Emily said...

I said, "I only like grape nuts with too much sugar."

Emily said, "Heat them up and put a little butter on them."

So I did. Thanks, Emily.

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You don't know what you want 'til it's got.

I did some highly rewarding work for some friends recently. Afterward, they surprised me with a gift -- the handsome lunch box pictured above. I am in love with it, if one can be in love with partially-transparent molded plastic.

The "Box Appetit" is by black + blum. It features a little divot in the lid for soy sauce, a sauce container, a separate (microwavable) compartment for other foods, a plastic fork/knife, a holster for chopsticks, and a really sleek design. Why, there's a whole 5-minute video online about how stylish it is.



Okay, the video's a little silly. But this lunch box is seriously sweet. It slips right into my purse and makes my leftovers look beautiful. Why, it gets compliments just sitting quietly in the work refrigerator. I love it!

I'd like to be paid in lunch boxes from now on, please.

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Rad Radishes

(photo by Dan)

This plate of goodness (made by Dan) should have been included in my CSA 2011 coverage, but (as you may know) that coverage was cut short. I just ran across the photo again and was reminded to share it with you, in anticipation of the radishes I hope will cross all our paths in 2012.

It's just soft butter + grated radish + salt + pepper, spread on crusty bread.  Do it!

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Birthday Bites

You may have noticed that I'm fond of the edible birthday. It's true. I hardly need gifts anymore. Just feed me.

This year's birthday was another good excuse for eating with friends. I was surprised (truly surprised) by a birthday brunch of some favorites from Pies 'n' Thighs -- chicken and waffles, chicken biscuits, and a doughnut "cake." What you see above are the delicious, delicious remains of that party. Thanks, friends!




Because I didn't have time to bake myself a cake to share with family and friends, Dan brought home "cookie pies" from The Blue Stove. One was chocolate chip, one chocolate crinkle, and one snickerdoodle.  Happy Birthday to me! We shared two after dinner and had one with breakfast the next morning. Frankly, I liked them better than traditional whoopie pies, though they had a little too much cream filling (event for my taste) in their middles.

My favorite almost-four-year-old also helped her mom bake me a "proper" birthday cake the next night.  It was lemony and rich (not pictured). We all enjoyed large pieces with whipped cream. I probably need the recipe.



Finally, on a whim, I bought myself a package of these limited edition Birthday Cake Oreos. Don't you hate it when the store is out of classic Double Stuf? It leads me to all sorts of wild experimentation. Anyway, Happy Birthday, Oreos (their 100th birthday is TODAY!), but I really didn't like the Birthday Cake flavor much. I have a sweet tooth, but MAN, are they ever sweet. And Dan was out of the country during the week that followed my birthday, so I was forced to eat them all myself. Total Oreo-filling-plus-weird-sprinkle-pieces overload. But I managed. I nearly always do.
 
I miss you, Double Stuf!! You're my true birthday wish. Be back in stock soon!

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From the Vaults: Thanksgiving, 2011

   

A Feast with Friends: Our Thanksgiving Day Menu

Turkey with gravy and stuffing (pictured above)
Dressing (vegetarian)
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Cranberry sauce
Cranberry chutney
Butternut squash salad (made by Dan; pictured below)
Kale salad
Green Bean Casserole (made by me)
David Chang's Spicy Brussels Sprouts (made by me)
Macaroni and cheese
Brown 'n' serve rolls
Homemade ice cream (pumpkin with gingersnaps or vanilla with peanut butter cups)
Cherry-blueberry pie (from this book; made by me; pictured below)
Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding (made by me)
Pumpkin cheesecake
Apple strudel

 




Bonus! Baby's First Thanksgiving Menu (8 months old)
Brussels sprout, halved
Green beans
Fresh blackberries with whipped cream
Carrot-bran muffin

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Edible Tourism

Everyone's abuzz about the High Line park's newly opened section.  The park is so lovely and unique (it's built along a decommissioned elevated train line).  For me, it's a "must-see" in NYC.

A few weeks ago, when Angela was visiting, we walked along section one -- all that was open at the time -- and visited nearby Chelsea Market, another classic New York City destination, for gelato from L'Arte del Gelato.  I had my selection (mint chocolate chip) made into a shake.  Perfection!

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Berry Good!

Kate first turned me on to Brookside's enrobed goodies by bringing a pouch of dark-chocolate-covered goji berries to a welterweight championship viewing at my house.

Lest you get the wrong impression, I don't particularly enjoy boxing -- but, as it turns out, I DO enjoy chocolate-covered goji berries!  I also sought out the brand's pomegranate and açaí with blueberries (not pictured).  The pomegranate were slightly disappointing; I wish Brookside had captured the juicy crunch and tart, fresh flavor of pomegranate seeds, but they didn't.

I enjoyed my taste of the açaí/blueberry chocolates (a gift from Angela), but they didn't measure up to the goji, which remain my favorite.



Something about the bright chewiness of that berry meshes best with the dark chocolate they've used.

They're a little more expensive than I like to see, if I can be candid, but officially delicious.

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Things in Jars

My friend Nick brings things in jars.



This thing, from his latest visit, was a sort of loose, unsticky, chocolate cereal treat.  It had dried fruit in it -- cherries? raisins?  It reminded me of the treats discussed in this post, but seemed blessedly less healthy.

