Shall we dine?

Good evening! This is going to be quite a busy post, and I'm very tired, so if my words start to slur or ZZZZs start appearing, consider yourselves warned.

Although I got up bright and early (which is getting more and more easy to do), I had lunch plans at noon and didn't have time to go to the gym. It's funny, but I can really feel a change in my body when I don't go (and no, I don't just mean "guilt"). It gives me so much energy and, more importantly, it gets me out of the house and starting my day.

I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast all by my lonesome (Ari's record is being presented to their label tomorrow and he is very busy... wish him luck! Not that he needs it...). It's been awhile since I've had cold cereal, so I had a great big bowl of All Bran Flakes and Smart Start with skim milk. I went out early to get breakfast for the boys and picked a coffee up for myself on the way.


I finally got on the Yoga Download train and did Hip Opening #1. It was great! I expected not to be able to follow it so clearly and have to look at the diagrams all the time (and thus interrupt my "flow"), but the audio was really clear and I actually kept my eyes closed for most of it. I'm glad I figured out that I can do this from home!

I went to the Museum Of Modern Art (MOMA) today to see The Hustler with my friend Howard. Now, I've been a Paul Newman fan (sniff sniff) for quite some time, but to be perfectly honest, I don't know if I've ever seen him look so handsome. The movie is great, if you haven't seen it- I think it's the prequel to The Color of Money.

Before the movie, we went to Maison for lunch. It's a Belgian bistro that's owned by the French Roast/ L'Express franchise, and like the other two is opened 24 hours. (Poor servers!) I went there the last time I went to MOMA and ordered the moules frites, so I wanted to try something different this time. The menu has a lot of things that are suitable for vegetarians (although vegans may not be so fortunate, sorry guys). I ordered the asparagus/swiss/egg crêpe... it reminded me of the crêpe stands in Paris (and one unfortunate night when I thought a 1-lb mushroom/cheese/egg crêpe was a good idea at 3 AM) and I ate every last bite.


After the movie, I found my beautiful Kalle and we went to Levain Bakery for their delicious chocolate chip walnut cookies. Next time you're in New York, go here. Seriously. These are the most amazing cookies (besides my aunt Mary's, of course) that I've ever had... they're half a pound each! They're worth every bite. The women who founded the bakery are bikers, so they understand the need for a little treat every now and then!

I had a couple bites of Kalle's, but was saving up for my new bar and a trip to Starbucks (I fell asleep again during the first hour of the movie, surprise surprise).


At Starbucks, I tried the Vanilla Rooibos tea latte (and forgot to take a picture! I can't believe it). A tall skim is 150 calories, and it was just the right amount for me. I also tried my first Gnu bar, in the Orange Cranberry Flavor.


Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 130
Fat Cal: 30
Total Fat: 3g
Carbohydrates: 32g
Protein: 3g
Fiber: 12g

Ingredients: Gnu High Fiber Blend (whole rolled oats, organic whole wheat flour, wheat bra, organic kamut, psyllium, flax, millet), chicory root, inulin, fruit juices, rice dextrins, raisins, apples, canola oil, plums, cranberries, rice, natural flavors, wheat protein isolate, baking powder.


Kalle and I had entirely different takes on this bar. As someone who doesn't usually consume copious amounts of nutrition bars- a normal person- (she usually sticks to Clif and Luna), I feel her voice has precedence:
"Too tangy and orangy. Yucky. Too berry and seedy. Too grainy. Too tart."
She didn't even want to finish the piece I gave her... not looking good for you, Gnu. When I tried it, I had an entirely different experience. As soon as I opened the package, a waft of orange fragrance breezed out. I liked the texture of it, and although it was very citrus-y, I appreciated the chunks of fruity-goodness. I would definitely buy these again, although I still have four more of the same flavor (I got a box at Whole Foods of 5/$7... hard to beat) so I'd like to try the other kinds.

On to dinner! I was veeeery spoiled, food-wise, today. My mom's colleagues at work gave her a gift certificate to the Daniel consortium, and we chose to go to Daniel Boulud's newest restaurant in Lincoln Center, Bar Boulud. I've been to his other Manhattan restaurants (Daniel, Café Boulud), and they all have very different feels. Bar Boulud was very low-key, unpretentious, and packed.

Empty glasses...


... magically filled by the wino fairy! My mom and I each got a tasting flight; I got white and she red.

In my flight:

Domaine Mardon, Quincy "Cuvée très vignes" 2007. Loire valley, Sauvignon Blanc.

Olivier LeFlaive, Rully premier cru "Rabource" 2005. Bourgougne, Chardonnay.

Michel & Stephane Ogier, VDP "Viognier de rosine," 2006. Rhone valley, Viognier.


The Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier were my favorites. I thought the Viognier tasted like rose; the sommelier told us the taste was jasmine. I'm going to try to find a bottle of this somewhere.

The amuse bouche was a flaky popover-like bread filled with a light cheese. Very good, and yummy with the wine! I wish I'd known it was coming or I wouldn't have raided the bread basket beforehand...


My mom and I split oysters. Yumyumyum.


You can bet I ate that last one!


Don't they look nice? Good food puts everyone in such a good mood.


If you tilt your head (I swear, when I have a free day I'm going to look at all my blogging options...) you can see my striped bass with chestnuts, butternut squash and sautéed greens. I ate everything except for one little scrap of fish that I let my poor daddy have.


Dessert was so scrumptious that I'm going to taunt you with multiple shots of each (we split them both three ways).

Noisette mousse with toasted hazelnuts, milk chocolate, vanilla and chocolate ice cream:



The dessert special: Meyer lemon tart with finely shaved pistachio croutons, meringue and vanilla ice cream.



I am so happily full right now (hence the drowsiness). I'm just going to fold the laundry and fall into bed... have a lovely evening!

