Monday, April 15th, 2013

Good morning!  Another weekend in the books and we're midway through April - can't believe it!  I worked both days this weekend but it was ok because I slacked off a little bit last week.  As you can see, full bloom in the Park right now.  

Brian made fish tacos last night and battered the catfish (they didn't have any cod @ Food Emporium) with Panko breadcrumbs, dried coconut, red pepper flakes, and a little cornmeal.  Then he fried them up in canola oil and we served them with a salsa of black beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, jalapeños, and lime juice.  Topped with a little cheddar and some shaved purple cabbage.  They were incredible - as usual.  There is nothing he makes that I like more than fish tacos.  

We've joked that if this whole science and finance thing doesn't work out we'll just pack up the pups, leave everything out on the front stoop and move to Hawaii to start a food truck that specializes in fresh fish tacos.  We'll call it Citizen Fish.  I'll paddleboard every day with Sofie on the front of the board and Bear on the back.  We'll lie around on the beach - be perpetually tan - and never live through another East Coast Winter.  I'll never put long pants on again and spend a lot of time watching the palm trees sway around.  I'll drink Kona coffee and subsist on a diet of coconuts, macadamia nuts, and fish tacos.  Whose with me????

Carpe diem,

J

 

Friday, April 12th, 2013

Good morning!  We had a lovely walk in the Park today.  It waited until we were as far out in the Park as we could get before turning on a  cold, pelting rain!  We were not amused - NONE of us.  To make matters worse - I was sort of a zombie this morning.  No - not sort of....

I was slower than molasses getting going and felt super out of it.  I stopped at a breakfast truck for coffee.  Just what the doctor ordered.

So - what's new?  I made Vegetarian Recipe #10 last night and I LOVED it!!  Rave reviews - really.  I'd make this again and again - despite the fact that it's not terribly simple.  So what is it?  I'll tell you.  It's that thing in the middle picture.  The picture is nothing to write home about - I'll direct you to the site for the original recipe where she took very nice photos.  It's delicious - it kind of tastes a little like Ratatouille - which is one of my favorite things.  However you add big hunks of mozzarella cheese which get all melty and pully in the dish.  I left it in a little longer than prescribed, too, so it was chewy and crispy on all the edges.  I ate a huge portion and then went back to the pan and just ate straight out of it.  

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/09/baked-orzo-with-eggplant-and-mozzarella/

Vegetarian Recipe #10 - Baked Orzo with Eggplant and Mozzarella:

1 large eggplant - cut into 1/3-1/2 inch chunks

3 tomatoes - diced 

1 medium onion - diced small

3-4 cloves garlic - minced

1 carrot - peeled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1 celery stalk (I used 2) - cut into 1/4 inch pieces

zest of 1/2-1 whole lemon

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

4-5 oz mozzarella - I used a less moist (i.e. cheaper kind - Sorrento) kind - cut into 1/4 inch chunks

1/2 cup shredded parmesan

8 oz orzo

1/4 cup olive oil - I needed a bit more - eggplant always soaks it all up

salt & pepper

Deb (lady of Smitten Kitchen) - says to salt your eggplant chunks in a colander and let them soak for awhile to eliminate excess moisture.  This is a common method of preparing eggplant that I've never found to be necessary - so I don't do it.  

Preheat your oven to 350.  Heat your olive oil in a large sauté pan or wok.  When it is glistening, add the eggplant and sauté for about 8 minutes - stirring a bit.  Once your eggplant starts to shrink just a little, remove it using a slotted spoon and set it onto some paper towels or into a colander.  It was at this point that I needed to add a touch more olive oil to what remained in the pan.  Add your carrot & celery mixture (apparently it's called a mirepoix - didn't know that).  Sauté for about 2-4 minutes - stirring.  Then add your onion & garlic mixture.  Sauté them together for about 5 minutes.  Finally, add your orzo and sauté for about 2 more minutes.  Dust with salt & grounds of black pepper - you don't need much salt - if you use regular vegetable stock (i.e. not low sodium), it has enough salt to make it tasty.  

Now take the mixture off heat and combine with the eggplant.  Stir in your remaining ingredients - the mozzarella, parmesan, oregano, lemon zest, tomatoes, and the vegetable stock.  Once combined, add to a 8x11 inch casserole or baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until the top is crispy and a bit browned.  

Hope you enjoy! 

Carpe diem,

J

 

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

Is it seriously April 10th already???  Where is the time going!! You would never believe it from these photos I've posted, but I had a bit of a frustrating morning today.  Things just not going my way.

We've had some pretty great days of weather and I'm definitely getting used to it!  It was 82 degrees yesterday!!  I went to yoga last night after a loooong evening walk with the pups in the Park.  We even took some time to lay in the new grass and survey the scenes (see top 2 photos). I am thankful I got to spend so much time outside enjoying the sunshine!!  This morning was equally beautiful - I should have appreciated it more, actually (see middle 3 photos).  Sofie and Bear were just NOT listening to me and were being very disobedient.  Especially Sofie.  She was really being a little bitch.  I have to remind myself that not every day is perfect and dogs/people - are living things - not robots - so I can't control everything that they do. 

