Gastronomical Paradise

nice romantic dinner @ Burton & Doyle. I love him to pieces!

  

2/12/11

2/10/11

2/8/11

Todd English, I love your cookware! Thank you for selling this on HSN!

Wordless Wednesday

And The Winter Roller Coaster Continues

Nothing says winter like a tree fully encased in ice. Again, this photo is of a tree outside my office window. It is beautiful and almost unearthly looking at the tree. The ice makes it appear to glow in the dim light of this cloudy morning. No mater how frustrating, Nature is an amazing artist...

Mom Knows Best

How often do we say, "Mom you don't know!" Well, guess what, 90% of the time, Mom does know best!

Or at least when it comes to cooking, and health topics. Last year when she sent me an array of pots and pans from Todd English, I thought she was sending a hidden message that I need to learn to cook. (I felt my cooking skills were ok... not stellar, but good enough for my age).

How embarrasing to receive cookware for Christmas! Well guess what?

I was wrong! This is one of the best gifts I have ever gotten at Christmas! It's right up there with my eReader, diamond and emerald cocktail ring, Creepy Crawler Oven, and Bob Mackie Barbie Doll.

I used at least one of these pots/pans evey day for the past year. And guess what? They do not need to be scrubbed! While still hot, you only need to wipe it with a paper towel or soft cloth. Then when the pot has cooled, wash it with a mild soap and sponge and leave to dry.

Cheers to Mom! You do know best afterall!

1/30/11 sunday

One moment per day...

... I find myself utterly awestruck by the world around me. The feeling that comes next is something akin to joy and contentment so closely connected that the sensations meld into one.



View from my office window.

Sometimes it is the view of the birds outside in the snowy backdrop fluttering around a feeder over flowing with seeds that spill to the icy snow when a new bird lands and shifts the feeder's weight to a different side;

sometimes as I drive home on the over-crowded and hence crawling highway, the sunset hits me and I turn the radio off for a moment as the view sinks in;

or it is the smile or laugh of an unsuspecting coworker at the office brewing coffee;

other times, it is being waved at by kids passing me on the road as their mother hurriedly rushes them off to some or other activity unaware of what she missed out on at that moment;

or then, it is in the middle of the night half awake, when a giant arm stretches out and pulls you in close to a loving warmth that lulls you back to sleep as gently as it woke you.

Today, it is the view from my office window when I came back from lunch and the slightest bit if snow sprinkled down from the roof and disappeared into the whiteness that has enshrouded the woody garden outside.

One moment a day is all we need. I hope you find yours... and never let it go.

<3 That Verbivore

It's All About the Crock Pot

Ok I know it doesn't look fabulous; however, it is THE BEST chicken soup I have ever had.

What's my secret? Check it out below.

Here's what I did:

Layer as following in order:
1/2 onion sliced
2 thick sliced fresh carrots
4 diced cloves of garlic
3 bay leaves (dry)
2 sprigs of thyme or marjoram
2 chicken thighs and 2 chicken breasts (if you don't mind extra fat, do all chicken thighs)
12 leaves of spinach
a pinch of curry powder, chili powder, salt and 2 pepper corns
Add 1.5 quarts of water
Set to cook for 10 hours. Go to work. Come home.

Using a slotted spoon, scoop most of the spinach out and discard.
Get a plate and using the same slotted spoon, delicately take out all the chicken pieces and check for stray bones and grizzle.
Using a fork, remove the skin, bones and grizzle/ fat chunks from the chicken.
Using a sharp knife, cut the chicken into small pieces. Or you can shred the chicken with 2 forks. I like to cut it into manageable chunks first and shred second, but everyone has a different process.
Place the chicken back into the crock for 10 minutes to heat it back up.
Serve with bread or crackers of your choosing.
Bon apetite!

Snowpacolypse

 I've had enough of snow. Yes, it is lovely, but this is ridiculous! Today is the third time we got more than 7 inches in a clip. You would think that people might start driving more safely...

... But no. This person decided driving fast on an icey road was a safe idea. The telephone pole had its own opinion on that thought.

Please drive safely and don't fight with telephone poles.

