Whoops! Sorry this post is so late today. I had scheduled it to publish at 9am, but for some reason that didn’t happen…
1. The Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic exhibit at Brooklyn Museum. Last Friday, four girlfriends and I plus an adorable, new-to-walking 14-month-old boy met up to see this exhibit. It is simply incredible. I took a few photos, because PICS OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN, but the exhibit is really something that needs to be seen in person. The scale of some of the paintings is enormous, and his photorealism and detail is astounding. I can’t believe just how prolific Mr. Wiley has been—the exhibit only includes pieces he’s created since 2006. This exhibit ends May 24th, so you’d better go see it while you can. And BTW, the kid loved it; so many bright colors!
2. Breakfast for dinner: Green Grits with Poached Eggs. I saw the recipe on Eat Your Greens and had to try making it myself. I used collard greens, and I grated up some aged cheddar to throw in at the end. I did have an “Oh, fuck!” moment: when the dish was almost finished cooking, I realized that I had used cornmeal instead of grits. Both packages were Bob’s Red Mill and looked basically the same. I did some frantic Googling to see if cornmeal can be substituted for grits, and found out I was good to go (cornmeal is more finely ground than grits. The more you know.). The grits are cornmeal is yummy, but next time I’d saute the onion and greens along with some garlic (for extra flavor) before processing them and mixing them into the grits. I feel like this would make them a little more gut-friendly for folks like me with IBD. I poached the eggs using this Alton Brown recipe and they turned out very well. My husband put Jared Cackalacky sauce on his; I put some jarred pesto on mine. Both versions were delicious! Naked poached eggs ahead:
3. Al Seabu: My husband and I did a local date night last weekend and checked out this new Malaysian joint that used to be Chip Shop. They offer several good options for those of us who don’t eat meat! I see on the restaurant’s Facebook page that even since we ate there, they’ve added a curry laksa, which sounds amazing and can be made vegetarian upon request! I had the Nyonya Style Rendang Curry with veggie meat, and it was spicy and very tasty. The place is totally affordable, too. One appetizer, two entrees, and two glasses of wine set us back about $50, including tip. We’ll definitely be back…
4. Guys and gals, I got a new spot to park my butt while I blog. Voila! My new desk chair. The old one had started tearing in the seat and I was dragging strips of faux leather around the house every time I got up and walked away from it. I put this thing together almost all by myself—I had to get a little elbow grease from my husband because I wasn’t strong enough to push the wheels into place on the base. Sorry, Feminism. But so far, so good!
5. Catnip plant. Every spring, mosquitoes appear in our apartment and terrorize the crap out of us at night. Mosquitoes LOVE me and I react poorly to their bites—mentally as well as physically. I’m also not a good sleeper, so when the Mosquito Army arrives, shit gets ugly. A little fucker will buzz in my ear, and then I lie in wait for another buzz so that I can try to slap my own head and kill the thing. It’s wretched. I’ve resorted to folding a t-shirt up and placing it over my ear (I’m a side sleeper) so that I can’t hear the buzzing. Enter the catnip plant. I read online that a number of plants are natural mosquito repellents, but I needed one that’s non-toxic to cats. Turns out that catnip ticks off both check boxes and the kitties love it—bonus! So I bought a catnip plant at a local pet store and repotted it to give it more room to grow. I’ve had it on my nightstand for the past few nights and haven’t been bit, so…maybe it’s actually helping, in combination with spritzing the room with lavender room spray and keeping the overhead fan on high.
Phew! That was a long Friday Five. Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone!
