Reality Distorted

I wish...

2009-08-25T12:56:00.011-05:00

...I was here. It was warm, beautiful, peaceful, and I miss it.This is Parque del Amor in Miraflores, Lima, Peru. Above is the statue "El Beso."

Here is a real-life "beso," and amorous couples can be spotted cuddling up all over the park.

These lovely railings decorated with mosaics run around the edge of the park overlooking the water. I'm particularly fond of the quotes running along the walls. The one near the kissing couple further up says "I undress you as if peeling fruit." You can translate the rest for yourselves. Have fun!

Sorry!

2009-08-24T18:20:00.002-05:00

Bad things happen when I get busy. Like I forget to do laundry, clean, brush the animals, and write. I've managed to catch up on the other three, so here I am. I really have been busy, I promise. Friends have been leaving town and I wanted to catch up with them. I'm still working. And my sister's graduation party was this weekend. It was, in case you're wondering, quite a success. With the help of a couple of friends, I put together fruit and veggie platters, a pot of meatballs, bacon-wrapped parmesan cracker things and bacon cream cheese jalapeños (recipes courtesy thepioneerwoman.com), sandwiches, chex mix, and an amazing sour cream chocolate cake with cream cheese peanut butter frosting and chocolate peanut butter glaze (recipe from smittenkitchen.com). I failed to take pictures because people started eating before I had time to even think about reaching for a camera, and that cake... well... it was gone in about ten minutes.

So we've recovered from that, but things are still a bit crazy around here as we get ready to move my sister into her first year of college. I don't know how she feels, but I'm nervous, stressed, and incredibly excited. I know she's going to have a fantastic time and hopefully make a lot of friends.

And as a side note, since I'm still on my downtown Glens Falls kick, The Chocolate Mill just opened. I was there the day after their official opening and they didn't have their full menu up yet, just pastries, but oh my goodness. My father and I snagged some ham and cheese scones (the most moist, flavorful, wonderful scones I've ever had) and some sort of little apple pastry which was delightfully flaky and I'm pretty sure involved some sort of alcohol. And the carrot cake and cheesecakes they had on display were potentially the most beautiful examples of these pastries I've seen in I don't even know how long. Again, no pictures, since it was a quick breakfast before my father headed back to Massachusetts, but I will direct you to their website and suggest that if you're in the area you consider stopping by.

http://www.chocolatemillcafe.com/

And now off to walk and brush the dogs before they scratch my legs off...

Aimie's Dinner and a Movie...Glens Falls, NY

2009-08-14T14:53:00.004-05:00

Today let's talk about Aimie's.

Aimie's is a fun establishment downtown associated with the jazz bar, Wallabee's, behind it. There's one theater which seems to rotate between three or four fairly recent movies at a time, and inside are dinner tables with plush rolling chairs or large plush booths. Orders are taken before the movie and waitstaff move discreetly throughout during the film. The food is consistently good and reasonably priced, and portions are generous. I highly recommend the sweet potato fries with raspberry ketchup.

I again apologize for the lack of inside photos, and also for my rather stunted, detail-lacking review of the place. Honestly I hadn't intended to be giving reviews, or I would have paid more attention when I was there recently. Maybe. Or not, as my boyfriend was visiting and I doubt I would have ignored him to pay attention to all the nitty gritty details usually involved in reviewing places. Also, I promise that the city isn't paying me to tell you all how wonderful our downtown has become and how many fun things there are to do. It's simply really grown on me, and since I'm here for a few more weeks, you get to hear about all the things I'm going to miss.

And if you're interested in Aimie's, here's their website: http://www.aimiesdinnerandmovie.com/

Until next time.

Elizabeth

Red Fox Books...Glens Falls, NY

2009-08-12T18:56:00.009-05:00

This, dear readers, is Red Fox Books, our local bookstore:

It is notable because, until maybe five years ago, my small town had not had a bookstore of its own in years and years. We had begun discussing whether or not major book chains considered us illiterate. Perhaps they still do, as we don't have one. But we do have this wonderful locally owned shop which is now thoroughly integrated into the community.

It hosts book signings, readings by authors, book clubs, children's events, and various other get-togethers, and is a vital part of downtown events (because in our small city, we have downtown parties and holiday celebrations). Between its newsletter and that sent out by our local wine shop, also downtown, I manage to stay well-informed on all the various town goings-on despite living 800 miles away most of the year.

