Potatoes in the Mist

1. I'm copying Lisa . 2. It's always kind of stressful for me to do it on Thursday, because it's my busiest day of the week, teaching-wise. 3. I like kids' Halloween customes the most. 4. I say this because there were a bunch of blonde-wigged people (one definitely male, the others probably female) tottering down the street on high heels. The one who was definitely male shook his fist at someone nearby and bellowed, "If you're gonna look at me, bitch, at least be nice!" Ooh-kay. 5. On the other end of the spectrum was an adorable little girl in striped tights and ethereal fairy wings. 6. I kinda want to see Little Children , but it's hard for me to get up the energy, especially since D doesn't want to see it. 7. It's not my favorite Tom Perrotta book, anyway; that would be The Wishbones. 8 . Sometimes I miss being 9. 9. On Sex and the City, Samantha seems a bit like a drag queen to me. 10. A friend recommended Coupling (the British version) bu...

Tonight we had dinner with DG at Arqua. Arqua is a special, yummy place that we haven't been to in a while. They serve you white beans with focaccia before the meal, and the walls are a cozy terra-cotta color. Because the walls are "high and unadorned", as the New York Times puts it, the noise bouncing off of them can give you a headache. But that didn't happen tonight. They had a special tonight of taglierini with truffles ($80!). D asked the waiter, "When people eat the truffles, do they walk away looking as if they had an illicit drug?" The waiter looked dumbfounded, then he got giggly. Later, I licked the plate after eating my poached pear with warm vanilla gelato, and he offered to get me more sauce. DG, who is apartment hunting, regaled us with tales of apartments shaped like boats, complete with portholes, for $6,000 a month. New York rents are something else. On the way home we saw several Halloween costumes; one of the most noteworthy was a man with...

The last time I went to the chiropractor, we were talking about Grey's Anatomy and he told me, " McDreamy and Preston Burke had a fistfight." He went on, "McDreamy has a temper." Well, today I saw Us Magazine at the grocery store and had to pick it up, because they had a super-dramatic cover touting fights on the set of Grey's. And Us informed me that Isaiah Washington wanted Patrick Dempsey 's part, and it doesn't sit too well with Isaiah that Patrick is late on the set every morning. So to make a long story short, it was actually Isaiah who started the fight. He's mad because he wanted Patrick Dempsey's part. AND Isaiah called T.R. Knight a bad word. (T.R. Knight is one of my favorite actors on the show.) Now there is talk that Isaiah will be fired. I think he should apologize, but I like the current cast. I do wish Izzy would just cash her $8.7 million check, though. As Erica Jong says, "Gossip is the opiate of the oppressed....

1. I'm posting a Thursday thirteen on Wednesday. Because I can :) 2. Cooking-wise, it's been a blogariffic day... Vernicious Knids ' carrot soup for lunch, Lindsay 's Asian black bean soup with long-grain brown rice for dinner. 3. I've become a food renegade...when cooking, I change ingredients around freely. 4. I used to follow recipes strictly. When I lived in Newton, I once drove to the supermarket to get cumin. My roommate couldn't believe it. 5. When I told my mother, she said, "Cumin is distinctive." 6. We're having an unusually social weekend. We're getting together with M & M (she's pregnant! due in February) and a few other people. M (the guy of the couple) is one of those people whose rolodex must rival War and Peace. (In terms of length, not upheaval and bloodshed.) Saturday we're having dinner with DG. 7. It's probably good for me to be social; I need to be reminded that I'm an extrovert. My tendency is often to ...

Today D and I had lunch at one of our favorite spots, Red Bamboo. They're vegetarian and have the best fake chicken parm in town (perhaps the only one; I think the other place closed). Anyway, a little kid caught our attention during the meal. D asked me how old I thought she was. I pointed out that she was standing, and could probably toddle around, but she was tiny, so maybe two? When I walked by their table to the restroom, I saw her close up, with a French fry in her hand. She had bitten the top off and was staring at it contemplatively. She was wearing tiny gold earrings (interestingly, so were both her parents). Very cute. D said then that an infant boarding school might not be a bad idea. They come back when they're toilet trained and sleeping through the night. I agree. I like kids, and spending time with them. In some ways, I prefer them to adults. But the pregnancy, diapers and sleepless nights scare me.

I have to wonder if god hates me. I have insomnia and I still have remnants of allergies (though not the full-blown coldish-fluish thing I had recently). Also my back is a little twinge-y. But my loss is your gain. I can't sleep, so I'll go to allconsuming.net (nifty site that tracks the books I read) and share with you some of my favorite books since February 2006 or so. Here they are: Girls' Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky. A Virginia librarian moves into library-owned housing to save on rent and discovers a trove of witchcraft books in the basement. She's got the power. My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman. Lipman's latest sarcastic/sweet tour de force. Some of it is borderline offensive but most of it was very enjoyable. Knitting Under the Influence by Claire LaZebnik. Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith. This was one of my favorites of his. He's disgustingly prolific and churns out about 5 books a year. This one includes a chapter from a dog's ...

