From the Ruins of Empire

From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia by Pankaj Mishra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am surprised at myself. Why was I so engrossed in this long, complicated book? Because it gives me a little awareness of my world. MY world, yes, and also the world of many who have different values,  relationships to Europe, definitions of the good life. Now I know a little more about the Mideast and the Far East. I taped a map of Asia to the cover of my iPad for reference. This book showed me what I don't know.  Mishra, who is from India, is mostly objective, like someone patiently describing  his home to outsiders. He is not harsh, but doesn't hesitate to explain that in many cases the East does not trust the U.S.  And he shows why.




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Soy-ginger vinaigrette: Week 1

Sweet potatoes and onions drizzled with olive oil
Chicken tenders in Japanese vinaigrette
ready for 375° oven

I love to hide out in the kitchen at dusk,  sipping wine, nibbling chocolate, and cooking something luscious. C always appreciates the outcome, and I love the whole process. But ...

I could be making art.

I've been thinking about time, choosing what's important, and eliminating hurry.  Gotta make space for art.

"Ha! good luck!" you say.

Planning ahead saves time, so I made a summer cooking schedule: three big salads a week, one soup, one roast chicken, one new recipe, and on Thursdays C cooks or takes us out to a restaurant. Why is this such a challenge?  Because I don't like plans. I like whims. I can make a schedule, but can't follow it. Nevertheless, the older I get the dearer my time becomes, so I'm trying once again, and I'm going to post the recipes of the previous week, so I can repeat them in a month. This is what institutions like schools and even restaurants do ... aha! I also hate institutions. This may be hopeless, but last week we had:

Japanese shrimp and noodle salad*
romaine with bacon, poached egg, and croutons
cucumber, tomato, mint, green onion, and feta
chickpea soup with spinach and garlic bread
chicken marinated in leftover dressing from the Japanese noodle salad, roast sweet potatoes and onions

*Here's the recipe for the noodle salad's vinaigrette. It is a new staple, both as dressing and as marinade.

Vinaigrette

Combine:
1/4 C. rice vinegar
1/4 C. canola oil
1/4 C. white miso paste (I couldn't find this, so I skipped it.)
3 T. soy sauce
2 T. brown sugar
2 tsp. peeled and grated fresh ginger (I cheated and used the kind in a tube, but fresh would be better.)
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp. wasabi paste, or to taste (It's spicy.)
Salt and pepper to taste

That's it.

Studio Art Quilt Associates Florida Met Saturday

Jennifer and I drove to Melbourne Saturday for an afternoon with other Florida members of Studio Art Quilt Associates. Events were at the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at Florida Institute of Technology, where there is a show of selections from Masters: Art Quilts 2. Martha Sielman, curator of the show, gave a one-hour tour, highlighting every other quilt on the wall. (It would have taken two hours to cover all of them, she said.) Some things (trends?) I liked were: silk and fewer layers (two -- or even one), and texture. incorporating twigs. There was lots more. You can see everything in the Masters 2 book from Lark Crafts. I wish I had counted the people and also the quilts -- but I didn't. The show closes Aug. 24. 

• Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts
  at Florida Institute of Technology
  150 W. University Blvd. , Melbourne , FL , 32901
• :
  321-674-8313 (Phone)

Viewing A Scorching Sun by Reiko Naganuma of Japan
85 1/4" x 65 1/4"

Jennifer Bailey, SAQA Florida Pod 1 representative

Marianne R. Williamson of Miami
showing one of her Impressionistic, intensely-stitched quilts

We wrapped up with dinner
 at Bonefish Willy's