042016

I got to work with some really beautiful kale blossoms today. As expected, they had a similar flavor and texture to rapini, but amazingly kept their color even after being cooked (chicken stock, butter, small amount garlic oil).

 kale blossoms

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Glasses

My glasses are often my blinders to the world. No one can see my eyes. I can look as looking was meant to be.

I suppose this used to be more of a thing when I lived in Chicago , not having to stare people in the face on the train was kind of a convenience. I mostly wore them to keep people looking at me from knowing where my eyes are pointed as if that gave me some sort of facial invisibility cloak.

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It feels cool to wear them. I’m not a huge fan of hot weather and the sun is usually at its brightest during those times, sunglasses are pretty much necessary for anyone to expect me to come outside. I guess now that I drive to work every day I’d have to use that visor thing in the car if I forgot them. It’d probably fall off if I touched it. I haven’t since I’ve been driving this truck.

gold & blue, iridium chicago

I prefer blinder type sunglasses, usually with round lenses. I like the far away appearance of black circle lenses on people, I think it comes across rather ethereal.

 silver & black, iridium chicago

For about three plus years I’ve been purchasing glasses from Iridium in Block 37 in Chicago. Just about every time I went to the bank to cash my check I’d walk right down the street and buy new sunglasses. It was like my reward to myself for two more great weeks of cooking, although the case was usually that I’d either sat or stepped on them, and broken them, and they needed to be replaced. Whatever the circumstance, somehow I always ended up back at this store.

I bought a pair at Belmont Army once.

 black round lens w/ thin frame, belmont army chicago

They were actually the first sunglasses I’d owned that weren’t wayfarers. Speaking of wayfarers, once I was on vacation in south beach in Miami and the sun was sooo bright, I literally could not see outside. I bought a pair of Ray Bans at the store in the Fontainebleau for $200 and lost them two days later… I think, reading this back to myself, my record for mishandling glasses is quite evident. I used to wear glasses as a child and until I was old enough to wear contacts, I had those transition lenses (which I still think are very unique).

 gold w/ flip out blinders, iridium chicago

Out of all of them, I’d say my favorite had to be the gold with the flip out blinders, which fold in to close them when they aren’t on your face. Something about the clear plastic protectors on them seem so futuristic to me, an unlikely pairing of materials. Of course these I lost when I had a bottle of prosecco at dinner and continued drinking at the got a little out of hand at the movie theater and left them there.

There should exist more easily accessible places to replace the arms on sunglasses also. I have about three pair of $40 glasses just packed away because they all only have one arm. Looking back at some older camera roll photos the other day, I came across pictures of one pair that I used to wear. Moments later I created a prosthesis out of a bobby pin.

black & mirror pince-nez, iridium chicago 

Some of the vintage frames on ebay right now look pretty interesting, although most of the blinder bearing frames have ones made of leather for some reason. The concept seems so odd to me.

silver w/ flip out blinders, iridium chicago

The origin of humanity cannot be the only connection between food and clothing.