Five Nice Things #4
Calatrava / Avgolemono / Wouf / Oura / Dinner Music Weekly
ARCHITECTURE / DESIGN
1. Calatrava at Stadelhofen
Here in Zürich, I am having a full circle moment with the newly finished building by Calatrava, at my nearest (and dearest) train station, Stadelhofen. The prolific Catalan architect also designed the station itself, in the 80s. I saw an exhibition on Calatrava in Florence, Italy way back in 2000 when I was studying abroad. Although I hadn’t heard of him, I was persuaded to attend with a fellow student who was studying architecture. We both marvelled at the drawings and models on display, and afterward I was smitten with his work.
I love Calatrava’s sculptural and lyrical style, his prominent use of white, the airiness of his buildings, and his obvious references to nature. When you see a building of his, there is no mistaking who built it because his style is so singular. Since that introduction to him in Italy, I have admired and followed Calatrava’s work all these years. I even have a hefty coffee table tome, that has come with with me move to move, from home to home, and which I still own to this day.
Calatrava also did the Zürich University law library, which I made a point to visit on my first trip to Zürich, before we ever moved here. It is spectacular and more famous than this one.
One thing I love most about Calatrava is how his buildings always play with and celebrate light. I feel good in the spaces he builds and I like how I feel in them, like life is full of wonder and possibility. This isn’t always the case with modern architecture. If you don’t know him yet, there’s a lot to discover.
FOOD / DRINK
2. Avgolemono Soup
This Greek lemon-egg-rice soup is soothing, delicious, and elegant. When I am sick, stuffy with a cold, achy all over, and do not want to leave the house, this is what I crave. It has a velvety creaminess from the eggs, texture and umami from the shredded chicken, and hearty oomph from rice. And it’s very lemony.
I used to order Avgolemono soup at Souvla, but until recently never attempted to make it at home. When it popped up on the NYT cooking app, I thought, I’ll give it a whirl. Of course, the comments section saved me, like it always does. (You NYT Cooking readers are a clever bunch.*) This one is a riff on the classic because it uses shelf-stable gnocchi instead of the traditional rice.
Based on the wisdom of the commenters, I made a modification: For the eggs, I used two whole eggs plus two egg yolks and added them to the lemon juice-garlic mixture. Then I added the simmering broth, as per the method. I whizzed all of that in a big jar, with an immersion blender for 2-3 minutes until very frothy. I added all of that to the large pot on the stove, stirred for a moment, then turned off the heat. The result was a perfectly foamy Avgolemono soup, as it is meant to be.
Both Edie and I enjoyed it immensely. I practically licked the bowl. HOWEVER I would like to add that, when push comes to shove, the gnocchi doesn’t do it for me. It was a little bulky compared to the other ingredients and got flabby after a night in the fridge. In our house, we always eat leftovers. For me, the rice is already great. Though I would be open to trying another small grain. Like farro! If you cook this, let me know how it went.
*If you can’t access the recipe, just text, email, or comment below, and I will send it to you as a gift article.
STYLE / ACCESSORIES / WORK
3. Wouf
I recently discovered the Spanish brand, Wouf, which makes cool pouches, computer sleeves, and bags, out of recycled materials in fun vibrant colors and upbeat patterns.
Last November, somewhat spontaneously* I bought a new laptop** and subsequently needed a new case for it. I often bring my laptop when I travel, because I have far-fetched ideas that I’m going to do explosive, jet lag induced, but nevertheless boundary-shattering, creative work in the wee hours of the morning during vacation. Even though that NEVER happens.
Much like myself, I want my laptop to feel snug, warm and safe while in transit somewhere. Thus, I like a soft pouch that can be zipped up to include the inevitable dongles, drives and cords I need as well. Personally, if I’m going to buy an accessory for a serious thing like a computer, then I want it to be jazzy, zany, and not serious at all. I don’t care if it matches my purse or my shoes. It can have its own style, my computer. And when I bring it out of my bag, I want it to make me smile.
Wouf also makes jewelry that reminds me of flipping through the Delia’s catalog in the mid-90s when I was in high school and life was unbelievably carefree. It is vibrant, lively, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Even the name is fun. But the brand is also reassuringly committed to sustainability and quality production. So that is nice.
*Although I loathe to participate in Black Friday or Cyber Monday, I broke my own rule and did it last year. There were two things going for me. First, the exchange rate for CHF to $ was super favorable. And second, I bought it from Costco, which is the one business in the US right now that has any morals left. Therefore, I am quite happy to support them.
