6/06/2009

MOLESKINE -The Legendary NOTEBOOK of Hemingway and Other Delectable Delights

I am a big fan of keeping a journal, not just a diary type, but also and more frequently, the small notebook inside my pocketbook type. That is to say, I always have a small notebook with me to jot down whatever I think is important and would otherwise forget. I also often buy small notebooks, wherever I happen to be, if they catch my attention and fancy. So, for example, once, when I was perusing my local B&N, I took a quick look at the various journals. I found the MOLESKINE Ruled Notebook, one similar to the one that I had purchased 3 or 4 years ago and had used up. Even though I did not need a new notebook (I'd purchased two very pretty Mini journals on a trip to Canada in late 2007), I still bought the MOLESKINE one, knowing that eventually I would need it and it was just what I wanted, but hadn't found since first purchased.

















I have no idea what Hemingway wrote in his note book journal, but I suspect it was quite different from mine. The kinds of things I most often jot down are names of books I have read and books I want to read, audio books, CDs, places and addresses, names of people I want to remember, short directions to places I want to go, current blood pressure from doctor's visits, subjects I want to bring up in therapy, names of cocktails I may want to order in a bar or restaurant, TO DO Lists, online websites, words that strike my fancy, thoughts on anything from Menopause to things that make me happy (or sad), actual journalling about the paintings in museums I visit, trips I'm taking, names of Restaurants, especially in New York City, but not exclusively, etc..


It is the restaurants or other types of eateries in The City I want to expound upon here. What gave me the idea was a TV program I happened upon this morning while surfing channels as I ate my breakfast. I could probably say that one of my all time favorite foods is DOUGHNUTS. I am kind of embarrassed to admit that, but I'm afraid it's true. And, I often associate doughnuts, as well as other sweets, with places I have travelled. So, when I think of New Orleans, the Beignets at the Cafe Du Monde immediately come to mind.







This could be me. It's not me, If it were me, I'd be drinking Cafe Le Monde's coffee au lait with its mixture of chicory and dark roasted coffee, not Brown's something in a carton. It does kind of look like me when I had that hairstyle., which I just may have had on one of my trips to New Orleans...But Anyway.....



Back to channel surfing. I came upon a program on the Travel Channel called, Doughnut Paradise. Specifically, it was featuring a Doughnut Shop located at 379 Grand Street in New York City, called, THE DOUGHNUT PLANT. Here's what it says on the travelchannel.com's web-site..."The Doughnut Plant takes donuts to a different level with fillings like pomegranate and meyer lemon. Made from all-natural ingredients, each square-shaped donut is custom-filled to perfection. Next time you are in the Big Apple, take a detour to the Doughnut Plant and sample some of the freshest ingredients ever stuffed into a square of fried dough." To watch the video, click on the Doughnut Plant's Website, then click PRESS. Then on the right side, under Television, click on 3/20/2008 - Doughnut Plant. This will take you to the video, which is worth watching if you like doughnuts and live in the NYC area or plan to visit. I most definitely plan to.




Sometimes I write down a person, place or thing I want to remember, and I transcribe it from one journal to the next, but then I can't remember why I wrote it in the first place. Such is the case with the entry I wrote many moons ago, in a note book journal I can't seem to find, but I can picture the entry and it was Russ & Daughters Appetizers store. I think I may have heard something about it on NPR and quickly wrote it down in my little black book (which may or may not have been black at the time). The thing is, more often than not, I write it down and proceed to completely forget about it until something happens somewhere and some place in time to return it to my memory. This is what happened this morning, bringing back memories of notes in my pocket journals, past and present and reminding me of the places I've intended to visit to enjoy some sweet delectable treat.




The last example of NYC's edible delicacies that I once wrote in my pocketbook book is Magnolia a place well known for it's cupcakes of all kinds. Their site says..."
At Magnolia our cupcakes are baked fresh all day every day, without the use or aid of preservatives or stabilizers. They are meant to be enjoyed right away!"




They say people line up around the block to get one of these delights at Magnolia and at The Doughnut Plant and maybe even at Russ & Daughters and I've yet to be one of them. But, my time will come and Jenny Craig be damned!

6/03/2009

Julie & Julia



I just watched the trailer for the movie, Julie & Julia, opening this August and it looks like it's going to be the kind of movie that is a delight to watch. It stars my all time favorite actress, Meryl Streep.







From the trailer, what becomes immediately apparent is Meryl Streep's uncanny talent to be right on the mark in reproducing accents and styles of speech. The trailer shows a black and white video of Streep as Julia in the kitchen and I thought it was an old video of Julia Child, herself. This looks like it's going to be the kind of movie in which Streep will shine. I hope so.

The movie is Nora Ephron's adaptation of two bestselling memoirs: Julie Powell's Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen




and My Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme.














The movie intertwines the story of Julia Child's climb to fame as the world-renown master chef with another true story about Julie Powell,

played by Amy Adams, who was a secretary in New York City and wrote a blog, called What Could Happen, chronicling her attempt to cook all the recipes in Julia Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, all 564 recipes in one year, 365 days.

The blog was/is right here on bloggerspot.com. It got a wide following and it got noticed by Little Brown and Company Publishing, which picked it up and out of that came the memoir, Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, which was published in 2005. It was a mere hop, skip and jump from blog to memoir to movie.

Now that is cool. It should only happen to me. OK OK, I know...my blog is all over the place with no apparent cohesiveness, BUT STILL!!

In any case, I look forward to seeing Julie & Julia.