i love you.
i love you.
i love you.
i love you.
i love you.
i love you.
i love you.
i love you.
i love you.
i love you.
i love you.
i love you.
i love you.
i miss you.
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summer polaroids
i have three weeks until i leave for los angeles. back home i go.
it's weird. i'm living these summer moments home candidly and with the intention and the knowledge that they will be my last in this sort of situation, as a high schooler living in new york. that's weird to me. i won't be seeing anyone from home until november. what????? i'm on my own.
i thought i'd reflect on a few photos that don't exactly sum up my summer but thought were indicative of the sort of stuff i've been up to. they're not in no particular order because chaotic order is more style. or organized chaos, i guess.
i've been walking around and eating and dining and making and doing and cooking and baking and reading and relaxing and visiting museums and seeing people and eating ice cream and dying on the really hot days.
i remind myself every few days that i must really savor these moments with the people i love here. this is not an ordinary moment. thank you to everyone who's made it special.
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crispy + chewy chocolate chip cookies
do you ever have those moments where you're like, "holy sh*t i'm a genius"? i had that today. not for any sort of real epiphany or creation or idea, but for, you know, cookies.
these are the perfect cookies. i even made my own chocolate chips to go with them because i'm bougie like that. carob chunks to be exact. sea salt. unbelievably crispy + crunchy on the outside and the perfect chew on the inside. the most optimal serving of 8 cookies. enough to fulfill the cravings for a few days without overdoing it with 2 cookies every day.
holy sh*t, i'm a genius.
something that you may or may not know about me is that my digestion is god awful. i have trouble digesting the most basic and most small amount of food. it sucks and i've been dealing with it for a while now.
foodies on instagram have presented new knowledge to me: for example, aiding and healing your gut with collagen powder, bone broth, gelatin, and digestive enzymes. it's slow but steady. i'm still figuring out what makes my stomach want to jump out the window. i haven't gotten very far in the past few months.
i'm leaning towards a somewhat aip-type way of eating. aka no eggs, grains, legumes, nuts/seeds, dairy, nightshades, and chocolate. the chocolate really hit me here. (i can already confirm that nightshades mess me up). it looks more restrictive than it is... i've been eating a lot of carob powder, coconut butter, and a wider array of fruits than when i was on keto. i'm feeling better.
hopefully i figure out what's up.
well, this spiel is really just an introduction to these cookies. they are aip-compliant and so freaking good i could cry. lately my aip creations have been garbage.
these beg to differ.
crispy + chewy chocolate chip cookies
makes 6 large cookies / 8 smaller cookies
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what you do
1. first, make the chocolate chips (recipe below)
2. preheat oven to 350˚F. in a medium bowl, mix coconut flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, sea salt, and vanilla powder.
3. add coconut milk, baking soda, and other 1 tablespoon of gelatin over cookie dough. don't stir in yet.
4. in another small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of gelatin with 1 room temp tablespoon of water. then add in 2 boiling tablespoons of water and whisk vigorously until smooth.
5. add gelatin/water mixture over cookie dough and mix everything together.
6. wait at least 5 minutes for the dough to absorb liquid. stir in homemade chocolate chunks or carob chips.
8. using a small ice cream scooper, form 6-8 cookie dough balls (make sure there are chocolate chips on top for aesthetic purposes).
9. bake on parchment paper for 14 minutes, or until the outside of the cookies are verrrrry golden and crispy.
10. wait to cool and firm up before eating.
what you need
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup coconut oil (softened)
3 tablespoons maple syrup (maybe even a little less depending on your sweet tolerance)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons grass fed gelatin, separated
3 tablespoons water (1 room temp / 2 boiling) [***note: sub gelatin and water for 1 egg)
2 tablespoons coconut milk (i used canned)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup homemade chocolate chunks (see recipe below)
homemade carob chunks
makes a bunch of carob chunks
what you do
1. in a double-broiler, melt cacao butter
2. i used a muffin tin to make molds for my chocolate and then chopped them up (you can use a normal chocolate mold if you'd like). anyways, cut up strips of parchment thinner in width than the width of the muffin tin. place one in each muffin tin with one end sticking out. these will help you remove the chocolate afterwards.
