La Bonne Soupe

June 24

Just got a call from Monique at La Bonne Soupe, a much-loved neighborhood French restaurant in Midtown Manhattan (48 W. 55th, between fifth and sixth avenues). A fire closed the restaurant some months ago, but the clean-up is just about finished, they’ll be cooking over the weekend and hope to start selling brandade de morou, croques madames and other homestyle French dishes by Tuesday.

July 2 update:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Danielle
July 2nd 2009
TEL: (212) 586 7650


LA BONNE SOUPE NEW YORK RE-OPENS
….following kitchen fire March 2009

WHAT: La Bonne Soupe, mid-town’s favorite French bistro re-opens with an aesthetic that captures a new streamlined spirit. The new surroundings are a modern take on the original bistro décor, and regulars, some of who have been coming for over thirty years, will still feel at home in a space with a new-found joie de vivre.

Also in place is the ever popular menu of standard bistro favorites like…steak frites, award winning onion soup, fondue au fromage, fondue au chocolat… and daily specials with a more international flare keep every diner in mind.

WHEN: Saturday, July 4th 2009

WHERE: 48 West 55th Street (between Fifth and Sixth Avenue)
Hours of Operation:
Monday though Thursday 11:30am-11:00pm
Friday and Saturday 11:30am-11:30pm
Sunday 11:30am-10:30pm

WHO: Jean-Paul Picot
Yves Picot

For more information please visit our website at www.labonnesoupe.com

gune jari pun blh... lepas tu gigit jari.

nih bukan iklan rejoice.

mahupun iklan lain berkaitan jari - KFC.

1st of all... thanks utk support semuaaa - previous post. that was unexpected~!
hee. thanks3!!! ermmm... entah. ramai da bamboo sy d sbbkan sifat2 itu. haha.
well. i'm just trying to be better, in my life, and yet to be the best~!!!
but i'll always stay the same. tammmo jd kacang lupekan kulit. lalalala~~~
harapnye x mcm tuh la. haih~ kalo sy jd...sape2 tlg tampar sy nnt k?
mmg x seda diri n x sedar dek untung... huuu~~~

btw. just. sy da lame x keluar rumah. if keluar? ke kolej. tu pun jarang da.
teman mama. clinic. giant. JJ. tuh pun jarang amat...
H1N1 pon da makin berleluasa dkt KL nih. n da sampai wngsa maju.
wngsa maju dgn setiawangsa nih kan... dkt sesgt3. yes. very bery near.
so mama pon lg la x kasi anakanda die nih keluar... grrrr~
owh, these few days sakit tekak plak + demam skit. tp ok je lg~!
da jmpe DR Mariam tersyg~! owh yerr... DR itu sgt cantik + baikkk!!!
da slaluu jmpe die. owh, husband die pon DR. mmg majority camtuh kan?
DR kawin dgn DR je. most of the cases, yess. hurm... x de harapan la sy. wahaha.

sooo... these few days. sy da terkena blk jangkitan baru penyakit lame.
on9 boutique~! haih~~~ hari tu ade 1 musim asyik tgk tote bag + frames + cardigan.
nih tgk BF shirts, [sejenis kemeja ok...] bkn shirt utk BF. LOL~ + shawl.
and also, a shampoo from Elken with conditioner esp 4 scalp care. thanks iqah~!
erm.. anggap la dlm few days ni je. sy da abis... kire2... dkt RM300.
da~!!! diam3. sy da lame x shopping. btol pe... tgk btol3. lame gle x~! haha.
no worries. duit sdiri. ade duit simpanan last month pnye skit, n duit deposit umah lame.
wahaha. yer sy taw sy gile. da lame simpannnn... then skali trus bnyk. hee.
tp... itulah. gune jari pun duit boleh abis. then gigit jari plak la~ haih...


owh yar. i accidentally watched a drama yesterday. time tuh d ruang tamu.
then i heard a few dialogue... owh yer. cerita, 2 marhalah. astro oasis.
about seorg perempuan terpakse jd pelacur sbb ade lelaki jaat hantar die ke tmpt tuh.
ok. example perempuan itu = F. lelaki jaat = E. lelaki baik = G
1 day F jmpe dgn G yg nak jdkan F wife pas 5 thn die terperuk dkt tmpt tuh.
kebetulan E mati, so F dpt larikan diri... F & G pon kawin. skali. mak G x ske F.
mak mertua F ni kuat solat, ttp aurat semua bagus lah. then... die x ske F.

mak mertua : eh. aku tak suke ko la~! ko tu pelacur~! ko fhm x? pelacur~!

