Notes From Nowhere

Recently, I watched Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut.” I guess there are two things you can take away from that movie. First, that apparently there comes a time in a man’s life, including the lives of very good filmmakers, when your thoughts more or less exclusively revolve around peeking at the naked female body one third your age and weight, from up close, from every angle––a great convenience of the life of the artist it seems, compared to other forms of human existence, especially at a late stage. Second, that Kubrick does some interesting things with mixing different light sources in his last work.

Perhaps I’ll save Kubrick’s late choice of subject for my senior years. Meanwhile, the play with different sources of available light seems to influence a little family project I’m doing on the side: A small book (in an edition of three) for the relatives back in Europea, so that they get an impression of the current housing situation, and know that the lost son and daughter are doing alright. I also have a selfish interest here: In case the continuous migration of the past two decades progresses (for the first time in my life I somehow hope it doesn’t, at least not for a while), I can always keep a document of my current surroundings.

I haven’t yet made it back home to Italy this summer, so my food entries for Jens’ blog still come from Manhattan. And this time, for the first time, with a photo that I made pretty much without Jens’ help (other than “processing” it).

Today I’m not writing about a restaurant or recipe, but about a new discovery of mine, the “quark” – a dairy product from Austria (or is it Eastern Europe?) – from Vermont Butter & Cheese. According to their webpage, one of the founders learnt her cheese making crafts from traditional French farmers. Heartwarming for European expatriates, and a real find. The quark is excellent. It doesn’t taste quite like the European equivalent, mostly because it doesn’t have the same somewhat dry texture. A little softer and moister than the original. But perfect as it is.

Quark is what people in Austria use for cheese cake. Arguably, the best cheese cake in the world is made with quark. I shall soon try to make some with the Vermont Butter & Cheese quark, and will report back whether it works.

Anyway, quark is also the key ingredient for one of the most refreshing summer lunches. You need one container of quark, one or two lemons, a tea spoon of sugar, and lots of fruit. Strawberries, or a mix of berries, or peaches, apricots, and the like. Cut up the fruit, and squeeze some of it so that the juice seeps into the quark. Let it all rest for at least an hour in the fridge. That’s what we used to get for lunch as kids, when the summer days were getting too hot for anyone to cook during the day…

Vermont Butter & Cheese must be praised for giving a little bit of European flair to the summer in Manhattan, for those who seek it! They get my highest rating, five stars *****.

Here is my strategy for the occasional Chelsea-visit, whether you go there as a collector, as an artist, or as a lover of art: Wherever you go, make sure to end on a strong note––your day will be that much better. While you won’t find any photography at Susan Sheehan (a grave yet, perhaps, understandable mistake…), her gallery on 22nd street is one of my favorite destinations for that purpose. It is actually one of my favorite destinations in the entire city.

Another inspiring place is Harlem’s Westside. These two from this past Sunday morning, while the neighborhood went to church, and everybody looked like a movie star. Please don’t mind the choice of subject matter: To me, these (from near 140th street) convey the spirit.