Monthly Archives: March 2010

have fave salve

food, the day lee, things i worry about

fava beans rising up like middle fingers…

and all sorts of other helpful creatures standing by…

ever since we moved here our neighbor’s avocado tree has borne no fruit. sometimes i get the suspicion that he thinks it’s not a coincidence. i think (he’s over 80 years old) that he did get fruit these last few years, he just didn’t see them…
this year everyone wins, the garden and his avo tree is FULL of flowers and the squirrels pick up the fruit and run over the wires and drop them in our yard.
thanks!

sunset on the hood

food, the day lee, why artists need math,

today’s agenda is to cover everything with chocolate. we’ve got: candied tangerine peels (after eating the inside of a tangerine from Westfield Farms the immediate thought is what to do with the outside), candied ginger (ok, i bought those), bananas (which we’ll freeze and eat as if we’re on Catalina Island), coffee beans (no duh), and cacao beans (how recursive).

it’s sort of a magical process, bringing the temperature up, then down, then slightly up until the chocolate is perfectly tempered for dipping. then sit back and watch the surface as it turns into a lovely matte sheen, turning each piece of tangerine peel into a small reflection of sunset.

when herbs become puzzle pieces

the day lee, things i worry about

it’s bad enough that there’s a note posted on the window of my local bookstore that says (something like), every time an order is made on amazon.com another mom and pop bookstore goes out of business.
it’s bad enough that California hiked its sales tax so damn sky-ward that i want to buy EVERYTHING online, including marrow bones, flour and now, herbs. and i’m not talking about those kind of herbs, in which case you’re better off staying in California, since those damn green crosses seem to multiply like rabbits. bulk prices are such the deal that the cost of a large bag that i’m never going to get through is cheaper (and fresher) than one of those nice glass containers at Whole Foods. the problem is what to do with the extra herbs. anyone want some marjoram and thyme?

and… if that’s not bad enough, the state of California seems pissed at everyone skipping out on their sales tax, so they’ve reincarnated this magical thing called USE TAX which means making you report everything you bought out of state and TAXING you for it because you USED it, and yes, that means all the clothes purchased at Gilt or wherever that you haven’t worn…

why i love stripey socks

the day lee, things i worry about, why artists need math

a long time ago a fashion-senseless lady advised a friend of mine that wearing stripes as a “wide” girl would only accentuate her wideness. instead of telling her that fashion is how you carry it, not how it carries you, she relegated my friend to the “dark coffin of low self-esteem,” full of oversized & earth-toned cotton separates from CP Shades. 25 years later, i still blame this lady for the email i receive at the start of every new year from my still stripe-less friend that gives a generic greeting and a profound “word of the year.” barf.

in grad school after the Northridge earthquake a bunch of us dyed our hair blue. (or at least we tried to, my hair is black, so i first bleached it, which made it yellow, and then the blue dye turned me into a martian.) several students who had red-tagged apartments were staying with my roommate and i, and one of the guys let us paint his toenails blue. the next day, after working in the wood shop all day he came home and said “now i know why you girls all paint your nails. you have a shitty day, but when you take your socks off it makes you smile.”

now that’s the best reason to wear anything… so, clearly – this outfit from Commes Des Garcons must accentuate the kidneys?

spring thyme

food, the day lee

yay! it’s spring, and while we wait for the bees to finish pollinating the fava beans (planted last December, part of the economic meltdown where we switched from computers to agriculture) we’re putting down our tomato seeds.

we’ve got Costoluto Genovese, Yellow Pear, Japanese Black Trifele and one other. oh and some larger pots of parsely, sage and basil. more of a small ditty than a Simon and Garfunkle song but heck, rosemary grows like a weed here.