This is a sweet potato soup recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons. I didn't get around to trying it for a while, because I thought the combination of ingredients might not work. It is, however, quite good. Note: you can double this if you want; I've halved it from the original because D doesn't like sweet potatoes, so I just make it for one. African Tomato and Peanut Soup 1 tbsp canola oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 2 tsp minced fresh ginger 3/4 tsp ground cumin seeds 3/4 tsp ground coriander seeds 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1 pinch ground cloves 1 tomato 1 large sweet potato, peeled and coarsely chopped 1 carrot, coarsely chopped 2 1/4 c water 1/2 t salt 1 pinch cayenne 1/8 dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts 1 tbsp peanut butter 1. In a large saucepan or small stockpot, heat the oil over med heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 min or until the onion browns around the edges. Add the garlic, ginger and ...

1. There are three Woody Allen movies I watch over and over: Annie Hall, Manhattan and Play It Again, Sam. 2. I've walked out of one movie in my life: The Pick-Up Artist. 3. My mom walked out of The Witches of Eastwick. 4. One of my favorite soups has sweet potato, tomato, onion and carrot in it. It sounds like an odd combination, but it works. 5. I have 3 bottles of nail polish: pink, cranberry and purple. 6. I wonder how much birth order affects a person's life. 7. I'm afraid to go to countries if I have to get inoculations first. 8. My veins are hard to find. 9. I liked going to New Hampshire and Maine when I was little. 10. I still would, but they're further away. 11. New England winters can be brutal; I remember when I owned a car there, the manual instructed me to maintain it on the same schedule as a Canadian. 12. The TV shows I like the best are: Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, The Office, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and How I Met Your Mother....

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a confession to make. I have never bought anything from Target. *collective gasp* Until today. You see, there is no Target in New York. Well, there is one in the Bronx, but it is a bit of a hike, and there's a Target boat that floats up the Hudson at some point...but I like to be able to make a quick exit when I'm shopping. No boats for me. So I ordered two pairs of boots from Target.com!!! Yay. They arrived today. One is a pair of black weatherproof boots with puffy tops. These will bring me so much pleasure when New York is transformed into a snowy/muddy swampland and jumping over puddles becomes a pedestrian sport. The other boots are Uggs...I can feel Liz cringing, all the way from D.C....but they're soft and cozy. I know she can find it in her heart to forgive me. Also, my latest issue of Yoga Journal told me about adopting turkeys. The Farm Sanctuary rescues them and for $20, you can sponsor one. They send you a photo, biography and every...

I just read Kim 's entry about how it's tough being a mom (although I have to say her dog is adorable). Well, I'm here to say, it's tough losing Scrabble. Bear in mind that I was an English major. D didn't take any English classes in college. Sniff. Yet he manages to beat me anyway.* My husband is a %&^# Scrabble genius. Damn it. I can be winning a game all the way through and then he makes some move that, like a sword, has the effect of slicing my winning score in half. Case in point: tonight. I'd made some fine maneuvers, like "frog" on a triple word score. Twenty-four points, people. And then D had to write the word "condoms", simultaneously creating the words "my" and "sum". So what? you ask. Well, he used all seven of his tiles when he wrote "condoms", so that means he got 50 points in addition to the value of "condoms", "my" and "sum". So he got 81 points for those words. (...

1. On Sunday night, I came down with a cold, and threw my back out getting up repeatedly from bed to blow my nose. How glamorous. 2. My back has mostly repaired but my cold is hanging in there. Well, the diminished voice part is. Teaching this morning was interesting. 3. I said to one of my students, "See you next Thursday; I hope I'm in better voice then," and she said cheerfully, "It didn't matter, the message got through." 4. She is a kindred spirit, as Anne Shirley would say. 5. I remember in college a friend and I were discussing favorite guys in literature. At the time I picked Heathcliff. She said, "Oh, he's a basket case," and picked Darcy. I still have an un-PC fondness for Rochester. 6. In college I wrote a paper about the Victorian woman's revenge fantasy, citing Jane Eyre, Aurora Leigh and maybe a couple of others. 7. The professor loved it. 8. I've never seen a number of popular shows from the past and present: Survivor, Ug...

