Mo' Mama

Happy Day to all those mamas out there!

In honor of you, and all of you who may someday become one (aHEM), here's my new tricky and incredibly easy way to cook asparagus.

All you need is one of those plug-in tea kettles (here's a nice red one) and you're good to go!

1. Fill kettle 1/4 full with water, add a few pinches of salt, and plug in.
2. Shave off outer layer of tough skin on asparagus (you can also skip this step if you're not picky).
3. When water has just started boiling, open kettle and insert whole asparagus stalks vertically, so they're standing.
4. Wait about 1 minute, give or take (you can peek in and see the color of the asparagus-- it should be bright green -- or take a test bite).
5. Drain kettle of water and immediately fill with cold water from the tap.
6. Drain again.
7. Dress asparagus with a few shakes of toasted sesame oil, more salt, and a few dashes of soy sauce.
8. Chill.
9. Amazing.

Mama.

I know some pretty fantastic mothers. And they all deserve some pretty fantastic presents. Because what's the good of having kids unless they grow up to give you lovely things? And show you through material goods how sorry they are for being such brats?

This ring from Kate Spade would do the trick.

Or maybe she needs something to keep her tootsies warm.

Or what about a nice hammock?

This necklace also happens to rock.

I'm luck enough to know a lot of new mothers these days. We're talking babies popping out all over this place. So here are some nice little items for mamas with little, little ones, because you need to get THEM something, too!

A nice, utilitarian and chic little nursing bag.

Beautiful silvery flats.

And man, if I looked good in headbands, I'd rock this one all the time, baby or no baby. I saw a mama on the street yesterday pushing her baby in a stroller and wearing all her hair pulled back in a headband, and she looked like she had everything under control. Note to self: headband = control.

And then, just because we're talking about love and life and all, look at this heart. Isn't it beautiful? Thanks to all the moms out there for making those things go.

Back in the day.

I'm about to be 32 and feeling ancient: I get this way every year before my birthday. But today, I happened to read a piece in this month's Food&Wine about Moroccan cooking, which reminded me of the time I found myself in Marrakech at the end of a semi-disastrous trip to Italy. My friend and I were eighteen and spoke schoolgirl French: we were followed through the covered markets and laughed at by the police when we complained. Still, we ate well. In memory of that befuddled time, I'd like to make these semolina pancakes for my birthday: older? Definitely. Wiser? Debatable.

Speaking of days gone by, this yellow-printed dress could almost prove an acceptable substitute for that junior prom dress I wore all those years ago: it could sure help me out during the 10,000 weddings I have this summer.

And this podcast with Norris Church Mailer reminded me that her son, John, was already a cool kid even back in high school, when no one was really actually cool, and that a party he threw at his house way back in 1995 (!) marked my first venture into Brooklyn ever. I couldn't understand how we had to go over a bridge. It messed with everything I thought I knew about NYC.

Fast-forward to last night, when the beast and I walked allll the way from home to a friend's house in Carroll Gardens. We took the ugly route, over the Manhattan bridge, but it was still lovely. I guess this city is beautiful after all, even after all these years...

Making amends.

I have been remonstrated for staying away for so long: I stand, remorseful and full of recipes.

Yes, recipes!

In a quest to forego white flour and white sugar and yet not surrender all earthly pleasures, I bought some spelt flour a few weeks ago and have been searching for some way to use it. Watch this:

2 cups spelt flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup agave
1 & 1/2 cups ripe mashed banana
3 eggs, beaten
1 loose cup chopped dried apricots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray/grease muffin pans.Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine oil, sugar, banana, and eggs. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, making sure not to overmix. Stir in apricots. Fill muffins pans about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes.

And guess what? I'm not done. Jack's makes this amazing green tea shake called the Green Hornet, and after blowing through $15 in three days while fighting a cold and in need only of cold, icy, delicious things to drink, I came home and made up my own Green Hornet. Here 'tis!

1 T matcha green tea powder
1 T agave or honey
2 cups (give or take) soymilk
5 or so ice cubes

Mix in blender and drink with stripey straws!

Sunday.

Time to go start a revolution.

Which is exactly what I'd be doing if I weren't home with a disgusting cold. I'd also be making this lovely almond cake for Passover.

And the WASP half of me would be making these awesome apricot scones from Orangette. The recipe calls for whole-wheat flour, which means they're basically a health food. More or less.

Along those lines, if I didn't have a cold and had made my almond cake and was just starting in on my scones, it would clearly be time to turn on my light with the amazing orange lampshade, just like the one in this polo player's apartment. I am obsessed with orange lampshades. I need one immediately.

And as long as we're talking lamps...have you ever had a dream lamp? A light fixture you might just die for? No? Just me? Take a look at this. It is one of the loveliest things I think I've ever seen. It would illuminate my Sudafed-addled mind perfectly.

The wonder of TINY.

I had no idea babies could make faces just like my grandpa.

This incredible pea plant is perfect for a windowsill garden.

Book plates are amazing things. Try doing THAT on your Kindle.

A dress from Texas? Yes, please!

Clearly, I am obsessed with this color: but how cool is this ring?

And after 31 years of wearing my hair exactly the same way, I have now been wearing it a new way for the past five months. It involves bobby pins and twisting. If I threw these puppies in, I bet I could get away with it for the next 31 years.

High Fashion Monday

What? You didn't know Gwyneth has a website? Take a gander. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.


But speaking of fasion, in honor of this week's New Yorker article on the website Polyvore, which seems to be a kind of grown-up fashionista's dream of paper dolls, here are a few outfits I stumbled upon while researching a Passover ensemble for a friend.

A gorgeous, sunny yellow dress from Kate Spade. Full disclosure: I always thought I'd get married in a yellow dress. I love yellow dresses. I went to my junior year version of prom in a long yellow dress. It wasn't mine. I wished it was. Desperately.

This lovely floral dress from Anthropologie. Gotta say, I love a high neck. I feel like Jackie O when I wear a high neck.

You could pop this J. Crew cardigan over this racer-back dress from my favorite online shopping site (yep, I have one. I know), shopbop.com: they've got great styles and great sales, and I like how the models always look vaguely stunned, as though they've just realized they're wearing beautiful clothes for a living.

And because I love shoes, and because I have big feet that love shoes, here's a toast to Frye, a company that makes hot little sandals and summer shoes that a) neatly disguise how big my feet are and b) are actually feasible to walk around greater Manhattan is. Check these out.