Running, Lazy Week, and Other Thoughts

It's finally summer here and I have the WHOLE week off. Obviously this means I've been holed up at home, watching Arrested Development outside every chance I get. It also means I've been neglecting this blog, whoops. I suppose not too many people read it, and those that do probably already know what I'm up to! Below is a re-cap, in case you're curious (and in photo order)...

PS. I've been having trouble uploading and editing photos lately, there's a cache of great ones from the last 2 months stuck on my camera. I can't figure out what the issue is, but for now you're stuck with these iPhone shots.

1. It has rained a whole lot in May. Also, they're building a high rise in front of the view of Manhattan on the helix to the Lincoln Tunnel. It's going to really cramp my traffic style. However, it was fun to snap some photos while stuck in said morning traffic.

2. Zack and I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon 2 weeks ago! It was a great race AND I beat my last half marathon time.

3. The Brooklyn Half ends on the boardwalk in Coney Island. It's pretty epic.

4. It rains a lot these days (did I mention that?). And I thought this overgrown and old fashioned gas station was cute.

5. This is part of my series Life in Traffic. I spend so many hours stuck in it every day, I should probably turn it into a series right? Something tells me I'm the only one that finds this thought interesting.

6. Lunch pre-Great Gatsby with my mom! At our favorite upstate restaurant, Terrapin.

7. and 8. are from my Boring Landscape series. I told you it rained a lot  in May, right? . . . (if you're curious, these are  from the NYS Thruway somewhere between Kingston and New Paltz)

9. We made a table! When I say "we made" one can always assume I meant "he made, I watched/made lunch." However, I did sand this fine table. And critique the progress.

10. Sunday brunch. Beverages included: iced espresso, lime-mint water, chai with steamed milk.

11. DIY "upcycled" window box (with more herbs to come...when they sprout). Zack built it, I picked out the found wood, and designed it. It's a hard life I lead . . .

12. Life's a bowl of cherries. With some iced coffee. On our FABULOUS new coffee table.

I'm hoping to fix my little photo/camera problem soon and get some better quality photos back on here. For now though, I'm going to make some lunch and go read in the park while it's sunny and gorgeous. . . Like I said, life is hard.

Irish Soda Bread Scones

For some reason I had a craving for Irish Soda Bread today . . . I can't imagine why! I decided to alter the recipe a bit - because I am incapable of cooking or baking anything according to recipe. The results were a little more flaky and fluffy than traditional soda bread, and since I baked them in scone shape - maybe I should just give up on calling them soda bread at all. Anyhow, they were impressively delightful.

Here's my altered recipe - these were super easy, 20 minutes to prep and about 20 in the oven.

Irish Soda Bread Scones

Preheat oven to 400 

In a large bowl stir together:

1 1/2 cups flour (I used a combo of whole wheat pastry and white)

1/4 cup date sugar (or slightly less white sugar)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Cut in: 

3/4 stick COLD butter

Mix the butter chunks into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the consistency is like grainy sand

Add: 

1/3 cup currants or raisins

Zest from one orange

Stir in:

1/2 cup buttermilk 

(for this step I added 1 tsp vinegar to 1/2 cup whole milk and let sit for 10 minutes because I didn't have any buttermilk on hand)

1 tsp vanilla

**Do not overmix! Once the flour mixture is fully incorporated, turn the dough onto a floured surface. Roll the dough over once or twice and form into a long rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into squares and cut squares on the diagonal.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes - until golden.

Serve plain or with butter and marmalade!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Green Smoothie

Our big Christmas gift this year was a bright, shiny red Vitamix blender from my parents. There has barely been a day since Christmas that we haven't used it.

Today's concoction: a tropical green smoothie. The result? A fantastic color and pretty darn delicious.
You don't need a fancy blender for this but it blends it much faster.

Tropical Green Smoothie

Makes enough for 2 pint size cups

2 bananas

1 cup frozen mango

1/2 cup frozen peaches

1 cup rice milk

1/2 cup chopped fresh kale

1 heaping scoop greens powder (I use Garden of Life Super Green formula)

2 TB of maple syrup

1 tsp of vanilla

Blend until smooth and enjoy! 

Sunday Morning Coffee

A week and two days later and I still can't quite kick this cold (or whatever I have). Maybe my "ignore it, occasionally take Vitamin C, hope it goes away" approach isn't the best plan. Regardless, my lazy, sneezy, cough-filled Sunday morning has been bolstered by this homemade "latte." 

We don't have an espresso maker or a fancy milk steamer, but I can make really strong and delicious organic coffee in the french press, heat milk and use the other french press to froth the milk. Add a little cocoa powder and a dash of cinnamon and . . . a WAY better beverage than anything Starbucks could come up with. I also made a  decaf Chai tea latte for my caffeine intolerant boy. He was delighted. Happy lazy Sunday!

A Hurricane-y Sandy Sunday

I took full advantage of the "impending doom" warnings regarding the apparent Hurricane Sandy that is supposed to hit the tri-state area in the next few hours. It hasn't rained a drop, the breeze is mild, and it's no colder than 55 out - but hey, an excuse to stay inside, right? I certainly hope that this storm is not nearly as bad as is predicted. However, a little rain might be nice, and if the power goes out for a little while I wouldn't mind playing scrabble by candle light and drinking wine.

I claimed that my excuse for staying indoors was the pre-hurricane grayness, but really - it was Adobe Lightroom. I have finally switched from clunky Photoshop (I say clunky only because I'm not that great at it and have an older version)! I am absolutely delighted with this program, and thanks to Adobe I was able to get the student edition for MUCH cheaper with my not-yet deleted Purchase College email address. I got bored with watching the YouTube Lightroom tutorial so I'm no expert yet, but getting there. It makes editing incredibly smooth and intuitive!

