Pizza and Pumpkins...The Best Way to Recover!

After running the Baltimore Half Marathon with MLR (formerly MLJ), I went back down to Virginia and stayed overnight. This was the first time I'd been to ML and P's house, which is really cute. They've been doing work on the house, and it's paying off in my opinion. When I seen nice kitchen's like theirs and backyards, I always wish I owned my own place.

Anyway, since ML and I had run, P made dinner. Pizza! The best type of food for after a race. And he made all of it, including the whole wheat dough!

He made a pepperoni pizza and then a supreme.


He may not have tossed the dough in the air, but it made for a great base for some tasty pizzas. I get hungry just thinking about it: Pizza and good red wine!

I was a horrible dinner guest, though, I had to do work. I kept checking my emails and updating stories. I felt very bad. But I tried to make up for it by going for ice cream, or I should say this great frozen custard place near their house. Frozen Dairy appears to have been around (at different locations) for over 60 years. It was great!

Unfortunately, I couldn't stay up too late. The race and then the extra three miles kind of zapped me. I fell asleep on the ride back from Baltimore (but me in car usually means I'll fall asleep). I was out by 10:30 p.m.

P had garden in the backyard. Aside from tomatoes and peppers, he grew pumpkins. They were really cute!

Anyway, I don't think it was the inspiration for breakfast, but it makes a good segway. After a great night's sleep, albeit plagued by dreams (or nightmares, really) of work, we had pumpkin pancakes for breakfast! And ML even made a pumpkin shaped pancake -- granted by accident, but it went with the theme.

Despite having to work, it was a great weekend with running, great food and even better company.

What Would Batman Do?

With the presidential election season already underway (only 13 more months until the election), here are the really important endorsements. Who would comic book heros support?

Dreaming About Work

Why is it that whenever I dream about work it usually tends to be a nightmare. The last couple of days, I keep dreaming that I forgot to set something in the page and the wnyc.org has some gaping hole do to me. I usually wake up and then just check the site to make sure. I'm not always the most detailed oriented person -- and have been known to mess up copy -- but I think I've got the hang of setting the page by now. I'd just like a good night's sleep!

Fall Foliage

I went to Ithaca, NY, this past weekend to visit with AA and her family. It was a fun, relaxing trip for me. (I did get in a run - which you can read about in the other blog.) AA and I had an interesting discussion in light of the fact that our 20th HS reunion is coming up. How much have we changed/not changed. Looks-wise I think we're pretty much as we were - I bit older. But A was right, it was our demeanor and confidence levels that have changed really. I think about the shy girl I was in HS -- and I still am shy -- but I care less what people think and more about how I feel. Maybe that's just the selfishness that comes with age. But at a certain point in your life you know what you want, what you want to do, and what you're willing or not willing to put up with. Am I wrong in thinking this?

Anyway, I was upstate in the fall, so there were plenty of leaf peeping and hiking. During the short hike we took, I found another bench/chair that I love to photograph when I travel. This is one I took in Ithaca.

There is something sad about an empty chair. It's purpose is to wait for someone or someones to come by and rest. But, on the other hand, it's usually got the best view around. It gets to see the minute changes day by day or the vast vistas in front of it (depending on where the chair/bench is). One day, I'll actually get around to framing all of the ones that I have. The other cool thing that we saw, was this tree with mushrooms growing out of it -- I guess I should say fungi.

It made me wish that I actually knew how to forage in the forest. I know I'm really an urban girl, but there are some country things that I wish I knew how to do - like make jam and preserve things. I know I can learn and there are classes here in the city, but honestly, it's not like a have berry bushes outside my door or a garden to grow things that need to be preserved. One day, I'll have my place in the country. But for now, I'll hit the farmers market for some good jam.

Go With Your Gut

That seems to be what most people will tell you. Well, I went with my gut, but I kept doubting myself and switched back, only to hate myself for it. I'm going to go with my gut, next time and not over think things.

53 Hours in London

I was in London this past weekend (if you read the running blog, you knew this). It was a mix of old and new. I stayed in the neighborhood where I used to live (Fitzroy Street), and even got my Tesco digestive cookies at the same Tesco Metro I used to go grocery shopping in (which incidentally, has gotten much larger from when I was a student). It was a walk down memory lane.

There were some new things this trip. I went running at around London Bridge and ran through Borough Market. It’s a good thing it wasn’t open, because I would have stopped my run and gone eating instead. Still that was fun to see, as was the food stalls near the London eye, and the London eye, for that matter.

The biggest thing was I did not do Afternoon tea at the British Museum, which has always been my go-to. I branched out and tried something different. GF and I met from tea and walked to Charlotte Street Hotel. The setting was nice, not as light and bright as the museum, but it was cute – it had character. As GF pointed out, part of the decorations were jars of what looked liked pickled herbs and vegetables, the jar behind my head was pickled crabs!

As for the tea itself, they had the standard sandwiches, like smoked salmon and cream cheese, and some different ones, like chicken and pickled pumpkin (That was interesting because it was a mix of savory and sweet – the pumpkin was really sweet in my opinion) and a sausage roll with apple. The scones and clotted crème were great, the other pastries were ok.
They had a really nice selection. GF got a peppermint and lime iced tea which sounded refreshing, but I went with the bog standard English Breakfast.

If I had to choose a food theme for this trip, it was fish and chips. I had one of those every day (chips on Saturday, fish on Sunday, and fish and chips on Monday). I did get one good curry in, but I think the next visit should be an Indian food visit. And yes, I'm already planning a next time!

Sunset in NYC

I was at work and had a great view of the sunset. So I ran downstairs (I needed to get some dinner) and snapped some pictures of sunset in NYC!

Surfing in NYC

Some of you may remember that I went through a surfing phase when I lived out West. Well, surfing is coming to NYC. There's going to be a tournament and they'll even be giving free surf lessons. I'm quite tempted. But this kind of sums up my feelings about surfing in NYC.



Besides, the water looks much nicer in Hawaii or Bali or Costa Rica!

Almost Settled

I've got all my furniture and this morning I hung up my pot rack. All in all, I'm getting settled into my new apartment in NYC!

In the next couple of weeks though, I'll have to unpack my last two boxes, but then I should be good to go!

Other Friend's Talents

I love it when I discover that a friend has a really cool hobby/talent on the side. I found out that Adam Godet, who I use to work with, is a craftsman and has designed and made some really beautiful tables, boxes, and lamps. I really want to buy a couple and I shall (although I know how much he works at work, and I hate to add on to that load, even though it's something he enjoys). He also has a wonderful blog. His most recent post on technology made me nostalgic. I remember sitting by the radio waiting to tape a song onto a cassette. While I love the convienience of iTunes, there was something fun about discovering new song while waiting for the one you wanted to come onto the air.

Moving

I move a lot. I'm good at moving. But right now the thought of the move is stressing me out! The biggest hurdle has been cleared. I found a place to live: the UES. I know it's not my preferred neighborhood, but it is one I can afford. Plus it's close to the park and will help with the running. I called that apartment "romantic NYC," as opposed to my first choice apartment which I dubbed "urban New York." Romantic NYC apartment is on a tree-lined street, off of a little courtyard, with lots of sunlight. Urban New York was of of a major thoroughfare, next to businesses like Rastafarian storefront, and was dark and loft-like. It's my Yin-Yang in full force.

No Tris in My Future

Granted, I haven't signed up for any triathlons this year, opting instead to focus on running, but I sold my bike this morning. Sold it cheap to a good home. One where it might actually get ridden more than once a year. Still, I was a little sad to see it go.

Things I'll Miss

There are a few things I'll miss about Washington, DC, besides my friends and apartment. Pitango Gelato is on the top of the list. I popped in yesterday and was happily surprised that Strawberry gelato is back!

Moving!

I'll be moving to NYC in August to start a new job! I'm very excited about the job and the new opportunities. I'm less excited about the actual move and finding a place in the city. But hopefully that will pass.

For some reason, I've been on an organizational kick. I've organized the morale order for work and the softball T-shirts. It's been fun. I think I'm developing into one of life's second-in-command. Give me a task and I'll get it done, but I'm not necessarily the big thinker. I think I use to be the reverse. Maybe it's something to do with growing older...and hopefully wiser.

What's Shakin' DC?

May 17th, 3:15pm: I got my Shake Shack fix.


And a pair of Shake Shack sunglasses. While I love the fact that Shake Shack is here, it's not the same as sitting in Madison Square Park. And the meat was well-done, not the usual medium-rare. But it's a 15 minute walk away, instead of a 4.5 hour bus ride. I'm not going to complain! I think what I love the most though were the napkin holders!

Let the Countdown Begin!

An opening day has been announed for Shake Shack in Washington, DC. I think everyone knows where I'll be on May 17th!

NYC Moment

I was walking past the New York Public Library and took this photo.

Already Failing My New Resolution

A couple of weeks back, I said I'd apply for a job a day. I've really fallen behind on that. I think I modified it to do one search for a new job-related activity. But if not, consider this the modification. At least I'm doing that.

Rainy Day Blues

It sucks to get a rejection letter, but at least I got one. Most of the time I feel like I'm on a deserted island throwing a message in a bottle into the ocean and waiting. I know that's not how you're supposed to apply for work these days, but I'm a bit old-fashioned.

Today I got a rejection note for a job I didn't really want, but I thought I'd at least get an interview for. It's my past job, just at different government organization. Apparently, I'm qualified, but not qualified enough to be referred to the selecting individual, for a job that I did for my government organization. That one really was a blow. But I've never really suceeded in getting an interview at this government organization. I should take it as a sign, but I guess I'm a glutton for punishment.

Remember When You Didn't Have A Smartphone

The New York Times had this article that encapsulates the thing that I hate about cellphones/smartphones. It's made it okay to be rude. People think it's acceptable to check emails or text in the middle of conversations.

The other thing I hate -- it's a tether. You can't really get away. People expect to get you at any time of the day or expect you to reply within the hour.

New Goal

Every day I'm going to apply for a new job until I get a new job. In the end, I will have a new job or my self-esteem will hit an all time low or be totally crushed.

And for bumper sticker inspiration: Not all who wander are lost.

A Sad Day

Today, Tim Hetherington died in Libya. He and another photographer, Chris Hondros, were killed and two other wounded. Hetherington was a photojournalist whose work I admired, particularly his work in Afghanistan.

The old adage says a picture tells a thousand words. His photographs did just that and more.

Eating My Way Through Austin

Last month I visited JC and BC in Austin, TX. It's taken me so long to write about it because I'm still stuffed from all the great food I ate. J and B always take me out to great places to eat. In part, it's due to all the great food options in Austin, but I think it's in larger part due to the fact that J and B just know all the really places to eat. So, Austin is a city where I don't really come armed with a list of places I want to eat. I trust J and B.

They picked me up from the airport and we went to get some lunch at Bouldin Creek Coffee House. Now, I should say the other great thing about B and J is that they seem to know the people that work/run the restaurants. This was true at Bouldin, which they started going to, I learned, a few years ago at its old, smaller location. Bouldin had a great atmosphere and a vegetarian menu. While the tacos I ordered were great (the Timmy and the Ren), it was the blueberry cornbread that would draw me back again and again. It was moist and the blueberries gave it a hint of sweetness. But if I wanted more, I could dip it into the side of Agave syrup that came with the dish. The three of us shared it, but I could have eaten a couple of them all on my own.

Right across the street from Boudlin was a cupcake place that J had read about, and me being me, I said, "Let's go!" Sugar Mama's had your normal range of cupcake flavors that we got, but also some specialty ones.
Our four-pack included the french toast cupcake. I loved the idea of this cupcake (and want to try making my own version of it). It was a cinnamon cupcake, topped with Maple frosting and bits of candied bacon. It's the cupcake on the left. It was good. I think the only thing I would try differently is instead of maple frosting, I'd try it with the maple glaze. I like the added sweetness. We also tried a couple of other Austin cupcake shops, including the Hey Cupcake near J and B's house, which would fill the center of and top the cupcake with whipped cream if you asked them to.

After we finished the Austin Half marathon, J, N, and I wandered around some of the food trucks that were at the finish line. I tried a nice fish taco. But wanting something more substantial, and a nice alcoholic drink to wash it down with and celebrate the end of the run, we made our way to La Condesa. We sat outside, which was nice.
But it was a little bit chilly and breezy. Still, it was a lovely place to relax and dissect the run. They were only serving the brunch menu, but we started with with some chips and three different dipping salsas. I really like that. It gave you choice on flavor and intensity of heat/spiciness. We ended up splitting a tamale and and egg dish with mushrooms and tomatoes. The eggs were good, but I loved the tamale. I've always had mixed feelings about tamales, but this was moist and the chicken inside was full of flavor. I loved it.

The one place that was on my list for Austin, this time around, was Torchy's Tacos. I had heard so much about this place over, that I wanted to try it for myself. It had the added bonus of being a taco truck. Now Austin is something of a trailer-food nirvana. They even have food trailer parks. We went to a few during my weekend stay. The other one that I wanted to try was closed when I was there. What I learned from my visits was Sunday and Monday are not prime food trailer park times. The next time I'll come towards the end of the week. Anyway, Torchy's has brick and mortar locations as well, but we went to one of the trailers. Now it was an odd time to go between lunch and dinner, and close enough to dinner that I could ruin my appetite,
but I didn't. Aside for the queso, I tried the fried avocado taco. This was the first time I had even heard of a fried avocado, and all I can say is I hope it is not the last time. In fact, I'd love of this idea to come to the DC or NYC area. I'd never stop eating them. Wait, maybe it's a good thing they're not here. The crunchy outside contrasted nicely with the smooth, creamy avocado. It was one of the best things I've ever eaten. And since I nice little bowl of green chile queso was accompanying my "snack" it's saying a lot. I topped that off with a nice little cake pop (from the trailer next door).

