Fondant, but make it mint, or Italian fruit

 Available from James Candy Company

Truly, creamy. They even have a 5 lb bag, but I think I'm going to wait until the F7F is up and running again, so I don't eat them all myself.

These would be even better for our annual Italian blowout, but it looks like I will have to go to Genoa to get my Romanengo fruit fondants, as they aren't offered on the website anymore, let alone finding a US distributor. 

Olive Oil and Other Italian Ingredients

 

Gustiamo is probably the top of serious Italian cook in America. Small selection of olive oils, but I'd trust them to have only the best each year. 

Kneeland

 This looks like an amazing place with textiles, ceramics, tabletop and jewelry just for starters. 

4767 W. ADAMS BLVD. LOS ANGELES, CA 90016    323-801-6328

Reading List from Juno Diaz

Found this in a cleanout of the depths of my inbox. Just in case the actual article disappears

Díaz, informed that Salon had tracked down his syllabi, assured us via email that the diversity of perspectives he emphasizes is less about the books than the approach. "I teach classic Gothic texts which are themselves not very diverse by our standards," he said, "but the critical lens I deploy helps my students understand how issues of race, gender, coloniality etc. are never far and how these problematics in fact underpin even what what would be considered a ‘white text.’"

Sharing just a list of books, he feared, "feels like a shortcut—like throwing out Sterling from the NBA."

But he agreed that one has to start somewhere. So behold, greatness:

World-Building:

Description: "This class concerns the design and analysis of imaginary (or constructed) worlds for narrative media such as roleplaying games, films, comics, videogames and literary texts. ... The class’ primary goal is to help participants create better imaginary worlds – ultimately all our efforts should serve that higher purpose."

Prerequisites: "You will need to have seen Star Wars (episode four: A New Hope) and read The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien."

Reading List:

"A Princess of Mars" by ER Burroughs
"Dracula" by Bram Stoker
"Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" by Frank Miller
"Sunshine" by Robin McKinley
"V for Vendetta" by Alan Moore
"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
"The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms" by NK Jemisin
"Lilith’s Brood" by Octavia Butler
"Perdido Street Station" by China Miéville
"Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson (Recommended)

Some things to consider always when taking on a new world: What are its primary features—spatial, cultural, biological, fantastic, cosmological? What is the world’s ethos (the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize the world)? What are the precise strategies that are used by its creator to convey the world to us and us to the world? How are our characters connected to the world? And how are we the viewer or reader or player connected to the world?

Advanced Fiction

Description: "An advanced workshop on the writing and critiquing of prose."

Reading List:
"Clara" by Roberto Bolaño
"Hitting Budapest" by NoViolet Bulawayo
"Whites" by Julie Otsuka
"Ghosts" by Edwidge Danticat
"My Good Man" by Eric Gansworth
"Gold Boy, Emerald Girl" by Yiyun Li
"Bounty" by George Saunder

Thifting

A directory, searchable by city or zip. hmmmm

Local places: Pape Meat Company in Millbrea

Address: 25 Hillcrest Blvd, Millbrae, CA 94030

Phone: (650) 697-2232

From Elena Kadvany's email:

I popped into Pape Meat Co. last week, an epic family-run butcher in downtown Millbrae. Open since 1958, the meat market is known for its dry-aged beef, wonderful customer service and knowledgeable staff.

For dinner, I grabbed some lamb shoulder chops — cut fresh that morning, the man behind the counter told me. And I couldn't resist the sliced-to-order prosciutto, which became that evening's appetizer, draped over lemon cucumbers (my favorite!), drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sumac Tajín. 

Garden thoughts #1 of many to come

We have an ugly fence that maybe someday, we'll replace with the same kind of stucco covered wall that's in the front and back of the house. Thought about painting it white, but...

this would be so much better! More fence camouflage here

Olive Oil Lovers subscription is definitely on the Xmas gift list...

build-your-own sampler sets

and 5L tins for ME!

a *small* waste can by Bunbuku, also comes in white, grey and black. I can think of many places to use this

• Dimensions: 8.75" Dia x 10.75" H.
• Volume: 1.9 gallons.

Ten Thousand Things Jewelry

They are a favorite place to peruse when walking through the west village, but until they reopen, online will have to do...

 

The classic pieces are looking especially good and wearable, and would work well with what I've bought over the last 20+ (!!) years, I've got a wrapped chain bracelet that matches the (sold-out) pearl earrings

This bracelet is sold out, but pretty perfect with handmade links

but could definitely see some of the newest designs mixed in too

those are Ethiopian opals, enlarge to see how beautiful they are!

Grace Wales Bonner

The womenswear is pretty great

but the men's stuff is almost more tempting....

and OMG the archives 

EBIOS

A different kind of space camp.  EBIOS begins construction in the Mojave Desert in 2021

"While all of this is undoubtedly exciting, the most astounding part of the endeavor is that after its completion, EBIOS won’t just be for scientists and astronauts—the futuristic facility will be open for half of each year to anyone who wants to take part in experiencing what future settlement on other planets might look like."

Shopping, shopping, shopping

Need to put down a few new good places before I forget

Where was The Bath Outlet when I was looking for tissue box covers, hand towel containers etc? 

OMG, Salt Home also needs to go on my LA list, and my Xmas stocking list. and my gifts-for-cool-kids list....magnetic pentagons, toy taco trucks, love bandanas and a whole lot of cool card sets

Now that's a cool camper

These campers! Tiny, but that's all you really need (as long as you're at a campground with toilet / shower facilities

Saveur Magazine Index

I've got issues of Saveur starting from #1 and going until...Colman Andrews wasn't the editor? And I KNOW there are amazing articles and recipes in there, but the spine's notes are terse. So, after cataloging all the cookbooks, I need to figure out how to scrape this index and make a searchable database. Thank you Saveur for recognizing the obsessive amongst us...

