July 4, 2009
Summer has arrived, bringing with it those feathered friends who regularly visit the bird feeders in the MadSilence backyard. Grackles, blue jays, cardinals, gold finches, house finches, sparrows, woodpeckers, orioles, black-capped chickadees, cow birds, cat birds, mockingbirds and more. Even a red-tailed hawk that swooped down on an unsuspecting mourning dove. Perhaps we should plan on installing some bird houses?
Chuck Grodski of St. James, NY, master birdhouse builder, handcrafts birdhouses, including copies of the Taj Mahal, the Episcopal church in St. James, the Smithtown Presbyterian Church, the St. James railroad station, a Georgian colonial, a Parthenon model and an Adirondack stone house, each studded with portholes and perches. Grodski is coauthor of the “Birdhouse Builder’s Manual.”
And while we may not possess Grodski’s skills, there are accessible options for constructing bird houses. Go to wikiHow to learn how to make a bird house pop up card (Robert Sabuda method):
Looking for avian inspiration? Try Chris Eckersley’s beautifully designed “byrdhouses”:
Chris Eckersley is an artist and designer who makes drawings, prints, and sculptures, and designs three-dimensional objects and furniture.
Image via Wee Birdy
Or this fabulous Hanging Bird Townhouse from Sweden:
Via Wee Birdy
The GreenBird House is a fun and easy project to assemble for a basic birdhouse, plus a great way to promote green birding. Made from recycled materials. No cutting, glue, staples or tape required.
July 1, 2009
More travel fun! Last Golden Week found us in Nagano, the prefecture famous for holding the
Winter Olympics back in ‘98. Nagano City itself is an unassuming place, flat and surrounded by mountains. The most impressive buildings around are the remaining sports facilities. You can see the indoor speed skating rink and even ride a bobsled simulator at the displays inside the buildings! For Japanese though Nagano city is mosr famous for its wildlife than for its sports history. The mountains of Nagano are home to the fruit-eating, bath-taking, tourist-attracting
snow monkeys!
Monkey park hooooooooo! The first evidence there were monkeys in the mountains...
The monkey park itself is part of Joshin-etsu Kogen National Park, very close to where the snowboarding events were held. The valley is called “Jigokudano,” literally translated as “hell valley” because of the amount of hot springs filling the air with hot vapor and the smell of rotten eggs. It’s rather hard to get there even in the summer! We had to drive up a tiny road, barely wide enough for 1 1/2 cars at an uncomfortable 40 degree angle with the road steeply dropping off the side of the mountain. Luckily my friend who was driving live a long time in Denver and was used to mountain driving! After we got there we parked and had a 10 minute walk along the steaming, multi-colored river to the valley. Then, as we came around the entrance pavilion, there they were – at least 40 monkeys playing, sunning, swimming, fighting, and generally being very relaxed and at home with the scores of tourists who had come to see them that day!
I was amazed how affectionate the monkey mothers were.... check out that little face!
We were really surprised at how accepting the monkeys were of our presence. I guess they get so many visitors with cameras that they don’t even notice anymore! The mothers didn’t even mind us peering at their very small babies, who were extremely cute. I know monkeys and humans are related, but I didn’t realize just how human theses little guys were. Sleeping under bushes, nursing their babies, it was just like a scene from a human bath house!
Me? I'm not doing anything, just hanging out... ^^;;;
You can watch the monkeys year-round on their Webcam.
The first pitcher plant I've ever seen growing wild! It was a beautiful purple color.
Mom's tired too! Nap time!
Can anyone identify that interesting plant? I have not idea how to check on it in Japanese…
~MS the Younger
Oh, and PS: More interesting info on the valley here.
June 26, 2009
June is National Fruit and Veg Month.
June is designated as National Fruit and Vegetable Month. According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), more Americans than ever — 28 percent — are adjusting their eating habits to achieve healthier lifestyles.
This post is coming a little late (the blog event was scheduled for June 1st, ahh!) but late is better then never, right?
