The Nest

Summer Supper: Soft Shell Crab and Avocado, Corn and Tomato Salad

Veronica Chambers — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:13:17 GMT

Yesterday evening, I sat on the patio of the Bryant Park Grill in New York with my family and a few of my favorite L.A. friends. We met at five and when we finished dinner at nearly 8 p.m., it was still light out. When we arrived, some sort of concert was going on and when we left, there was an outdoor yoga class -- hundreds of people doing yoga on the grass. We sat underneath a canopy of trees and enjoyed salads, crisp rosés, and the sizzle of easy, lively conversation.

...

Finally, it's starting to feel like summer. Not in a weather sense, or a pure calendar sense, but in a "summertime and the livin' is easy" sense. This is what I'm craving for a perfect summer supper: soft shell crabs, avocado, corn and tomato salad, and with it, Francis Ford Coppola's Sofia Rosé.

Fried Soft-Shell Crabs

1 cup flour
2 egg
3/4 cup small breadcrumbs (I suggest Japanese panko)
6 cleaned soft-shell crabs
2 Tbsp oil for frying
1 Lemon, cut into 6 wedges.

Arrange three containers on your counter and, fill one with flour and dashes of salt and pepper, the other with the egg (beat it), and the last with the crumbs. Roll a crab through the flour, then dip in in the beaten egg and then roll it through the breadcrumbs. Set to the side and repeat with the remaining five.

Heat oil in a skillet. (If you have a deep fryer, you can use that as well, removing the crabs when they're golden). Once it sizzles when you flick some water into it, add three of the crabs. Cook for 3 minutes on one side, then flip and wait 2 minutes more. Remove crabs to a plate or tray covered in paper towels. Repeat with the remaining three crabs.

Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad

6 ears of corn, shucked
2 avocados, peeled and chopped into large pieces
3 tomatoes, cut into 16 pieces each
Handful of basil, torn into small pieces
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
A good pinch of salt & pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add corn, cover, and turn off heat. Let sit for 5 minutes. Remove corn from water and drain.

Add tomatoes, avocado, basil, vinegar, and olive oil to bowl. Once corn has cooled enough to touch, slice off kernels and add to bowl. Add salt and pepper and stir. The remaining heat of the corn should melt the avocado slightly.

What's your idea of a perfect summer meal? Is it starting to feel like summer in your neck of the woods? Who are you looking forward to seeing this summer? Any family reunion style grubbing going on?

Make Serena Williams Your Personal Trainer

Veronica Chambers — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:49:15 GMT

You know how some people spend a lot on gym memberships and never go? That's not my problem. I love going to the gym. I love spin classes and the ellipticals and if I can hire a trainer to help me, I don't even mind lifting weights. My problem is at home workout DVDs. They don't work for me. When I had a baby a year ago, I bought about half a dozen DVD's that I reasoned I would use while the baby "slept"... you can laugh, I won't take it personally.

...

Luckily, there's a gym in my building and while I've managed to go three times a week, most of the last year, I really want to step up my cardio game. Enter Serena Williams and the spontaneous speed workout she created with Nike. You can download it for $10.99 on Itunes. It comes with 11 songs as well as the 12th track which is 30 minutes of Serena walking you, or rather whipping you, through a speed workout. You run (or walk) slow with speed bursts that last anywhere from thirty seconds to two minutes.

I have to admit, I was a little intimidated to try it at first. I'm not the greatest runner in the world. So for a few weeks, I just listened to the tracks while I did weights. I love Serena's taste in music from Mary J. Blige and Keyshia Cole to Vanessa Carlton and Timbaland. Serena's DJ'ing skills helped me power through my weights workout when I'd just as soon skip it.

But I needed to do more cardio, so finally I tried to do Serena's speed workout, going at my own pace. I ran in slow and fast bursts for twenty minutes of the 30 minute workout, and I discovered something big. Doing Serena's workout for 20 minutes was more of a kick in a pants than doing the elliptical for 45 minutes (especially when I was doing said elliptical while watching America's Next Top Model.)

Every time I do Serena's speed workout, I am not just panting, out of my breath, with my workout clothes covered in sweat. I feel like an athlete. One of my favorite movies is Love and Basketball. I had season tickets to the WNBA for years. I so admire women athletes, but the truth is when I went out for JV basketball in high school, those girls scared the bejesus out of me. I'm not fast. I'm not tough. I don't talk trash with any degree of panache.

With the Serena speed workout, it doesn't matter. It's just me, competing against myself and it feels great.

Have you tried any of the Nike plus workouts? Do you have an out of the gym workout that really works for you?

