It was one year ago today that I got the news of my tumor. 365 days since the words “we found a mass,” drowned out all other moise in a busy emergency room. 52 weeks since everything – my body, mind, relationships, priorities – changed irrevocably. For most of that time I have been gently poking around my head and heart trying to fully understand what, other than the 6.5″ scar I now wear with pride, I am supposed to carry away from my experience.
I haven’t made any profound realizations nor done anything terribly drastic in the name of “needing to really live.” Nor have I tried to force myself to reach the kind of emotional clarity you read about in best selling memoirs. I have, however, made a very conscious effort to be present in my life – to make time for curiosity, to taste food fully, to tell my friends and family I love them, to observe the world around me, to put aside self-imposed stress in favor of indulging in silliness, to appreciate that one day last year I went to sleep with the very real chance that I wouldn’t wake up and to celebrate every day, that I did. I think the fact that my most innate reaction to what I went through is to simply go on living my life only with greater intention and purpose is a sign that I was doing an ok job before hand. While this does leave me with a comfortable sense of calm about the choices I have made and my ability to face difficulties in the future I am very much dedicated to marking the occasion as reason to slow down, spoil myself and really soak in the amazing people and places in my life.
So, now that I’ve given a year to fully recovering – with the absolutely incredible support, it should be said, of my friends, family and community – I am going to claim this next year as a year of adventure. From kitchen to concerts to starting a whole new chapter as a wife I am going to seek every opportunity afforded me because I survived, because I am lucky enough to have woken up.
Yeah I know, I think we’re all a little tired of the ubiquitous Foster The People song but Miracles Of Modern Science have definitely freshened it up with their string heavy take on the song.
Soups are definitely my fall back when I want something easy and comforting and this curried cauliflower soup is probably the one I make the most. Over the years of experimenting with flavors and techniques I have come up with a recipe I can share with confidence. There are some fussy bits about this recipe but don’t cut corners on toasting the spices or adding the garnishes it makes a world of difference.
Ingredients:
2 medium heads of cauliflower, cut into small chunks
1 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs butter
1 large onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, pressed
1 bay leaf
6 C chicken broth
1 1/2 Tbs curry powder (I used a sodium free mix)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin
2 Tbs honey
Greek yogurt and rye croutons to garnish
Preheat the oven to 450˚
Directions:
1. Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper and spread on a rimmed baking sheet lined with tin foil. Put in oven and let the cauliflower roast for 45 minutes to an hour, tossing them occasionally. Remove when they’re nice a golden and tender to the fork.
While the cauliflower is roasting…
2. Melt the butter in a medium stock pot then add the onion and garlic. Saute over medium heat until the onions are nicely caramelized.
3. Add the chicken broth and bay leaf and let it simmer, covered.
4. When the cauliflower is done transfer it to the pot and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
5. Meanwhile, heat a sauté pan over medium high heat and add the cinnamon, curry powder and cumin. Stir constantly while the spices toast, when they’re smoking slightly and very fragrant (about 2 minutes) remove from heat and add to the soup. Stir it in totally.
6. Let the soup simmer for another 15-20 minutes then remove from heat. Take out the bay leaf and add the honey then, using a stick blender puree the soup. You can use a food processor and work in batches but be careful with the hot liquid.
7. Serve with the greek yogurt and croutons for garnish.
Laura Gibson, where have you been all my life? During a recent listen-to-my-inbox session Gibson’s new album La Grande came on and I was immediately spellbound. From the breaking gallop of the drum in the opening track “La Grande” through each of the subsequent tracks Gibson’s voice teases you to follow her into the world her fifth album neatly constructs. It’s that voice that stands as the focal point of the album – at times mournful and at others resplendently confident. On tracks such as “Crow/Swallow” and “Lion/Lamb” you can hear a blush of influence from Peggy Lee and Dusty Springfield which imparts a wonderful retro feel to the material.
The pace of the album is masterful, a great ebb and flow that makes you slow down and really appreciate the lyrics and how they’re being presented. While Gibson’s voice is the unquestionable core of the pieces the supporting percussion, guitars and strings flow around and through her arcs and plaines with just the right amount of presence in the mix. Each track is complete unto itself but the real glory of the full album is that they also weave together seamlessly. Get a copy of La Grande and prepared to get lost.
She’s about to embark on her US tour so check out the dates and get your tickets.
[MP3] La Grande
Irish band The Frames have been quite for a bit now while lead singer Glen Hansard has pursued his side project The Swell Season but they recently stopped by Irish TV series Other Voices to throw out a rendition of “God Bless Mom.” It is a nice reminder of the more nuanced work Hansard did before getting wrapped up in the Swell Season. If you’re not familiar with the Frames a dive into their work is a journey well worth taking, particularly if you’re someone who likes incredible lyrics and a group capable of turning out a variety of sounds. Whether or not you know them you’ll definitely enjoy this.
[MP3] Listen Girl (live)
I am back from my awesome trip to Dublin. It was a good mix of work and play, oh, and eating. We were treated to lots of delicious food and in the time I had to wander the city I found some very tasty noms from some street vendors to late night sushi bars. Continue Reading →
“Ireland is a land of poets and legends, of dreamers and rebels. All of these have music woven through and around them. Tunes for dancing or for weeping, for battle or for love.”
2012 is off to a raring start. After two lovely weeks traveling for the holidays I came back to a bunch of unexpected travel plans. I spent most of last week in New York and I am leaving for Dublin on Monday for the week. While it’s a nice mix of work and play it is still going to be rather busy so I’m afraid I’ll be absent a little while longer. But who knows maybe I’ll get some time to write up the posts I have planned. Lots of new music to share and new recipes to put in front of you. I hope the new year is treating you fabulously.
Before we cleared out of the house for the holidays I did my damnest to empty our fridge and pantry of perishables. I really really hate to waste food and I have actually come up with some of my best recipes in these last minute cupboard emptying extravaganzas (southwestern pasta putenesca anyone). This year I was actually rather strategic with my grocery shopping leading up to our departure knowing I wouldn’t have a whole lot of time to cook before we headed back to the Twin Cities so I really only had some bananas to use. Instead of making a loaf of banana bread I combined a few recipes I found and did them donut style. Two batches later I found a pretty solid recipe and ended up giving them to co-workers as their holiday gifts.
Need a good last minute gift idea? Try this recipe for Heath Crunch Cookie Truffles. It makes 3-4 dozen truffles (depending on how big you make them) so you can get a lot of gifts out of one batch. But be warned, these are addictive little treats so package them up quickly or you’ll find yourself snacking on them endlessly.
Alan Wilkis - "Come and Go (feat. The KickDrums)" from David Sosnow on Vimeo.
Getting to watch an artist evolve is one of the coolest parts of being a music blogger. Some acts show a lot of promise when you first hear their stuff but it never goes anywhere and they drop off the radar. Other artists are pretty rad from the start but with time prove themselves to be much radder than you initially suspected. Alan Wilkis is one of the later. He’s definitely no stranger to TWIAPC – I most recently posted his ambitious new project Prints – and now he has gone and blown me away with the video for Print’s single “Come & Go.”
Shot in 360˚ with help from David Sosnow to capture the euphoric feeling of the song and capture is does. The amazing film technic is only partly responsible for the smile the video puts on your face. The free wheeling dreamscape it evokes is responsible for the rest. As Wilkis continues to explore and evolve it’s with 100% certainty that I can say great great things are still yet to come from him.
[MP3] Come & Go