**As a photographer I never thought I would be able to get by with a smaller, lighter laptop because my uses are so intensive. Ask any other creatives you know—graphic designers, filmmakers, etc.—and they will tell you we need a lot of power to process these big files. And with that power comes a price. But once Apple released the M3 and M4 chips, everything changed. These machines can process my images super duper fast. So fast, that I can now get by with the more cost effective Macbook Air rather than having to splurge for a Macbook Pro. There’s a much bigger debate about whether I need an Apple at all, but let’s stop here.
HEALTH / JEWELRY /
4. Oura Ring
After hearing my sister in law tell me how much she loved her Oura Ring, I decided I wanted one for myself. Which I received for Christmas this year. It has kinda changed my life, to be truthful. But not in a crazy way, more like in a good, healthy habit kind of way. Like the Apple Watch, the Oura ring has sensors inside it that capture your biometrics. Unlike the Apple Watch, the ring itself does not ding at me, which I do not want. But the Oura tracks it all for me—my steps and activities, calories burned, my REM, light and deep sleep, HRV, stress levels, my cycle and even resilience. I love it. I just have to wear it, and suddenly all of this information about my health is there if I need it.
Before I got the Oura Ring I never really thought about my bedtime routine. Nor did I really check my activity and steps. Now, I try to start winding down an hour or more before I actually go to sleep, because I have learned how important that step is. And I feel the results. I didn’t necessarily understand why I’d feel great one day and terrible the next. But sleep and resilience play a big part.
Just the other day, while I initially thought I slept OK, my ring showed I got about 5 hours of sleep total. And about an hour after waking up I felt lethargic and cranky. I was mentally and physically exhausted, and really short-tempered. Seeing that ‘total sleep’ number written on the screen in front of me, made me realize that I really should take it easy and even try to nap. So I did. Thankfully it was a Sunday, and I could. After a 49 minute nap, I felt transformed. And I realized that having the knowledge about my actual sleep—my biometric data tracked—helped me make a positive decision for my health that day.
The thing about the Oura Ring is that some people have a tendency to obsess over the data. Thankfully, I do not have that kind of personality. I am perfectly fine simply not checking it, or forgetting all about it altogether. Sometimes I haven’t checked it all day and only upon bedtime do I confirm all my activities. In short, the Oura ring might not be for everyone. For me, it has had an overall positive impact.
I’m someone who has suffered, for many years, with migraines, IBS, asthma, allergies, and vertigo. Generally I am really healthy, and none of these has affected my life so much that I can’t do most things. There were periods of time when I was mildly debilitated by my stomach, and later by migraines, but by and large I’m happy and healthy. However, as I age, and enter into perimenopause, I am happy to have my biometrics measured and on hand should I need that vital information.
Thanks so much for reading Photographer’s Miscellany. I am really pleased to have you here. If you enjoyed this post, and would like to keep up with me, please share, subscribe or drop me a note.
MUSIC / PLAYLIST
5. Dinner Music Weekly by Jacqui Devaney
I discovered Dinner Music Weekly here on Substack, and I think it is fantastic. I’ve listened to different iterations for weeks now and there is always something fresh and enjoyable that I’ve saved, grooved to, and revisited. Dinner Music Weekly does what it says and changes every week, so each one has a different flavor, mood and feel. All you have to do is subscribe. She offers it on both Apple and Spotify.
Jacqui, who is based in Austin, TX, has super diverse taste and I love how much world music she includes. I also appreciate that she showcases songs from every decade. As a lover of older music (I’m partial to jazz) I think there’s a ton to mine in the past, but I like being introduced to new music, too.
Back in the day, I started my own CD-of-the-month club with fellow music nerds and it was great, for about a year. We physically sent mixed CDs to each other all over the world and I prided myself most on the mix and uniqueness of the group itself that I put together. This was circa 2008. But these days, I never seem to have time to explore new music the way that I used to and make discoveries. So if someone else wants to do it for me, then I’m all for it.
Great stuff, Jacqui - I just upgraded my membership!
Hope you all like these recs!
I just read a Substack post that is going around now, and I feel compelled to say that there are no affiliate links here! No clicks for cash. I am most assuredly not an influencer, nor have I ever been, or wish to be. Just in case that wasn’t obvious. I sometimes like to share things that I’ve recently discovered and really like. So that’s what this post is supposed to be all about.
Have a great week, and thank you for reading.
Thanks, Kassie. Avgolemono is my favorite soup.🥣 I recently quit Spotify and actually went back to 💿s. It seems crazy at first, but when I realized how easy and fun it was to get the ones I didn’t have from the library it has been a bright addition to my week. So glad my iPod classic still works great 👍. 🎶