Latifah's Wedding: Presents Fit for a Queen

Veronica Chambers — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:48:30 GMT

This week California lifted its ban on gay marriage, and rumor is that Queen Latifah is planning to wed her longtime partner. I haven't gotten my wedding invitation yet :^) but I have been mulling over gift ideas. From "U.N.I.T.Y". to "Livin' Single" to her Academy-Award nominated turn in "Chicago," Latifah has given the world so much. Which makes me wonder, what kind of wedding present would befit America's favorite queen?

...

If money were no object, I'd get Latifah this silver pitcher. I love that it's so elegant, but the bamboo handle gives it an organic twist. I received a beautiful glass pitcher from Tiffany's on my wedding day and while at first I was nervous to use it, in the end I used it constantly; to serve drinks from cucumber lemonade to sangria.

I love monogrammed towels. My own set has the initials of me and my husband, but I like the cheekiness of these Hers and Hers towels.

...

Finally, I am enamored of this Audrey lamp from Shine Home. It's girly, but not overly so and Latifah would dig, I think, the chocolate hand-blown glass. I'd include an excerpt from one of my favorite poems, "Effort at Speech Between Two People" by Muriel Rukeyser, which includes a line about "lamps in evening corners." The poem also says, "I love you. Grow to know me... Take my hand. Speak to me."

...

Your turn. What do you think of Latifah getting married? Did you receive any truly special presents on your big day? Is there a present you love to give a newly married couple?

Postcard from Italy, and a Recipe: La Spaghettata

Veronica Chambers — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:08:45 GMT

Buongiorno from northern Italy. George Clooney owns a villa not far from here. However, I'm not visiting George Clooney. I am in the nearby and equally beautiful Lake Garda and late last night, I found myself eating pasta with a man who was not my husband.

...

The stars were shining. I had been out all day. We had been eating, and drinking wine, for what seemed like hours. Then the man turned to me and asked if I would like something special. If you know me at all you know that I always want something special. Although it was a kitchen that served dozens of diners each night, it was not very big. The quarters were cramped. The room was as hot as the chile peppers he sprinkled into hot oil. There was another pot of salted water on the burner, boiling. The man took two whole garlic cloves and threw them into the hot oil.

He took two white ceramic plates out and adorned each with a single leaf of basil and one half of a cherry tomato. He put spaghetti into the pot, measuring each serving by what fit between his thumb and his index finger. "Eight minutes," he told me. I'm a patient woman, I told him. I can wait.

He chopped fresh parsley. Then after removing the garlic from the pot with a slotted spoon, he moved the hot oil to a medium heat burner and allowed the parsley to sizzle. He strained the spaghetti and poured extra virgin olive oil straight on it. Then he tossed the spaghetti into the hot oil with chile peppers and parsley. The parsley covered the spaghetti like bright green specks of jade. He did not add salt or pepper. He swirled the spaghetti onto the plate and it looked like an ice-cream cone turned upside down. It was a small serving, a single scoop. Which is how I imagine chic Italian women can eat so much pasta and still fit into their Versace dresses.

The dish was scrumptious. It was just spaghetti, but it was so much more. The man, Chef Vito, looked pleased as I struggled to take polite bites, to catch the dripping olive oil that spilled from my fork on my napkin, before the oil could stain my dress.

"It's called La Spaghettata," another man told me. He was handsome and had been the object of much adoration from the women at our giant table.

Handsome told me, "La Spaghettata is what you eat when you've been out all dancing out all night and you come home with your friends and its three a.m. and you're ravenous."

As I ate, I thought, La Spaghettata is what you eat when you've been in bed all day with a lover and you get out of bed, with the goal of eating just enough so that you can get right back into bed again.

"Is your pulse racing?" Handsome asked and I had to admit it was. "It's the chili and the garlic," another woman piped in. But I thought perhaps my heart was racing for another reason altogether.

All of a sudden, I was homesick. I wanted to be back in my own kitchen, making this late night feast for the man I love.

You can make la spaghettata at home, but if you are in northern Italy and are longing for the real thing, you can find it -- and Chef Vito -- at Spia D'Italia. At Spia D'Italia, they make their own wines, they have their own restaurant and in a few short months, they'll also have agriturismo -- rooms you can rent while enjoying the wine tastings and cooking demonstrations in the restaurant below.

Buon apetito!

The Clutter Challenge (And A Peek at Celebrity Closets)

Veronica Chambers — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:14:46 GMT

I have to admit that I'm struggling. All work and no time to clean makes Jane a very messy girl. But I've been taking the advice of the Root reader who suggested getting rid of five items a day. And though it's slow going, I'm definitely making progress.

...

