Belt tightening?

'What on earth ARE you wearing??? ' exclaimed my daughter last Friday when I went to fetch her from a car workshop, where she left her car for some routine maintenance.

I looked at her surprised. I had on a pair of jeans and a polo shirt - in my opinion quite ok an attire for an errand like that.

' Everything is hanging on you! You must have lost at least two sizes and can't were those "fat" clothes anymore' - she explained seeing my surprise... and instead of driving us home, she kidnapped me - in my own car - to a Talbots outlet store (this is recession, remember, thus the need to be frugal, while still polished, lol) - almost 15 miles away.

Everything there was between 40% and 75% off regural prices... and the selection was pretty good. So I got myself this funny pelican purse (no, I did not "outgrow" any of my purses, but I could not resist this one), especially that it was both stylish and a bargain!

and a few other items: among them this new navy top (despite Disa-s complaints that too many of my clothes are navy - I simply had to remind her that they now are too big for me to wear) and patterned skirt... about half a size too small at the moment ! ;-)

Well, since I returned from Puerto Rico I have been eating a lot of healthier food: lots of veggies and lean protein, nothing fried, (be it a lechonera style pork or tostones =double fried plantains, a typical everyday food of Puerto Rico, served, to make things worse with mayo-ketchup!), quinoa, millet and amaranth instead of rice, fresh sallads, etc.

I have also rejoined a gym, enjoying water aerobics and other group excecise classes and using an elliptical trainer now and then... so no wonder I lost 12 pounds ( of fat, I hope) since I came back, and should soon be ready for those of my newly purchased clothes, which are now a bit tight fitting.

But tightening of real belts is not so good for tightening of financial belts... unless, of course you shop at outlet stores... and don't overdo it ;-)!

Cirque Imagination:Montage!

Disa and I went to a circus this afternoon. Cirque Imagination is a spin off of Cirque du Soleil. The Montage performance was great - there is not so much of a phantasy story within a carnival in here, but a carnival atmosphere nevertheless and the performers and their skill level are top class. We had a grand time.

" It is a grand show of circus daring and skill, starring former members of Cirque du Soleil’s Mystere, O, Saltimbanco, Alegria and Quidam. This production aims to defy the perception of what are impossible - fusing strength, flexibility and technical skill, fostering an appreciation for the beauty and capabilities of the human body" - says their promotional piece.

Clematis on our balcony now in bloom

Clematis in the sun

Clematis which i planted on Disa's balcony a month ago is now in fool bloom!


Clematis in the rain

Too bad that the rose, which I planted it with, just finished blooming for a while. But better one plant in bloom than neither one.

:-((( the pool at my gym is temporarily closed

Yesterday, during my water aerobics class I found out that the sunny Olympic size swimming pool at my gym, the highlight of my near daily gym visits - is going to be closed for 11 days due to some reconstruction work. :-(((

One of the pleasures of my post-Puerto Rico life are daily (except weekends) visits to the gym.

I take hourly water aerobics classes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I take weight lifting, stretching and toning classes designed for people my age and/or work on weight machines and elliptical trainers.

Try to find anything even remotely resembling it in Puerto Rico... I could not -and missed gym all the time I lived there!

But after each "dry" workout I enjoy relaxing in a hot tub and swimming in the pool. So, when the pool is closed, I won't go to the gym, even though all the "dry"classes and equipment are available. Without a pool as a reward it would not be even half that much fun. :-(((

So today, instead for going to the gym I went walking in Piedmont Park, while Disa was jogging there, and we ended our al fresco work out passes strolling among the flowers and the sculptures in Atlanta Botanical Garden (there is a Moore exhibition going on in there right now, but I'll blog about it later - today my camera had no working batteries).

Too bad that the water in the condo's outdoor swimming pool is still a tad too cold for a swim. :-((

Living al fresco

Disa's balcony is pretty small, and narrow, only about 4" x 15" (1,20 m x 4.5 m), yet she has managed to arrange it so, that it allows for different activities: there is place for plants, a round table and a couple of chairs, a chaiselounge and even an electric grill.

The plants, filling all the left over space, are my doing.

Last week I planted clematis with large, pale blue flowers, which I am awaiting eagerly (according to the nursery, the only large blooming clematis, that grows in the south) in the same pot as a lavender rose, which already has one flower. (all my pictures are clickable, so you can see the details).

I was really thrilled to have found - in the same nursery - an Angel Earrings fuchsia from the Amazon jungle (to the right of the table) - the only fuchsia that can take heat and humidity of Atlanta in the summer, popularly known as Hotlanta for that very reason.

