Some call the city the concrete jungle, but one can stop to admire nature. As I walked by, a patch of sunflowers (one of my favorite flowers) caught my eye. They were nowhere similar to the glorious rolling fields of sunflowers I used to see in Italy as I rode on the train. However it was a nice reminder.

There must be some conspiracy with the pigeons in New York City. All of a sudden, they seem to be attracted me, nowadays. As I took the photos of the sunflowers, a pigeon flew over and landed on the bench behind the flowers, striking a pose for me.

A baby squirrel decided that it wanted to join in the fun, too. Can you see it in the fourth photo?

About an hour later, I looked up and noticed these beautiful clouds gathered in the sky. Does anyone know what type of clouds these are? From my old school days, I’m guessing cumulus. What do you say?

By the way, the next day I passed by spot I saw the sunflowers, and they’d disappeared. I don’t know what happened to them. I’m guessing that someone probably cut them and took them home. I suppose this is typical of the New York City scene, where you’ll see something one day and then it’s gone the next.

Have a great week!

Paz

Ed. Note: Case of the missing sunflowers solved: Elizabeth informed me below that the squirrels could have stolen the sunflowers, as they did in her garden. Also, she mentions that she normally calls these type of clouds in the sky, a Mackerel Sky, which means rain in two days. Interestingly enough, it did rain two days later!

It seems that everyone waits around the bus stop in NYC — in this case, humans and birds alike.

As passengers and I waited for the bus to arrive, a group of pigeons fluttered around closeby. One pigeon left its group and walked over to where I stood and stopped a few inches from my foot. Its actions surprised me because they usually keep their distance, unless perhaps you are feeding them. But even then, they are very careful. So, I wondered why it approached me. Within a few seconds, I realized why it behaved the way it did.

Right next to my foot was a crack in the sidewalk, which I hadn’t noticed before. The crack was filled with rainwater. The thirsty bird sipped the water from its personal fountain and stopped only to look at me every so often.

Soon the bus came and the pigeon and its friends flew out of the way. The passengers and I got on the bus and went on our merry way.

Have an awesome week!

Paz

Click on photo for larger image

Click on photo for larger image

BlogDay 2006 will take place August 31. To read more about this event and how to participate, go here.

Paz

Last week I had to go to the post office to mail my post cards for the Bloggers Postcards from Around the World (BPW) event. The line for service stretched out the door. There are about seven or eight windows but only three were open with postal clerks, who attended the needs of the customers.

In order to save time, I tried to buy stamps from the stamp machine, but some kind of malfunction prevented it from accepting my money. So I had to get back on the long line. Lucky for me, I had my CD player (no I don’t have an iPod. Yet.) to distract me and help block out the noise of the man grumbling behind me about the bad postal service and how everyone was dumb.

Listening to my music, I was also able to block out an argument going on between the same man and a woman about who got on the line first.

You can see that I had my camera, too. My favorite photo is of the older lady in the third photo. She had about 20 white, large invitation-sized envelopes in her hand. Before depositing them into the mailbox slot, she inspected each envelope very slowly. Her careful actions made me wonder what type of news she mailed out. Obviously, something very important to her.

I finally made it to the front of the line, bought my stamps, and mailed off my cards. Yay!

Have a great week, everyone!

Best,
Paz

Garden Sage (salvia officinalis)

It’s Weekend Herb Blogging time and I’d like to spotlight the herb Sage. Its name comes from the Latin word, which means health or healing powers. As far back as the Dark Ages, sage has been used for two purposes – culinary and medicinal.

Ancient Greeks and Romans used sage to do things like promote long life, cure sterility, snakebites, and depression. You can find a few modern medicinal recipes here. Sage is the best herb choice for killing bacteria.

This week, I made a jar of Marinated Feta from a recipe I saw on Haalo’s blog, Cook Anything (Almost) Once.

The ingredients contained a mixture of herbs. To achieve an Asian flavor in her marinated feta, Haalo chose to use coriander, chives, lime leaf, and parsley.

I opted for the Mediterranean taste by using fresh sage, basil, rosemary, oregano and thyme. It tasted very nice. Good feta and olive oil are the key here. I love feta cheese and this was a nice and different way to prepare it. Next, I’ll try Haalo’s Asian flavored version.

Domestic Cat also has a different recipe for Marinated Feta, which I plan on trying in the near future.

Thanks Haalo and Tülin for such enticing recipes!

By the way, recently, Sravanthi wrote a nice article for The Hindu Business Line called ‘Hot off the… blog!’ It’s about the world of food blogging. Our fellow food blog friends Sailu of Sailu’s Indian Food & Andhra Recipes, Napur of One Hot Stove, Sury and Cesar of (Lima) Beans and Delhi Cha(a)t, Vineela of Vineela’s Cuisine, Mae of Rice and Noodles, and Indira of Mahanadi are mentioned. So am I. You can read the article here.

Paz

Marinated Feta
Click on photo for larger image

Haalo’s recipe:

Marinated Fetta
1 slice of your favourite fetta cheese
assorted soft herbs
freshly ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, very finely sliced
fresh chilli, to taste, very finely sliced
good olive oil

First thing is the pat your slice of fetta cheese dry on a paper towel. Next dice into a smallish cube (maximum 1cm width) and place in a bowl.

Prepare the herbs - I like to maintain a theme with my herbs. This version will have Asian flavours so I’m using, coriander, chives, lime leaf, parsley. If I wanted a more Mediterranean feel, I’d use basil, sage, rosemary, oregano and thyme. Feel free to experiment with your favourites.

Add the sliced garlic and chillies and finely chopped herbs to the cheese. Carefully toss through. Generously grind over the top with fresh pepper, then toss again.

Pour enough olive oil (use a good oil - why sacrifice the dish and use a horrible tasting oil) until it covers the cheese. Seal the bowl with plastic wrap and place in fridge to allow the flavours to develop. You can if you like, place the herb and cheese mix into a sterilised jar, cover with oil and seal for a more longer life product.

During the scorching days of summer in the city, one tries different things to keep cool. Some stop for ice cream. Others may be tempted to stop by this open fire hydrant and splash some water on their face…

Have a great week and if it’s hot in your neck of the woods, try to keep cool.

Paz

Click on photos for a larger images

BlogDay 2006 will take place August 31. To read more about this event and how to participate, go here.

Paz

*Ed. Note: A few have asked the definition of “new blogs.” Basically, it means blogs you’ve recently discovered or blogs, which are new to you.