Here's what I've gotten rid of so far:

1/2 bottle of Jo Malone Red Roses perfume -- It wasn't cheap, but I have to admit I don't like it. My husband said it made me smell like a grandmother. I was really offended. But he's right. It makes me smell like a grandmother. Even though I tried to layer it with other fragrances to make it work.

Black dress from H and M that never fit right -- too big on top, too snug around the hips, it's history.

Left over posterboard for a sign we made for my in-laws anniversary. Finally realized that I don't actually make signs on a regular basis. Wrapped the unused posterboard up neatly and put it in the Goodwill bag.

Cosmetics -- sigh. Had to toss a good $100. worth of makeup that didn't look good on me, though I thought it did in the store. The main culprit: colored lipglosses that were either gloopy or gave my lips a weird reaction.

Magazines: read and tore out relevant pages of more than two dozen magazines. Took them down to the gym in our building. That felt good. I love finding magazines I wouldn't have bought to leaf through on the elliptical and I assume other folks do too.

Empty vases: I have too many. I'm a flower addict so I always have lots, but I've narrowed my collection down to 12. (8 that I love and 4 because sometimes I buy flowers at the bodega, make my own arrangement and take them over to a friend.) I put two in the bag for goodwill.

One pair of giant shell earrings that I bought last summer because I thought I'd rock them with a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I did not rock them all of last summer and don't think I'll be rocking them this summer either. To Goodwill, they go.

How's it going for you? Will you make it by June 21st, the first day of summer?

And if you need some procastinating, you might want to check out this celebrity closet quiz from the truly awesome website, Apartment Therapy. If you click on the link, you can take a quiz and tell them which celebrity closet best suits your style: A) Kimora Lee Simmons, B) Mariah Carey, C) Nicky Hilton and D) Eva Longoria.

I have to say that if I could, I'd go for B) Mariah Carey's over the top, girly girl closet. How about you?

How Do You Pray?

Veronica Chambers — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:22:54 GMT

It's been a really hectic week. Nothing especially bad, just busy and overwhelming in the kind of way that can bring you to your knees, literally. Which has made me think about prayer.

...

I've been praying a lot -- for peace, for clarity, for good judgement. Meister Eckhart famously said that if the only ever prayer you say is "thank you," then that is enough. So I've been saying thank you a lot too: for trains that run on time, for the delicious meals my husband cooks when I'm too tired to even lift my fork, for my mother-in-law who takes care of my little girl so that I can work and not feel guilty about it.

I go to church, but I'm struck by all the places where I feel like I'm surrounded by Spirit. When I do yoga, at home or at a studio, I feel surrounded by Spirit. And I think that I never feel closer to God than when I'm at the ocean (though a lake or a river will do.)

For years, I kept a picture of an infinity pool, a pool that is designed to look like it's literally spilling into the ocean behind it, on my bulletin board at work. Whenever I was stressed, I'd look at the picture -- very similar to the one shown here -- and I would feel a sense of peace.

Someday, I thought I'd get to that resort and I'd sit by that infinity pool. I looked at that picture every day for more than three years, and then one day out of the blue, I got a call from a travel editor. Did I want to write an article for them? Would I like to stay at this hotel? It was the very same hotel I'd been dreaming about for so very long.

Which makes me think there's another kind of prayer that does not involve words. I never asked to go to this place, but I think that the desire and the joy that picture inspired, put the prayer out in the world for me.

I'm curious. How do you pray? Where do you feel Spirit? And have you ever had your prayers answered in the most unexpected way?

Quick and Delicious: What's Your Easy Go-To Meal?

Veronica Chambers — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:01:07 GMT

I've just come back from Texas where I ate way too much BBQ and way too much Mexican food. So tonight, I'll be having this easy, light, grilled steak pitas.

...

I read about it in the Rachael Ray magazine last month and we've already made it about half a dozen times since. Like most people, we're trying to go easy on the red meat, but the beauty of this dish is that you're using a small amount of steak per gyro, it's just an accent piece to the tomatoes, fresh herbs and yogurt sauce.

In this recipe, nothing is fried, the meat is grilled. There's no exorbitant amounts of oil and there isn't any butter. The flavor punch comes from the Mediterranean style combo of lemon, spices and fresh herbs, and yogurt sauce.

