by Paula D.
on March 12, 2021 9:12 am in Recipes
Several months back I treated myself to a weekend subscription to the New York Times. It’s taking over my physical world. I want to read and look through every page so I’ve been saving the sections I don’t get to every week. It’s piling up. The paper has effectively taken over my dining room table and now has expanded to the living room coffee table. And it sort of feels good.
Besides enjoying the articles, I get really excited looking at the illustrations, layouts and typographic design. It’s been inspiring my own graphic design work, which I hadn’t expected.
Even more surprising: last Friday night I was having wine at the table (not the surprising part), and I started to doodle on the newspaper. That transformed into somewhat legitimate art work. It’s been too long since I’ve put the pen to paper. This impromptu art night now has become a regular thing and I’m so happy to be drawing again.
Artists know staring at that blank white piece of paper can be overwhelming. That’s not an issue when you work on newsprint. The text and images on the page inform what and where I decide to draw. It’s a great exercise for those of you who are interested in getting back into creating artwork but may feel hesitation. Also, I like the idea of upcycling the newspaper.
I almost started drawing on a page in the Home section but I caught myself — there was a very interesting recipe. Salmon and Tomatoes in Foil? It looked so simple and delicious. The article mentions you can make it in advance. The fish can be steamed, grilled, roasted or pan-grilled. If you’re not a fan of salmon, use the same technique with tuna steak or white fish, etc.
Salmon and Tomatoes in Foil
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ to 2 pounds salmon fillet, cut crosswise (4 pieces)
12 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Salt and fresh ground pepper
16 basil leaves
Directions:
- For each of 4 packages, place one 12-inch-long sheet of aluminum foil on top of another. Smear top sheet with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, and layer a fillet of salmon, 6 tomato halves, salt and pepper, basil leaves and another half tablespoon oil. Seal package by folding foil onto itself and crimping edges. Repeat to make other packages. Refrigerate until ready to cook, no more than 24 hours later.
- When you’re ready to cook, heat the oven to 500 degrees. Place packages in a roasting pan. (Or they can be cooked on top of the stove in 2 skillets over medium-high heat.) Cook for 8-12 minutes or cook for 6 minutes with the packets open in the broiler for more crisp.
- Let packages rest a minute, and cut a slit along the top with a knife. Use a knife and fork to open the package. Spoon the salmon, garnish and juices onto a plate, and serve.
I was tempted to add diced garlic and spinach along with the tomatoes but held back in an effort to try the recipe in its pure form. The outcome: light, flavorful and fulfilling. I used a lot of freshly ground pepper which added a nice texture over the smooth fish and a pop of boldness it needed with the limited ingredients. I kept some whole basil leaves for the effect of beauty but I’d recommend dicing more so you taste the basil in every bite.
This is a fast, healthy appetizing dish for fish lovers. Additionally, it’s a great weeknight dinner only taking 20 minutes to prepare. Keep this in mind for summer as it’s perfect for a grill-out as you can make the packets in advance. Enjoy!
Recipe from cooking.nytimes.com
by Paula D.
on March 12, 2021 8:53 am in Food
When I received my first COVID-19 pizza box it was unsettling. I tried to enjoy my delicious slices but kept thinking about “THE VIRUS.” Now for some reason, I’m oddly obsessed with the boxes. I suppose my interest is due to my profession – I’m a graphic designer with a background in marketing. The concept of using a pizza box as a vehicle to promote health safety and Covid-19 testing throughout NYC – a city obsessed with pizza – is clever to say the least.
There are currently two editions of the NYC Covid-19 pizza box and the word at La Sorrentina (420 Beach 129th St, Queens, NY 11694) is that NYC.gov / NYC Test & Trace Corp. will have a third edition available in the upcoming weeks. The city is calling Pizzeria’s all around NYC with an offering of these free pizza boxes.
Edition one features a family photo with the words “Do it for them. Get tested for Covid-19.” It’s pretty straight forward. The second edition is bold, bright and graphic. It seems the color and concept/tagline is meant to boost morale and invigorate New Yorkers at a time where we’re all mentally exhausted of pandemic life, “NYC, you’re doing great at mask wearing!” And the secondary text urges us to continually get tested even if we don’t present with symptoms. What will edition three look like?! I am eagerly anticipating it.
You’ve seen the second bold design everywhere around NYC – on buses, in the subway, direct mailers, etc. I did some digging but It’s unclear whether the city is outsourcing their Covid-19 marketing campaign or it is done in-house. If anyone has a lead on this query please contact me, I’m so curious because this is top-notch marketing.
On the back of the NYC Covid-19 Pizza boxes, Encompass Media Group’s website is printed. It seems they are the producers of these boxes. The site says, “pizza box advertising campaigns are a hot way to reach consumers of all ages and demographics! Your ad is sure to be seen with 94% of Americans eating pizza regularly.”
I thought for sure there must be articles about these unique pizza boxes all over the internet but shockingly all I found was one Reddit thread and a handful of tweets with no significant sharing. I can’t get over it – a pandemic pizza box in NYC and it’s not getting major buzz? This has Gothamist.com and Vice.com written all over it. Perhaps after my article these big-timers will pick up the story (credit please).
If you’ve received a pandemic pizza box send me a pic and I’ll add it to my photo collection on theglorifiedtomato.com. Please also email the name and contact info of the pizzeria your received it from – pdigioia@rockawave.com
And one last thing … I’ve been saving the boxes because in 10 years these iconic pizza boxes, marking an unprecedented period of time in our history are going to be worth big bucks on Ebay. Although I could have just lowered the value by sharing this information with you …
by Paula D.
on March 8, 2021 3:25 pm in Memories
Like many Italians in the late ’50s, my grandparents moved out of Brooklyn (Bed-Stuy) to “The Island.” Well, not exactly the island. They moved to Bellerose, Queens in 1957. My father was 11 years old. It must have been a big change from playing outside on Nostrand Ave.