Oops! I did it again

Hello all! We've gotten through another humpday, thank the sweet lordy. Days go by much faster when you don't have school work to do!

I had half a Dark Chocolate Almond Zone bar around 11... I didn't like it very much, so I don't think I'll be buying it again.


The girls and I didn't end up getting lunch until 2:30 or so. We were all STARVING. We went to a sandwich shop on Union Square called Tisserie. I got a Capresa sandwich (mozzarella, tomato, pesto) on the most delicious herbed parmesan bread I've ever had.


The girlies in front of wine tasting in Union Square Market:


I got a brownie from one of the stalls:



The title of the post refers to going out to eat again... this has really got to stop. We went to L'Express, a French bistro downtown. We got some red wine, but both pictures (flash & non-flash) didn't come out very well.


I got the omelette du jour: smoked salmon with goat cheese, tomato, and some other things that I forgot. I ate all the salad and about half the omelette; I packed it up to go but it got taken away and thrown out. BOO.


I came home with my new reading (#2 in the Twilight series) and ate an apple. Then I ate another one. I guess I needed that extra omelette half!


I'm going to try to finish book #1 while Ari works downstairs. Hope you've all had lovely humpdays! Money saving starts NOW.

Ain't No Sunshine

It's been yet another cold and rainy day. It feels great to bike in a light drizzle after a workout though, so I can't complain too much.

I had a very short run today. I ran a mile at 5.4 mph, walked at 4.0 mph for .25 miles, started running again, and got off the treadmill at 1.36. If I had just run straight without stopping I probably would have been fine, but after the brisk walk my calves were sore. Before my run I did a bunch of stretches and squats. The trainer at the gym said the most important muscles to train are in the core, but also to work with my own body weight. Hello, Pilates!

Since I slept so late (noon!) I didn't really feel like going to campus for a while so I relaxed around the house in my PJs. I've been craving zucchini bread for a few weeks, ever since we got some in Amish country on the way from New York. I adapted a recipe in last week's Dining Out section, and it turned out very nicely.


The finished product:

Jalene made me a 3 minute egg while I was mixing. I probably shouldn't be writing this, but I cannot make hard-boiled eggs. They never turn out! They're always too hard and the yolk is disgusting, mostly because I get nervous that it won't be cooked all the way through. I'm also not very good about peeling them... Does anyone know a better way? I read something about plunging them into cold water to loosen the shell. My sad little egg:


I mushed it up with yogurt, salt and pepper. Next time I'll try paprika or something. I've been craving spices recently for some reason... Good thing we have a well-stocked pantry!


I had leftovers from last night (sweet potato/ bean patty and asparagus) and a slice of zucchini bread, and the vitamins I was too tired to take this morning with a glass of Emergen-C.


I brought a Balance Pure bar to the concert as a snack. I 'm glad I did; it was pretty much a big dance party for two hours (or bop/bounce party for me; I'm not winning a dancing award anytime soon). So much fun!


I came back and ate some pickles. Perfect end to the evening.... Unfortunately it's not quite over as I have a bunch of work to do!

Blaaaargh

These posting tardinesses will stop! Another late night last night. Burn After Reading was sooo good. The acting (who wasn't in that movie?!), the twisty twists... go see it! Anddd it seems "Joel and Ethan" are filming their next movie in Roseville! So there's some talk about paying them a little visit before they haul out.... Anyway, before the movie and after my workout I had a banana. Jalene was really excited about this....


It was pouring and I was damp throughout the whole movie. I parked my bike at Whole Foods (bad idea) and went to pick up some things Rainbow didn't have on Friday. Today was, like, super sample day, and the featured item was butternut squash! I got a lot of really great ideas for things to make with it. They had a DELICIOUS soup, although it was packed with heavy cream which isn't necessarily something you have to use to make a good soup. They also had a side dish with carmelized onion and roasted squash. So, this is a forewarning that that item may pop up here sometime soon. I actually had gone to the store to get a butternut squash to begin with, to make soup. I didn't think I had my camera with me so I didn't take pictures of the samples, but I had the soup, onion thing, two chips with guacamole, and a cheese cube. I came back still a little snacky, and had some leftover pasta and a yogurt.



For some reason I can only take clear pictures if I pose them on the stove. Strange.

I moved (and scoured) the moldy dresser, so at least my room is starting to look more like a living area and less like a wasteland. I had a glass of Riesling while doing so (in these cute little goblets!):


We were going to make zucchini bread, but we got a call requesting our early presence at a party, so we whipped these up quickly. I just read about these patties when Caitlin made them yesterday, and they were so easy and so yummy and uses one of my favorite foods: sweet potatoes! To make these black bean and sweet potato "burgers," just cook each potato (I made one for each of us) in the microwave 3- 4 minutes on each side. (The proportion of potato : black beans is 1: 1/2 can, so I made two potatoes and one can of beans.) After the potatoes are cooked and cooled slightly, peel the skin, mash 'em up, and mix them together with the beans. Stir in some salt and pepper, sculpt into patties, and cook in a pan (greased with Pam or other like spray) for 3 minutes on each side. They're going to be soft on the inside, so don't try to cook them longer because they burn. Serve with a dollop of plain low-fat yogurt.

With some steamed asparagus:


I was pretty full after just one of these guys so I saved the other for later. I had some beer at the party, although I wish I hadn't because I woke up feeling really groggy and bloated. When we got back last night, I had a bowl of Edy's Loaded Cookies 'n Cream, with a double stuffed oreo on top. So collegiate.


I slept way too late and have tons of work to do today. I'm going to study, squeeze in a short run, then go to see Balkan Beat Box tonight so I have to be really organized. Just some cinnamon pecan Special K and Autumn Wheat with a banana (we caved and just bought some) for breakfast.