Under a Red Roof ·

Happy

August 5, 2008 in Loving, Quoting by Colleen | 2 comments

“Very little is needed to make a happy life.”

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

I spent about ten minutes dashing about the house like a spaz, looking for the camera. I was just so darned happy to see this beautiful light streaming down the stairs and had to capture it.

This is something I absolutely adore about our house – the light. During daylight hours, no matter the time of year, it is always beautiful. Sometimes it is bright, like this photo. Other times, it is cool, or diffused by the myriad leaves on the surrounding trees. Most importantly, it is always pleasant, always there.

It is such a treasure to have something so ordinary as light, so everyday, be so wonderfully pleasing. Marcus Aurelius certainly had it right. I am indeed living a happy life.

Greens, if you please…

August 4, 2008 in Cooking + Baking, Eating by Colleen | 1 comment

I never thought I was a greens person. They’ve just never seemed terribly appealing, but then I decided I would try. It wouldn’t hurt to have a little more variety in my diet, would it? No, and certainly not when prepared in this fashion along with some tasty roasted chicken. Yum!

This serves two.

Chicken:

2 chicken breasts or thighs, patted dry

1 t dried herbs – I used a combination of rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, and oregano

1/4 t ground garlic

1/4 t salt

Greens:

1 large bunch of collard greens – about 1 pound

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup diced onion

1 T butter

1 t olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Start heating the water for the greens – 3 quarts worth in a large pot. Combine herbs and salt in a mortar and pestle, grind until very fine (optional). Rub chicken with herb-garlic-salt mixture and bake at 375 until juices run clear, about 15-20 minutes. Prepare the greens while the chicken bakes.

Make a chiffonade of the greens and rinse thoroughly to remove any dirt. Add greens to the boiling water, and boil on low with the lid on for fifteen minutes. Drain the greens thoroughly in a colander, set aside. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, add butter, olive oil, garlic, and onion. Saute just until the onion softens before adding the greens. Stir until garlic and onion are evenly distributed and the greens are heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste. For extra flavor, pour the pan juices from the chicken over the greens before adding the chicken.

Sit out on the lawn and enjoy!

Sac en Plastique

August 1, 2008 in Watching by Colleen | 1 comment

Here’s another of my all time favorite movies, Amelie (hmm…wishing I could figure out how to make proper accent marks, tant pis).

Anyhoo, Amelie has all the elements I enjoy in film:

A good and believable story. Who hasn’t dreamed of ways to bring people happiness, make others behave with kindness, or fall in love? It is told with wit, charm, and occasionally, a sharp knife-edge! The characters are like people we know – eccentric, obsessive, dreamers, do-gooders, and curmudgeons, all with their own flair.

Beautiful cinematography – heavens to Betsy! The use of saturated colors, beautiful set decorations, ace camera angles all make this story a gem to behold.

Top shelf acting – every character fully embodied by the actor, no kidding. Audrey Tautou, the adorable Matthieu Kassovitz (he looks a little like the G-man), crotchety Serge Merlin as Mr. Dufayel, “et Lady Di…” Jammel Dubbouz, to mention a few.

A fine soundtrack – Oh yes, yes, yes! Yann Tiersen is quite good at making kiddie pianos and everyday sounds like flipping paper charming. I also love the old French standards like “Si Tu N’etait pas La.” I hum and sing along every single time.

Watch it and prepare to be charmed!

Tags: Movies

Exploring Portland

July 30, 2008 in Drinking, Eating, Exploring by Colleen | 1 comment

My Uncle Chris was in town this past weekend, therefore affording us the opportunity to explore the city in ways we don’t normally. Chris is very fond of views, so we went to every spot we hadn’t taken him before, like the rooftop restaurant Rocket on East Burnside where we enjoyed some tantalizing cocktails. Mine was The High Ball, a perfect combination of bourbon, tea concentrate, and tamarind syrup, topped with a delicious cherry!

As Portlanders will be able to surmise from the photos, we also went for a short hike in Forest Park to show Chris the very cool ruins of a stone house built by the WPA in the 1930’s. It always looks so beautiful! We also made a stop at the Mount Calvary cemetery for the stunning Mt Saint Helen and Mt Hood vistas. Though they didn’t photograph as nicely as they looked in person, sigh.

Surprisingly, we had never taken him to Washington Park, so that was our next stop. It was a perfect day to be out among the myriad roses, and while not in their full glory, they were still quite impressive. After the Rose Garden, we visited the Holocaust Memorial – a very sad place that reminds me of the importance of kindness and forgiveness. Hating people for having beliefs different than my own can lead me down a very dark path.

After all that hiking, walking, and driving, we took a bit of a siesta at The Matador in Northwest, an uber-velvety place with stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon (hello decadence) and the best margarita I’ve ever had. Wouldn’t you know, it had tamarind juice in it? I think I am becoming a little predictable!

After more decadent dining that evening at The Berlin Inn and a good night of sleep, we spent Sunday looking at real estate. Our most interesting stop was at The Benson, where we got to see our fair city from the 24th floor. I wish I hadn’t been a ninny and forgotten to take photos. It was really quite nice to see my home from a new angle, and one so flattering as well. Portland, you look mahvelous! Thanks for being such a great place to live.

The Mile High City

July 25, 2008 in Remembering, Traveling by Colleen | Permalink

Though, I don’t care to live there again – snow, traffic, sprawl, and housing prices, returning to Denver is always a treat for me. I love roaming around, looking for the new, and finding myself happy to see places that have not changed. Look, there’s the Wonder Bread factory! I can see the School of Mines “M!” Oh my goodness, there’s the castle! All of it brings back a flood of welcome memories and new ideas about the place that was once home.

This is Paris on the Platte, my absolute favorite coffee shop in Denver. I first went with friends on my sixteenth birthday – what a joyous discovery. I spent many a late night – chatting, laughing, playing cards. There are some changes, but it’s heart remains the same – the checkerboard ceiling, the useless smokeeter, bread boards piled with savory goodness. I am sipping a regular-old iced coffee here, but back in those early days, it was a Cafe Jacques with cinnamon and a slice of orange on top (no longer on the menu), with an occasional clove cigarette on the side. I will say, no matter the drink, the company’s always been divine.

Back when the Wynkoop was one of the few “civilized” outposts in lower downtown (LoDo), I loved wandering the abandoned streets, particularly when I came upon Union Station and beautifully tiled buildings like these. They don’t make ’em like this anymore!

In college, The Market was my favorite hangout. I could cross Auraria Parkway, and mosey down Larimer to grab a slice of quiche, a sweet, and an occasional coffee. It really looks exactly the same. The striped awning, the faded sign, the old-fashioned cases filled with cakes and deli selections, right down to the bright young faces behind the counters. I’ll bet some of them are just as surly, too!

Sunset over the Flatirons. In our restless teenage years, my friend Dionne and I used to drive this road in her Dodge Colt, at this very time of day. We’d listen to KBCO on the AM dial, the signal fading with the light. When it went silent, the sound of our voices and the soft rumble of the engine filled the air in the most pleasant fashion.

Memories – all of them good.