http://www.spicelines.com/ en Copyright 2012 Wed, 16 May 2012 10:24:55 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss At La Carreta in Little Havana: crazy colorful murals, an austere Cuban sandwich and the best yuca fries and platanos maduros, both lavishly cooked in lard. Addictive cafe con leche. When I went to Miami, I had a secret yen. Palm trees and frangi-panis were definitely part of it. So were mojitos, stuffed with mint and stirred with sticks of sugar cane. Walking down a white sand beach just after dawn: check. And finding chunks of pale coral in the sea foam. But my deepest yen was to eat a real Cubano in Little Havana. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/05/what_we_ate_in_miami_cubano_sandwiches_and_yuca_fries_tandoor-cooked_sea_bass_and_wood_oven_roasted_double_yolk_farm_egg_for_two.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/05/what_we_ate_in_miami_cubano_sandwiches_and_yuca_fries_tandoor-cooked_sea_bass_and_wood_oven_roasted_double_yolk_farm_egg_for_two.htm Wed, 16 May 2012 10:24:55 -0800 The glass tower at the Setai Hotel is modern, but its geometric facade and angled balconies echo South Beach's historic Art Deco look. Part of the Setai is built around the original 1930's Dempsey Vanderbilt Hotel on Collins Avenue. On a tropical playground, what's more glam than a grand Art Deco hotel? All that geometry, all that streamlined symmetry, all those sunbursts and ziggurats, evoke a more orderly yet lavish moment in history. Big bands, sequined dresses with mermaid fishtails and coupes of the bubbliest champagne. Palm trees, ocean liners and white sand beaches... An alluring fantasy, like dropping into the midst of a Busby Berkeley number (music by Artie Shaw), and not being one of the chorus girls... ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/05/for_mothers_day_a_little_deco.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/05/for_mothers_day_a_little_deco.htm Art Deco Miami Setai Hotel South Beach Sun, 13 May 2012 13:36:35 -0800 Photo: Setai South Beach, Miami Time to view the world through rainbow-colored glasses. This time it's a girls' getaway. There'll be mojitos and manicures, for sure, but also a trip to Little Havana for a medianoche and cafe cubano. A dip into Miami's art scene, a search for exotic rums, and topsy turvy small plates at Michys. And since I'm still longing for that cocktail-yoga pavilion, a peek at Gandia Blasco's Cristal Box. Mostly there'll be time, time on the sandy beach and at the hedge-enclosed pool where I can already hear a dulcet voice inquiring, "Is everything to your absolute perfection?" See you next week... ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/05/southbeach.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/05/southbeach.htm Little Havana mojitos rum South Beach Tue, 08 May 2012 18:52:36 -0800 I've adapted Grace Young's original recipe for Stir-Fried Sugar Snap Peas and Shiitake Mushrooms by adding thinly sliced green garlic and heirloom carrots. But the real improvisation came with the thick-cut smoky bacon B brought home one day... “There is an age-old Chinese expression: “One wok runs to the sky’s edge,” which means one who uses the wok becomes master of the cooking world. As the wok user becomes master of the cooking world, so does the user of Stir Frying to the Sky’s Edge become master of the stir fry.” From graceyoung.com If you’ve been reading SpiceLines lately you might think I’ve been subsisting on sugar and alcohol. Alas, no. As much as I love meringues and rum cocktails, there are times when a girl must eat her vegetables. And one of the most delicious ways to get your broccoli and carrots is in a savory Chinese stir-fry. I have been a devoted fan of Grace Young ever since I discovered her cookbook, Breath of a Wok, a few years ago. The title refers to the Cantonese phrase wok hay, which Young defines as “the prized, elusive, seared taste that comes only from stir-frying in a wok.” She learned about wok hay during her early years in San Francisco, eating with her family in Chinatown restaurants. “My father taught me early in life that there is nothing quite as delicious as the rich, concentrated flavors of a Cantonese stir-fry, in which morsels of meat are cooked just quickly enough to ensure their juicy succulence and vegetables are rendered crisp and refreshing.” But you don’t get wok hay by stir-frying in just any old wok. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/05/grace_youngs_stirfrying_to_the.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/05/grace_youngs_stirfrying_to_the.htm Grace Young stir-fry Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge wok Sun, 06 May 2012 14:17:52 -0800 All photos in this post were taken in Sri Lanka by Mystica V. Here, her husband and several workers relax at a family farm in Nuala. Cinnamon is grown at another property in Elpitiya. Have you ever wondered why cinnamon quills are curled like rolls of ancient paper? Ceylon cinnamon, that is, the warm, woody spice that, when whole, resembles a single rolled layer of soft brown crumbly bark: This is the "true" cinnamon whose subtle aroma is faintly perfumed with citrus and clove, and whose flavor is both sweet and mildly astringent. It’s a beautiful spice, one which too few Americans have tasted, given the fact that its more pungent and assertive cousin cassia has stolen its