Saturday was the first day of spring. I’m visiting my family in New Jersey and my dad made waffles. I had them with some of my sister’s Artisana macademia nut butter and my dad’s homemade syrup (he taps our trees every year and boils it down).
After breakfast we walked over to Rita’s for free water ice. Every year on the first day of spring, Rita’s opens and gives out free cups of their yummy flavors. I actually opted for sugar-free rootbeer. One of my food rules is that sugar is more evil than fake sugar. We all enjoyed our ices.
Back in the city, after dinner, I got ice cream at McDonald’s. That made my night. Another one of my food rules is that McDonald’s cones are okay occasionally.
Today my brother was in town (he actually came last night and brought our piano) so we took him to brunch at Quantum Leap (vegan place by NYU) as thanks. It was not very good! I ordered the macro plate because I was missing Souen this weekend but QL’s was so disappointing.
After my brother left I made corned beef for dinner that I had picked up at Pennington Market back in NJ. (It was a special packet that included the seasonings.)
Corned beef recipe – cover beef with water (1 inch above), add spice packet (looks like a tea bag), bring to a boil (uncovered), cover and simmer for 3-4 hours. Add cabbage for the last hour (chopped up roughly).
Eat with kabocha and mustard. I pulled a Heather and had my second bowl with whipped cream cheese. Oh. My. Goodness. That was the best.
Dessert was another McD’s ice cream cone (2 nights in a row!) and exercise was a walk on the Upper West Side to look at a couch and arm chair from Craigslist (which I think we will get).
I am now officially over my rambling and I am off to bed. I hope your weekend was as lovely as mine. What did you do?
We were gone Thurs-late last night to Iowa for a friend’s wedding. I had McDonald’s ice cream cones on the road! hehe They get addicting don’t they? I go through periods when I need to swing through the drive thru and get 1 everyday.
I can’t believe your dad makes his own syrup! That is totally awesome!
I have weird food quirks like that too! When we were in DC in Nov. we went to a restaurant that had a family style ordering option and a few ppl we were w/ wanted to do that. It was just so .. ehh I can’t explain it, but I didn’t want to do it, so I ended up getting my own thing. Also – I can’t explain it but I get REALLY tense and unnerved when I go to a restaurant that is just ordering off a wall above the counter. It’s usually so hard to read w/ chalk and odd names w/ no descriptions. It’s like they assume everybody that walks in is a regular and knows everything. I HATE IT. If we go to a restaurant like that Johnny now knows to try and help me locate a paper menu, or to be prepared to wait a few minutes while I calm down and try to decipher something to order. Ugh.. it’s so annoying. Like “The Godfather $5.99” What is that? A sandwich? Soup? What’s in it? Gahh! We all have our little quirks. hehe It’s what makes us special!
Oh and I looove corned beef. Yours looks delicious w/ the kabocha! I need to try it w/ squash – great idea!
Um, THANK YOU. McDonald’s ice cream rocks! It’s so creamy and awesome.
um, i second that mcdonalds ice cream is good! so crazy when the place can be so bad…
and this weekend i went shark fishing in the fl keys! so much fun!
i don’t think i’ve heard anyone say anything bad about any of artisana’s butters, but i’ve never had ANY of them! wahh i’m so deprived (and poor) haha. 😛
i would have totally gotten the sugar free rita’s as well, as it’s part of my food rules too. i love that you captured bobby mid-bite!
i went on a long run this weekend and did lots of thesis work this weekend. i had to enjoy the wonderful weather (which i’m sure you did too!).
That’s so cool that your dad makes homemade syrup!
I know what you mean about not wanting to drink super sugary drinks. Soda is hard for me to see as good in any way. Ha. At least I’ll drink juice and other stuff now. I consider that progress. I also understand about the tapas. I hate sharing food with people. I always want to order my own thing. Thankfully, my husband is very understanding too 🙂
I love McD’s ice cream cones!
Gosh I hate when restaurants don’t make it up to the level of what you expect!! Grrr it’s like, why did I just waste money on this? But then that McD’s soft serve totally makes up for a lackluster meal. My boyfriend says i’m a cheap date because i always ask for that…and it makes my day! hahahaha
This weekend I certainly did a lot of board game playing. 😛 My friends were in town, so we busted out the Taboo and gossip. hahaha
P.s. Thanks for befriending me on facebook! It’s SO neat that you only graduated a year before me. 🙂
Oh my goodness, we are total soul sisters. First off, I think McDonalds has some of the best and cheapest soft serve out there…comes in a close second to Costco’s. 🙂
Secondly, you know my rules…I hate sharing. Tapas? No thanks.
Thirdly, I love your corned beef and cabbage meal covered in mustard. Never made my own, but yours looks delicious, and dessert sounded even betta.
Fourthly, I would have gotten the sugar-free root beer as well. 😉
Fifthly, I think you need to make up for all these bad restaurants and go to Souen next weekend for sure!
Quantum Leap was BAD?! 🙁 I know brunch can get really crowded, but the brunch food is usually awesome! I know what you mean though, the service can suck at times. They just don’t have enough people to handle the crowds anymore!!
Sounds like a good wknd minus the food problems! I sometimes get freaked out about restaurants or social events with food because I’m afraid I’ll eat poorly and get fat. One night will NOT ruin everything Caronae. Duh. I hate feeling paranoid or helpless around food. Why is it so hard for it just to be a normal part of life sometimes, not an obsession or a fear? Sigh…
Best part of my wknd was the half!
Hope your week is off to a good start!
I love ice cream! Mint chip all the way! It has been a staple for me as of late–baby wants ice cream–baby gets it!
I love ice cream! 🙂 that beef dish looks great, yum!
I think we were separated at birth! I totally eat random combos of things all the time, leftovers for breakfast or mixes of mismatched leftovers. The other day I actually made the greatest and most beautifully magenta beet oatmeal, I’ll have to send you a pic!
I started reintroducing artificially sweetened things back into my diet while in Argentina because the whole country is diet obsessed and everything is made with sucralose. I don’t know if my reasons are always the best, but I’ve been avoiding those for so long because of all the chemicals and unnaturalness. But I realized that sometimes it’s ok, I eat healthy most of the time and a little bit of something processed will not wreck my body, and if I enjoy it, so what.
I also had that same discussion on tapas two nights ago deciding what to eat out with my parents. I’ve never liked tapas or sharing dishes. Tapas just don’t ever feel like a meal. And I don’t share well in general. With food I like to have the whole plate with all my food laid out in front of me before I start eating. I like to see it and decide what to eat in what order,or what I mix etc etc. I also don’t like having different courses for this reason. I’ve been like this since I can remember!
I’m glad you had a great weekend! I can’t believe your dad gets his own sap from your trees, that must taste incredible! When is the wedding? That must be so exciting!