We both love living al fresco, so this corner is when we have breakfast, lunch, sometimes dinner, read, write, talk.

Disa is a sun worshipper, so she can enjoy an early afternoon there as well, while I - and my laptop - feel that we are getting too much sun then.

What I enjoy most is the forest outside - or an illusion of a forest, since it is just a slope, covered with trees in the middle of a city with close to 4 millions of inhabitants. Behind the slope are townhouses.

To increase the forest feel I planted a dwarf columbine (in a pot on the railing) and two different vines in baskets hanging on the wall: a blue ipomoea and dark red coral vine.

Nearest the balconies grow some tulip poplars, spreading their branches like nature provided green umbrellas with yellow dots of flowers in the spring.

They give such a peaceful ambiance, allowing the inhabitants of the building to relax on their balconies, feeling as if they were having a picnic in a forest.

Oh, I do love my various places with views!

Purple beauties

The favorite purple beauties of my youth were lilacs.

I miss their fragrance, their promise of a spring romance... and of a summer to come...

In Poland they were blooming in May, in Sweden in July and I met them in the USA, too, but in upstate New York, around the Fingerlakes.

Unfortunately they do not grow in the warm climate, where I like to live. So my southern purple beauty of choice is wisteria.

Wisteria grows all over Atlanta, covering plenty of trees with its showy purple flowers. A lot prettier - and more cheerful - than the kudzu vines.

If you like wisteria, you can find a lot more pictures of it here , on Ewas blog, as she assembled a gallery of wisteria pictures from all (?) the places, where they grow. Enjoy!

Friends' book club

Yesterday my daughter Disa hosted a meeting of her Friends' book club. They were discussing a 15 years old, but relatively recently translated to English, thriller by a very successful Swedish writer, Henning Mankell: The Man Who Smiled (Mannen som Log). They were mostly Americans in the group, but also a few Swedes, either by birth or - like Disa and me - by citizenship.

Thus the discussion was lively and showed interesting observations of Sweden and Swedes, as described in the book. Unfortunately I can't give more details, as the book is a thriller and a resume of the discussion would give aways the plot and the ending. So let's talk about food Disa made, instead.


Since the book is Swedish and its main character, detective Wallander eats mainly sandwiches throughout the book, Disa served a variety of typical Swedish sandwiches.
There were cheese sandwiches with cucumber on a typical Swedish bread, limpa, purchased at IKEA.


A digression:Limpa is slightly sweet and its sweetness has an interesting origin: during WWII Swedish government came to the conclusion that Swedes were undernourished, so it decreed that all bread baked in Sweden had to have added sugar. More than half a century has passed, the law is no longer, Sweden now has various types of bread, most of them without any sugar, but limpa persisted, although it is by far not as sweet as it used to be even in the seventies, when I immigrated to Sweden and could not abide by Swedish bread. Now I eat it, too, and like it. :-)

Another typical Swedish sandwich is one with a French pate (here a duck pate) and tiny marinated cucumbers, called cornichons, served on a French baguette.
Another digression: In the XIX century Sweden underwent a serious franconization, reflected in its upper and middle class cuisine, franconization of Swedish last names, especially of its middle class, etc.

But the king of Disa's sandwich table was a Sandwich Cake (Smorgastorta) a la Skagen.

Sandwich Cake, of which are many varieties, is a typical Swedish party fare.
This particular one ( a la Skagen) refers to the Danish fishing village turned resort of Skagen, famous not only for its sand beaches but, first and foremost, for its fantastic and unique light, which has always attracted painters from near and far

Summer afternoon at Skagen - a painting by Peter Severin Kroyer

Disa chose this cake, because the main character of the book spends some time in Skagen.... and because it is very, very tasty and very Scandinavian.

Here is a recipe for the Sandwich Cake a la Skagen:

8-10 servings Prepare 24 hrs in advance.

Bread:9 square slices of white bread (you want to find a denser bread rather than fluffy "wonder bread"). Cut all crust off. 3 slices next to each other make one layer

Filling:

3 hard boiled eggs chopped,

1 lb peeled shrimp (pref small salad shrimp)

1/2 c mayonnaise

1/2 c sour cream

2 oz lump fish roe (the red kind)

1/2 c chopped dill

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mixing it gently with a spoon.