Got tagged by Irene ! Unfortunately, I don't have cool pictures of past Halloween costumes, like she does. But I will do my best :) 1. What's the scariest movie you've ever seen? This would be a toss-up between Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist. The crown would probably go to Rosemary's Baby , because I can never watch it all the way through without turning the lights on. 2. What is your favorite Halloween costume from childhood? Again, two choices: either Garfield or Strawberry Shortcake. My mom was a skilled costume maker. In addition to the outfits, she drew red freckles on my face for Strawberry Shortcake and black cat whiskers for Garfield. I was obsessed with Garfield when I was 7. She also made me a Garfield birthday cake with orange frosting. 3. What would your fantasy costume be for this Halloween? I'm not sure. Somewhere along the line, I lost my enthusiasm for dressing up :( 4. When was the last time you went trick or treating? When I was 17. I was at ...

It is definitely the sniffles time of year. In class tonight, there was a whole fusillade of them. (Okay, I just wanted to use the word "fusillade"). On the subway on the way over, a father and child sat next to me. The child, a little boy, was upset because he wasn't on the side of the car where there are windows. (Never mind that we were going through a completely dark tunnel...he wanted a window!) Child: (in injured tones) Those people have windows. Father: (sympathetically) I know. Child: They're not even using them. It's not FAIR. Father: A lot of adult maneuvers aren't fair. Child: Adults are badder than kids. Father: There's more than a smidgen of truth in that. Then the train went above ground...it goes along one of the bridges between Manhattan and Brooklyn...I think it's the Williamsburg Bridge. It is a pretty view. The kid and father stood up and went to look out the window. I was glad he was getting so much joy out of it. I remember when we...

1. I bought a pound of red grapes from the fruit man this morning. He said, "Thees is what pretty woman eats, no? If I eat this, I be pretty, too." The thing is, grapes are very exciting to me lately...my friend Carpe's doctor told him not to eat them. So they seem like a forbidden fruit, and I eat them more often. 2. Growing up, I had an above-ground pool in my backyard. I used to go underwater with my friends and have underwater tea parties. We would sit cross-legged on the bottom of the pool, open our eyes to see all the blue wavy water (tinted by the pool walls, of course), and raise imaginary cups of tea. I was telling D about this and he never did it. So I thought maybe it's a girl thing. Did you do it? 3. I played Billie this morning at yoga and it seemed to go over well. 4. Two of my regulars had an animated discussion about bedbugs and spiders (before class). 5. Bedbugs are on the rise. 6. I hope we don't have any. 7. I dreamed that a rat was lying on top...

I liberated this from Lisa . D always says "liberate" instead of "take" ;) 1. FIRST NAME? Katie 2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My mother had an aunt with the same name. But I think she also just liked the name. 3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I can't remember. 4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes! It's unique. I'm a lefty so it has a little backhand slant. 5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? I'm veg! 6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I've often wondered about this. I might want to read, and the other me might want to talk ;) We'll see. 7. DO YOU JOURNAL? Online, frequently; written journal, not so much. I guess as an extrovert, I like an audience. 8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes. 9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? NO!!!!!!!!! 10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Does oatmeal count? 11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Yes, as long as they have ties. A lot of my shoes don't. 12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG...

Most dog owners (D insists on calling them "caretakers"; no one can "own" a dog, he says) are thrilled if you pat their dog. They'll even urge him on if he's reticent. "Say hello," they'll coo. However, there is a brand of owner I detest. The Impatient Owner. (Disclaimer: I know sometimes people are in a rush. But this one today rubbed me the wrong way...literally.) Anyway, I saw a beautiful white dog. It looked like a petite, snowy wolf. I squatted to pat it and it looked at me tenderly. It was one of those dogs I have a special connection with. The owner tugged on its leash, and it held its ground. I was mid-pat when the owner yanked the leash. Ow! It was one of those chain-link leashes, and it hurt my shoulder. I looked up and the owner was completely oblivious. But he cut short my dog time and my shoulder is still sore. He is on my bad list. Then I saw a man sitting on his stoop with a dog on his lap, belly up. The dog plainly had cataracts...

I have a singular lack of things to write about. Here's what's going on in my life right now. 1) I have a new schedule for October at one of the places where I teach. They're a little scatty with details, and their print schedule is, um, a little different than what the director and I agreed upon. So I emailed her and she confirmed that what we agreed upon was correct. The thing is, tomorrow I'm supposed to teach there at 5:30, but the schedule says 4:30. I'm thinking maybe I should show up at 4:30 and 5:30 until they get things worked out. 2) I got some more Billie Holiday CDs. You gotta love the bargain rack at Virgin. I got three CDs at the following prices: $4.99, $6.99 and $8.99. (This is turning into a very numerical post.) 3) D is fasting because it's Yom Kippur. I'm not fasting because I'm not Jewish and you would never catch me fasting for any reason. However, they do this thing called "breaking the fast" and this year we will be going...