San Diego Meets NYC

Friends, that glorious champion of a bagel you're looking at is none other than a homemade San Diego.  The San Diego, for those of you who (surely regrettably) don't know what a San Diego is, allow me to elaborate.  Well, let's allow the photos to elaborate, shall we?  Or maybe my original tribute to the San Diego in sandwich form?  (BTW, I think I coerced my friend into letting me win that sandwich contest.  Not that it wasn't deserved, of course.)  Yes, the spread that needs no introduction has returned to my life -- and, more accurately, my kitchen.


Last month I took a field trip to Ithaca to help convince my little brother to go to Cornell.  (It worked!)  After about .3 secs of touting the school's academic prowess, I switched gears to a more important task: explaining why he would love every restaurant in the city.  This, of course, revved up my appetite for Collegetown Bagels.  Not for the bagels, (please, I'm a New Yorker), but for the nectar of the gods raspberry jalapeno spread.  I met a friend there for sangria and sandwiches, and when I went to pay, I asked if they might be able to sell me some of the spread to go.  Since the joint is run by a bunch of hippies (I say this with deep affection), they don't really have rules.  "Sure!" was the response.  "How about $7.99 for half a pound?"  SOLD!  Clearly outrageous for jam, but no matter.  It was worth every penny.  So, off I went, trekking back to the city with a new Cornell t-shirt and half a pound of razz jalapeno spread.

This was my first attempt to recreate the San Diego, and I would be foolish to pretend that I made it as well as the pros.  But now every time I get that itch of nostalgia for my college days, I have a solution on hand.  And better bagels, to boot.  Love.

I just might have some seriously amazing news soon.  Stay tuned.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

It all started with a little snow.

And then it turned into quite a bit of snow, actually.  17 inches in Central Park!  Most snow we've had in the city for a LONG TIME.  Happy birthday to me?  Unfortunately Thursday was one of the grossest days I've seen in NY maybe ever.  Just slushy and wet and slippery.  It didn't turn into real snow until Thursday night into Friday.

But that didn't stop me from having a great day!  I started out with a little yoga at 7am at my favorite studio (read: the only yoga studio I've been to outside of the gym).  It was a great class and totally set the tone for my day.  I knew it would :)  I made sure to stay relaxed, focused, and balanced all day.

My mom called at 10:30 to see how I was doing.  I told her I was having a great day so far.  Without missing a beat she said, "So, what does that mean?  Coffee and oatmeal?"  Ding ding ding!  And yoga, I informed her.  What I did not tell her was that oatmeal involved a chocolate cookie on top.

Rolled oats in the microwave (I don't like regular oats on the stove) with almond milk, flax, cinnamon, 1/2 banana, dried cranberries, the best almond butter ever, a little sprinkle of my homemade granola, and 1/2 of a crumbled chocolate chocolate chip cookie on top.  :-D  It's my party and I'll eat what I want to!

Plus my favorite Java Girl Spanish roast in the French press with vanilla soy milk and my Cool Moose mug from Bridgton, ME.

I also used my favorite glass all day.

I heart Collegetown Bagels!  Speaking of CTB, I have a little surprise at the end of the post regarding my favorite place in Ithaca...

Right before I went out for my orthopedist appointment (turns out I have some very uncomfortable tendonitis in my knees, and I can't run my half-marathon in April :( ), these came to my door!

Thanks, Mom and Dad!!!!  This was SUCH a nice surprise.  They're a beautiful arrangement.

After a slippery walk home in my rain boots, I made a giant bowl of more-of-my-favorite-things for lunch.

Arugula, white sharp cheddar, chopped green apples, red onion, alfalfa sprouts, a few walnuts, a drop of olive oil, a drizzle of balsamic, and a drizzle of honey.  With a side of my favorite carb:

Spicy sweet potato fries!!!  Tossed before cooking with a tbsp of canola oil, and a sprinkling of cumin, chili powder, and paprika.  I tried to cut them thin so that they would brown quicker.  I always get impatient and take them out before they have a chance to really crisp up, but the thin method worked better.

I nibbled on some broken hamantaschen throughout the afternoon, and then headed out for a quick stop at a Cornell happy hour and then to dinner with my friends at heaven.  Oh, sorry, I mean Clinton Street Baking Co.  February was Pancake Month, during which they alternated between a few special pancake recipes that they added to their regular menu.  Yes, I had pancakes for dinner.  And yes, they were AMAZING.  I don't even know where to start.  I'm talking about light, fluffy, airy, sweet, buttery, crispy pancakes.