Note about shrimp: the Swedish shrimp are boiled in salty water before they are sold, thus making the taste different from the shrimp sold here. To get the same taste: 1. buy the peel-and-eat shrimp at IKEA (you will need about 1.5 bags and do a lot of peeling) or 2) buy peeled salad shrimp but sprinkle them with salt and let them soak it in over night. If you are at IKEA, you can buy the roe there also in 2.8 oz jars (use rest for garnish.)

Place 1/2 mixture on the first bread layer (it will be "stacked") making sure you have filling out to the edges.Place second row of 3 bread slices on top of the filling. Put remaining 1/2 of filling on top of that bread layer. Cover with the third bread layer.

"Frosting": 1 c sour cream1/2 - 1 c mayonnaise

Stir together until well mixed. "Frost" all sides of the "cake" I take a little less of each and add Greek yogurt, but that's just a taste preference. Makes the frosting a bit tart.

Garnish:Roe (rest from jar), Shrimp (about a cup of shrimp), Dill, Lemon Decorate the sides with dill. Arrange the roe and shrimp as you like on the top. Add lemon 1/2 moons to add color. Alternatively or in addition; smoked salmon "rosettes" can be used as garnish. Refrigerate over night. Take out 30 min before party (depending on room temp) so the "cake" is not cold when eaten. Enjoy!

Another very typical Swedish sandwich creation is ham on a Swedish flat bread with mimosa salad. Yummy!

And my only contribution to the preparation of this feast was to peel 2 kilograms of shrimp!

Cats were banned to the bedroom for the time of the meeting, as they made an awful nuisance of themselves, begging for shrimp leftovers, while I was peeling them, and there was a risk they would do the same to the guests. (Disa commented that I let them get away with anything!)

But they dis not seem to mind at all!

Snow in april

no, in Atlanta it is not a real snow, but dogwood.

A lot of those profusely blooming trees grow in the Eastern part of the United States, where the soil is mostly acidic.
They create an enchanting contrast of all that fresh spring green interspersed with a totally "snow" covered trees
And cheer everybody up!

Good Friday

A sashimi plate at Hashiguchi

In Poland, where I grew up, Good Friday was called Great Friday (Wielki Piatek), but as a child I used to call it a Long Friday, as the day, due to a religious catholic tradition was a severe fast day, with practically only one meal served all day (dinner) and with only fish served: usually herring with some boiled potatoes. It really seamed like a very, very looooooong - and hungry as well as gloomy - Friday.

But now, a fish lover that I have become, I use Good Friday as an opportunity to eat fish both for lunch and dinner.

To make my daughter happy, however, I made healthy eggs benedict for breakfast: toasted English muffins, wilted spinach with garlic, poached eggs, canadian bacon... but NO Hollandaise sauce.


But for lunch we went to - according to my daughter's Japanese friends - the best sushi place in greater Atlanta: Hashiguchi in Marietta, an Atlanta suburb (although there is now a Hashiguchi Jr in downtown Atlanta).

Hashiguchi is a small, but very popular place: both among the local Japanese as with Atlantans at large.

There Mr Hashiguchi himself gets behind the sushi bar and prepares fresh sushi, sashimi, maki and norimaki for each and every client, while the kitchen - in the background - makes super fresh and super yummy tempura, miso soup and other delicacies. All the food there is to die for!

I had a combination plate of sushi and sashimi (above), while Disa had sahimi and an eel California roll, for which I traded a few of my sushi. All that with a green sallad with an Asian ginger dressing and a bowl of miso soup. Yuuummm! And for dinner at home we shall have grilled salmon with grilled baby bok choy and guinoa and a dill mousse:
However, not the traditional dill/cucumber version, but an experimental cold sauce, which I am inspired to make by a Polish photographer/graphic artist living now in London (but before living in the Caribbean) and an avid cook, who posted yesterday a recipe for a mint mousse/sauce, which I decided to try to make today using a bunch of fresh dill instead of mint.

Now, that's a Great Friday in my book! Hapy Easter, everybody!

Brrr...

It is unusually cold for an April in Atlanta.

It takes guts - and warm clothes - to sit outdoors even for a short moment.
Yet the cats - imported from tropical Puerto Rico - are happy. They are indoors.
Enjoying their new digs: Disa's sofa and soft, warm pillows and blankets... as she has not yet have the time to change her decor from winter to spring.

More orchids ... and an orchid sale

Early this morning Atlanta Botanical Garden held an orchid sale from the Orchid Daze exhibition - for members only. You could buy fantastic specimens at $10 (and up), so a lot of members showed up to take advantage of this event.

Above is what I brought home, and below some other beauties from the exhibition.