Today I’m going to push the rewind button and go back to the end of July. With the change of season and the temperature of the air… July seems so far away.
I came to Richmond bearing gifts and matching the Chinatown bus. On my visit I found a handy dandy travel case, and had a Barbie pool day… along with other adventures.
Let’s do the time warp!
Last Sunday I had brunch at a place I’d been intrigued by for awhile. Some friends were organizing a brunch, and they had mentioned Five Leaves as an option. As soon as I heard that, I secretly hoped that it would be the final choice. And it was!
There was a long wait, but with good company. I guess a hungry belly would be the only thing sensing any urgency. We were seated and greeted by the friendly staff. That’s one thing I took note of the whole time. Despite the busyness of the whole place, the staff wasn’t rushing anyone at all or giving off any bad vibes. It’s funny because I’m realizing now that I was initially intrigued solely by pictures, not by raving reviews. However, when I got there that’s when I realized I was in for a real treat when strangers were even telling me that “no joke, everything here is great!”
Everything here was so inviting.
Hey everyone. So I haven’t written a post myself in a bit, and usually when I don’t post it’s because of two reasons. I don’t have time, or I’m not sure what I want to say. Granted this blog is considered a food blog, it’s also a place where I find parallels and intersections between food and philosophy, or I may simply want to tell a story. Well, today I was talking to a very close friend of mine (some of you may know her as “Veggie Girl”, which she is no longer hehehe). We were actually reunited the other day at her dance competition!
Anyway, so I was talking to her and we were discussing bodies. At one point I had mentioned that when I think about all of the tasks our bodies do, in a matter of time that we can’t even grasp or imagine… well, that is something that inspires me to respect it. You see, with my soul and ego I have more control over the cause and effect. But with my physical body, I can’t entirely decide how my body will respond. I definitely play a role though. What I subject it to whether it’s food, environments, thoughts, or what have you… all play a role in how my body functions. So that’s what I want to share today. The idea of respecting my body, and what that means to me as of late.
I’ve been becoming more intuitive with knowing what to do when I feel out of balance. I’ve also become more aware of what may throw me out of balance, and gravitating towards certain foods depending on how I feel.
Earlier this month I received a Reader Appreciation Award from the lovely, Catherine over at “Sur les traces d’une gaspésienne gourmande…” Her blog is quite wonderful, and a place where she shares her various passions. It’s also a great blog to practice your French if you’re learning, or perhaps you already read it fluently!
1. Include the award logo somewhere in your blog.
2. Answer these 10 questions, below, for fun if you want to.
3. Nominate 10 to 12 blogs you enjoy. Or you pick the number.
4. Pay the love forward: Provide your nominee’s link in your post and comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been included and invited to participate.
5. Pay the love back with gratitude and a link to the blogger(s) who nominated you.
Les Questions:
1. What is your favorite color?
Hmm… somewhere in the green spectrum. For clothes I love off-whites and grays even though I know those technically aren’t colors.
2. What is your favorite animal?
Elephants! I don’t know why, but I’m just attracted to them.
3. What is your favorite non-alcoholic drink?
Right now? Infusing water with fresh herbs, ginger, and lime… and just letting it chill.
4. Do you prefer Facebook or Twitter?
Twitter. It’s a lot more conversational, and I use it as a digital notepad sometimes too. Still got my handy dandy journalist’s pad though.
5. What is your favorite pattern?
I like delicate patterns… like flower prints that are sparse, small polka-dots, thin stripes. And rather than varying colors they vary texture and are monochrome in color. But I don’t really have a favorite.
6. Do you prefer getting or giving présents?
Giving! I really like the energy of being the giver. I appreciate if someone gifts me something as well though.
7. What is your favorite number?
Seven is a number that has repeated itself in my life, and I really like the number 648.
8. What is your favorite day of the week?
Mmm… I don’t have one. Maybe Saturday or Sunday because people are enjoying the day more.
9. What is your favorite flower?
White and the sort of faded blue hydrangeas
10. What’s your passion?
Oh boy! I’d say that it is my passion to share the human experience, and an understanding and appreciation for the universe. I do this through my art, writing, sharing recipes, conversation, and soon-to-be by also being a holistic health coach. I sense my greater purpose in being a part of something that is helping to preserve the things that are timeless, although sometimes forgotten. Like love.
