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The Write Side of 59

~ This is What Happens When You Begin to Age Out of Middle Age

The Write Side of 59

Monthly Archives: January 2016

The Saturday Blog: Seashell by the Sea

30 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by WS50 in Art

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Hotel Isleta de Gaia. Guatemala. January, 2010.

Hotel Isleta de Gaia. Guatemala.

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Sales Pitch: Earring Racks

29 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by WS50 in Art, Earrings; Sale

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Earring racks, earring trees, functional art, Jewelry organizers

Earring trees; The Nesting Rack (tm); Julie Seyler

Earring rack: 3 Diamond Strips and 7 Red Roses. 12″x16″

BY JULIE SEYLER

Perhaps you saw my FB posting on January 13 announcing that I had made a series of displays for dangly earrings and that they were for sale on Etsy. If you missed that post, here’s another sales pitch.

Please spread the word that each one of these earring racks are original, hand-crafted and unique. These are pieces of art that serve a function.

If you or someone you love wears exotically wonderful earrings or you just want a different type of message board, (you’ll need safety pins to attach the note), please check out the earring racks on my Etsy store called The Nesting Rack, because all earrings need a safe place to nest.

Earring trees, The Nesting Rack (tm), Julie Seyler

3 Diamond Strips and 7 Red Roses (with earrings). 12×16″

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The Saturday Blog: Full Blast

23 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by WS50 in Art

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Tags

Blizzard 2016, The Saturday Blog, The Write Side of 59

IMG_4490

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The Saturday Blog: Feathers of Joy

09 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by WS50 in Art

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We are in the mood to celebrate with color!

We are in the mood to celebrate with color!

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One Timpano, Two Timpano, Three Timpano …

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by Lois DeSocio in Food

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

BIg Night, Lois DeSocio, Melissa Clark, The New York Times, The Write Side of 50, Timpano

Timpano

BY LOIS DESOCIO

… Score!

After three attempts, in as many years, I believe I have conquered timpano — that barrel-shaped feast of encased noodles, salami, cheese, pork, beef, ragu, hard-boiled eggs, and star of the 1996 movie “Big Night.”

I wrote about my second attempt in 2012. (The first attempt was not worthy of documentation.)

So when I read New York Times food writer, Melissa Clark’s tweaked timpano recipe from December 11 (see below), I was inspired to go for a third round over the holidays. Clark mixed and nixed, modernized and molded an easier, less labor-intensive timpano.

But I was torn. Making timpano is a feat you don’t mess with. I have learned from first-hand experience and as is evident in the movie, it is an event that is supposed to be nothing short of a mix of religious exultation and traumatic sweat — a recipe for stress and science as you chop, slice, toss, stir, wrap and bake with a bow to the ingenuity of the ingredients and salutation to the artistry of the finished product.

There’s the mess on the counter. Arithmetic is called for. You salivate as you combine a bunch of things that you may never have thought could be combined into what becomes an unwieldy mound that then has to be wrapped in dough and baked and ultimately burnt at least two times before you get it right.

But I’m a fan of Clark’s. And a failure at timpano, so …

… I tweaked Clark’s tweak. And because of the merging of her talent and deft with my reckless abandon in the kitchen (because I’ll eat anything) — I finally nailed that drum.

Clark substituted savory roasted butternut squash for the hot hard boiled eggs from the original. I followed her lead, but I wish I had used both. (The addition of roasted squash, though, was sublime.) Also, instead of wrapping it all in dough, she used fresh pasta sheets, which makes for a gigantic, layer-free lasagne, as opposed to an upside-down (not pie-shaped) over-stuffed pizza. In retrospect — give me pizza.

I used broccoli and garlic instead of her broccoli rabe (no strings attached), I substituted honey for nutmeg, and I shoved some mini meatballs in there along with three kinds of homemade (from the local pork store) sausage. (You must never, ever eliminate meatballs. Never.)

And instead of salami OR prociutto, as Clark suggested, I went with salami AND prociutto. Clark took out the pecorino romano — I kept it in.

The one mess-up is that my recent triumph at timpano will for the most part remain in limbo, mainly because I didn’t write anything down, and couldn’t read a good portion of what I did write down. Most of what I’ve written here came from memory after drinking wine and eating timpano.

Here’s the original Big Night Timpano recipe, which takes a labor-intensive five hours to make.
Here’s Clark’s, which she professes to be a “faster and easier” four hours.

I can’t calculate how long it took me, but “faster and easier” and me and timpano didn’t mix (partly because of the frantic Christmas Eve-morning search for fresh pasta sheets). But I do believe my third try gave a nod to Clark’s modernity and a bow to the integrity of the original. And props to me for messing with the pros while maintaining palatability. And I didn’t burn it.

Timpano eaten

My timpano, 24 hours in.

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Doors

04 Monday Jan 2016

Posted by WS50 in Art, Photography, Travel

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Tags

doors, Portugal, Tunis

Heavy-duty door.

Heavy-duty door.

BY JULIE SEYLER

In May, 2001, 3 months prior to 9/11, I went to Tunisia for 5 days with a friend. We walked through the souks of Tunis and drove about finding the remnants of the Roman Empire at Dougga. We stayed in a lovely beachside hotel in Sidi Bou Said and toured the Bardo Museum in Carthage. We discussed the anger in the streets. It was not a violent anger- it was a percolating rage fueled by perpetual unemployment and lack of opportunity. I was lucky to visit when I did- Tunisia is a beautiful country with much culture, but its personal gift to me was that I became aware of doors.

From my photo album on Tunisia.

From my photo album on Tunisia.

The guide books pointed out that the doors in Tunisia were unique because of their massiveness, decorativeness and significance of separating the private domestic space from the world outside. So now wherever I travel I remain hyper-attuned to doors, to their size, their locks, their doorhandles, their mail box slots and whatever else catches my eye. It is never perfection, but the texture, shape, form, design and mystery behind these entryways that enchant me.

So as we walk through the door to 2016, let’s be hopeful it opens into a new and safe space.

Stairwell door

Stairwell door

Hand knocker.

Hand knocker.

Little Door

Little Door

Window doors

Window doors

Detail of door.

Detail of door.

 

Door mail slot

Door mail slot

Lisbon train station doors

Lisbon train station doors

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The Saturday Blog: Hanging Out

02 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by WS50 in Art

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Coimbra, Portugal.

What’s up?

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