F : makcik jgn ckp ape yg mak cik tak tahu [sambil nak nangis...]

mak mertua : eh ape yg aku tak tahu? aku taw la ko tu pelacur~! langkah mayat aku dlu~!

F : sy x sangka...mak cik yg kuat sembahyang ni. blh ckp dan cemuh sy mcm2~
patutlah sy pernah dgr...org ckp...

"islam itu indah. tetapi penganutnya
sendiri yg mencemarkannya"

i wanna go to this place...
yes, someday i'll, insya allah

yes, sy setuju dgn pernyataan tu. sy mmg rase MALU dgn perempuan islam bertudung,
tp hati ya tuhan... busuknye~! kejamnye~! hitamnye~! ape gune beribadat kpd Allah,
tp adat sesame manusia tak pernah difikirkan? ya Allah. malu sgt3~!!!
Islam suruh seimbangkan dunia & akhirat kan? jd. jgnlah terlalu mengejar duniawi / akhirat
semata - mata. dosa dgn Allah, urusan kita dgn Allah. beruntung Allah itu maha pengampun.
tp dgn manusia? mcm mane kte kelak? nak meminta ampun? mati katak saje je~!
ishhh... entahlah. MALU sgt ble dgr majoriti org skrng berpendapat...

"alaaaa... pakai tudung pun bukan baik sgt"

ya Allah. sungguh sy malu~! rase terhina~! rase kotor jgk~! hurmmm...
dan sy jgk tak setuju ble ade org berpendapat...

"tuh pompuan tuh pakai sexy2 mesti kerja x senonoh & perangai hantu"

eh eh eh3... tlg skit. oklah. mungkin mereka yg terlampaw sexy tuh x elok.
tp ramai je sy jmpe dkt public surau, or masjid, yg x pakai tudung tuh solat.
like at least kan, die org tuh hati die baik~!!! solat, ++ x busuk hati.
just mungkin die org tgh berubah slow2. berubah drastik pon tibe2 x ready ssh jgk.
x pakai tudung x semestinye jaat @ x senonoh okay~ ade sbb die org sdiri`
so... this kinda of girls is a lotttttttttt way better than yg busuk hati tuh. hurm.

sbb tu lg. sy tak kesah dgn sape sy kwn. asalkan hati tuh. biar baek.
sy tegur n nasihat mane yg patot, mane yg mampu, even sy sdiri pon...
jujur sy katekan. dosa sy tak terkira... mcm pasir2 d tepi pantai.
tp syukur... iman itu masih ade. insaf itu ade. kesedaran itu ade.
sy sedar diri sy bnyk kekurangan, bnyk dosa lepas, esok, akan dtg.
sbb tu sy selalu berharap. berdoa. bertawakal. berusaha utk dptkan jodoh yg baik.
yg baik yg blh pimpin sy dunia n akhirat. bawa sy kebahagiaan n kejayaan duniawi n akhirat.
Ya Allah... sy btol3 berharap tak akan terus berada d kalangan mereka yg sesat.
dan diberikan petunjukNya. diredhai dan sering dipermudahkan urusan.
insya allah... amin~~~

Donde solíamos gritar.

Supongo que hay discos que tienes que escucharlos muchas veces para digerirlos al completo, y sin duda, 1999 de Love of Lesbian ha sido para mí uno de ellos. no porque haya tardado en escucharlo (el día que salió ya estaba en mis manos); sino por su contenido. Analizando cada una de las canciones, me di cuenta de que habla de todos nosotros, de una historia que hemos tenido en nuestra vida o que tendremos en algún momento.

Yo tuve una que se puede resumir en la canción "Allí donde solíamos gritar", que me recuerda a correr por las calles granadinas a altas horas de la noche, a la biblioteca por la mañana, al té de la indignación recién hecho y a otras muchas cosas...
Se resume en el mirador de San Nicolás, gritando.

La verdad, fue una relación corta pero intensa, de esas que cuando han pasado te dejan hecha añicos, el corazón roto, y te da igual lo que suceda después. Aún hoy creo que me da igual lo que suceda, a pesar de haber tenido desde entonces varias relaciones... ya hacen tres años, ¿o son cuatro? No lo recuerdo bien; tampoco importa. Fue hermoso, doloroso, dulce y amargo... sentí cosas que jamás desearía que nadie sintiera, pero que indudablemente todos hemos de sentir alguna vez.

