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dates with bacon, baked

by oisercage on Apr 29, 2011 • 3 Comments

Sometimes I feel like I only have two options: sleep or work. This is the recurring election I hold once every 3 weeks when I work at night. The benefits of working at night are… Well, as far as I’m concerned there are none.The days to recover from working at night are not exactly vacation days.

So, I’m basically working and then trying to get some sleep and not take a hammer to my bedroom wall because my neighbor is in a perpetual loud grievous dispute with someone over the phone.

During those days – only 4 at a time, thank God! – I make fast easy baked dishes that I can just pop in the oven, pull out and eat. Like this date and bacon. I also pile away the leftovers and just wait to cook again when I join the living.

So easy. If you have one hand you can make this dish. And, an egg, 1/4 pound of bacon, 2 sheets of puff pastry dough.

Preheat oven at 350 F
Coat the bottom and sides of the pan with margarine or olive oil
Spread one sheet of puff pastry dough in the pan
Cut bacon and dates into pieces, the length of your phalanges and line them on the dough
Cover with the second sheet of dough. Make sure to mold the ends of the sheets together

Beat one egg and then brush the top layer of dough with the mixture.

Then take a knife and slice thin holes in the top layer of the dough to make the pastry stay nice and lean. Otherwise it will puff considerably.
Put the pan in the oven for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden

Slice in rectangular pieces and eat with bare hands :)

At first it seemed like an unusual thing to cook. But the strong salty bacon mixed with the sweet date makes for a nice even taste.

Bon Appétit!

life*style

baked!

by oisercage on Apr 28, 2011 • No Comments

There is nothing more perfect to be in than clothes that feel as though they were second skin. A comfort for which you had to make no effort. It is like talking to a good old friend. Even if a year has passed since you last spoke, you welcome them as if you had seen them yesterday. You just leap over those months to find that same conviviality you once shared!

The most comfortable and friendliest piece in this outfit are the ballet flats. I’ve worn to bits. When I went to Buenos Aires two years ago I only brought those black flats. It was during the beginning of Spring so every time I slip these on – they are slack after so much wear – I remember the hot cobblestone pavement, the aggressive mix of primary colors they use to paint buildings, the dancing, the cadence of their voices and the way they stare when they say “Que cosa?”, a trickle of that Italian heritage sipping through.

The Travelling Flats in the restaurant Patio Baires, Buenos Aires

Details on today’s outfit:

T-shirt >>> Kurios, San Diego, CA

Necklace >>> Flea market, Madrid, Spain

Jeans >>> Express Jeans repurposed

Flats >>> Urban Outfitters

Earrings >>> Artisanal Fair, Madrid, Spain

Hat >>> Local fair, Havana, Cuba
These shorts were the perfect pair of jeans. They sat snug on my hips and didn’t even require a belt. But they were four years old and torn below the bum. Still, I loved them too much to let them go.

I think they make the perfect pair of shorts.

best in show

glowing skin, unexpected gifts, emerson

by oisercage on Apr 28, 2011 • 2 Comments

This week I’m loving :

carrots >>> I think carrots are better than tans. Admittedly I can go without tanning. I once walked into a tanning salon and the receptionist looked at me like I was lost, wich I was. I went in to ask for directions. He looked relieved. But research shows that carrots (carotene, to be precise) makes your skin glow.

trip planning >>> I feel ridiculously blessed and grateful that I can go anywhere at all but on top of that I get to Germany in June. I have never been! I’m rather excited. I want to see these landmarks, eat bratwurst and of course guzzle beer. I might shop if the US Dollar’s not wheezing that week.

good pizza, Sunday flowers, Farmer’s markets, tart green freckled oranges with cheese, walnuts

Georgetown walks

Pedro Almodovar and his frantic narratives >>> Just re-watched the film Talk to Her (Habla Con Ella)

unexpected gifts >>> Thanks Leah from Florida :) I will be wearing that gift in the Style Section this Friday (tomorrow).

wild thyme >>> I kind of miss gardening despite all my belly-aching about it when I lived home with my parents. My mother has a green thumb and gardens 6 hours a day when she has free time! I brought this back from Florida years ago and it just keeps going and going.

These items from a Milan furnishing show tickled my fancy. The New York Times did several pieces on the designs. Check it out here. I love this imaginative teapot by Maria Volokhov. It looks more like a decorate biblot that something to use to make breakfast every morning. And, therein lies its charm.

Emerson. I never tire of him. Ever. Here’s why: Emerson is like my own personal hotline. His multifarious writing is philosophy for people who might read self-help before bed. It’s candid and gets straight to the point. Also he’s a great maker of quotes though I think he once wrote, “I hate quotes, tell me what you know.”

“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion.” – Self Reliance

I’ve been thinking about that a lot this week, about the difference between admiration and imitation. Admiration inspires me to do as another person did but not what the other person did. Imitation seems like the loss of self-respect. What’s wonderful about you? Always harvest that.

Art Inspiring Art

The painter El Greco painted scenes so vibrant they almost look psychedelic except that he preferred soft undulating curves rather than boxy geometric shapes. Here he painted the sky in a scence titled Christ Healing the Blind. Apparently he had studied in Venice and fallen in love with the bright colors and so he always added a touch of Venice veneer to his works. He painted Biblical scenes and ordinary portraits in the same style. Everyone must be exhaled if he wished to be painted by El Greco. All the figures look like they are taking part in an ballet of earthly angels – their limbs overstretched, their eyes glazed over, transfixed.

Photo from Art Bible.net

And yesterday (Wednesday) I played El Greco on Instagram. El Greco because his family was from Greece and his name is Doménikos Theotokópoulos, unpronounceable for most of his compatriots. He was born in Toledo, Spain.

I took this pictures on the iphone 3GS with the App Instagram. A tornado watch was in effect for Washignton DC. The clouds were raging and the wind howled…