When we first moved, I worried a lot. Would I be able to see concerts? Would I be able to go see indie movies? The truth is, Saint Louis  is one of the coolest cities I’ve visited, and without a doubt, the best place I’ve ever lived. Indie movie theaters, we got it. Live theatre, live music, awesome museums… we got it. You can go into the city and see almost any professional sport you want to. There’s some really high quality colleges around here. Business and industry still exist in Saint Louis.

But the absolute, without a doubt, best thing we’ve done in Saint Louis is subscribe to the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. About once a month, we head down to Powell Hall and see the symphony.

When I was six or seven, my class took a trip to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to see the Nutcracker. I moved out of my mother’s house at twenty-two, and I found the ticket stub from that concert in a jewelry box still. I adored the experience – the beautiful concert hall, the glowing instruments, the glorious noise.

Michael and I have been to probably 4 or 5 concerts at Powell Hall since September. We’ve sat in some fantastic seats and some less fantastic seats, but there’s no bad seat in the place. Powell Hall is gorgeous, all red and velvet and gold painted crystal chandeliers. It’s been beautifully renovated and feels simply elegant. It’s a gem.

And the orchestra is ridiculously good. They’re a full-time orchestra, this is their only job. We’ve seen them play music from Looney Tunes, with the cartoons playing behind them, we’ve seen them play a show of only Mozart, we’ve watched them accompany vocalists and tap-dancers and Ben Folds kicking a piano’s ass. There’s a variety of talent.

The second concert we went to was an all Mozart program, including some more obscure pieces. Our seats looked right out over the entire orchestra, watching the bows rise and fall together, and the waxed shine of the stringed instruments contrasting with the bright, bright brass. The warmth and the power of the sound… I have never heard music sound so perfect. You can pick out the sound of a lone triangle as easily as the sound of a lone bassoon or violin.

After the first movement, I started to cry a little, very quietly. Michael looked at me quizzically and I just took his hand. It was maybe the most profoundly beautiful thing I’ve experienced. And it can be experienced by anyone. The cheapest seats are typically around $40 bucks a pop, usually it’s a bit cheaper for the family shows. The experience is astounding for the cost.

And the cost… it supports keeping something as magnificent as a symphony around. Because once the symphony and the hall fall into disrepair, no one is going to choose to spend the money to bring them back. In my mind, I get a mind-blowing experience and help to make sure that my children and grandchildren can have that exact same experience some time in the future. The kind of experience that reminds you of the power and beauty in a world that can be kind of deadening sometimes.

If you live in Saint Louis, or are just visiting, I urge you to take the time to see the Symphony. I’ll meet you there!

While we were in the area, I insisted on going to the National Zoo and Ikea. Then I looked up a restaurant, Tortacos in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

In the interest of full disclosure, I may know someone who is involved with Tortacos. But if I ate at a friend’s place and didn’t like it, I wouldn’t post about it on my mostly-unheard-of blog. I am only posting because Michael and me (and my brother and my food-scientist sister, and her boyfriend) really liked the place.

It was clean, it was bright, the menu was simple — in a good way. The guacamole was awesome and fresh. The salsas and taco toppings were awesome and fresh. The servings were generous. I ate the al pastor and carnitas tacos and both meats were fantastic and flavorful, although I preferred the carnitas.  The tortilla chips were made fresh, in-house. Super crispy and delicious. It would be easy to eat vegetarian (or vegan).

After we ate, we grabbed an extra serving of chips and guac to take back to our hotel since we were having visitors. They went over very well. One visitor even remarked, I don’t normally like guacamole but this is really good.

New businesses usually offer a cluttered vision but that was not the case with Tortacos. The simplicity of the menu and aesthetic really showcase the thoughtfulness put into all aspects of the venture.

I wish I were home more often, so I could eat there more often and drag more people there.  Also, I’d like to try the whole menu, especially the flan. But I’m not around very often. St. Louis is an interesting city food-wise but I’ve yet to find stellar (or even adequate)Mexican food. If you live close enough to drop into Tortacos, make sure and do so, if only because I can’t.

In conclusion: food tasty; plentiful; cheap. As Homer might say, the whole experience is “groin-grabbingly transcendent.”

Update: Here’s what Tom Sietsema, Washington Post food critic had to say.

Michael and I bought an organic butternut squash. Normally, I couldn’t care less about organic but sometimes it makes a difference. For example, regular squash (not locally grown; not organic), never do this:

That’s Michael’s hand after slicing up butternut squash. It’s dyed orange.