Y ahora todo aquello ha pasado, y el futuro sigue brillando, cegándonos, frente a nosotros dos. Hace ¿tres años? ¿Cuatro? que no nos vemos... y realmente no sé si querría volverle a ver.

Pero ahora, cuando recuerdo aquellos días, sonrío :)

¿A que no sabes donde he vuelto hoy?
Donde solíamos gritar
diez años antes de este ahora sin edad,
aún vive el monstruo y aún no hay paz.

Y en los bancos que escribimos
medio a oscuras, sin pensar,
todos los versos de "Heroes"
con las faltas de un chaval, aún están.

Y aún hoy,
se escapa a mi control,
problema y solución,
y es que el grito siempre acecha,
es la respuesta.

Y aún hoy,
sólo el grito y la ficción
consiguen apagar
las luces de mi negra alerta.

Tengo un cuchillo y es de plástico
donde solía haber metal,
y el libro extraño que te echó de párvulos,
sus hojas tuve que incendiar.

Y en los hierros que separan
la caída más brutal
siguen las dos iniciales
que escribimos con compás,
ahí están.

Vertical y transversal,
soy grito y soy cristal,
justo el punto medio,
el que tanto odiabas
cuando tú me repetías que
té hundirá y me hundirá,
y solamente el grito nos servirá,
decías "es fácil" y solías empezar.

Y es que el grito siempre vuelve
y con nosotros morirá,
frío y breve como un verso,
escrito en lengua animal.
¡Y siempre está!

Te hundirá y me hundirá
y solamente el grito nos servirá
y ahora no es fácil,
tú solías empezar.

Vertical y transversal,
soy grito y soy crital,
justo el punto medio,
el que tanto odiabas
cuando tú me provocabas aullar.

Y ya está, ya hay paz,
oh, ya hay paz.
Y ya está, ya hay paz,
oh, ya hay paz.

¿Porque gritaba?
Lo sé y tú no,
no preguntabas,
tú nunca, no.

Go Greek!

Oompa!

Surprisingly, I'm not talking about gyros or saganaki, but rather, a study on the Mediterranean diet performed by the Medical School at the University of Athens, Greece. We've all likely heard of the Mediterranean Diet, but let's refresh. Key components of the Mediterranean Diet include:

- plentiful exercise and meal times shared with family and friends
- consuming many fruits and vegetables daily
- including healthy oils in the diet such as olive and canola oils
- eating nuts (in small portions)
- the option of moderate red wine consumption
- marginal red meat consumption
- the incorporation of seafood and fish into the diet, at least twice weekly
- low dairy consumption

The Mediterranean "diet" is a lifestyle for Europeans residing in Greece, Italy, and Spain most respectively. It is true that these countries consume an abundance of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seafood, fish, oils, and in moderation, wine and alcohol. The positive health benefits of this Mediterranean diet were discovered over 30 years ago and have been a topic of much interest ever since.

During mine and my husband's stint in Italy, we quickly learned that meal time was a sacred family time. The focus was not simply eating, but cooking, relaxation, and socialization. Wine was commonly consumed, even in places of business! At Mark's work, there was a bar in the lobby serving alcoholic beverages, as well as cafes, espressos, and cappuccinos. Wine was served at restaurants for prices totaling less than water by volume at times. The abundance, selection, and freshness of produce found at stands street-side, as well as in the "lunga's" (grocery store) far exceeded that found in America. And while fast food restaurants are not omit from European cities, they are not found on every street corner, but are spotted in places of heavy tourist traffic. But, of course.

Greece we found to be very similar. In Athens, moderate alcohol consumption and fruits and vegetables were staple items in most meals, along with lots of seafood and olive oil. Delicious!

Pictured on the left, fresh catch of the day coming in to the port of Poros. On the right, I give a BIG 2 thumbs up to fresh octopus! Yumm!

You can't forget the pistachios in Greece -- the best!

Greeks also have excellent taste in canines. We had to stop and say hi to the fellow bully and bully owner. : )

Mark and I in Athens at the Acropolis and the island of Poros

So what is it, specifically, in this Mediterranean diet that produces the proven health benefits? Is it the exercise? The healthy oils? The omega-3's found in fish? Athens found out.

Published just last week in the British Medical Journal were the results of a large-scale study aimed at revealing the relative importance of each component of the Mediterranean Diet. There were 23,349 Greek study participants ranging in age between 20 and 86. Their diet was recorded over an average span of 8.5 years. Both demographics and anthropometrics of the study participants were accounted for. Results showed that overall, those who consumed a Mediterranean diet were healthier as their mortality rate was decreased. A positive (although not statistically significantly) correlation was found between healthfulness and high fruit and vegetable consumption as well as high nut, legume, and oil consumption. An inverse relationship between healthfulness and meat consumption was found (though not statistically significant, either).