Check this off the scorecard!

For the past two years I have been managing a project to standardize data entry across the University. Well, today I received the official published copy of the LIU Raiser's Edge Data Entry Manual.

And let me tell you, it felt GOOD. IT was finally finished (at least until it needs to be reviewed and edited in 2 years). I'm gonna go home and have a glass of wine to celebrate!

~ Cheers!

Feelin Witchy!

A few years ago, a good friend came over saying she had a gift for me. As always I got upset because I'm just no good at getting gifts. Let's also face it, I really don't NEED any more STUFF. None of us need more stuff.

When she showed me what it was, I almost died laughing cause it was so cute! "IT's a Kitchen Witch!" she glowed. handing me the little halloweenish figurine by a looped string attached to its head. "She'll bring good luck to your kitchen and help you make yummy food!" Well, I was a good baker, but not quite a great cook, so I hesitantly took the warty old hag on a broom and (in the middle of summer) hung her on one of the cabinet knobs in my kitchen. There she stayed for the next few years, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, watching me as I cooked breakfasts, lunches and dinners day-in and day-out.

One day last year, while cleaning, I stumbled across a tiny little broom. Clueless at to where it came from, I tossed the object in the trash and went along cooking. Today, while reorganizing my plates, cups, and dishes, I noticed the kitchen witch was flying broomless! All of a sudden, I remembered the strange little wooden broom I found on the floor and threw out months ago.

I guess broom or no broom, the kitchen witch has been doing her job and helping me to cook better. These days, I get fewer complaints about what I make and how long it takes me to make it. Broom or no broom, the kitchen witch continues to work hard to keep my kitchen running like clockwork and churning out delicious foods!

I guess she wanted to get liberated from that splintery broom!

It's a soup, its a smoothie, its a Vita-mix!

My mom certainly does get me some odd gifts from time to time, but every Christmas, she winds up getting a bizarre gift that winds up being one of the most useful things I have. Last year, she gave me a set of nonstick pans from Todd English (called the Green Pan). She bought them at HSN at a really good discount.

Quite confused, I asked her, "Mom, are you trying to tell me I need to cook more?" I always thought that Christmas was a time to get gifts for recreational time. PResents like shoes, music, clothes, electronics, wine, baked goods, etc. So when I received a set of pots and pans, I was thoroughly befuddled and a bit beside myself.

Well, over the past year, those same pans have saved me over  50 hours of soaking and scrubbing pots and pans, giving me that much more relaxation time in my days. I think that qualifies as a great gift!

This year, two giant boxes appeared my doorstep a week before Christmas. At he time we were working on cleaning out the living room for renovations. So when two large boxes appeared, they were not exactly welcomed with open arms. I refused to even open them until after I returned from visiting my family for Christmas. I finally opened it on January 3rd and first used it on the 8th to make a smoothie. I have made a morning smoothie between 3 and 5 days per week ever since.

Two weeks ago, I made black cherry and vanilla icecream.
Last week I made sweet potatoe soup and fresh pasta sauce. (exponentially better than the jarred ones at the store or even the ones from Italian restaurants!)
This week I made more soups, ground my own rice flour for bread, and made pesto.

What will I make this week? maybe orange sorbet? Maybe a quiche? Maybe all of the above!

To Cook or Not to Cook?

Kitchen plaque from the 1960s/ 70s.

Dish washers save marriages. Unfortunately, they also waste both water and oil (our house has an oil burner). They are hardly environmentally friendly. Even though I have one, I only use it occasionally such as when I have people over for a party and can't fathom cleaning 12 plates in each size in addition to pots, and platters.

Even though I rarely use the dishwasher, its presence offers me the option to use it and dissuades me from ever complaining about having to clean the dishes, pots and pans. As such, we never fight over doing the dishes (or rather I fight about always having to do the dishes).

The ever-present option of taking the easy way out is reassuring and conciliatory. Being alone on Friday night, I opted to Close the Kitchen and make a sandwhich. After I brewed a pot of tea and sat down with my SONY eReader to continue my book.

A break from routine is always refreshing. So once in a while, call in sick to dinner, and close your kitchen as well!

