pink rickshaw

4 minutes: taxi fabric

"The fabric of existence weaves itself whole."-Charles Ives

Words that never (or maybe rarely) get spoken entering a taxicab in most countries: "Wow, the interior of this taxi looks amazing!" In fact, boring taxi interiors are just yet another mundane, unnoticed detail of a city dwellers's life. Which is why I was so intrigued by the creativity of designer Sanket Avlani's Taxi Fabric project in India. I first read about Taxi Fabric when it was recently featured in this Good article.  At that time the effort was still seeking support through its Kickstarter page but has since exceeded its fundraising goal and has outfitted ten taxis in Mumbai.

Here's how Taxi Fabric works. The interiors of old (and new) Mumbai taxis are reupholstered with original textile designs created by up and coming designers. It really is an unique way to give exposure to beautiful design in a practical way.  According to Good, "Taxi Fabric acts as the matchmaker between the designers and cab owners, offering to fund the collaboration and set the wheels in motion." Taxi Fabric describes the match beautifully: "The designs that cover the taxi seats are often functional and forgettable and with the outstanding design talent Mumbai has to offer, this shouldn’t be the case. Design, as a job or even simply something studied at school, is unfortunately not widely recognized in India. Older generations don't understand it- design to them, just performs a function. Many people don't know that design can create a real impact. With so few spaces for young people to show off their skills, it's hard to change that perception."

bites: empanadas

"The belly rules the mind."-Spanish proverb

Ok, pop quiz. Name a cuisine that does not have it's own version of a dumpling or stuffed pastry. It's tough, right? There's the Chinese dumpling, jiaozi (of course), ravioli, samosas, gyozas, momos, empanadas, pierogies and at least thirty other kinds. Which makes you think.. are stuffed things in various forms, really the great unifier of humanity? No matter who or where you are, we globally seem to unanimously agree that if you take some filling, wrap it in dough, fry/steam/boil it, that it will likely be delicious.

One of my all time favorite bites is Latin cuisine's version of the stuffed pastry: the empanada. Usually when I have had an empanada in the past, the dough was usually wheat flour based. However on a recent trip to Costa Rica, I noticed their delicious versions were made with a sweet, corn dough. So, when I got back to Dallas, in order to get a similar empanada fix, I headed over to a local Latin cafe, Zaguan. Zaguan is a well-known, casual spot in Dallas for Latin pastries, meals and coffee. The cafe is best known for it's arepa, which if you are not familiar with the dish, is a corn flour dough "turnover" that is grilled and filled with cheese and/or meat. The empanadas are equally as scrumptious, especially the Venezuelan (and Columbian) varieties. You have the option to fill them with cheese, savory beef or chicken and the outside is a sweet, fried golden corn flour dough. For some variety, try their Argentinian version, where the dough is made of wheat flour. While empanadas are customarily eaten for breakfast, they work perfect as mid-afternoon snack or light lunch.

If you cannot make it to Zaguan's, here's a few empanada recipes to try at home.

In case you missed them, some past bites:
"The Jack" Cupcake at Trailer Cakes (Dallas, TX)
Chai Pie at Pondicheri (Houston, TX)
Thai pastries at Bhan Kanom Thai (Los Angeles, CA)
Bread Pudding Whoopie Pies at Society Bakery (Dallas, TX)

image source: SD
(Bamboo utensils from Sur La Table; patterned napkin from World Market)

-SD

oh my blog: podcast round-up (part I)

"I'm trying to make perfect moments. And those generate meaning. If you go deep enough in how to make a moment, very quickly you come to how narrative works - to what we are as a species, how we've come up with telling stories in scenes and images."-Ira Glass 

On Monday, Sarah Koenig was in town as part of the #thinkspeak series and hearing her familiar voice (and that chilling Serial theme music) definitely brought back all those old feels of listening to her fascinating podcast. It also got me really interested in what the the second (and third!) seasons of Serial have in store for us listeners. (Some tidbits from her talk: Yes, she still does talk to Adnan occasionally, she has not listened to Rabia Chaudry's podcast Undisclosed or watched the The Jinx, Serial was actually recorded in her basement, she thought this interview with Jay was super fascinating and she does admit hindsight that there was some flirting between her and Adnan). Since Serial ended, I have been getting my daily podcast fix from the usual weekly NPR staples like This American Life, Radio Lab and Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! but I also tried branching out and found a few others that I thought would be fun to share. I also asked friends and family for some of their go-to podcasts to round out my list.  Some are extremely popular and others are a little bit more niche, but they each can make the daily routine a little bit more interesting. 

Podcast: Start-Up
Soundbyte: The refreshingly sincere deets of building a start-up (Trough of Sorrow and all)
If you listen to podcasts, you have probably seen Alex Bloomberg's Start-Up in the top charts (It was also teased on This American Life, which got many listeners hooked). The podcast which finished up season 2 earlier this summer is one of my personal favorites. Season 1 is the story of Bloomberg's own start-up Gimlet Media and season 2 focuses on the journey of Dating Ring, a dating website started by two women. Both seasons give unique insight into the trials and tribulations of starting your own company told in a chronological, endearing narrative. In today's start-up centric world, you usually hear about someone having a brilliant idea followed by uber (sorry, couldn't help it) success. But what happens in between? This is all that in-between, non-glamorous stuff that no one really talks candidly about. If you're an aspiring entrepreneur or not, it is fascinating to follow (and root for) these people on their mission.

Podcast: StarTalk
Soundbyte: Humorous science, space and pop culture talk from the lovable Neil deGrasse Tyson
This is one of my husband's favorites and his recommendation. And after listening to one episode you will probably agree how funny host Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson (of the Hayden Planetarium and Cosmos fame) is. So even if you're not that into science, you will likely thoroughly enjoy Tyson's banter with co-hosts like John Oliver and Kristen Schall (love her!!) and learn a few things along the way.

Podcast: The Moth
Soundbyte: Beautiful personal stories from regular people (and the occasional actor or writer) like this one
If there's anything we have learned from the enormous success of Serial, is that as humans we long to hear a gripping story. The Moth podcast is quite popular and I was late to the game, but once I found it I was hooked. The podcast features recordings of real people sharing their memorable stories on-stage at Moth storytelling events. Even the podcast description is beautiful: "Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating." If that just gave you chills, listen to an episode and you will be hooked too.