"The last time Jews were boycotted in universities was in 1930's Germany." Welcome to today's England. Link

"Hey Husband!" I called out this a.m. as I was paging through the Sunday NYT. I just found this really cool drink recipe to try. It's called the Whiskey Smash."

"Sounds good." He replied.

As a matter of fact, it does sound good. Whiskey, mint, soda water...what's not to like? But in reality, it's likely that I'll never make this drink. Still, I'll pull the recipe out of the paper and put it in a file with all my other recipes. A thick file. Mostly from newspapers. A few magazines. All kinds of recipes; fabulous desserts (an amazingly complicated chocolate torte with espresso sauce. It's the espresso sauce that got me. The torte is much to difficult but someday I'll find a way to use that mmm-sounding sauce), exotic main dishes, side dishes made with vegetables and herbs I've never even heard of, and fancy, exciting-sounding drinks.

Every once in a while I when I page through my files, looking for something in particular, I come across a recipe and I wonder why I ever kept a recipe for, say, braised lamb shoulder. For Mediterranean preserved-lemon stuffed chicken. And did I ever really think I was going to make a fig tart? I don't even like figs.

Although come to think of it, I have actually made some of the more unlikely stuff; Martha Stewart's supremely prep-heavy gala goose (made the Christmas eve that my beloved dog Junior suddenly died. The goose was good, but the recipe was put away and I never made it again); an even more prep-heavy yam and red lentil Dal with curry and saffron scented rice; even a raw-food carob and banana pie (who knew that frozen bananas blend up and thicken like pudding?)

Still, every once in a while I hit on a true winner that stays in my repertoire. Like the green apple martinis that Husband and I used to make every night (until we counted up the calories and the alcohol content), the beet and goat cheese salad (although I had to adapt it. Who has time to actually roast a beet for God's sake! I slice them up and fry them in a pan, like any practical Midwesterner would), and that Nigella Lawson blini recipe. I'm not a fan of Nigella's, but I do like caviar...

I collect so many recipes that I often forget the old ones. Husband will sometimes mention one that I loved, but have entirely dropped from memory.

"Remember those really good Cuban sandwiches you used to make... with the tres leches cupcakes for dessert? Why don't you make those again?"

"Yeah, those were good. I'll put them on my list" I'll reply. But in my heart, I know I'm lying. Like a flirt with a new boyfriend, I've moved on. I might think of him fondly-- but I'll never call that Cuban again.

That's because my collection of recipes isn't about eating, really. Or even cooking. It's about dreaming. It's about possibilities.

Sometimes, finding a possibility and putting it in the file is enough. Sometimes possibilities are so tempting you just have to try them -- even if it's only once. And sometimes they're so good that you have to make room for them in your daily life. But mostly, just knowing you could try something is enough.

So, as for this new drink I found. Maybe I will make it. Maybe even more than once. But I also know that, whether or not I do, it won't be long before I'll be dreaming about other possibilities.

The NYT Whiskey Smash:

2 lemon wedges
A few sprigs of mint
3/4 oz. simple syrup
1 1/2 oz. Maker's Mark Bourbon
Splash of club soda

muddle lemon, mint leaves, simple syrup in the bottom of an Old-Fashioned glass. Add bourbon and club soda with ice and stir. Garnish with a mint leaf.

If you need a password to link to the article, click the "bug me not" link on the right side of my page. Link

New York is a city where Chinese Take-Out Delivery Men are a disposable commodity. They may deliver Chinese food, or sushi, or Indian food but they're all Chinese. And, as far as the City goes, they're interchangeable. Lose one, there's always another. They're frequently getting mugged and murdered for their cash, or just the food, but they're like the GI's at the D-Day landings. They may be felled in great numbers, their bodies may litter the beach, but there's always another wave to come. It's not like NY is going to run out of them, the thinking seems to be, so why worry about any particular one?

In fact, so ubiquitous are Chinese delivery men, that once, when Husband and I were being driven across town to work (by a scary "limo" service in an exhaust spewing, vomit-scented Cadillac-- but that's another story) our car actually hit a Chinese delivery man who was crossing the street (whacked him on the arm with the side-view mirror). Our Driver didn't bat an eye, didn't stop and didn't even comment on it. I was sitting in the back of the car saying "am I crazy, didn't we just hit a pedestrian?! Shouldn't we stop or something?"

Then, I turned to look at the Man who we had dinged. He made it to the curb, where he rubbed his arm (ooh, that hurt) picked up his packages, and, without even look back at the car that hit him, trudged away to his next delivery. It was just part of the price he paid for being a take-out Delivery Guy.

In this vein, comes this story out of The Bronx. Chinese Delivery Guy, after making a delivery, trapped in an elevator for four days.

Four.

Days.

The police, suspecting yet another Chinese Delivery Man Murder, were searching for him. They even used a dog (even New Yorkers must occasionally be seen to pull out all the stops-- or at least most of them.) Unfortunately, no one ever thought to check the elevator that had been stalled for -- let's say it all together-- Four Days -- between floors. Oh-- and the police must also have neglected to chat with building security, to whom the Delivery Guy had spoken on the emergency intercom system.

What did that security guy say to his wife when he got home that night? "I have a funny story from work today, honey. Some joker called on the emergency intercom and pretended to be a Chinese Delivery Guy, stuck in our elevator. It was hilarious. Oh, and in other news, the building was swarming with police looking for some Chinese Delivery Guy who apparently went missing. Ah well-- there'll always be another one. Get me a beer, wouldya?"

And, as a side note, before the Delivery Guy was rescued, the police arrested a 21-year old guy who lived in the building. I believe he had the misfortune not to be home during the police search. Suspicions aroused by a locked door, the police busted into his apartment. When the kid arrived home and objected to his door being broken in, they arrested him and took him in for interrogation. "What did you do with the Chinese Delivery Guy's body, huh! Huh!" I believe he was later released without an apology.

God, I love New York. Enjoy the story. Link

Saw this site on Boingboing.net

The St**b**ks Delocater. Find non-corporate coffee in your neighborhood! Apparently they've become concerned abobut using the St**b**ks name and have removed it from their URL. However, it's pretty cool. Type in your zip code and the de-locator comes back with a list of independant coffee houses in your area. It's also possible to add your favorite coffee place to the list. Lovely. For an espresso geek like me -- it will make my life so much better! Link

An interesting article from the L.A. Times about what it's like to relocate from the Midwest and buy a home in L.A. Buyers from both Columbus, OH and Michigan are mentioned. Shell-shocked might be the word to describe them....

If you need a registered log-in, try: donttrack@donttrack.com as the email address and donttrack as the password. Link

Scientists reveal that the amazing "hobbit" bones discovered in the Philipines have been irreperably damaged. When reached for comment, local Orcs disclaimed any knowledge of the incident. Link

Scientists discover actual T-Rex soft tissue preserved inside a fossil thigh-bone. Universal Studios already bidding/planning new theme park addition. Link

Okay. There's a lot of jokes I could make about this guy-- but, bottom line-- he's a Pasadena institution and no one should take his pile of shit away from him, man! Link

For those of us who live/work in Los Angeles -- he's a personal account from a fellow LAite about a close encounter of the bird-flipping kind on the 110 freeway

...with happy finish.
Link