3. make powdered coconut sugar by either blending or coffee-grinding coconut sugar for 30 seconds (or until very fine).
4. remove bowl with cacao butter from heat and add carob powder and coconut sugar until there are no lumps. the chocolate mixture will be quite thick.
5. evenly distribute chocolate into 4-5 "lined" muffin tins depending on how thick you want the chunks to be.
6. freeze for 30 minutes. remove using the parchment "tabs" and take off the parchment from the chocolate. chop into large chunks and keep stored in the freezer.
what you need
3 tablespoons (42g) cacao butter
6 tablespoons carob powder
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
i love cookies
⌇
~updated~ pancakes
hey ho!
it's muggy outside! it's gross outside! i hate walking outside! this is new york city at its finest: humid and hot summertime. it's cool though. i only have to deal with it a bit longer before having to deal with it every day in los angeles (hello, college).
*sigh*
i question whether i was really born for sun.
i realize i haven't done a link love-ish thing in a while-- where i share internet things that have piqued my interest and things. maybe i'll do that now. that sounds like a plan.
-
izzy's link love of july thus far
1. yesterday, me and my friend isla popped into this ~concept~ store in nolita, nyc called bulletin with the coolest shirts and jewelry and lapel pins and other things that celebrate females. a portion of all purchases goes directly to planned parenthood of nyc. yessssss.
2. as i'm slowly starting the process of figuring out what i need for college living (more specifically, in the heat of LA), i realized that what i really really really need in life is this handmade double-sided graphic quilt from cold picnic. get ready for my plant-filled/interior-designed dorm next year.
3. yeah, it feels like summer.
4. jack harries's new short films never fail to amaze me. a narrative on the effects of technology, rawness, traveling, and connecting with others: headed east.
5. ever since i watched this video (living as a new yorker), i've never not noticed this thing that train conductors do.
6. you know i love james turrell.
[[[ end of link love ]]]
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now, onto that pancakes recipe. aka what this post is really about.
remember these? i don't even remember the last time i made those pancakes. (hint, it was actually over a year ago). i don't even remember the last time i had a banana.
so here, i give you an updated fluffy pancakes recipe. it involves fresh egg whites (leftover from making frozen custard) and coconut flour. easy peasy.
fluffy pancakes for one
serves 1
-
what you do
1. in a small bowl, sift together coconut flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, and salt. mix until combined.
2. in another medium bowl, whip egg whites and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
3. pour flour mixture and coconut yogurt into whipped egg whites. starting with 1 tablespoon, fold together almond milk with everything else using using a spatula until a thick batter forms. you might not need all 1/3 cup of the milk.
4. spray a castiron skillet with coconut oil and set dollops of 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan. cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until the edges are brown.
5. serve and drown in (very pure, very vermont) maple syrup.
what you need
- 3 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- pinch of baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 3 large egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon coconut yogurt (or applesauce)
- 1/3 cup almond milk
you're welcome.
⌇
blondies!
hey? what's up??
guess what i've been up to this past month or so?
cooking
getting a job at my favorite restaurant
sleeping in (sorta)
walking late at night with my mom
reminiscing about new mexico
and other tidbits.
something i've cooked/baked-experimented last week was blondies.
i love blondies. i actually don't even remember the last time i had a real blondie. like butter, flour, milk chocolate chunks-- the works. i'm pretty sure when i was little, my mom used to throw in white chocolate and butterscotch chips too. a super blondie, if you will. pretty sure it was these ones...
but these are different. they're also super blondies, but on the other side of the spectrum... not of extravagance but of...healthiness?
hope i didn't lose you there.
i've been trying to experiment with new flours and whole foods ingredients and consequently came up with this thing. they're suuuuupuer moist, suuuuuuper healthy, suuuuuper simple (if you have the right ingredients). they're borderline aip-compliant with a few substitutions (if that's your vibe). but regardless, they're incredible and i'm glad i still have 5 more squares in my fridge right now.
there's also a secret ingredient in them (hint hint at my whole foods experimentation): plantains. or rather, a singular plantain. it adds the moistness of a banana without getting any banana-like flavor at all. aka it tastes like a (neutral-tasting) normal blondie with a health kick to it. bomb.
things i like to hear.
anyway, here's the recipe. it's just an excuse to try out tigernut flour and plantains. you're welcome.
flaked sea-salt plantain blondies
serves 9
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what you do
1. preheat oven to 350f. line a 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper (can be hanging off the sides). i do a double-check-non-stick spray on top of the parchment paper, just in case.
