Holy Blogging Backup, Batman!

I am a bad blogger!  Again!  It's been weeks!  Sorry.  You see, I finally started working the hours of a normal person again, and I've been thrown into a state of shock.  (You mean, I need to wake up before 8?  And I can't take a 3 hour lunch break to go to the gym and cook an elaborate lunch?  And I need to put on clothes other than my stretchy black pants?  Oh, goodness.  For the sake of yoga pants, give me my old schedule back!)

In all honesty, I'm actually totally happy to be working more again.  My last project really only kept me busy about 4 hours a day, so I had lots of flexibility to mold my day as I wished.  Sometimes I was really productive, and sometimes I was decidedly not.  While I guess I miss having the option to be lazy, I am a happier person when I'm kept busy.  And I like this new project!  It has me working from home full time, so no more weekly travel, and it's a role that's a really good fit for me.

I guess that brings me to a couple of points about the blog overall.  I started this with the underlying theme that I (1) run and (2) travel far away for work.  Neither of which are really true anymore.  As for (1), I have a knee injury, and there's a pretty good chance I'm going to need surgery.  BUMMER and a half.  The half-marathon I thought I would be training for is this weekend, and I'm a little sad about it.  I have a love/hate relationship with running, where I hate actually doing it (unless it's a perfect day outside), but I love love love the way it makes me feel.  Sorry, elliptical, but you're pretty lame.  I'm nervous to get back into running, and I may just... not.  We'll see.  Maybe I'll learn to love biking?  Or I'll move to California and swim the days away!  OK, enough daydreaming about my glamorous life on the west coast.  As for (2), I'm working from "home," so I either literally am in my apartment, or I go to the office.  (The office where no one knows me.  I just go for the land line.)  No more airplanes for me!  Goodbye, LGA!  So long, DFW!  Auf wiedersehen, Hilton!  ANYWAY, I think my point is that this blog needs a new theme.  Any thoughts?  It can just be "food I feel like sharing" or it can be more idiosyncratic than that.  Just curious what my readers (readers?) think.

So, now you'd like some actual subject matter?  Fair enough.  I give you: Foodie Events of the Past Two Months!  Since I used too many words up above, I'm going to make this part more like a picture book.
TOP CHEF: UPPER EAST SIDE, Season 2!  The theme:  Every cheftestant was assigned a Manhattan neighborhood to use as inspiration for a dish of their choosing.

Our esteemed judges begin the tastings.

 

Bonnie prepares her (award-winning) sandwich duos.  Neighborhood: TriBeCa.  Her inspiration: small plates, gourmet sandwiches, trendy flavor combinations and preparations.  The food: mini sandwiches.  #1 was Asian-inspired and contained pickled veggies, hard-boiled tea egg, homemade pesto sauce, and watercress.  #2 was Roman-themed and contained a homemade tomato spread, prosciutto, some sort of cheese, and now I'm hard-pressed to remember the other ingredients.  Help?  Both on Ciabatta.  Both amazing.

 

It's hard to see, but the plate toward the very front has Alex's Times Square-inspired frittata.  Neighborhood: Times Square.  Inspiration: bright, colorful.  Veggie and cheese frittatas baked in muffin tins!  The other plates toward the center are Katies.  Neighborhood: Union Square.  Inspiration: the Green Market.  All ingredients came straight from the farmers' market!  Fresh whole wheat pasta with roasted carrots and parsnips with farm fresh ricotta.

 

Here's a totally flattering picture of my dish.  Neighborhood: Washington Heights.  Inspiration: Dominican food.  Rice and beans!  I used plain old white rice, sofrito (my new favorite ingredient), black beans, tomato paste, peppers, onions, and not a whole lot else!  This was the recipe I used.  It got a little burned on the bottom, but was otherwise tasty!

 

Sadly, I did not get close-ups of everything.  Here's what I missed: 

Amanda -- Neighborhood: Upper West Side.  Inspiration: Jewish food!  Horseradish crusted salmon, string beans, and mini apple walnut wontons/turnovers.  She wins for most components attempted at once.

Diane -- Neighborhood: Chelsea.  Inspiration: Chelsea Piers.  A MARK BITTMAN scallop gumbo!  It was amazing.  As expected.  Diane and I are totally obsessed with Mr. Bittman, and I can attest to the fact that this was SO easy to make, as we cooked side by side.

Ariel -- Neighborhood: East Village.  Inspiration: crunchy hippie foods, variety, Asian fusion.  Turkey-stuffed tofu dumplings.  So creative!

After the tastings...

Winners were announced!  Bonnie won for staying most true to her neighborhood.  The judges felt that you could walk into any Tribeca restaurant and find her dish on the menu.  She won plastic pizza storage baggies!  How funny is that?

Katie used one to take home leftovers.  Not just for pizza!

Diane won for best overall.  When Bittman's on your side, all is well.  I wish I had gotten a pic of her gumbo, but perhaps we will make it again.  Her prize was a cute little piggy spatula.  I will get a pic of that guy later.

OK, going to breeze through the rest of this, but I will say this: MAX BRENNER.  YOU MUST GO.  I will admit that I have not been blown away by the food food, but get dessert.  It's amazing.  I took my little brother for the 2nd time, and we had fun.

He got hot chocolate with marshmallows in the adorable hug mug.

I got iced coffee, a la Alice in Wonderland.

And then... I couldn't resist...

OATMEAL!  It had chocolate chips and cinnamon and butterscotch sauce in a beaker and candied pecans.  It was out of this world.  And so defeated the purpose of oats.

I have one last adventure to recount, but I'm saving it for next time.  Just know that it involves what I think may be my favorite food ever. You know, that amazing condiment that I happen to think qualifies as its own food group...

PEANUT BUTTER!

Return of the Oats

I am singing that title in my head, like, "Return of the Mack," just so you know.

GOODBYE, PESACH!  HELLO, OATS!

Oat bran, to be exact.  I got so excited that I actually forgot that I have fresh fruit in the house and ended up putting some dried cherries on top, and a spoon of almond butter.  Until I remembered my favorite topping.

BITTMAN GRANOLA!  Yumyum.  Then halfway through I remembered the blackberries that I bought myself as a treat for keeping Passover, and I sprinkled some of those on too.  Then I went for a double whammy and added some chocolate PB from Peanut Butter & Co.  Has that been photographed yet?  I feel like maybe not.  I have a few food adventures to post, actually.  Coming up soon, for sure.  Anyway, my return to carbs was nothing short of heaven.

I'm not going to back to posting all my meals, but I thought this lunch was funny.  My first post-Passover lunch, packed to go back to the office:

Why is this funny?  Because it's entirely kosher for Passover.  Ummmm, what?  How?  WHY?  I asked myself all of these questions, and then answered them by bringing along a baggie of cereal for the yogurt, just out of principle. And a cookie that Allison baked over the weekend.  Despite being entertainingly kosher, this salad was actually great.  Spinach, roasted beets, carrots, and onions, walnuts, and a splash of balsamic.  Could have used some mustard mixed in too.

Moving backward in time now, in the final days of Passover, I reached a point of desperation/boredom.  So I got creative.  I know it's over and I said I wouldn't "dwell," but I was actually pleased with the outcome of creativity meeting hunger meeting Passover:

Ants on a log, of course!  And something I was reluctant to try...

Sweet potato with cottage cheese.  Ultimately, my suspicions were correct... that I'm not crazy about the idea of warm yogurt/cottage cheese/milk.  Flavor-wise it totally worked, like sour cream on a baked potato, I guess (I added raisins too, so that it would feel more like a dessert... or a kugel?), but unless it's being baked, I want my dairy cold.  I may take this back when someone reminds of something I really love, like a cappuccino or something.  But I will maintain that it's different.

One of my mom's go-to Passover meals is spaghetti squash with meatballs, so I opted for an easier version of that, since I'm just serving one and I got lazy on the protein front.

I found a baby spaghetti squash at in the Fairway organics section, literally the size of a mini Nerf football.  It was adorable.  So I nuked it for 4 minutes, scooped out the insides, mixed it with some frozen/thawed tomato sauce, and then melted some reduced fat mozzarella cheese on top in the microwave.  Sort of reminded me of something I would have made in college (mostly because the microwave was my main source of heat), but it was delicious, and that's all that matters.  How come gooey melty cheese is so ugly?

The foodie events, as promised, coming up next.

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!

The Breakfast Post

In looking through my photos from the past couple of weeks, I have noticed an overwhelming trend.  That's right, friends -- the most important meal of the day is also the most important feature of my photo collection.  I'm not sure if it's the beautiful lighting I get in the morning that I can't get other times of day, but my breakfast photos are the best.