Rachael Ray's Grilled Steak on Pitas

    * 2 pounds 1-inch-thick sirloin steak
    * 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
    * Salt and pepper
    * 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
    * 3/4 cup Greek-style yogurt
    * Juice of 1 lemon
    * 1 clove garlic, grated
    * 2 sprigs oregano, stems discarded, leaves chopped
    * 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    * 1 teaspoon ground coriander
    * 2 dashes hot pepper sauce
    * 4 large pitas or other flatbread
    * Toppings, such as thinly sliced cucumber, tomato and red onion; chopped chiles and kalamata olives; shredded romaine lettuce hearts; flat leaf parsley leaves
    * 4 lemon wedges


Preparation

Pre-heat the broiler or a grill to medium. Drizzle the steak with the EVOO; season with salt and pepper. Cook, turning once, for medium-rare, 8-10 minutes. (I like it medium well, so I cook it a little longer.) Let cool slightly, then thinly slice.

While the steak is cooking, using a food processor, puree the feta, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, cumin, coriander and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper; transfer to a bowl.

Char the pitas under the broiler or on the grill. Top with the steak and your choice of toppings. Serve with the lemon wedges and yogurt sauce.

So what's your easy go-to meal? What dish can you count on to be quick and delicious?

Presents for Pops: A Father's Day Gift Guide

Veronica Chambers — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:21:19 GMT

Father's Day is less than two weeks away and I'll be giving gifts not only to my husband, but to a few of the special men who've meant a lot in my life. Here are some of my favorite gift ideas.

...

I love Japan so much that I wrote a whole book about the country. One of my favorite things to do when I'm in Tokyo is to eat at izakaya spots: tiny little restaurants where you can get grilled meat, fish and veg for cheap along with great sake and beer.

This little Japanese grill is the perfect thing to create the spirit of izakaya in your own backyard. I adore the sleekness of the design. I love the $38. price tag even more. This little grill would pair perfectly with a DVD of a classic Japanese film like High Low. This way, you can give your guy a "dinner and a movie" gift with Asian flair. You could even add a six pack of Asahi beer to the present to seal the deal, Japanese style.

...

I'm a Brooklyn girl through and through so I'm just crazy about these old school transit token cufflinks. You can choose from New York, Boston, Chicago or San Francisco. And if you really want to splurge, you can get your man a French cuff shirt from Thomas Pink so he has a board room ready shirt to rock the cufflinks with.

...

Finally, as a writer, there are few things I love more than personalized stationary. And there are few stationers that I love more than Tina J. She's offering a Father's Day special if you order before June 9th.

...

So what about you? What are you planning to get the Papas in your life? Is there a gift that you'd love to tell your fellow Root readers about?

Book Club Crowd Pleaser: A Mashed Potato Bar

Veronica Chambers — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:09:45 GMT

Just think of me as your domestic goddess genie. Your wish is my command. A couple of Root readers have written in asking for book club recipes and I'm happy to comply. My first suggestion: a crowd pleasing mashed potato bar.

...

So here's your menu:

Wasabi Mash with Black Sesame Seeds

Smoked Salmon and Dill Mash

Black Olive and Fresh Thyme Mash

I've been making this trio of flavored mas for almost six years now and people always inhale them. I wish I could take credit for creating them, but those honors go to Rori Trovato, who created these for the Oprah Magazine.

All I've done is mastered the art of whipping these up and serving them in a beautiful way. I love to put each type of mash in a uniquely different bowl and then, if you can swing it, it's really cool to allow people to serve the mash as if they were scooping up creamy helpings of ice-cream. I like these colorful plastic margarita glasses, (pictured above) which I'd put out with small colored plastic spoons. You can also use simple white bowls for a cleaner, more elegant, look.

...

Because this mashed potato bar is both colorful and flavorful, I'd stick with something light and clear for a beverage: champagne, as well as sparkling cider.

WASABI MASH WITH BLACK SESAME SEEDS

    2 pounds (about 5 to 6) Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
    1 cup heavy cream, brought to a boil and kept warm
    6 tbsp. butter, softened to room temperature
    Salt and cracked black pepper
    1/4 cup wasabi paste
    2 Tbsp. black sesame seeds

In a large saucepan place, cover the chopped potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are very tender when stabbed with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain well. Return to the saucepan and add the cream and butter. With a hand mixer, blend until just smooth (do not over-whip).

Add the wasabi paste and 1 1/2 tbsp. sesame seeds. Garnish with the remaining sesame seeds. Season generously with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

SMOKED SALMON AND DILL MASH

    2 pounds (about 5 to 6) Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
    1 cup heavy cream, brought to a boil and kept warm
    6 tbsp. butter, softened to room temperature
    Salt and cracked black pepper
    1/2 cup crème fraiche
    1/4 pound smoked salmon, cut into small pieces
    Dill sprigs for garnish

In a large saucepan place, cover the chopped potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are very tender when stabbed with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain well. Return to the saucepan and add the cream and butter. With a hand mixer, blend until just smooth (do not over-whip).