2. in a blender, combine all wet ingredients: peeled plantain, eggs, vanilla, coconut yogurt, and coconut butter until completely smooth.
3. in another bowl, sift dry ingredients: tigernut and coconut flour, beef gelatin, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. mix until combined.
4. pour wet mixture into the dry and use a spatula to fold wet into the dry mixture. carefully fold in chopped dark chocolate (saving a small handful for the top).
5. pour (or rather scoop since it's quite thick) batter into lined baking pan and spread evenly. press your remaining small handful of dark chocolate chunks onto the top for ultimate pretty-blondie action. sprinkle flaked sea salt on top for ultra-ultimate pretty-blondie action.
6. bake for 35 minutes or until center is cooked and there is a golden top and a toothpick comes out clean when pierced in the center.
7. let cool out of the hot pan on top of a cookie rack. make sure to let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
8. enjoy!
what you need
- 1 yellow plantain (mine was ~150g)
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder if AIP)
- 1/4 cup coconut yogurt
- 2 tablespoons coconut butter, melted
- 1/2 cup tigernut flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon beef gelatin
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6oz 80%+ dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- flaked sea salt
⌇
3 days
earlier this spring, my dad and i drove for 3 days from new york to new mexico. and back. i used my iPhone to record what i heard and saw on the way.
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i was grey
here's the thing about graduating at my school. you wear white. pure, crisp, blinding white. or, at least, that's what you're supposed to wear. commencement is a big deal for obvious reasons: it's a nod at our efforts to succeed at school for the past 13 years and it's a celebration of our last moments of being a teenager in high school. like a lot of other schools, we honor our graduation with diplomas, singing, and our families and close friends in front of us while we grin onstage. we are being championed for us. i am being championed for me.
the symbolic purity of white dresses is something i've only found at my school, (though i know others do it as well in the city). i wasn't exactly white though.
on graduation day, i knew it was coming-- looks (greatly disapproving) and comments towards my dress. i acknowledged that i was pushing white. even though i had expected some pushback before i came to school, i was still so excited to feel beautiful on a day that celebrates me for me, because that's what commencement is all about, right?
someone had approached me before we walked on stage and told me that the color of my dress would ruin pictures. i kind of spiraled into a whirlpool of self-deprecating and self-conscious mind junk after that.
i did not feel beautiful, i was insecure. i felt ashamed. i didn't smile wholeheartedly until i realized that people didn't have to look me up and down anymore. the biggest day of our entire upper school life and i showed up looking abnormal.
but eventually i sucked it up.
i am me for me. maybe my dress wasn't white, but it was me. "irrefutably you" is what one of my friends told me.
and that was it.
i was grey.
⌇
(yellow) carrot cake muffins
i'm done. officially done. (just not a grad quite yet).
i celebrated my last day of classes with a netflix binge, a steak, and garlic sugar snap peas. maybe not a whole steak. but definitely the majority of one (thanks, abby's mom).
and then i ate these muffins this morning for a bit of an after-party.
classes are over. may 18. yesterday was my last day of wearing a green kilt, my last english class, my last math class (talking about gerrymandering, of all things), my last lunch out, my last skipping of first period. that was it.
and yet, it doesn't really feel over.
the past few weeks have been worrying over outfits and shoes and dates for prom. it's crazy. i never really thought that i would make it to prom (forever ago, it just seemed like some unattainable event in tv shows based in suburbia. which is half true).
it's coming to an end. and then arising into a new beginning at film school next year.
damn, i'm a graduating senior. there goes thirteen years of my life.
p.s. i compiled a playlist of songs that have recapitulated those thirteen years.
if you're a teenager, get ready for nostalgia.
make sure you listen whilst whipping up these muffins.
carrot cake muffins
serves 6
-
what you do
1. preheat oven to 350˚F. grease 6 muffin pans and set aside.
