The Gates

After two weary weeks with the flu, I've finally been to see the Gates. I know I'm behind with this. You've probably already seen Aaron's beautiful pictures. But the photos of the Gates don't exactly capture what I love about them. Some New Yorkers hate them and haven't even walked under them, dismissing them from their seats on the bus, but I wish they would get out because they're missing it. It's true the Gates aren't actually pretty. In fact when I first saw them out of the corner of my eye on 6th Ave, I thought they were a construction site. But then walking among them, under them, you forget that they're not pretty and you think they're BEAUTIFUL, the way a woman who is not very pretty can convince you that she is actually stunning.

Walking under them makes you feel like royalty in a pageant, or the star of a parade. It makes you feel like you are in a place of Very Special Beauty. And you are. Everyone should feel that as often as they can. That's why it kind of makes me sad that it's in New York because New York gets everything. We get the ballet and opera. We get all the chocolate we can eat. We get Paul Taylor for a whole month every year. And after the Gates are gone, we still have the incredible Central Park, ungilded.

Walking through the Gates made me wish that my friends outside New York could come see, but even more than that, it made me want to give something to the city. It made me so grateful for all the beauty. This is what I love most about the Gates. It's not just me either. I overheard a woman say she wanted to buy some of Cristo's art just to thank them. The Gates have people walking through the park just smiling, and strangers talking to each other about art and beauty. That doesn't happen every day. It sounds corny but it really is enormously special.

Chocolate Truffle ice cream

I have very very little counter space, and subsequently very few kitchen appliances, but the ice cream maker has definitely earned its place in my kitchen and in my heart. I bought it because, well, most of you know how I am about ice cream, but I wanted to make it with less fat and different more interesting flavors. So, I give you my low-fat recipe for the most chocolatey delicious chocolate ice cream I've ever had. It actually tastes like a creamy frozen truffle. Modified from The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein.

1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (You could use all bittersweet or all semi-sweet depending on your preference.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, beat the sugar into the egg yolks until it is a pretty pale yellow.
Simmer the milk in a saucepan. Add the cocoa and simmer for another 3 minutes, stirring. Slowly mix the warm milk mixture into the bowl with the eggs. If you do this too quickly the eggs will cook and you'll have scrambled egg ice cream. Mix it up well and pour it all back into the saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly for about 10 minutes until the custard thickens. If you want to be very exact about making sure the eggs are cooked, heat the mixture to 160 degrees for 3 minutes, and you'll be safe. When it's done refrigerate it while you prepare the ganache. You could just stop here and freeze the custard - it will be regular chocolate ice cream, but if you add the ganache it will be really special.
Melt the chocolate chips and the half-and-half together. Stir until the chocolate is smooth, or you could leave it a bit chunky if you want chocolate bits. Add the vanilla.
Combine the chocolate mixtures. Refrigerate until cold. Then freeze it up in the machine.

Summer Tomato Tabbouleh

Adapted from the Once Upon a Tart cookbook by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau. SALAD 4 servings 1 cup bulgur wheat 1 1/4 cup boiling water 3-4 garden summer tomatoes VINAIGRETTE juice of 1/2 lemon, about 1Tbsp 1 tsp sea salt 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 2 Tbsp olive oil a bunch of chopped fresh basil (The recipe calls for 1/4 cup parseley which I'm sure would be delicious, but all I have today is basil, which is very nice also.) Place the bulgur in a bowl big enough for the whole salad. Pour the boiling water over the bulgur, cover it and let sit for 20 minutes while the bulgur absorbs the water. Fluff it with a fork and taste it. If it's still crunchy, add more water and let sit some more. Chop the tomatoes and add to the bulgur. Mix up the vinaigrette and toss it all up in the bowl. Serve chilled.

Chocolate-Dipped Lavender Cookies, or The Best Cookies I Have Ever Had

Adapted from a recipe in Country Home magazine - which I wouldn't normally read, but I found a bunch of decorating magazines on the top of the recycling pile in my building, and I can't resist a decorating magazine, which is lucky for me because I found this recipe for cookies which are quite seriously without any exaggeration whatsoever, the best I have ever eaten. With a pot of Earl Grey tea of course.

1 cup butter - that's 2 sticks
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp lavender flowers
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate

Soften butter in the microwave and mix it up until it's light and fluffy. Add the sugar and keep mixing. Add the egg and mix some more. Mix the flour together with the baking powder and the lavender. Mix this in with the butter mixture. Drop the dough by teaspoons 2 inches apart on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool the cookies completely.
Melt the chocolate. Dip half of each cookie into the chocolate and place dipped cookies on parchment paper until the chocolate hardens.
Makes 48 small cookies.

Orange Currant muffins

This recipe is inspired by a recipe in Wild About Muffins by Angela Clubb, but I've changed it so much, I think the recipe needs to be written down in its perfected form.

Preheat oven to 400 F and prepare pan.
In a large bowl, combine:
zest of 1 orange
1 egg
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup sugar
juice of 1 orange (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup currants
In a smaller bowl, combine:
1/2 cup oat flour (can substitute white flour)
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Combine wet and dry mixtures, pour into pan, and bake for 15-20 minutes.