Reduce the cream to 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup crème fraiche. Add the salmon to the potatoes. Garnish with dill sprigs. Season generously with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

BLACK OLIVE AND FRESH THYME MASH

    2 pounds (about 5 to 6) Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
    1 cup heavy cream, brought to a boil and kept warm
    6 tbsp. butter, softened to room temperature
    Salt and cracked black pepper
    1/2 cup pitted Niçoise olives or Kalamata olives, chopped rough
    1 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme

In a large saucepan place, cover the chopped potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are very tender when stabbed with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain well. Return to the saucepan and add the cream and butter. With a hand mixer, blend until just smooth (do not over-whip).

Add the olives and thyme. Garnish each serving with a sprig of thyme. Season generously with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Let me know how this mashed potato bar works out for you and if you want more book club recipes, let me know that too. I'd also love to know what you're reading and if you want recipes that fit the theme of your book. Pairing the cuisine to the book is always fun -- and I love a challenge! Have a great weekend.

Design Question: What's the Best Seat In Your House?

Veronica Chambers — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:26:50 GMT

The legendary architect Mies Van der Rohe famously remarked, "A chair is a very difficult object (to design). A skyscraper is almost easier." Jokes about old men and their tore up beloved Lazy Boys abound. But as I sit on my sofa (chocolate brown faux suede, almost entirely stain proof, about a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10 on the comfort level), I find myself dreaming of the perfect chair.

...

The Mies Barcelona chair, pictured to the right, is a modern classic. And in my fantasy life, where I live out west in an impeccably restored mid-century modern home, this chair would fit right in. In my current life, where I live in Philadelphia with a toddler who has sticky fingers and no regard for Mama's design taste, even if it were free, I'd have to take a pass. (Okay, that's a lie. If someone offered me a Barcelona chair for free, I'd wrap that bad boy up and put it in storage until the bambina got a little older and I moved into airier digs.)

These days, though, I'm all about comfort. That's why I spend way too much of my free time ogling chairs on the Ochre website. Take, for example, the chair pictured below.

...

I love the color -- blush, not actually pink. Which is good because I have a tough time keeping my girly girlness in check. I sorely test my husband's patience by bringing things like a giant Hello Kitty pillow into the house. That said, I am trying to keep a man.

(Hello Kitty being a small ode to my love of Japan.)

But I digress. Back to the Ochre chair. The cushions looks so soft, I can only imagine how lush they feel. What I love most about this chair is that it seems like a retreat -- a place where I can write a letter to a friend, curl up with a good book or watch an episode of Lipstick Jungle. (Full disclosure, I've been catching up with the first seven episodes on NBC.com. Like that the episodes are free online. Like the characters. Love the clothes.)

So now it's your turn, what's the best seat in your house? Where do you like to retreat at the end of a long day or the beginning of a perfect weekend?

No More Mayhem and Foolishness: The Spring Cleaning Clutter Challenge

Veronica Chambers — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:16:30 GMT

You are officially invited to the Spring Cleaning Clutter Challenge. The end date is June 21st, the first day of summer. As I mentioned before I've got a situation going on in my house and I don't want Niecy Nash and the Clean House crew to show up on my doorstep, looking for my mayhem and foolishness.

...

I'm going to break down the challenge into manageable bits so hopefully we can all get to the clean house finish line together.

Every Tuesday, I'll be posting -- and looking to hear from you about how it's going for you.

Inspired by Root reader, "ladeeda," this week, I'm going to work on getting rid of five things every day. I'm going to toss it, give it away and only if I really love it, keep it (and find a place to keep it.)

I'm starting with my closet (which has spilled over and all through my bedroom), then I'm moving onto my bathroom and home office.

Next week, I'll report on what I managed to get rid of and I'll hope you'll post your comments. What did you get rid of? Did you give anything away to good cause? Did getting rid of even five items make you feel good?

This past winter, I met with Melani Lewandowski, a feng shui expert who said that clearing clutter is more than merely housework. The Chinese philosophy of feng shui, or harmonious placement, states that junk begets junk and that by clearing out what you no longer need or love, you make room for more of the good stuff in life.

One of the things that was really striking in my conversation with Melani is how she spoke of the fact that you can honor that something has entered your life -- a vase, for example, given to you by a dear friend but one that is not at all your style, then you can let it go. You can release the vase/table/blanket that doesn't bring you joy and make room for something that will.

Clutter often symbolizes big changes -- big changes that have already occurred and sometimes ones that we're stalling on. So I'm curious. What's going on in your life that makes clutter such an imperative right now? And if you dare, what -- or who -- caused the situation in the first place?