Peace Be With You

According to Native American traditions, the peace pipe (aka.: Chanunpa) was used to send prayers to the the spirits. The smoke emitted from the pipe acted as the medium that aided communications with the Great Spirit. While today we know that the smoke is actually detrimental to our health, the peace pipe still holds a symbolic value. It represents community and togetherness and hope for the future. It is a hope that each and everyone of us holds inside our hearts.

I keep the pipe in my office as a reminder that in order for me to move forward, I need to help those in my work community to do the same. We grow and move forward one step at a time as we walk together hoping for a better tomorrow.

<3 Your Verbivore

Here we go again...

When you are young, time seems to drag. It seemed to take eons for a week to pass let alone an entire three month semester.

The Spring Semester is once again upon us in Academia Land and it seems that month of reprieve turned out only to be about 3 days long. I had wanted to get 2 books read over that break and I only finished about half of one book and one third of the other. So much for productivity!

But time marches on and the semester begins regardless of my unfulfilled goals. I'll be completing another three classes this semester, but they are a bit more staggered so perhaps I won't go through another month where I bathe once per week, only eat take-out, and sleep for 4 hours per night...

OK, ok. I never lost sleep. I refuse to lose sleep. I'll give up anything else, but I love my rest and nothing will deprive me of it.

Classes for the Spring Semester:
LIS 512 - Mixed Medium class on Library Information Organization
LIS 618 - Online Searching and Retrieval
LIS 901 - Library Fundraising @ NYU's Bobst Library

(I had wanted Legal Sources and Services instead, but it was canceled much to my chagrin.)

Nutty Nutmeg Santa (1.17.2011)

I think this picture says it all. ;)

In honor of the Jets, Rainbow Cupcakes! (1.16.2011)

NEVER BEFORE DONE AS CUPCAKES! Rainbow Cookie Cupcakes! (In honor of the Jets.)

I never created this recipe before, so I experimented with every half dozen. In the end this is the best way to work the recipe.

 The recipe is pretty simple. Use a basic cupcake recipe, but only use 2 eggs. The additional ingredients are: coloring (natural or not), Almond paste, apricot preserves/jam.

 When mixing the dough, add all of the ingredients (only use 2 eggs) and mix using a blender. Take the almond paste and add a teaspoon of water. microwave until warm and mix the paste and water till it loosens.

Add half the paste mixture to the dough. Blend thuroughly until smooth.

Split the dough into thirds and add the respective colorings.
 

Note: for natural coloring use beet juice, spirlina powder, and saffron/ amarillo powder. The red dough will need a tablespoon of extra flour to rethicken.

Add a tablespoon of flour to the red dough. Also take 1/3 of the almond paste and add it to the red dough. You do this to thicken the dough. The red goes on the bottom, so it needs to be thicker than the rest. spread the red mixture evenly in the bottom of the cup.

Warm the apricot jam in the microwave (mixing every 30 seconds) until it has a syrupy texture. Do not over heat.

 Next add 1/4 of the alomnd paste mixture to the yellow dough and mix till smooth.

Warm the apricot jam in the microwave (mixing every 30 seconds) until it has a syrupy texture. Do not over heat.

Quickly layer a thin coating of preserves onto of the yellow layer and place in the fridge for 10 minutew while you finish the other trays.

Then add the green layer to top off.

Place the cupcakes in the oven and bake at 300 degrees on convection until slightly golden at edges. The dough will not over rise due to the almond paste so you only need to leave 5mm at the top of the cupcake wrapper.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven and place in the fridge to cool for an hour.

Heat up a basic fudge glaze and dip the top of each cupcake into it. place them back in the fridge to set. Or add chocolate sprinkles, then cool.

Enjoy!

Mission Organization Take 2! 1.15.2011

The last time I attempted this, I wound up on the couch feeling as tough I was a stepped-on gummy bear. This weekend, I felt up to climing step-stools and packing dozens of fine bubble-wrapped bone china tea sets into boxes. The sets ranged in size from 3 person to 10 person. Most were from either England or Germany/Bavaria. One even came with a full plate set with desert bowls and dinner plates.

