by Sam Tackeff | Feb 23, 2014 | Books, Books in 2014
#7. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Paperback, 447 pages (Vintage)
First published October 17th, 2002 by Crown
Borrowed from A.S.
I’ve been meaning to update my reading list over here. I’ve managed to make a large dent in my book stacks in February, and I’m up to my 13th book for the year. Number seven was a book that’s been sitting in the house for months, borrowed from a friend. Feeling like it had overstayed it’s welcome in the house, I finally picked it up and read it in a weekend, barely surfacing from the pages to eat.
Made up of several (non-fiction) sub-plots, the book revolves around the World’s Columbian Exposition (the Chicago World’s Fair). A substantial portion of the book is devoted to architectural history – the outstanding feat of Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the veritable who’s who of architects of the day – building the shining White City on a timeframe that seems impossible even now to imagine. The other half of the book is devoted to a deliciously evil serial killer – making it a poor choice of reading for the evenings that I was alone in the house. Weeks later I’ve been thinking about this book almost daily. Loved it!
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 22, 2014 | Art, Photography
We got sun today! It’s been a week of dreariness. Grey, sludgy, slushy – I’ve been under the weather, and trapped in the house. It’s the time of year that I get bored of the cold and grey, and hope that we get out of it soon. Spring, when I can play outside again. Spring, when things grow and bloom. Spring, when the ice cracks up on the lake, that whistling and howling and popping that requires you to be walking next to the water at precisely the right moment. Spring, when things feel like they are happening again. In the mean time, I’m patient. I’ve been reading. I’ve been dreaming about writing a cookbook, and a children’s novel, and learning how to paint botanicals. I acquired a bright new lamp, and a little yuca tree, and I’ve been drinking warm beverages.
There’s a lovely photographer I follow named Xanthe Berkeley, who has been working on a collaborative project with Andrea called the color/colour project, focusing on shooting a color at a time. In the cold and grey, I like to pick up my camera to combat the dreariness, so I thought I’d follow suit and capture some yellow this week.
I think we could all use a little less of this ^, and a little more of this..
Happy Weekend!
– Sam
by Sam Tackeff | Feb 2, 2014 | Meal Planning, Uncategorized
This week at the office was our Hackathon at RunKeeper – two days we take a few times a year to build crazy projects outside of our normal course of work. In an incredible HGTV worthy timeline, the non-technical team “Addition by Subtraction” took second place for building this (working) bar in the back room of the office. (You read that correctly: RumKeeper.)
Week of Saturday, February 1st
Saturday: Langoustine Curry with jasmine rice. I had some leftover khao soi broth from Thai North, which I decided to fashion into something quite different for night two. Spinach salads on the side for some greenery.
Sunday: Stuffed burgers, tater tots (yes), and broccoli. I just can’t do wings, and I wasn’t going to make queso or a guacamole bar or hundreds of deviled eggs this year. But I did want to make something that would feel like “Superbowl Food”, so stuffed burgers (with blue cheese and bacon) seemed like the right way to go.
Monday: Salad with paprika and allspice chicken, chopped vegetables, mango, avocado, mint, and basil. Lime dressing. This week on Jamie’s 15 minute meals, he had a similar recipe which he called “San Fran Chicken Quinoa Salad” – I liked the flavor combination, although not quite sure what makes it “San Fran”…
Tuesday: Pasta with cauliflower, saffron, parsley, and feta. (From Deborah Madison’s Vegetable Literacy). I’ve been reading through this cookbook and everything looks good. It’s been months since we had pasta in this house, and I try to avoid it most of the time, but this recipe seemed too good to pass up – I thought it’d be a nice treat for us.
Wednesday: Braised brussels sprouts and apple, pork bratwurst. I’ve been craving sauerkraut lately (it’s always good to eat fermented foods!), and this was originally going to have sauerkraut, but I couldn’t resist brussels sprouts, and I went to the wrong store for the kraut.
Thursday: Wing it. Actually, I realized as I was typing this up that I had simply forgotten to write something down on the list, and proceeded to do my shopping neglecting this meal entirely. I’ll likely forage the freezer, but it might end up being a Whole Foods salad bar night.
Friday: Out.
–– Sam
