Picotee Leaves

We had a hard frost last night!

Nazareth College Arts Center: The Merchants of Bollywood

Honest, sometimes it feels like the arts options in Rochester are unlimited. This year we have subscribed to a series of programs from the Nazareth Arts Center. Last week our first program, the Merchants of Bollywood, presented. It was a great show, very enthusiastic and over-the-top as things from India can be when viewed with American eyes. I think the actors probably thought we were sticks-in-the-mud because we didn't much get into the call-and-response parts of the show. But I think the audience all enjoyed it. I'm including this clip from YouTube. But there is a long lead in before you actually get to the music, so sorry about that. 

The next program will be ScrapArtsMusic on November 14.

Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, October 30, 2010

We are so lucky, here in Rochester, to have an orchestra like the RPO. Our concertmaster is Juliana Athayde, and I feel like the Orchestra has just gotten better and better since she joined us in 2005.

This week's concert was simply amazing, probably one of my favorites ever. The program included Mephisto Waltz No. 1 by Franz Listz. Here is a video of Bayram Karamenderes playing. The version we heard at the RPO was arranged for orchestra. According to the program, "Many composers of the Romantic era were drawn to the macabre. The medieval legend of Faust, the learned doctor who sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for great knowledge and eternal your, attracted legions of them."

The second selection of the evening was Concerto in A Minor for Oboe and String Orchestra by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The oboe solo was played by our own Erik Behr. Rochester audiences are very generous, but we all were proud of Erik's performance and he was rewarded with an enthusiastic standing ovation. Erik was grinning ear-to-ear! This YouTube video doesn't really do justice to the piece. The oboe sounds kind of thin and tinny in it. But it will give you a (faint) idea of what the second movement was like.



The second half of the concert was Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 7 in D monor, Op 70. Dvorak usually pulls from the folk songs of his youth, and those are my favorites. This symphony doesn't come from that place, but rather is an experiment in expanding his creative range. Even still, I love Dvorak.



Isn't it wonderful that I can illustrate my blog posting with excerpts from the music itself? Amazing!

Fredrick Olmsted Parks Photos

We are very fortunate in Rochester, NY to have 3 Fredrick Olmsted parks. For those not familiar with Olmsted, he is considered to be the "father of the landscape architecture profession." Rochester is one of only 4 cities that have park system, including Highland Park, Genesee Valley Park, and Seneca Park. Here's what Rochester's Landmark Society has to say about Olmstea's design:

Highland Park, October 2010

Olmsted's three major parks in Rochester each represented different landscape styles. Highland Park was created on land donated to the city by horticulturists George Ellwanger and Patrick Barry; in recognition of their gift, the design called for an arboretum of various plants and shrubs that would preserve the dazzling views from the top of the hill. Genesee Valley Park, designed in Olmsted's classic pastoral style, features gently rolling terrain along the river south of downtown. Seneca Park, meanwhile, is an excellent example of Olmsted's picturesque style, with rugged terrain meant to inspire wonder and awe. 

Highland Park, October 2010

When Olmsted suggested setting aside the land for Highland, Genesee Valley and Seneca Parks, some people thought it unnecessary to set aside so much land so far from the center of the city, in relatively undeveloped areas where open land was plentiful. As Olmsted expected, the parks were not on the fringes for very long, as the city quickly grew to surround them. Today, Rochester's three large Olmsted parks provide tranquility and beauty right in the city, while smaller parks and parkways are focal points of their neighborhoods.

One of the reasons that I love Olmsted (besides the obvious reason that his parks are so darn beautiful!) is that he worked from a set of principles. These principles can be adopted to MY garden, too. Here's how Mt. Holyoke describes Olmsted's design principles:

Genesee Valley Park, October 2010

Scenery: Designs of “passages of scenery” with a liberal use of plantings even in the smallest spaces and in areas with the most active use.  

Suitability: Creation of designs that are in keeping with the natural scenery and topography of the location with a respect for and full utilization of the “genius of the place.” 

Sanitation: Creation of designs to promote both physical and mental health of users with provisions for adequate drainage and similar engineering considerations. 

Subordination: Subordination of all details and features (both of natural and artificial materials) to the overall design and the effect intended for it to achieve. 

