A gloriosa lily

...my red flowered passion...the gloriosa lily, also called the fire lily, is, unfortunately, poisonous...

Shalwar Kameez

My favorite approach to clothes - comfort, glory, flexibility and ultimate good sense...not to mention excellent sparkle and color potential...too bad shalwar kameez are not indigenous to my culture...

herbes du maquis...

Sugar stack!

Google results for searching "sugar stack" :)

Peridot green...

peridot green as a color is far superior to any old boring emerald green...

Green orchids...

...must be having a georgia o'keefe moment...this one is from this website source...

green icebergs, not lettuce!

Flappers!

(From Wikipedia...) The term flapper in the 1920s referred to a "new breed" of young women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered "decent" behavior. The flappers were seen as brash in their time for wearing makeup, drinking hard liquor and smoking tobacco. right on, ladies!

Harvest moon

Meeting J has inspired me to re-connect with the skies, albeit slowly. My granny always referred to the phenomenon of the large moon on the horizon as the harvest moon, but I now realize that this may be only an autumnal occurrence. Nonetheless, my muse of the moment after the glorious harvest moon sighting over the harbor of my city two nights ago.




An ancient haiku:

the Full Moon
promenading the pond
the whole night through
-- Basho

And a new haiku:

I have swallowed
the autum stars
and I’m still hungry
--john stevenson

Japanese hot pot

The weather cools significantly, I need internal warmth. This food will do it - especially at my favorite place for it in my city...I don't know these people (internet image pirate that I am), but they are sitting where I would like to be right this minute! Best part is after cooking all of the meat (lamb!) and veg and eating them is the drinking of the spicy and meaty broth...

A singularly odd and alluring Jell-o creation

Must be from dia de los muertos

Fabulous. Figs are a brilliant touch...

Any bets on flavor of the milky Jell-o mass?

Cranberries & Spicy Papadum

Papadum and dried cranberries - a soft chew and a spicy crunch

An unexpected combination that struck my fancy when in snack mode this afternoon. Consider this Indo-New England option...

Grits

Though I am by no means a southerner, I am in love with grits. I do love the carbs, it's true, would never shy away from even a plain water-cooked mess o' grits with salt, pepper and melted butter on top, but even better with shrimp and a really rich sauce (a.k.a. "instant artery clogger," the term of choice in my family). May originate from a summer spent in Dallas and a week at the New Orleans Jazz Fest once, who knows. A few recipes for you - couldn't find too much inspiring poetry...


http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/ (texan criminal justice commentary)

http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/2965/creamy-grits-for-a-crowd.html (Creamy grits using chicken stock and cream)

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/107072 (grits with shrimp and roasted red pepper)

From: http://www.math.harvard.edu/~angelavc/eat/index.html

Baked Cheese and Garlic Grits: When I was a kid, I used to get teased by my family because I didn't like grits. I believe there was speculation that I wasn't really a southerner. Perhaps they were correct as I seem to be a northerner now. But the funny thing is that now I like grits, even though I only seem to eat them when I head back south.But even when I hated grits, I still loved cheese grits. Everybody loves cheese grits, and this is a very tasty recipe from my mom.
4 cups water1/2 teaspoon salt1 cup quick cooking grits6 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese1/2 cup butter1/2 cup milk1-2 cloves garlic2 eggs beaten
Bring salted water to the boil; stir in grits. Cook grits, stirring frequently, until done. Melt butter. Add minced garlic and saute briefly. Add cheese, butter mixture and milk to hot grits. Stir until cheese melts. Add small amount of hot grits to beaten eggs, stirring well. Stir mixture into remaining grits. Pour into greased 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 325-degrees for 1 hour, or until set.

Flamenco - ole!

Both my granny, born in Spain, and my mom, who my granny wished had been born in Spain, loved flamenco. This, along with my mom's one rock n roll album (the monkees) and a grundig shortwave radio are the soundtracks to my childhood. I have vivid memories of my granny dancing around the kitchen with castanuelas and a fan that seemed vicious in it's dramatic movements - and memories of coming home from school to my mother ironing to flamenco. People seem to love it or hate it, but I can't get enough of it. This video captures a modern approach to flamenco, a bit postmodern, perhaps, with a group of dancers. Ole!