oldyarns. tells the bowerbird stories

story 299. what's on the menu?

here is an incredible project

& a unique opportunity to get involved...

with approximately 40,000 menus dating from the 1840s to the present, The New York Public Library’s restaurant menu collection is one of the largest in the world, used by historians, chefs, novelists and everyday food enthusiasts. Trouble is, the menus are very difficult to search for the greatest treasures they contain: specific information about dishes, prices, the organization of meals, and all the stories these things tell us about the history of food and culture.

to solve this, the NYPL are working to improve the collection by transcribing the menus, dish by dish. they’ve built a simple tool that makes the transcribing pretty easy to do, but it’s a big job, so they need our help. 

the menu collection, originated through the energetic efforts of Miss Frank E. Buttolph (1850-1924), who in 1900, began to collect menus on the Library's behalf. Miss Buttolph added more than 25,000 menus to the collection, before leaving the Library in 1924. The collection has continued to grow through additional gifts of graphic, gastronomic, topical, or sociological interest.

"Menu writing is an art form seldom appreciated. In our restaurants, we put an incredible amount of time and thought into crafting menus. It's remarkable to see menus being preserved and documented, for them to become a resource for future chefs, sociologists, historians and everyone who loves food. It’s not just What’s on the Menu, it reveals so much more."

~ Mario Batali, chef & author

to start transcribing a menu click here.

to learn more about the project & the interesting discoveries so far read the What's On the Menu? blog here.

 

{images from the NYPL menu collection,

showing the luncheon & gala dinner menus of

the R.M.S. Mauretania 5 August 1962.}

story 298. forever.

“if I had a flower for every time I thought of you...

I could walk through my garden forever.”

~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

 

*

{papery blush pink peony roses,

bought early summer last year. revisted.}

story 297. secret gardens.

“If you look the right way,

you can see that the whole world

is a garden.”

~ Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden.

yesterday we took a walk

to the post office & found our way home

via new streets;

wandering,

looking into the secret gardens.

its a favoured pastime -

spying through fences,

into backyards,

verandahs & porches, with shoes left at the door.

things often missed

when moving too fast:

a rusty table & chairs set under an enormous fig tree;

toys abandoned where they fell

when dinner was called;

the postman paused to gossip

with the old man on his front steps,

probably a daily event.

a magical rundown cubby house

perched up high

(like the one dad always promised us.)

clues to the lives

lived there.

 

{flowers & bits foraged by the footpath along the way,

like seashells from the sea shore.}

 

story 296. row.

row, row, row your boat

gently down the stream

merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

life is but a dream.

 

{photos of little lost wooden boat

july 2011, near Maclean NSW}

story 295. the moment before.

often it's the moment

before

the moment

that's the most

interesting to me.

 

{photo of heavy morning fog high on

Cradle Mountain Overland Track, February 2009.}

story 294. alone.

sitting in the heavy stillness

of this too warm

summer's night.

 house finally quiet.

silent, silence.

a tiny sliver of the day.

words,

the right words

are not near.

watching days slide by.

story 293. bloomed.

my perennial favourite,

bloomed.

velvet petals,

wilful scent.

borrowed from a garden

along the footpath.

dos gardenia.

now sitting quietly

on the kitchen window sill.

story 292. noticed.

evam eva

linen drop pocket pullover

kinfolk

a guide to small gatherings

manifesto: "Kinfolk is a growing community of artists with a shared interest in small gatherings. We recognize that there is something about a table shared by friends, not just a wedding or once-a-year holiday extravaganza, that anchors our relationships and energizes us. We have come together to create Kinfolk as our collaborative way of advocating the natural approach to entertaining that we love. Every element of Kinfolk – the features, photography, and general aesthetics – are consistent with the way we feel entertaining should be: simple, uncomplicated, and less contrived. Kinfolk is the marriage of our appreciation for art and design and our love for spending time with family and friends."

magazine & journal

an apple a day

*

found here in these places

some uncommon beauty

to match the rainy grey outside today.

inside, more quiet acts of preparation,

a shifting & resettling.

now the sun peaks through.

story 291. our daily bread.

things are slowing

finding a new pace.

waiting

preparing

anticipating.

making it a good time

for baking.

*

here, fresh bread

warm from the oven.

lashings of butter & jam.

served on breakfast plates

(from Holland I believe.)

*

recipe from unknown source,

easy as can be.

*

450g plain flour

350ml water

1g dry yeast

6g salt

 

mix flour, water & yeast with a wooden spoon until combined. add salt & mix again (mixture should be quite sticky).

cover the bowl with plastic wrap & let it prove for 10-14 hours or until it triples in size & looks bubbly.

dust a board & hands with flour & shape the mix into a ball. let it rest for another hour. meanwhile, set oven to 220˚C & place cast iron pot (without lid) to heat up.

put the dough in the pot, cover with lid & bake for 20 mins. remove lid & bake for another 10 mins until crusty & browned.

*

lovely to prepare the night before & bake fresh in the morning.

story 290. village dreamer.

so very pleased to have a small feature

in this month's 

map magazine.

in the regular 'village dreamer' column (page 22)

 of their annual eco issue.

a local street magazine,

filled with thoughtful inspiring pieces;

& always, always aesthetically beautiful.

thank you Mikki for this

opportunity.

*

(it was edited for length, but my answer to 

"what scares you?" was actually

"a closed mind & the lizards under the Storey Bridge".

anyone else from Brisbane

encountered these intimidating fellows

patrolling the footpath under the Bridge?)