identity, at least in the supermarkets where it’s fobbed off as “cinnamon.” Mystica V, who lives in Sri Lanka, knows all about true cinnamon. She and her family own a property at Elpitiya in the southern part of the island where the spice is grown and harvested. Elsewhere the family has fields in which “tea, pineapple, mandarin oranges, chillies, vegetables, rubber and a bit of cloves” are cultivated. Does it sound like a tropical paradise? Maybe—until you hear about the monkeys that raid the corn, the porcupines that tear up young coconut palms and the wild elephant who pays daily visits. “He just stands at a distance of 300 metres and looks at everything,” Mystica writes. “He comes again in the night and does not deviate from his route, so there’s no point putting up fences…he just breaks the wall and goes through!!!” Farming is the same everywhere: Hard work and lots of it. Although cinnamon trees can grow 50 feet tall, they are kept small to allow for easy harvesting. But let Mystica explain in her own words and pictures… ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/05/cinnamon_and_a_tale_of_the_har.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/05/cinnamon_and_a_tale_of_the_har.htm cinnamon Sri Lanka Tue, 01 May 2012 19:17:57 -0800 Your reward for a day of planting: the May Wonder cocktail, made of strawberries muddled with fresh basil, white rum, a squeeze of lime, simple syrup and a dash of rose water. Awake at 6:37 AM. Out of the house at 7:07. Loading a cardboard tray with lemon basil, chocolate mint and other plants at 7:26. Not the way I normally like to spend Saturday morning. It’s fine to wake up early as long I can go downstairs, greet the Buddha, make some green tea and return to bed where I’ll lounge with the newspapers, watching the sun rise over the woods. But yesterday I was obsessed with getting everything I needed for the 5 O’Clock Garden. This, as you might guess, is the sliver of the garden that shines at the cocktail hour. In high summer it’s bursting with ingredients that can be used to create drinks with flavors so vibrant that store-bought substitutes simply wilt with shame: fiery Thai chiles for infused vodka, fragrant black-stemmed mint for super-refreshing mojitos , dill flowers for homemade Bloody Marys, spears of home-grown cucumbers for Pimms Cups, garlic-pickled green cherry tomatoes for vodka martinis, shaken or stirred. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/the_5_oclock_garden_may_wonder_cocktail_with_strawberries_rose_and_basil.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/the_5_oclock_garden_may_wonder_cocktail_with_strawberries_rose_and_basil.htm basil cocktails garden herbs rosewater rum Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:35:51 -0800 Finding a Buddha is like finding a husband. "You have to look him in the eye and decide if he's the right one for you," said Yvonne. Photo credit: Jacques Carcanagues Gallery I was ambling along Greene Street in Soho a few weeks ago. Walking aimlessly, no real plan in mind. It was March but felt like May. Sunny, deliciously warm, one of those days when anything is possible. I almost missed Jacques Carcanagues—but a flash in the window, I don’t know what, caught my eye. Years ago I had walked in another door and had fallen head over heels for a gilded Mandalay Buddha. He was slim, elegant, even handsome, with a distant gaze and a mysterious smile. Bare feet on the floor, he stood taller than I did. I caught my breath. It was like encountering an old almost forgotten friend in an unexpected place and feeling little bubbles of happiness trickle up from the heart. The price was impossible. It was the Buddha or a year’s tuition for Angus and Serendipity. I left with a Polaroid photo (remember those?) in hand. But I’ve never forgotten him. And now, here I was again… ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/the_buddha_who_came_to_stay.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/the_buddha_who_came_to_stay.htm Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:03:59 -0800 When the irises are in fleeting bloom, there's no better way to enjoy la pause gourmande than with a soft meringue topped with whipped cream and the first fragile strawberries of the season. I blame Elise’s strawberries. It’s not that they weren’t absolutely delicious—but they made me break my rule about not cooking—or baking—for la pause gourmande. These beautiful berries came in the first CSA box of the season. Not quite ripe, a little tart, but dripping with juice tasting of sun-warmed afternoons to come. There were only a handful, so fragile that they begged to be eaten right away. Strawberries and cream popped into my mind, quickly followed by visions of strawberries oozing luscious red juices onto soft meringues with vanilla whipped cream. Perfect for taking an afternoon pause in the spring garden… You see how easy it is to slide down the slippery slope. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/april_pause_irises_in_bloom_strawberry_meringues_with_vanilla_whipped_cream.