Trader Joe's

 

Living in New York City necessitates that you live on tight budget (unless you're part of the 1%, which in that case means rent is only pennies in your opinion).  Aside from my housing, food has been the biggest expense.  In this respect Trader Joe's has proven to be a life saver.  First of all the people there are awesome (there really is no other way to explain them).  One time I had a guy who explained to me the whole process of trying to make it on Broadway, anther check out guy and I had a conversation about drugs that started with caffeine (he was really tired) and then concluded with his wanting to buy pot in the park with his friends.  There was also a time on Halloween when the guy was dressed as Adam, and noticing all my apples asked if I would be he Eve.  I politely declined, commenting that it was a pomegranate (not an apple).  That sparked a discussion about the origins of various fruits and vegetables, which consequently led to his recommending "The Botany of Desire" by Michael Pollan, which I am currently in the middle of reading.  Needless to say each time has proven to be an adventure, and the best part...they have everything I need at "Everyday low prices".

These are a few of my favorite things...

Listening to my very first CD (The Beatles)

Chocolate pumpkin muffins with pumpkin spice buttercream frosting mailed to me from a friend

City art

Paddywax Candle: Henry Thoreau "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined"

Time with family

...and friends!

 

New York Rangers

It is amazing how busy everything is during the holiday season.  I swear that yesterday was the first and I had all the time in the world to buy Christmas gifts (not that I am no longer a student, but a paralegal with a steady income, it only feels right-given the Christmas Spirit and all, which is surprisingly lacking in New York with the exception of a few Christmas tree infested blocks and colored lights strong haphazardly on balconies-to bring a little bit of the City to Ohio.  Anyways, given the chaos both at work and in my personal life, I made a conscious decision to not be bested by the stress, and opted instead to look through the pictures that I have taken of New York since my arrival back in June (which seems like ages ago).

I happened upon a couple of pictures from a Rangers game.  It had to have been fate when I look back on that October day because I remember thinking that it had been awhile since I had talked to my friend Katie.  Almost instantaneously (I kid you not) she sent me a text to see if I would be interested in going to a Rangers game with her that coming Sunday night.  Needless to say she did not have to ask twice.  We had a great time grabbing a bite to eat at Mustang Harry's, where we got caught up on each others' personal and work lives before heading over to Madison Square Garden to watch the game (she even let me wear her jersey and taught me the "goal" song!)

 

Expect the Unexpected...

 

I have, unfortunately, been somewhat discouraged this holiday season.  First, I was unable to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons, which are inflated the night before Thanksgiving a block away from my apartment, due to a torrential downpour of rain, and I overslept the following day to get a decent spot to view the parade.  It didn't really matter, however, because I went to the top of Rockefeller Center with my parents instead and spent an hour on the observation deck trying to permanently imprint to my memory the astonishingly breathtaking views.

 

I have resolved to do as much touristy stuff as possible while living in New York, so although I was unable to see the Macy's balloons, not to be discouraged, I determined to see the lighting of the tree at Rockefeller Center the following Wednesday on November 30th.  Well wouldn't you know it, apparently President Obama decided last minute to ditch his responsibilities at the White House and make a surprise appearance.  Consequentially, the security was so tight that it was literally impossible to see the tree.  As one police officer informed us, "You might as well go home, we are literally sending you in circles.  The tree will still be here after January 1st, so go home"...geeze talk about a real Scrooge.  Anyways in order to embrace the holiday festivities we went to go look at the windows at Bergdorf (which are allegedly the best window displays because they take up an entire block-the them was the Animal Carnival).  

 

Lessons learned from this experience: 1). In a city as busy as New York you better learn to be flexible because things are constantly changing at a rapid pace. 2).  New Yorkers are shockingly grouchy during the holidays.

 

 

Top of the Rock

During the two and a half days that my parents were in New York City, we managed to keep ourselves busy.  Tuesday night we dined at the Union Square Cafe, Wednesday night we went and saw "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" starring Daniel Radcliffe (who will always and forever be Harry Potter to me), and then Thursday (in addition to stuffing our faces with all the Thanksgiving goodies) we went to the top of Rockefeller Center.  