And so, instead of keeping with any sort of chronology or consistency, I give you: BREAKFAST.

Numero uno is a glimpse into the life of my alter-ego: Starbucks oatmeal eater.

I am simply not a fan of Starbucks oatmeal because it's essentially oaty mush, but I have deemed it my best option while traveling.  And if you've been reading all along, you know I got down and dirty in the trenches to  research this topic.  In order to make this oatmeal tolerable, however, I have to go beyond their offered toppings.  Step aside, brown sugar, dried fruit, and nuts!  Enter blueberries, spiced fig granola, and ok, fine, I used their nuts.  I started buying little containers of whatever berries are on sale at Whole Foods, washing them all at once, and taking them back and forth with me during the week to add to my oatmeal.  I really find that adding a good amount of fresh fruit (or frozen) goes a LOT farther in keeping me full than the dried stuff.  And more calorie friendly, too.

Believe it or not, I do sometimes get sick of oats.  It happens oh so rarely, but I'd be remiss not to include an oat-free breakfast.

Stonyfield plain FF yogurt, strawberries (leftover from a fruit plate from Diane's holiday party -- jackpot!), banana, and Kashi Heart to Heart!  I LOVE Kashi cereals, but especially Heart to Heart.  It happens to be healthy and delicious, but mostly the hearts make me smile.  And good god is that a feat in the mornings.

Somewhere along the way, Chaunkah happened, and I got the best present a girl could ask for: a French press!!!!  My parents got me a food processor/blender for my birthday this year, which was a tough act to follow, but the French press was perfect.  I'm a big coffee drinker (big in spirit, not in quantity), so I was delighted to have a new foodie toy.  Here she is, hard at work.

Cool moose, dude. I'm still playing around with proportions, but so far I'm loving the new coffee maker.  I feel expert and elitist all at once.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!  I've also been drinking a Spanish roast from my favorite little coffee shop, Java Girl.  It's so yummy.  Although maybe it's just my inner longing to be back in Spain?

This bowl of oats was an ode to my overflowing kitchen cabinet.  Steel cut oats cooked with banana, then topped with dried cranberries, leftover trail mix (I literally had about a tbsp left in a baggie... and now I have 1/2 tbsp.  I'm a hoarder), and a sprinkle of Fiona's cinnamon almond granola.  Wheat and soy free and loaded with sesame seeds!  A new fave.

In said cabinet you will find no less than 10 varieties of nuts/seeds.  Overkill?  I think not.  But my cabinet begs to differ.  Every time I open it, I am met with a nutty avalanche. For your viewing pleasure:

By my count, we have pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, raw whole almonds, slivered almonds, roasted cashew pieces, raw cashews, spicy and tangy roasted almonds (a TJ's buy... a little weird), pecans, about 4 salty peanuts, and the almond/peanut/berry mix I got from TJ's.  I also have walnuts in the fridge and several bags of trail mix I've collected from Whole Foods and Central Market in Dallas.  Did I mention my new favorite grocery store yet?  I think I did.  But I'm not over it yet.  Central Market is AMAZING.  Stew Leonards meets Wegmans meets Whole Foods.  Man, it's like grocery porn.

Lastly, a proud concoction.  I have been making apple cinnamon oats for a while, and it's amazing.  Steel cut oats, apple chunks added halfway through, lotsa cinnamon,TJ's almond butter (the best kind?!), and a sprinkle of Fiona's for texture.

Ahhh, oatmeal.  Thank you for making mornings tolerable.

I would also like to give a shout out to Maggie and Natalia, whose birthdays were yesterday!  Happy birthday, dear friends!  Mag, I wish I could have been in China to celebrate with you, but I did dedicate the above oatmeal to you on Sunday, and you know that's an honor in my book.  You are dearly missed on this side of the globe!  xoxo

THE Cookie

... from, um, 2 weeks ago.  One of these days I'll stop feeling guilty about not updating and just live in the present.  But I have thoughts to share!

My last trip to Dallas absolutely flew by because I was so busy at work.  This has both positive and negative aspects to it.  One negative is having no free time to blog or watch endless episodes of The Office on Tuesday nights, but the positive is that it's over before I know it and I get to come back to planet earth New York.  It's funny, but every single time we land at LGA, I'm still amazed by the view.  It never gets old.  It's like, "Aaaahh, homecoming."  I like trying to figure out where we are and which bridges are which.