No joking, it took from 10am till 3pm to wrap, label and pack 6 tea sets. The last 2 hours were spent reorganizing the Christmas dinnerware and tea set, Polish glassware dinner set, and my Bavarian china tea set. My grandmother loved this glassware set and used it every Christmas and New Year's.

Enough was enough! Time to relax!

My Brother is Santa Clause! (1.14.2011)

I love love love my Sony eReader!

I'm currently readering Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishgura. It saves your place, tells you the last date and time you read it, and lets you check out your notes.

I don't know why the picture rotated. Maybe it is telling me I'm twisted. Oh well... better luck next time.

Where's Dinner Mom!? 1.13.2011

 My little angel Tabitha decided to invite herself to the dinner table and was highly disappointed by what she found. So, she retired to her jungle perch by the window.

The meat was juicy so when reheated it did not get tough.

The jungle cat peers from her perch.

A Penny Saved (1.12.2011)

One day I found two of my boyfriend's T-shirts had gaping holes in them. One near the belly, the other under the pit. So I pick them up, grab my sewing kit and fray-check and get to work. I quickly realize that the one with a hole near the belly will never be worn again in public, so I put it aside to focus my efforts on fixing the hole in the other, when a commanding voice from behind booms, "Stop wasting time; just throw them out!"

I hesitate, threaded needle and shirt pit in hand. It seems aweful to throw out a shirt that except for a hidden hole (which is totally fixable) is stylish and fully wearable. But they're not my clothes, so I discard the both of them. But as I hold the shirts over the open trash can, I heard my grandmother, "waste no, want not." Rather than buy new "rags" from Home Depot, why not use the 'holy' T-shirts and give them an honorable death?

I watched my grandmother fix minor tears and flaws in garments for years until they finally gave up and then were reborn as everything from dishrags to waxing clothes. Those 'tricks of old,' I once rolled my wide eyes at don't seem quite so bizzarre anymore.



A penny saved is a penny earned.

Swiftly grabbing the scissors, I deftly hacked the condemned T-shirt into reasonable sizes for cleaning, stuffed it into a ziplock baggie and stored it in a wire rack under the sink. Just as quickly, I suchered the other shirt's pit, folded and tucked it neatly back into his drawer, thinking "He'll probably see it later and thank me for NOT throwing out one of his favorite T-shirts." All of this seemed as 'normal' to me as it seemed 'abnormal' to him.

We have been used to being able to purchase and simply discard items when they are no longer useful to us. The idea of reusing and repurposing has become as foreign as eating grubs. Yet I always remember my grandmother saying little maxims like "the fool gives feasts, the wiseman attends them" and "the borrower is a slave to the lender."

Two weeks later, I was washing the breakfast dishes and admiring the cardinals and sparrows as they  feasted on seed from the feeder outside. "OK. Give me a hug and a kiss. I'm going to meet John and Chris for bit and watch the game." Turning around, I see the shirt I fixed and replied, "Oh you're wearing the shirt."

He gave me a puzzled look and replied, "Of course. This shirt is great. Why wouldn't I?"

My Desk Produces Paper (1.10.11)

My desk tends to produce paper. There must be some scientific marvel at work here: I clear my desk. Go to lunch. Return and miraculously, there is a pile of paper there waiting or me!

It is only Monday. By Friday, this pile will inevitably grow much larger.

Sometimes these magical appearances reoccure before I am able to eliminate the previous pile, eventually creating a veritable mountain of paper to go through. Can you say frustrating? Over the next few months I am embarking on an experiment to handle all paper that comes to my desk as follows:
Categorize it
Organize it's importance
Assign a day of the week to handle it
File it by the day it is to be done

Think this will work? Cross your fingers and knock on wood with me.

Mission Organization (1.9.11) ... Post ponned.

In life, it is important to laugh especially when we don't feel up to it.

I was kinda sicky so I spent the day on thee couch feeling yucky.

I was however kept company by this humorous gent whose jokes and antics.

XOXOXO.

At dinner.

Jets Jets Jets!

