Kevin White

When your lawmakers spend their days doing the bidding of developers and large corporations, and only sometimes get arrested for it, it can be easy to forget that we live in a democracy. Even easier to forget: though the presidential primary is not until April 19th of next year, the deadline for changing one's party is this Friday. [ more › ]

The Port Authority and Delta are completely overhauling LaGuardia Airport, building a single, connected terminal in the place of the four separate ones, and in addition to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's poorly thought out AirTrain connection from Willets Point, the redone LaGuardia is set to include a ferry terminal. Cuomo announced the $4-billion overhaul with Vice President Joe Biden (who once famously said the LGA experience is like "some third world country") at a press conference this afternoon. [ more › ]

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I thought this look needed a close-up and a full body!

 

This is another example of Jenny buying into a color story, this time brown & yellow.

 

The coat, earrings and scarf were all bought vintage over a period of a couple years and only until she recently found the coat did the look come together.

 

I love that it’s all vintage but it doesn’t scream “I wear vintage!”

 

 

 

The post *Singapore: Unlikely Power* appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.

Dear Friends, [ more › ]

This morning's low in Central Park was 56 degrees, average for late May but highly unusual for late February. So unusual that it broke the previous record high minimum temperature record of 54 set in 1985. [ more › ]

 

Love this mix of patterns and colors

Here’s another notch to add to a wall of recipes that includes the Cheeseburger Dumplings, Buffalo Chicken Dumplings, Broccoli Cheddar Dumplings, Apple Brown Sugar Dumplings, and the Hot Dogpling—stuff you don’t normally see in Asian pan-fried dumplings, or potstickers. Quintessential as they might seem in hindsight (my friends and I certainly feel that way after gobbling up panfuls of these pizza dumplings last night), they’re recreations of favorites in the name of dumpling fun. And fun is what’s on the menu at the 13th Annual Dumpling Festival this Saturday, 12pm-5pm at the Sara D. Roosevelt Park in Manhattan, to benefit the Food Bank for NYC .

Don’t believe me? I covered this friendly event last year, and had my fill on ‘fun with dumplings.’ Chef One, the Brooklyn-based dumpling maker who hosts this shindig, kindly asked me to cover #dumplingfest2016 this year, and I thought I’d give it a twist. How can you not? This year’s theme at the festival is “There’s A Chef in Everyone.” And I couldn’t agree more.

So while I hermdy-hermd as my inner Swedish Chef last week, I came up with a dumpling recipe that I hoped might inspire more dumpling madness in its wake. Are pepperoni pizza-themed dumplings the ultimate chef’s no-no or genius? It’s either or both—but it’s great! And it goes down even better dunked in marinara sauce.

I can be a purist when it comes to many things, dumplings included, but if something tastes good, then that’s pretty much that. I had an idea that pepperoni pizza dumplings would taste alright, but I didn’t fully realize the dream until Karol, Diana, Noah, Olen and I really got down and noshed on them for an impromptu dumpling-making party last night. Noah sagely brought along makings for true pork and chive dumplings of my youth. Along with that, we made pepperoni pizza dumplings, and a seemingly requisite kale Caesar salad.

The photos of the finished dumplings, oozing with bubbly cheese and pepperoni grease, don’t really do them justice. To assuage the incident of too much moisture that would make the seals on the skins break while cooking, I used cheap bodega mozzarella instead of fresh, and chopped up some sundried tomatoes instead of fresh ones or sauce to put inside the dumplings, too.

Finally, to give them that smack of something-you-wouldn’t-find-in-normal-dumplings-but-would-a-frozen-pizza, I dusted the filling with some dried oregano. Did the trick. My dog Doug even snatched a raw dumpling off the tray and reported that it was pretty tasty, too. This dish bears many similarities to the signature flavor of a trashy favorite in this country known as the Hot Pocket. But I think we’re the better for it, rather than feeling the effects of its striking forebear. None of us had to call in sick the next day.