Miso recommendations from NY Mag

List of white, yellow and red misos

This is the most often mentioned for all-purpose home cooking, but the chefs talk about their preferred misos for specific dishes & flavor profiles.

NYC Feb 25 day 5

NYC Feb 23 day 4

NYC Feb 22 day 3

NYC February 21 2020 Day 2

NYC Feburary 2020 day 1

Landed at EWR at 7:00 pm, picked up my checked bag and still made the 7:37 train to Penn. The taxi across town to Freehand took almost as long as the train and cost about as much. These tiny rooms are a fantastic bang for the buck, even if they still haven't fixed the shower making a lake on the bathroom floor. $100 / night + the usual add-ons

And that's before I unpacked and replaced the luggage rack with the chair and little table you see at the bottom right, and cleared off the bedside table to hold folded clothes on the bottom and computer gear on the top.
There are so many smart details: a long rack with hooks and a narrow shelf above, lots of lighting choices for a small room, depending on what you need (foyer, overhead, just-right-brightness bedside, bathroom sink, and shower), a *steamer* for your clothes instead of an iron and ironing board which would be impossible to use in this small space.

Decided to go with the traditional first meal in NY and walked over to El Quinto Pino via 23rd. It was quiet, but maybe the cold was keeping everyone in. Had the usual, and sent pictures to the family because I am like that.

Burbujas, nuestra bravas, uni panini

And I was still a little hungry so had calamari ala plancha, and a negroni with a campari made in Brooklyn. Skipped dessert, but was really wishing for a cup of tea by the time I got back to the hotel around 10:30 but no go. The doorman did say they could set me up with a kettle, so I might look into that. 

Just random cool things from today's Taste newsletter

OKUI KAISEIDO MARBLED NORI

SQUEEZE BOTTLE MISO!

DUSTIng wand!

Amaro alert : cocktail recipes DC, NYC & Pennsylvania restaurants

At Officina, chef Nick Stefanelli’s tri-level Italian restaurant and market in Washington, D.C., bar director John Filkins helms Salotto, an intimate 12-seat amaro library stocked with dozens of contemporary and vintage releases. Sangue di Gambi "marries aromatic Demerara rum with Varnelli Amaro Sibilla, a rich, alpine-inspired amaro, and Cappelletti Vino Aperitivo, a bright bitter, for a rich and complex Negroni riff."

Got the tip from this Punch article which also lists Luca in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where they make  Inverno Luce , Fresh Kills in Brooklyn making The Mezcaletti, Leo, in  Williamsburg, Brooklyn, makes a gin cocktail  The Local Hanky Panky

A recipe for a Little Italy rounds out the goodies plus a link to an article about which bottles of amaro to consider smuggling back 

Restaurant Reviews - moving from "what" to "why"

LA Review of Books article on the evolution of the form & content of restaurant reviews, by Theodore Gioia

New restaurant alert!

Sushi in Redwood City. We're going...

Fancy Halva

Made in Los Angeles, but they ship and there are local retailers. Gotta check it out, but if it's good, it could be a good gift. And one of the flavors is vanilla :-)

How to Find Vietnamese Bahn Cuon

GREAT article  about Bahn Cuon - fresh rice sheets - lots of SoCal recommendations + a Seattle place, Virginia, one in San Jose I've added to my map...She goes into what names signify and what to look for. Also put her cookbook with a recipe for bahn cuon on my Amazon list and her blog on feedly

Local Chestnut Farm !

Skyline Chestnut Farm is about 2,500 feet above Palo Alto in the Santa Cruz Mountains and open Wednesday through Sunday during harvest season, which typically runs from early October through November, or until the chestnuts stop dropping from the trees. Article from Palo Alto Online 

Lampshades

This is a really great guide from Pooky.com to choosing the right size and shape of lampshade, and the shades they sell are pretty beautiful too. Robert Kime  also has great textile shades (he's another David Netto pick) and the Liberty ones can be wild - they've got House of Hackney as well as their own stuff.

The Cultured Pickle Shop

Whoa!A Japanese Pickle shop in Berkeley, with all kinds of things to explore. They have events, and on Saturday and Sunday they have bowls? There's a blog too...

British wallpaper designer

I think this was on a David Netto list - lovely wallpaper, store in London?

Batik Museum in Indonesia

From an article about places to visit in Indonesia

6. Danar Hadi Batik Museum, Surakarta

Thousands of batik collections from various eras are kept in this museum, including those that are more than a century old. The collection is displayed according to the year of manufacture, the origin of batik and the culture that influences it. Among the items are Batik Djawa Hokokai, Indian Influence Batik, Keraton Batik, Keraton Influence Batik, Sudagaran Batik, Farmer Batik, Indonesian Batik, Danar Hadi Batik and contemporary batik.

Located on Jl. Slamet Riyadi, the main street of Surakarta, Central Java, the museum is easily accessible from anywhere. From the airport, visitors can ride the Solo Batik Trans, which passes right in front of the museum. If you come in groups and want a unique trip, you can rent a steam train tour, which costs millions of rupiah.

The batik museum resides in the same complex with the House of Danar Hadi. The admission fee is Rp 25,000 (US$1.75) per person, or Rp 15,000 for students. The owner, Santosa Doellah, integrates the museum, batik outlets, batik workshops, restaurants and meeting houses in one complex, allowing visitors to tour history and shop in one visit. 

Those not satisfied just by looking at the collection on display can also look into the back of the museum, which hosts hundreds of artisans busily working to make hand-drawn and stamped batik .