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/april_pause_irises_in_bloom_strawberry_meringues_with_vanilla_whipped_cream.htm garden irises la pause meringue Nancy Goodwin strawberries Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:57:29 -0800 It's said that a single African elephant can eat 660 pounds of food in 18 hours, while herds of 15 to 20 can quickly decimate an entire season's crop. This is where chili peppers come in. Photo of Tanzanian elephants by Ikiwaner, Wikimedia Commons. Lately I’ve been finding broken tender shoots flopping out of mysterious holes in our flowerbeds. I blame the rabbits who’ve shamelessly colonized our garden ever since Angus and B released a baby cottontail tangled in a lacrosse net a few years ago. I’m sure the rabbits are snickering while getting fat on our spring planting. But I’m fighting back by spraying lily buds and other delicacies with a “natural” repellent laced with chili peppers. Apparently chili peppers are also the weapon of choice in Africa. In “Elephants Now Think Twice About Midnight Snacks in Tanzania” (The Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2012, p. 1), Angela Hensall writes that neither clattering tin cans nor fires nor homemade pipe bombs could keep ravenous elephants from staging nightly sneak attacks on fields of corn and watermelon. Farmers were in despair. But Lucas Malugu, an “expert in elephant behavior and psychology” at Tanzania’s Wildlife Research Institute, discovered that a blend of motor oil and chili peppers sprayed onto fences was enough to repel the hungry packyderms.... ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/good_reads_elephants_and_chili_peppers_russias_forgotten_recipes_istanbuls_.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/good_reads_elephants_and_chili_peppers_russias_forgotten_recipes_istanbuls_.htm Africa chili pepper Istanbul Russia travel Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:31:43 -0800 There's nothing like a day at the spa to revive aging surfaces, especially when a neglected cast iron wok is the client. To see the dreaded "before" pictures, keep reading. Is there anything nicer for your skin than a salt scrub? Maybe the dried coconut and lime leaf scrub I had a few weeks ago. It was vigorous, to say the least, but when I emerged from the shower, my rough winter carapace was as silky as the inside of a conch shell. But salt, especially sea salt, is marvelous for aging surfaces. Now if there’s anything that needs a treatment more than me, it has to be the cast iron wok I carted back from Singapore 15 years ago. It’s not really the best wok for home cooking—too unwieldy and even the hottest burner on my stove never completely heats up the sloping sides—but I’m still quite fond of it. Maybe it’s remembering the long search that ended in a tiny shop in Singapore’s Chinatown where woks of all sizes were stacked on the floor and the elderly proprietor insisted this was the right one for me. Or maybe it’s just that I hauled it 9,727 miles, only to clog up the garbage dispos-all with the grated coconut I used to season the monster. We've been through a lot together...]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/oh_go_on_give_your_wok_a_facia.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/oh_go_on_give_your_wok_a_facia.htm Breath of a Wok Grace Young Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge wok wok facial Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:40:55 -0800 The pavlova, a brittle shell covering a soft meringue center, takes a turn in the tropics with buttery ginger-lime curd and a mix of mangoes, kiwis and raspberries splashed with rum. This was our Easter dessert. It was hardly necessary, after Greek leg of lamb marinated in yoghurt and anise seed, an enormous plate of fresh asparagus and a bowl of gigandes, large white beans served with garlicky almond skordalia. But I have to say, the pavlova was irresistible—and addictive in the way that you have to eat just one more spoonful, then another, and… I have always loved meringue, both the soft clouds of beaten egg whites that topped my Dad’s favorite orange meringue pie and the crunchy “cookies” that begin to melt the moment you bite into them. But this was the first time I’ve made a pavlova. It’s a dessert named in honor of Anna Pavlova, the legendary Russian ballerina who performed in Australia and New Zealand in the 1920’s. It’s easy to imagine grizzled down-under ranchers and culture-hungry townspeople flocking to see this exotic beauty fly across the stage. One commentator wrote: “She does not dance, she soars as though on wings.”’ Easy as well to imagine an inspired chef inventing an airy dessert which recalled the dancer’s frothy organdy tutu. As it happens, both Australia and New Zealand claim to have created the very first pavlova, but whichever came first…. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/tropical_pavlova_with_gingerli.