Pepperoni Pizza Dumplings
(makes about 35)

1 package (of about 35) premade dumpling wrappers (or make them yourself using this basic or this whole-wheat flour recipe)
1 lb grocery-store-average mozzarella, shredded with a box grater
about 1 cup finely chopped pepperoni
about 1 cup finely chopped sundried tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried oregano (or a combination of dried herbs like oregano, thyme, basil and sage)
3-4 tablespoons neutral oil such as vegetable or peanut for pan-frying
1 quart marinara sauce for serving, warmed

Combine all the ingredients except for the wrappers, oil and marinara sauce in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

To fold the dumplings, place a spoonful of this mixture onto the center of a dumpling wrapper. Dip your finger into a small bowl of water and trace the edge of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half and make a pinch at the top; next, bring a piece of the edge about half an inch to the right of the pinch over to the pinch. (This will cause the wrapper to fold diagonally on the right hand side of the dumpling.) Bring a piece of the edge half an inch to the left over to the pinch next. Pinch the pieces you brought to the center shut and continue to seal the edges to the left and right until the dumpling is fully sealed. From an aerial view, it should be shaped like a crescent.

Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a non-stick skillet that comes with a lid over medium-high heat. Arrange the dumplings in a circle around the edge of the pan. Fill the center with as many dumplings as will fit – do not squash them against one another too much (you will probably need to cook in 2-3 batches, depending on the size of your pan). Let cook uncovered 1-2 minutes, or until the bottoms of the dumplings are just beginning to lightly brown. Add about 1/4 cup of water to the pan and cover the pan immediately.

Let cook covered for about 3 minutes, or until the wrappers appear transparent rather than whitish at the edges. Uncover the pan and ensure that all the liquid has evaporated. Carefully loosen the potstickers from the pan with a spatula. To make a fancy plating, place a plate on top of the dumplings and invert the pan, to serve the dumplings crispy side-up. Otherwise, just transfer the dumplings to a serving plate with a spatula. Serve with the marinara sauce for dipping or just spooning over the whole plateful of ’em.

Cost Calculator
(for 35 dumplings, or 3-6 servings)

1 package dumpling wrappers: $2.00
1 lb mozzarella: $5.00
1 cup chopped pepperoni: $4.00
1 cup chopped sundried tomatoes: $2.00
3-4 tablespoons oil: $0.50
1 jar tomato sauce: $4.00

Total: $17.50

Health Factor

Seven brownie points: No, Hot Pocket-esque foods do not a healthy meal make. But at least you can be in control of the ingredients that go inside—and not riddle them with preservatives, food coloring and who knows what. It’s about as cheesy and greasy as a pizza, or pepperoni-laden lasagna, and does not have much to say for nutrients. But served along with more healthful dishes and in moderation, it’s a fun retreat.

Green Factor

Two maple leaves: This is mostly processed cheese, processed meat, and refined-flour dumpling skins. Not a great combo for your health and non-local (although the use of meat is minimal here).

Their number was just called. The long-running Met Foodmarket grocery store at the southwest corner of Prince and Mulberry Streets is not long for this world. That much is blatantly clear with a series of leasing banners now stretched across the facade of the market, acting as token tombstone signage. According to the retail listing – the […]

Few things are more comforting than a favorite sweater and a steaming bowl of hot noodles on a chilly day, which are the kind of days we'll be experiencing for the next six or so months. To that end, next week the city is hosting two slurping opportunities for stuffing our bellies with ramen. [ more › ]

A fireboat that doused flames in New York City's waterways since the '60s will be transformed into a floating restaurant next summer by the proprietors of Grand Banks, the oyster and cocktail bar aboard the historical F/V Sherman Zwicker schooner, Eater reports. Brothers Miles and Alex Pincus, along with Adrien Gallo, purchased the Fireboat Governor Alfred E. Smith earlier this month via the NYC Citywide Administrative Services, which routinely auctions off decommissioned FDNY boats in addition to other city-owned properties and goods. [ more › ]

Today (October 14) is your last chance to register to vote in November's election here in New York State. We have one of the earliest registration deadlines in the country, which is terrible. We need in-person election-day registration, but that's its own battle. [ more › ]

Old people eat dumplings. Babies eat dumplings. Big people, little people, smart people, silly people, black, white, Asian, Hispanic—all people eat dumplings. It’s a phenomenon that I experienced early on, when my mom brought pork and chive potstickers for the elementary school “bake” sale. Everyone—teachers, parents, kids—ate them with gusto. “Dumplings are magical,” said a judge/organizer for the 13th Annual NYC Dumpling Festival last Saturday in Sara D. Roosevelt Park. That’s all there is to it.

