reika

Another week to give this a try:

Breakfast: coffee, blueberry muffin
Lunch: half of a portabello sandwich, coffee
Snack: Raisinets

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I also should try to contain myself on the coffee. Ever since we went to Portland, I feel like a day hasn't gone by when I haven't had at least a couple of cups.

On the other hand, this is shaping up to be a challenging semester so maybe I'll need all the help that I can get.

This entry is a few days late, as the boyfriend and I flew back to NY on a red-eye from Portland that morning.

I had coffee, and toast with marionberry jam, and penne with brussels sprouts & garlic for dinner.

As I thought, it is becoming easier to eat meatless. I actually even prefer to eat meatless during lunch for work on other days; I don't feel as stuffed or bloated. I still don't think I can permanently give up meat or dairy or eggs, but I see it as a small achievement if I can keep up meatless monday for at least 3 months, if not more.

I thought it was going to be easier the second week around, but yesterday was actually a challenging Meatless Monday. I went out with friends to a beer-tasting event, and it was rough watching them consume the charcuterie and sausages while I just nibbled on the cheese.

To make things somewhat worse, we passed by a Japanese bakery selling the day's leftover goods for $1.50/bag on the way home. I bought crullers and croissants and immediately scarfed two down on the walk to the subway. I don't think replacing meat for donuts is necessarily healthier.

Breakfast: coffee, 1 buttermilk scone
Lunch: paneer tikka masala with rice, mango lassi
Dinner: cheese, 2 cruller donuts

Even though I think I'm fairly adept at baking, I'm still generally wary of working with yeast. I have this perpetual fear that I'm going to screw it up (make the slurry too cold or too hot, inevitably end up killing the yeast) so in a fit of bravado, I decided to make these cinnamon sticky buns for Christmas breakfast. My mom was staying over, and if there's anybody who's a challenge to impress, it's mom.

I followed my baking guru's recipe, down to making twice the amount of needed dough, which essentially was just a buttery brioche dough. The recipe itself wasn't difficult to follow; it just takes a lot of time, between the rising and the chilling and the second rising. It is so fulfilling to actually see the dough rising and expanding though~ maybe that's the thrill that bread bakers experience all the time.

The final baked product came not too shabby, in my opinion. The mom and I scarfed a couple each as soon as they were removed from the oven.

I never really worked with pumpkin before, but I figured that, hey, it's that time of the year so why not try something new?

So far, I've made:
- pumpkin roll
- pumpkin muffins

And I now plan to make:
- pumpkin pie ice cream
- pumpkin pasties, maybe in anticipation for next week's HP7 movie?

Inspired by The Food Librarian, I set out to make this Dorie Greenspan double apple bundt.

I actually found the cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours, at a random Marshall's store when I was out shopping with my mom. It's literally a tome, but they had priced it at $7.99 so I figured why not. Little would I know that it would become one of my favorite baking references here on out.



I know I sound like a remnant of a bygone era when I say this, but I really like making bundt cakes. I've borrowed my mom's pan indefinitely and have made numerous cakes (mostly pound cakes or banana cakes) using it. Maybe it's a false sentimentality, because I don't think I remember my mom making too many bundt cakes in my childhood, even though she did have a couple of cake pans back home in the Philippines too.

Anyway, this recipe makes a lot of bundt. I still had apples from when we went apple-picking a while back so I used a combination of empire, golden delicious, and macintosh for the recipe. I even made my own apple butter since I wasn't going to buy a jar of it only to use 1 cup; it's easy to enough to make anyway. I added the nuts and raisins, but you can skip them if you don't like such elements mixed in your cake, or if you're serving it to others who may be allergic, etc.

(If you don't have the book, the recipe's here.)

Traveling derailed this a bit. Also, because I sometimes eat with a co-worker, it's awkward to take pictures of what I'm eating, even more so if what I'm eating are lousy burgers and fries.

8/09 Mon - Kati Roll Company
8/17 Tue - Vandam Diner
8/18 Wed - Calexico Cart
8/19 Thu - Amelia's Diner

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In other eating venue news, I did go to Stand4 again to try their toasted marshmallow milkshake; I thought it was worth the hype.

I also had yet another Waffles & Dinges waffle -- this time it was the Belgian with spekuloos. Just what I needed to wrap up a long exhausting workweek.

I was not good on the picture-taking. I feel awkward taking photos of my food sometimes.

Caffe Roast Bean - Veggie sandwich, chips, ice coffee
Baluchi's - lamb korma with garlic naan and a mango lassi
Hiroko's - mix sandwiches & green tea shake
Murray's Cheese Shop - PMT (prisciutto, mozzarella, tomato) melt
Daisymay Bakery - pizza bianca & bread budding

Donatella sandwich from Alidoro
Tropical mango smoothie from Red Mango
Shawarma sandwich from Mamoun's Falafel
Beef and potato empanadas from Ruben's Empanadas
Korean fried chicken from Mad About Chicken
Bahn mi #1 from Saigon Sandwiches

Not photographed:
Spaghetti with meat sauce from Hiroko's
Bun Bo Lui (grilled beef with sesame seasoning & lettuce on rice vermicelli) from Nam Son Vietnamese restaurant

My first experience at NYC Restaurant Week was a visit to Blue Water Grill on Union Square. I passed that restaurant many times when I had my college internship in that area, and it always looked packed -- which for me, was always a good sign. If it's popular, there's gotta be a reason why that's so.

Unfortunately, our meal there was AWFUL. The staff was stressed out and messed up our orders twice, the scallops were flavorless, and little scoops of sorbet for dessert felt like an afterthought. I was never going to eat RW again, I promised.

Fast forward many years, to when I genuinely look forward to visiting a new venue each time Restaurant Week rolls around. This summer, I chose Park Avenue Summer (with my mom) and Sho Shaun Hergatt (with the boy) for my eating venues.

Both places were absolutely exquisite. Both used the best of the summer's bounty and highlighted them in each chef's style. Park Avenue Summer had us noshing on corn succotash, watermelon amuse bouches, and peach coleslaw -- all familiar food with expected twists. At Sho, the dishes were prepared so beautifully, with a few of the dishes getting a final touch at table, which only served to highlight the freshness and flavor of each course.

I highly recommend both these places if you're ever in NY.