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/tropical_pavlova_with_gingerli.htm lime curd Martha Stewart Living meringue pavlova rum tropical Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:17:57 -0800 Here’s a story my mother used to tell us right before Easter: On Easter Eve a hundred years ago bonfires lit up the Texas hill country around Fredericksburg. In a cabin, young children were terrified by the flames flickering outside the windows. “Oh,” said their resourceful mother. “That’s just the Easter Rabbit at work. He’s boiling water in big pots so he and his helper bunnies can dye eggs for you to find tomorrow morning.” Did this really happen? The mother’s story was based on an old pagan tradition, a spring awakening ritual that found its way into early German Christianity. In Texas the so-called Easter fires were lit by Comanche scouts during tense negotiations with the German immigrants who had settled on their land. A peace treaty was signed, and in the morning, some say, the children awoke to find colored eggs nestled among the wildflowers growing in the hills. Easter has always been magical for me. I remember running wildly through the grass, bare feet wet with dew, searching for the bright pink and yellow eggs hiding in the bluebonnets that stretched like a meadow in front of our little house—and our astonishment when we stumbled across a sugary view egg with an Easter scene inside. How did the bunny do it? Even now when our own chicks have flown and I no longer stay up past midnight dying eggs and hiding them outside in the dark, I’m still hooked on the magic. So here are this year’s Easter eggs, nestled in the tall grass at the edge of the woods. The colors, I’m happy to say, are absolutely real—the pale Tiffany blue ones come from the fabled Araucana hens—no dyes or midnight treks required. But I’m also a practical girl, so these magical eggs are destined for Easter dessert: This year it’s a tropical pavlova, an egg-shaped meringue ( made with the whites) filled with lime-ginger curd (made with the yolks), topped with mango, kiwis and a few raspberries. Oh, and maybe a splash of rum. In the meantime, may you enjoy your own eggs today: chocolate, marzipan or plastic, scrambled, over easy or souffleed, dyed, stenciled or tattooed—however you like them best. Happy Easter! ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/a_tale_of_easter_bonfires_blue.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/a_tale_of_easter_bonfires_blue.htm Easter Easter eggs Easter rabbit meringue Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:29:53 -0800 At the New York Botanical Garden, electric-hued orchids almost leap from Patrick Blanc's mur vegetal, an exotic vertical garden planted with moss and ferns, rising from a pool of water. New York, how do I love you? Let me count the ways…. But after a week off the grid in the Caribbean, I found myself craving silence. (Let’s not, please, discuss the impulse buy of a gilded Burmese Buddha, nor my obsession for Stella McCartney’s dark blue silk paisley pajamas, nor the truckload of books that just arrived…) Where was I? Oh, yes, craving silence. So early one morning we fled to the Bronx, where in the New York Botanical Garden everything from yellow magnolias to golden daffodils was in bloom. The most exotic blossoms, though, were in the Conservatory where Patrick Blanc, visionary creator of the mur vegetal or vertical garden, had erected lush tropical walls featuring the rarest orchids…. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/at_conservatory_a_delirious_wo.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/at_conservatory_a_delirious_wo.htm gardening New York Botanical Garden orchid orchid show Patrick Blanc vertical garden Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:25:43 -0800 The view from Provo's rocky northwest shore reveals infinite gradations of blue and green as light bounces off the white sand beneath the translucent water. White sand, blue water…. Aquamarine, turquoise, blumarine. Peacock, cobalt, sapphire. Indigo, navy, midnight. Pale bubbly green, dark grey blue. And the sky: powder blue at the horizon, cerulean in the heavens. White sand, dazzling sun, luminous water. A hundred shades of blue, changing with the water’s depth and the presence of rocks and coral reefs. Far out where the water is dark as steel, there’s a sudden drop of 8,000 feet…. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/blues_of_the_caribbean.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/04/blues_of_the_caribbean.htm Caribbean coral reef Provo salt Turks and Caicos Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:44:50 -0800 YouTube: Underwater dreams in British West Indies--seductively silent,save for the crunching sound of fish eating algae off the rocks. (Sorry for the wretched pop-up ad.) Leaving very soon... In the meantime,here's my packing list for Turks and Caicos: ☀Camera, battery charger & extra memory cards ☂Sunglasses (lost on plane last week; replace in NYC) ☀Glittery Mumbai sandals ☀Gauzy black Muriel Brandolini caftan ☀Sun block (assorted tubes) ☀Sencha Kyoto green tea ☀Moleskine sketchbook, pens and colored pencils ☀Last year’s black bathing suit (Thank you, Norma Kamali) ☀Madagascar straw hat ☀Handwoven Wayuu Taya bag ☀Books to read: River of Smoke, Amitav Ghosh Season to Taste, Molly Birnbaum Alibis, Andre Aciman ☀Coral nail polish ☀Black pearl and leather thong necklace ☀Cotton “giant squid” shawl for wrapping up après swim ☀Valrhona Caraibe chocolate bar(s) ☀Yoga pants and t-shirts ☀Meditation CDs Hoping to: ♡Salute the sun on the beach at sunrise ♡Sleep whenever my eyelids grow heavy ♡Drift on a cool turquoise sea ♡Get a little sun on a Caribbean white sand beach ♡Lose myself in the dreamy underwater world while snorkeling ♡Drink ridiculous rum cocktails ♡Cook a curry in hotel kitchen ♡Reassess my frenetic life See you in April. ]]> http://www.spicelines.com/2012/03/gone_swimming_deep_underwater.htm http://www.spicelines.com/2012/03/gone_swimming_deep_underwater.htm Caribbean Turks and Caicos Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:38:39 -0800