My mom managed to get timed tickets so that we could go both during the day and at night.  After having been to the top of both Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building, I would definitely recommend going to the top of Rockefeller Center (assuming you can only do one and not both).  The reason for my selection is because the Top of the Rock provides a much more breathtaking view of downtown, and then also a much clearer view uptown and especially looking out at Central Park (when viewing the skyline from the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center prevents a clear shot of Central Park).  Additionally, the viewing experience at Rockefeller Center gives a much better appreciation for the architecture of the Art Deco style since the first two levels are encased in glass (as opposed to a chain linked fence).  Granted I have not been to the top of the Empire State Building since I was in seventh grade, but between the two, my memory from the top of Rockefeller Center is much more memorable. 

The tree at Rockefeller Center

Bottom view of Rockefeller Center

The Swarovski Crystal Star

My parents

Entrance to go to the Top of the Rock

Central Park

One of my favorite views overlooking the second-level observation deck.

Downtown

Downtown at night-Empire State Building lit up in Thanksgiving colors.

Family!

 

Thanksgiving In New York

 

After eight years I have finally come to terms that I will never be home for Thanksgiving on the actual day that the holiday is celebrated.  In high school, I was always in either California or Florida playing in a popular field hockey tournament, in college it just did not make sense to fly home for a weekend with all of the homework I had to do, and now I am discovering that even in the real world, there (unfortunately) just does not seem to be enough time to travel out to Ohio.  Fortunately for me, my parents made the trip out to New York and we had an incredible time together (look for the next post about our trip to the Top of the Rock).  What I was even more grateful for this time around were my friends.  I actually ended up celebrating Thanksgiving three times (once with the paralegals from work, once with some Princeton friends, and then of course with my parents).  

 

Considering that I am a HUGE fan of pumpkin pie, I was not one to complain, and with all the walking that I have to do on a daily basis, there was, needless to say, no guilt in taking seconds or even thirds!  The best part of my three Thanksgivings was how each took its own unique twist so that none of the dinners resembled the others in any way shape or form.  The paralegal dinner, for example, was one of the most entertaining since one of the paralegals made a delicious turkey, despite the entire time she was complaining "guys I have NO idea what I am doing".  She is living proof that ignorance is bliss.  We conversed mostly about work (no surprise there), but it was astoundingly amusing to reflect back on the past four and a half months and to realize all the funny moments that have occurred.  The next Thanksgiving aka "Friendsgiving" was done Japanese style sitting on pillows around a coffee table.  Overall that atmosphere was much more relaxed and we reminisced about our time at Princeton.  Finally, Thanksgiving dinner with my parents at Telpan (a modern American cuisine-themed restaurant on the Upper West Side) was delicious in a non-traditional way (instead of turkey I opted for venison with cranberries and a side of sweet potato pie followed by pumpkin bread pudding for dessert).  Of course I am a little biased, but my favorite was getting to spend time with my parents.  Only when get something in limited qualities do you learn how precious that special thing is.  

 

Overall, great warmup for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day feast.

 

The paralegals (from left to right: Jay, Yaffa, Christie, Maya, Me, Hunter)

Preparing the table

The feast is ready to be gobbled down

 

Cafe Lalo

What does Meg Ryan, AOL, and my apartment all have in common?  Cafe Lalo.  I was exploring my neighborhood a couple of Sundays ago in search of a cappuccino and tasty pastry when I happened upon this quaint cafe.  Upon further inspection, ends up this cafe is an iconic location due to its feature in the 1998 classic romantic comedy You've Got Mail starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.  Besides this neat cinematic trivia tidbit, Cafe Lalo scored major bonus points with me when I learned that they give complimentary mini Toblerones with each cafe drink purchased.  Needless to say it is my current ambition to become a regular.  Be warned, however, that if you intend to stay in dine that you will have to endure the test and patience of some major lines.

 

Butternut Squash Soup

One day I was feeling particularly ambitious, and decided that it was time to move away from online cooking and to tackle a cook book.  Having a particular weakness for French food (courtesy of having taken French all my life) my favorite cookbook is French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano.  It's a great way to eat healthy without compromising taste.  Also, I learned that the easiest way to cut butternut squash is to cook it in the oven first to soften the tougher outer skin.  

