Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Beware of the moon.

Today I was with some friends taking a coffee, and I started to think about blogging. And about this blog, of course. When I started long time ago, I used to write here my feelings and my thoughts... and now, it's a fashion blog. But the title I've chosen... Not here to please you...

And that's the truth, I'm not here to please anybody, and at the very begining, I wanted to talk not only about my daily life and fashion, but also about my opinion about the fashion world.

Ant tonight, maybe because I've see the Christmas lights at Barcelona; maybe because as Daisy Lowe said this morning in her twitter, "Beware with the full moon"... I feel that I want to express more about fashion and less about me.

That's the reason of this post, and as you'll see at the very end of it, that's why I'm traslatin it into spanish. This kind of post would be written in two languages, because I want you all to understand me and express your opinion, wright?

 
So... beware with the moon...

I've always wanted to work in the fashion world since I can remember. I did mind what to do: create clothes, accessories or say what is or is not cool ... I wanted to work in the fashion world. Finally, I decided I wanted to study coolhunting, with about fourteen, and that was partly the fault of someone who I considered my muse Kate Moss.



Kate was a discovery for me as it was for many of us. Among lots of supermodela (ebony goddesses and stunning blonde), Calvin Klein took this little girl, with her big nose and not-so-perfect skin; and put her into the main stream. I was amazed, it seemed a wise bet and cool ... and believe me, saying something is cool with thirteen years seems easy, but guess it... is no longer so.

I started to decorate my wall with photos of her in black and white color ... someone looked normal, walk, close ... even today I still think it has been a muse and an icon of the nineties.



And suddenly, there is the Kate Moss diva, haughty, with tantrums, fits of hysteria and the desire to be cool based on news in the tabloids and yellow press. Suddenly they are the nineties, reached 2000, a new century ... and Kate seems to be the Courtney Love of the world of haute couture. Boyfriends problematic, drug use, scandals ... Where is that girl I used to admired? No longer, now I see only a very thin woman who wants to reign forever, when we all know that's impossible.

Don't get me wrong, I am not an innocent or something. I know in the fashion world is all this and more. But I find it regrettable that precisely the fashion world, that "guilt" by Kate Moss was relegated to a low opinion (remember how many times have you heard blame for food problems to designers) forgive a failure so serious. And so I say serious because, remember that Kate, who was my muse, is nowadays the same for millions of teenagers, which will surely follow her until the end of the world. If you get a line of cocaine, you may lose a contract, but if you apologize and say you're not going to re-do (like us to believe, HA!), you'll go five in a week.

I spent years working with adolescents, many of them in extreme situations of risk ... Is not this what we try to prevent? Does this belief that "no matter, I'm, the rebel, always win"? I will not write now on a crusade about yes or no to drugs, but one thing is certain: it is a very turbulent world. Should not Miss Kate be a little more responsible with their public image, and watch what they do in private? Honestly, I don't care if this lady pull the laptop from her boyfriend (Jamice Hinche) to a pool and a hard fuck him ... but should be careful where (and what) sticks his great nose.

That is why, among many other small details that you stopped being my muse, Kate. You don't look cool, or smart, a role model or someone with style for me anymore.

Frankly, although I know it was more of the same ... I miss the supermodels like Linda and Claudia. They hawked at least not his private life and knew how to reign, hence are still queens.

Thanks for reading... and remember.

I'm not here to please you.

PS: Sher, I know I own you the game, next entry, I promise! But today I just needed to express myself!



Siempre he querido trabajar en el mundo de la moda, desde que tengo uso de razón. Me daba igual crear ropa, complementos o decir qué es y qué no es cool... quería trabajar en el mundo de la moda. Finalmente, tomé la decisión de que quería estudiar coolhunting, con unos catorce años; y en parte la culpa fue de alguien a quien consideraba mi musa: Kate Moss.



Kate fue un descubrimiento para mí igual que lo fue para mucha de nosotras. Entre tanta supermodelo, diosas de ébano y rubias despampanantes, Calvin Klein sacó a esta chica menudita, de nariz grande y piel no tan perfecta como parece. Me maravilló, me pareció una apuesta acertada y cool... y creedme, decir que algo es cool con trece años parece fácil, pero acertar en ello ya no lo es tanto. Comencé a decorar mi pared con fotos de ella en blanco y negro, a color... la veía alguien normal, de a pie, cercano... aún hoy día sigo pensando que ha sido una musa y un icono de los años noventa.