As anybody who's watched the show, Clean House, knows, it's never really about the stuff outside. It's about the stuff going on inside.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

Dressed to Grill: Memorial Day Recipes

Veronica Chambers — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:08:28 GMT

It's Memorial Day weekend and I'm ready to grill. Full confession, I live in an apartment building so to grill, we have to go to our in-laws. But I have a long history of grill humility. When my husband and I were first engaged, we lived in a tiny house and spent the entire summer cooking on a tiny $29. Homer Simpson grill.

...

What I'm craving right now is my first truly great burger of the season. I don't eat red meat as often as I used to, so this burger will be a real treat. Because it's a treat, I want is a burger that's layered with flavor. My suggestion? A Spinach and Feta Cheese Burger. Because I'm carb conscious these days, I'll be eating my burger without a bun, topped with a heaping tablespoon of Smith and Wollensky steak sauce.

And as a side dish, I'm reprinting this grilled vegetable recipe that I got from the amazing photographer, Ron Tarver.

This post is called Dressed to Grill and what I'll be wearing on Memorial Day, if the weather cooperates, is a bright floral sundress. Something like this adorable Lily Pulitzer frock . I'm a New Yorker through and through, but after this winter and such a rainy spring, if I never wore black again, it would be too soon. I'm craving color as much as I'm craving this burger!

Veronica's Spinach and Feta Cheese Burgers

The important thing to note about these burgers, is that while they are topped with a generous sprinkling of feta, they aren't actually cheese burgers. On the grill, or in a pan, the feta melts into the burger creating a salty and crisp coating that isn't at all cheesy, but is absolutely delicious.

2 lbs beef (I like to mix one pound chuck with one pound of ground sirloin. The slightly higher fat content of the chuck makes the burger that much juicier. You can also mix one pound ground turkey and one pound ground sirloin, for a healthier burger)

4 ounces thawed frozen spinach

2 cups crumbled feta

1 pat of butter per burger

Salt and ground pepper

1. Mix the ground beef and spinach with your hands. Sprinkle the mixture with salt and ground pepper -- not too much salt because the feta adds a saltiness of it's own.

2. Form into burger patties

3. Make a depression in each burger with your thumb. Place the pat of butter in and then work meat back over the butter.

4. Grill the patties for five minutes on each side for medium rare and seven minutes on each side for medium.

Ron Tarver's Grilled Vegetables

2 large zuchni cut into 3 in. sticks
1/2 bag baby carrots,
4 medium red onions, 1 bunch of asparagus cut in half
3 red and yellow bell peppers cut into 2 in. chunks
12 garlic cloves halves
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Fresh rosemary

1. Slice veggies

2. Season with salt and pepper and about a teaspoon of rosemary

3. Coat with olive oil, toss thoroughly making sure the rosemary and oil coat all the veggies

4. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1/2 to an hour

5. The big secret is the grilling pan which can be purchased at Home Depot
Lowes, B B and Beyond- just about anywhere this time of the year. It's 12 in. wide and full of holes to let the flames lick the veggies.

You can grill on charcoal which I prefer (hardwood not the brickets) or gas grill in a pinch

(You could also use a stovetop grilling pan.) Either way keep the flame medium.

6. Get the pan hot before putting in the veggies and when you do use tongs to place them.

DO NOT POUR THEM FROM THE PAN! If you do the oil will catch fire and flare up. it looks spectacular
but you loose a few arm hairs in the process. But worst of all the veggies get coated black from the flair up.
Not to appitizing.

7. Take care to shake off as much oil as possible before gently placing them in the pan. There will still be some flair but just enough to make your friends think your cool.

8. Fill the pan about a quarter full and stir gently expose the veggies to the flame. Cook until they get a slighly charred look but remain crunchy.

It will take about 15- 20 min. per pan so I keep the cooked veggies in an earthenware bowl in a 200 degree oven as I go.

Happy Memorial Day Everyone! And If you have a favorite burger recipe, I'd love to hear about it.

Ms. Manners: Is It Ever Too Late to Send A Thank You Note?

Veronica Chambers — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:54:57 GMT

I used to be so on top of my thank you notes. Now, I've fallen way, way behind. Still, I think it's never too late to send a thank you note.

...

One of my gal pals disagrees. She says, "After a year, what's the point?" And it is true, I've occasionally gotten a call from a friend who says, "I got a very nice note from you and I don't even remember sending you that sweater/book/plant." But I thank you notes are not only about the recipient, they are about the giver. Whenever I sit down to write a note, I can feel myself moving from a place of lack -- not enough time/money/stuff -- to a place of abundance.

...