Now who to pass the award on to… Melissa, Brittany, Gillian, Lauren, Kristina, Alexia, Natalie and Emily
Speaking of love, here are a few things I’ve been loving as of late…
Good day ladies and gentlemen. I feel like it’s been awhile since I’ve posted although it’s only been a week. You know when you let more days pass by, and things keep adding up? That happens to me when I don’t update more often, because well… I cook everyday. So that means I have lots of things to share! That also means that I’m going to start condensing posts more often, sometimes highlighting one dish or a couple. We’ll see how it goes. But here’s a post that is not quite so compact, but fits quite nicely into the package.
The vacation I keep thinking about, trying to tap into the feeling I had while floating in the calm, blue ocean; just listening to the sound of my breath.
White chocolate (fortuitously scalding it a bit, giving it a caramelized flavor) with a giant diced and spiced fruit salad of bananas, pears, apples, and melon. Mustn’t forget the coconut muffin as well.
but I love beets so maybe it’s not so random. Let’s just say it wasn’t on the list though.
and I remembered the carrots that I already had at home.
After I prepared the vegetables I had to leave to meet with someone, so I stored the vibrant vegetables in one container. However, before I left I took a bite, and thought: this needs some shredded coconut. Added some. Took another bite. Done.
My mom was in town last weekend, on a last minute trip to spend Mother’s Day with each other. It was more motivation to clean the apartment, and get all domestic making sure she’d have everything she wants. I made sure she brought her walking shoes! I was so excited to have her visit, and to share my life up here with her. Plus, she always leaves such positive energy behind. It must be all that love she has inside.
A baked sweet berry omelette topped with dried orange slices, strawberries, and Greek yogurt. I think I whipped the egg white too much though, since it didn’t come out quite as fluffy as the original recipe.
We walked to the market together, since I wanted to show her the wonderful fish selection at Citarella. Also, I’m not sure if it varies by location but the one in the Upper West Side has very knowledgable and friendly fishmongers. I made grilled chili-lime salmon, which is a little spicy, sweet, and citrusy. I also tried lime juice with balsamic vinegar and it was so delicious… I’ll have to make a dressing including those two ingredients.
I also found caperberries at the store, and added them to the accompanying salad.
It was so awesome to finally see it come to life!
Since I’ve been back in New York I almost feel like I’m in a new place, although familiar because now I know my way around. One of the ways I’ve been enjoying this city is by going out to eat and reuniting with friends. On this particular day I was meeting up with a friend I knew from college (it’s a funny story actually), and she recommended this place called Bread in Nolita. I was up for it!
Like pastas, salads, vegetable starters, soups, sharing plates, entrees, and desserts! They also have plenty of beverages to choose from–especially wines. It took us–no joke–more than 30 minutes for us to finally decide what we wanted. Most of that time we were talking away, catching up with each other. The waiter checked back on us frequently and had a good attitude about us taking forever. Eventually we decided that we needed to change our focus to the menu. What to choose, what to choose.
Recently, old pictures of friends in New York have been like a treat in postcard form.
At that time my friend had just gotten back from Shanghai and she brought back so many surprises! It was also the first sleepover I’d had in what felt like ages.
A "Milk Collection"--yummy!
Since I’ve been back in Florida I’ve been contemplating many things, and a few of those things are the idea of aspirations, one-way track living, and what matters. Some have aspirations to start a family, or meet that someone special. Some want to see policies change, and some are career driven. There are some who just want to be a better person, or as I like to say… a more realized self. Because my idea of “better” may be different from yours, so where’s the good and bad in that? No where.
