>Baklawa Recipe

>I served this with orange sherbet and fresh raspberry sauce. The recipe is simple to make and it’s as delicious as it looks.

Baklawa

Yield: 12 by 16 inch pan

2 cups granulated sugar

1-1/4 cups water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon rose water or orange blossom water

2 egg whites

2/3 cup powdered sugar

4 cups chopped nuts (walnuts, pistachios or almonds)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 pound unsalted butter

1 pound phyllo dough (approximately 20 sheets)

Combine the granulated sugar, water and lemon juice in a small sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat and simmer it for 10-15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in the rose water or orange water and refrigerate the syrup. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, slowly beat in the powdered sugar, then fold in the nuts and cinnamon. Heat the butter in a small sauce pan over low heat until just melted. Lay the phyllo dough on a cool table and loosely cover it with a clean cloth that has been sprinkled with cool water. Brush the sides and bottom of a 12 by 16 inch baking pan with melted butter. layer half the sheets of phyllo dough into the pan, one by one, brushing each sheet with melted butter. Spread the nut filling across the buttered dough in the pan. Layer the remaining dough across the filling, repeating the process of buttering each sheet of phyllo as it is fitted into the pan. Using a sharp knife, cut the baklawa into diamond shapes taking care not to rip the dough. Bake the pastry in a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 20-30 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and drizzle the chilled syrup directly onto the hot pastry, allowing the syrup to run into all of the slices and crevices in the pastry. Allow the baklawa to cool to room temperature before serving.

100% Full

No I’m not talking about my stomach (being 100% full); though that’s not too far off either. I’m talking about the moon. It is, as I type these words, 100% full…couldn’t take my eyes off it as I pedaled home tonight (with a table on the back of the bike); lovely night for a bike ride. This is a picture from my rear porch. If you happen to read this tonight I encourage you to step outside and take a gaze; it’s beautiful, I think…the same moon reflects equally on you as on me, no matter who you are or where you live or what your circumstances. Breathtaking, really.

But then again, there’s always next month.

Urban Simplicity.

>100% Full

>No I’m not talking about my stomach (being 100% full); though that’s not too far off either. I’m talking about the moon. It is, as I type these words, 100% full…couldn’t take my eyes off it as I pedaled home tonight (with a table on the back of the bike); lovely night for a bike ride. This is a picture from my rear porch. If you happen to read this tonight I encourage you to step outside and take a gaze; it’s beautiful, I think…the same moon reflects equally on you as on me, no matter who you are or where you live or what your circumstances. Breathtaking, really.

But then again, there’s always next month.

Urban Simplicity.

The Angry Driver Syndrome

It generally takes a lot to get me fired up…but I am very tired of having people yell out their car windows (at me or others) telling cyclists to get off the road. I usually tell them (yell back) that it is actually illegal for an adult cyclist to ride on the sidewalk. This often makes them more mad. Sometimes, if I’m able, I also add that roads and traffic laws originally came about for bikes, not cars. This often makes them blow a gasket. Pun intended.

The following three sentences are taken directly from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

On what types of roads can I ride a Bicycle?  Bicyclists have the legal right to share the road on most public highways. Bicyclists are not allowed on interstate highways and expressways.

On one recent occasion I was pedaling (coasting, actually) and nearing this intersection on Elmwood Avenue (pictured below). As I was coming to a stop a motorist pulled out in front of me, causing us both to hit the breaks hard. He rolls down the window and yells (surprise), Get the F*** off the road a**hole. After a brief verbal interaction he actually threatened me physically, right there in the middle of bustling Elmwood Avenue on a bright and sunny day. I was not on an interstate highway or an expressway, I was on a commercial and residential city street.

Another time, recently, when I failed to yield in front of the sign below (which is on the s-curves near Delaware Park), a driver (you guessed it) told me to get off the road. When I pointed to the sign he flipped me the bird as he hit the gas; if he wasn’t frowning at the time I could picture him to be a nice little old man, someone’s grampa.

I’m not asking that cars be removed from the road (but fewer cars wouldn’t be so bad), just that drivers share the roads with cyclists…and not treat us rudely, or threaten us simply because we are both using the same road.

