Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

One thing I learned about taking a road trip is to always pack snacks. One of my favorite things to include is a couple of hard boiled eggs. They are a great source of protein and take the edge off those hunger pangs that tend to happen while on the road. The temptation to stop at some greasy diner or worse yet, McDonald's, can make even the most healthiest of eaters give in. Especially when the highway or roads you are taking only have those little service stations that give you the choice between greasy pizza, that has been standing under heat lamps all morning, and "all-american" beef patty from a feedlot.
So here's my way to boil an egg perfectly, every time.

Put your eggs in a saucepan with water to cover about a 1/2" over the eggs.
Bring the saucepan to a boil. As soon as the water starts to boil turn off burners and cover.
Let the eggs sit in the covered saucepan for 12 minutes. Then drain and remove. Voila...

Saturday January 16th: (UNIVERSAL) Art is No Object

2010 is here. Its unbelievable how fast time flies! 2009 was an amazing year, filled with good friends, good food, loving family and lots of travel! So far 2010 is proving to be even more adventurous and challenging.
I will be heading to NYC for a couple weeks, mainly because Michael has an exhibit there, which is the topic of today's entry....

Michael and his friend Sebastian (Tan) went to school together in Chile. Tan set up an exhibition in Long Island City and thoughtfully asked Michael to join forces with him in a joint exhibit. Tan is here working with Michael in the studio and staying with us. It is really fun to watch the two work in the studio, in fact all three of us are working in the studio! I am working on some mono-prints- which will be discussed at a later post....





I wanted to post the press release for the show here:

Sebastian Vargas & Michael Zelehoski
(UNIVERSAL) Art is No Object

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 16th, 6-9pm

Sebastian Vargas and Michael Zelehoski studied under the late Chilean sculptor Felix Maruenda and collaborated extensively during Zelehoski’s time in South America, ultimately helping to finish Maruenda’s Monumento al Trabajador Voluntario, which Maruenda died before completing. At the time, the two worked three dimensionally and were both heavily influenced by their mentor. Five years later, having worked independently, on separate continents, both have sought to incorporate the formal, spatial and phenomenological concerns of sculpture into two-dimensional works of art. However, their respective approaches could not be more varied nor the end results more distinct.

Sebastian Vargas explores volume, perspective and spatial dimension in the context of brightly colored, stylized landscapes. These landscapes are dominated by dynamic forms that bend and arch like architectonic bubble gum. Reminiscent of Chillida and Le Corbusier, Vargas’ forms sprawl fiercely across the picture plane unencumbered by the material constraints of the actual, physical world. In this sense, Michael Zelehoski takes a near opposite approach. Instead of creating a representation, Zelehoski appropriates actual objects and structures, collapsing them into two-dimensional planes in an effort to blur the distinction between art and the quotidian objects that surround us in our daily lives. In this way, Zelehoski explores the duality between three-dimensional reality and two-dimensional pictorial space and seeks to push the continuum of representational art to a logical extreme.

If reconciling two and three-dimensionality is a daunting task, so has been the reconciliation of the two artist’s diverse approaches to the problem. The differences in Vargas and Zelehoski’s works are striking, more so when one considers their common background and shared formal concerns. The contrasts in their work testify to the broad and subjective nature of questions of representation and reality and suggest that these explorations are as relevant today as they were at the height of modernism.




Local Projects is located at 45-10 Davis Street in Long Island City. Local Projects is a non-profit organization and is a forum for artists from any background, medium, and experience.

Thankfulness

It’s already December. I can’t believe how quickly this year has flown by, and how quickly my blog is left behind!

This Thanksgiving we went to Michael’s Aunt Susan’s in Geyersville…

Dinner was amazing: two turkeys, stuffing made with homemade french bread and sausage, more desserts than I can mention, and of course the loving company of our family.

On the way we stopped at friends of ours- Joe and Wendy-

Joe is a sculptor and we’ve been trying to get up to visit him and see his work and his studio, which happens to be his home.