2. in a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, psyllium husk, flaxseed meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. set aside.
3. in another bowl, cream together coconut oil and sweetener until fluffy and light. whip in vinegar and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
4. mix in eggs one at a time. (the wet mixture looks a little "broken" at this point. totally normal).
5. add in the dry flour mixture in two parts. mix for a few minutes until fully incorporated. fold in carrots.
6. distribute batter evenly into 6 muffin pans, smoothing out the tops. bake for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. let cool, add coconut cream, almond butter, and cacao nibs for some fun. enjoy.
what you need
- 1/2 cup fine almond flour
- 2 tablespoons psyllium husk, ground
- 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, softened/room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sweetener (i used monkfruit sugar)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean powder
- 2 eggs
- 3 medium carrots, finely grated
yeah, i've made zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, and carrot cake muffins in the span of 15 days.
⌇
what i've been watching
1/ lights of brussels
tim never fails to impress with his short films (and original scores). clips of his recent trip to brussels were stunning.
-
2/ SOLO NYC
what does working in new york look like? what does working in new york as a creative freelancer look like? this film answers that in 6 minutes and 45 seconds.
-
3/ moments
a wonderful and awesome commercial. emotional. teary-eyed. beautiful.
-
4/ sun moon london
fwd: casey neistat. a film completely filmed in 2520mm in london feat. the various different big moons. it's a full aurora of warm.
-
5/ illusions
mind f*ck.
-
i'm dancing this week.
it's sunny this week.
holy crap.
⌇
nut-free ginger bliss balls
i've been obsessed for the past few weeks with making bliss balls, fat bombs, nut-seed-coconut snacks. like, blending all the extra seeds or nuts or cacao nibs and nut butters that i have and eating it all. i think i've made a different test batch every day after i've gotten home from school. weird? yeah, definitely.
i mean, lee's fat bombs have kind of taken over the health-foodie side of instagram, and they look awesome every time. (yeah, i know, "fat bombs" sounds pretty... non-health-foodie, but we'll just go with it).
i've mentioned that i'm eating more fats and less carbs. these are the perfect snack for this purpose. they're sugar-free and high-fat, so they'll fill me up between meals if i'm on the run. (just like on our road trip for 11 hours at a time, for example).
because of the ~nutritious~ seeds that are in this recipe, these snacks are high in:
1. OMEGA-3s
improves heart health, reduces inflammation, helps menstrual pain, supporst healthy skin, fights autoimmune diseases
2. OMEGA-6s
reduces inflammation, helps reduce nerve pain, lowers high blood pressure, supports bone health
3. POTASSIUM
stimulates neural activity, stabilizes blood sugar and pressure, supports bone health, strengthens muscles, boosts metabolism, reduces anxiety and stress
4. MANGANESE
supports bone health, helps maintain cognitive function, reduces pms symptoms, supports lung health
5. HEALTHY FATS, to keep you fuller longer
for the purpose of my sanity, we'll revise the name from fat bombs to bliss balls. cool? cool.
ginger bliss balls
serves 10
-
what you need
what you do
- 1/2 cup dried unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 tablespoon flax seeds
- 3 tablespoons coconut butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- monkfruit sweetener (or maple syrup) to taste
- salt
- hemp or sesame seeds to coat
1. blend everything together in a food processor or high-speed blender
2. sweeten bit by bit with monkfruit (or maple syrup)
2. roll 10 evenly-sized bliss balls. coat with seeds of choice
3. store in refrigerator
oh happy days.