Anyway, not only was it a busy work week, but I was banished to the lowly Doubletree.  I used to stay at the Doubletree because it's where my project manager stays, and he's been on projects in Dallas for almost 3 years now, so I figured he knew a thing or 2 about the hotel situation.  I neglected to factor in that he's sort of strange and masochistic.

Exhibit A: Chicken.  The "chicken" that they serve in the cafeteria may or may not be derived from one or more of the following: chicken, dog, ferret, gerbil, donkey, sand.  I tried it twice, and then I said goodbye to chicken for the rest of my lunchtime career.  Tim agrees.  It is GROSS.  The worst chicken dish?  The Thai stir-fry with chicken.  So, what does Tim eat every Wednesday?  Thai stir-fry with chicken, of course!  I've asked why.  There's no good answer.

Exhibit B: Doubletree.  The Doubletree is nice enough.  They have free breakfast, delightful pillows, wifi, and a bar downstairs if you get desperate.  The rooms, however, are poorly lit, a little musty, and sometimes I find spiders.  (Fine, once I found a spider.  But it was a daddy long legs so I think it counts twice.)  Also, the workout room is itty bitty and one of the treadmills "skips" sometimes, making eventual injury seem all but guaranteed.  The Hilton, on the other hand is like a gift from heaven.  It's clean, new, has a cool view of the city, an Executive Lounge for Gold status members such as yours truly (I'm brushing that dirt off my shoulder), and free drinks!  And a real gym, like the size of the one I go to at home.  And Whole Foods is essentially around the corner!  Anyway, my point, after all this rambling, is that Tim has also stayed at the Hilton, agrees that it's superior, and continues to stay at the Doubletree for what I can only imagine are obscure and senseless reasons.

I caught on pretty quickly and have never looked back on the Doubletree, until... THE HILTON WAS BOOKED UP.  DUH NUH NUH!  So, I grudgingly checked into the Doubletree, pleasantly surprised to remember that there would be a silver lining after all...

The Doubletree Cookie.  They give you one of these hot, gooey, half-baked monsters at check-in.  I don't even want to discuss what percentage of this beautiful morsel is composed of butter, so let's just leave this one at "YUM."  When I stayed at the Doubletree regularly I used to have Cookie Monday every night when I checked in.  I would bring a light dinner to eat on the plane so as to leave room for dessert, then I would have my cookie and a cup of chamomile tea when I got to my room.  This sort of helped me feel less grumpy about starting the week away from home.  It was a nice tradition, but the Hilton's amenities more than make up for the baked good sacrifice.  Although, I gotta say... this is one helluva cookie.  Aaaaamen.

I also had some oatmeal troubles that week.  Yes, oatmeal troubles.  The OTHER silver lining to staying at the Doubletree is that they have oatmeal for breakfast downstairs.  For free!  And nice little fruit cups with watermelon and pineapple.  However, as I sat at work on Tuesday contemplating why I was still not hungry for lunch at 12:30 (I usually start grumbling around 11), I thought, "Did I really have that much oatmeal?"  And then the realization hit: that oatmeal was extra heavy that day... it was just a little too creamy... suspiciously creamy... it was made with MILK!  I asked the next morning, and it was confirmed.  Milk.  I'm ok with a little milk in things, but my tummy isn't crazy about dairy in general.  And I had no idea how much milk was in it, so I had no idea if it was even remotely healthy anymore.  And so, I was forced back to Starbucks and their extra instant oats.  It's masked well by the nuts and dried fruit, but the Doubletree oats are way better.  Because, of course, they're not actually healthy.  What about the cafeteria, you ask?  It's a good option, but means that I have to make 2 stops: one for coffee and then one downstairs at the cafeteria.  And so, the oat dilemma continues.

I added some Whole Foods granola to that.  Loooove buying bulk!  But this one was a little too sweet.  Natural Granola or something?  Gotta try something else this week.  And that's a Xmas Blend from Starbucks in the back... deeeeelish.  I'm not crazy about Starbucks's regular Pike Place roast, but the other ones are usually good.  And I really enjoy the holiday-spirited cups!  Yum yum!  Coming up next... car review, eating at home, and back to Texas I go.