While small, Red Fox has a wonderful selection of books and will happily order anything they are not carrying at no charge. The owners, who are frequently manning the desk, are friendly and helpful. My sister is absolutely in love with the shop and spends rather more of her paychecks than she probably should there.

For anyone interested, their website is http://www.redfoxbookstore.com/.

Also, I apologize for a lack of indoor pictures, but I'm shy about taking photos without permission and even more shy about asking. It's something I'm working on.

Downtown... Glens Falls, NY

2009-08-11T21:19:00.001-05:00

I'm back

2009-08-11T21:02:00.002-05:00

Dear... whoever reads this site anymore. I'm terribly sorry for such a long absence. It was a hellish end of the school year between the hard drive crash, back work, papers, coordinating events for things, and massive amounts of lost data. In case you hadn't guessed, we couldn't recover anything from my hard drive. But something good came out of this, I suppose. I now own an external hard drive and cannot stress enough the importance of backing your system up regularly.

So that explains my lack of blogging through June, and I would have been back sooner, but I so thoroughly exhausted myself the last few weeks of school that the mono I had when I was five managed to come back with a vengeance, meaning weekly doctor's visits to have blood drawn and lots and lots of sleeping until just this week, in fact. But here I am now with a reasonably clean bill of health, a few new pictures to share, and hopefully more pictures and stories to come.

In the upcoming weeks you can look forward to my enjoying the end of my life in the town I grew up in, as once I leave for school I won't be back except for the holidays until... well, I really don't know. Ever, maybe? But pictures of our downtown will be posted soon, and hopefully other parts of town as I get around to it. Following this will be Puerto Rico as I'm off to visit my boyfriend, and then I leave for London for three months, at which point this should turn into something of a travel blog with restaurants, sites, photos, locals, and my student-budget cooking in a tiny kitchen provided by student housing. Goodness this is going to be exhausting... Well. Here we go.

Oh dear...

2009-05-20T19:45:00.001-05:00

My hard drive crashed. I'm waiting to see what, if anything, can be recovered. So for now I have nothing to give you. I'm so sorry (and oh so very sad). But that's okay, because the weather is far too nice for me to spend time editing and posting photos anyway. I'll be back when I have new photos/news on my old hard drive.

Best,
Elizabeth

Red and Green...Louisville, KY

2009-04-30T20:52:00.004-05:00

I'm so sorry for my lapse in posts. Schoolwork, the beautiful weather, and a nasty cold have kept me occupied the past few weeks. Hopefully, though, things will settle down and I can return to posting travel pictures, reviews, etc. Here you go:

Bike Racks, Part II...Louisville, KY

2009-04-07T11:56:00.002-05:00

Sticks and Stones... Louisville, KY

2009-04-06T13:56:00.002-05:00

Bike Rack...Louisville, KY

2009-04-06T00:29:00.003-05:00

Family Life...Saga City, Japan

2009-04-02T13:18:00.001-05:00

Peering out...Cusco, Peru

2009-03-09T15:37:00.003-05:00

I apologize for the long absence. It's amazing how quickly school work, committees, jobs, and socializing pile up and leave you buried and gasping for air. While I'm not out of it yet (two weeks until spring break), I wanted to post something to tide you over, and the weather here happens to match the weather in this picture, so it felt appropriate.

Architecture...Cusco, Peru

2009-02-22T02:16:00.000-06:00

Stenciled Sky...The Amazon, Peru

2009-02-19T18:12:00.001-06:00

Patchwork...The Andes, Peru

2009-02-18T15:38:00.003-06:00

Rainy Days, Hidden Shrines...Saga City, Japan

2009-02-16T13:48:00.000-06:00

Weaving Woman...The Andes, Peru

2009-02-11T23:56:00.001-06:00

Back Yard...The Andes, Peru

2009-02-10T14:41:00.000-06:00

Random Shop...Saga City, Japan

2009-02-09T18:44:00.000-06:00

Peace Out...Saga City, Japan

2009-02-06T12:05:00.003-06:00

As part of our exchange program, we visited an elementary school in Saga City. The kids taught us some calligraphy and we all sang "American" songs together and then had lunch. They thought my hair (I'm blonde) and eyes (blue) were fascinating.