Ingredients

-1 medium (2 to 2 1/2 pounds) butternut squash, peeled, halfved, seeds and strings discarded

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-2 tablespoons unsalted butter

-1 large white onion, roughly chopped

-2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

-1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

-3 sprigs fresh thyme 

-3 fresh sage leaves plus additional for garnish (I used Dalmatian dried sage leaves and left in the soup instead, and it still tasted delicious)

-3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

-1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

-4 to 5 cups chicken broth

-Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

-Cut the butternut squash into one-inch pieces and set aside (trust me, if you don't heat it up in the oven-like I did-it will take you forever to cut through the skin).

-In a large pot, heat the oil and butter over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and garlic and saute until fragrant and softened, about four minutes.

-Add the nutmeg, thyme, and sage and cook for another minute, stirring.

-Add the squash, carrots, apple, and four cups of chicken broth.

-Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and cover.

-Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

-Remove the thyme sprigs and sage leaves (I did not since I did not-opting instead to leave the ingredients in since I did not use sprigs and leaves, but rather dried thyme and sage) from the soup and carefully transfer the mixture to a blender or a food mill and puree until smooth.

-If a thinner consistency is desired, add the remaining one cup chicken broth.  Season (with salt and pepper) to taste and serve hot. 

Grown-up Grilled Cheese

It has been my constant goal in life to never grow-up (in fact, I am still trying to figure out what exactly it is I want to do with my life, and some days don't feel any closer than when I was determined to be a fire fighter).  Despite the fact that I have a 9-5 job, pay rent, do my own laundry, buy my own groceries, cook my own meals, and will eventually pay taxes, there are just some days where the nostalgia for my childhood is too overwhelming.  A couple of weekends ago, when we had the crazy snowstorm weather, I could think of nothing else than cozying up in my apartment with a bowl of tomato soup and grilled cheese (one of my childhood favorites).  Despite my immaturity, I have developed some more refined tastes relative to when I was eight years old.  Consequently, I combined gouda and feta cheese, substituting it for the packaged Kraft American cheese, and then added a slice of herb infused turkey breast, and then grilled it up to go along with my microwaveable Campbell's tomato soup.  It was delicious, and hit the spot.  The only thing missing was goldfish for my soup!

 

Stuffed Peppers

I officially took my first step into cooking adventures with this recipe (http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/stuffed-peppers/63e29e18-903e-467c-aec5-fba4ce3a138f).  After seeing a woman at work warming up stuffed peppers for lunch one day, I was overcome by this inexplicable craving for stuffed peppers.  It was surprisingly easy, and were even delicious warmed up as left overs!

 

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

They've always said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  If that is the case, then forget signing up for eHarmony, and bake a dozen of these and wait for Mr. Perfect to come knocking at your door.  Only, if you're going to try to bake all 24 at the same time, make sure to bake all 24 on the top shelf, rather than trying to split 12 on the top and 12 on the bottom-like I did.  Half of mine-the ones on the bottom shelf-got burned because they were too close to the heat.

INGREDIENTS

- 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

-1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

-4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon kosher salt

-2 cups buttermilk, shaken

-1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

-1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

-2 extra-large eggs

-2 cups fresh blueberries (2 half-pints--for me I had to buy three small plastic cartons)

For the streusel topping

-3/4 cup all-purpose flour

-1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

-4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced 

DIRECTIONS

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees

-Line muffin tins with paper liners

-Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and blend with your hands

-In a separate bowl, wisk together the buttermilk, butter, lemon zest, and eggs

-Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a fork, mixing just until blended (also-I learned that you have to check that everything gets mixed in at the bottom of the bowl, otherwise you will get a dry batter)

-Fold the blueberries into the batter.  Don't overmix!

-Use an ice-cream scoop to put the batter into the paper liners, filling them almost full

For the topping

-Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until the butter is in very small pieces

-Pour into a bowl and rub with your fingers until crumbly

-Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the streusel on top of each muffin

-Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown