#july 11 2011

[xeveryxstarfallx]

Remember what happened a year ago today?

I do.

NEVER AGAIN.

WE'RE STILL CLEANING SHIT UP.

[andfoodwasgood]

pickles for normal people

I know what you're thinking.  You saw the word "pickles" and immediately saw visions of a sweltering kitchen, and a sweating, slave-like person (you) in a head to toe apron, dwarfed by giant pots, filling hundreds of jars so that the family will make it through the winter without starving.

Take a deep breath.

Pickled Baby Carrots, Sweet and Spicy Fennel Spears & Tarragon Cucumbers

Pickles, and the making of them, is fun. Really. We all know how beautiful they are, and how a crisp, salty-sweet pickle can whet the appetite. But if you have never tried making them, don't be intimidated! Pickling has come a long way from giant vats of chili sauce and recipes made for families of ten. Innovative home canners are experimenting with simpler recipes, using interesting ingredients, and in smaller batches. The best recipes are ones that be made a jar or two at a time, one of a kind little gems made with whatever is in season and that you like.  Sweet and tangy baby carrots.  Tiny golden beets.  Crisp tarragon cucumbers.

Ice cold from the fridge, they are a perfect before-supper snack.  They are terrific with some soft, mild cheeses and sweet-ish cocktails.  They are great in salads and nothing is better with charcuterie than tiny cornichons or some pickled shallots.

Here is a great all purpose recipe that works especially well with cucumbers, but can also be used to pickle slender green beans, shallots, or carrots. This makes enough brine for 2/500ml jars.  If you only want to make one, cut it in half.  More?  Double or triple it.  You don't even need a calculator.  Apron optional.

Pickle This!

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

3 tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp sugar

Bring the water and vinegar to a boil.  Sterilize your jars (15 minutes in a 250F oven will do) and boil your two-piece rings and lids for 5 minutes.  Pack the hot jars with prepared vegetables (wash cucumbers and slice or quarter.  Peel baby carrots.  Trim beans)  Add sprigs of fresh herbs and dried spices of your choice.  To each jar, add 1 1/2 tsp of salt, and 1 tsp, sugar.  Fill to 1/4" from top with hot brine.  Top with lids, then the screw band.  Allow to cool.  Lids will "pop" when they are sealed, and will invert.  If any don't seal, simply store in the fridge.  The rest can go in your pantry.

That's it.  This brine is strong enough that you won't need to process in a boiling water bath.  I have been making this recipe for 15 years and have never had a spoiled jar.

Some ideas to try with this recipe:

baby carrots-thyme sprigs-garlic cloves-peppercorns

quartered cucumbers-tiny dried pequin peppers-peeled garlic cloves-fennel seed-fennel sprigs

thickly sliced cucumbers-sprigs of fresh tarragon-whole peppercorns

french filet beans-dill sprigs-chili flakes

peeled shallots-rosemary-pink peppercorns

tiny golden beets-1 tbsp. honey-lemon thyme

[starvedtodeathinalandofplenty]

Sober thoughts leaving a dreaming mind

everynight I drift my fists clenched tight

I see you there, eyes gleaming and perfect smile

I ask where you've been, My heart beats wild

but then it's vacuumed up 

I know that she's been around

I wake up shocked, my head spinning round

The blood in my heart can't drip down

So I get on with the day

Time to self medicate

and there it goes, you took my life away

another lonely day drained, bored and gray.

[saidnicks-blog]

July 11th - Wake and we drive back to LA.....KCRW Show at Bardot Stevie meets us at Bardot for soundcheck and rehearsal. We run "Bells." Feels really vibey.  Stevie and I head back to the Sunset Marquis to get ready. I slip on a black Electric Feathers dress and Stevie shows me her immaculately tailored black jacket...very Gaultier, but not.  It's custom-made. Ms. Nicks has had her own dressmaker (Margi Kent) since the '70s and tells me that Margi glues a jewel under the arch of each of her eyebrows every. single. day. of her life. AMAZING. We head back to Bardot and this happened....

July 12th Post-show...into my next-day return home to NYC 2:30 a.m....Post-show Stevie gives me very specific instruction on how to get back-of-head-hair-volume.  She sticks these two curlers in my hair with special clips (pictured above) that feel like nothing. I will probably walk through airport security tomorrow with them still in tact cause I seriously can't feel them.Whatever I've had worse things happen. Curlers in your hair are way better than a TSA dude discovering your pocket rocket. Yep. Happened. 5:00 a.m. lobby call. I didn't sleep at all (instead watched an infomercial for an hour) and drag my feet and bags to meet Mark out front (sans curlers). We pour ourselves some serious coffee and head to LAX.  The no zzzzzz's hits me like bricks on the flight back home to NYC and I sleep the whole way -- gotta be fresh for my Rolling Stone live session AND I have lunch with my mom.  Never cancel lunch with mom, Emily Post would NOT approve.

- Vanessa Carlton, tour diary

[b4csi]

Nakagaan ng araw.

Umaga ng Huwebes. July 11, 2011. Mga 9:30. Shet, di pa ko nakakasakay at 10:00AM ang pasok ko.

So, abang abang ang drama ko sa tapat ng tindahan ng Lola ko. Pasilip silip.

May nakatinginang mata ako na tricycle driver. Syempre baka sakaling isakay ako. Eh hindi tumalab at tuloy tuloy ang takbo niya.

Balik ulit ako sa pag aabang. Ilang sandali lang eh may narinig ako. "Miss, sa BPSU ka? Sa BCC ka lang diba?" yun yung tricycle driver kanina. Bumalik pala sya. 

Nakasalamin sya. Malabo siguro ang mata. May itsura. Maputi at makisig ngumiti. Siguro mga 20yrs old palang yun.

So ayun, sabi ko, "Sa trade po ako" na medyo matawa tawa pa nga dahil sa bumalik pa sya at nung nakita ko yung muka nya eh nakangiti na parang magkakilala kaming dalawa.

Napamura pa tuloy sya at sinabi, "Tangna ang layo! Hahaha!"

Natawa kaming dalawa. Hahaha! Sakto naman at may nakatayo din sa may kabilang tindahan at sa Trade din nag aaral. Mas malayo kasi yun kesa sa BCC dahil ang BCC eh sa bayan lang ng Balanga samantalang ang Trade eh sa kapitolyo pa.

So natuwa naman sya at dalawa na kami. Hindi sayang sa gasolina ang pagbalik nya kundi nagkakita pa sya. "Tara!" sabi ni Kuya.

Sumakay na ko. Hindi ko mapigilan ang di matawa sa itsura nya. 

"May nanghuhuli ba ngayon?" tanong nya. Sa isip ko eh ewan ko pero nangiti at natawa na lang ako.

Umalis na kami patungong Balanga. May nakita ulit si Kuya na pasahero. Sa PWU naman nag aaral. Sabi nya, "Ate, saan ka?" sagot nung babae, "PWU".

Natawa ko sa pagsagot nya ng "Tara!?". Para bang nag aalinlangan pa syang isakay yung babae kasi kinakabahan sya baka mahuli sya ng pulis.

Buti nalang eh may pasikot sikot ang daan papuntang PWU at Trade para di mahuli ng pulis.

At the end of the roadtrip, nalibre pa ko nung kasabay ko sa Trade.

Pagkababa ko ng tricycle, sabi ni Kuya, "Salamat ah :)"