Mixed media..."Busy Work"

All this energy buzzing around in one person...is it too much?

 

Spectrum Bend

my favorite prop/surface...sheets of cellophane!

faux but nice.

 

Dakota

 

Rabbit Ears not for reception.

My absent mindedness strikes again. I grabbed these dog treats thinking they were just rawhide. I did not look closely. This was at my Home Depot like store, Gamm Vert. When I went to check out, the cashier started looking at the package closely....and when she did, I thought I was seeing feathers...she said no, Lapin ears...rabbit. She was facinated by it. All the people behind me started talking about it...I think they detected my horror...She read off, beef ear, pig ear and rabbit ear.   I said...oh, not lapin! I admitted that I am not french and don't eat rabbit...Mon Dieu! She said, oh, you don't eat meat...I said no, just lapin...I can't eat lapin (I didn't tell them I don't eat veal or tripe either or sardines but I do eat escargot.)...but I know my doggie will be happy. I left with them all tittering amongst themselves. It was not an example of french snobbery, it was an example of the french accepting me and are curious about me...There is NO WAY i'm giving Rune those rabbit ears.

I like the word Friandises...pieces of things.

 

Whose idea was this?

You see this traditional dish everywhere in the south. It seems to be as popular or more so than pizza (!). I can't bare this...the color is a turn off and anchovie?  I am willing to have 1 or 2 on a caesar salad or on pizza....Anchovies are caught here...at night there are boats trawling nets for anchovies and sardines...where I swim!

 

Rewatching Homeland

I loved this series when it was running,  once a week. I couldn't wait for the next one in the series. So glad I came back to rewatch. There are few series that are as excellent as this one. I rewatched Mad Men, which I loved, Seinfeld, fantastic...Godfather series...I love all 3. I rarely rewatch anything...but Homeland is outstanding. .I used to watch Claire Danes in My So Called Life in the early 90's....and of course Damian Lewis starred in Band of Brothers which I have seen a few times. I'd like to watch The Soprano's as I never watched it back in the day.

I am also watching the new season of Bridgerton...completely unbelievable / farcical...a big cream puff..., but I like the costumes and the music...instrumental redo's of modern music.

Madonna, Materia Girl

https://youtu.be/A3vH0yUOKbA?si=mFmrXYaqy3LKX0tH

My mind is busy.

 

Big Deal Chicken and it's not even free range.

I love a chicken breast like this...the whole breast with the skin. This is an unusual thing in France....They just don't eat chicken like this. The regular supermarket charges 22.90 euro a kg...and you have to get it from the butcher. The fancy supermarket charges 29.99 euro a kg...WHY so expensive...It is Label Rouge which is supposed to be a better quality, but it is still farm and not range. I buy one on a weekend here and there. This could be 2 or 3 meals for me. I love the skin which is non existent here. Chicken thighs are the big thing...inexpensive...a family staple. It's cheap. I will never understand why they do what they do here.

 

From Soup to Sinatra

I do the old white trash fridge of putting things outside. You can also see one of my old french pots.

Soon to be black bean

 It started with a terrible soup I made. I thought that 3 lovely white french onions would turn into a great soup. I make soup often, but not brothy soups. ( I did everything right, except roast the beef bones and salt...I checked in to AI to ask what I could do with it, talked it out and decided to make black bean soup with it ( I had black beans in the cupboard)...

It got me thinking about clam chowder, New England, which I miss dearly...and the clam...steamers, cherry stone...all clams. French clams are terrible. The french have no respect for the clam...anyway...I was mentioning it to AI and it told me how I could make clam chowder with what I have here..He thought one clam ( palourdes) I thought another, Amandes...very inexpensive, chewy like Quahogs...

It got me thinking about clam broth...I told it about a bar/restaurant in Hoboken NJ that I had been to a few times. They served lots of steamed clams ( my Father called them "Stove Pipes".) hence, they had lots of clam juice. They had a spigot where you could open it and the juice would flow out for you to catch in a cup. I loved that place...Frank Sinatra used to there back in his time.

I asked AI to see if he could find it...sure enough...

You’re absolutely remembering the legendary clam place from Hoboken — and I think I’ve found it:

🦪 The Clam Broth House (historic — closed)

• This was the classic seafood bar/restaurant in Hoboken known for free clam broth on tap from a spigot, clams, and a salty working-class atmosphere that drew sailors, locals, and even celebrities like Frank Sinatra.

• It originally opened in 1899 and operated for over a century.

• The building was condemned and the restaurant eventually closed and was demolished in the early 2000s.

• The iconic sign from the original place still exists as a local Hoboken landmark, but the original Clam Broth House itself is no longer open.

So yes — that’s the spot you’re recalling, but unfortunately it’s closed and no longer operating. 

So AI helped me add some color and info to a memory, and helped me remake my soup. Below is what he got from what I described.

Olivia Dean – ‘Dive’ (live for Like A Version)

Looking for Gnocchi at the local supermarket...

Gnocchi is not on my diet...so, I can spin myself up looking for it but in the end I say no. In this case, I went to the freshly made food going for my usual foie gras...canard. I am picky about my foie gras...it has to be smooth. I can't tolerate the kind with mushrooms or the compagne ( country) style. I love mushrooms but I have to have smooth Pate. 

( I keep having this vague memory of some fabulous party in NYC where they has goose Pate...outrageously good. I just can't place where. I have never seen goose pate here.) 

Anyway, I was looking for gnocchi...I looked far afield on the fridge case and saw this kind of grey gnocchi...I took a closer look...It was in Italian, Merda di Cani...in French it would be Merde de la Chien...( or crotes) 

and it's kind of gross...( dog droppings?) It's made with blette which is swiss chard. It makes the color odd...

I am sure it tasted OK, but the name is such a turn off...who would buy it?

 

Still working on it.

Rune to the right with Bluey.

 

New l Trying to conjure a name for 2.

 

Finally made this class.

 He has a monday night class in a local town. I came up with many reasons why I couldn't go but forced myself to. I loved it. I have taken many African Dance classes in NY and in CA...I love it, I love the energy. I have to try not to overthink or I mess up the steps. The teacher starts with 3 dance moves that he drills over and over and then adds on...There is lots of yelling that helps one find the beat. The class was packed, all white women. All in french...it was less stressful for me than I thought. I fit right in. The poster is for a "stage" as the french call it...a workshop. I signed up for the class...as with everything else here...you can pay by cash or check only.