⌇
when food becomes art
black sesame tarte with colored tangrams
baked chai masala pumpkin pie
hand-sliced potato tart
miso white carrot pie with black sesame crust
hummus tart with carrot shingles
cranberry curd tart with persimmon tangrams
hi. it's izzy after a total of 66+ hours of driving after our road trip to new mexico this past week (and a half). i'm kind of grumpy and a little too sick of eating a protein bar every day for breakfast and waking up at 5:00am every day for 3 days of driving there and back. but, it was beautiful. i'm home now.
god, i didn't think that i would be any happier seeing the actual disgustingness of 40 minutes of traffic jam going into the holland tunnel. yep. honking galore.
while my dad and i were driving the final few miles to our apartment, we listed the things that we had honestly missed: (yes, that honking), jaywalkers, asshole taxi drivers, potholes, narrow lanes, sirens, the smell of trash.
i don't know what i'm going to do when i leave.
onwards.
lauren ko is not only a writer but an awesome self-taught baker. there's a little tagline at the bottom of her website that says, "when all hell bakes loose." awesome.
as a food – art and art – food lover myself, when i found her unconventional colorful, geometric, and truly stunning designs on instagram, i instantly fell into a deep admiration.
are you surprised that buzzfeed already did a video starring a few geometric pies?
lauren uses pretty eclectic ingredients for her pies:
cheddar cheese
cranberry powder
dragon fruit
blood orange
beets
miso paste
paloma
purple yams
holy heck. psa: not all in the same pie.
inspired to bake right now? yeah buddy.
enjoy your april fools day easter.
⌇
raw keto hemp seed brownies
i finally feel 18. it's a weird feeling as i'm writing this between photos of raw brownies. i feel older and like i have a better sense of what's going on. nonetheless, do i actually really know what's going on? not really.
but i don't have to know what's going on all the time. i don't have to know where i'm going exactly. this is all weird thought processes of adult-dom that's going on in my head right now as college decisions are strangely and unexpectedly around the corner.
anyway, it's "essentially" spring break right now, meaning that it's exam week but, for me, with the non-existence of exams. so, 3 weeks of freedom here i come.
i've had a lot of time to think and hang out at home with my parents and my dog and cook and bake and photograph and just do things that i want to do.
it's refreshing once in awhile.
anyways, going back to 1-8. eighteen. "legal adult". able-to-fly-by-myself person. voter. woah.
it's funny, i was reading something i wrote back in 2014 when i didn't feel like a teen yet. how is it possible that just four years ago i didn't even feel like a teenager. and now i feel like an (albeit young) adult? what???
i feel comfortable, and i know that that's all going to go away in a few months.
i finally feel like i know where i am (who i am??) and it's all too late before i leave.
but maybe it's not. maybe it's all supposed to work out like this and i will evolve and settle and grow again. just not here. in california.
*end of existential crisis speak*
onto the elusive raw brownie. where do i begin. i've made raw brownies in the past, and usually the main ingredient is medjool dates.
but sugar spikes and bouncing off walls and gi upset (for me)-- so i present, no-date raw brownies. these ooey gooey chocolatey brownies are incredible.
they have the nutty taste of the hemp seeds (which also give a boost of protein) and the creamy taste of almond butter. it's a health chocolate-almond butter bomb. essentially.
no-date raw brownies
serves 6
-
what you need
for the brownies
- 3/4 cup fine almond flour
- 1/2 cup hemp seeds
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (i used valhrona)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond butter
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons monk fruit sugar (or just normal sugar if you're not about that life)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
for the ganache (optional)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons monk fruit maple syrup (or just, ya know, normal maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- pinch of salt
what you do
for the brownies
1. blend everything together in a food processor
2. press into a corner of a bread pan (since this is a half recipe)
3. refrigerate or freeze for 10 minutes while preparing the ganache
for the ganache
1. blend together all the ingredients until you get a smooth cream
2. add more cocoa powder if it’s to liquidy
3. pour over your refrigerated brownies and let it set in the fridge
4. cut and enjoy
happy happy st. patty's day.