I'm hitting reset right now and savoring the rest of this day with this AWESOME breakfast.  2 eggs over easy with salt, pepper, chia seed.  A few blanched green beans, and some of the sweetest, tartest grape tomatoes I've had in a LOOOONGGG time.  It's not really tomato season yet but I can tell you - these ones are better than the sad winter ones. 

Today will come and go and will never happen again.  People will come and go.  Dogs will come and go.  I read somewhere that each new day you forget about 40% of what happened the day prior.  That's a lot of forgetting over a lifetime!  That means that instead of memories, you have to really enjoy the moments as they happen (because most of them will be forgotten).  I'm done with negativity for this morning because if I'm going to forget about it anyway, I may as well enjoy the moment rather than be annoyed at it!

Carpe diem,

J

Tuesday, April 9th, 2013

Good morning!  Sofie sometimes likes to lodge herself in between the couch cushions to sleep.  The cozier - the better.  It's finally starting to feel like Spring here in NYC!!!  Supposed to be in the 70's again.  The BEST! 

Carpe diem,

J

Monday, April 8th, 2013

Good morning!  FINALLY FEELS LIKE SPRING!!! It is currently 54 degrees and sunny out.  I was literally sweating on my walk with the pups.  It is gorgeous out and I CAN'T WAIT TO RUN tonight.  The top 2 photos are scenes from this weekend.  We celebrated Maggie's (Brian's sister) 30th Birthday by going first to her friend, Adele's house and then to a bar near our place called Baker Street.  Had an absolute blast - drank a lot of wine & ate a lot of chips - and danced a lot.  Brian won an arm wrestle contest with a random guy in a bar.  I will say - that guy had beaten some other people before Brian so I might go so far as to say he was the strongest guy in the bar?! ;) Cheering/excitement ensued.  We finished off the night with 2am pizza.  All of the fields were back open again this morning in the Park.  They put up fences around all the green spaces all winter long to keep people from ruining the grass.  You should have seen the pups romping in the fresh Spring grass - I think that picture is behind "Joy" in the dictionary. 

Carpe diem,

J

Saturday, April 6th, 2013

Ok, so this was one of - and I'm not kidding here - one of the most tasty things I've ever made.   It is SO SO SO simple to make - which is something that is important to me in terms of how many times I'll repeat it for the week.  It is so tasty and the lemon just MAKES it.  You'll never want a hamhock in your split pea soup again after you've tried this!

Vegetarian Recipe #9:  Split Pea Soup
1 sweet onion - chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced
2 cups dry green split peas
olive oil (2 tablespoons or so)
5 cups of vegetable stock
sweet smoked paprika
juice from 1/2 lemon

Add a good glug of olive oil to your soup pot.  Cook your onion and garlic until they're softened.  Add your vegetable stock (I added 2 cans of stock and 1 cup of water - College Inn brand is tastier than Swanson FYI...and Swanson turns cloudy, which I don't like).  Add your dried split peas and bring to a boil.  Then turn your heat down and simmer for 30-40 minutes (I finished mine on the earlier side because I like more al dénte peas).  The soup will become very thick.  At this point, ladle out half of the soup and blend it in a food processor or blender and then recombine.  Stir in the juice of 1/2 a lemon (this is CRUCIAL - the lemon makes it just so tasters). 

To serve, add a bit of olive oil on top + a pinch of sweet, smoked paprika and zest of your lemon. 

I adapted this recipe from one posted at the fabulous vegetarian blog 101 Cookbooks:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/vegetarian-split-pea-soup-recipe.html

FRIDAY, April 5th, 2013

Good morning, folks!  That's right, it's the most wonderful time of the year - Girl Scout Cookie time!  I got my 3 boxes yesterday from a Mom of a girl scout that works on my floor.  (The mom works on my floor, not the girl scout ;)

I am not kidding I probably ate like 12 cookies yesterday.  Then we had a friend come and stay the night b/c he had an event in the city which led him to drink quite a bit and not want to drive home.  Well...this MORNING....ALL of my Samoas and ALL of my peanut butter Tagalongs were GONE!!!!!!!!!

To be honest, I think the last thing I needed sitting in my kitchen were those cookies, so it's probably a blessing in disguise.  I think this sets the record for the world's fastest Girl Scout Cookie Season - Less than 24 hours.  The power of a carmelly - short-bready - chocolate coconut covered  - partially hydrogenated oil filled thing is incredible. 

In the Park, Sofie and Bear fought over a stick.  Bear always wins because he's kind of a little dick about it.  (Sorry for my abhorrent language). 

Carpe diem & TGIF!!!!!!

J