Basenotes Notes:
Top Notes: Living Indian Lime, Clementine, Kumquat, Rhubarb.
Middle Notes: Stephanotis Jasmine, White Peony, Basil Flower, Gentian.
Base Notes: Tree Moss, Milky Musk, Tonka Bean, Acacia.

Date: 8/8/08 Weather: 72 degrees, sunny

Comments: Basil. I smell like pesto. Some citrus appears with the pesto about 5 minutes in. IN 10 minutes, turns into cologne. A heavy, slightly indolic cologne. Want...to...scrub....must...wait...out.... Gets more indolic. Showered and scrubbed after 30 minutes.

"Through my...experience and my new picture of reality, I became aware of the wonder of creation, the magnificence of nature and of the animal and plant kingdom. I became very sensitive to what will happen to all this and all of us.”

The Albert Hofmann Cocktail

• 1 oz. rye whisky
• 1 oz. Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• ½ tsp. Absinthe
• Dash Peychaud’s Bitters
• Kumquat sliced in half for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker two-thirds full of ice, shake vigorously, and strain into martini glass with skewered kumquat garnish.

Via: Oh Joy!

I'm usually a leftovers-for-lunch type of girl, but sometimes a lovely salad is a nice change of pace. This one is super easy to assemble and oh-so tasty. The walnut-citrus combination is one of my new favorites, and I've doubled up on it here with toasted walnuts and sliced kumquats, and a dressing of walnut oil and Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar.

Here's the recipe (if you can even call it a recipe):

• 1 cup cooked quinoa (It takes about 20-30 minutes to cook, so throw it on the stove while you're getting ready in the morning).
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 4-5 kumquats, halved and sliced
• 2 tablespoons toasted walnuts
• 1-2 tablespoons crumbed goat cheese
• 1-2 tablespoons walnut oil
• 1 tablespoon Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar (or champagne or white wine vinegar and a splash of orange juice)
• salt and pepper

Assemble salad ingredients. Combine dressing ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pack away for lunch or eat immediately.

Enjoy.