Anyway, I’m at a point in my life where most of my friends are getting engaged, married, starting their careers, or even going back to school. Then there are those that are pursuing more unconventional aspirations by going to artist residencies, going on long journeys in different hemispheres, or being entrepreneurs and starting from scratch. But that’s what other people are doing. What am I doing? It’s not until I tell people about my life and someone gets confused about the timeline and events, that I realize that my life and family may seem unconventional. But we never think about it like that because in reality we’re not. Just in a person’s perception. Life does not exist in boxes, nor in a telescope. It’s funny how we are existing on one planet and everything from the atmosphere to the reason why your hair is falling out are related to something, which are related to something else. Then there’s the greater universe, and somehow that thought makes me think of how insignificant some things really are. Those things that disappear from our minds, and who knows… maybe they exist in a way that stars are a vision of the past. But why do things matter? Aside from survival being an instinct, I think things matter because it helps us feel like we live for something. A reason. Somethings matter so much that we’d die for it. I once asked myself that I know that I would die for someone, but would I walk 5,000 miles for them? I’d probably walk 5,000 miles just to walk. You know when you don’t have a reason for doing something, but there’s something inexplicable within you that is compelled? The kinds of things that have no answer when someone asks you, “why?” That’s been most of my guiding inspiration throughout life, and maybe it can be hard to understand. So that’s what I’m doing.
But here’s something a little less wordy, and easy on the eyes.
My dad definitely knows I like to try new things, and he does too.
I hadn't heard of wild red rice until that point.
I love the idea of wild rice invading rice fields.
Yes, there's a little patty hiding under the slices of coastal cheddar.
Sometimes I look through recipes based on what I already have. Most of the time I don’t want to have to go out and buy an ingredient (unless it’s a fruit or vegetable… then I don’t care). I wanted a recipe that would get me to use hemp seeds in a new way, so when I found this one for Hemp Burgers–I marked it. I didn’t realize the recipe called for herb seasoned stuffing until I was ready to make it. These were my options a) buy seasoned stuffing–which I would rarely use b) make stuffing from the loaf of bread I didn’t have or c) improvise and use rice! The only reason the stuffing was in the recipe in the first place was to act as binder, so I figured if I just ran the rice through the food processor it would work. And it did!
Don't be shy little burger.
I wanted to make the loaf version of 'Cinnamon Fantails' for a dinner party I hosted awhile ago...
Alas, I wasn’t able to because I was running late with everything that day, but I decided to make it the next day. “I’m sorry, you arrived late and the guests are all gone!” This turned out to look like an edible version of the Grand Canyon. I realized later on why. I was suppose to bake it exposing the layers right side up, but who cares?
So what’s this you heard about a dinner party the night prior? Continue reading
My oh my, the holiday season passed me by! And so has time. My parents came up to visit me in New York, and it was so nice to have them here. They finally got a glimpse of the pace of life here, and have a better understanding of why things are a little different here. I was happy to have them experience the city outside of tours and attractions. They also helped me get settled into my room, which for me is like finding a big piece to the puzzle and putting it down. My last post was about inspiration and appreciation, and having my parents up here made me that much more grateful. They also brought a new addition to the pack as well.
Many things have happened since the last time I posted up to now. Actually, I have quite a lot to share but that would be a mouthful!
It’s a triangle shaped pastry made of phyllo dough. I had it the traditional Israeli way with hard-boiled egg, tomato, tahini, and pickles. Note: nowadays I’m trying to test the waters with my egg tolerance.
While thinking about what I wanted to write a post about (as I do with every post because I don’t just ‘wham bam thank you ma’am’ anything) it occurred to me at a random moment (as with most things) what the topic at hand would be: inspiration. On a sidenote: I find that most brilliant ideas come while doing the most monotonous things like sitting on a toilet. Imagine a toilet couch. Better yet, a toilet chaise. I’d be full of ideas! I’ve noticed that lately, especially, I’ve been surrounded by things that have been opening my eyes with even more wonder.
This particular apple tasted like an Asian pear, and supposedly has more vitamin C than an orange! There’s a little juicy plum to tag along.
It’s a very comforting and awakening recipe, as the ginger has a bold presence. Just pouring a cup of it makes me feel better, like wrapping up in a Swayter. Luckily, Balthazar’s spilled their secret for this precious recipe.
I’ve had instances recently that have shown me when someone is not a real friend, but the true golden hearts shined brightly . Those golden hearts help me stay hopeful and are reminders of the compassion that exists in this world.