Who Knew?

I am on a spiritual retreat and during one of our times of worship, just before communion was shared, a story was told of a group of war orphans who, barely existing because of harsh conditions and little food, were quite naturally having difficulty sleeping.

Their caretakers decided to give them each a loaf of bread to sleep with. Assured of food for the next day the children began to sleep soundly each night.

Our spiritual director shared many possibilities from the story related to the experience of God and suggested that we consider which character resonated with us. Which person we felt identified with our own soul. Did the fear of the children touch us or perhaps the caring act of the orphanage workers? What about those who warred against each other?

My imagination transported me to the village where the bread had been baked. I began to remember the time when the door of my bakery was opened and a fragile, limping, old woman entered interrupting the afternoon coffee that my friends, the miller and the wheat farmer, and I had each day. She was asking for donations of food and I simply gave her some misshapen loaves to take with her.

Who knew that lives would be changed? God knew. Who knew that the grain that was grown and ground and baked would have such a comforting effect on those children? God knew. Who knew that the work of our hands would have such an impact on the lives of those children? God knew. Who knew that misshapen lives and misshapen loaves would be turned into such a sacred event as life? God knew.

God knows that it happens all the time.

Angko Roll Cake

16 July 2008, rabu pagi

Dah niatan mo bkin roll cake ini coz yg kemarin gagal total ...gara2 bebi teriak mewek, n minta gendong trus...ga mo main sndiri...walah, bner2 ancur deh...hehehe... so hari ini mesti bisa bikin nih...so pergunakan deh waktu yg ada...mksudnya pas bebi bobo..baru bisa bikin bikin...

Ubek-ubek di dapur, belepotan tepung, telor,mentega sgala macem peralatan kue....akhirnya jadi juga...tapi kenapa ga terlalu ngembang yak?? Tapi ga pa pa deh...lumyan juga rasanya...hehe, critanya menghibur diri nih....hasilnya lumayan dibanding yg kemarin hihihi

Gw pakein angko, di dalamnya, sejenis kacang merah, yg dimasak mpe halus banget...enak juga .. kali ini sih pake yg dry pnya, tinggal ditambah gula, air...masuk microwave 5 menit, jadi deh angkonya.... Pernah liat di tv, cara bikin angkonya...walah terlalu repot kalo harus bikin sndiri, coz mesti rebus dulu mpe kacangnya ancur, disaring, direbus lagi, disaring lagi....walahhh...ga praktis..hehe

Husband pulang kerja, makan...bilang wah akhirnya jadi juga...hehehe...menghibur nih critanya... hehe..Mei makan juga 2 potong...lumayan lah....daripada beli....kalo kita bikin sndiri kan ga pake bahan pengawet...pake alami semua, ya ga??

Castillos de naipes

(Radiohead)


El humo subía formando espirales hacia el techo de la habitación y, misteriosamente, no se mezclaba con el aire del resto de la estancia. Desde la cama, tumbada, veía todo el proceso de formación y muerte de una espiral tras otra, y otra, y otra... es increíble como todo nace y muere, y renace, y vuelve a morir... ¡estamos todos abocados a ese fin? No importaba, la belleza del humo la embelesaba de tal manera que no le hubiera importado venderlo de verdad; si el humo se vendiera embotellado, ella tendría cientos de botellas llenas de esas espirales grisáceas que tanta belleza crean... que tanta muerte pueden causar... Se asemejaba a los castillos de naipes, ésos que vas montando poco a poco, creando algo hermoso... para luego acabar derrumbando, a veces con una bocanada de humo de un cigarro.

"Pero no puedo vender humo" pensó para sí misma mientras encendía de nuevo el cigarro mágico y le daba unas caladas; "Sólo puedo venderme a mí... sólo soy esto, lo que ves... no tengo ni un castillo de naipes donde reinar, sólo soy energía viva y muerta a la vez... sólo puedo vender lo que hay aquí".

- Y me gusta mirar lo que he comprado.

Sonreía. Oniros dando en el clavo, cabalgando más allá de los neurotransmisores, más rápido que las sinapsis eléctricas, descargas liberadoras de endorfinas... Oniros, dulce como la hidromiel de los dioses; amargo como las derrotas...

Espirales que se perdían en la infinidad de la nada, naciendo, creciendo, muriendo... el ciclo de la vida en algo tan inerte que no se puede tocar. Castillos de naipes derrumbándose y creciendo de nuevo sobre la nada. Castillos de naipes que me traen a la memoria el recuerdo de tu humo, de tu olor.

Kurve

July 16

Kurve is finally sort of open. Kind of. The East Village restaurant where Andy Yang of Rhong-Tiam is in charge of the food and Karim Rashid (Morimoto in Philadelphia) did the design is doing reservation-only service to control customer flow and make sure the staff is ready.
Its opening party was last night. It was supposed to be on the 8th, but I don't think that one happened. Even for this one I was only invited yesterday afternoon. But I love Andy’s food at Rhong-Tiam, which was a sleepy little place until the Times wrote about it a few weeks ago, (and now you can't get in, so good for them), and thought I’d check the place out.
Kurve’s totally different, much more high-concept (fusion food, not Thai), trying much harder to be a scene.
Several large African-American bouncers blocked my way as I approached the door while one of them looked up my name on a list. Inside was a small crowd, and a host who I think was named Jeremy and seemed to be hired just for the party. He offered me a cocktail, I asked what was good, he suggested a Mojito, I took it. I later learned that Sasha Petraske was doing the drinks and wondered why I was offered a mere Mojito, but the place is new.
I don't know from décor, but the restaurant was definitely curvy, dominated by an irregular-shaped bar, curvy shapes on the walls, a floor that I think I'd call Morimoto-green, although I can't be sure as I'm partially color blind.
Plasma screen TVs, too, embedded in the walls.
Odd, it seems to me, for Second Avenue and Fifth Street.
Thank goodness Steve Bryant from Thrillist was there, so he could explain to me who the important scenesters were at the party (such as a TV co-host from a show I never saw, I forget the name), and also because he's a congenial guy who's pleasant to talk to.
At Rhong-Tiam, Andy’s a low-key, casual guy, but this was an opening party and he was decked out. I'm not sure exactly what he was wearing as I couldn't get past his hair, which was tricked out with gel to help him look like an animé character. He had me pose with him for a photographer from Thailand’s Praew magazine, which, if I remember correctly is kind of a big deal in Bangkok.
I switched from Mojitos to Chimay and settled in for a chat with the Thrillist people. As you'd expect from a scenester opening, not much food was served. I did manage to score some edamame, a bit of pork wrapped in sticky rice and served with a spicy-sour Thai dipping sauce, and also some ovaltine-milk chocolate pudding.
Underfed and full of beer, I stopped by Cooper 35 for cheap kimchi fried rice (I think it was $6) and called it a night.

I did pick up a copy of the party’s ostensible bar menu, which I'll type up for you now:

FIRST
wok charred edamame & spicy miso glaze
oyster
fried oyster
sashimi sampler
sea eel hako sushi
kurobuta pork sticky rice

SECOND
miso cured black cod
sake infused Chilean sea bass
prime rib teriyaki & shiitake mushroom
rack of lamb
massaman curry with organic chicken breast
lobster Thermidor with sea urchin & miso butter
seared king salmon with green curry

THIRD (which I neglected to mention are being done by Pichet Ong)
carrot cake with cream cheese chantilly, lime & flower salted caramel
ovaltine-milk chocolate pudding, banana, caramelized rice crispies
yuzu panna cotta, huckleberries, black pepper meringue
sorbet: passion fruit banana
ice cream: condensed milk