~explore Garden

~~~~~

OsMoz Notes:
Top note : Mandarin, Mango, Kumquat
Middle note : Freesia, Orris, Passiflore
Base note : Sandal, Cedarwood

Date: 3/25/08 Weather: 39 degrees, clear

Comments: Starts with a lavender note. 5 minutes later - becomes fruity floral (peach, some jasmine). Then the fruity floral becomes more watery. 30 minutes in, pick up more flowers (watery floral). And then it bores me.... I can still smell it 6 hours later - not that it matters.

Retired 5/25/08 - Swap to ComDiva

I'm waiting to come home and be greeted by Zoey with such phrases as, "Mom! What?!"  or "Where's the phone?!"  or "Brennnonnnn!"  You know, the usual stuff that gets thrown around when there's four bored kids making trouble.

I'm pretty sure parrots are a lot like children.  You can sit there for days and try and get them to say something like, "Hello!" and "Night-night!" and stuff, and they'll never pick it up.  But call someone a bastard and you'll never hear the end of it.  Ten years after the event they'll still be saying it when you invite the local preacher over for dinner.  And parrots can live for about thirty years, if properly cared for.  Which can be very difficult when they're trying to eat your glasses.

Usagi Wagashi: a type of manju (steamed bread) filled with white anko (bean paste) and a honeyed kumquat. the kumquat is really sweet and refreshing.

Tea ceremony lesson @ Katsunuma, Yamanashi, Japan

I adore shopping at asian groceries because of the element of suprise, those moments of "what is this?" and "how could I use up this?".  I always end up with something I haven't had the chance to cook with before.  Usually I end these trips at home curled up with Asian Ingredients by Bruce Cost, which provides clear explanations, pictures, and recipes of many things I can't even begin to pronounce.  Wheeling my cart around the produce section, I came across kumquats.  Charmed by the idea of tiny citrus and having no idea what to do with them, I took them home with me. 

This time though I thought of Chez Panisse Fruits, a cookbook I always flip through with good intentions, happily browsing the stylized relief prints and reading the essays before giving up because I live 300 miles from the nearest Meyer lemon.  I rushed home with my kumquats, sure that Alice Waters would approve and I would finally cook something from this beautiful cookbook! 

I was right - Alice had some great ideas for me, from a spring onion kumquat relish to candied kumquat slices.  Apparently, kumquats are the only citrus in that the skin is sweet and the flesh is tart, which sounded perfect for marmalade to me.  The thin skins also mean you don't have to go through the blanching step that other citrus marmalades require.

Thankfully, I hadn't bought all that many kumquats, so I didn't have to feel bad about not actually canning anything, just making a jar to keep in the fridge.  The recipe only calls for two ingredients: kumquats and sugar, though I added some lemon juice for brightness, and couldn't be any easier.  The results were stunning, a sweet-tart marmalade with an unusual flavor...

Kumquat Marmalade

     adapted from Chez Panisse Fruits, makes a couple of cups

• 1/2 pound kumquats
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

cut off the stem end of the fruit, then split each lengthwise.  slice each half into 1/8-inch moons, removing and discarding the seeds as you slice.  place the kumquats into a small saucepan and just cover with water.  add sugar and bring to a boil over high heat for 15 minutes, skimming off any foam that comes to the top.  reduce heat and continue simmering until the marmalade thickens to the consistency you like.  add the lemon juice and stir. let cool, then put in a pretty jar and refrigerate.

The marmalade came out so well that I decided I needed something to eat it on and with a quickness.  For me, that means biscuits, probably my favorite quickbread.  I used to be intimidated by biscuit-making and, trust me, I had made my share of hockey pucks to prove why.  Two things have revolutionized biscuits for me: powdered buttermilk and a really good recipe.  I stand by them both and I now make darn good biscuits to prove it.  Ones that are pretty enough for a photo shoot, if they last that long...

I discovered the powdered buttermilk when I was packing foods up for my dad to take on a long hiking trip and I haven't looked back since.  I occasionally buy buttermilk for projects like buttermilk-marinated fried chicken, but it never seemed like I had any around when I needed it for baked goods.  If I did buy it for biscuits, I would use half a cup and then the rest would slowly, despite my best intentions, go bad in the fridge.  Now I can whip up a batch of buttermilk biscuits without running to the store.  Completely worth it, I promise.  Go buy some, toss it in the back of your fridge, and you will be amazed how often it comes in handy. 

The recipe comes from The New Best Recipe from the editors of Cook's Illustrated, a cookbook I turn to regularly for baking, and produces the best biscuits I have ever made.  Using the food processor, it takes me six minutes flat to get these biscuits in the oven and another ten to bake, which makes them possible for everyday, rather than just special occasions or Sundays.

Buttermilk Biscuits

     adapted from The New Best Recipe, makes 8 biscuits

adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. line an ungreased baking sheet with a piece of parchment (optional).

• 1 cup (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (4 ounces) plain cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons powdered buttermilk

place into the bowl of a food processor, blitz ten seconds to mix dry ingredients.

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

sprinkle the butter cubes evenly over the dry ingredients.  process in twelve 1-second pulses. add

• 3/4 cup water

process until dough gathers into moist clumps, about eight 1-second pulses.  transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gather it into a loose ball, being careful not to overmix.  cut the ball into quarters, then split each quarter into eighths.  with floured hands, shape a rough ball of each piece and place on the baking sheet, about a half-inch to an inch apart.  bake for ten minutes, check and put in for a minute or two more if needed to achieve golden biscuit perfection.