Roast Butternut Squash Pasta

Time: 30-60 minutes, including prep
Ease: Moderate (easy if you don’t chop up your own squash)
Cost: Cheap ($5 for four servings)

Recipe (from Michael):

This is very slightly modified from a post by a user on the Post Punk Kitchen website, that doesn’t seem to be there anymore.

1 lb pasta (we like whole wheat penne)
1 large butternut squash
2 or 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tbsp pine nuts
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt and black pepper

Cut the squash into 1/2-inch cubes and toss with oil, pine nuts, garlic, sage, and red pepper flakes. Roast in a roasting pan or foil-lined glass pan at 400°F for 30-40 minutes. Just before the squash is done roasting, cook the pasta. Mix the pasta and squash mixture, then apply salt and pepper liberally.

We use whole wheat pasta and we buy the squash and prepare it ourselves (probably takes 10-15 minutes). I don’t see a problem using squash pre-diced (often available in the produce aisle) or frozen — but it will cost more money that way.

Details: I put a green salad with this for dinner because a meal without green veggies doesn’t sit well with me. The pasta is great left over as it reheats extraordinarily well.

We come in, screaming like waves shattering on a beach. We are battered by rain and by wind. Clouds and lightning keep us from seeing ourselves or our world clearly.

We are, essentially, alone. Our struggles are fought mostly alone, mostly internally. We can reach out and hold hands, but we came in alone and we leave alone.

This can be terribly depressing. But it isn’t – not necessarily. There is vitality and energy all around. We can feed off that electricity.

And there are always calm spots in storms.

I think Thanksgiving and winter holidays become important because the actual, physical world turns against us then. Not just our own mental world, not just the world we create. Nature itself turns against us.

Yesterday, the weather snapped here. It was sharp and windy and misting. The wind in the mid-west/ plains/ wherever we are is something else. It made me think about the holidays.

I think the holidays are about creating your own vitality in a dying world. I mean that literally – in Winter, your world has turned from the sun, and without the sun we start to die. So we make our own light – fires, candles, 3-d televisions.

And we create our own calm and peace, too. We do that by establishing rituals and traditions, by giving of ourselves to the needy around us and by thanking the people who have helped us and held our hands throughout the year and in years past.

As years go by, and as I stay many miles away from family and friends I care deeply for, the holidays make more sense. Giving makes more sense. Gratitude makes more sense. None of us live in an easy world.

The world is a storm.

I’m not a woman inclined to hyperbole when it comes to food – so believe me – this meal is awesome. But I should probably state, for the record, that beans + rice is probably one of my favorite meals in the world. Lentils and rice, adzuki beans and rice, black beans and rice, pintos and rice … I love them all. There is nothing more simple, more humble and more excellent than beans and rice. They’re also ridiculously cheap.

Time: Forever and a day. We used dry beans (highly recommended).
Ease: Pretty easy
Cost: Extremely Cheap ($3.50 for six large servings, more if you use organic ingredients)

Recipe (from Michael):

3 cups or so of brown or white rice, cooked
1 lb dry red kidney beans
1/4 cup soybean or canola oil
1 large red onion
4 cloves garlic
2 packets Goya “Jamón” fake ham flavor
1 tbsp paprika
4 or 5 generous shakes Tabasco sauce
2 tsp salt, maybe more
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Put the dry beans in a big pot and cover with hot tap water to 2 inches above the beans. Place on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then turn heat off, cover pot, and remove from heat. Let beans soak for 1 hour.

An hour later: Bring beans to a boil and add the salt and seasonings. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover the pot loosely with a lid. In a separate pan, sauté the onion in the oil over medium-high heat until it just begins to brown. Add the garlic and cook until the onion is nicely caramelized. Dump the mixture into the pot with the beans. Cook the whole mess until the beans begin to fall apart, about 2 more hours, adding water as necessary to keep things from getting too sticky or burning to the bottom of the pot. At this point you can continue to cook the beans until they fall completely apart on their own, but I just cheated and mashed the beans against the side of the pot with a big spoon, leaving some beans whole. Either way is OK.

Scoop out the beans over rice and enjoy.

Details: This recipe made a huge pile of leftovers which I can’t wait to eat (except I can because I’m still STUFFED from this meal!). We used basmati rice, which we cooked in the rice cooker. The rice cooker is simple and fast, so if you don’t have a rice cooker that could add some complexity. I do recommend putting some kind of vegetable on the side for health reasons, but you could always do like me and eat a salad before or after.