My grandfather Mickey followed his brothers there – Uncle Dick, Babe, Pasqual, Severne and Aunt Rosie, and Marie. He doesn’t know why the family picked this particular area of Queens. My father tells me that Bellerose at the time was mostly German. They lived on 241st Street off of Jamaica Ave. and that’s where my Grandmother Pauline stayed the rest of her life (besides some elaborate travel), a single mom of two. My grandfather passed away at the age of 42. I never met him.
Before his passing, my father remembers his dad would spend time with the neighbors next door. He can’t recall the husband’s name but the wife’s name was Hazel. And Hazel’s extended family also lived there. They’d drink German beer on the stoop on the weekends, becoming good friends.
Hazel was the last in the household to pass away of cancer some years later. My father recalls when relatives came to clean out the house next door, a man approached him and gave him two lamps. It seemed odd to my father because he was only around 14 years old at the time. He brought them inside to his mother and that’s where they stayed until my father took them when my grandmother passed away in 2005.
Both lamps were quite unique. One was made of wood. It was circular and it had a man and a woman also carved in it. Unfortunately, it broke a while back, my father told me.
The other is now the one that I possess and adore. My father gave it to me when we bought our home in Rockaway in 2014. He knew I admired it. The base is brass and the glass bowl lamp is hand-painted. The unique feature is that the rose painting is on the underside of the glass. The outside has a texture. It’s dark green, dull and uninteresting when the light is off. When the light is turned on though, it glows magnificently like stained glass church windows. My father said it has to be at least 100 years old. The brass base was painted silver when Hazel’s family gave it to him. My father refurbished it to its natural glory decades ago but you can still see a tiny bit of paint by the lightbulb socket. He believes since brass is hard to clean, someone thought to paint it. “What a sin!” he said to me.
As I always do, I wanted to find out more about this treasure. There’s no brand marking. But there are two lamps on eBay that have distinct similarities. And one is selling for $5,499. That brand is the Handel Company (1885–1936). The factory was in Meriden, Connecticut, and they had a showroom in NYC. While many were making these fashionable lamps in that period, this company was esteemed as the best, for their hand-painted artistry.
Maybe mine is a knock-off of the time or maybe the Handel name and number signature wore away. Regardless, this lamp will always be special to me. I will keep it my whole life. And after I’m gone, the journey of this lamp will continue and give beauty and light to another. Just as it did for Hazel, my grandmother, my father, and myself.
by Paula D.
on February 6, 2021 8:07 am in Cats / DIY
My family has always been savvy thrifters. After all, my father was one of New York’s Strongest for 35 years, and he was always looking for hidden treasures “on the job,” so it’s in my blood.
As a kid, my dad would take me to various junk shops but our favorite, “upscale” place was St. Vincent De Paul. It’s close to our house, just a town over in Garden City Park. I don’t get there much any more, but my father still goes regularly in search of a great deal. He’ll look for stuff I “need” and call from the store, “They got a great set of red wine glasses, real cheap, do you want’em?” He knows my style and anything red to match my kitchen I usually take.
The other day when I saw him he looked excited, “I got something for you! I think it’s worth money, look it up on the internet.” Part of the game is to find thrifted items that are expensive and then we try to resell it for a profit. Back in the day my father sold to his “Junk Lady” Ruthy; now my sister does it on Ebay. My fathers has been doing this his whole life and that extra cash adds up. His junk finds paid for my art classes in high school and stuff like expensive sneakers and Cavaricci’s I wanted for Christmas.
He handed me a miniature black cat figurine. The face is so unique looking, I see why he picked it up. It’s not exactly a cat’s face– it’s more human or frog-like. My father taught me as a kid to look for labels and engravings. The cat has a label “Part of a range of images of Ireland paying tribute to its culture and heritage, Island Turf Crafts have re-created these images in turf cut from Irish bog lands… made in Ireland.
This was intriguing to both of us. I took to the internet to research my new treasure. My black cat was in fact lucky – The Lucky Bog Cat of Ireland. I’ve never heard about this or the Irish bogslands for that matter. Legend goes…
“Ireland’s bogland was once home to the much sought after black bog cat which was said to roam the vast bogland near the shores of Lough Neagh. It was larger than the usual cat and lived on insects and small animals, and was said to bring luck and great wealth and happiness to those whose path it crossed. Similar stories are told about a large black cat seen in the boglands in midland Ireland and with its intelligent cunningness always evaded capture.”
Google said my cat was worth 12 euros. My father got it for a buck. I told him it wasn’t worth much but that it was lucky and would bring us money and happiness. He laughed! It’s so interesting to me that Ireland is known for the lucky shamrock and apparently … the lucky bog cat. Is this common knowledge to Irish folks?
I read further about the boglands of Ireland. They’re wetlands that accumulate peat, a deposit of dead plant material including mosses. Most bogs form where the water at the ground level is acidic and low in nutrients. Boglands have very specific biodiversity and numerous wetlands throughout the world are environmentally projected by the government.
For centuries Irish bogland has played an intrical part of life and culture. Every farmer and most every family’s rural home had their own turf bank (another name for peat fossil fuel). Irish turf was dug from the bogs, dried and used as fuel for cooking food and heating. It is still used today but less so with a push for green energy. In 2018 dozens of factory bogland closed. Many in Ireland felt it was an “end of an era.”
What I love about thrift store finds is that they unfold a little mystery and can teach you something you didn’t know about before.
If you have a story about the Irish Bog Cat or more information on its symbolism I would like to hear from you. Email me here.
Reference: https://houseofcladdagh.com, https://en.wikipedia.org, http://www.bbc.co.uk/
