Meatless Mondays: Black Bean Patties

Another Meatless Mondays post using black beans.  My husband created these after watching a cooking show with Emeril Lagasse--these are loosely based on Emeril's recipe.

Ingredients:

1 15 oz. can of black beans

1 egg

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 clove garlic

1 Tablespoon Panko bread crumbs

1 1/2 Tablespoons flour (you may need more, depending on consistency)

1/2 teaspoon Pasilla Molida seasoning (optional--you can also use Cumin)

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large skillet.  Add the onion and garlic and saute until tender.

Meanwhile, drain beans well, pour into bowl and mash with back of spoon to a course paste (there should be some whole beans left)

Let onions cool slightly then add to bean mixture.  Add pasilla, salt and pepper to taste.  Add egg, Panko and flour and stir thoroughly.  Consistency should be thick enough when you scoop some in spoon for it to stick for a few seconds when you turn it upside down.  If not, then add more flour.

Spoon mixture into 1/2 cup portions

Heat olive oil in large skillet.  Pour portions into pan, flattening into round patties.Cook on low until brown on one side.  Flip and cook until brown on second side.  Helpful hint: When I first tried this I kept flipping back and forth and they fell apart.  My second batch came out better--I flattened them a little more and I left them alone while they got nice and brown on one side then the other.

Garnish with avocado (you can also use sour cream, salsa--be creative!) and serve with salad.  I used mache lettuce and heirloom grape tomatoes.

Recipe makes 4 patties, but can easily be doubled.  Enjoy!

Venice Beach Houses

I'm sure most people have seen pictures or scenes in a movie or TV show of Venice Beach on the coast of Los Angeles.  There's a walkway filled all types of characters and shops ranging from tacky tourist trinkets to head shops--and plenty of Medical "Herb" stores.  It is loud and crowded and has a manic energy to it.

Amidst all the craziness, there's a surprising little area of charming, quaint houses just a block in from the main thoroughfare along the beach.  I was here with some friends who were visiting a little while ago, and we found a nice escape taking pictures in the late afternoon light.

 I thought I would post some sunny LA pictures to celebrate the first day of Spring.  It's been raining hard in LA all day, so we haven't been able to appreciate it.

The Workout

I recently started on the P90X workout program.  In a quest for my body to even remotely resemble Jennifer Aniston's body...

or Halle Berry's...

both gorgeous women in their 40's I might add...

...I have started getting up at an ungodly hour (still dark out with the time change!!) to push, pull, and cardio it up.  I decided to put together some ideal outfits for the gym, yoga class, and going out for a run.  I styled these "sets" on Polyvore--a really cool website--they have links to all of the items I used.  The only problem is the resolution is lower than what I normally publish.  So it's slightly blurry--like  my vision when that alarm goes off to work out!

Workout: yoga by Jofoso featuring v neck tees

 

I'll let you know my progress--just don't expect any before and after pictures!

 

Japanese Kimonos

My heart goes out to the people of Japan and those whose lives have been touched by the tragedy of the quake and tsunami.  I have always been inspired by the intricacy and craftsmanship of the kimono.  In honor of the people of Japan, here are a few of the beautiful garments that is but one example of their rich history.

All of the above Kimonos were posted on the blog "A Shaded View of Fashion".

Photo from Ecosalon.

The above 2 photos from Hubpages.

Photo from Marlamallet.

Photo from Bakati.

And of course my favorite, the mighty tiger.  Photo from the blog "Artesia B's Second Life World".

Sending light and love--not to mention thoughts and prayers to the people of Japan.

Venice Carnevale

I was lucky to have experienced Carnevale in Venice back in the late '80's.  Rio may have the spectacle and New Orleans may have the party, but Venice has the exquisite setting and the posers in costume.  The scenes seem unreal, like a set from a movie.  Unfortunately for me, I arrived at night and didn't have flash on my beloved Olympus OM1 camera, so I have no photographic record of my trip.

I had been studying fashion and art for the semester at Polimoda Institute in Florence, Italy.  A group of us decided to take the train up to Venice.  The train that we had to transfer to was part of the experience: it was so packed--and it was Italy after all--so we grabbed the smaller people in our group and threw them up through the windows where they laid across the seats to save them for us.  When we arrived in Venice and stepped out of the train it was like we had arrived in another world and time.

I have one extremely vivid visual that I will never forget:  If you have ever been to Venice, you know it is easy to get lost in the labyrinth of the streets and alleys.  To get to Piazza San Marco--where most of the action is--you wind over ancient bridges and through tunnels and winding streets.  Since we arrived at night and it was late February it was chilly and misty.  I was lagging behind our group, which was completely lost, distracted and overwhelmed by all the visual stimuli.  I saw a movement and stopped to look.  Someone in a dramatic medieval costume with a rich black cape and a white mask was posing under one of the bridges as the fog rolled by him.  It was so surreal I felt like I was in a black and white movie.

 

These photos are all from Flickr.  I posted the names of the photographers underneath their pictures.  One day I will return with camera in hand and post my own set.

 

LukPhoto72

 

Elisea Marcato

 

Eleomora

 

BoALensMan

 

Marco Sartori

 

Etienne 33

 

Franco Amormino

 

Vivi-1966

 

Luca Sangiovanni

 

RobbyBen

 

Mark Wells

 

Rik68

 

Happy Fat Tuesday!

 

Cool Movies: Where the Heart Is (1990)

Back in the 90's I saw this great little quirky movie about a group of misfits and artists who stayed in this rundown building in Brooklyn.  I loved the feel-good story, but what I found inspiring was the art direction.  More specifically, one of the characters was an artist and to make money for the house she "sold out" to make a calendar for some corporation.  She combined trompe l'oeil paintings with body painting of her housemates--incorporating them into the scenes she created.  I found it particularly inspiring as I love both photography and art--not to mention the costuming.

The real art was done by Timna Woollards, who doesn't seem to have a website of her work.  The movie is "Where the Heart Is", the 1990's version (not to be confused with the Natalie Portman movie of the same name from 2000).  Here are the picture of the calendar shown in the closing credits of the movie.

"January"

"February"

"March

(Can you find the 4 people in the scene?)

"April"

"May"

"June"

"July"

"August"

"September"

"October"

"November"

"December"

(this one was particularly haunting--especially when he opened his eyes)

Thanks to this website for removing the credits from the pictures.

If you get a chance, check out the movie and let me know what you think!