To read more about the rights, rules, and regulations of bicyclists at the DMV, click here.

Urban Simplicity.

>The Angry Driver Syndrome

>

It generally takes a lot to get me fired up…but I am very tired of having people yell out their car windows (at me or others) telling cyclists to get off the road. I usually tell them (yell back) that it is actually illegal for an adult cyclist to ride on the sidewalk. This often makes them more mad. Sometimes, if I’m able, I also add that roads and traffic laws originally came about for bikes, not cars. This often makes them blow a gasket. Pun intended.

The following three sentences are taken directly from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

On what types of roads can I ride a Bicycle?  Bicyclists have the legal right to share the road on most public highways. Bicyclists are not allowed on interstate highways and expressways.

On one recent occasion I was pedaling (coasting, actually) and nearing this intersection on Elmwood Avenue (pictured below). As I was coming to a stop a motorist pulled out in front of me, causing us both to hit the breaks hard. He rolls down the window and yells (surprise), Get the F*** off the road a**hole. After a brief verbal interaction he actually threatened me physically, right there in the middle of bustling Elmwood Avenue on a bright and sunny day. I was not on an interstate highway or an expressway, I was on a commercial and residential city street.

Another time, recently, when I failed to yield in front of the sign below (which is on the s-curves near Delaware Park), a driver (you guessed it) told me to get off the road. When I pointed to the sign he flipped me the bird as he hit the gas; if he wasn’t frowning at the time I could picture him to be a nice little old man, someone’s grampa.

I’m not asking that cars be removed from the road (but fewer cars wouldn’t be so bad), just that drivers share the roads with cyclists…and not treat us rudely, or threaten us simply because we are both using the same road.

To read more about the rights, rules, and regulations of bicyclists at the DMV, click here.

Urban Simplicity.

Chef Jean Vergnes 1921-2010

I just learned the news that Chef Jean Vergnes has died; he was 88. Chef Vergnes was the opening chef  at the original Le Cirque in NYC, and he, along with the resaturant’s owner, Sirio Maccioni, invented the dish, Pasta Primavera.

Click here to read Chef Vergnes’ obit in the New York Times.

Click here to read a story about pasta primavera (with recipes) that I wrote for Artvoice a couple years ago.

Urban Simplicity.

>Chef Jean Vergnes 1921-2010

>

I just learned the news that Chef Jean Vergnes has died; he was 88. Chef Vergnes was the opening chef  at the original Le Cirque in NYC, and he, along with the resaturant’s owner, Sirio Maccioni, invented the dish, Pasta Primavera.

Click here to read Chef Vergnes’ obit in the New York Times.

Click here to read a story about pasta primavera (with recipes) that I wrote for Artvoice a couple years ago.

Urban Simplicity.

Beef Tenderloin Canape with Red Onion Marmalade

Beef Tenderloin Canapé with Red Onion Marmalade

Yield: about 32 pieces
32 buttered toast points
1/2 cup mayonnaise mixed with 2 tablespoons horseradish
   1 pound beef tenderloin, cooked medium rare and chilled
   1 cup red onion marmalade (see recipe)
   3 tablespoons minced parsley

Arrange the toast points on a work surface, and using the tip of a spoon or a small pastry bag, place a dot (about 1/2 teaspoon) of the horseradish mayonnaise on each. Slice the tenderloin very thin and arrange it attractively on the toast points also. Garnish each canapé with the red onion marmalade and minced parsley. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Red Onion Marmalade

Yield: about 2 cups
   1 medium red onion, peeled, halved, and sliced very thin
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
   3 ounces cold water, divided
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
   1 tablespoon cornstarch

In a small skillet combine the sliced onion, red wine vinegar, sugar, two ounces of the water, salt, and pepper. Bring the pan to a boil, and then lower it to a simmer. Cook the onions for about five minutes, stirring often. Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 1 ounce of cold water and stir it into the onion mixture. Cook the marmalade for another two minutes. Transfer it to a glass bowl and refrigerate until chilled.

Urban Simplicity.