Wednesday Literary Perambulations: World History in Quick Bites

This charming little book chronicles the beginnings of man from Pre-history (once again, another work that begins in the cave!) to WWI (frankly, just reading the prehistory chapter and the WWI chapter back to back and skipping the rest of time you have to ask yourself, have we really progressed at all?)   The author, E.H. Gombrich, a Viennese cultural historian who lived mainly in London is most famous for his art history text book, The Story of Art (also worth owning as a reference).  However, his tiny little history summary is a gem – and easily read in bits and bites.  The woodblock illustrations add to the charm.  Available only in German during the 20th century-(Gombrich wrote the original in 1936) – he self-translated the work into English in his later years, working on it until his death, at which point his research assistant took over and brought it to fruition.  It was published in the US in paperback  by Yale University Press posthumously (2008).

It is a perfect bedside book to read “in”  — ours lives on our bathroom reading shelf and teens and adults enjoy browsing through its chapters none of which are more than 11 or 12 pages long.

Food Friday: Taking the Waters – More Easy Health Beverages

I read an article recently about calcium and magnesium uptake from bottled water.  Got me thinking that maybe this is one aspect of the “French paradox” – they may have better mineral uptake than Americans.  They certainly drink mineral water, as opposed to bottled water,  much more regularly than Americans. True mineral water looks like it is worth seeking out, per this recent Washington Post article:

Depending on the brand, one liter a day can cover you for 20 to 58 percent of calcium and 16 to 41 percent of magnesium needs. On the flip side, it can also contribute a significant amount of sodium, so read the label carefully to decide what is right for you.

A favorite water in Europe is Badoit (Bad-wah)- touted on many water websites as one of the better mineralized mineral waters. In my travels, it was common to see French families with a large bottle of Badoit – still or sparkling – in fact I once watched a cute french baby bashing its stroller with an empty bottle while yelling “Badoit, Badoit, Badiot” incessantly the way an American child might yell for candy or ice cream.  Badoit can be found on Amazon, although you’ll pay a significant shipping price.  It ranks very favorably in terms of calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate (many people seek out bicarbonate because of its alkaline nature, which helps counter Americans’ acidic diets).  I was pleased to see in another article that a German water that is readily available at my 2 nearby grocery stores — Gerolsteiner – has an equally good mineral profile.  It is quite salty tasting, compared to a Perrier sparkling or a Fiji “still” style water – but then again that is the point – that taste is from the health-producing minerals.

I have been resisting all bottled waters because of the polluting aspect of the bottles themselves – not to mention the inconvenience of the recycling (we do our own recycling at a recycling center in our town).  That being said, if I can get many of my minerals from water rather than more caloric sources such as milk (which I don’t even like to drink), I am just substituting one recyclable for another with added benefit.  As a thirst quencher, I do find myself buying frequent Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts coffees in their plastic cups in the summer.  A further impetus to stick to mineral water.  In the case of Gerolsteiner, this water has the advantage of coming in a glass bottle.  In the world of recycling, glass always earns a recycling facility more money and therefore more of the glass is actually recycled.  So, if you have a choice between glass and plastic packaging, always choose glass. From the health standpoint, glass is preferable because it does not leach chemicals into water (or food) the way plastic does.

The other day I was at a restaurant that featured a delicious soda water drink that is perfectly adapted for mineral water.  I have reverse engineered it below – think of it as a non-alcoholic version of a Pimm’s Cup – and enjoy – à votre santé!

Blend the following and then place in a glass pitcher: juice of 1/2 lemon, juice of 1 lime, 1 cup fresh mint leaves- mashed, 1/2 medium roughly chopped cucumber, (peel and de-seed first).  Pour a 750 ml bottle Gerolsteiner or other high mineral content sparkling water over the juice mixture, blend with a long handled spoon.  Pour over ice – serve promptly to preserve fizz.  Serves 5.  You can also add Truvia (the stevia brand I love) to make a slightly sweeter drink.

Art Thursdays: Modernized Art

Last week we played, “pick a piece of art that most represents your ideal vacation” on this page.  This week? What if an artist you like were painting today.  Maybe it is a political piece, like Delacroix’s huge 1830 Liberty  (capturing that year’s uprising against the king).  Today, he might have painted the woman who scaled the flagpole on the South Carolina state house grounds and removed the confederate flag.

Someone has already made a famous spoof of Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring:

I rather enjoyed this wonderful pop art spoof of Warhol’s Soup Cans – modernized for the vegan world.  What’s your favorite painting that could be updated to reflect current times?  This is a fun game to play (with or without kids) at an art museum.

Wednesday’s Literary Perambulations: The Red Wheelbarrow

Red Wheelbarrow

William Carlos Williams – a medical doctor and highly regarded American 20th century poet is probably most famous for 2 poems – one about the red wheelbarrow and one about plums; simple objects that in the hands of a poet can carry so much meaning.  In case you haven’t read his famous poems in a while here they are:

The Red Wheelbarrow

so much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens.

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

In your life, what commonplace objects hold this kind of meaning and possibly even a secret story?  For me, there is a single earring from a friend. I doubt I will find its partner ever again, but I just can’t bring myself to discard the earring, even though it is simple piece of costume jewelry.  Too many things happened with this friend and with that pair of earrings – from nightclub dancing to an impromptu, wine and haute cuisine filled lunch in Northern Connecticut, hosted by David Bouley.  We motored up in a bus he chartered for friends and staff (I was a friend of a friend), and the famous chef rode alongside on his gleaming motorcycle.  An earring like this has just seen too much of the world to be summarily tossed out.

