Happy Birthday dolabellae!

(As scrolling seems to be the universal LJ sign of celebration.) So sorry I missed your birthday yesterday! Hope it was filled with wonderful, smoky, (non-virtual) drinks and live Notts!

After a long hiatus from LJ, I started catching up with posts and communities. It's taking a long time, but it was wonderful to see how many good stories have been written (or at least reposted) recently! Two of my favorites are posted on omniocular:

The Hall of the Mirrors by ignipes
Stopped by gehayi

I was a bit of a glutton today, but I'm making myself save some to savor over the next few days.

Title: Old Men Dreaming
Author: Winter Dragon
Rating: PG
Length: 3500
Summary: As Voldemort's shadow darkens Wizarding Britain and strikes even into the heart of Hogwarts, Rufus Scrimgeour takes action. Theodore Nott suffers the consequences.
Author's note: Written for the omniocular January challenge.

( Old Men Dreaming )

Merry Christmas to me... In a fit of egomania a few days ago I applied to join omniocular. I kind of regretted it as soon as I hit the "Send" button, but I figured no one would ever know that I'd applied and failed. But I got in! I'm thrilled.

I'm pretty sure this is old, but it's every bit as clever the second time around.

The Washington Post once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are this year's winners:

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an a**hole.

3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.

11. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

12. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

13. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

14. Glibido: All talk and no action.

15. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

16. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

17. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

18. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

My friend was having a terrible day, so despite my exhaustion after a long and very cold bike ride, I grabbed a protein bar and braved the subway to have dinner with her in Park Slope. Am I glad I did, for we discovered a fantastic Italian place around the corner from her called Sette Enoteca E Cucina (3rd St and 7th Avenue).

The chef, as I later learned, used to be at 'Cesca, and it shows in the attention to detail. The olives they brought were meaty and luscious; the breadsticks were chewy. Even the water glasses had a pleasing curve to them. It was a nearly perfect experience, especially for a night that demanded hearty food. I had the special pizza flatbread appetizer to start - ricotta and slices of fingerling potatoes, finished with arugula and slices of proscuitto - followed by pappardelle drizzled with a wonderfully rich and garlicky oxtail sauce. We shared a slice of almond cake for dessert. I'd love to get a recipe for it: the interior was creamy, dense, and redolent of almond paste, while the batter had baked to a thick, nutty crust that was almost tart-like.

Sette's well worth a subway trip. But why is it that so many of the good restaurants that are opening up these days seem to be in Brooklyn? The Upper West Side just got Pair of Eights, but that's just one!

At dolabellae's request:

( Recipe for Pumpkin Cake With Sage Ice Cream )

This recipe makes quite a lot, but the cake will keep well for several days, and as it's not too sweet, it's wonderful for breakfast.

Have been rather exhausted in aftermath of a small dinner party I hosted on Monday. It was a good deal of fun, no small thanks to the copious quanities of good wine poured all around. (Enough that I managed to smash my first wine glass in 4 years. Ah, well. No one was injured, at least, but now I'll have to track down what kind of glass it was so I can replace it.) Otherwise it was quite a success, though as someone pointed out, I may have gone overboard with my use of orange food. For starters, there was butternut squash soup; for the main course, roast chicken (brown, but close enough), glazed turnips and carrots, and butternut squash risotto; and for dessert, pumpkin cake with sage ice cream. I was a bit mortified to see that I had transformed my dining room table into an epicurean version of Christo's Gates.

Still, I was very pleased by the way the soup turned out. Secret ingredient: pears! It's so simple and easy, I think I'll give it another try Friday, when I get more squash from the farmers' market.

( Recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash-Pear Soup )

I've spent the last hour on myheritage.com, uploading photos of myself and my friends to try to see which celebrities we resemble. I've been semi-matched to such distinctive people such as Chelsea Clinton, Charlize Theron, Scarlett Johanssen, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jim Carrey, Bette Davis, Meryl Streep, and my personal favorite, Roger Daltrey.

I'm scared to think what would come out if I were to mash all those faces together digitally, but I'm pretty sure it would look nothing like me. As it is, none of the celebrities have repeated, so the bottom line: face recognition technology sucks is highly dependent on the inputs. But it's sure fun to play with!

Was coming back from Brooklyn just now, and was reminded exactly why I hate the west side bike path on weekends.
1) Tourists who stopped in the middle of the bike side of the Brooklyn Bridge to compose careful photos, despite steady flow of 2 way traffic.
2) Jackass who passed me while I was stopped at traffic near Chelsea Piers yelling, "You may be an experienced rider, but you're a shithead for not staying on the left!!" (WTF? Left?)
3) Father who watched son play with grating in center of rather narrow, high-traffic turn in Riverside Park.
4) Lady who obliviously walked her dog on long leash - long enough that said dog was on the far side of the path, so said leash formed a nice, knee-high hurdle.

