Pumpkin Porcini Parsnip Soup @ Bis.Co.Latte (Hell’s Kitchen) [Review]

When I used to imagine life in New York, I had visions of Carrie Bradshaw’s brownstone, brunches with friends, and lazy afternoons in Central Park. Over the last two years in this city I’ve learned that while those things do exist, New York is also home to thousands of chain restaurants and dirty alleyways, and it can be hard to find those quaint coffeeshops that everyone seems to think of when they think of the Big Apple. I have a few days off this week due to transitioning jobs (!) and I have been trying to find as many of those small places as possible.

My mom came up to visit me yesterday and left a few short hours ago. This morning we took a walk over to the Hudson River (that’s the one on the West Side) and passed by a charming find – Bis.Co.Latte – it’s a biscotti and coffee shop in my new neighborhood.

Upon entering the shop I was greeted with a smiling face and a display of biscotti – there must be over a thousand of these cookies, in a so many flavors. To be honest I wasn’t there for the biscotti though. I’m simply a coffee girl through and through, and I have been avoiding grains lately anyway (paleo* thing).

So instead of a biscotti I picked up a homemade soup.

Pumpkin Porcini Parsnip Soup (vegan)

This was one of about 6 fresh soups they had available. They also had a pumpkin chili that I would like to try and a risotto menu. I asked about the porcini – they are mushrooms with a meaty flavor. My soup was a puree and it came with some multigrain bread that I decided to save for Bobby. They also packed in some pumpkin seeds for me to top it with (I got it to go and ate it at home). I believe you can get all of their soups vegan.

The soup was absolutely perfect – I didn’t need to salt or pepper it, and I finished the whole thing. It’s fairly pricey ($7.75 for just a soup – a fairly large portion) but it’s worth it… at least once in a while. I usually spend around that much for lunch anyway so this was a nice change. The pumpkin soup was surprisingly filling. It’s thick and creamy (they use soy milk) and a very homey fall meal. If you are in the area I definitely recommend checking out Bis.Co.Latte. Let me know if you try any of their baked goodies.

Do you like soup? Pumpkin soup? What’s your favorite fall meal?

I usually don’t eat soup because I don’t think it fills me up, but recently I have been trying to add it into my diet more. I love the way it makes my stomach feel (no bloating) and for some reason a hot soup can be super comforting on a chilly fall afternoon. Other recent soup adventures of mine have included carrot soup and veggie soup (both from Le Pain Quotidien) and a Shrimp Bisque (like a chowder) from Hale & Hearty.

*A note on paleo – I have been avoiding grains off and on (mostly avoiding) for the last year but have kept kind of quiet about that because I didn’t want to say something and then suddenly change my mind later. I think I would like to slowly go more paleo (like avoiding sugar better) but I’m totally ok with this being a verrrrry slow process. Paleo can be very meat-heavy and sometimes I have issues (morally) with eating such large amounts of animal flesh. So there you have it.

{food} Sunday Dinner with Family

Growing up I always had a friend whose Sunday nights were reserved for dinner at her Grandma’s. I always liked the idea. I guess I just like rituals. So recently Bobby and I have a new ritual with our New York family – our aunt and uncle (this is the aunt I bake gingerbread with) have been having us over for dinner each week and we are loving it! Other family members always drop by as well throughout the night.

This week’s menu was a roasted red snapper, served chilled with homemade cocktail sauce (ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice), lemon wedges, and fresh parsley.

We also had curry rice, a salad, and bread.

For dessert we had an array of little chocolate pasties. They were similar, each filled with chocolate mousse and other various delicious things. There was also vanilla ice cream. The pastries are from a little shop somewhere in the East 90’s. I forget the name but can ask next time.

This past weekend was one of just two weekends I’ll have off during my yoga teacher training and I tried to enjoy it to the fullest. The only other weekend off is Thanksgiving and I have to go down to Miami to be in a wedding anyway. Then this week I jumped back into taking classes (we have to fulfill a certain number during the course of the training). And I have another exciting thing to share but I want to wait until it’s official.

Hope you all are having a lovely week so far. Sometimes I wish fall would last forever.

RIP Steve Jobs

I am so sad right now. I don’t even know how to describe it. I feel like if there was one person who had the ability to change the industry I work in and even the world for the better, it was Mr. Jobs. 🙁

Thank you for changing the way I look at technology and the world. You’ve touched many.

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” –SJ.

More Steve Jobs quotes.

Pose of the Week – Utkatasa; Dig INN!

Yoga teacher training is going well. It sure is exhausting though, to have no break between the workweek, training, another workweek, another training… whew. I am thankful for the break I’ll get this coming weekend. In the meantime, I took it easy today.

I’ve been meaning to share this yummy lunch that I had my first weekend of training. It was from the newly re-named Dig Inn (formerly known as The Pump Energy Food). So this is:

1) choice protein: lemon chicken

2) grains or greens: mixed greens

3) fresh sides: balsamic mushrooms, red cabbage slaw, indian spiced carrots

And I believe the sauce I got was the roasted red pepper, which has almonds (or some other nut) in it.

In other news, here is your pose of the week: the dreaded chair pose!

Chair Pose, or Utkatasana

utkatasana

“Hips down, arms up: utkatasana.”

  • 10 deep ujjayi breaths if you want to build some heat. 5 for less heat.
  • Other options: twist to right for 5 breaths; return to center; twist to left for 5 breaths.

What are the benefits of utkatasana?

  • Improves balance
  • Strengthens and works the quads, but also the ankles, lower legs, feet, and spine.
  • Chest opening (if you do it right – glide those shoulders down the back)
  • Chair twists will stimulate digestion and improve elimination and detoxing

Comment if you hate utkatasana 😀