In the New York Times this week, it is reported that a professor of literature has tracked down the actual owner of The Red Wheelbarrow – an amazing piece of historical sleuthing.  Much has been said about WCW’s style in this short poem – analysis of his subject matter, structure, word choice. But, it turns out the owner of the objects – the wheelbarrow and the chicken – had true meaning for the poet.  Here is the article from the Times:  William Carlos Willams’ Source for The Red Wheelbarrow. This is a lovely story complete with a description of the effort that people then made to buy a headstone for the previously unknown wheelbarrow owner, an African-American patient of Williams’ from Rutherford, NJ who was buried marker-less in 1930. It is quite a nice little detective story in and of itself!

The Over-Caffeinated Files: Suburban Mom Haiku #7

Lost sock

My sock’s gone missing.

Man sends rockets to moon but

Washers aren’t sock safe?

What It Means to be an American with Help from Robert F. Kennedy, University of Kansas 1968

Timeless words about values and what it is to be American – worth a read on the eve of our Nation’s 239th birthday…

“Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things.  Our Gross National Product, now, is over $800 billion dollars a year, but that Gross National Product – if we judge the United States of America by that – that Gross National Product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage.  It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them.  It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl.  It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities.  It counts Whitman’s rifle and Speck’s knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.  Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play.  It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials.  It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.  And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.”

RFK, Address to University of Kansas,  March 18, 1968

Food Friday: Go Ahead, Make My (Iced) Tea…

Go Ahead. Make My Tea

This image cracked me up the day I found it on some page about blue and white china patterns.  Imagine the horror of an uptight British matron if she were to find out that I was using a proper bone china tea cup to lead off an article on the most American of concepts – iced tea.  First, the British take their tea HOT – always, even in August, even after playing multiple sets at Wimbledon.  Second, they don’t even like ice in drinks that are supposed to be cold, like ice water or a Coke.

Well, I’m here to get you started on making a GREAT pitcher of iced tea so you don’t feel the need to buy (and then recycle) plastic bottles or plastic to go cups of the stuff.

Here’s what you need – good, cheap, quality black tea – my favorite is the store organic brand from Whole Foods (they use a LOT of pesticides on tea bushes, so if you drink tea regularly, organic is definitely preferable).

Whole Foods black organic tea

For this brand, the ratio I use is 4 bags to 1 quart of boiling water.  The secret is mint – preferably from your garden (it grows like a weed – it’s advisable to grow it in a planter – ask a friend, if they have some they usually are more than happy to give you some).  Otherwise, use 3 bags black tea and 2 bags of mint tea which is easy to find at the grocery store.  Wash a handful of fresh mint and place it in with the tea bags – crush the mint a bit before you drop it in and then pour the boiling water over both bag and mint.  Let it steep no  more than 8 or 9 minutes max or it gets bitter – remove the tea bags, fresh mint can stay in for 72 hours but the leaves get black after that and should be discarded. ( My kids enjoy putting the used bags in another clear quart container – glass not plastic – just  add tap water and place the container in the sun all day – it will make a refreshing lighter “sun” tea that’s naturally decaffeinated just from the heat of the sun. )

If you can wait, chill the tea overnight – don’t add ice cubes till you want a glass – this way you won’t dilute your tea.  Next secret – add lemon juice fresh squeezed once the tea has cooled to room temp – I usually use about 1/2 a small lemon’s juice – do not drop in pieces of lemon – the skins make the iced tea bitter.  Lastly, if you like sweet tea-  stevia has no calories -the only brand that I’ve found that isn’t bitter is Truvia – 2 TBS is perfect for a quart for my taste.

Happy summer!

The Over-Caffeinated Files: Suburban Mom Haiku #6

Stop…Pause…Be Conscious.

Loss is wasted on your stuff.

Save loss for big things.

Post Script: Any of you lose stuff regularly – like keys, purse, phone – in your house or elsewhere??? Naahhhhh, I didn’t think so – but just in case someone you KNOW does this (wink wink)- my new technique? When I come home and put down my stuff (that’s usually when I go unconscious and misplace things), I now send a location reminder photo or note to my laptop/ipad (anywhere but my phone, in case, well…you know…in case I misplace my phone…).  Have to say, just the act of forcing myself to take this step has helped me not misplace my stuff quite as often…

Thursday Art Insights: If My Summer Vacation Were Any Work of Art…

Ansel Adams, Vintage Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico

A fun game to play : What piece of art most represents what you desire in a vacation?

Vast, empty space – magnificent sunsets and moonrises, dry warm air and no one for miles, except in the distance, in case I were to need a plate of fried eggs. Maybe I’m camping, maybe I’m just driving through.  Ansel Adams had a true sense of the vastness of Western space. His ability to capture the grandness of light in contrast to the mundane nature of quotidian life is arresting in this large gelatin silver print from the 1940s.

The Over-Caffeinated Files: Suburban Mom Haiku #5

Sharp knife slices clean. Cleaves tomato’s viscous pith. Seedy center drips.