pomegranate

my blood is the color of pomegranate, 
clichéd jewel of my homeland.
i peel it. 
i dismember it.
i eat it.
blood stain hands
blood red lips
this is what history tastes like
sunlit veiled vampire girl
like rumi, you never age.

foreign film feast

now that the summer big budget blockbuster movie season is over (phew!), here are the three soon to be released must see foreign films on my radar in the comings weeks:
from brazil - neighboring sounds

from france - chicken with plums

and from iran - the green wave.

4 more years

i've read that you should never blog about your political or religious views (unless you are a political or religious blogger). it's the taboo of blogging - just as it is at a formal dinner party - lest you alienate your host.. 
well, my black sheep tendencies just have to raise a flag and burn a bridge on this one. there are less than 90 days before we (here in the united states) vote for the man (we'll no doubt add a "wo" in front of that word in the coming years) that will guide and lead and negotiate and represent on our behalf for the next 4 years. there is a huge ideological and social chasm between our two choices and if the current polls are right, a very small margin of victory separating the two. the reality, simply presented daily until election day by an initiative called 90 days, 90 reasons, sees it like this: "if this doesn’t become an all-hands-on-deck movement to re-elect president obama, he will lose. and mitt romney, who has campaigned as the most conservative republican candidate in history, will become president." 
i don't need 90 reasons to get to my polling place on november 6th- but for those of you who may need just a bit more audacity and hope, there will soon be 90 voices to help dust off the apathy and nudge you awake.

pie me

the la weekly came out with their list of los angeles's 10 best pies last month and a few friend's and i have been (of course) taste testing. so far, the cherry pie from marcie's pies at various local farmers markets has taken the cake! sweet, tart with a perfect light and crumbly crust! 
one of the secret's to yummy pie is it's serving temperature (it should be warm/room temperature and never just out of the fridge). marcie's pies are baked fresh and sold daily, not refrigerated (unless you're going to keep it for more than a day or 2, in which case, yes, refrigerate, but leave out before serving) and the little 'individual' sized ones are a perfect reason to sit yourself down on the curb with a friend and indulge after some market fruit and veggie picking. 

music monday - andrew bird

i must have been busy living under a music rock, because only now have i been introduced (thanks to like minded music friends) to the music of andrew bird, my new jeff buckley. this song easily falls into the where have you been all my life (and why can't i write lyrics like this) category and it's a perfect sleepy monday morning kick starter. 

best gazpacho

it's been far too hot to turn on the oven or stove the past couple of weeks,  so i've been gleefully slurping on the most amazingly delicious home made gazpacho now that the tomatoes at the farmers markets are perfectly in season. i had a one on one, step by step cooking demonstration from an expert spaniard who's recipe is a secret that falls in the i can tell you but then will have to kill you category. i will say that with a couple of pounds of perfect tomatoes, a cucumber and a green bell pepper you are as close as you are going to get to the perfect summer lunch - just add day old bread, olive oil, sherry vinegar, and some muscle power to crank the food mill.
have a delicious weekend and buen provecho!

best chocolate

who knew iceland produced perfect chocolate? vodka, wool sweaters and bjork, yes, but delicious dark chocolate? well, my new dark chocolate obsession this year is from all places, iceland! a creamy, not too bitter afternoon indulgence which i think has caught on with the masses, because they've been sold out at whole foods the past couple of weeks. i'll need to start hoarding for the winter when they are back in stock.