... rediscover the joys of baking?

Life has been crazy good. Good because I'm happy and crazy because I haven't found the time to indulge in one of my favorite things on earth for ages! Today after Core Fusion, I decided to take a walk through Boston Commons (Boston Commons is so lovely this time of the year, with the prettiest flowers in full bloom.) to the Whole Foods at Charles River Plaza. I picked up some cherries and made a clafoutis with the apricots and mangoes I already had in the refrigerator. Work has been stressful of late but baking, and particularly the warm and sweet scent that emanates from the oven, always relaxes and cheers me up.

Now I'm just waiting for it to cool completely and for someone to return from NYC before we tuck into it!

... enjoy summer's bounty?

It's summer in Boston and while I'm not a big fan of the Boston summer weather (these past two weeks have been exceptionally brutal-- think heatwave + high humidity or thunderstorms), I tolerate summer in New England because that means I get to start shopping at farmers markets again! Unlike California (I miss you, Berkeley!), the growing season in the Northeast is way shorter and that makes eating locally challenging. This is especially true late in the winter when I'm starting to get sick of all the winter squashes I've been storing since late fall. But for now, we have plenty of berries, stone fruits, tomatoes etc. in season. Aside from being too lazy and busy to cook of late, I also think that fresh good quality in-season produce should be enjoyed with as little cooking as possible. As a result, I've been having lots of salads (both fruit and vegetable-based) and desserts that incorporate fresh fruits.

Perfect Summer Breakfasts: (clockwise) Apricots+raw honey+yogurt; Strawberries+peppermint+yogurt; Raspberries+peppermint+yogurt

Perfect Summer Lunch: Heirloom tomatoes, Fiore di Nonno handcrafted small batch mozzarella, sweet basil (from my window sill!), Maldon sea salt, fresh ground pepper, extra virgin olive oil

 Perfect Summer Dessert: Champagne mangoes, coconut milk infused sticky rice, coconut cream, toasted mung beans

... learn about a new culture?

Beethoven, Wagner, Klinsmann, Bayern Munich, Steffi Graf, BMW, spatzle and bratwurst are just about all the German things I know of. So, when my friend asked me if I was interested in accompanying her to the grand opening of "Essen for the Ruhr: European Capital of Culture 2010", Manfred Vollmer's photo exhibition of the Ruhr metropolis, I immediately agreed. I had always associated the Ruhr Valley with World War II history and know nothing much more than its role in the war. As a result, I was pleansantly surprised to hear that this previously heavily industrialized area has been completely transformed into a center for culture, science and technology.

The Goethe-Institut, where the exhibit will run through May 14, is situated in a residential neighborhood in the Back Bay. The evening began with a series of speeches by representatives of the various co-sponsors of this event, introducing the Ruhr region, as well as networking opportunities for Germans living in the Greater Boston area. Dinner followed. I had currywurst (basically bratwurst with a ketcup + curry sauce) for the first time, together with a German potato salad, a green salad and various breads and cheeses. The currywurst was so good, we had to have seconds!

The photo exhibit itself was quite a bit smaller than I had imagined, with a mere 22 photographs. Nonetheless, there were a few photos that caught my eye, of which my favorite was a photo of a striking orange staircase at the Ruhr Museum, situated at the Zollverein World Heritage site in Essen.

from: http://www.germany.info/

... celebrate Pi Day?

Yes, I'm referring to Pi, the mathematical constant we all learned in geometry class back in the days. In my office, we celebrate Pi Day every year on March 14, or the following week day. While somewhat geeky, I think Pi Day celebrations are awesome-- I mean, what's not to love about copious amounts of pie consumption?

This year, I was appointed pie coordinator of Pi Day and my job was to solicit at least 10 of my colleagues to either bake or buy a pie for Pi Day celebrations. Naturally, I wasn't going to be a very successful pie coordinator if I myself did not pre-commit to bringing in a pie. However, given the number of people who love baking and food in my office, this turned out to be a walk in the park. Within an hour of sending out an e-mail, I had eight others respond positively and by the end of it all, we had 12 pies, which is a lot of pie for ~50 people! Now what pies were these? Well, we had a southern sweet potato pie; a blueberry crumble pie; a strawberry rhubarb pie; two reese's inspired pies; a vanilla custard and fudge pie; a chess pie; an apple, cranberry and apricot pie; a chocolate chip cookie dough pie; and a vinegar pie. Yes, a vinegar pie, no typo here. That was the pie I ended up making after going back and forth between Momofuku's crack pie and a vinegar pie. Vinegar pie won because it sounded wackier than crack pie. I liked it very much, as it tasted surprisingly light with just a touch of tanginess. I loved the crust more than anything though-- Martha Stewart's pâte brisée recipe is truly excellent. My favorite pie that day though was the chocolate chip cookie dough pie. Yum... I love Pi Day! Looking forward to 2 Pi Day (Yes, we celebrate that too!)...

