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A Brooklyn Affair

Monthly Archives: June 2012

Walks Through the Neighborhood

26 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by erinjsimpson in Brooklyn

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Brooklyn, City Walks, Photos

There are a lot of things that I love about Brooklyn. The pizza. The legendary flea markets. The way bike riders constantly battle motorists for control of the streets.

One thing I vehemently dislike is how expensive it can be to call this borough home. But, as I was walking to the farmers’ market yesterday, I snapped these photos and realized – wait a minute – Park Slope is teeming with charitable citizens willing to donate possessions to their less-fortunate neighbors. Just take a look at some of these prizes I found.

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Puzzles make great gifts for those family members you find it most difficult to shop for. But, if books and puzzles aren’t your thing, perhaps you’re in the market for a new mop?

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Not even half a block down the same street, I noticed this box. Yes, you are seeing correctly. A box of video cassettes. Brooklynites really know how to entice bargain hunters with the latest technology. If only there I hadn’t thrown out that VCR! I always knew cassettes would make a comeback. And Sex and the City on video has to be worth something, right?

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Residents here also know that man’s best friend will always have your best interests at heart.

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But, the dead giveaway that you are traipsing the streets of Park Slope? Free parenting advice. On twins, no less!

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It was a hot weekend here in New York, so I’m really surprised that this air conditioner was still sitting here by late Sunday afternoon. It looks to be in mint condition. I doubt that box has been opened in 25 years!

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Perhaps it just needed one of these signs to reassure buyers.

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But this stoop was perhaps the most disconcerting scene I encountered. Given what I know of Park Slope brownstone dwellers, I would have thought their literary tastes to be a bit more sophisticated. Goosebumps? Really? I heard that Park Slope children start reading Proust before the 5th grade. At least the globe partially makes up for this egregious choice in reading material.

As I continued on to the farmers’ market, I wondered to myself: What would my stoop look like if I purged my apartment of unnecessary items? What would my unwanted goods say about me? And, most importantly, what would my neighbors think?

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Food for a New Generation of Thought

08 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by erinjsimpson in Cooking

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About, Cooking, Food, Recipes

As if the post-college job search isn’t hard enough these days, a friend told me a particularly disconcerting story that I haven’t quite been able to shake. She went on an interview for a position with a large financial company where she met with a woman who had worked with the company for years. At one point, the woman asked my friend what she likes to do in her free time, to which my friend responded that she enjoys cooking.  At that, the woman looked at her in horror, surmising that my friend is merely a housewife in disguise, and said: “You really like to cook? I never cook anything.”

Now, aside from sharing in my friend’s shock over this interaction, I can’t help but wonder why we are so quick to equate cooking with domestic stereotypes. In fact, everywhere I look, I see encouraging signs that more people are cooking at home more frequently. With the resurgence of the locavore movement, not only are more people looking to their local farms for fresh vegetables and ingredients, but it is becoming increasingly cool and popular to do so. In some areas, dare I say, almost the norm. In Brooklyn, while you might not find a crop of tomatoes growing in a vacant lot, you will see that there are restaurants on every corner boasting a local, farm-fresh menu. The emphasis here is not on whom the responsibility falls for preparing the meal, but rather, on what you are putting into your body. Food is no longer a chore that a woman must endure. It many households, it is a ritual that has taken on new meaning.

I, for one, find few things more relaxing after a long day than leisurely preparing a meal with fresh ingredients and a glass of wine in hand. We can’t forget the wine, it’s crucial to the relaxation element. Oh, and the recipe. I will fully admit that I am rule-follower in most aspects of life, but especially in cooking. Throwing open the door to the refrigerator and concocting a dinner with whatever happens to be sitting idly inside is not my strong point. But give me a recipe to follow, and I’m in business.

Last week, I set out to conquer my fear of risotto. My first interaction with the creamy, rice-pasta last year ended disastrously and I have been avoiding it ever since. But my cravings overcame me and, after a thorough tutorial with my mother, I decided to fly solo. Now, as I mentioned, no culinary adventure starts without a recipe and you can find this recipe here.

After preparing all of my ingredients, I held my breath and began adding in the broth.

Few things test my resilience and arm muscles like the constant stirring of risotto. But I bent myself to the task, knowing a creamy, perfectly balanced, and smooth risotto would be worth the sweat. And I stirred.

And I stirred.

And I stirred some more.

And then, finally, my risotto reached the perfect, elusive consistency of soft, melt-in-your-mouth pasta. This may have been a small victory, but culinary accomplishments are far from drudgery to me.

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Bucket List Publications

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hula seventy

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baking makes friends.

Hither and Thither

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Sail Away to Fancy

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