Writing a thank you note reminds me that my cup really does runneth over. During what was an extraordinarily difficult year, my friends gifted me in incredible ways -- from homecooked meals left on my doorstep to outrageously cute baby clothes for my baby. I am especially grateful to my friend, Lauren, who treated me to lunch and a pedicure during a time when taking care of myself was the last thing on my mind. And I am so, so grateful for the people who gifted me with their prayers and their presence, like the mother of my godchild who drove hours back and forth just to literally hold my hand.

I'm late, but I'm thankful. And so little by little, I'm getting those notes out. It helps that there are so many beautiful note cards out there. And for the people with whom I've been especially egregiously late, I've been sending my thank you notes out with a small $5.00 tin of Tea Forte infusers (pictured below)

So I'd love to get your take on this. Is it ever too late to send a thank you note? Is there a special brand of thank you notes that you like to send? How do you thank the special people in your life? And what about gratitude journals -- anyone out there still keeping one?

And before I go, let me thank you for all of your wonderful comments on my Nest-y posts.

The Kitchen Table Wisdom of Giving Circles

Veronica Chambers — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:00:52 GMT

My baby had just come out of a harrowing three month stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (aka the NICU) when I read about Heidi Breeze-Harris and the organization that she had co-founded to end obstetric fistula , a devastating complication of pregnancy that most often kills the baby and so incapacitates a woman that she leaks urine and/or ***, for the rest of her life. In the United States, the last fistula hospital closed its doors in 1895.

Women in the U.S. haven't had to live with fistula for over a hundred years. Heidi's concept, which she developed with her dear friend, Katya Mataonovic, was simple but powerful. If the average cost of a surgery, post-op care and rehabilitation was $300, that might be too big a gift for the average woman to make. But if a woman could get nine friends to give $30. each, then together those ten women -- for about the cost of a manicure and pedicure -- could change a woman's life because after surgery, not only does the woman not have to live with the isolating, constant pain of fistula, but she can often try to have children again and can find a place for herself in the community -- financially, emotionally and spiritually.

...

Right away, the idea resonated with me and I formed a giving circle, in honor of my own miracle baby. When I was in college, one of the most transformative books I read was "All the Men Are Black, All the Women Are White, But Some Of Us Are Brave: Black Women Studies." What was even more powerful to me was that the book was published by an independent publishing house called Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. At a time when academia seemed to me so white and so male, and I felt as a young scholarship student, that it was constantly being made clear to me that I was in this intellectual circle at the largesse (and perhaps even whim) of the powerful, "But Some Of Us Are Brave" reminded me that I brought to the table my own power and my own intellectual prowess. A press called "Kitchen Table" spoke to me because it reminded me of how knowledge and problem solving had been done by the women in my family and the women in my community, not in a chemistry lab or at an academic symposium, but around the kitchen table. The women in my family read books, navigated the legal system to sponsor family members from Panama into American citizenship, crunched numbers, did the "new math" each and every single payday -- all around that kitchen table.

Speaking to Heidi Breeze-Harris recently, I felt the same spirit and drive. Yes, she's an accomplished director of a growing non-profit. Yes, she's incredibly book smart. But the woman also oozes the kind of kitchen table wisdom that I grew up on and that I revere. It makes sense to me that such a woman would find herself working to aid and empower women through Africa, because her logic is community based, tribal, grounded in tradition with an eye for the future. It's the kind of work that, I believe, makes the ancestors proud.

Heidi was three months pregnant when she started One by One, then incredibly, she had an obstructed labor -- the exact conditions which, if she had been living in a country like Chad or Niger or Kenya, would have caused fistula. "I almost died in childbirth from an obstructed labor, of all things," Heidi explains. "I had already started One by One. As soon as I had the experience myself, when I had the experience myself, I know what it feels like to be in that kind of labor. Everybody has a mother. Motherhood is this incredible community binder. Motherhood can be much maligned but safe motherhood is empowering, not just for the mother, not just for the baby, but for whole community

While One by One works to provide fistula repair surgeries, this small organization has a much bigger vision. "If we keep treating, we’ll treat forever," she says. "The game we need to be playing is prevention. The way we look at it, there’s medical intervention and social intervention. There are infrastructure and brain drain issues (educating African doctors, then getting them to return to the communities they've come from.) Social interventions like child marriage and keeping girls in school. We want to provide greater access to emergency care, better transportation to get there and maternal centers so women can labor closer to home."

When we spoke, Heidi had recently attended a giving circle by a woman whose business was selling pearls. The theme of her giving circle was that women are pearls and that we need to honor and treat each other accordingly. On the One by One site, you can find a range of tools to help you host a giving circle: fact sheets, information about ordering a 15 minute DVD, beautiful E-cards you can send to friends like the one pictured below.