The motherload! Chickpea Soffrite via gourmet.com
I’ve had this bag of dried chickpeas floating around my house for yonks, so I decided it was time to do something with them! They were actually kind of intimidating. I’d heard how much tastier freshly cooked ones are compared to canned, but I’d also heard lots of horror stories about overcooking them or pots boiling over or just generay mayhem. Luckily with the support of gourmet.com and my good friend over at SweetFernHandmade, I got over it and boiled my first pot of beans!
With no more ado, the recipe, via Gourmet.
Serves6 (side dish)
- Active time:30 min
- Start to finish:10 hr (Includes soaking chickpeas)
April 2009
You’d never guess that these simple ingredients could produce such a delicious dish, not to mention one you can easily pull together from things you probably already have on hand. Keep a stash of cooked chickpeas in your fridge and you’ll be able to whip up this soffritto on demand. It’s great tossed in pasta, too.
- 3/4 lb dried chickpeas (1 1/2 cups), picked over
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 medium red onions, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 2 tablespoons rosemary leaves
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- 6 celery ribs, finely chopped (3 cups)
- 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
-
Accompaniment:
lemon wedges
-
Generously cover chickpeas with water and soak at least 8 hours; or quick-soak (see cooks’ note, below). Drain.
-
Generously cover soaked chickpeas with water in a 4- to 5-qt pot and simmer, partially covered with lid, adding more water if necessary, until tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Drain.
-
Heat 1/2 cup oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Cook onions, garlic, fennel seeds, and rosemary with 1/2 tsp sea salt, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add chickpeas, remaining 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 tsp sea salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Cooks’ note: To quick-soak chickpeas, cover with water by 2 inches in a medium pot and bring to a boil, then boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and soak, covered, 1 hour. Drain, discarding water.
Although a little time consuming, I found this dish to be very much worth it. It’s extremely flexible. I ate it over pasta (tasty), over couscous (even tastier), and tossed in soup. It would probably be great mashed and fried in cakes too. I was a little worried about the fennel because I’m not a big anise fan, but the combination of herbs was strong but well-balanced, not overwhelming at all. Also don’t be afraid of the amount of olive oil, it’s totally called for and binds the flavors on the dish together.
~MS the Yunger (and hungrier!)
PS: The New York Times has a really great feature on how to freeze foodstuffs, and their tips for cooked beans are especially useful. Also, SweetFern also has a nice, easy recipe for Chickpea Salad with Sundried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts and she posted recently. Go check it out!
PPS: What are your favortite ways to use chickpeas? I’ve still got a bunch in the freezer needing love. Send your suggestions/recipes my way!
June 25, 2009
It’s sad to think, with the recent
change from analog to digital television, that my vintage 1970s, orange-hued, space-age portable b&w TV will no longer be able to pick up a signal. Nor would the b&w television my brother & and set up in our bedroom in the 1960s, wire coat hanger antenna extended out the window, festooned with a flag made of aluminum foil.
.
We spent hours adjusting that antenna until the white noise faded away, making the television programming that much sweeter. We would become quite adept at adjusting rabbit ears, a skill made obsolete with the advent of cable television and digital TV.
Now those rabbit ears may have been promoted to the status of collectibles and exotic artworks, but there’s still the chance they may capture some stray television broadcasts. As reported at CBS News.com:
“The antenna is alive and well,” said Michael Godar, who runs one of the nation’s few hand-made antenna companies out of a TV repair shop in Gilbert, Arizona. And he says that, even at the dawn of the digital age, there’s plenty of life in that old antenna. “There was almost a sport adjusting your antenna on your TV,” said Sieberg. “Oh yeah, battling it, you know,
especially when you had a remote control,” laughed Godar. “You’d change the channel and then get up, adjust the antenna!” Antennas are as old as television itself. Their limitations were spoofed in the very first episode of Jackie Gleason’s “The Honeymooners.” The antenna is the sole survivor of our analog past. And while it just receives over-the-air channels, digital is the reason there’s more of them. “An antenna will still work,” said Godar. “Even some of these antiques here will actually pick up a digital signal.” Of course, some things never change. You still need to be in a place where it’s possible to get good reception. In fact, unlike an analog signal with its fuzzy picture, a weak digital signal can leave you seeing . . . well, nothing at all.
