3 kinds of comfort

Pasta Carbonara from "The Urban Vegan: 250 Street-Smart, Animal-Free Recipes"

Pasta
A little comfort goes a long way. Like many people, I think pasta is the ultimate comfort food. When paired with the smoky-creaminess of this thick carbonara sauce, you get a double-dose of food-induced serenity.

This recipe will appear in the cookbook, but if you just can't wait and are craving some carby comfort of your own, the recipe appears on my original blog. It tastes best the night it's made. So invite some friends over, uncork the wine and put some water on to boil.


Live Music

I heard some great live music last month including:

Mariza, the famed fado singer from Portugal. Fado is, in essence, Portugal's version of the blues: sad, emotional songs about sailors lost at sea and sleepless nights. Mariza's voice was mournfully crisp, clear and expressive, and she was as elegant and graceful as a butterfly.


Esperanza Spalding, a 20-something bass prodigy with an amazingly unctuous jazz voice. She is one of Berklee College of Music's youngest professors. Watch her. She's on a fast track to the top.

Buttons, Buttons...

Many of you have asked about Buttons. She's still a bit skittish, but other than this, you'd never know she'd lived in the gutter for so many years. I'm honestly astonished by her progress and still get a bit teary-eyed when I see her joyfully flinging around a stuffed mouse or play-wrestling with Pablo – even though she is half his size [she's a tough little girl]. She also meows at me and coyly approaches me for regular "scratchings." As you can see, she adores napping on this lime green chair. Doesn't she look cute in her little tuxedo?