July 5, 2024
First
lantern fly of the summer spotted (bad pun not averted) on a sidewalk
in Shadyside, and terminated with extreme prejudice. Game on. 
Friday, July 5, 2024
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
July 3, 2024
Highlights of my visit to the Frick Museum this afternoon to see the "Rembrandt, Monet, Vermeer" exhibit:
(1) Largest self-portrait Rembrandt painted of himself. Very earthy. His nose suggests that he enjoyed his drink.
(2) Hiding in plain sight: decorative andiron of Zeus as an eagle abducting the beautiful (male) youth Ganymede, who became his cup bearer -- after a little diddling, presumably. (Happy Pride!)
(3-4) Luminous details: from paintings by the 19c French painter Millet, whom I have a new appreciation for, and the 17c Dutch painter Vermeer, who produced only 36 known paintings.
(5) Nice hat. Don't remember the artist, but honestly does it matter?
(6) Madonna and child from a 13c wooden panel. No one smiles in any of the old religious images, suggesting in the first place what a bloody hard slog life was.
(7) The most terrifying work in the exhibit. Don't ask me who painted it, I've repressed the memory.
Coda:
(1) Audience participation (I love this)
(2) Recent visitor unsuccessfully trying to get out of the frame before I snapped the pic
Sunday, June 30, 2024
June 30, 2024
The weekend in review from the kitchen of Chez Stas: after a marathon day of cooking yesterday, my fridge has laid claim to
(1) a loaf of goat cheese, bacon, and olive quick bread;
(2) sauteed Maitake mushrooms; and
(3) steamed blueberry pudding.
Not pictured (because not as visually interesting): oven baked pork ribs with homemade BBQ sauce and roasted broccoli.
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
June 25, 2024
My essay "'I Remember..." (A Bay, Ten Acres, and an Old Farmhouse)" is out in the new issue of the Montreal-based journal The Nelligan Review!
Sunday, June 23, 2024
June 23, 2024
This weekend's south of the border foodie fun chez Stas: baked chayotes rellenos (pic 1) and yellow rice with peas (pix 2-4). The color of the latter, as you can see, comes from achiote seeds, which you drop in hot oil for a minute or less until the oil turns a rich golden red color, then discard. They don't add any significant flavor, but the dish sure is purty. (NB: Not one to be bound by borders, I used edamames instead of peas because that's what there was at hand, and I threw in some corn because, well, it was at hand.) Not pictured: the main course, a turkey chili that is really tasty but not much to look at. ð
Saturday, June 8, 2024
June 8, 2024
I tabled outside the East End Co-op today for PFLAG Pittsburgh, and our timing couldn't have been better because they had raspberries on sale for $.79/half-pint [sic]. Afterwards, I nabbed a few, then asked a gal working in produce why they were so cheap, and she said she thought the buyer had ordered strawberries but received more raspberries instead. She then said she was thinking about making jam, and suddenly my Plan A, adding them to my breakfast fruit bowls, seemed woefully inadequate.
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