Artist
Rick Doble works with
television static to produce abstract works of art. His organic imagery is created in PaintShop Pro v.6, from original digital photographs of different static patterns on a television screen. Doble has tried to capture the essence of white noise and television snow. A memorial to things past?
~MadSilence
June 23, 2009
Hyakumangoku Festival is the biggest festival of the year in the Kanzawa area. It’s basically a re-enactment of the entrance of Lord Maeda Toshiie into Kanazawa Castle back in 1583. I wrote about it back in 2007, the first time I was able to march in the parade as a handmaiden to the Lady Maeda. Although I participated again last year, this year I decided to take a break and let some of the other new JETs in the area give it a try. My friends had a ball hanging out with the other parade participants!
Our menfolk terrify and amuse small children dressed in traditional clothing.
East meets West? The boys are accosted by some picture-seeking business men.
The local lady-folk in their guises as handmaidens to the Lady Maeda.
One of my favorite costume groups - these little girls had amazing wigs!
Traditional dancing in the streets - over 1000 participants!
~MS the Younger
PS: A little more coverage at the Ishikawa JETs blog.
June 16, 2009
The Basketball Team recruiting poster... mmm manure! Why don't they ever check with the English teachers before posting this kind of thing?? 
June 13, 2009
June by Alexander Dux. 1938.
Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, WPA Poster Collection, reproduction number LC-USZC4-7679.
June “is bustin’ out all over” in this illustration taken from a calendar created by the New York City Poster Division in 1938 to show government officials the skilled artistic work the Federal Art Project was doing for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Reminiscent of Coney Island, the artist is obviously a New Yorker.
Care to learn more about posters created for the WPA’s Federal Art Project? Visit By the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA. 1936-1943.
The By the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA, 1936-1943 collection consists of 908 boldly colored and graphically diverse original posters produced from 1936 to 1943 as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal. Of the 2,000 WPA posters known to exist, the Library of Congress’s collection of more than 900 is the largest. These striking silkscreen, lithograph, and woodcut posters were designed to publicize health and safety programs; cultural programs including art exhibitions, theatrical, and musical performances; travel and tourism; educational programs; and community activities in seventeen states and the District of Columbia.
The WPA’s Federal Art Project was one of the first federally funded programs to support the arts in the US.
~MadSilence
June 11, 2009
The first event of the Hyakumangoku Festival in Kanazawa is the Lantern Festival (Kaga-yuzen Toro-nagashi). The Asanogawa is one of the beautiful rivers that flows through Kanazawa. Lanterns made of Kaga-yuzen silk and also those made by local school children of rice-paper and bamboo are lit up with candles and flated down the river. This year was the first time I got to go, and it was an impressive sight! My friends and I had a nice little picnic while holding our spot in the river bank (of course having a few close calls with the hawks swooping around – one sandwich was sacrificed to the little buggers!) and watched as twilight descended and the lanterns started floating. Here are a few of my favorite views from that night:
Sunset falls over the river...
Lanterns are lit and guests prepare to float their lanterns...
Here comes the first wave of lanterns from upriver! Two little girls excitedly peer under the bridge...
Helpers watch the bobbing lanterns float downstream.
~MS the Younger
June 8, 2009
Do you guys remember this post about how to make the delicious plum-flavored flavored liquor called umeshu?
Umeshuu - before (1 year ago)
Well, it’s one year later and about time to drink now that warm weather has come to stay! Here’s the finished product:
Umeshuu - After!
This batch came out surprisingly well! It’s potent but sweet enough to enjoy. Serve on the rocks while having a picnic under the beautiful summer sky! Also goes great with salty bar foods like edamame or squid. Come to think of it, this is a pretty natskashii (nostalgic) moment. This umeshuu was created in my old apartment, but drunk in my new one. If you’re interested in cooking more with ume, Obachan over at “Still Clumsy With Chopsticks” has some interesting ideas here and here. She’s made ume jam, miso, cupcakes… she’s a great cook and tries interesting recipes with native Japanese ingredients. Definitely worth a read!
~MS the Younger