However..........there was a statistically significant positive health correlation seen with moderate ethanol consumption. Alcohol alone accounted for 24% of the overall health benefits seen with the Mediterranean diet. Alcohol consumption was most frequently noted to be wine consumed during meal times.

Moral of the study: wine does the body good!

Tomorrow, we'll look into what it is about wine that provides all those health benefits...

Brocolli and Cauliflower Cheese Recipe

It was recently mentioned to me by Linda Joyce, a reader of this blog, that I had not included any recipes for vegetarians. Personally, I am an omnivore - verging upon being a carnivore - and simply hadn't realised this quite unforgivable omission, even though my mother is vegetarian! I am therefore beginning the rectification of this siuation and promise to include more vegetarian recipes on a regular basis.

Most people will have heard of cauliflower cheese and perhaps be very fond of same but whenever I am making cauliflower cheese, I also include broccoli, both for its excellent health benefits and for even tastier results. The following recipe is for two people.

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower
1 head of broccoli
4 oz plain flour
4 oz butter
12 to 15 fl oz milk (depending upon how thick you like your sauce)
4 oz cheddar cheese (grated or shredded)
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Basil leaves for garnishing (optional)

Method

The first step is to wash the cauliflower and broccoli and split them in to florets. Put the cauliflower only in to a large pan of boiling, slightly salted water. This is because the cauliflower will take slightly longer to cook than the broccoli. When the cauliflower has been simmering for four minutes, add the broccoli and cook for a further eight minutes only.

It is vital when making the sauce that the milk be heated first until it begins to simmer. Adding cold milk to your roux can cause it to be lumpy or worse. Pour the milk from the saucepan in to a jug or bowl and slowly melt the butter, then sift in tthe flour. Stir well and cook for a two to three minutes, stirring constantly.

The milk should then be added in three or four stages, stiriing all the time. When a lush, thick sauce has been formed, add the cheese and the grated nutmeg and stir until the cheese is melted.

Drain the cauliflower and broccoli well, place it back in the pot and pour in the sauce. Stir very carefully so as not to break the cauliflower and broccoli florets, then serve, garnished with the basil if required.

Música buena de nuestra tierra.

Recientemente me he puesto de nuevo a escuchar música en español o perteneciente a bandas españolas; a veces la lengua materna nos deja gratas sorpresas que van más allá de Bisbal y derivados, y que se salen de la media mediocridad que pueden ser ESDM o Efecto Mariposas para personas como yo.

No soy de grupos que muevan a masas, ni siquiera de grupos que salen en la radio, máxime cuando se trata de música española. He aquí una pequeña muestra de lo que más me gusta:

The last 3 lines:


Banda afincada en la ciudad condal y que suenan cojonudamente, no porque sean coleguitas y servidora sea su fan sureña nº 1.... es que son tela de potentes, por favor!!

Vetusta Morla


A pesar de llevar más de 10 años en la música, han dado el pelotazo el pasado año con su disco "Un día en el mundo". Altamente recomendables, letras que llegan y traspasan.

Sidonie


Siempre que los veo me dejan fascinada ;) Marc, Jesus y Axel, tres fenómenos en potencia que embelesan con su sonido y frescura pop!

Maga


Otra banda de letras impactantes y que te hacen pensar y sentir más allá de lo puramente terrenal. La complejidad y profundidad de sus letras se hace patente en esta canción, pero sin embargo, nunca un texto tan enredado dijo tantas verdades.

Christina Rosenvinge


Cantautora de voz aterciopelada, amiga, poeta, musa... Christina lo tiene todo y lo da todo cuando la ves subida en un escenario; la sigo desde siempre, desde que tengo uso de razón... Su carrera es sinónimo de madurez y superación, no hace falta más que escuchar sus primeros trabajos, más pop-rock; y sus últimos, que nos enganchan hacia un mundo lleno de contraluces.

Lovel of lesbian


Sencillamente no puedo describirlos. Impactantes, impecables, impresionantes. De todas sus canciones os dejo con ésta, perteneciente a su último trabajo; tal vez porque el videoclip me recuerda a una persona que fue especial para mí y con quien solía irme al Albaycin a gritar.


En fin, ésto es sólo una pequeña muestra, espero que os hayan gustado ;).