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Photo Essay: Our Baby Shower (February)

Host: Rachel





Spread: Cheese Fondue with fruit and vegetables, pickles, spice cake. I enjoyed the food so much I didn't get any photos of myself, and very few photos of any of the guests!




Decorations: Tissue paper garland (made by me), flowers and butterflies (made and donated by FEAST organizers).  Flowers.




Activity: Draw a picture for our homemade alphabet book!



Thanks, friends!
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"We'll eat you up, we love you so."

Here's to the people and restaurants who provided special snacks and meals in the first several weeks after I gave birth to my son (three weeks ago today).

• My smarty-pants husband had Thai delivered from Cheers for the two of us, our doula, and the midwife, an hour or two after our home birth.
   
• Moss, Rachel, and Hero brought fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, biscuits, and slices of pie from Pies 'n' Thighs for dinner that first night.  Turns out that two pieces of fried chicken was EXACTLY what I wanted after 8 1/2 hours of labor.
  
  
• Nick came by with dark beer (good for milk production, they say) and ice cream and chips and...numerous other good things.  Matthew C. also brought beer (which turned out to be more for my husband than for me).
  
  
• Tim and Holly made lasagna and fennel salad, and delivered it with chocolate cake (and brought their gorgeous 6-month old daughter).
  
  
• David and Molly donated homemade chicken pot pies, ready to cook, and chocolate-coconut hand pies (pictured above).  Oh, yum!
  
  
• Carmine's was the first place we "ate out" with the baby.  We only purchased two slices of pizza at the counter, but they still let us sit in the back (which is usually reserved for people ordering from the menu), away from the construction noise on the street.

Inedible but Lovely "special mention" goes to Willow and August's cherry blossoms and two bunches of flowers from Matt C. -- not to mention all the other friends who stopped by or mailed cards and gifts of rattles, blankets, onesies, books, lullabies, and more.  Sorry I haven't named you all here!

I feel really, truly blessed. 

"Ginger" should never be an insult.

I got a tip from Daupo that the ginger cookies he spotted today at Paradis were mighty fine -- sweet, soft, and with a good ginger flavor.

Ginger cookies at Paradis?  I've never seen such a thing!  Their chocolate chip cookie was the first item featured on this blog (the epic picture came later), so I always give their cookies a chance.

I went right over -- and bought two, of course.

And Daupo was right.  No "redheaded stepchildren" in the cookie family, these.  Just delicious.

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Office Food Theft: Never a Victimless Crime

Yes, many in my workplace (including me) have been reduced to passive, aggressive, or passive-aggressive notes regarding food theft.  There are thieves among us!

We're not richly compensated enough that this becomes "no big deal."  And most of us are generous and would (and do) share happily if asked.  Stop eating our food in secret, mysterious thieves!



In my office, if it isn't coffee, tea, milk (one specific brand, easily identified), or half-and-half, it's not public property.  Sometimes fruit and baked goods are left out on the counter or table for all to share, but those offerings are pretty easy to identify.  Yet lunches, leftovers, and more go missing -- again and again.



The worst part is that I am straight-out quite fond of pretty much everyone I work with, which makes it awfully hard to point fingers.  But clearly there are a) thoughtless and/or b) mean and/or c) porky and/or d) starving people among us.  

Boo, food thieves!  Boo!

Does personal food go missing in your workplace?

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Shower Power!

Jeff and Michelle are having a baby (they beat me to it).  I felt privileged to attend one of their baby showers last weekend -- and not just because the food served there was excellent.



But it was.







The party was held in the back room of, and catered by, a charming local bar called The Richardson.  They laid out a great spread of grilled sandwiches/panini, veggies, pickles, cheese, deviled eggs, pretzels, and meats.



I believe I ate quite a bit. 





Seriously intense, moist, and attractive cupcakes (chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, and carrot cake) were provided by another local favorite shop, The Blue Stove.

Congratulations, Jeff and Michelle!  And thanks (also to Jeff's mom, who hosted) for the party!

Stuck on almonds

Dan's preparing for an installation at the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, NJ.  I went down to Flavor Paper, his main wallpaper distributor, yesterday to help with the "weeding" (removing the negative space from hundreds (thousands) of sometimes-tiny vinyl stickers.



These salted almonds (sent to us at Christmas by Dan's parents) saved the day.  Between them, a clementine, and some red raspberry leaf tea (good for uterine toning, I'm told!), I was able to get through multiple hours of picking away at sheets of vinyl with tweezers and my fingers.

When we were done, we grabbed some Tex-Mex at Lobo.  They start out by bringing the table a basket of what I judged to be above-average chips and salsa, in case you were wondering.  And I was hungry-but-not-ravenous, so my dinner of chicken enchiladas with verde sauce suited me well.


p.s. How's this for a bathroom?!

[Tiny Fashion Spread: Jeans and cardigan by Uniqlo, Tee from Forever 21, Onitsuka Tigers on the feet] 

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Other stuff I ate last year:

Grey Dog cookies are huge!  Big cookies have to be soft for me to like them, and this chocolate peanut butter one worked for me. Several times.





Molly and David gave me pie!



Ian gave me pie!



I made a plum cake!

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