no parking on the dancefloor

engineers.

nobody@vox.com(miz_ginevra) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:54:26 -0800

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Hi, gorgeous

nobody@vox.com(miz_ginevra) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:27:11 -0700

Hi, gorgeous, originally uploaded by miz_ginevra.

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Logistics!

nobody@vox.com(miz_ginevra) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:40:44 -0700

Logistics!, originally uploaded by Erika Hall.

know your audience.

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Cooking: Eggplant Thing

nobody@vox.com(miz_ginevra) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:27:48 -0700

the latest in the "cooking A Thing!" series!

Eggplant Thing, originally uploaded by miz_ginevra.

Originally a recipe that started as thai fried eggplant with basil, eggplant thing has come into being along with my CSA box this summer, and a gifted basil plant. Thai basil is better, but usually means a trip to the Sunset. The concept of cooking from the CSA box - especially this summer, when the produce is suffering from a lack of water here in California (and the east coast has the inverse problem) is more of a philosophy of OMG QUICK EAT IT BEFORE IT ROTS. I'm serious, my CSA tomatoes rot within two days of delivery. It's depressing, since I love tomatoes like it ain't no joke.

Moving along!

Eggplant Thing is meant to have a savory-sweet asian flavor, but I bet if you wanted to Italian-i-fy it with tomatoes and oregano, you could.

Eggplant Thing

veggies:
eggplants - chinese work best, chopped into 1-inch cubes
peppers - I've been using the red peppers from my CSA box, and red give the best color
onion - 1 medium, julienne
basil - as much as you like

sauce:
shoyu/soy sauce
sugar
rice wine vinegar
fish sauce (not too much, it's fishy)
red pepper flakes or diced thai chilis, to taste
hot water
if you're going for a thicker sauce, cornstarch

fry eggplant at high heat, put aside in its own bowl. I like to get at least one side super-toasty-brown, so I use a cast iron pan with just a wee bit of oil. Fry onions the same way (you can use water to sort of steam/deglaze to cut down on oil, a trick I learned from ChezBeau) and add peppers. When everything gets all tasty-looking, add back in the eggplant and the sauce. Stir in sauce, let cook for ~5 minutes.

You can fry the chilis first in the oil, for the spicy-spicy goodness.

You could also add in other veggies to taste, whatever you're trying to use up - squash would be good, as would zukes.

For Italian-i-fying, I'd sub the sauce with something like arrabiata (red pepper flakes, capers, tomato, parsley/oregano) and lots of cracked black pepper, instead of the umami of soy/fish sauce.

I just wanted to say the word "umami".

sidenote: some guidance on picking the best eggplants.

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right-brained days, right-brained ways

nobody@vox.com(miz_ginevra) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:14:35 -0700

It must be a right-brained sort of day, one where I think about poetry before sunup. This is an old favorite, found squirreled away in someone's classical poetry anthology, thumbed through and on sale at Green Apple Bookstore on Clement Street. I can't recall what put me in a mind of it, other than the shrugging line of "so what?" when the narrator as good as admits that bitches be crazy, but that's alright by him because it beats the alternative.

It's totally sexist and totally sexy and dammit, I'm going on vacation tomorrow. So it seemed an unusual and lovely way to start the day: with the knowledge that we humans haven't changed our relations very much since Before the Common Era.

Elegy 8B
Ovid, 43 BCE-18 CE
translation: Peter Green

--
If I heard a voice from heaven say 'Live without
        loving.'
    I'd beg off. Girls are such exquisite hell.
When desire's slaked, when I'm sick of the whole
        business,
    Some kink in my wretched nature drives me back.
It's like riding a hard-mouthed horse
        that bolts headlong, foam flying
    from his bit and won’t answer the rein -
Or being aboard a ship, on the point of docking, in
        harbour,
    when a sudden squall blows you back to sea:
That’s how the veering winds of desire so often catch
        me –
    Hot Love up to his lethal tricks again.
All right, boy, skewer me, I’ve dropped my defences,
    I’m an easy victim. Why, by now
Your arrows practically know their own way to the
        target
    And feel less at home in their quiver than in me. I’m sorry
for any fool who rates sleep a prime blessing
    and enjoys it from dusk to dawn.
Night In. Night out. What’s sleep but cold death’s
        reflection?
    Plenty of time for rest when you’re in the grave.
My mistress deceives me – so what? I’d rather be lied to
    Than ignored. I can live on hope. Today
She'll be all endearments, tomorrow throw screaming
        tantrums,
    Envelop me one night, lock me out the next.
War, like love, is a toss-up. If Mars is inconstant, he
        gets that
    From you, his stepson. You're quite
Unpredictable, Cupid, with your lucky-dip favours,
    And more volatile than your own wings.
Maybe you'll hear my appeal though - your delectable
    mother
Might help there - and settle in as king of my heart?
Then admit the flighty sex en masse to your dominions
    and you'd have guaranteed popularity all round.

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take a little trip back to baltimore

nobody@vox.com(miz_ginevra) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:35:48 -0700

thanks to Garth for sharing this with me, since this song is my new addiction. Everything about this song reminds me of everyone I grew up dancing with, from the dance style, to the lyrics, to the bleepy breakbeats. Plus, she's having so much fun just goofing the hell off in her bedroom and dancing her ass off.

hardcore girls - rye rye

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QotD: Going Greener

nobody@vox.com(miz_ginevra) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:54:06 -0700

How could you better “green” your life? What’s holding you back?
Sponsored by One Million Acts of Green brought to you by Cisco.

