flowers for as long as I can:

Blah...

Today felt like a day of busywork.  It felt a bit like treading water.  What I really felt like doing was this:

Context

I have been meaning to write a post about plaid.  Without making a specific point of it, I have acquired a small collection of plaid shirts.

I looked at the image for today's post and knew that it was much too good and the post itself should be about the image:

Photo by The Husband

What can I say?  I really like the contrast and the incongruence of the materials.

No Words Today - Just This Image

Roses On The Evening Walk

What DO They Mean?

I was walking by the construction site for the condominiums which will one day occupy what was once St. Vincent's Hospital today, when I looked up and saw this:

(From the 11th Street side, I am always a little taken aback by just how deep the hospital building was.)  From the looks of the construction signs, this will be a huge condominium development - five buildings and five townhouses.  In fact, I keep thinking that the place will feel like a condominium campus - as in the grounds of a bunch of condominium buildings.

Today, I came across two more construction sign advertisements:

These signs made me wonder all sorts of things, among them, "Which war are they referring to?" and "Which century are they referring to?"  I know I was being cheeky.  "Pre-war" and "mid-century" have become shorthand for styles of architecture and design.

Now I may follow the development of the buildings on the internets as a matter of curiosity.  A quick google search and I have gleaned that one façade of the hospital may survive.  Also, I wondered how they were going to put a pre-war building next to a mid-century building and make them look, somehow, parts of a coherent project, but the brick and stone-work seem to be the key here.

Still, I cannot quite help rolling my eyes at the advertising copy.

And, being a superstitious Asian person, I will always wonder about restless spirits in former hospital sites.

What I Wore Today

I bought this tee shirt this past seemingly endless, cold, dark winter from Christopher's, the tee shirt shop on the corner of Greenwich Avenue and Christopher Street.  It describes precisely what I was doing during the many, many months.

For whatever reason, I felt like wearing it today, on a near perfect summer's day:

Very soft and extremely comfortable.

Christopher's
7 Greenwich Avenue
Corner of Greenwich Avenue and Christopher Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 929 9454
christophersnyc@aol.com

Union Square Farmers Market

The Puppy and I went to the farmers market this morning.  I had planned on getting a bunch of kale and some mesclun salad.  It did not work out that way.  Of course, I bought far more produce than that.

The Queens County Farm Museum has a stand at the market on Fridays and it is hard to stop by and then leave empty-handed.

For one thing, I love the presentation:

I am always taken by a nice chalkboard:

And who could resist these - fairytale eggplants:

Or these heirloom tomatoes:

I left and then circled back for some of these leeks:

It is amazing that there is a farm within the city limits with such lovely produce.  I was told it is open to the public for visits.

www.queensfarm.org

www.grownyc.org

Greenery For A Dreary Day

It rain most of today.  Very boring.  So here are some photos from the past few weeks.

Hydrangeas in the West Village:

Honeysuckle on 13th Street:

Central Park on a perfect day:

Little Axe Salon

My hair stylist, Coby Alcantar, opened her own salon in July.  It is a measure of my devotion that I turned up in Williamsburg for an appointment at 9:15am (!!!!!) on a Saturday morning.  (I am not a morning person by any measure of the word.  The Husband can attest to that.  And the thought of crossing water to Brooklyn!)

Coby has cut my hair for, at least, eight years.  I followed her from Bumble & Bumble to Whittemore House and then on to Marie Robinson.  I was very traumatised when she moved back to the Bay Area.  (Over the years, whenever I read about some hot new hair stylist or heard a hair cut complaint, I would smugly think to myself, no one touches my hair but Coby.  Really.)  I hemmed and hawed like mad, having collected recommendations from friends, magazines and blogs.  It was a great relief when she returned to New York.  There was really never a question that I would follow her wherever she went.

So this past Saturday, I set the alarm clock and got on the L train.  It was really quick.  I even had time to stop by the Swedish Cafe next to the subway station for a very good decaf soy cappucino and gluten free apple cheese scone, before a leisurely stroll down Bedford Avenue over to the salon.  It took less time than to get from my house to Whittemore House or to Marie Robinson.  Surprisingly, it was considerably less hectic.

And what a lovely, cozy salon:

Whittemore House - a salon in the basement of a historic townhouse with armchairs, etc. - felt quite home-y, but quite baroque, to me.  Marie Robinson felt like the exact opposite - all sleek, white surfaces and shiny, steel finishes.  Little Axe feels like the love child of the two salons - dark woods and metals, but clean, white walls and light wood surfaces - the perfect combination of both.

Needless to say, the my hair cut was great. The hair cut itself will be the subject of an upcoming post.

I love that Coby intuitively knows what I want without my having to articulate it.  I love that she can predict how I will feel about a particular style.  And I always feel as if the hair cut has barely begun when she is done - she is both a fast hair stylist and a complete pleasure to spend time with.

I was done within an hour and hopped on the train back to Manhattan.  I had the day ahead of me!

Little Axe Salon
124 Bedford Avenue
Entrance on North 10th
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718) 388 4700
www.littleaxesalon.com

Pink Touches

The Puppy and I went to the Farmers' Market this morning and came home with flowers.  I specifically picked the hydrangeas with the slightest touch of pink, but all the flowers have some of that today!

Hydrangeas:

Tuberose:

Gladiolas - much more than a blush, of course:

Ominous Clouds

After several days of perfect weather, it may rain tomorrow.  I had a feeling this perfect weather would not last when I looked up this afternoon and saw this:

Washington Square Park This Evening

The Puppy and I walked in Washington Square Park this evening.  It's always a good place to watch people and dogs.  In good weather, there is also some good music to enjoy.  Sometimes, there are different performances on different sides of the park.  The Puppy likes to sit and listen to the pianist on the grand piano.

Here's a quick picture:

Watching the Skies

The Puppy and I spent the day with our friend, J, who was visiting from out of town.  It was a lovely day spent walking around, enjoying the city and the perfect weather.  Gorgeous blues skies and interesting clouds.

In Midtown late morning, two views from the same corner:

In the West Village, evening:

Evening Walk

It was a perfect summer evening when The Puppy and I went for our walk.  Here are a couple of pictures.

Church, trees, a bit of flare:

Clear blue sky and the Empire State Building in the distance:

The light in the trees:

A visit to cookbook heaven (more in a later post):

The Puppy, up for more adventures:

Flare

I love a bit of flare in my photos.  Here are a few from my iPhoto.

Driving around in Los Angeles:

On the way to Malibu:

The market in Bangkok:

Flowers at home:

And outside:

Tea & Sympathy

I loved seeing the bunting still up in front the restaurant and shop today.  On Monday, there were television trucks parked along Greenwich Avenue ready to report on the birth of Royal Baby Cambridge.  Of course, Tea & Sympathy would have been the perfect place to celebrate the happy news.  Royal occasions aside, this really is the place for a really good Full English Breakfast on weekend mornings, perfect Bangers and Mash anytime and sublime Treacle pudding when one is feeling indulgent.

Tea & Sympathy
108 Greenwich Avenue
Between 12th & 13th Streets
(212) 807 8329
teaandsympathynewyork.com

Evening Light

The sun was quite low when I walked home this evening.  The light is just really pretty in New York City on some summer evenings:

I really liked the long shadows in Washington Square Park:

And the contrast between light and shadow: