Linguine with Grilled Tomatoes

I have (I think) some good qualities, but as my friends and family will tell you, flexibility is not one of them. I am very attached to all my lists and schedules. Once I have something on my calendar I am very cranky about changing it. Which leads me to the story behind this recipe. It's a scrumptious and simple one, and the key ingredient, the one that makes it sing, are the grilled tomatoes. The smoky taste that you can only get when you char them a little bit on the grill -- that's what sets this terrific, easy little recipe apart. It's a little bit chancy to plan for this recipe in February in the Northeast, but last weekend it was edging up towards 50 degrees and it felt like maybe spring was around the corner. So I bought me some plum tomatoes and put it on the menu for today.

Then I woke up this morning, looked outside my window and saw this where my back yard used to be.

My trees all looked like they belonged in a Dr. Suess book.

The dog was delirious with happiness. But all I could think of was my grilled tomato linguine dinner.

Because my grill looked like this.

I saw my lovely dinner vanishing right before my eyes. Normal people would have simply figured out something else for dinner. But I have the inflexibility thing going on. What happened next is why I am hopelessly and forever head over heels for the Southern husband.

Those are actual wet, cold snowflakes raining down on him as he grills up those tomatoes for me.

I am one lucky, inflexible girl.

OK, so back to the recipe -- as I mentioned earlier, the key to this whole recipe is the wonderful taste of the grilled tomatoes. You take plum tomatoes, cut them in half, scoop out the seeds and drop them in a bowl with some oil oil, some salt and fresh ground pepper and some thyme -- fresh if you have it, dried if you don't. Fire up that grill and cook them until they are soft and a little bit charred, and then drop them back into that same bowl.

Meantime, cook up some linguine in salted water until it is al dente. Drain it, add some nice olive oil, some fresh grated Parmesan (use the good stuff!) and some fresh ground pepper. Now take those glorious grilled tomatoes, chop them up into pieces and add them with whatever juice and oil has accumulated in the bottom of the bowl and add all of that to the pasta. Toss and divide among warmed dishes...pasta heaven. Any time of year!

LINGUINE WITH GRILLED TOMATOES, adapted from Everyday Foods

• 3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved and seeded
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and pepper

• 1 pound linguine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving

1. Heat grill to high. Toss tomatoes with 3 tablespoons olive oil and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Starting with cut side down, grill until soft and charred on both sides, 5-10 minutes.

3. Return to bowl and cut into rough pieces with kitchen shears.

4. Cook linguine in salted water until al dente. Drain and return to pot.

5. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, parmesan and grilled tomatoes and toss.

6. Serve at once garnished with additional parmesan as needed.

Click here for printable recipe

Stained Glass Window Opening Soon

The final transformation of the window above into the faux-painted oak and stained glass feature wall is taking just a tad longer than... well, normal post publication time.

So I thought those who were asking how it was going would forgive me if I postponed sharing the results until Monday or Tuesday-- when I could be assured it would be finished, and finished right!

I'm pleased at the way it's coming along, actually. And I think you folks might be tickled, too.

Right now I'm off to pop an ibuprofen or two-- climbing and balancing for hours on ladders is a great thigh workout, but not so spiffy on the arms, neck and shoulders.

Ah, but like all good projects, the pain balances out with satisfaction for a job well-done.

Here's hope the readers who got crushed with snow have been able to enjoy the quiet time a little-- and aren't in traction from all the shoveling. And for the rest, who haven't had to deal with this season's serious dose of Old Man Winter, well... Try not to rub it in too much.

Or at least wait until our Shoveler's Elbow goes away.

Talk to you all soon!

Stained Glass Window Opening Soon

The final transformation of the window above into the faux-painted oak and stained glass feature wall is taking just a tad longer than... well, normal post publication time.

So I thought those who were asking how it was going would forgive me if I postponed sharing the results until Monday or Tuesday-- when I could be assured it would be finished, and finished right!

I'm pleased at the way it's coming along, actually. And I think you folks might be tickled, too.

Right now I'm off to pop an ibuprofen or two-- climbing and balancing for hours on ladders is a great thigh workout, but not so spiffy on the arms, neck and shoulders.

Ah, but like all good projects, the pain balances out with satisfaction for a job well-done.

Here's hope the readers who got crushed with snow have been able to enjoy the quiet time a little-- and aren't in traction from all the shoveling. And for the rest, who haven't had to deal with this season's serious dose of Old Man Winter, well... Try not to rub it in too much.

Or at least wait until our Shoveler's Elbow goes away.

Talk to you all soon!

grey + sunday + flickr.

i've done a remarkable amount of nothing today. i have, however, spent plenty of time on flickr. here's a few of my favorites.

grey + sunday + flickr.

i've done a remarkable amount of nothing today. i have, however, spent plenty of time on flickr. here's a few of my favorites.

Space Shuttle Retires and 23,000 Jobs will Disappear

Sadly, NASA is going to have the budget cut for manned space flight and this coincides with the retirement of the current space shuttle program which will end this year 2010. This in and of itself is a shame because NASA has led the way in technology for sending people into space, but it looks as if the private sector may begin to work on space craft capable of sending people into space as well as the European Space Agency. Another consequence to this budget cut will be the loss of 23,000 jobs, yes, 23,000 jobs!
From the article:

Revised projections now show that about 23,000 workers at and around Kennedy Space Center will lose their jobs because of the shuttles' retirement and the new proposal to cancel the development of new rockets and spacecraft.
IN-DEPTH SPECIAL REPORT: Shuttle ShutdownThat sum includes 9,000 "direct" space jobs and -- conservatively speaking -- 14,000 "indirect" jobs at hotels, restaurants, retail stores and others that depend on activity at the space center, said Lisa Rice, Brevard Workforce president.
"Our unemployment rate is going to skyrocket," she warned Thursday during a five-hour Brevard County Commission space workshop. Much conversation centered on the future of human space launches from KSC, and attendees heaped criticism on Obama's strategy.

I do not see the economy turning around to the positive side for many years or maybe ever, so I do not know what will happen to space travel. Since I am a science fiction lover and I dream of space travel, meeting alien life, and traveling the Universe, this seems like a big setback, for a while anyways.
Here is the article about the 23,000 jobs to be lost.

Latest costumes and props on display at Universal Studios Hollywood...

Aside from the temporary costume exhibits at the ArcLight cinemas and the Cinerama Dome, the other place in L.A. to see a selection of original costume and props on display for a slightly longer time period is at Universal Studios Hollywood.

You can also find models, mask, conceptual drawings and even cars used in Universal Pictures movies at the theme park.

Universal Studios Hollywood Experience exhibit February 2010

Here are just some of the fantastic costume and prop displays from a variety of different film genres to check out in further detail:

Milk movie costumes worn by Sean Penn, James Franco and Emile Hirsch

Renee Zellweger's Bridget Jones outfits

Original cast costumes from Frost/Nixon

Masks, models and props from Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Costumes, jewelry and props from The Mummy trilogy

Russell Crowe's Gladiator costume

Props from E.T. The Extraterrestrial

Astronaut gear from Apollo 13

Starbuck's flight suit from Battlestar Galactica

Costumes featured in Mamma Mia: The Movie

Animatronic baby from Children of Men

Dinosaur maquettes from Jurassic Park

Stop-motion puppets from Coraline

Props and costumes from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho

Cate Blanchett's period dress from Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Original film costumes on display at Universal Studios Hollywood

If you're an auto enthusiast you may also like to check out some of these picture cars from famous movies:

Muscle cars from the Fast and Furious movies

Motorbikes and cars from The Bourne Identity film franchise

Futuristic Mule transport from Serenity

The Blues Brothers Bluesmobile

Vehicles and models from Back to the Future

As you can see there's lots to see, so enjoy exploring behind-the-scenes at Hollywood Movie Costumes and Props.

Whoosh! Whump! Boom!... Sunset Cliffs

One of the more dramatic results from an afternoon spent watching post-storm waves crash into the rocks at probably our best local surfing/wave-watching spot.  You can't easily get down to beach level here (and wouldn't really want to on a day like this anyway), but there are some nice outcroppings where you can climb down fairly low and shoot back towards shore for a great view with reasonable safety. Amazing how tricky it can be to get the right composition to combine with the just right instant of the waves breaking.. but I sure can watch and work on it for a very long time without getting bored. 
Although the color of the waves was quite nice, I found it to be kind of distracting and decided that I preferred a monochrome approach. A few lucky people get to live right here, as you can see at the top of the frame... not a bad spot for your house, huh?

The End of February

The New york City Public Schools were closed today much to the delight of the local children.

Time to go to the park and make snowballs.

In the afternoon a slight thaw set in.

A twisted willow tree  freighted with fluffy snow on 21st Street.
My main blog is now here 

tell mum everything is ok #2 "outsiders".

tell mum everything is ok #2 "outsiders" by the éditions frédéric pierre & camille françoise / éditions fp&cf.

tell mum everything is ok #2 "outsiders".

tell mum everything is ok #2 "outsiders" by the éditions frédéric pierre & camille françoise / éditions fp&cf.

Would You Live in a Sanctuary District?

I have discussed in many posts that the economic depression we are in is not being fully or truthfully reported in the mainstream press and if you want the truth you have to rely on bloggers. I also found a great website that lists all of the jobs being cut on a daily basis, DailyJobCuts.com.
We were discussing a few posts back about two episodes in Star Trek: Deep Space 9 entitled Past Tense parts one and two, in which Sisko, Bashir, and Dax get beamed back in time to the year 2024. Capt. Sisko and Dr. Bashir get picked up by the police and placed in what was called a Sanctuary District for those who have no home, no work, or are mentally ill. These people are walled in, have ID papers, and are not allowed to leave but are going to receive help in finding work, which of course does not happen. Sound familiar? We have so many unemployed in the USA what will happen when there are no more social nets like unemployment insurance? Bernanke and company cannot keep printing money forever, and soon hyperinflation will come and food will be expensive. The writers of these two episodes had great insight into what could happen if too many people were without work and how the government would handle it: put them out of sight, in over crowded conditions, supply very little food, while those on the outside who do have jobs need to work with the government and follow all of their rules and ignore those in the Districts. Wow, this is a great story and a scary one at that. What is going to happen to all of the unemployed, will they get "put away" somewhere?
Here is a short clip from the episode, but I suggest watching it all if you have the DVD.

excuses.

excuses by the morning benders.

excuses.

excuses by the morning benders.

vitrahaus.

vitrahaus by herzog & de meuron.

in january 2004, vitra launched its home collection, which includes design classics as well as re-editions and products by contemporary designers. as a company whose previous activity was primarily focused on office furnishings and business clients, vitra created the home collection with a new target group in mind: individual customers with an interest in design.

since no interior space was available for the presentation of the home collection on the vitra campus in weil am rhein, the company commissioned basel-based architects herzog & de meuron in 2006 to design the vitrahaus. thanks to its exposed location and striking appearance, it not only enhances the already outstanding ensemble of vitra architecture, but assumes the important role of marking the vitra Campus.

vitrahaus.

vitrahaus by herzog & de meuron.

in january 2004, vitra launched its home collection, which includes design classics as well as re-editions and products by contemporary designers. as a company whose previous activity was primarily focused on office furnishings and business clients, vitra created the home collection with a new target group in mind: individual customers with an interest in design.

since no interior space was available for the presentation of the home collection on the vitra campus in weil am rhein, the company commissioned basel-based architects herzog & de meuron in 2006 to design the vitrahaus. thanks to its exposed location and striking appearance, it not only enhances the already outstanding ensemble of vitra architecture, but assumes the important role of marking the vitra Campus.