I thought for sure by the year 2005 we’d all be carrying around some sort of holographic tubes in our pockets that would take care of everything from commerce to communications. That this christmas I’d be faxing gift specs accross continents so nano factories could intelligently construct themselves to build cleverly wrapped presents upon reciept and then dissolve into the atmosphere as fresh new oxygen molecules that reinforce the ozone. With the exception of the internet and tivo, not much has changed in everyday life – I still have to use a separate washing machine and dryer and am no closer to that clothing processor I was promised by ethereal visions of the future. Nor do I have that amphibious car to drive vertically and sideways on land or sea that I so desperately need. And where is that underground hydraulic tube that delivers me milk, coffee, and latenight snacks? How about my droid I was supposed to have to clean up and keep things tidy around here?! If you see him around tell him to email me.

{tags future utopia housework}

• {tags santa monica pictures}

• {tags santa monica pacific coast highway rain pictures}

• I got some blueberries yesterday so I decided to go ahead and make muffins. Afterall, what else does one do with blueberries? Do tell. I really don’t bake, as in with flour and sugar that is; so I usually make something out of a box when the urge hits me. Plus I don’t have as much of a sweet tooth as I do a very salty one. So I got a box of blueberry muffin mix and changed some ingredients around. When Chris had one he exclaimed with much enthusiasm ‘Yum!’ and I responded with much enthusiasm “I made up the recipe MYSELF! Okay, heres what I did: I took a box of blueberry muffin mix and….” Thats where I lost him. Chris started falling over lauging at me in such a way that I could either be hysterically funny or rediculously strange, there was just no telling. My embarrasment only allowed me one reaction, the standard one where I’m confused and uncomfortable in which I laugh like a mental patient until tears come down. Not dissimilar to that feeling of when you go to high-five someone and they leave you hanging but you try to play it off like you were just going to fix your hair anyway. So, heres my completely made up recipe; they really are quite ‘yum’.

  1 box blueberry muffin mix, the kind with a tin of berries inside like pillsbury and toss the berries.
  1 package of cream cheese
  1/4 cup brown sugar
  1/4 cup vegitable oil
  2 eggs
  Fresh blueberries, 1 conainer

  Set oven to 425f and mix all ingredients except the berries untill they have a whipped consistancy and are good and fluffy, then stir in the berries. Line muffin pan with paper cups and fill each one with a heaping tablespoon of batter and bake for about 20 minutes untill golden. Wash, rinse, repeat. I ended up with 30.

  {tags blueberry muffin pastry recipe}

I love the flavor of fresh peas and scallops together and have been meaning to start a recipe section to this blog for a while. It looks like the time is now to begin with two tasty dishes we enjoyed last night. Both are from this Italian cookbook my mother-in-law gave me as a gift which I find myself perusing for ideas more often than not. The recipes highlight basic italian flavors I grew up eating at the hand of my Noni who was from northern Italy. She never learned to speak proper english, traveled in all italian circles, watched opera all day, and was the best cook I’ve ever known. She also wrote memoirs that were later published by my Uncles Carlo and Renato in which she refers to my mother as “A sly and devilish woman” and gave us all a rare peek at her endearing dry wit.

Cestini Di Patate Piselli, potato baskets with peas

1 2/3 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
4 tb butter
2 eggs
pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
2 c peas, fresh if you can find them
2 tb extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Boil potatos untill tender and drain, mash untill very fine. I used a stand mixer with the the wisk attachment to get all the lumps out. Return to pan and cook over a low heat untill all the moisture has been cooked off and add 2 tb of butter. Let cool and add eggs, nutmeg, and parmesan mixing well. Spoon the potatos mixture into a pasty bag with a large tip and pipe out discs onto a baking sheet adding a border around the edges to make a basketshape. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes untill just golden. Meanwhile boil and drain peas, toss in olive oil adding Salt and pepper. Divide the peas among the potato baskets and heat in oven for about 5 minutes before serving.

Capesante con Porri E Zafferano, scallops with saffron and leek

1 ts saffron
5 tb water
3 leeks
2 tb unsalted butter
1/4 c white wine
1/2 c tomato sauce
3/4 c milk
12 sea scallops
salt and pepper

In a small bowl, dissolve the saffron in 1 tablespoon of the water. Discard all the dark tough outer leaves from the leeks and rinse well. Cut lengthwise and then accross to make little half moons. In a saucepan over low heat melt the butter and add the leeks and remaining water. Cook for about 10 minutes and add the wine, cooking to allow the liquid to evaporate for a few minutes. Add the tomato sauce, saffron mixture, and milk, reduce heat and cook until thickened. Pour into baking dish larg enough to hold the scallops in a single layer. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and arrange them over the sauce and bake at 350 untill the scallops are opaque throughout, about 10 minutes. Serve very hot directly from the dish.

{tags saffron scallop leek italian recipe}

I finally bought a handheld radio with a huge antenna to bring to work so I can listen to talkradio which is pretty entertaining around here. So now, between the transistor radio, my headlamp and Swiss Army Cyber Tool, I’m a sight to behold. Because of things like this I try not to make fun of all the supernerds I work with but since my contract is almost up and I no longer have to be a good corporate citizen, all bets are off.

Recently, I found out the guy next to me gets paid in his free-time to transcribe ancient texts which, btw, just confirms my suspicions that he’s really an elfen wizard from the middle ages anyway. I wish him well in a twentieth-century society that’s hell-bent on ageism. I do, it can’t be easy being four thousand years old nowadays. The guy in the cubicle opposite mine, part time computer engineer, full time High-Priest of the California Eagle Scouts has the unfortunate bash-your-head-against-the-wall habit of saying the words ackle and aggregate and all it’s curs-ed variations 1.5 million times a day. For example: “I’ll have my aggregates poached please, with a side of steamed ackles.”

I won’t even get into my boss right now, who officially denounced all modern technology to me and plays with his Abacus all day because I do have more important things to report like the beautiful Tiffany diamond necklace that my husband gave me for my birthday. I can do things like drop the name when it’s TIFFANY. Skahhh! Despite reaching an age where I feel more like crying over my Alka-Seltzer and Deuces Wild scratchcards than celebrating, Chris always makes me laugh by saying something perfectly bittersweet like “Congratulations!” about turning 33 and then kisses my forehead.

{tags birthday kisses poached diamonds}

We have been watching the aftermath of Katrina in the media for two days and I’m silenced by the tragedy unfolding in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The response of our government has been pathetic so far while people struggle to survive and worse – reminding us that even established order can be paper thin.

**Update: Among the many ways to help out, Etsy is selling donated items and sending all proceeds to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. I just bought this cool Tokyo print.

{tags hurricane aftermath}