I think my colleague Anil is onto something huge with lastyearsmodel.com.

How To Play

Participating in Last Year's Model is easy:

Choose to hang on to a gadget or technology product that you own, instead of just buying a new one.
Join our Facebook Cause, or tell people on Twitter, your blog or Flickr why you're participating.
Optionally put the Last Year's Model badge on your site or tag your story with #lastyears.

I absolutely hate the idea of buying NEW stuff just because it's new. The packaging alone both frustrates me and the cost annoys me. I've been rocking the flea market/thrift store shopping for a loooong time now, thanks to a deal I struck with my parents as a kid. Each semester of school, I got $200 to spend on clothes. I very quickly figured out that a thrift store would stretch that dollar a lot further, and thank god late 90's fashion fit the bill nicely. Here in SF, so many people get rid of REALLY cool stuff at thrift stores like Wasteland it's almost a shame not to get stuff there.

When I got old enough to start sorting out my own house, getting thrifty goods became the same way - fun, and necessary on a tight budget. Thing is, so many cool and sturdy kitchen gear things are still around because they were made to last and endure heavy, repeated use. (And thank goddess the mid-century modern look fits 2009 just fine too.)

My gadgetry...well, I still rock the same little digital camera I got in 2004, and my iPhone is cracked but still works fine.

I don't know whether all this says I'm cheap or with the lastyearsmodel.com game, but I'd like to think it's some of both.

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"smoking is fully retarded and you need to stop."

nobody@vox.com(miz_ginevra) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:48:35 -0700

Wise words from one of my homeboys. After going through some crazy, seriously unbloggable shit these past few weeks, I found myself smoking much more than was reallllllly necessary. I don't like when that happens, so, I stopped. Doing yoga while being a smoker is, as my homie says, fully retarded. I'm also inspired by being back in California where there are hills to walk up and oceans for swimming in.

It always takes about 3-4 days before my whole...yuck that's in my lungs goes away, so I've got a bitch and a half of a sort of head cold/purging thing. This is the part that sucks the worst. I don't know if I should take cold medicine or just let it all work itself out. MMMM.

I don't find the cravings most people have too troublesome. It's a bad habit more than anything else. I do always miss the social aspect of smoking. It's kind of fun being in the bad kids club, and to stand around a doorway shooting the shit with strangers. But I'll probably do that anyway.

I will still have the occasional smoke at a party and yall simply cannot stop me from that. I am from Flavor Country. But! this leads me to another Thing! (See what I did there?)

Srihacha Soup Thing

This is truly a Thing in that I've made it differently each time. I always make it for myself when I don't feel well, so I rarely remember when and why and what goes in it. Other than hot sauce, cos hot sauce makes my world go round. It's sort of like pho, sort of like miso, and sort of like a big ol mess.

ingredients:
Srihacha (you can use whatever you want, but that's what I use.)
miso or chicken broth
Cilantro
Noodles, tofu, chicken, whatever you want. I am not ashamed that I have used leftover spaghetti in this.

You're making a soup, smarty. It's not that hard. Boil your stock or water. Don't put miso in boiling water or you'll kill all the awesome whatevers that are in it. Pour yourself a big ol dollop of Srihacha at the bottom of your bowl. Pour in soupy goodness. Tear up the cilantro small enough that you can eat it on a spoon, but don't go all crazy chopping it. You're sick, remember?

Plunk your whatever else deliciousness (chicken! tofu! noodle!) to round out the soup, and eat. :)

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Vox Hunt: Signs of Spring

nobody@vox.com(miz_ginevra) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:56:34 -0700

Show us the first sign of spring.

Fleurs!

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making a thing: Shrimp Thing

nobody@vox.com(miz_ginevra) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:53:26 -0700

Shrimp Thing is the first of the Things my friends started requesting all of the time. Every time there is a grill at a party, anyone who knows about shrimp thing makes the funniest face at me, a combination of beseeching and utter addiction. Yes, everyone loves shrimp thing. It's best on the grill, but you can make a slightly different version for inside cookin. (It's good with grits. As all things are.)

There's two challenges to shrimp thing: it's time-intensive, and the secret ingredient is butter. (and it makes a holy mess of the grill. No one cares.)

Shrimp Thing

a bunch of large shrimp, shells on, not frozen.
butter
more butter
cilantro
garlic
lemon juice & zest
a couple of chilis - dried or fresh
salt & pepper
other stuff as you see fit: sub in basil for the cilantro if you have one of those weirdos around who hates cilantro, srihacha, like I said, the secret ingredient is butter. Basically, you're aiming for a good balance of spicy/tangy. I like more lemon/lime than most folks, so I grill those along with them. Mmmmsmokeylimeygoodness.

Directions:
Chop, mix everything in a bowl. (except the shrimp, smartass.) You'll want that butter to soften first, so don't get one of those friends who wants you to make it too excited yet.

Recruit someone to help you with this step - you're going to sort of leave the shrimp in their shells, but devein them as well as you can.

Make a cut though the back of the shell straight down.

Send someone to bring you some wine. This next step takes forever.

Then, you stuff each side of the shrimp with that butter mixture. It's messy. I've used a spoon with some success, most mostly, it's just gettin in there with your hands. Your hands will be soft after this! Yay!

Put the shrimp on a cookie sheet or something like that. Put the shrimp away in the fridge for a couple of hours so that when they hit the grill, the butter doesn't just melt out everywhere.

Enjoy your newfound fame as someone who makes Shrimp Thing.

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