Are there that many foolish people in New York?

I've been curious ever since HBP came out how someone with Snape's background - someone who grew up in working-class Spinner's End - ever fell in with the Malfoy crowd. And thanks to zoepaleologa's musings on the subject, I couldn't resist attempting a Yorkshire accent for him.

Title: Pawn
Author: Winter Dragon
Characters: Severus Snape, Narcissa and Bellatrix Black, Lucius Malfoy, Lily Evans
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine, alas.
Word Count: 3600

Summary: He knows now that it was worse in those days, when old money still trumped new, and purebloods who were merely nouveau riche might as well resign themselves to lingering in the lower echelons of Wizarding society. In such a society, to be poor, and to be a half-blood, and an ugly, charmless one at that – well, even from the beginning, he’d been doomed.


( Pawn )

So many more places to see...



create your own visited country map



create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

Have just returned from an enjoyable two weeks visiting the parents back in Kentucky. The synopsis:

1. Read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark. Excellent entertainment - humorous, witty, detailed, and well-paced. Highly recommended, especially for anyone who enjoys both Jane Austen and Harry Potter.

2. Biked through three counties. Hills were painful and more plentiful than in New York, though the scenery was spectacular: rolling hills covered with flame-leafed woods (did I mention plentiful and painful?), vast green spreads of horse farms populated with splay-legged yearlings and their watchful dams, and water-filled hollows at surprising turns. Still have separation anxiety from my bike, which I shipped back this morning.

3. Hiked Natural Bridge State Park. Made foolish decision to take the longest trail, a 9.5 mile meandering path that began promisingly by striking along a wooded, gold-canopied ridge and before descending into the boredom of new growth. Saw no one else on the path - evidently everyone else was wiser than we.

4. Attended brother's performance with his university opera. Well, he was in the orchestra, but it was still good fun. There were two Puccini one-acts: Suor Angelica, the tragedy from which Puccini recycled much of the music for Madam Butterfly; and Gianni Schicchi, a wonderful comedy most famous for Lauretta's aria "O mio babbino caro." There are several very talented singers in the company.

5. Visited three wineries: Equus Run, Talon, and Chrisman. Evidently the Bluegrass State and Horse Capital of the World was also the country's vineyard before the days of Napa... and before Prohibition, back in 1919. Quality of wines was surprisingly good.

6. Visited two bourbon distilleries: Buffalo Trace and Woodford Reserve. There could not be two bourbons more different in character. Buffalo Trace bourbon is rich and warm, filled with warm vanilla, caramel, and butter aromas; while Woodford Reserve is spare and reminiscent of goood Scotch.

7. Resisted temptation to buy both bourbons. (Thought of their weight in my suitcase prevented me.)

8. Left parents with distinct impression that I'm an alcoholic.

9. Re-read Susan Cooper's entire The Dark Is Rising series. It's just as good as I remembered, though still disappointed by the end.

10. Gained 5 pounds, as befits any proper visit to the folks.

Very easy and tasty recipe if you should happen to have miso lying around your fridge.

1/2 Tbsp oil
1 Cup green beans
1 Tbsp miso (I used red)

In a lidded skillet, heat oil until shimmering. Dump in green beans and cook over medium-high heat until crispy-crunchy. Add miso and stir until all beans are coated. Cover skillet, and let cook until miso is browned and beans are soft and look a little charred, 3-4 minutes on my stove.

You know, I was kind of hoping for Death. She rocks!
Though I suppose Morpheus isn't too shabby, either...


You are Dream! Many people see you as living in
your own little world. Though you would never
try to harm someone needlessly, you are not
always aware of the consequences of your
actions.


Which Sandman Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Picture's terrible, though. Personally I like this one better:
( Morpheus )
and adore this one with all the Endless:
( The Endless Family )

Rode six laps in Central Park this afternoon. This would be a fairly ordinary event, except that the rain was coming down in sporadic dumps, and the wind was 10-15 mph and gusting to 20 at times. There was copious leafy debris on the road, including those prickly little sweetgum pods and green-cased walnuts, and the wind seemed to quite enjoy chasing loose twigs across the pavement. Despite the scene just outlined, it actually turned out to be great fun. Evidently Stefan and I were the only two dedicated cyclists in all of New York, as we had the park drives nearly to ourselves. (The four or five insane tourists who were meandering around on some tour don't count as New Yorkers. The runners, though, were still out in droves, putting the cycling community to shame.)