Alleyway...Somewhere in the Andes, Peru

2009-02-05T19:03:00.000-06:00

Crossed Cultures...Ollantaytambo, Peru

2009-02-04T14:18:00.000-06:00

Rest Stop...Somewhere between Maine and New York

2009-02-03T14:18:00.002-06:00

Rainy Days...Saga City, Japan

2009-02-02T09:52:00.000-06:00

Hillside Houses...Machu Picchu, Peru

2009-02-01T19:39:00.001-06:00

Spinning Wheels (from a bus)...Tokyo, Japan

2009-01-28T21:18:00.000-06:00

A Night at the Park...Chicago, IL

2009-01-26T11:58:00.000-06:00

A Bicycle (not) Built for Two... Saga City, Japan

2009-01-25T22:55:00.001-06:00

Brooklyn Bridge...New York, NY

2009-01-24T20:40:00.001-06:00

Reflections...Lima, Peru

2009-01-23T12:17:00.002-06:00

Rainy Day... Saga City, Japan

2009-01-19T18:22:00.000-06:00

Portland Head Lighthouse... Cape Elizabeth, Maine

2009-01-18T15:43:00.000-06:00

Ride 'em, Cowboy... New York, NY

2009-01-15T02:37:00.001-06:00

Looking Out...Machu Picchu, Peru

2009-01-12T20:48:00.002-06:00

Street Girl...Cusco, Peru

2009-01-10T21:20:00.002-06:00

Falls...Elizabethtown, NY

2009-01-08T21:01:00.000-06:00

On the Coast...Lima, Peru

2009-01-06T21:54:00.000-06:00

I'm back in Chicago, and it's cold, grey/brown, and sad. So I thought a nice warm beach picture would make a nice change of scenery for both myself and anyone else stuck in a similar situation (it was at least seventy at the time this photo was taken). Enjoy!

On the Quad...Chicago, IL

2009-01-02T19:03:00.000-06:00

Side Street... Saga City, Japan

2009-01-01T23:09:00.000-06:00

Hooray! I've posted some of my favorite travel pictures to Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/eahpreston/. And so, with the link, another picture. I think I'll continue posting pictures on a semi-regular basis as the mood strikes me, or as I take them, in the event you don't want to go through everything on Picasa. The above picture was taken near a shrine in the rain in Saga.

Stray... Ollantaytambo, Peru

2008-12-30T21:48:00.000-06:00

I've decided to start posting pictures from some of my travels, as I deleted my Flickr account and haven't had a chance to find a new photo program yet. As for this photo, I was struck primarily by the colors (no pun intended). However, there were a remarkable number of strays, and it was incredibly sad to see them so thin and forlorn-looking.

A Beautiful Friendship

2008-10-09T23:36:00.001-05:00

I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Or at least, that’s the thought that drifted lazily through my mind as I finished the first Moroccan meal of my life at an affordable little Moroccan restaurant in Wicker Park. Located at 1413 N. Ashland Ave, Marrakech is only few minute walk from the Division Street stop of the CTA Blue line and only a few more from the Damen stop. It is an uninspiring-looking place below street level surrounded by cheap delis and rundown storefronts. Yet as my friends and I descended into the restaurant, a sweet and spicy aroma met us at the door along with a pleasant, older gentleman who would be our server for the evening.

Inside it is larger than you would expect. The front room is white with ornate mirrors and lanterns covering the walls while the back room is pink, and along with the decorative lanterns decorating the walls, jewelry, Moroccan shoes, and pottery are for sale. The windows are decorated with richly colored curtains while the tables are covered in golden tapestries and then clear plastic. The furniture is simple—distressed white chairs and small tables—but comfortable, clean, and practical. While I am not familiar with traditional Moroccan music, it is very likely this is what was playing in the background—it was certainly suited to the atmosphere of the restaurant.

We were invited to sit wherever we wanted, as the restaurant was completely empty when we arrived an hour after opening. We chose a table in the back room and Louis (the nickname I affectionately mentally tagged our waiter with as the evening progressed) presented us with our menus. He wasn’t initially helpful when I explained that we’d never had Moroccan food and asked what was best. His response? “Everything.” He wasn’t lying. He explained that they kept the menu small (there are only ten entrees, six appetizers, two salads and a soup, three desserts, and three beverage choices) to focus on quality. But he did eventually suggest that if we liked eggplant at all, the zaalouk might be a good choice.

