Inspiration struck

Until quite recently, kale was only familiar to me as a decorative vegetable, sheltering the lines of slice-able meats and sausages at the deli counter which I was to meticulously stock for work.

Yet today, kale proved to be an insightful muse, balancing the bright parsley, thinly sliced fennel, and sweet carrots in a metal bowl that I unceremoniously clanged against the counter and filled to the brim with this tough yet nutrient-laden vegetable of a purple hue.

It's delicious, filled with texture, versatile, and so packed with so many good things that you'll feel more satisfied than you would if you had eaten a giant steak. Try it!

I find myself listening more these days to the sounds that a day emits between the various stopping points that we have collectively established (breakfast, lunch, and dinner of course :)) There's a music behind the hum of the public transit systems, sputtering car engines, playful shouts of children, seemingly all-knowing caw's of the birds. There's also a beauty in those brief moments of silence where columns of noise seem to stop vibrating and stand still. It is in these moments that I realize that despite the fact that there are billions of people teeming on this earth, sometimes nobody has anything to say. And that's quite alright with me.

Anyway, onwards to the kale!

Summer Kale Salad

Consider this a base, and add anything from pumpin seeds to avocado

One bunch kale

One fresh fennel bulb

2 carrots

handful of parsley, chopped

2 green onions (*optional)

juice of one lemon

1 teaspoon agave nectar syrup

salt and pepper to taste

Wash the fennel and slice against the grain into thin pieces, add to a large salad bowl.

Rinse the kale in a colander and let sit for two minutes (so that any dirt falls to the bottom). Dry the kale and either chop or tear into small-ish strips, add to the bowl.

Wash and slice the green onions and carrots, add to the bowl.

Squeeze the lemon on the mixture, adding the agave nectar syrup, salt, and pepper to taste.

Toss and enjoy!

What is fluttering beheath my lashes

Lightly gracing the dull carpet of my room are the soles of a pair of brown leather oxford shoes, laces undone, thin tongues slightly turned in, and interiors looking prim and neat.

I purchased the shoes here, in the US, but I find that they represent some part of me that still resides in Paris... mentally at least.

Before I left that city, I scoured each window display (of which there are many) for the perfect pair of oxfords.

And I won't be the first to tell you, a window display can break your heart.

But this blog isn't about shoes. It's not about those little tears at the seams that occur when normally reticent thoughts somehow submerge around midday. No, no. It's about food, but somehow those lingering Parisian thoughts kept me from coming back here for months to describe my new home turf.

And these days I find myself humbled by a simpler cooking routine, inspired more so by the homely than the ambitious. You'll find me hovering over a small pan, filled about one inch deep with steamy water. Small bubbles hesitantly release themselves from the bottom of the pan, only to hover haphazardly upwards towards the choppy surface. They invariably dissipate into the air.

I pinch the egg shell open with my hands and watch as the mass of transparent protein plops into the water. Magic ensues. I fish the poached egg out of its incubating bath, splay it out against a rough bed of grainy toast, and devour it whole. Then I put on my oxford shoes and bound out into the world.

I promise that I'll be returning shortly. For both of our sakes.