Forays into Domesticity — A Photo Essay

I have been MIA for a while, but hey, it’s the end of the semester. I have finished a number of books and will review them… eventually.

My last class is Monday, and then I’m free. Until summer classes start. In any case, I’m eagerly awaiting the end of the semester. I see lots of reading in my future.

Anywho, in the recent days I have taken a turn for the domestic. Perhaps it’s the Spring Cleaning bug, or maybe I’m just using cleaning my apartment and cooking as modes of procrastination.

But seriously, this is the best procrastination ever. Now I have risotto. Risotto, people! Forget ambrosia, this is the food of the gods.

And now I will show you how I made it:

One day I will master chopping onions into evenly-sized pieces. One day…

Then you throw the onions and olive oil into a hot pan. Add some chopped garlic and some herbs (I used oregano and rosemary because that’s what I have in my pantry).

Then throw in the arborio rice and mix it around so everything is coated with the oil.

Stock time! I use vegetable stock, but I hear using beef broth gives a good flavor too, if you eat meat.

Let the rice soak up the liquid, while stirring frequently. When you can pull the spoon through and there’s a bit of a delay as it all comes back together, add more stock. Repeat until the rice is cooked.

Then it’s all nice and creamy and delectable!

Flavor to taste with salt and pepper.

And add cheese if you so wish (I definitely wish). Last time I made risotto I had shaved asiago, but this time it’s plain ol’ shredded mozzarella.

Then pour yourself a glass of wine (or other beverage, I suppose) and enjoy!

This was a lovely little interlude in my weekend, but now it’s back to reality. At least until Monday night.

Bastille Day!

Yesterday I went to the Bastille Day celebration on 60th St. with a friend. Apparently, every year during the week of July 14, New York holds celebrations in honor of Bastille Day. It’s the perfect excuse to drink French wine, eat delicious food, and… do other French stuff.

The street festival was yesterday and there were a ton of food vendors. My sad grad student wallet decided that the $20 food and wine tour probably wasn’t worth it, so instead I got an $8 strawberries and chocolate crepe, which definitely was. I would have taken pictures, but I was far too busy stuffing my face…

There weren’t as many activities as I was expecting. There were these photobooth type things scattered throughout and they could have been fun, but 1) I was way too sweaty to feel like being in a picture, and 2) I think it had something to do with Twitter (which I don’t have) where you post the picture and then they enter you into a drawing to win a trip to France? I’m not really sure.

Really though, if there are contests to win trips to Europe on Twitter, maybe I should join…

There were lots of businesses and shops with booths, so we walked around and looked at those. I spent a some time at the tea booth sniffing the different teas like a weirdo. I did consider buying some, but I wanted to save some money for macaroons.

The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) was one of the main sponsors for the event (I think so anyway, their logo kept popping up everywhere), yet I only saw one booth for them. When I did, I asked them about French classes and they were very helpful. They offer a lot of interesting-looking classes (though I’d have to get past beginner-level first) and have cultural events as well. Not cheap, but not as expensive as I was expecting either, so I’ll have to see if I can make it work.

After we walked up and back (it went from Lexington to 5th Ave.) and I stopped to buy a print for my room and a few macaroons (chocolate praline and raspberry were good, salted caramel was to die for) my friend and I parted ways. I had a somewhat eventful trip downtown that mostly involved me missing my stop because I don’t understand numbers, but going uptown back to my apartment went much more smoothly.

All in all, I’d say it was a decent day out exploring what my new city has to offer.