I was always moderately into sports; however as my boyfriend and I got closer, my interest expanded from baseball and hockey to include football. Now, as the season comes to a close, I find myself more interested than last year (possibly because a NY team made the playoffs and it is good for buisness).

It seems these occurerences are good for all sorts of businesses: bars/restaurants, clothing stores, sports memorabilia stores, transportation companies, broadcast and radio, and even liquor and beer companies. It is also good for society as it brings us all closer as we root for the hometeam (and in this case the underdogs) to win.

So, go team go! Momma needs a new pair of pumps!

"The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep"

I have a love-hate relationship with snow. It is beautiful to look at through a cozy warm living room window. the rugged naked beauty of nature is awe-inspiring and breath-taking. The photo below is take from my office window.

I can completely understand why snow is so inextricably linked to Christmas and the 'magical' quality of the season--aside from the whole Santa lives at the North Pole thing, which arctic explorers proved to be whoey. While it falls, snow creates a veil over the scenery. It adds mystery and beauty to a landscape.

I also love shoveling it as it is a great form of anaerobic exercise on a day you can but really shouldn't go running outside.

I hope you all can equally enjoy the view from my office window. I'm gonna go make a cup of hot tea to enjoy with my shortbread cookie for lunch while reading Edith Wharton's autobiography.


P.S.:  I don't love the charcoal-colored snow once it gets dirty from car exhaust, salt and other substances we put on roads.

24-7-365 (1.6.2011)

Being that it's now break between semesters--proverbially called winter break--I should be able to relax and regroup. How confused I am by this thought! I am still equally busy and my To-Do List is equally large and growing daily.

In a moment of curiousity. I did some math and calculated that in order to keep up with my growing list, I would need an extra 3.5 hours in the day. I broke it down as follows:

7 hours of sleep (minimum with 8 preferred)
8 hours of work at the office
1.5 hours of yoga
3 hours eating
1.5 hours traveling to and from work
1 hour of cleaning
2 hours of reading/writing/sketching/thinking/researching/planning
1.5 hours of household tasks
2 hours of writing

But to be honest, if I had that extra time, I'd still fill it and ask for more activities. Perhaps the secret is to do the best with the tools--or hours--at hand.

Obsession (1.5.2011)

I know I posted this on my regular blog, but I really can't stop my obsession with finding a knockoff of these shoes by Brian Atwood! I love the color (Kiwi) and the style and they would be fabulous for this year's trip to Bahamas!

They are available at Nordstrom and Saks. You can call me cheap, but I refuse to shell out more than $125 for a pair of trendy heels no matter how obsessed I am. Well all you knockoff brands have up to 3 months to put out a pair before I head down there this year. I hope you're listening to this. ;)

As Time Goes By

"The book of Life is brief, Once a page is read, all but Love is dead. That is my belief." -John Denver

It is amazing how two people's love makes the world as we know it continue. I could not stop thinking about the importance of Love today. I mean Love in its broadest sense. Love between two people, Love of the Self, Love of Life in all its forms and experiences.

My grandparents had their tiffs and had them often, but stuck together out of this sense of Love.

This Love is Eternal.

Back Work!

Cometh Wall Street Journal

Low! Faithful Wall Street Journal!
How thou doth greet this poor reader at work every morning without fail!

Evey morning, I get a copy of the WSJ delivered to my office. It offers all sorts of pearls of information. Last week, it advised me on how to pair colored tights with dresses and pumps/shooties! On occasion, they pile up a bit (today I had a pile of 6!), but they offer needed respite from my glaring computer screen.

Good Morning Tabi! (1.2.2011)

Tabitha has been with me through good times and bad. She is a little moody and very spoiled. As you can see she likes to sleep in on the weekends.



Not even my camera's flash could wake Tabitha up. At least this proves how comfy our bed is!

Commence my year-long photo journal

OK, I intended to post this yesterday, but was in the middle of a great book and forgot. So Happy New Year! All the photos in this blog have meaning to me (even if it is only transitory).

What would I do without my Sweet-P? He makes me laugh when I'm angry and tells me when I'm wrong.

I know it is not the best picture, but it really shows his humor. He means more to me than any jewelry ever could. Happy 2011 Everyone!