The Modern Venus Blog

Happy Fourth of July weekend!

I hope you all have a juicy delicious strawberry-filled weekend!  My husband grabbed the Acela today to visit some family in Boston, and I am staying home to enjoy a couple of very quiet days.   I will pop by the greenmarket tomorrow to buy some basil (I made an amazing pesto just this week and need to make more, I think it is the best food ever, my recipe is below); I'll brunch with friends; I'll crack open a couple more books I grabbed from the library; I'll ride around Prospect Park on my bicycle, and I'll watch "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" starring a very young Catherine Deneuve in her breakout role.  I also had a couple big meetings this week where I wore some adorable faux-croc patent kitten heels (cute but after a few hours - OW) so my feet are chewed up and thus the footwear du jour shall be my gold Havaianas.  Ahhhh.  Have a great weekend too! 

Best-O Pesto

As you can see, my cooking style uses no measurements.   I just use a bit, then add more a little at a time and do a lot of tasting.  :)   I find this is keeps you conscious about what you are creating and you can really then make it taste exactly as you wish. 

A couple big bunches of basil (if you want to make a ton of pesto, buy lots!) - you can also use cilantro which is super-tasty
A high-quality olive oil (I like L'Olivier oil best right now)
Pinenuts or walnuts
3-5 cloves of raw garlic
Parmesan cheese, if desired
Chopped tomatoes

Puree the basil and some olive oil in a food processor (you can also use a blender though a processor is easier and faster).    Add olive oil as necessary so that it becomes a lovely pesto base.   Add a clove of garlic at a time, until it tastes as garlicky as you'd like.   Throw in some walnuts or pinenuts, and then cheese if you'd like.  Voila!  Very easy.   I served it last night with some brown rice fusilli pasta, and I topped off the dish with fresh chopped tomatoes, which is always a nice accent on a pesto dish.   Enjoy!

NYC Cycling Savvy

My husband and I just purchased new Jamis Commuter 2 bicycles.  Cute, right?  Of course, mine now has a lovely basket in the front.  :)   My husband is so excited to now be biking to work from Brooklyn where we live to his office in Chelsea.   Lucky for him, his office provides a bike storage room and showers!  

Cycling in the city has increased by over 30 percent over last year but there are always injuries.   Best to know all the bike routes in the city and proper bicycle safety (I always go bananas when I see parents with kids on the back wearing no helmets!).     NYC government provides a host of resources - from downloadable bike maps to where there are bike lockups to even a newsletter to stay abreast of NYC's bike program.   Bike safely and have a great summer! 

Michael Jackson (1948-2009) and Farrah Fawcett (1947-2009)

On Thursday, 2 icons of pop culture passed away;  Michael Jackson of sudden cardiac arrest; and Farrah Fawcett, of anal cancer, which she battled for a number of years.   As a kid who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, both left a large imprint on me, and so I've been digesting their loss.   There have been -  and will continue to be - tributes to both around the world, so I will simply post a few pictures of both that I found particularly iconic.   Rest in Peace.  

   

Happy Weekend - and "Time Wastes Too Fast" by Moira Kalman

Here is another absolutely charming and lovely illustrated New York Times blog entry by Moira Kalman "Time Wastes Too Fast" , about her visit to Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello.   It is an inspiring and colorful antidote to what is going to be yet another largely rainy weekend here in NYC!   Here are some pictures - and the ending of this piece is absolutely touching.

Advice for Solo Women Travelers

Here is a great blog entry from the New York Time's Frugal Traveler about traveling the world as a single woman.    In this entry the author interviews Beth Whitman, the owner of Wanderlust and Lipstick, a travel site for women.   Here is a little bit from the excellent colloquy:

What are some of the challenges that women traveling solo and on a budget have to face?

Gosh, I think that there’s a mind-set that most women grow up with, that you have to have all of your shoes, and you have to have all of your nice clothes, and you have to stay in an expensive place to be safe. And so those are factors that require a lot of luggage, so you might think you need a couple of bags to travel around with, and if you’re traveling on your own, it’s hard to maneuver all that stuff.

I have one 22-inch piece of luggage that goes with me as a carry-on, and I can travel for a month on that. I can travel for a year on that.

Are there advantages to being a woman traveler?