Here are a few photos from the week, enjoy! If you are on the East Coast stay safe this week!

The Arlington diner near our apartment. I spend a whole lot of time staring at this place every morning waiting for the looong light on my commute.

Easiest and best peanut butter cookies I've ever made. 1 1/2 cups peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp vanilla. Yup, that's it.

Straws and pumpkins.

Leeks. Pre-soup stage.

Lemons and tile.

Dead leaves on the not-so dirty ground.

Candy Apple Chili Pepper Red

Chili peppers have such a fiery alluring appeal. Candy apple red that is so shiny. Unfortunately, their spice can be somewhat harsh especially when chopping them up for a stew (chili in this case). This pretty pepper caused quite the pain in our small kitchen with the lingering pepper oil wafting through the air! I suppose it didn't help that there were also plenty of onions in the mix as well. Ouch. That aside, this pepper made for some pretty photos before its eventual demise in the hot pot.

Vanping (Camping in Style)

Friday night post-work we decided it would be fun to go camping at the Delaware Water Gap (border of NJ and PA - our go-to campground). The campground is about an hour away and always a nice getaway. This particular Friday night it was raining. Rain would generally hamper NORMAL camping trips but us - we don't camp, we van-camp. Or 'vanp'. . . Vanping is the most recent manifestation of the action. Vanping is SO much better than traditional tent camping because you stay dry, don't have to set up (and take down) a wet or dirty tent, and you don't have to sleep on rocks. Basically, you get to sleep in the outdoors without all the fuss of bear or dirt. It's a win-win.

This little weekend jaunt was classed up with olives, wine, cheeses, prosciutto, and delicious bread. The best camping meal, right? In the morning we woke up to birds, sunlight, and beautiful leaves - this was followed by a 4.5 mile run through the campground (along the river I might add) pastries and freshly brewed (french press) coffee. Despite the fact that we forgot our camping stove and had to use a blow torch to heat up the water for the coffee, it was an absolutely idyllic morning. I highly suggest Vanping if you have a van to do it in :-)

View from the campsite

Delaware river while running by

Breakfast of champions (these are all unedited).

Brewing

Instagram-ed 

A Baking Challenge: Pumpkin Spice Baked Doughnuts

My love affair with Pinterest has been about a year long now. Like many, I tend to use the site to drool over photos, outfits, food, and drink but rarely implement many of the recipes or ideas that I pin. This recipe found on Pinterest was something I couldn't ignore. While I'm not a huge doughnut person I do love beer and a cooking challenge..These delicious baked pumpkin spice doughnuts were just the thing.

To my delight these doughnuts were surprisingly quite successful (my past relationship with yeast baking has been volatile and unappetizing at best). I substituted pumpkin for roasted sweet potato and the autumn maple beer for a pumpkin ale made by Smuttynose. Thanks Jaclyn at Food Plus Words for this winner autumn treat!

Yum.

A Baker's Dozen

A lazy Sunday full of cooking became the inspiration for this egg-y image. Brown, freckled, smooth ovals. 

Christmas Chili

We made some fantastic chili this weekend. The christmas portion? Green and Red peppers! Sliced finely with onions and sauteed with spices it isn't all that Christmas-y, but before it went in the pot I snapped some shots of these pepper-flowers and holiday colors. Happy December!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Always in search of the perfect, chewy, simple chocolate chip cookie recipe. I think I got pretty close last night, in my attempt to create a delicious addition for Thanksgiving tomorrow. They certainly came out pretty at least! Unfortunately, that chewyness is still just barely out of my grasp, these are soft and sweet but slightly more cake-y than I desired. I was quite happy with the results however: round, golden, and with molten chocolate abounding!

An Unlikely Pair: Crimson Pomegranates and Green Olives

The pomegranate is a messy, gorgeous, tasty, tart, and awkward old fruit. It is an interesting fruit to cook with - good on salads, in sauces, in desserts, in sangria . . . versatile! Pomegranates have a relatively short season that falls around the holidays. You always start to see them at the grocery store before Thanksgiving in that big, four foot high box in the produce section.

I might be a strange one, but I like to eat pomegranates fresh. Cut them open and get nice and messy with all the crunchy seeds and crimson colored juice that gets everywhere (all over me, all over the table, possibly on the walls from an errant seed . . .) Pomegranates can be rather tart. Although when they are ripe they look a little uglier on the outside and begin to lose some of the vibrant color (of the skin). The unique sour/sweet taste is a combination of raspberries, lemons, and sour grape.

Burnt orange and yellow leaves, brisk air, Christmas decorations (already??) and pomegranate seeds are making this November feel a whole lot like the holidays.

Olives, another one of my favorite foods (up there with avocados!) make their debut here tonight. These particular olives may not complement the pomegranate directly, but serve as a fabulous addition to a delicious meal and a gorgeous mate for a food photo shoot.

This is how a pomegranate should look when it's ripe and freshly cut

I wouldn't recommend the flavor of green olives and pomegranate however . . . This unlikely pair provides the most delightful Christmas colors. Vivid greens and reds without cranberries or pine bows, who knew it was possible?

In addition - these bright green olives (with pits!) have the most fantastic olive flavor. So juicy and so pretty.

The murder scene.

This became a delicious addition to my seasonal Sangria: Pomegranate seeds, pears, and plums, with cranberry-apple sparkling cider and dry Portuguese red. Yum. 

The end product? Olives with aged goat cheese and whole grain crackers, and pomegranate sangria. A perfect and light fall meal.