But even more importantly, if you really spend time on the One by One site, you can get an endless amount of inspiration about how you can rally a small group of friends to make a huge difference in the issues that you care about. Maybe the cause you want to support is fistula, maybe you want to host a giving circle to help a woman who is homeless, illiterate, jobless or recovering from substance abuse. But it does not have to be just on the level of the downtrodden -- maybe you want to host a giving circle to support a program that gets girls into sports, women into science, or helps promote a better body image. (The good Lord knows I'm going to do a happy dance the day when I can sit down with a group of women and not have a single one break into the "I'm fat" self flagellation but instead break into a cacophony of "I love my thighs, they really helped me kick ass during yesterday's bike ride/kickboxing class/carrying my baby in a Baby Bjorn uphill to the farmer's market.")

"Everybody finds their way," says Heidi. "Through the giving circles on One by One, we say, "here’s how we’re going to spend your money." But it’s not just your money, it’s your voices. Because I’d like to do the opposite of fistula which is hidden and shine a light on it. Each person does that and finds a way to talk to their friends and neighbors. Every single one of those moves – whether it’s giving a dollar or making a phone call to your Congress person, it’s powerful. By having a giving circle, you're saying to your friends and neighbors, “This is what moves me.”

One of my favorite quotes from scripture is "When two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them." For me, it is not so much religious, as it is about tapping into our own inherent power. When we gather together, we can move mountains. I saw the women in my family do it around the kitchen table. And on a global level, I am awed and inspired that women like Heidi Breeze-Harris are moving mountains too.

Sunday Supper: Cooking With Swimsuit Season In Mind

Veronica Chambers — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:25:44 GMT

This week's Sunday supper is easy to make and health conscious. With summer just around the corner, I've been focusing on having just protein and vegetables in the evening, instead of my usual side dishes of rice or mash or some other yummy super carbs.

...

The steak with melon relish comes via Self Magazine, one of my favorite mags for health and fitness tips. The grilled vegetables comes from an unlikely source, Ron Tarver -- who is an amazing photographer and lucky for me, a close friend of my husband's family. We were having a family potluck and Ron brought these vegetables and there were so good, so crispy and flavorful that it was all I could do not to hoover them down. So here's Ron's recipe, and if you are interested in Ron's artwork, you can check out his stunning series of photographs from Cuba and his series on black cowboys.

Steak with Melon Relish

Ingredients:

1 large cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and diced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
2 tbsp white balsamic (or cider) vinegar
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 lb flank steaks
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Toss cantaloupe, onion, parsley, mint, vinegar and oil in a bowl. Set aside. Heat a grill, grill pan or large skillet over high heat. Season steaks on both sides with salt and pepper. Cook 5 to 8 minutes on each side for medium rare, 8 to 10 minutes per side for medium and 10 to 12 minutes per side for well done. Remove from heat and allow to rest on a clean cutting board for 5 to 7 minutes. Cut steak diagonally into 1/8-inch-thick slices and transfer to a platter. Spoon half the relish on top. Serve remaining relish on the side.

Ron Tarver's Grilled Vegetables

Slice a bunch of veggies.
2 large zuchni cut into 3 in. sticks
1/2 bag baby carrots,
4 medium red onions, 1 bunch of asparagus cut in half
3 red and yellow bell peppers cut into 2 in. chunks
12 garlic cloves halved.

Season with:
salt
pepper
about a teaspoon of rosemary

Coat with olive oil, toss thoroughly making sure the rosemary and oil coat all the veggies
Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1/2 to an hour

The big secret is the grilling pan which can be purchased at Home Depot
Lowes, B B and Beyond- just about anywhere this time of the year. It's 12 in. wide and full of holes to let the flames lick the veggies.

You can grill on charcoal which I prefer (hardwood not the brickets) or gas grill in a pinch

(You could also use a stovetop grilling pan.)

Either way keep the flame medium.

Get the pan hot before putting in the veggies and when you do use tongs to place them.

DO NOT POUR THEM FROM THE PAN! If you do the oil will catch fire and flare up. it looks spectacular
but you loose a few arm hairs in the process. But worst of all the veggies get coated black from the flair up.
Not to appitizing.

Take care to shake off as much oil as possible before gently placing them in the pan. There will still be some flair but just enough to make your friends think your cool.

Fill the pan about a quarter full and stir gently expose the veggies to the flame.
Cook until they get a slighly charred look but remain crunchy.

It will take about 15- 20 min. per pan so I keep the cooked veggies in an earthenware bowl in a 200 degree oven as I go.

Bon Appetit!