Throughout the festival, swarms of people lined up for creatively titled dumplings from Chef One, the event’s host. There were dumplings with kale, with spicy kungpao chicken, and a dessert dumpling with pumpkin pie-flavored filling. It seems the concept of cultural fusion in dumpling fillings was not missed by the Brooklyn-based dumpling maker, nor home cooks.

It was a beautiful day in the Lower East Side to be noshing on dumplings in the park. Fall food festivities were palpable in New York—as I walked by Mulberry Street in Little Italy, just a few blocks away, they were having their annual San Gennaro festival filled with cannoli and fried dough. And as soon as I crossed the Bowery, I began to smell a different type of grease—that of fried, savory dumplings wafting through the street.

What I love about the NYC Dumpling Festival is that it’s a walk-in and stay-for-as-long-as-you-like kind of festival—you can get vouchers for as many dumpling stands as you can stomach a large tasting portion from. No entrance fee, no advance tickets or RSVP. There’s plenty of foot traffic along Houston Street, and thanks to the brisk and sunny fall day, I’m sure many people got sucked into taking a detour through Dumplingland as they went about their day. The annual festival also featured music, demonstrations from the Food Bank for NYC (the event’s charitable beneficiary), a dragon dance and more on its stage. But its main attraction is and has traditionally been its Dumpling Eating Contest.

As I mentioned, all kinds of people from all walks of life were at this affair, eating dumplings galore. But one person—a woman no less—eats a lot of dumplings, and very fast. Molly Schuyler, competitive eater, was on site last Saturday to defend her title of reigning NYC Dumpling Eating Contest champ. This woman beat all the men at last year’s competition by eating 93 dumplings in two minutes. This year she smashed her own record by eating almost 20 more in the women’s dumpling eating contest final. When the last-seconds cheering died down and all dumplings were counted, the total number of dumplings that Molly ate in two minutes was 115. The emcees did not have posters with enough numerals for 100+ results. And best of all, Molly Schuyler—the ultimate dumpling-eating champion—continued to eat dumplings at the festival even after she’d completed her record-breaking conquest, while smiling and jumping about celebrating her victory.

I have never seen anything like this happen with dumplings, or with eating in general, before. But like we already established, dumplings are magical. Maybe they magically evaporated in her intestines. Or maybe they turn people into magical beings. I’m not sure. But when there’s good dumplings, good people, a good cause—and it’s a very good day out, incredible, magical things can happen. Thanks to the 13^th Annual Dumpling Festival for letting us find out!

 

The World Metro Map is a digital collage of every metro system and station—well, 214 systems and 11,924 stations—overlaid on top of one another. A Kickstarter project, it’s available as a poster in two different sizes. [via]

Ingredients:
5 cups pureed (skin-on*) nectarines (about 8 large nectarines)
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground jalapeno

Directions:

Prep your jars/lids. Place all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed nonreactive pot. Bring to a rolling boil and cook until thickened to ketchup consistency**, about 20-30 minutes. Ladle into pint jars leaving 1/4 inch headroom. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. I used my electric canner for this step but a traditional canning pot on the stove is fine too. If you'd like to skip the canning step, you can refrigerate the ketchup up to 6 weeks.

*If you do not have a high powered blender, you may want to peel your nectarines.

*The sauce does thicken up a bit upon cooling. You can place a small amount on a dish and chill it in the refrigerator (while you're cooking the ketchup) to check the cooled consistency if you'd like.

Yield: about 4 8-oz jars

Note: A great source for canning information is the Blue Book guide to preserving. I highly recommend it for learning how to can. Here are some of my other favorite canning books and supplies.

