Rara Office

Your noise overwhelms me.  Shared space, intrusion on one another’s senses.  Annoyance with insignificant details.  Phone slammed, desk kicked, throat cleared.  The sound of your keyboard clicking pounds in the back of my head.  I don’t try hard enough to distance my warm feelings for you from your actions.  My intolerance for the noise even annoys me.  Will I grow patient with time?  Will I fade out the noises?  Will I learn to separate the annoyance of minor irritants from your person?  I hope so, I’ll try for the sake of our happiness.  As I finish writing this, I take a deep breath and I’ll go get some more water to drink, to give me a break from our suffocating room.  I’ll like you.

Rara Absence

Oh my goodness.  Where has the time gone?  Where have I been?  I honestly don’t know where the time has gone.

I guess I will just say that I owe several posts about my recent adventures (Portland in December, New Year’s in Detroit, Lovely Los Angeles and Lucky London.)  However, today’s quick post is going to be about the soon-to-be-released film Chicago 10.

Last night my roommate invited me to go with her to a screening of the new Brett Morgen documentary Chicago 10 hosted by Generation Engage and Campus Progress.  This documentary couldn’t have entered my life at a more appropriate time.  After feeling guilty for my non-action in the recent months and my lackadaisical attitudes toward politics, it truly inspired me to voice my opinion.  I’ve been told by a dear friend that I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve, but I’ve always thought of myself as being fickle and apathetic.  I suppose love and politics are usually seen as separate, but why?  Aren’t both about passion, believing in something or someone?  I think I’m falling in love with my beliefs again.

Rara Breathe

I would like to think I had a great night last night. Whew! Where did it begin? Right…
First, I was shopping for underwear and t-shirts, as I chatted on the phone with my girl Sarah. Warning, I am about to get girly. The Gap’s Ultra Low Cotton and Lace Thong is my answer to underwear heaven and I found a bunch on sale, so went a little crazy and bought 10 pairs. I didn’t stop there, as I found a plain black tee and a striped tee on the sale table, so I got those too. Sarah and I got off the phone, then I got a call from my LA-based friend, Lesley. She and I had a nice long talk about life as I continued at The Gap and even moved on to Banana Republic. I told Lesley about the recent ups and downs in my life and heard about how her life is coming together. I am so happy she has found so much peace within herself. Dear me, am I getting sentimental? Today Lesley is strong, believes in herself and has found happiness. Talking with Lesley about her life and mine helped me think about what is going on with me. It helped me examine my own hang ups, insecurities and helped me feel grounded.
Alright…this post is very personal and emotional, so please read with kindness in your heart. I am only human and trying to explore who I am.

Rara Lucid

Rara Lucid.

Wednesday was a girl’s night out with my high school best friend Heather.  I stuck around the office a little while and went across the street to Crush Wines & Spirits to buy a housewarming gift for my friend Christine.  Not surprisingly, I selected a bottle of St. Germain’s Elderflower Liqueur.  I ran into my favorite wine guru, Chris, who is a sommelier of sorts at Crush.  Being the great wine seller he is, Chris comp-ed the gift wrap on the bottle.  He also offered to help me select a bottle of white wine I might enjoy.  I admitted to never having really enjoyed a glass of non-sparkling white wine, although have been known to indulge with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.  Even with sparkling wines, dry Spanish Cava is my style, not sickly sweet Spumante.  Chris recommended a dry Riesling, yes a Riesling!  Then he vowed to one day wow me with a glass of sweeter white wine.  Ick, I look forward to challenging my palette!   Here is an interesting article about Elderflower Liqueur from Food & Wine.

