patience is a virtue

or as my friend mara and i like to say, "patience is a girl's name."

in any event, this week i am trying to be patient with life. life has been patient with me, it's the least i can do. for example, i have been working in the same boring job that i don't like for nearly five years now. life knows i am working on changing this situation. life knows sometimes these things take time. life knows that the health benefits, paid vacations and 401K are a dangerous seduction. so life is being patient with me.

one way to encourage patience in oneself is to make a pot of soup. here's my recipe for a giant pot of soup that feeds about 8 people.

2 large butternut squash (actually, you can make it with cauliflower instead, weird as that sounds)
2 large onions
3 large cloves of garlic
a good curry powder
a box of organic vegetable broth
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

peel the squash, cut in half, clean out and discard the seeds in the center
cut squash into cubes
peel and chop onions
peel and chop garlic
heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a big pot
add onions, then a minute or so later, add garlic
saute until onions start to turn transluscent
then add tablespoon or so of curry powder
keep sauteeing
when onions get nice and clear and the whole house smells divine, add the squash
then cover it with the broth and a cup or so of water
bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until squash is tender to the touch of a sharp knife
this will probably take about a half hour
stick your hand blender in and go to town, until it's thick and creamy
add a bunch of kosher salt and several turns of a black pepper grinder
you are done.

now be patient before you take the first bite, or you'll burn your tongue.

a weekend in the country

a recipe for a perfect weekend in the country:

1. your friend's dad's comfortable and pretty house

2. a roaring fire

3. several excellent cooks

4. 5 dogs, including two puppies

5. a box of wine (to clarify: a box full of bottles of wine. a box of wine is kind of crappy, and we didn't have one, thankfully)

6. a frozen-over golf course

7. a surprise visit from an old friend

8. the sunday times crossword

9. making curried butternut squash soup

10. seeing your friend in love

11. bacon and sausage from the local gun shop

12. driving home (thanks mom, for use of the car) with your good friends and their adorable dog

13. forgetting your troubles

these are a few of my favorite things

it is a fairly common occurrence for friends to call/email me and ask where to eat, where to buy something, where to find something. and i LOVE having the answer. sometimes i have never actually been to the place myself (as with recently directing my sister-in-law to malia mills for "flattering and cool" swimwear).

all of you out there in the blogosphere, feel free to address me similarly. i am a wellspring of such knowledge. and in keeping with that, here is an abridged list of some of my favorite (nyc) things:

1. tailor: someone recently sent me to felix tailoring on rivington, off ludlow, where i had pants hemmed for $5 a piece. well hemmed, might i add.

2. babka: i bought a chocolate babka at 9th street bakery last week. it was unexpectedly divine, and only $4.

3. coffee: MUD, on 9th street, or from their truck by the astor place uptown 6 train. you can also buy it by the pound for your home use. it is STRONG strong stuff that gives me the shakes and the shits, but i'll drink it anyway.

4. recipe: banana bread from the silver palate cookbook. this is not technically a nyc thing, except that the original silver palate store was in nyc. so. in my old edition of this, the banana bread is not in the index, so it is sort of a hidden treasure. perhaps they corrected it in more recent versions. keep frozen overripe bananas in your freezer, butter in the fridge, and a well-stocked pantry...you're always ready to make yourself some bbread.

5. community service opportunity: ny cares, which accomodates the busy schedules of new yorkers by offering one-at-a-time volunteer opprotunities. a short orientation is required but then you can sign up for projects for the rest of time.

6. bikini waxer: carrie, at oscar bond salon, on wooster. she is sweet, and down-to-earth, and lovely and cool.

7. kitchen supplier: broadway panhandler. around the corner from oscar bond salon, which makes for a great one-two punch. it is so easy to treat yourself there, because everything is so darn affordable. i grin and giggle as i meander through the store.

8. weekday breakfast: pain quotidien, preferably on grand street and mercer. feel like you are in paris. linger over cafe au lait, homemade granola, and the best baguette in the city.

9. shoe repair: jim's, in midtown somewhere. i once had a boot crisis. i was at a fancy benefit that night and asked the ladies at my table for a rec. several called out at once: "jim's!!" i went there and found a line out the door, including a woman from texas in a fur coat, holding armfuls of ferragamo pumps. "i bring them up from texas to jim" she explained. he worked wonders. and was not expensive.

change

the beginning is always the hardest part. whether it's starting a blog, starting a new job, starting a new relationship...presenting oneself is difficult, and new beginnings are somehow all about presentation. i have a bunch of new beginnings on the horizon, and i am trying hard not to be terrified.

my yoga instructor said the other day to "be on the lookout for change." on the one hand, i am always watching the sidewalk as i go, hoping to spot a shiny penny or dime (yoga classes are expensive). but this sort of literalism is precisely why i'll never be a yogi. on the other hand (the non-literal hand, that is) i need not be on the lookout for change, because change has my number. change has me by the balls. everything is about to change. because i will not sit idly by and let my life be unfulfilling or unchallenging or unexciting. so, let's change.