My thoughts:

These nectarines came in a box with their furry cousins, the peach all the way from the west coast courtesy of the Washington State Fruit Commission, masterminds behind Sweet Preservation. I love nectarines so much. I look forward them eagerly every year and this year's nectarines (both locally and from Washington) have been so juicy! I have canned chile pickled nectarines, ginger-cardamom nectarine jam, nectarine barbecue sauce and nectarine-apricot butter before but never nectarine ketchup. Clearly, this was an oversight on my part, you know how much I love fruit ketchup (and loathe tomato ketchup). What was I thinking? What was I going to slather on burgers and dip my tots in this winter? This had to be remedied. So I whipped up this easy ketchup that is full of spices (including dry mustard which seems almost perverse to put into ketchup!) and fresh, juicy nectarines. It is the hit of sunshine your burgers, tots and dogs need.

The Bowery Graffiti Wall is on to the next one this week. The acclaimed stencil artist Logan Hicks began work on his mural early yesterday morning. He and his assistants spent the day affixing various 3D-style cutouts to the one-story encasement. Rain be damned. The verdict thus far – easily one of the more intriguing, most […]

New, long-awaited subway stations along the MTA's Second Avenue line are at risk of missing their promised December 2016 opening due to delays in critical equipment testing and the installation of communication systems, according to an independent engineer hired by the MTA to monitor the project's progress. [ more › ]

There will be no L train service between Brooklyn and Manhattan for a year-and-a-half, starting in January of 2019. The decision comes after months of hand-wringing and public hearings, during which the MTA presented two painful options for necessary repair work to the Sandy-damaged L train tunnel under the East River: The chosen plan, which will finish the job faster but with a bigger disruption, and a three year option, which would have allowed for limited L train service to continue. [ more › ]

A lacy veil of cigarette smoke encircles a man in Sarawak, one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. “I embarked on photography trips to inland Sarawak to seek out the native people [who] preserve their way of life,” Your Shot member Jonathan Nyik Fui Tai says. ”Many of the tribes have slowly [been] assimilated into modern society.”

This photo was submitted to Your Shot, our storytelling community where members can take part in photo assignments, get expert feedback, be published, and more. Join now >>

Sunset splashes a rosy tint over the landscape in this image submitted by Fabrizio Fortuna. The mountain is the 1,500-foot (457-meter) Vestrahorn, a main landmark of southeastern Iceland.

This photo was submitted to Your Shot, our storytelling community where members can take part in photo assignments, get expert feedback, be published, and more. Join now >>

Seen from above, a small boat travels the Buriganga River, thick and dark with pollution, in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. Though the water is filled with human and industrial waste, millions depend on it for their livelihood and transportation. “The Buriganga is economically very important to Dhaka,” Your Shot photographer Jakir Hossain Rana writes. “Launches and country boats provide a connection to other parts of Bangladesh.”

Rana’s shot was recently featured in the Daily Dozen.

This photo was submitted to Your Shot, our storytelling community where members can take part in photo assignments, get expert feedback, be published, and more. Join now >>

A Jamaican man arrested for sexually assaulting five subway commuters reportedly told the NYPD he had never seen white women before and found them so "absolutely beautiful" that he couldn't stop himself. Officers caught serial groper Damario Johnson, 19, as he allegedly chased a woman inside the Hoyt Street 2/3 station in downtown Brooklyn Monday morning and put his hands up her skirt, the Daily News reports. [ more › ]

Here's the thing about Pokémon Go that only Poké masters will understand: when you talk about catching 'em all, you're catching every motherfucking one of 'em. Gonna reveal your cheating heart if you snag one? Sorry, love waits for no Pokéman. Gotta romp around a graveyard? Can do! Going up a tree IN a cemetery with no plan on how to get down? As one New Jersey woman showed us, that's absolutely the right thing to do. [ more › ]

Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) is the lead bidder to acquire Yahoo Inc‘s (YHOO.O) core business, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

An announcement may come in the next few days, Bloomberg said.

Verizon and Yahoo were not immediately available to comment.