NOT the nicest picture, but use your imaginations.  Crunchy banana pancakes (bananas in the batter AND fried banana on top) with cinnamon chili chocolate sauce.  And maple butter.  And powdered sugar.  And I think there was a little bit of love in there somewhere.  Definitely some love.

I couldn't finish mine, although, to my surprise, they weren't as insanely huge as restaurant pancakes often are.  It seemed POSSIBLE to finish, just not desirable.  I also had a peach bellini with dinner.  Yum!  My friends got them to sing happy birthday and the waitress brought out a fudgy minty brownie with a candle in it.  At that point, approximately no one needed dessert, but I cut the brownie into eights so everyone could try a piece.  Also incredible.  Of course.

It was such a wonderful day -- thanks to all who made it that way!

And now, moving on to my big exciting CTB news: I have entered a sandwich design contest.  It's like it was MADE for me.  I can't really get competitive when it comes to sports, but give me a food challenge and I am in it to win it!  It's a Collegetown Bagels/ Cornell Hillel join contest for alumni to make a sandwich in the theme of Tub'shvat, the festival of trees, and it was suggested that we draw inspiration from fruit, nuts, spring, and Israel.  This was a toughie, as it seemed like those ingredients would make a better salad than a sandwich, but I put on my thinking cap and came up with the following:

Toasted multigrain bread with a nice shmear of goat cheese, alfalfa sprouts, red onion...

...sliced granny smith apples, fresh baby spinach...

...and the secret ingredient!

Berry hot strawberry jam!  SAY WHAT?!  CTB uses raspberry jalapeno spread on my favorite bagel sandwich, the San Diego, and, as one of its strongest supporters (long live the razz jalapeno!), I was determined for it to find its way into my sandwich creation.  This was the closest substitute I could find (gotta find out where they get theirs and start importing it... seriously), and it worked beautifully.  I did a very serious taste test experiment with both my mom and my friend Amanda, and this was deemed the best combination of all my efforts.  I'm not gonna lie, I REALLY want to win.  And I would be ok with not seeing goat cheese in my life for another few weeks.  I think I ate about 10oz of cheese in a matter of 24 hours.  Pretty sick.  But worth it.  Wish me luck!

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.

Losing My Touch

Not only have I been a lazy blogger, but I have also lost my well-known ability to pull all-nighters working.  I am going to blame last night's failed attempt on the preceding week, during which I never got more than 5-6 hours of sleep each night.  All-nighters are usually best executed when otherwise well-rested.  So, my bad for blatantly ignoring what I know is a cardinal rule.

After starting my day already exhausted, I only made it to 1:45am before my brain stopped working.  I was literally stuck on two thoughts/mental images and COULD NOT progress past them.  I wish I could remember what they were, because they were totally unrelated ideas and it was kind of funny.  I want to say that one was a woman who works at the IBM office who I don't know at all, and the other was something yellow.  Polenta?  No matter what I tried to think about, I could only picture those two things.  That's never happened to me before -- that sort of mental block -- but it was discouraging enough that I knew it was time to just go to sleep.  As a result I was totally unprepared for my meeting this morning, and while no one noticed, I was disappointed because I knew that I still had lots of questions but not enough information to ask them effectively -- I didn't know what I didn't know.  Weeeeeird.

At some point before I apparently went crazy, I snapped this picture at the office.  Check out the view from the 18th floor!  The Blackberry totally doesn't do this sunset justice.  It was gorgeous.

As for foodie news, you're just going to have to stay posted.  My camera battery is dead, so I need to charge it before I can even upload pictures.

Teasers:

- CTB.  Wegmans.  'Nuff said.

- Polenta, broccoli rabe, and shrimp

- Banana soft serve

I am supposed to run a 10K on Saturday morning, but at the moment I am too tired to even dream about that.  I better make some sort of major recovery tomorrow.  I haven't even been for a real run in like 3 weeks.  Yikes!  Actually, in true foodie fashion, I think the only reason I want to do it right now is the temptation of Buttermilk Channel brunch afterward.  Alex, now would be a good time to tell me if that is no longer part of the plan, because then I'm calling it a wash and staying home in bed!

Mmmmm bed.