To be able to move on, one has to learn to forgive not only the person (or people) who have done one wrong but also oneself.
- Eugenia Tripputi
In my experience, the ability to forgive yourself is harder than forgiving others.
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Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.
~Benjamin Franklin
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Clocking in at an extraordinary 25g of fiber/serving (the minimum for a woman’s entire daily need), homemade New York Times Red Lentil Soup. Note the gorgeous food photography, which reminds me of Heidi Swanson’s style.
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Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
— Max Ehrmann
(via Elastic Waist)
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Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white,
clean and bright
You look happy to meet me.
Blossom of snow
may you bloom and grow,
Bloom and grow forever.
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever.Edelweiß, Edelweiß,
Du grüßt mich jeden Morgen,
Sehe ich dich,
Freue ich mich,
Und vergess’ meine Sorgen.
Schmücke das Heimatland,
Schön und weiß,
Blühest wie die Sterne.
Edelweiß, Edelweiß,
Ach, ich hab dich so gerne.-Rodgers & Hammerstein
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Whether you think you can or you can’t you are right.
-Henry Ford
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What I love most about a well-designed infographic is its ability to absorb me. Getting lost inside the graphic’s features as I internalize the data and the lessons it teaches. I’m captivated by the beauty and elgance of beautifully presented complex data sets.
Here’s another I found today over at the bastion of fantastic infographics, the New York Times:
The Ebb and Flow of Movies: Box Office Receipts 1986 — 2008
Be sure to check out the two seasonal trends over time - summers and the holidays.
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Cranberry Sorbet with Clementines and Mint
I love me some cranberries. The cranberry’s tangy, tart taste rivals rhubarb for my fruits-from-up-north-which-must-have-sugar affection. (Even if rhubarb isn’t really a fruit.)
Every holiday season I buy up bags and bags of cranberries to freeze and keep throughout the year. Generally, the vast majority are made into bread using an old family recipe. One or two others become cranberry compote of various flavors - with citrus, ginger, or jalapeno. (We can’t neglect the jalapeno, now can we. Tart and hot: the resident food critic’s favorites.)
After 34 years of the same bread and compotes, it’s nice to branch out into other ventures. Explore new frontiers of the cranberry expanse. No sooner had the thought occurred to me than did I stumble upon a recipe for Cranberry Sorbet by Simply Recipes while reading blogs on my iPhone early one morning before work. All day long I dreamed about the tangy-sweet-COLD combination.
That weekend, I ventured to three grocery stores before I found the requisite white cranberry juice. Save yourself some trouble: go to a mainstream grocer to procure this key ingredient, rather than Whole Foods or Target. Whole Foods, however, is an excellent choice for affordable crates of clementines, also in season now. (Did you know they’re also called “Christmas oranges?”) At any rate, while I didn’t plan the clementines for this recipe when I bought them, their addition offered a nice citrus flavor as well as upped the seasonality ante on the dish.
As for the mint garnish, that was also a last minute addition offered up more so for appearance than for flavor. I just couldn’t bring myself to add a sprig of pine to the vibrant pink sorbet this time. Blame the cats, who delight in nothing so much as eating the Christmas tree, both real and artificial. (A little cat with your sorbet, madam?)
A Spoonful of Cranberry Sorbet with Clementines and Mint
Related Links:
Resident Critic Verdict: Great, intense flavor. None of this watered down bullshit or subtle flavors. To be thorough, it wasn’t smooth. Either puree the mixture more, or use a different strainer. There’s a cranberry residue in the bottom of my cup. [untranslated face.]
NB: The strainer I used was the very cute and extremely multi-functional KitchenAid 7″ Strainer - Red
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One of my favorite memories of Graham’s sister, Catherine, is of her ordering champagne for dinner. It was the night I first met her, and we were both Graham’s dates for an evening at a fancy-schmancy Indian fusion restaurant. Before that evening, it never occurred to me to order champagne for dinner. The experience felt deliciously decadent and ostentatious.
Today, almost 4.5 years later, champagne and the rest of the “sparkling wine” genre are still completely overlooked. Some folks prefer merlot, others pinot noir or chardonnay. No offense to them, but thanks to Catherine, I’ll take a nice glass of bubbly over the others any day. Sparking wine - it’s not just for special occasions anymore.
Iron Horse Russian Cuvee 2001
Unless, you know, it is an actual special occasion, in which case all the better!
Last evening we celebrated Christmas Eve with Graham’s parents, and enjoyed a nice bottle of bubbly. Iron Horse Russian Cuvee 2002, which “commemorates the style of Sparkling that Iron Horse made for the historic Reagan-Gorbachev Summit Meetings, which ended the Cold War.”
Iron Horse would be a lovely choice to bring along to a New Year’s Eve celebration as a host gift. At ~$25/bottle, it’s not too expensive either. Go ahead - be decadent. (You’ll never look back.)
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Mara's stylized Adoration with Animals was exhibited in Hallmark Christmas Card Contest. France, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman (LIFE Magazine via Google Images.
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Merry Christmas, and Peace on Earth!
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