Separation: Separation of areas done in different styles so that “incongruous mixture of styles” will not dilute the intended effect of each; separation of ways in order to insure safety of use and reduce distractions for those using the space; separation of uses that conflict with another. 

Spaciousness: Creation of designs that make the area seem larger than it is using bays and headlands of plantings forming indefinite boundaries.

Concord and Pleasant Hill Veggie Markets

Mango Salsa, anyone?

Artichokes? Or works of art? You be the judge!

I think these are palms.

Big Fat Asparagus!

While I was in Concord visiting my father and his wife, Joyce, Joyce took me around to see some absolutely beautiful vegetable markets, both owned by the same family. One was located in Concord, and the other was in a nearby town in Pleasant Hill. These markets specialize in having the freshest local produce available. They seemed to culture agnostic, meaning that it didn't matter what your last name is, you'll find something special from your cuisine to cook tonight. The biggest problem I had was in narrowing down my menu, because I wanted to take home some of everything! I saw at least 6 different types of eggplants, including those darling little round ones they use in Thai stir fries. At the Concord market, we saw fresh tamarind. I've never seen that sold that way -- it isn't something that our wonderful grocery store chain, Wegmans, ever carries. We saw Japanese yams -- smaller than the sweet potatoes we have, and pale orange, like true yams.

We ended up with peas, a butter head lettuce, beets. I made Chicken Dijon, mashed potatoes, butter head lettuce with fresh baked beets, and buttered peas. It was a wonderful dinner. I'm already dreaming about what I'll cook when I go back in November!

Fall Brunch

The weather has really been weird this year. Just when I think it is going to get cooler, it warms way up. But the trees think it is getting to be fall, so it must be going to happen.

Brunch is served!

So this weekend, my yoga teacher was out of town, and our friend Julie has decided to take a break from choir, so it seemed like a good time to gather  for a  fall brunch. I decided to make a Spanish Frittata: eggs, Monterey Jack cheese, Anaheim peppers, stewed tomatoes, and cooked onions. I thought this might be a little too spicy, but it wasn't. I should have used even more peppers. I served it with "Rachero Sauce" -- 2 cans of stewed tomatoes plus one can of Rotel tomatoes, and sauteed onion. I use the same sauce for Chili Rellanos.

Potatoes Ala "The Corner"

The fried potatoes were my version of fried potatoes we used to eat at a restaurant in Kansas City, MO called 'The Corner." (Sadly, I just learned that The Corner closed last February. And judging from the reviews on Yelp, the years had not been kind.)  This version calls for left over baked potatoes, onions and yellow and red bell peppers. I cooked the potatoes and sauteed the onions and peppers yesterday, and then this morning fried up some bacon, then browned the potatoes in the bacon grease. I crumbled in the cooked bacon when I served them up. Yes, they were fantastic.

Pomegranate and Orange Salad

We also prepped the orange and pomegranate salad yesterday. I had Joanne separate the seeds from the pith of the pomagranate. I think this was a one-time job. She now is clued into how much effort this is, and isn't eager to do this again! The way I do this is to use a large bowl filled with water, and separate the seeds from the pith. The pith (I love saying that! Pith! Pith! Pith!!!!) is lighter than the seeds, so it floats on the top and can be easily scooped out. I saw someone on tv cut the pomegranate in half and then beat on the back side with a rolling pin, dropping the seeds into a bowl. That works in principle. But as my friend Nancy used to say, "In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are different." Juice spattered everywhere. And here's a clue: pomegranate juice stains. Big time. So I like my method better.

Fall Brunch Menu
Spanish Fritatta with Ranchero Sauce
Fried Potatoes ala "The Corner"
Breakfast sausages
Orange and Pomegranate Salad with Pomegranate Molasses
Assorted Breakfast Breads

Restaurant Review: Next Door Bar and Grill

This green is the "signature" color!

I don't know what it is, but when I make up our grocery list every week (and menu), I just can't come up with seven dinners. Six, no problem. Seven, impossible! That was the case this week, so we went out last night. Instead of sushi, our hands-down favorite, we tried The Next Door Bar and Grill. For non-Rochester readers, NDBG is owned by a local grocery store chain. Doesn't that sound dismal? Well, Wegmans is not like any other grocery store you have ever been in, believe me. The Pittsford Weggies (dubbed "Taj MaWeggies" by our friend Sherri) is actually a tourist destination! You can read Yelp reviews about it here.