⌇
seeded crackers + ricotta
it's 11:30am. yesterday i got this intense feeling inside to make seeded crackers. i'm not eating bread that much (i.e. following lchf via minimalmeals), but nonetheless i felt like i was missing some sort of cheese or butter (not gonna lie, it would be weird) vehicle for breakfasts and lunches and snackage-s. hmm.
someone whose food i have admired for a little while is elle, who is the epitome of awesome paleo-ish low carb eating. maybe i'll make a post about why i'm eating this way as well. it's a long story of combatting ibs-like symptoms and years of impatience. keto solved that, (more to come).
anyways, i made elle's wonderful seeded crackers with a few modifications and they are crunchy and coconut oil fragrant-y (along with gluten free and paleo) and, yes, the perfect vehicle for my ricotta open-faced sandwich thing for breakfast this morning.
and with that, i will share with you the recipes for both.
seeded crackers
serves ~20 large crackers
what you do
1. preheat oven to 300˚F
2. mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. add boiling water and melted coconut oil.
3. mix together again until well combined. let sit for 5-10 minutes so that the chia seeds can absorb the water.
4. scoop up half the doll and roll out 1 half at a time. between 2 pieces of parchment paper, roll out each half as thinly as possible without breaking up the dough. remove top layer of parchment before putting in the oven.
5. on the bottom rack, bake the rolled out cracker dough for 30 minutes at 300˚F (checking every 15 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn) and then 20 minutes at 240˚F.
6. leave in the oven to dry and harden up for at least another 30 minutes.
7. break into pieces and store in a container
what you need
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon almond flour
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/3 golden flax seeds
- 1/3 black sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husk powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup boiling water
ricotta open-faced cracker sandwiches
serves 1
-
what you do
1. prep your 7-minute egg
2. on the large crackers, evenly divide and spread the ricotta. season with salt and pepper. drizzle with some good olive oil.
3. (essentially, because ricotta is the main star here) garnish the crackers with the zucchini, carrots, salmon and egg. season again. drizzle with olive oil again (if you're like me).
4. enjoy the messy goodness
what you need
- 1-2 of elle's crackers (see above)
- 3 tablespoons fresh ricotta cheese
- thinly sliced zucchini (i used a vegetable peeler to achieve this
- carrots, cut finely
- 1-2oz fresh smoked salmon
- 7-minute egg
- drizzle of olive oil
- salt & pepper
happy sunday, everyone.
⌇
i'm a sucker for avocado toast
from sunday in brooklyn
charred avocado toast, wheatgrass, pickled onion, sprouts, radish, chili oil + 6-minute egg
it is a very ironic love, since i used to hate avocado way back when.
i'm against ordering it when i'm eating out because it's so easy to make at home.
anyway.
here's the thing about avocado toast (and like most of my recipes), it doesn't really need a recipe. you just throw some avocado toast on a slice of bread and then mush it together and badabing-badaboom you have that so wildly-adored avo toast. even though i'm telling you this, i'm going to give you a recipe on how i make my avocado toast anyways. sometimes you just need a little help.
izzy's favorite avocado toast
serves 1
-
what you do
1. here's the deal. you must toast your bread to crunchy perfection. i prefer a crunchy exterior and soft interior. up to you. or make some sweet potato toast by toasting up 2 slices of your lovely sweet potato as you would normal bread.
2. cut your avocado. dice it? slice it? i personally am a fan of the avocado rose method or something kind of like that (i.e. image 3 of this post).
3. using either a mandolin or very sharp knife, slice a small radish into circles about 1/8" thick (or as thin as you can go). put aside.
4. do you like eggs? i do. if you're feeling love for an egg, fry one up in a tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat. make sure it doesn't burn. make sure it is crispy.
5. assemble: toasted bread on a plate. avocado rose (or something like it) gently placed on top. sprinkle of sesame seeds, chili flakes, salt. the juice of half a lime. those thin radishes. and a hot crispy egg on top. ah yeah.
what you need
- 1 slice ezekiel bread (i like sesame) or 2 "slices" of sweet potato
- 1/2 of a perfectly ripe avocado
- small radish of your choosing
- sesame seeds
- chili flakes
- salt
- 1/2 lime
- (1 egg and 1 tablespoon of olive oil)
i laughed writing this. god, i'm weird.
⌇
found artists: jonathan higbee
“over the years i have been able to develop my eye and sense of anticipation to more easily spot uncanny coincidences...
