Signing off for a while à la Jack Berger.

National Ornamental Metal Museum, Polar Bear Plunge, Books

The National Ornamental Metal Museum will be presenting the "Different Tempers" exhibit February 5 - March 28. There will be about 40 objects on display created by both jewelers and blacksmiths. If you have not been to this museum, or if you haven't been in a while, this would be a great time to go. The piece above is a brooch made of 18K gold and iridescent shells by Mary Preston, one of the featured jewelers.



Reminder: The Polar Bear Plunge and Chili Cook-Off is this Saturday, February 6th at Mud Island River Park.

I went to the law school today mainly to see if there was anything in the teeny, tiny bookstore besides law textbooks and to my surprise there was a decent sized shelf of bestsellers. Enough of a selection to run in and find yourself something to read if you didn't feel like driving to midtown. Also, it was cool being able to walk down a beautiful, light filled hallway after years of only being allowed into what had been the post office customer service area.

2009 Love Lobsters: 2010 Lollia and Dinners

For Valentine's Day last year I ended up with not one but TWO Love Lobsters from Walgreens. How did I end up being so lucky? What could one hope to find this year that could top fuzzy crustaceans? After some long hours thinking that one through it occured to me that the Peabody Hotel gift shop sells Lollia products. The gorgeous packaging alone makes me want to buy all of these luxurious candles, bubble bath and lotions. Also, there are many Valentines Day dinners around downtown and you may want to make some reservations now. Here are a few:

Felicia Suzanne's

Flight

Various brunches and dinners at the Peabody restaurants

5 course Valentine's Day dinner at Itta Bena according to their facebook page

Currents in the River Inn on Harbor Town

Grill 83 in the Madison Hotel

Messages

Plenty of messages from the lot at Quetzal

Dogs, Cake and Art

My car is in the shop today for an oil change and a couple of minor issues so I took the trolley to work. I had to wait a few minutes at the ballpark stop on Madison and noted the mosaic on the platform that had been damaged has been replaced. I also couldn't help but notice the dogs featured in the mosaics at that trolley stop...

While waiting for the trolley, I had plenty of time to study the mural, on Madison at Autozone Park, designed and painted by Jeff Zimmermann. Why is my eye always drawn to that piece of cake?:

Icy Friday Night

What to Eat During a Winter Storm: Recipes for Hibernation (if it comes to that)

Well, the weather people have predicted a winter storm starting late tonight or very early tomorrow morning. Whatever happens, I have some good recipes to try when it's dreary and cold outside. Above is my latest version of Huevos Rancheros. Here's the recipe:

1 15 oz can of Original Rotel
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed (I can't abide what I call the "thick, murky, black yucky stuff" packed in the can)
2 spring onions, chopped
4 eggs
1 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the first three ingredients in a mixing bowl. Heat the oil in a large saute pan and add the mixture. Saute over medium high heat a few minutes. Make four wells in the mixture and gently break an egg into each well. Cover the pan with a lid for a couple of minutes -the eggs will be poached in the bean mixture's liquid. Transfer each egg carefully to a plate so as not to break the yokes and spoon some of the bean mixture around the egg. Add some sliced avocado on the side and warm corn tortillas. Very nice.

The other recipe is from the Creative Structures blog. Blogger Diana has a rustic Sausage and Lentils recipe that looks perfect for cold weather.

Enjoy!