This beautiful piece of sunny property in Cloverdale happens to be an old schoolhouse and about 15 years ago Joe bought it for a song. They have worked to reveal and preserve what time, weather, and nature has done to this place over the years. Like this example- the woodpeckers have taken a toll on the outer side of the school, only to leave this remarkably beautiful way to bring in the sunshine.

the back yard...filled with art, and below is one of Joe's favorite sculptures

here's Wendy's garden...

Michael, Amie, Wendy, Joe & me

and the oak tree

Chinatown Aglow

Saturday night in Chinatown:

While all the hipster art kids hop from gallery to gallery in Chinatown,
the locals collect their empty Tecate cans and place them into their
recycling bags, to take the center and cash in...

I still am not 100% certain on what the focus of my blog is exactly...I just write about things I do, things I like and things I want to do.
This weekend I went to Chinatown for a few art openings, one of which was at the Fifth Floor Gallery where William Stranger's Second Life exhibition is on view. The artist works on a sustainability platform as well as with the idea that he is saving, in this instance, a floor that would otherwise be thrown away by creating two wall hangings and also a functional table out of the reclaimed wood, thus breathing into it a second life. These are "nice" in a design and furniture kind of way, but I felt like he could have made these so much more meaningful. The most interesting aspect of the wall hangings were the scuffs made from the hundreds of bowling shoes that marched their way down to the arrows before releasing that big ball down the lane into the pins. The finished pieces were too lacquered, too pristine, and the scuffs, rivets and what would be holes were filled in by either the maintenance department of the bowling alley or more likely the artist himself. Being a furniture maker I am assuming, perhaps wrongfully so, that Stranger just didn't try or have the forethought to really expose and archive these salvaged lanes as they should be (weathered and worn) as artwork and not as a function of design or furniture. It is risky business to step away from what you know...it requires courage and the ability to completely rip apart your old ways of doing things, but in the end its worth it.

Brunch Bunch

There's something to be said about the presence of autumn in Los Angeles. Its subtle. Sometimes in the earliest morning hours if you go outside you can smell a hint of slight deterioration in the crisp autumn air. I also think that the right foods can really push the end of summer right into fall, which is why I made these savory apple turnovers.

Apple turnovers are just saturated with the sense of fall. I started with dried apples, cherries and currants and blended them in a food processor along with 5-6 leaves of basil. I made apple sauce the day before- which is surprisingly easy- and mixed it together with the above ingredients and voila there's your filling, an ambrosial delight. Next time I'll use more basil as its aroma is bigger than its taste, and these could afford to have a bigger basil kick to the taste buds.

Sunday brunch spread:
prosciutto wrapped melon
goat cheese & scallion quiche
gruyere & chard quiche w/almond crust
arugula, frisee, red-leaf, strawberry & walnut salad w/chevre
apple turnovers w/cherries, currants & basil
Rachel's "should be famous" bloody marys
coffee with sweetened condensed milk

Beautiful food with beautiful friends, although there were a few missing significant ingredients*
this morning was just about perfect.

Sunday Sunday

Sunday Brunch....Its one of my favorite things to do. Whether its going out to a lovely french bistro or staying in and cooking up something special at home, I love brunch! I do. I do. Tomorrow is my first Sunday back in Los Angeles, and I thought nothing could be finer than inviting a few friends over for a mid-day feast of some recipes that I've been wanting to try for some time now.

We will start with a little end of summer salad and prosciutto wrapped honeydew, followed by two kinds of quiche- one goat cheese based, the other gruyere, and finishing up with an herbed twist on good old fashioned turnovers.

Tonight was filled with preparation, including making the goat cheese and scallion quiche. The flavors of this will be completely palette pleasing :
The crust for starters, is a non-traditional hash brown layer with some fresh thyme leaves sprinkled into the mixture. This is baked to allow for it to set, while its baking you begin the egg mixing the egg filling. There's nothing better than a smooth, soft chevre. It could/should be the death of me- I've been eating some almost everyday...Fortunately with quiche one doesn't need a lot of cheese. This recipe in particular has half and half, sour cream and chevre and the scallions that are sprinkled on top add a bit of color as a garnish, but also add a mellow onion flavor that will go nicely with the creamy base.

