Help me, I live with my mother

she is more and more like lucille bluth every day. help me. more later.

i think it would be really REALLY good with tofu too

Georgian Baked Fish with Eggplant and Pomegranate Sauce

(Tevzi Badrijanit Brotseulis Tsvenshi)

• 1 red snapper or striped bass (about 4-6 pounds)head and tail left on (we used Cod Fillets and it worked really well, i think just aslong as the fish is white flakey and mild it will work well), cleaned, rinsed and patted dry OR 1 PACKAGE FIRM TOFU
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed in a garlic press
• 1 cup olive oil, or more as needed
• 2 medium-sized eggplants / aubergines (abvbout 1/2 pound each), sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 3 cups fresh or bottled pomegranate juice ( we used some Odwalla bs because Super Stop and Shop didn't seem to have Pom)
  
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 375F. Rub the fish or DRAINED, PRESSED AND SLICED TOFU with salt, pepper, the crushed garlic, and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil; place in a baking dish. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Bake the fish until opaque througout, 10 minutes for every inch of the thickness of the fish, measured at the thickest part -- 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of the fish. The fish should be browned and crispy on top. (funny part of the story here is that we actually started a grease fire on the pan in the oven becuase we went for a BROIL rather than bake, and with the smoke detector freaking out i was running around muttering "OMG, OMG" Carmelle mean while was cool as a cuke, just letting it burn itself out... this is all in the middle of the Conneticuit woods HA!)

Meanwhile place the eggplant / aubergine slices in a colander and sprinkle them with 2 tablespoons of salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse the eggplant thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels.

Pour the remaining oil into a heavy skillet. If the oil is less than 1 inch deep, add more oil. (The C+D version also takes it a little easy on the oil becuae an inch of oil in a pan is terrifying)
Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant slices, a few at a time, until deep golden on both sides, about 15 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Reduce the pomegranate juice over high heat to about 1 1/3 cups, taking about 10-15 minutes. Stir in the onion, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, basil and cilantro, and season with salt. Allow the sauce to cool to a warm temperature.

Serve the dish surrounded by eggplant slices and pass the pomegranate sauce in a sauceboat.

(we just layered it in a tupperware container and poured the sauce all over. SRSLY this was SO delish I wish I had known about the wonders of Georgian food in the Spiz... i can't help but say sorry guys for not providing this fantasy of flavors)

down conn way

Thursday, I went to visit my dear friend Carmelle while she is plugging away at her residency at the Joseph and Anni Albers foundation in glorious hyper new england setting CT. The studio space was wonderful, totally incredibly huge and well lit, and the kitchen was great, the bed comfortable, AND she's been making really great work big and small which was so nice to see.
There was a manmade pond on which we went canoeing (not just in circles) because it was a little too late and a bit too chilly to swim (story of my life this summer so far- wtf?). I saw the beaver that has been terrorizing the grounds keeper do what beavers do by lifting it's tail up at a 45 degree angle and then slapping it down on the water really hard, making it sound as if a bowling ball had plunked in. He did this a couple of times, and the last time around I was definitely startled enough to give a yelp. The pond was totally beautiful! Inky water, hyper reflective of all the various greenery around it. Apparently in the woods surrounding the foundation and the studios live deer, wild turkey, bunnies, owls, racoons, chipmunks, and squirrels. At night it gets very dark and there are strange noises. it's so completely isolated in the woods I kept thinking about that Alice Munro story from the New Yorker and got really scared, jumpy even. For dinner (eaten out on the screened in porch) Carmelle and I made a really incredible recipe involving cod, pommegranite sauce and eggplant medalions. SUPER DELISH. A Georgian recipe apparently. It was a really great visit.

I ofcourse didn't take pictures, but if you want to see some of her work, Carmelle just recently had a show at (i think ) your friend Beryls' gallery, Arielle! check out pix here.

Her work ofcourse sent me into color theory heaven which was so great in relation to the Albers stuff. srsly so rad. It was great to see what other residency opportunities exist in the world, and how the experience can be so different and also so similar.