But no trip to Austin, or Texas in general, would be complete without barbecue. I had wanted to try Salt Lick. It's been on most cooking shows and is an Austin staple. In fact, I believe B and J once took me to see the pit, but we didn't stay for the food. I try not to ask for too many meat only places though because J does not eat meat. Well, one of B and J's friends was having a birthday dinner and he choose Salt Lick. Not the original location Salt Lick, but the new one, which I was told was actually quite similar to the old one. They had a pit inside and just smelling the BBQ made my mouth water.
What made this place fun though, was that aside from indoor seating, you could sit at picnic tables outside and they had live music outside. I went out to listen for a bit. You can get the Family Style, which is beef, sausage, pork ribs, potato salad, slaw, beans, bread, pickles and onions. Most people got this. J actually brought her own veggie dinner with her that she was able to eat. BBOVM or Bring Your Own Vegetarian Meal is apparently allowed at the original location. The downside to the night we were there is that they had run out of the bread they normally serve and instead only had sandwich bread. Still, B managed to get the waitress to bring out some of their normal bread by pointing out that J is a vegetarian and really there aren't many options for her there. I however, went with the brisket and a beef rib, although B did slip me some pork ribs and sausage from the family style platters that came. It was good. The meat was nice and tender with great flavor on its own. But I also really liked the BBQ sauce and they even had a nice spicy option. I just remember mopping up the sauce with the sandwich bread and then dumping more sauce on my plate and mopping it up again! The potato salad was also really good. It wasn't a mayo based potato salad, in fact it was like a vinaigrette potato salad that was mashed up. The highlight of the meal with the beef rib. I had one. It was huge and quite filling! And, by the time we left, they were out of the beef ribs.


This was just a small sample of all the great food I had in Austin, but if you need recommendations I'd be happy to point you to B and J's direction.

I'm a Geek!

For Christmas I got Star Wars cookie cutters. I used a good sugar cookie recipie, chilled and then rolled out the dough and stamped out the cookies. It's a different kind of cookie cutter than I'm used to. I didn't decorate the cookies, I feel it's a little above move ability levels at this point. But the impression is good and you know which character you're about to eat!

Walking the Streets of NYC

Yesterday, I went to NYC. I actually had to go up to Columbia University. Originally, I was going to take the subway up. But I got to NYC aroudn lunchtime and I hadn't eaten at Shake Shack in awhile, so I decided to go to the mid-town location. It was so crowded, I decided to walk up to the UWS location. From there i just continued my walk to 118th street. It was kind of fun. I did stop into Magnolia Cupcake, but it was so disorganzied (they have stations instead of just a line). So while the cupcake station was really busy you had employees just milling around. I just wanted one cupcake. I left and went to Alice's Teacup and got a slice of cake instead. I like the idea of Banana cake, I just wish it were lighter, less dense. I wonder, though, if that's possible. I've never really had a light banana cake before. Any suggestions or ideas?

Snow Day....Sort Of

Well, it was my normal day off, but with all the snow, I hibernated at home. I made some Channa Punjabi (which I hadn't made in awhile). It's a nice chickpea and zucchini stew with Indian spices. I like it, and it is easy to make.

My big baking project was Walnut Cookie sandwiches with "peanutella" spread. I started by making my own nutella -- with peanuts and walnuts. It was surprisingly easy to make. And it tasted great!



I used 2 cups of roasted peanuts (I bought them raw and roasted them myself -- with some walnuts thrown in) that I put in the food processor and blended until it started to look like peanut butter. Then I added a cup of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder and 3/4 tsp of vanilla. I blended it some more and streamed in some grapeseed oil (it's what I had, the original recipe called form vegetable oil or a nut oil) and continued blending it until it looked like nutella.

Then I made the cookies. New recipe -- instead of pecans I used walnuts because my Mom gave me a pound of walnuts. I think the only thing I would try differently is to cut down on the sugar -- the cookie was a little too sweet. The other thing I might try is chilling the dough for longer than 15 minutes. Still, I think all in all it came turned out well.



I'm going to bring them into work tomorrow and hopefully get some feedback on how I can improved the recipe.

The Farmer's Market in Winter

I like that the Farmer's Market is open during the winter, but I admit I don't get as much veg as I do in the summer. My staples are always there. Eggs, mushrooms, cheese and bacon (sometimes). Today, I picked up some spinach, clams and a spaghetti squash. I think I'm going to make a spinach, mushroom, and ricotta cheese frittata tonight. Tomorrow, I'll go for the squash.

For lunch today, I made did linguine with clams. It was the first time I've ever cooked clams. It was fun. I made a light a sauce with white wine, olive oil, garlic, and parsley and basil from my herb box. The clams were tasty. I think I'll have to buy more things from the fish guy at the farmer's market. The last time I picked up some perch. Despite having taken a class on how to cook fish, I didn't to a really good job with my perch. Something to work on.

Resolution 2011!

Well, my resolution for 2010 did not happen, but I've got a couple for 2011! One is a running/race related resolution. The other is to be more creative this year. Actually take a writing class or an art class. Basically do something fun like that. The other is to get moving on my NYC plan. Enough talk, this is the year for action!