Caramel Cake

Thanksgiving truly is the king of holidays. No gifts, no pressure, just dish after dish of deliciousness: mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, apple and pumpkin pies.


This year's feast was topped off with a slice of a family heirloom dessert, caramel cake. It's a traditional southern cake, and while not traditional on the Thanksgiving table, I squealed with delight when the hostess announced it in our dessert lineup.


How I wish I had a piece right now.

just a hint.

this time, there was the littlest bit of red. but it was casting such a strange glow from beneath the sidewalk.


it kind of made me want to do a little exploration of the world below. (of course, on a day when all the rats are sleeping in!)

red.

fire-engine red. there's no shade quite like it. the other night, i figured out why.


this engine station housed an impressive collection of retired fire trucks. i couldn't help but stare at some of these noble vehicles for quite some time. what is it about them that makes me feel like a little kid...and perhaps even, like a little boy?

illuminating.

i believe that along with an admiration of bridges, a love of peonies and an appreciation of handwritten thank-you notes, my mother has a fondness for streetlamps.

i do, too. happy birthday, mom!

Cyclamen

A lovely plant to brighten up cold days. These little ladies were clustered together at the Union Square farmer's market a few weeks back, I think to stay warmer.

Cure

This is one from a stretch of 1st Ave. that has more neon-lighting than Vegas- albeit all for drug and liquor stores.


I had to stop in one for a minor medical need, and the owner (he was old, knew where everything was, and greeted the other customers by name so I assume that's who he was) said "feel better," almost automatically, when he handed everyone their change.

I found that to be such a nice habit to adopt when you're in the healing business.

Winter Light (Nattvardsgästerna)

puddle.

no matter how old i am, puddle-jumping is always fun.
(it especially helps when i'm well equipped.)

arboreal.

Seats, 2nd Ave.

what a difference a day makes.

i took these pictures one day before...




i took these pictures.



all at the same spot.

Late Afternoon, 9th Ave. and 14th St.

crantastic.

cranberry bread always reminds me of my mom. she makes this dense, cakey bread every year for thanksgiving...and recently, i've started to make some too, in the days and weeks prior.


with lots of cranberries, orange peel and orange juice, it's tart and delish...especially when made into miniloaves!

i am thankful...

...for skies like these on prethanksgiving fall days.


saturday was exceptional. not only was it friendsgiving '08, a huge and delicious feast among some seattle buds, but it was also an extraordinarily beautiful day for midnovember.


everything about the day was delightful...especially what i baked, which i'll show you tomorrow!

Summer Memories

It got so cold here yesterday, I need them right now.

One of the Best Things Ever Invented

I had it last week.


Known as the nacho sandwich, the vegetarian special or the hot Indian sandwich, this was my lunch last Tuesday.

A friend of mine read about it and repeated it to me, laughing, on Monday. By Tuesday, I was in line, dollar bills clutched in hand, at a Blimpie's.

I'm serious. This particular one was known for its cheese sub, which featured melted American cheese, pickled jalapenos, lettuce-tomato-onion, doused in oil and vinegar AND a fiery green cilantro chutney.

Did I mention the layer of CRUSHED DORITOS? Gott in himmel. I couldn't dream up a sandwich this amazing.


Watching it being assembled was like art:


When I finally sat down and peeled back the paper, it was so hard to pause between bites to get a picture. But I had to, to wipe those tears of joy away.


Which were swiftly followed by the tears of sadness. That day was the Blimpie's last day of business.

Sometimes, we must be content with just a taste of heaven. Its elusiveness makes it all the more sweet.

the view from below...

...is just fine with me. as you know from a previous post, window-washing from great heights with a little cable to "secure" me is just not my idea of a dream job.

and yet, i was totally mesmerized by this team(!) of washers.


i stood from below and snapped away while some crazy lady yelled out, "you're just taking them pictures so that if one falls you can post it on (inaudible)-dot-com!" over and over again.

tusky 2.

do you yearn for this urn?

Get Thee to a

Sometimes, right when you're not expecting it, the feeling hits you: This truly is the best place to live in the entire world.

vibrant.

(admittedly this was taken about 2 weeks ago, but today there is sun and it reminded me of this day...which is nice since we've had a lot of rain. so much that my dad emailed me today concerned about the flooding he had heard of back east: "is the lake level reaching your doorstep? do you need to park on higher ground?" i wrote back and assured him: "the flooding is typically around several rivers in western washington. some schools are closed. but it's not bad where i am. no rivers near there. and the lake is regulated by the locks. looks like today is going to be a drier day!" and it is!)

the blue of the sky and the crisp lines of the buildings that scrape it were striking when i stepped out for my lunch break.
funny to think that (with the exception of the blessed weekend) i spend most of my waking life on one of those floors in one of those massive buildings...

(ps--i had that post name all picked out, too. it's a good word. many words that start with v are...)

Vibrancy on 5th Ave.

All this rain is just making the fall colors look even more gorgeous than usual.

it's cute because it's little.

not too long ago, this little guy was the tiniest of mushrooms...on the shiniest of forks...found in the deliciousist of dishes...at the preciousist of lunches...with the bestest of friends.

Crunch

I never remember what kinds of apples I buy at the farmer's market, no matter how much I repeat the names to myself when I'm putting them in my bag.


They're almost always delicious, though, so it doesn't really matter.

Late

Tudor City Park

It's my favorite park in the entire city, perhaps because despite being in the center of midtown, it's so secluded and quiet. I also love that I just stumbled upon it one day, too, and that so few other people, even those who have lived or worked here for years, have no idea it exists.

Rainy Day, Carroll Gardens