After some debate, my two friends and I decided to share two appetizers and three entrees. First to come out were the “Moroccan coffee with authentic spices” ($1.50) and the “Moroccan tea with mint” ($1.90). The tea tasted very much like it smelled—light and floral, perhaps slightly perfumed. Yet the flavor was not overwhelming and it complimented the rest of the meal quite nicely. I had ordered the coffee and was somewhat disappointed when it came out black with no cream or sugar on the side. I don’t like black coffee and so braced myself for what I knew would be another cup of bitter, acidic black coffee. I was very wrong. This coffee was meant to be consumed black. It had a sweet and spicy aroma that translated more subtly to the flavor. It was smooth, ever so slightly sweet, and deliciously strong; it too complimented our food wonderfully. I already miss it.

Next Louis brought out the zaalouk ($3.50), hommus [sic] ($2.75), and some toasted pita for dipping. The zaalouk really was quite good, and I thanked Louis for suggesting it. Comprised of grilled eggplant mashed with tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic, each flavor was apparent in the mix. It had a bite to it as well as a sort of smoky, barbecue-like flavor. The hommus was nothing terribly exciting or inventive as far as hummus goes, but it was a solid example of what you’d expect. It was topped with olive oil and what was potentially a mild paprika. After some experimenting, we decided that while each dish was good on its own, it was also tasty to pile both dips together on a piece of pita. There was quite a bit of both the zaalouk and hommus (if ordering two appetizers, they could easily be split between four or five people), and we ran out of pita, but Louis was kind enough to bring us another basket.

For our main course, we decided on the chicken pastille ($10.50), kaftka kabob ($8.50), and couscous with lamb ($10.50). I was very disappointed when I was informed they were out of merguez (a Moroccan sausage filled with seasoned and spiced ground beef, served with harissa), but this was probably just as well as it was very similar to the kaftka kabob and gave me an opportunity to try the couscous, the house’s signature dish. I am really not a lamb person and had wanted to order the couscous with beef or chicken, but Louis was very persuasive and convinced me that I should try the couscous in its most authentic form.

The couscous was served with zucchini, potatoes, carrots, and chickpeas in addition to large piece of lamb, possibly a section of leg. It was rich and buttery, and the vegetables were still slightly crisp and very flavorful. And with the lamb, I was again pleasantly surprised by the Moroccan approach and its ability to make me reconsider a food I had decided I didn’t like. The meat was tender and juicy and fell right off the bone. It was not too gamey, though it was a bit fatty. Overall I was incredibly impressed.

The kaftka kabob was seasoned ground beef cooked on a skewer served with harissa and a side of rice. The meat was seasoned nicely and cooked medium well. The harissa complimented it well but was not like any harissa I’d ever made or had. It was more like a spicy ketchup than anything else. Nevertheless, it was a solid dish.

As for the chicken pastille, the menu describes it as diced chicken, seasonings, and sweet almonds in phyllo dough. Louis told us it was a sweet dish when we asked if it would be at all spicy, which we assumed meant mild. Again, we were wrong. What neither the menu nor Louis informed us of was that it is served covered in powdered sugar and cinnamon. When the plate was set in front of us, we all stared at it in shock and perhaps a bit of horror and disgust. We poked at it, tasted the sugar, and stared some more until one of my friends was finally brave enough to cut a piece off and take a bite. And then we all took a bite. And we were amazed. It was surprisingly delicious. The phyllo was light and flaky, the meat rich and juicy and tender. All the flavors were present, yet for some reason powdered sugar, cinnamon, and chicken went together very well. It was rather like eating a savory dessert, rich and creamy and sweet and salty and bizarre all at once. I still struggle to wrap my mind around the dish, but I would suggest it to anyone interested in a heartbeat.

In the end, we were too full to eat a proper dessert, though the baklawa [sic], sellou, and almond rolls were enticing. All told, before tip, our meal came to $45. The service was decent, if a bit slow. I believe that this may be a cultural difference, however, as any time we wanted something and felt we had waited long enough, Louis was very attentive and brought it right out. There are plenty of what appear to be vegetarian options on the menu, though I would ask to be certain. Marrakech is BYOB, with a $3 corking fee per bottle of wine or six-pack of beer. The restaurant is clean, the staff friendly, and the food wonderful. Chances are also good you’ll have it to yourself if you show up fairly early. Wicker Park doesn’t seem to get going until after 8pm.

For more information, go to http://www.marrakechcuisine.com/.