Alas, I discovered too late that bringing a cell phone out in such weather is a Very Bad Idea. Yes, I should have known better. I thought it was in a pretty waterproof place, but I was mistaken. Thanks to the wind, there wasn't a square inch of me (including portions under my rain jacket) that didn't get soaked with mysterious black bilge.

So my trusty old Samsung is now in its death throes, making queer vibrating noises on my desk. Never mind - even that's stopped now, though the body's still warm.

RIP...

Total mileage: 35-36
Speed: 17? (Hard to say, because neither of our cyclocomputers would pick up on the data.)

Finally, an idea for my bike names from Robin McKinley's wonderful Damar books: Talat for my trusty Sirrus, and Kethaz for the shiny new Allez.

Have to check what color Kethaz was, though.

Title: The Shadow of His Wings
Author: Mirabella
Rating: R for character death, language, slash (H/D)
Summary: As I'm quite terrible with these things, I'll leave you with a teaser instead.

On the last day of Ginny Weasley's life the sea around Azkaban was as still as glass, skimmed with gold under the rising sun, no hindrance to a ferry powered by magic but unsettling nonetheless. Percy Weasley, making the crossing from the mainland for what he hoped would be the last time, kept his eyes turned away from the water and remembered the pride he had once felt at being sent here on the Ministry’s behalf.

I can't believe that I haven't recommended this fic on my LJ yet. My only defense is that I began reading it long before I started a journal, but it's one of the most beautifully written fanfics I've come across in fandom, and that is saying quite a lot. The characterizations are tender, the observations keen - pretty soon I'm going to cross over into the realm of corniness (if I haven't already) so I'll stop with my praises right there. I usually don't like to read Works In Progress, as I'm quite impatient to find out What Happens Next, but in this case I've quite enjoyed savoring the language and reading and re-reading what's already been published. It's quite long, so you'll want to find a block of time when you can sit down and enjoy it all at once.

By now, it's horribly non-canon compliant, but I don't think that anyone will really care.

I was craving hot cinnamon buns today, and rather than tracking down the nearest Cinnabon (which would probably have not been very near) I ended up going to the grocery store and buying a canister of Pillsbury cinnamon raisin rolls with icing. The Good Thing is they're extraordinarily simple to make: you pop open the canister (probably the hardest part, as mine didn't seem to want to pop), separate the dough, stick it into the oven for ten minutes, and get eight hot buns out. There's a canister of royal icing to glop on top, and voila! Near-Instant Induglence!

Or not. I haven't mentioned the Very Bad Thing: I haven't had these since a sleepover when I was in third grade, and back then, evidently, my tastes weren't quite as, er, picky as they are now. These were terrible. Unless I doused the thing in enough sugar to make my teeth ache, I could taste the baking soda they used as leavening. Salty cinnamon rolls definitely was not what I had in mind. Unless someone warns me off in advance, next time I'm looking for a quick cinnamon roll fix, I'll get a box of Entemann's, and zap it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it up.

So now the memory of a really good cinnamon bun is itching away at me and can't be properly scratched. To try to distract myself, I've been going through the local movie listings to see if anything interesting's opening this week. To my delight, another Wallace and Gromit movie is coming out! And in a nice nod to Alfonso Cuaron, the tagline is: "Something wicked this way hops." I had to giggle at that.

I have to see Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. And Mirrormask, too, simply because I adore Neil Gaiman.

A while ago I came across a recipe for harissa, a spicy Moroccan sauce that's a wonderful marinade and accompaniment for... well, everything.

Harissa

1 1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 1/2 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon dried crushed red pepper
2 + tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Whirl together in food processor until smooth. If necessary, add more olive oil to make a paste. Can be made ahead and kept for (very long time) in refrigerator. (Personally, I think it tastes better after resting overnight.)

Grilled Chicken

3 tablespoons harissa
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 pound chicken parts

Stir together harissa, olive oil, and lemon juice. Run mixture over chicken. Cover and marinate, preferably overnight. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until juices run clear and skin is crispy.

In the meantime prepare couscous and vegetables:

Couscous

2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups couscous

In a lidded pot, bring broth to a boil. Turn off heat, pour in couscous, and let sit 15 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork.

Grilled Vegetables

3 zucchini
2 medium eggplants
olive oil
salt

Slice vegetables on the diagonal, 1/4 inch thick. Toss with liberal quantities of olive oil and salt. Grill on grill pan or Foreman grill, turning after nice, dark score marks appear (several minutes on my Foreman grill).

Serve chicken with harissa, couscous, and grilled vegetables.