Y de pronto, surge la Kate Moss diva, altiva, con berrinches, ataques de histeria y ganas de ser cool a base de noticias en los tabloides y prensa amarilla. De pronto se van los noventa, llega el año 2000, un nuevo siglo... y Kate parece queres ser la Courtney Love del mundo de la alta costura. Novios problemáticos, consumo de estupefacientes, escándalos... No me malinterpretéis; no soy una inocente o algo por el estilo. Sé que en el mundo de la moda hay de todo esto y más. Pero me parece lamentable el hecho de que precisamente, el mundo de la moda, que "por culpa" de Kate Moss se vio relegado a una mala opinión (no olvidemos cuántas veces hemos oído echarle la culpa de los problemas de alimentación a los diseñadores) perdonara una falta tan grave. Y digo tan grave porque, recordemos que Kate, la cual era mi musa, lo sigue siendo de millones de adolescentes, los cuales seguramente seguirán su ejemplo. Si te metes una raya de cocaína, puedes perder un contrato; pero si pides perdón y dices que no lo vas a volver a hacer (como si nos lo creyéramos), te salen cinco más.

Y digo yo, que he estado años trabajando con adolescentes, muchos de ellos en situaciones extremas de riesgo... ¿no es esto lo que tratamos de prevenir? ¿Esa creencia de que "da igual, sé rebelde, siempre ganas"? No voy a escribir ahora una cruzada acerca del sí o no a las drogas, pero una cosa es cierta: es un mundo muy turbulento. ¿No debería la señorita Kate ser un poco más responsable con su imagen pública, y cuidar lo que hace en privado? Sinceramente, me da igual que esta señorita tire el ordenador portátil de su novio (Jamice Hinche) a una piscina y le joda un disco... pero sí debería tener cuidado dónde (y qué) mete su grandiosa nariz.

Es por esto, entre otros muchos pequeños detalles, que dejaste de ser mi musa, Kate. Ya no me pareces cool, o elegante; un ejemplo a seguir o alguien con estilo.

Sinceramente, y aunque sé que era más de lo mismo... echo de menos a las supermodelos como Linda o Claudia. Ellas al menos no pregonaban su vida privada y supieron reinar; por eso aún son reinas.

Muchas gracias por leer... y recordad.
No estoy aquí para agradar a nadie.

Wednesday Smorgasbord





I must be lucky...I have just received my second giveaway prize in the mail, and another on the way (Krema PB!)! Today I received the Pure Organics prize from this sweetie of a blogger (her blog is HILARIOUS if you're looking for some new blog material!). For my morning snack I had the Apple Cinnamon mini Pure Organics bar and let me just say....yummmm!



Ingredients: organic dates, organic apples, organic agave nectar, organic walnuts, organic cashews, organic almonds, organic rice protein concentrate, organic minerals, organic cinnamon.

To Allison and Andrea: 
I JUST went to the post office...your Newman's Own Oraganic products are on their way! 

Sally from NOO and I have been in communication and I pleased to hear that both Akins and Whole Foods stores near me carry NOO products. I just hope they carry the hermits...!! NOO is such a wonderful company, I feel so blessed to have come across such wonderful people and products!


Last night, husband and I split dinner duty as I had boot camp. As to not be eating dinner at 10pm, husband was in charge of making wild rice. He did pretty good...maybe a bit more stirring action was needed, but hey...I'm not complaining!


Look at that wild rice...goooooigeous!! It was so nutty and rich in flavor.








 
I had a virgin cocktail last night...Baja Bob's (sugar-free) Pina Colada! What can I say, I was craving it!



 
My contribution to dinner was Biggest Loser "Fried" Chicken....always a good choice!
And on my wild rice...nutritional yeast! It was really good!