Absolutely! I think women are definitely more approachable. And it doesn’t have to be in a sexual way, for sure. But I just think that we’re not as much of a threat as a male traveling on his own, and so local people are more likely to take us in, to have conversations — and again, this is just in a really friendly way, because that’s the way that most of the world operates. And so, I think that’s the biggest benefit, that people will reach out and invite us to dinner and help us find the taxi stand or the bus stand.

 Read on . . .

Pukk Restaurant: Eat Your Veggies

Last night I had a delightful meal in the East Village at Pukk, a yummy Thai vegetarian restaurant on 1st Avenue, between 4th and 5th Streets (it's motto is "Eat More Greens").    It's small and chic and cheerful, with as sleek decor accented by bright green transparent chairs, mirrors, and a continuing electronic pulsing soundtrack that keeps you munching happily (and quickly).   There is no meat here - but lots of excellent faux duck, chicken and fish.  I was the only hard-core veggie of our group so I am very used to faux meat;  my eating companions (one of whom suggested this place) loved what they had - faux chicken with black bean sauce.   I had an excellent chicken red curry dish.   All the dishes are under $10 which is amazing for NY - our dinner for 3, including 3 appetizers and 2 glasses of sangria which my friends love, all came to less than $50!  It's a don't-miss for recession-era dining out. 

Happy Rainy Weekend!

I hope you all have (yet another) happy rainy weekend!  It is set to rain here in NYC both Saturday and Sunday . . .

Here's a fabulous picture of DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) in the rain.    I was there just today seeing this view (but in the temporary sunshine) doing some errands at the yummy chocolate shop Jacques Torres and the delicious French patisserie Almondine (I'm having some special friends from high school over for dinner tomorrow evening and I needed some special things for dessert).   Almondine is known for having one of the best macarons in NYC (in addition to Payard and Bouchon).  I'm always on a hunt to find macarons that are comparable to the famous Paris bakery Laduree  . . . which are, in my opinion, the best!    I'm serving for dessert macarons from both Payard and Almondine to see what my guests prefer.   I'll let you know what they decide. 

Anyway, I hope you all have a delicious weekend, too! 

A Special Sighting: Signets in Prospect Park

Five baby swans were born just four or so days ago on the lake in Prospect Park!   They are adorable.  Here is a picture of a very protective mama swan and her little ones.   What a special thing to witness. 

Happy Weekend! And a must-read for summer evenings . . .

Diane Ackerman's remarkable book, "A Natural History of the Senses" (originally published in 1990) is incredibly exquisite summer reading!   Take it with you to the beach, to your lakehouse, to your stoop . . . wherever.   I am luxuriating in Ms. Ackerman's lush prose and how she brings to sensuous life our five senses. 

Here is an excerpt to pique your interest . . . I love roses and this paragraph transported me . . .

"Cleopatra knew her guest [Mark Antony].   Few people have been as obsessed with roses as the ancient Romans.  Roses were strewn at public ceremonies and banquets; rose water bubbled through the emperor's fountains and the public bths surged with it; in the public amphitheaters, crowds sat under sun awnings steeped in rose perfume; rose petals were used as pillow stuffings; people wore garlands of roses in their hair; they ate rose pudding; their medicines, love potions, and aphrodisiacs all contained roses.  No bacchanalia, the Romans' official orgy, was complete without an excess of roses.  They created a holiday, Rosalia, to formally consummate their passions for the flower.  At one banquet, Nero had silver pipes installed under each plate, so that guests could be spritzed with scent between courses.  They could admire a ceiling painted to resemble the celestial heavens, which would open up and shower them in a continuous rain of perfume and flowers.  At another, he spent the equivalent of $160,000 just on roses - and one of his guests smothered to death under a shower of rose petals." 

Impossibly Chic: Lady Dior - the film

Sigh.   Here is a perfect little beyond-chic film to pick up your day - "Lady Noire," starring Marion Cotillard.     Starring with Mme Cotillard is the now- iconic "Lady Dior" bag - and, of course, the city of Paris.     This is the first of four short mystery films - apparently clues are also available on Twitter (but I haven't dug them up yet).  Perfect entertainment for a rainy Thursday afternoon in NYC.  Enjoy!