Rara Flavors

There are several flavors or ingredients on a menu that will lure me into ordering a drink or dish.  My usual list of suspects includes elderflower, fresh marjoram, lemon and sparkling wine.  I loved Bouchon Bakery’s seasonal Apricot-Elderflower Crème Danish, with crispy fried elderflower on top of a glazed apricot sitting in a puddle of elderflower flavored crème held within a flakey, buttery rectangular puff.  Otherwise, I have only seen elderflower in the form of syrup, or my favored St. Germain’s Elderflower Liqueur.  Juice, the former master mixologist at WD-50, introduced me to elderflower in one of his creations.  I’ve been smitten since my first taste, unable to get the lovely floral flavor out of my palette’s memory.  Since my initial introduction I have been repeatedly drawn back to Death & Company for many reasons, one of which is their elderflower scented Nina’s Moan.  Below is my guess at the recipe they use to make the drink.  I’ve also included two St. Germain drink recipes I found online.  One is a simple and classic St. Germain cocktail.  The other, called the Elderthorn, is included here because of the very interesting use of Cynar, which is a herb flavored liqueur.  Now to find a drink incorporating fresh marjoram…

Rara Monday

On Monday night I went to a screening of, “Secret Sunshine,” Korean director Chang-dong Lee’s newest film.  After my friends, co-workers and acquaintances rejected my invitation to go see the film, my colleague (Ernest!) finally relented and came as my plus one.  We saw the film at Rose Theater in the Time Warner Center as part of the New York Film Festival.  The screening included a brief question and answer session with Chang-dong Lee, which was a great closing to a disturbingly bleak film.  I found the film to be brilliant, confusing, sad and enlightening.  I will not go into the plot of this film, as I found it fantastic to know virtually nothing about the film. 

Rara Sex

I found this list of sexual fetishes, aptly titled, “ABC’s of Kinks.”

Rara Coping

How this rara avis copes.

 

“When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder.”

-James H. Boren

Rara Therapy

I dined at davidburke & donatella (DBD) with my friend Kelly for lunch today.  DBD has two fantastic luncheon prix fix offerings, one at $24.07 and another at $34.  Kelly chose the Pretzel Crusted Crab Cake with Poppy Seed Honey and Kumquat-Jalapeño Jam; Lobster Scramble with Tomato Fondant and Crème Fraîche; Coconut Layer Cake with Passion Fruit Sauce, Coconut Anglaise and Tropical Fruit.  I chose the Grilled Asparagus with Goat Cheese and Chorizo; Mustard Crusted Tuna with Honshimeji Mushrooms, Silver Needles, Shanghai Bok Choy and Red Curry; Chocolate Mousse, Cheesecake Filling and Passion Fruit Sorbet with Tropical Fruit Compote.  Initially I was eyeing the $24.07 menu, as there was a Chef Salad with Chicken and Shrimp, Greens, Walnuts, Asian Pears, Bacon, Crisp Potatoes and Goat Cheese, which sounded perfect.  Mostly it was the idea of greens, shrimp, walnuts and goat cheese.  The Pretzel Crusted Crab Cake was intriguing too, but the Grilled Asparagus was ultimately a fantastic choice.  The asparagus was tender, yet crisp with a clean flavor.  The goat cheese was creamy and flavorful, the chorizo spiced it up and there was some sort of mushroom in there too.  It was a great dish and think I would have been satisfied with just my starter!

Rara Love Letter

Dearest Chef Rucker,

Your food wows me.  From your Portland restaurant’s amazing flavor pairings (the foie gras terrine in August was fantastic) to your good deeds (albeit via the James Beard foundation, I do love a kiss ass), my love for your culinary genius overwhelms my taste buds.  My palette aches for you.  The New York Times has even convinced me I need to move to the city where my mother lives, something no one else has been able to do, but I am considering because I want to eat your food everyday.  Writing this letter brings me to a chef-crazed groupie status, making it impossible for me to ever actually be friends with you.  In my defense, how can I resist professing my love for a chef that Food & Wine says, “he’s talented and bold enough to play with classic dishes that might include…an entire field’s worth of vegetables.”  *sigh*  That’s not even what I love about your food, although I would love to eat an entire field of Pacific Northwest veggies.  Oh and they quote you as saying, “I love any tongue.”  *audibly giggling*  Me too.

One of your groupies,

rara avis.