Yesterday it took me 7 hours to drive from CT to DC during which it poured down to the point of zero visiblity twice, and Aqua J almost ran out of gas. I got an asscramp in New Jersey, was devistated by the lack of seltzer water at a rest stop in Delaware, and thought i might lose it in heavy traffic near Baltimore. It was arduous, it was epic, like covering 1/2 of the east coast in one span by oneself would be. I listened to music for some but just really got into the sounds of the road and what the different textures and accelerations sound like.

I am in DC for a bit. Processmom and DOOdad are going to Turkiye for vacation starting Monday, and i want to try and hang around in there house and try and work on stuff. Again the age old intent, treat this time like a separate residency. Though I am not so sure. Will just let the wind decide when it's time to go I guess.

Fourth of July plans kids? I am debating hiking my butt back up to NYC for SONIC YOUTH's free show and fire works, or bringing the PVD crew sparklers and bottle rockets. Or i might just sit here and needle point with fireworks on the tv. not sure, either or it will be fine and fun.

did you see Mongol yet? I was reminded the other day by someone, and then this morning by the back of a Cheerios box that THE DARK KNIGHT is coming out soon.

oh shit.

Going to Summerfest tonight...Hundreds of thousands of drunken Wisconsinites and brats. Stevie Wonder...OH MY GOD?! Eric Burden and the Animals...HOLY SHIT?!?! Gnarls Barkley...eh? They Might Be Giants...maybe? LeAnn Rimes...oh boy?
YAY

oh that khan!

I saw the movie Mongol, which is the first of three bio pics about Gengis Khan last night.

it was so totally and incredibly awesome!

the fight scenes were bloody, the music was throat singingy and awesome, it was funny and sweet, and all the people were incredible looking, and not to mention the costumes!
ETHNIC DRESS! YES! (different tribes had specific hats, different styles the best involving tiger tails {:O ! }).
i think you guys would really enjoy it, if only because Mongolia is so very beautiful with such varied landscapes and terrains. Totally cinematic! it is shot beautifully, and the cgi is tolerable.
also there is a character named Altan in the movie so maybe a viewing will make you think of me, and wonder along with Jamukha "where is Altan?"
where indeed!
try and catch it if you can, it was totes blockbustery with it's epic battles and love story, just right for summer. (BTW...)

also! today! on the way to coffee and a scone, i literally stumbled upon the annual Somerville Portuguese Parade, complete with floats, traditional dancing and national costume, marching bands, mandolin and accordian players, 1st, 2nd and 3rd parade princesses, antique cars, Elvis impersonator, and these baskets of bread and rose towers carried by women on their heads. The paraders threw candy, and frisbees to the croud (to keep!), and i ofcourse was waving and clapping and grinning like a fool from the sidewalk till the very end.
Parades are still the best thing ever! what luck to just walk right into one!

makeover!

i had a very bad dream that involved being swept up in a tornado while visiting hub-bub for the 09 crews entry show. needless to say i couldn't fall back asleep and this was something to do. i hope you like it. i was going for subtle, ghost like, classy even.

coasting, like, fersure -or- i am at america's edge

i woke up this morning and made my self drive out to coast guard beach to watch the sun rise over the open atlantic. it was incredible how many different colors the water turns with the change in light. it's something i always wanted to do, and so i did it. the ocean is constant and steady, she and all the seals in the water say hi. the cape was glorious! i ate lavender fig ice cream, pounded pomegranite seltzer, read joan didion, (how does she sum up 12 months of hard work in just one paragraph? HOW?) made my best effort at swimming in 60 degree water, and somehow got a weird cleavege tan. tomorrow i head to new bedford to fiber geek it out at the needle work and the sea symposium. and then back to the cape. apparently the only thing to do about feeling sad and missing you (which is the what over here) is to "weep it out and make art" as someone who knows more about this shit than me recently advised.
we'll see about the weeping part. i've bought fabric and embroidery thread as a start to the other.

OBAMA!