mabery midbury: March 2012

Little Kivs

i laid on grass. she climbed on top.

and my phone looked quite tasty.

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Van Horn Sandwich Shop

last night michelle and i [finally] went to the van horn sandwich shop.

after my first bite of fried chicken sandwich, i sent sebastian a text which included

a series of expletives. basically: "why the f*ck haven't we been here before??"

van horn has been on court street for a year now, and i just don't understand

how i'd never been. it is all of the things i like most in the world.

fried chicken, pulled pork, blt's, pimento cheese, mac and cheese, hushpuppies.

and from what we tasted, all executed beautifully. not to greasy, not too sloppy.

there's a great selection of draft beers, a full bar menu with classic & original cocktails,

awesome design, a patio, and the best part: its super affordable.

the massive chicken sandwich you see above, served with a tossed salad

and pickle is just $12. many of the beers are $5.

i think it has trumped henry public as my new favorite cobble hill spot.

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photos from here and here.

Hop, Walk, Skip

well, i have been having some great fun snapping action shots of poppy at the park,

chasing after her ball, jumping in the air. these three make me smile so big.

doesn't the third look like she is clicking her heels?
as sebastian said, one of the greatest things about playing ball with her
is being able to bring a living thing such complete joy.
nothing, not even a marrow bone, could make her happier.

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Want: Nevin Flatware from Anthropologie

need might be a better word.

$36 a place setting. hmm...

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Marilyn Monroe, 1950

clearly i have been sucked into the life magazine photo vortex.

i love these pictures of marilyn monroe not because they are marilyn monroe,

but because they are summer, through and through.

and because i cannot wait to be barefoot in high-wasted shorts and tucked in button up.

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Ten Good Things Last Weekend

pastel matches on a vintage tray at mccalls.

a quill. wax flowers. brunch at diner.

a handsome old dog in a handsome old land cruiser. new sperrys.

mast brothers chocolate. the sketchbook project. those shorts.
and a collection of tiny dapper men.

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Black Garlic & Mushroom Linguini

i can't remember where i first had black garlic. i remember it was in a pasta,

probably about a year ago, at a restaurant. unexpected minced bits of

savory sweetness, slightly chewy, custardy, notes of balsamic vinegar.

i asked the chef what it was, he told me, i looked at him confusedly.

turns out, black garlic is garlic that has been fermented at a high temperature.

originally found in asian cuisine, the black garlic company has popularized the

ingredient in the u.s. and europe, making it available for purchase online and

in high-end gourmet grocery stores. sebastian and i picked up a little container

when we were in california, and only just cooked with it last night

(another great thing about it: since its fermented, it doesn't really go bad).

there aren't many recipes around that use the stuff, so we came up with

a linguini that was sort of a mix of this recipe from the website and

this one that i found in a random search.

only edit? my approach when it comes to normal garlic is the more the better.

that theory doesn't quite apply to the sweetness of black garlic.

a little goes a long way, and be sure to balance out the sweetness with salt.

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Black Cat Auditions in Hollywood, 1961

get dressed up and make your cat a star.

thanks sebastian for sending (with the subject: little poppies)

update: michelle says these are everywhere.
apparently i am nowhere, because they are new to me.

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Dress Up

expression says: "mom, this is dumb. its not even raaaaining...."
miss. poppy needs to work on her modeling face if we are going to be

recreating bean's dress up photo shoots from house in the hills.

(one of the names we had on the list when we were
naming poppy was navy bean. maybe for [permanent] dog #2?)

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McCall's Shelf

so different than my own shelves, which are over-crowded and cluttered

with a million jars and cookbooks i never look at.

mccall understands pared-down simplicity.

(and i love her amazing re-claimed wood shelf from the resourceful guys at eat.

not to mention that quirky, southwest-looking brown tile.)

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Little Piggy

little kiva and her earless, tailess, soon-to-be-snoutless pig toy.

she's not as innocent as those eyes would have you believe.

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(which i am now thinking i should series on these pages),

but it is possible none works so well as this stuart & wright boutique in fort greene.

the shop occupies the space of an old french garment cleaners on lafayette,

and the collection of blue and white clothing that the little store carries works so
nicely with the sign's colors, it almost looks like it has been designed as a set.

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