.......and we're back

Zack and I are back from Hudson! We had a very relaxing weekend that convinced me of the need of a back porch and a rocking chair in my life. If you've never been there, Hudson is a lovely place, filled with cute restaurants, used bookstores, touristy antique shops/chichi home decorating stores and nice people. Here's a picture of a stall at the Farmer's Market (you didn't think I'd go to a city and miss the Farmer's Market, did you?).


More posting to follow, including a very special dual entry with A Player and A Baker which I shall name (for now) "Iron Chef Hudson: Battle Zucchini!"

Tune in soon.....

Happy 4th of July!

I know it's only July 3rd, but I am about to be on my way to Hudson, NY to spend the weekend with Meredith, Michael, Gwen and Zack (and probably some other people. We'll see). Meredith goes to Hudson all the time (Michael, her bf, has a house there), but I have never visited, despite the fact that she's one of my closest friends. So, hello three day weekend, Hudson, here I come!

I don't know what the internet situation is up there, so don't expect a lot of posting. Hopefully, I'll convince Meredith to take a bunch of pictures for me and upload them with her computer cord that she can locate (unlike me and mine).

Enjoy this patriotic musical video in the meantime! Watch some fireworks! Grill something! Think about America (and yes, that is Mr. Feeney from Boy Meets World playing John Adams).

My love knows no bounds

I love musicals. You know that already if you've met me. Or read this blog. Or are a discerning person and can figure out what the title of my blog is about. Sometimes, I think I am all alone in my love of musicals. I often drop little references into my conversations, like "Here we are, Sunset and Camden," or "Cracker Barrel went out the window with the milk pouch," and I am usually met with a weird blank stare (unless Becky is there).

But today I found hope. I went to see Wall-E (which was AMAZING) and was immediately treated to Michael Crawford's voice blaring out over the speakers singing "Out there....full of shine and sparkle..." My heart leap up, even though I've always hated Hello, Dolly! I'm weird like that. Then, I was riding the subway home and I pull out my Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic book and come face to face with a throwaway joke about Xanadu (the Broadway musical, not the movie). Here it is! Living proof that other people in the world secretly think about musicals. Even super cool people like Andrew Stanton and Joss Whedon. I realize that these people may not be "super cool" in a traditional sense. But it's good enough for me.

I'm ending this post with a clip of "Put On Your Sunday Clothes," since it's been stuck in my head all evening. Enjoy.

Opa!

Tonight I was too lazy to cook. Plus, it was nice out, I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the good weather and go somewhere where they would serve us outside. Zack and I chose here:


Zorba's Souvlaki Plus - I'd never been there, but my cousin Sam used to order from there all the time when he lived with us. The screens you see in the picture were nowhere to be found since it was so great outside (I didn't take this picture. I found it online. Shhhhh). I love New York in the summer. We tried the Zorba's Platter (souvlaki (kebabs), gyro and donner meat (which is some sort of pressed lamb meat), tzatziki (greek yogurt dip) and pitas. I liked it.

We also had this cool "greek pizza." I was going to take a picture of it but I forgot. It was spinach and feta over pita bread with grilled tomatoes and melted mozzarella on top. It came on top of french fries, which seemed crazy to me, but who am I to judge? Zack liked it.

More people should live in Astoria. Then we could go out to dinner more. Wanna move here? It's real nice.......

More pasta.....it's good for you

This is my 100th post! Be excited. I sure am.

Tonight, I continued my game of "how many CSA vegetables can I get into one dish?" It's a really fun game. I eat healthy, I cook with new things, Zack doesn't bother me about how I never use vegetables......everybody wins.

Tonight, my dish is very similar to last nights.....whoops. It's different though and it's still good.

CSA Grab Bag Pasta

1 box whole wheat rotini
1 bulb fennel, chopped, fronds reserved
1/2 can whole peeled tomatoes
1/2 package ground turkey
1 bunch swiss chard
fresh basil
salt
pepper
olive oil

1. Boil your water, salt it good, and cook your pasta al dente.

2. Heat some olive oil in a saucepan (not too much), and saute your fennel.

3. Add your turkey and season it well. Brown it up good! Remember, raw turkey = death.

4. Remove the stems from your swiss chard. I don't usually do that, but I thought that the stems would be weird in pasta. Chop up the leaves and throw it in the pan with the fennel and the turkey. Wilt it down.

5. Squish up your tomatoes and throw them in the pan. Add more salt and pepper and let it all break down. It looks pretty right?


6. Now add your pasta! Let it all heat together and let the flavors mix.

7. Eat it! Add some cheese if you want. I love cheese.


I feel like I have to make more varied things.....any suggestions?

Onwards and Upwards....

I started unpacking. I've made some progress. For example, there is now contact paper in all the cabinets and the contents of several boxes have been placed on top of it. See?


Oooooooh.


Aaaaaaaah.


More progress to come (I hope).

I can't cook under these conditions....

...but I try anyways. Boxes are everywhere, my utensils are in a plastic bag on top of a filing cabinet, I can't find most of my pots and pans, but I soldier on, because I have a fridge full of CSA vegetables to use. Since all I've really been able to locate is one pot, one pan and a cutting board, I make a lot of simple dishes - no food processor, nothing that would require me to wash a lot of dishes or use a lot of space. Here's tonight's adventure. It's just me this time, so I've made it small. No leftovers! If you're not here, you can't eat my food.

Whole Wheat Bowties with Beef and Fennel

1/4 box whole wheat bowties
1 small bulb fennel
2 oz thin sliced beef
a few canned tomatoes (or fresh ones, I had canned)
a sprig of fresh basil, ripped up
salt
pepper
oregano

1. Boil water, make pasta to al dente (a little firm). While it cooks, make the rest of the dish.

2. Heat a pan on over high heat and add some olive oil.

3. Slice the beef into strips, salt and pepper them. Throw them in the pan. Let them get brown on one side, then the other. Take them out and set them aside so that they don't overcook.

4. Turn the heat down. Chop up your fennel (minus the fronds, save those for later) and throw it in the pan. Let it get a little brown.

5. Squish some tomatoes, throw them in as well. Add some salt and pepper and oregano. Let it all mix together.

6. Add the beef back in, then the cooked pasta. Then throw on some of the fennel fronds and the basil.

Eat it! I crumbled a tiny bit of ricotta salata on top, but it would be good with any cheese (or no cheese) or whatever you want.

I forgot to take a picture before I ate it. I'm really bad at that. It would have just been a cell phone picture anyways.