So last night we headed over to the Next Door. Right off the bat I loved the place because they have complimentary valet parking. The two young men were wearing apple-green polo shirts that exactly matched the sign. Nice -- I always wonder about a place when the valet help looks like they might steal your car. The boys were fresh faced and very welcoming.

When you walk in, you are greeted by floor to ceiling shelves with green apples, I assume Granny Smiths. They were very novel looking, but I had a hard time getting a decent picture so you will just have to let your imagination do the work.

The restaurant is very noisy in a clattery, bar room kind of way. Walking in I could hear J say, "oh, noisy!" so I asked the receptionist if they had a quiet table. She took us in to a side room that was quieter, although not really quiet, if you know what I mean.

 Our waiter asked if we would like a drink while we looked over the menu. I asked for a Cabernet, and she suggested a Spanish wine that they were featuring: Payra Tempanillow 2008. It was lovely -- fruit forward but full bodied. I got the name and am hoping to find some locally.

Bibb Salad

The menu was very creative. There were  two pages of sushi offerings -- which looked nice but the reason we were there rather than at our favorite sushi joint was because I wanted something different. We both ordered a bib lettuce salad, which had thinly slice radishes, asparagus, applewood smoked bacon, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and what they called a herb vinaigrette. The dressing was very lemony, not in a bad way, but very strong tasting. They used a very light hand putting on the dressing, which is to our liking.

J's Mixed Robata Grill. 

J ordered the Robata Grill mix, which was little skewers with pork, chicken, beef, eggplant, and asparagus. It was a beautiful dish, but I don't know that she would order it again. One of the meats (I thought it was the beef, she thought it was the pork) was about half fat. Now, I like my fat as much as the next girl, but Miss J is not a fan.

I ordered the salmon, which came with a very novel slaw. The slaw was made of a little grated red cabbage, arugala, sea weed, and cilantro leaves, dressed with a sesame dressing. I think it needed a little more salt, but it was really interesting. I never thought to put wakame in a slaw. Or cilantro either. I think this slaw would be great on my fish tacos and will try it next time.

Grilled salmon with slaw and wontons

The salmon was served with a ginger vinegar dipping sauce and two fried wontons filled with minced salmon dressed with mayonnaise. The wontons were my least favorite part of the dish -- they were really thick, more like an old school fried pie than a thin delicate crispy wonton. I am a girl who never met a dumpling that she didn't like, but from now on when I say that I am going to add , "Except for some salmon filled fried wontons I had once."

Almond apple cake and snickerdoodle icecream

We didn't order an appetizer, so we had room for dessert. The dessert menu had a number of interesting things, including a creme brulee sampler with three different creme brulees. But we decided to share the almond apple cake, served with a scoop of snickerdoodle ice cream. This picture is really washed out because my phone was having a hard time capturing the ice cream on a white plate. But the ice cream was wonderful! I make apple pie with cinnamon ice cream for Thanksgiving frequently. (Not frequently enough for my daughter!). This dessert reminded me of that. The apple cake was very thin slices of apple, that had been stacked in a ramekin, and then a batter poured into it. It kind of made me think of a cobbler. The ice cream was on some pulverized sugary crumbs, and was the best part of the dish.

Bathroom sink

The restaurant was beautiful, including the bathrooms. Well, I can't really speak for the men's room. But the ladies' was lovely. The sink, which took up one entire wall, was made of a piece of heavy glass that was attached at a 45 degree angle from the wall. The water came out of a spigot that looked like a metal version of a Japanese water garden spigot. The water turned on automatically when you stepped up to the sink, and miracle of miracles, the water was warm! I hate cold water in bathrooms. This isn't a good picture, but maybe you get the idea.

Log decorations. Go figure!

Outside the bathroom was a wall decorated with hanging logs. Yes. Hanging logs. I know that sounds weird. It looked kind of weird too! But it must have been economical and definitely was thinking outside of the box!

I don't know if I will get J to go back. She tends to like to try new things rather than go back to a place. And I had the better meal of the two of us. But I would go back. I  thought the Next Door Bar and Grill was lovely and recommend it to you!