Random Thoughts for Thursday

A busy day chez nous, darlings, as Mr. Muscato has launched once again into one of his domestic fits.  Pasta making, it seems, is the current thing, and while he's very good at it, it does involve my pitching in and helping drape long strands of the stuff everywhere possible.  Mildly exhausting.  Tomorrow, I am led to believe, we'll be moving on to ravioli and gnocchi.  After that, God only knows, but if I seem a little punchier than usual, blame it on a carb coma.

The snap above has nothing, really, to do with culinary goings-on in the Villa Muscato, but I rather like it.  It is the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul, a curious and rather marvelous tourist attraction a few yards from the Hagia Sophia.  Once a primary reservoir for Byzantium, today, with its mood lighting, pan pipes, and teashop at the exit, it feels more like a lost set for Phantom of the Opera, lacking only Michael Crawford oaring about in a skiff.  Still, it's undeniably atmospheric, and the vast forest of columns drawn from hither and yon around the Eastern Empire to support the tidy brick vaulted ceiling inspires a kind of pleasant, abstract melancholy as you wander about (if, that is, you can ignore the tourist families and omnipresent camera flashes).

We're feeling very indulgent, about more than just fresh pasta - which with a splash of good oil, a sliver of garlic, and a little of this or that is delicious - as we've embarked on a long weekend.  Islamic New Year, you see, which is, I must admit, only moderately festive in and of itself, being celebrated with a notable lack of party hats, Champers, and "Auld Lang Syne."  Time enough for that, all too soon.  At least in the meantime, terriers permitting, we'll be sleeping in for the next couple of days.