What I Learned v3

1. To pickle beets.  Things have gotten pretty domestic in my life since moving to Austin, and as a byproduct of that, I have become quite proficient at preserving foods. Pickles, fruit butters or marmalades, I just love "putting stuff up." So naturally, when Tom and I pulled up our small crop of beets last week, I decided to make spiced pickled beets. We ended up with four jars filled with the bright red roots, preserved in a mix of vinegar, sugar, allspice, clove and cinnamon. I cant wait to crack a jar open, but for best flavor, I think we will wait until we get back from our vacation.

2. The Blanton is awesome! Despite my reservations of it being crazy on campus for graduation weekend, Tom convinced me to go with him to the Blanton Museum of Art last Saturday.  It was a great way to spend a hot afternoon, and as a bonus, Staff and Students get into the museum for free every day (I could write a whole blog post about why I LOVE my UT ID card.)  The museum is much bigger than I realized, so we didn't get a chance to see everything before our legs got tired, and our brains were overloaded with all the cool stuff to look at. Needless to say, I am really looking forward to our next visit, so we can see what we missed.

3. I heart SYTYCD even more than I remembered.  My favorite reality show is back, ladies and gents! I think it surprises people that "So You Think You Can Dance" is such a favorite of mine. Do I like it more than Top Chef? Yes. More than Project Runway? Yes, again. SYTYCD is the only place I can think of where you can regularly see transcendent art created and performed on the TV. And I like the absence of silly challenges that other reality shows employ, which seem more and more like they are created solely to mess up the contestants. Don't get me wrong, I do love those other shows too, but Top Chef is not about making the contestants better chefs. SYTYCD gives dancers and choreographers space to discover, to grow and to create beautiful things. Yes, sometimes a contestant has to go outside of their comfort zone (sometimes way outside...Russian Folk Dancing, anyone?) to perform in a style they are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with. But more often than not, in those situations we often get a moment that is more than the sum of it's parts. Do any of you watch SYTYCD? What are your favorite reality shows?

4. Homemade arugula pesto is AMAZING! Tom and I have a beautiful and very prolific arugula plant in the old garden.  For the past few months, we have been picking leaves here and there to add to salads, pizzas and sandwiches, but this week Tom got the inspired idea to sub out the basil for arugula in his pesto recipe. The result was really stunning.  The mix of olive oil and pine nuts really mellowed out the sharp bite of the arugula. We made panini the other night with turkey, smoked muenster, garden tomatoes and the arugula pesto. Oh my word. So yummy!! Are the pesto possibilities endless? I mean, what isnt improved by the addition of olive oil and pine nuts?