 
And a fresh field greens salad : )


Some of my "regulars" brought me a little gift yesterday (I know, not supposed to accept gifts from patients...but it was FOOD!) -- POPS CHIPS! Besides Terra veggies chips, I'm very "take'em or leave'em" when it comes to crunchy, salty snacks. Pops Chips, however, are pretty much amazing! They're a cross-over between a rice cake and a potato chip -- 100 calories per serving! And supposedly my local Target carries them, so keep your eye out! Sorry I don't have a picture, husband was on a rampage last night cleaning away.



Same goes for my LARABAR wrapper (doesn't husband know by now that I'm not throwing out my trash because I'm lazy but rather, because I'm a blogger! Doh, hubby!). I tried the Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar and it was pretty incredible. The apple pie was good, but the peanut butter cookie was phenom.



And as a marathon runner, I have to address Biggest Loser last night. Lame.


60 days to train for a marathon? Who in their right mind finds that feasible? Safe? Fun? Not me. Not a doctor. Not a personal trainer. These people are still obese and NO body is made to run 26.2 miles. Each of my marathons have required 4 1/2 MONTHS of training and I barely survived the second race. I dunno, just really not "smart" on The Biggest Loser's part.


And to quote one of my patient's on Danny's 59-pound weight loss in 60 days: "That aint safe." I have such a love/hate relationship with that show, but no doubt will I be tuned in to the finale next week.
Will youu?



Does anyone have any favorite healthy holiday cookie recipes? 
My taste testing at work next week is holiday cookies and I actually don't have any tried and true cookie recipes! Anyone???



My neighborhood was decked out to the extreme in lights yesterday (Dec. 1st...makes sense). So I ask...


What are you ask for from Santa this Christmas?
Husband and I purchased a treadmill as our gift to one another (I mean from Santa...). So excited!


Happy Hump Day!


P.S. THANK YOU to all who read my blog. 
Things have really picked up here as of lately, and I couldn't be happier about it! Whether you read on a daily basis or an infrequent basis, I appreciate your support. I love writing and I appreciate all you readers! Any questions can always be passed along to Mrs.RD44@gmail.com !
And for those whom I follow...there are a lot of you! I try my darndest to keep up with all the hard work and creativity you put into your blogs! I am always amazed by the wealth of knowledge and enjoyment the blog world brings! Cheers!

Rabbit Cacciatore

    

   

There is a small portion of the frozen food section at my market devoted to surprising me with wonderful cooking ingredients. I know it’s not really just for me, but it is fun to think that, and it is fun to discover what new thing may be there. On one occasion it was partridge, so I made partridge with a chausseur or hunter’s sauce. Many times it's venison.  This past week, it was rabbit, cleaned and cut into pieces. Fall brings the opportunity to cook and enjoy game and different meats, so I thought why not? Needless to say, I don’t have rabbit recipes off the top of my head and had never prepared it before. Braised rabbit came to mind, but sounded boring. So, I consulted my The Silver Spoon cookbook. The Silver Spoon is one of the great treasures of Italy. It is said that The Silver Spoon is most successful cookbook in Italy, the book that has its place in every family kitchen and that every Italian passes on to their children. Not disappointing, The Silver Spoon has over 20 recipes for rabbit, and another 4 for hare. I chose the recipe below for Rabbit Cacciatore. It was really very simple, dispelling any notion that something as foreign as rabbit would be hard to cook. So, next time you see rabbit in the case, grab it and take it home and cook it, you’ll be glad you did. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
1/3 cup prosciutto, chopped
1 rabbit, cut into pieces
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp flour (optional)
salt/pepper
soft polenta, to serve

Directions:
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or deep saute pan over low heat, add the onion and prosciutto.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.  Remove the onions and prosciutto to a bowl and add the rabbit to the saute pan.  Increase the heat to medium and brown the rabbit on all sides.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in the wine and scrape up the bits of the bottom of the pan to deglaze.  Return the onions and prosciutto and add the thyme.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes.  If the cooking juices are still too runny, thicken the sauce by stirring in the flour and simmering a few minutes more.  Remove all the rabbit pieces except the legs, and with a fork, shred or remove the meat from the other pieces such as the neck and back, looking for and separating any bones.  Return just the shredded meat to the stew and stir in.  Serve by plating over soft polenta.