This quiche is like a souffle, and although it cracked a tiny bit, it still looks to die for.

I am excited to taste how this came out. Tomorrow there is much work to do, but I secretly can't wait to see how my apple turnovers will turn out. I am adding fresh basil to the filling and I have a hunch that its going to be good. Real good.

We're not those kids sittin on the couch

Mardi Gras came and went, all my money has been spent....

Today is a day for not sitting on the couch, I'm dedicating an afternoon snow installation to the Moldy Peaches for getting me motivated. Not to mention today is as warm as it is in Los Angeles, can you handle that? I can. I can indeed.

I never promised you a rose garden...

It was 1943 and WWII continued to take its toll on the troops away at war as well as everyone left at home. At the behest of the government over 20 million Americans planted Victory Gardens, to help with the rise in food costs. Fast forward to 2009! Amidst this economic meltdown more and more of us are doing our part to weaken our dependence on things like oil and in this case, mass-produced or imported foods. So why not give the Victory Garden a try? They're back, so I've heard, and I'm joining the efforts so that I can enjoy home grown goods, as well as save a lot of money on veggies this year.
Can't wait!
The next couple of months are going to be tough. Its really cold in Massachusetts so planning the garden is a great activity for me to do with friends (you know who you are) to pass the time. Imagine this....hot chocolate, mini marsh mellows and diagrams....side by side.
Or better yet, cafe du monde and a beignet...

The Golden Globes are so I-Legal

Thank you india

Thank you terror

Thank you disillusionment

Thank you tivo.

Oh tivo! Without you, I wouldn't make it through most Hollywood award shows. This past Golden Globe Awards viewing was fun, and fast forwarding through insipid speeches and commercials made it fairly easy to watch. There were a few exceptions however!

Drew!

Did someone say Raspberries!?

Mickey Rourke's acceptance speech was heartfelt and he mentioned his love of dogs. How can you knock that? ("Sometimes when a man is alone, that’s all you’ve got is your dog")
He also made an awesome recovery after a stumble on the second step up to the stage. (thanks tivo for the satiating replays) His outfit however needs to be permanently deleted from my memory- Raver sunglasses? Sequined scarf? Wallet chain? Wallet chain? Wallet chain? Gross.

I don't know what he is doing with his hand. And I don't want to know.

The Sultan of Catan who is Michael

Settlers of Catan is a total nerdy board game designed by a German named Klaus Teuber. It was originally called Die Siedler von Catan. Which, although I don't speak German, sounds way cooler.
Tonight I played this game for the first time with two hard core Cataneers, and Michael, who is a newbie like me.
The game lasted about an hour, and involves strategy but more so the luck of the dice. However since no one is eliminated "players who are behind can strive towards goals that are within their reach", according to Wikipedia, which I found particularly funny, as I came in last place.
Michael is the current Führer of Catan and so holds the title lest we play again.

Since we're in Limbo at this current point in time we've rediscovered how entertaining games can be. Games can also be dangerous. Spit is a card game that involves slapping piles of cards on the table. Spit can also be physical, its easy to mistaken the pile of cards with the face of the person who is winning...

This is a picture of Settlers of Catan, Klaus Teuber.

CHARLESTON

In colonial times Boston and Charleston were sister cities, which meant that the people with money would summer in Boston and winter in Charleston. Kind of like what I'd like to do, only we haven't figured out where...yet. Although I can see why Charleston was such a destination- it is beautiful and at night there is this thick presence of history and it covers the city in a dense fog. It feels colonial and stately.

Goin' West

This is our home on wheels... I am a little behind on starting this blog however.
MdZ and I are on our way to California where we will escape the freezing cold of what became of our summer home in Massachusetts.
We'll be going to Florida to drop off some of MdZ's art first though.