The vinegar pie I made, lightly dusted with powdered cinnamon.

... attend a BSO concert at Symphony Hall?

Last Thursday, I finally attended my first BSO concert at Symphony Hall. You see, I've never been a big fan of going for classical music performances-- I always thought that music alone, no matter how alluring,  is not sufficient to keep me interested and I would surely fall asleep. The last time I went for a concert, I was a freshman in college. However, since Hilary Hahn was performing, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos was guest conducting and the BSO has a <40 = $20 deal, I figured, why not?

Upon entering Symphony Hall, I was immediately struck by its elegant and simple beauty-- it was a relatively intimate setting by concert hall standards with shallow balconies. Acoustically, it is supposed to be one of the top three concert halls in the world.

The evening started off delightfully with three pieces from Enrique Arbós' and Frühbeck de Burgos' orchestrations of characterful piano pieces from the Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz’s Iberia. 

Next up, Hilary Hahn performing Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 in D, Op 19. This was the performance I had basically bought the ticket for. I love Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet and thus had high expectations. Hilary Hahn wore a striking one shoulder dress in a brilliant red and showcased her technical abilities with this very technical piece, giving an almost flawless performance. The music itself did not quite live up to my expectations though and I was somewhat disappointed. Perhaps this is one of those pieces I will grow to love with time.

Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade Symphonic Suite, Op 35 was next and perhaps due in large part to having previously seen and had also thoroughly loved the Kirov's performance of the ballet (Incidentally, one of my favorite ballet dancers, Igor Zelensky, danced the role of the golden slave) set to (and also named) Scheherazade, this was, by far, my favorite part of the evening! There were two main musical themes that were repeated throughout the ~45 min performance that really grew on me. There is absolutely no way someone can actually fall asleep during this performance-- at times, the music was lyrical, bright and almost fleeting, while at other times, the music was powerful and majestic, relentlessly (in a good way) capturing the audience's attention. The BSO gave a brilliant performance-- no wonder the BSO is one of the "Big Five" American orchestras.

Doesn't this sound like a lovely way to spend an evening with friends?

... be In the Mood for Love?

You know how there are some movies you can watch over and over again, loving it more and more each time? In my book, Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love is such a movie. Last week, a bunch of us attended a screening at the Harvard Film Archive. Most of us have seen (and loved) the movie umpteen times, while some watched it for the first time.

The first time I watched In the Mood for Love, I was instantly captivated by 3 things: the lush cinematography; the strangely mesmerizing soundtrack (Yumeji's Theme, Nat King Cole's rendition of Quizás, Quizás, Quizás; and the Angkor Wat Theme) and all the gorgeous cheongsams Maggie Cheung wears in the movie.

Each subsequent time I watched it, I found myself increasingly captivated by the same 3 things-- I took a mental note of the narrow red corridor outside of room 2046, marveled at the apropos timing of the 3 main musical themes, and remembered more of the striking cheongsam prints. However, I also slowly began to realize the reason I love this movie so much is because it is hauntingly romantic. Unlike most romantic movies of the modern era, the 2 protagonists of this love story never kissed and barely held hands. Both their suffering and love lingers, subtly drawing sympathy from the audience. There is so much restraint and hesitation on both ends, and yet the yearning is strong. So little is verbalized, and yet so much is understood. I suppose I must be a romantic at heart.

... watch a 6-hour play at the A.R.T?

Some 3+ years ago, when we were both studying in Cambridge, JC alerted me to the awesomeness of the A.R.T. Perhaps it's because I've never been a particularly huge theater fan, or perhaps it's because there are always more ballets I want to go to (and both time AND money are limited), I have never gone to watch a play at A.R.T. all these years.

Yesterday, I finally did. At the brilliant suggestion of a friend, a huge group of us went to watch Elevator Repair Service's production of Gatz-- a 6-hour long verbatim reading of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

Gatz is staged in 2 parts, and one can choose to watch it on 2 separate days, but we decided to watch it in a single day, with a 1 hour dinner break in between. There are honestly no bad seats at the Loeb Drama Center but we had ridiculously good seats-- dead center, five rows from the front. In spite of the glowing reviews Gatz had received, I was prepared to be at least a little bored. After all, it was 6 hours long, A.R.T.'s Gatz website can't possibly be perfectly unbiased, and like I said earlier, I've never been much of a theater person.

As it turns out, I cannot be more wrong. Gatz is innovative, clever and an absolute masterpiece. From the creative use of sound, lighting and props, to the expert timing of the 13 actors, everything was flawless. The play begins with an office scene but by the end of the play, we were completely transported into Nick and Gatsby's Long Island of the roaring 20s. Scott Shepard, as Nick Carraway, was amazing-- how did he manage to read 80% of the book with that perfect intonation and rhythm from the beginning to the end?

One thing I know for sure-- I'll be revisiting the A.R.T. very soon.