"...but every once in a while my gut will tell me that some element i’ve come across on the street has potential to become a successful image,
"...even if it’s nothing special just yet.”
i've always loved coincidences.
although seemingly methodically constructed, planned, oriented, and too-good-to-be-true, jonathan higbee's images are instead a result of patience and a good eye.
"coincidences is my love letter to new york, and to the infinite number of magical, ephemeral and serendipitous moments that make it a city unlike any other."
higbee's work is quite literally the kind of work i wish i could do, using the kind of skills i wish i had. patience? not really there yet.
being able to make something very real be magical (which i think is what these photos are for me) is an ability i can only hope to achieve. or, at least, learn to garner.
coincidences are the best kind of instances. (i meant that rhyme and i am sorry). they are irreplicable and serendipitous, and that's what makes them special.
and my god, when you get them on camera, you will treasure them forever.
happy snow day.
⌇
i'm learning
image by haleyisokay
i'm learning.
two weeks ago there was a mass shooting in parkland, florida. i'm ashamed to have only just felt this intense urge to do something now, after so many other tragedies.
i'm inspired and empowered by the voices of my fellow teenagers. the survivors of parkland have transformed and gained hold of the national dialogue. in those two short weeks, they've already enacted change.
i'm learning to use my voice too.
i'm learning to become more educated on our country's current standing on gun control among about other issues that i am passionate about (of which, at times, it seems there are too many).
i'm learning to call my state and local reps and communicate my own views.
i'm learning to break the boundary of doing, beyond planning, beyond hypotheticals.
vote! organize. walk. scream. march. debate. and continue.
i'm learning to do all of these things. i'm finding the power to do all of these things.
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the blackest black
photography by luke hayes
there's been a lot of chatter with the winter olympics starting tomorrow.
in the midst of all of that, i stumbled upon this pavilion designed by asif khan using that chemical substance that absorbs almost all (99.965%) of radiation of the visual spectrum.
vantablack.
it's a visual black hole and completely disrupts three dimensional space. though, it adds elements of it back with the assorted star-lights outside.
“from a distance the structure has the appearance of a window looking into the depths of outer space. as you approach it, this impression grows to fill your entire field of view. so on entering the building, it feels as though you are being absorbed into a cloud of blackness."
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on happiness
from an excerpt i wrote in my journal this morning:
maybe i'm saying all of this because i'm on winter break.
well.
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twenty seventeen
according to some weird website, these were my top nine photographs on instagram this year – (ironically) selected by which ones received the most likes. they're far from my best photos that i've taken this year, or the ones that mean the most to me, at least.
hello.
it's been a long year. i'm done with my lists of things that have happened in the spans of time between each time i write. i think. gosh, it's been a long year.
i feel like the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 is the firsts of lasts (or maybe even the lasts of firsts), if that makes sense. i told my mom in november that this is my last thanksgiving living at home. i told her the other day that this is my last christmas living at home. i'm living my last december, january, and february of high school. i already had my last birthday at home. the walls in my room are slowly filling up with the last photos of my time in new york. i'm going to have my first last prom. and my first last graduation.
it's weird.
in this lull of time – of waiting time – until the end of the year, i feel like i'm just wasting time. wasting time all the time. i'm doing things, like school work, but even that seems empty in a way. i think anticipation is killing me.
i started volunteering at an animal shelter. i started drawing again (the last time, if you remember, was in 8th grade). i might sign up for an art class a few times during the week. i'm trying to start a notebook (but, so far unsuccessfully) again. i'm listening to new music. that doesn't feel empty. even though i'm filling empty time with old things.
i'm not getting nostalgic yet.
it's snowing outside.
that's nostalgia.
here are my hand-selected songs that i listened to the most in 2017. izzy of 2018, listen to these if you want a glimpse back in time.
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biggest little city
i went to reno last weekend.
i saw my friends that i never get to see.
we recorded music.
i climbed a snowy hill.
i fell into the snow. purposefully.
i was in arizona for a few hours.
i think i cried at some point. i probably won't see them again for a while.
love you guys.
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