spaghetti with fried eggs

adhering to my philosophy that everything tastes better with an egg, i made this for dinner last night - a comforting, delicious, easy, last minute supper. 

spaghetti with fried eggs*

salt

1/2 pound thin spaghetti

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil  

2 large cloves garlic, lightly smashed and peeled

4 eggs
1 cup peas

freshly ground black pepper

freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese

1. boil the fresh peas for 1 minute and set aside.

2. bring a pot of salted water to the boil. start the sauce in the next step, and start cooking the pasta when the water boils.

3. combine garlic and 4 tablespoons of the oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. cook the garlic, pressing it into the oil occasionally to release its flavor; it should barely color on both sides. remove the garlic, and add the remaining oil.

4. fry the eggs gently in the oil, until the whites are just about set and the yolks still quite runny. drain the pasta, and toss with the peas, eggs and oil, breaking up the whites as you do. (the eggs will finish cooking in the heat of the pasta.) season to taste, and serve immediately, with cheese.

yield: 2 or 3 servings.

* recipe adapted from the new york times the minimalist chooses 25 of his favorites.

monday morning music

wanted to share with you my favorite pearl jam song (i'm not a big pearl jam aficionado, though i've become a big  eddie vedder fan after the release of his beautiful into the wild soundtrack). 
perfect for a slow, cloudy, blurry eyed monday morning like today...


you can listen to eddie vedder's beautiful new album "ukulele songs" in its entirety on npr.

roland garros

a lovely early sunday morning with coffee, pain au chocolat, cherries, blueberries and a classic federer and nadal final live from paris. vamos rafa!! 
**update - rafael nadal wins in 4 amazingly played sets!

*photos courtesy of the nytimes

magic juice

i came across this yummy drink recipe online last week - love the bright graphic recipe, love the ingredients, love to make it one lazy evening in a sun setting back yard. 

directions (for 2 drinks):
dice, then muddle the fruits and mint
pour gin into fruit mixture and let sit for 10-15 minutes
strain over lemonade and ice
garnish with fruit slice or mint leaf
sit, sip, saude, salud, salamati, chin chin and cheers!

hotel chevalier

i love hotel rooms. maybe its all the traveling we did as kids or maybe its that i love the idea of traveling to new and far off places. whatever the reason,  i am fascinated by the possibilities and stories and comings and goings and life dramas and comedies that can take place in a singe room. sit in a hotel lobby and you will witness an entire world walk in and out - hundreds of lives linked for one night in one building. 
to that end, here is a short film to end your week with. check in, check out and have a room service filled weekend! 


the awesome song in the clip is performed by peter sarstedt.

kundera's identity

i just finished re-reading milan kundera's novel, identity. the main characters are a man and woman, jean-marc and chantal, and the story is about the ups and downs of their relationship. chantal feels that nobody is attracted to her because she is getting old, a fact she shares with jean-marc, the man she is in love with. then comes a series of anonymous love letters for chantal, who hides them from jean-marc as she tries to discover the identity of her unknown correspondent.  when she finds out that jean-marc has written the letters, she feels that he has violated her privacy. jean-marc, on the other hand, feels enraged by her response to another man, the writer of the letters, who is, ironically, his own creation. 
it's a brilliantly written novel about two people,who at their most intimate moments, feel that they do not recognize one anothers identity, that their voices come from far off, and that each moment of life bears the option of losing one's loved one.
i am a massive kundera fan, and this book, the second time around, was just as hard to put down as it was the first time i read it over ten years ago. 

"...no one can do a thing about feelings, they exist and there's no way to censor them. we can reproach ourselves for some action, for a remark, but not for a feeling, quite simply because we have no control at all over it." 
— milan kundera (identity)

cuddle class

i have no idea when i'll be traveling to new zealand, but when i do, this is how i want to travel - a long overnight flight from lax to auckland in air new zealand's new cozy cuddle class seats.
the future of long-haul economy class air travel finally looks comfy appealing!