World's Worst Blogger

I admit it.  I am a terrible blogger.  I have been insanely busy with work for the past week or so, and so both cooking food and writing about food have taken a backseat to getting sustenance and moving on.  This, of course, doesn't mean I haven't been eating SOME exciting things... :)

I am going to have to recap in segments because otherwise I will be up all night.

Exciting food update #1: Ithaca, NY.
That's right... I went to Cornell!

Last Sunday afternoon I flew up to Ithaca for a 2 night IBM recruiting trip.  I sort of regretted flying there, because those little prop planes are so annoying, and it takes almost as long as driving does, door to door.  However, it must have been fated to be, since I had not one, but TWO "celebrity" sightings on my flights!  Bill Nye (the Science Guy!) on my way to Ithaca, and my good friend Alex on the way back.  Not really a celebrity, but just as exciting, since it was entirely unexpected.  The flight was pretty empty, so we sat next to each other and caught up on the way to NYC.  I also had the good fortune of discovering the US Airways terminal at LaGuardia... um, American Airlines has some serious work to do.  This terminal was gorgeous and full of acceptable food options.  Yay!  I had debated bringing lunch with me, but Allison said the food choices were decent, so I held out.  Glad I did!  I ended up getting a perfect little lunch of honey Fage and pretzel chips with Sabra hummus.  Has anyone ever bought those Sabra travel packs?  The ratio of hummus to dippers is actually disturbing.  Does anyone eat that much hummus in one sitting?  Gross.

Monday morning was the IBM Interview Day.  I, of course, made a pit stop at CTB on the commomns on my way to campus for a small Love Buzz and a San Diego on sesame with Philly Light, please.  I made a rookie mistake by transporting it on a 10 minute walk outside, so it got a little cold, but it was still, as always, divine.  An ex co-worker was there for recruiting too, so we got to catch up during the interviews, since our sole responsibility was to greet the candidates, i.e.: stand there and look pretty.  Check and check!  And I even got to see my busy busy lawyer friend Kristen both Sunday and Monday nights for 2 classic Ithaca dinners: Maxie's and Wegmans.  At Maxie's I got a vegetarian jambalaya and Kristen and I split fried green tomatoes.  I've always been curious, and these lived up to the hype. Then at Wegmans I went for--you guessed it--the VEGGIE BAR.  I am hopelessly obsessed with Wegmans vegetarian bar.  I had some AWESOME roasted acorn squash, mashed butternut squash, a little mac 'n' cheese, the best grilled veggies on earth, and something else (probably a protein) that was obviously inferior, since I can't remember it a week later.  And yes, I WOULD remember.  I also took the oppportunity to buy some local Cortland apples and a bunch of pears, since it's such a happy place to buy groceries.  Love you, Weggies!

I snuck in another CTB trip before my flight on Tuesday morning, this time at the CTB in Collegetown.  I set up with my laptop and worked for a few hours, something I actually don't think I ever did in college.  Too much buzz for actually getting work done.  Thankfully college students are still asleep at 7:30am, so I got some stuff done.  Brain power, aka soy Love Buzz cafe au lait:

And, while I didn't get a pic with San Diego #1 or #2, I have a photo shoot from our summer trip to Ithaca instead.

That, my friends, is the glory of raspberry jalapeno spread.  A.MA.ZING.

It was really nice to be in Ithaca, and reminded me how refreshing it can be to live somewhere less crowded than NYC.  Cornell is always abuzz with people, but it's not the same sort of sensory over-stimulation that NY sometimes provides for me.  I spent a few hours at CTB on the commons on Monday evening (yes, 3 times in 36 hours), and it was like, "Wow, this place is... EMPTY."  When is anything ever empty in NY?  And I mean some place great, not any old dump of a place.  Anyway, I was really happy to be back, but I think still glad I was just visiting.

More cooking fun to come!  I have a few interesting creations to share, as soon as I can get my act together to blog again.  Hopefully soon!

p.s. Just had the WORST toe spasm ever.  I actually called my mom.  I was kind of laugh-crying because it was so hilariously painful.  Lasted like 5 minutes!  Don't worry, all better now.