DRY Soda Co. is a Seattle-based company that produces all-natural sodas. Really, they are non-alcoholic so you won't have to worry about losing your job and living in your car if you, too, become addicted. These are not your ordinary sodas. They are ever-so-lightly sweetened with pure cane sugar and are flavored with the extracts of fruit or herbs. Their current tantalizing yet subtle flavors are lavender, rhubarb, kumquat and lemongrass. I honestly cannot tell you which is my favorite as they are all divine. So I just keep drinking more.

Still need inspiration? Here are some of DRY Soda staff's favorite pairings:

Kumquat DRY with oysters
Lavender DRY and chocolate lava cake
Lemongrass DRY with Thai curry
Rhubarb DRY and butternut squash

What soda company suggests giving "yourself home turndown service with Lavender DRY and a chocolate square before bed" or, creating "your own mini-spa experience at home with DRY Soda and a favorite CD, candle or bath fizz"? Sounds good to me. I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but off I go to soak in the tub with my soda!

• pianta di origine cinese appartenente agli agrumi, che si coltiva a scopo ornamentale e per i frutti, simili a piccolissime arance, che si mangiano con la buccia | il frutto stesso

Voce ingl., dal cinese jinjiu ’arancia dorata’ nella pronuncia cantonese.

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dal Vocabolario di vlad

lemma gravacoso
Definizione [gra-va-cò-so] n.m. sing.

• oggetto rappresentato in un avatar, o immagine identificativa associata ad una persona, visibile all'interno dei commenti lasciati da una stessa persona.
• trasposizione di quanto illustrato in Uno, nessuno e centomila di Luigi Pirandello riferito alla persona, in un'immagine che è unica ma atta ad essere interpretata e distorta a seconda della persona che la guarda, ma anche a scomparire a volte :D

Usato per la prima volta in Rinocannibalismo intergenerazionale .

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Da un po' la piattaforma Wordpress con cui è fatto questo blog permette a chiunque voglia di lasciare un commento con associato un avatar (immagine identificativa della persona: in questo caso, di chi ha lasciato il commento) anche se non ha un account Wordpress e/o un blog su tale piattaforma.

Come?

Ci si deve registrare gratuitamente a Gravatar e ricordarsi di lasciare il commento con l'indirizzo della casella di posta elettronica utilizzata per la propria registrazione.

Le istruzioni sono in inglese, spero le capiate. :D

Il procedimento è più o meno questo:

1. registrate il vostro indirizzo, scrivendolo nella casella di testo della pagina del sito e premendo signup
2. Gravatar vi invia un'e-mail Welcome to Gravatar alla casella indicata. Aprendola, troverete un collegamento che vi riporterà sul sito di gravatar per terminare la registrazione.
3. Vi chiederà una password per i prossimi accessi (spero non vogliate usare la stessa della casella :P ) e una o più immagini da associare alla registrazione. Solo una, però, può essere selezionata come attiva per la registrazione.

Spero vi sia utile :D

Ciao.

Oatmeal cookies, egg rolls, pineapple tarts, kueh bangkit, groundnuts, kueh lapis, bak kwa, pumpkin seeds, sweets, mandarin oranges

And Our Eight Treasures!

Preserved dried coconut strips, mango, strawberry, kiwi, kumquat, ginger, apricot, red dates

    

When visiting relatives during the CNY, it’s customary for them to offer guests tea, along with a round or octagonal tray filled with a variety of treats, from nuts to sweets. This is known as the Tray of Togetherness.

Traditionally, the tray was made of wood, with eight interior dishes of porcelain, but nowadays many people opt for plastic. I prefer the look of rosewood — it shows more class.

The tray usually contains an inner set of eight compartments to help keep the goodies separated. Each compartment is filled with a special symbolic food:

swirling in color
standing on my head I think
better upside down

With all of the holiday activities, I haven't been able to practice my daily painting. However, I'm with it now and back on track! Working on my book of "visionary poetry" soon to be released, I am still working on the still life collection that are the paintings for the book. It's a good thing I write the poetry immediately after the painting is completed. This way, I can lay them out at the same time in the book.

In this painting, I painted a kumquat as if it were standing on its head. It's a bit of whimsy symbolic of my mood when painting.

I mean, come on...Blowhan?  Loblow?  El-Blow?  Lohandjob?  LL Cool Tits? 

Truth be told, Lohan was once hot.  It was not smoke and mirrors.

Circa "Mean Girls," she was a ripe little apple waiting to be plucked.

Just take a look at this photo:

Let's see here...

Big, robust, somewhat untouched boobilicious mountains?  CHECK.

RARE quality as a hot redhead (how often do these come along)?    CHECK.

Slightly pudgy tummy, indicating the still noticeable presence of adolescence, the fact that she's well fed, and that she might be just a tiny bit insecure about her physical appearance (leading to her tossing her vajayjay around like a Kooshball)?  CHECK.

Moderately wholesome, mid-puberty hotness, offset by a slight wild streak?  CHECK, CHECK, and DOUBLE CHECK.

So what happened?

Well, it appears that Lindsay has run into a short, yet torrid love affair with nose candy.  And suffice it to say that the nose candy is winning in a landslide.

To be fair, the odds aren't exactly stacked in Lindsay's favor.

Her family is a disaster, led by her harlot of a mother, Dina.

Riddle me this, Batman.  Which of these two looks like the party animal?  The one on the left with the "Man, I'm getting bored of toting this penis receptacle around" look on her face?  Or the one on the right that looks as if she's having sex on ecstacy while drunk and winning the lottery and riding the world's fastest roller coaster, all at the same time?

No wonder Lindsay's indulging in some buffers against reality that just so happened to be called "Cocaine" and "Penis."

Can you blame her?

The sad part is that she IS a very good actress.

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

Keeping waiting...

AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

GOTCHA!

She's an awful actress.  So, I guess there really is no "sad part."

The only sad thing is that what once was a pretty curvaceous and delectable little bundle of redheaded kumquats is now a emaciated, self-absorbed bag of drugs.

Unfortunate, to be sure.

But fear not!

Just because you look like this when you're on drugs:

DOESN'T mean you can't look like this during a photoshoot:

 Now, can I get a what-what for photoshop and airbrushing?