Remember that good news I mentioned the other day? Or maybe you wondered why I suddenly moved into Manhattan this weekend? I started my new job today. I’m a kind of marketing analyst for a small startup. So far – awesome.

This morning I woke up jittery so I went out for a jog. I did about 1.75 miles (?). When I got back I picked up my breakfast from Metro Cafe – a 12 ounce oatmeal made with skim milk + cinnamon, banana, and blueberries.

I finished it, but it wasn’t very good. I’m not getting it again. What the what Metro Cafe? I’ll stick with your bagels. Tomorrow’s breakfast is going to be instant grits from a hotel we stayed at on the road trip. Hehehe.

After a long day at work I opted for the hot foods bar at a random deli on my way home (I walked; about 1.5 miles or so). I met up with Bobby in the middle. (He got pizza.) I dumped honey mustard dressing on this.

This meal was kind of oily but really good. I had grilled chicken, random prepared salads (something with broccoli, one with mushrooms, a sealeg salad, tomatoes, etc…), a sweet potato (I think), and some other things that I can’t remember right now.

Dessert was rice with honey mustard dressing (a little random) and these carob chips that my sister gave me. Um… more than pictured. I might still be eating them now.

I’m off to snuggle and get some rest before work tomorrow. I apologize for the lack of commenting as of late; I’m sorry to say it’s going to continue. I’m still reading of course.

What was your favorite job?

Now Coco and Sophia are both here!

Tonight we drove up to San Francisco for the first Foodbuzz Festival event. The welcome reception was from 5-7pm at the Hotel Vitale. This wasn’t the main food event of the day, but they did have two cool appetizers: gruyere gougeres with bacon and mascarpone and pork rillettes. They were provided by midi.

I tried the rilletes. Pretty good, but kind of salty. I didn’t try the puff things, but they looked cool.

After the reception we headed over to the Ferry Building for an amazing dinner event. Foodbuzz rented out a portion of the building and had restaurants serving food all the way down the alley.

As soon as we entered I saw mini cupcakes, and I couldn’t resist. Dessert first! I tried the pumpkin cupcake, but they also had red velvet, chocolate cinnamon, and an almond flavored one. I had an almond one on my way out for my real dessert. These were provided by Mission Minis.

I also tried this delicious vanilla bean ice cream by Straus Family Creamery. Awesome.

Then it was time for some real food. I had a bean burrito from Tacolicious. It wasn’t that good. I wanted chicken, but they were out. They had cool shirts though.

I also tried these savory vegetarian and meat pies from Pie Truck. Pretty yummy!

And a raw oyster from Hog Island Oyster Co…. awesome.

I passed on these chicharrones (fried pork chips) but they were cool looking. From 4505 Meats.

Alive had a selection of raw foods – 2 raw pizzas and raw cheesecake. These were okay. Not my favorite, to be honest.

The best items of the night: Spencer on the Go’s Beet Salad with blue cheese and "far west fungi vol au vent" (creamy mushrooms on top of a puff thing). I went back for seconds on both of these.

Then there was some incredible thin crust pizza from Pizza Politana. This was the best pizza I’ve had outside of Italy and New York. And I didn’t think I was a pizza person.

Lastly, there was a cool pork sandwich and potatoes from Roli Roti. This seemed to be really popular with other bloggers, but I thought it was just okay.

They had this funny shirt: "I heart Crispy Skin". (TWSS? Not.)

My favorite of the night was absolutely the mushroom dish from Spencer on the Go (second favorite was their beet salad). Holy amazing yum. On the way out I snagged some more ice cream and the almond cupcake.

Don’t worry, I didn’t finish everything pictured. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for tomorrow… Happy Saturday!

Last night we made pizza for our friends over at their house. I prepped the dough at our place (using my super awesome recipe) and took it, along with various toppings, over to theirs. We ended up with 4 pizzas…

Chicken, sun dried tomatoes, and mozzarella + parmesan.

Beef (free range, organic, grass fed), mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and cheddar + parmesan.

Veggie – mushrooms, olives, cheddar + parmesan.

Unpictured veggie – mushrooms, red peppers, olives, mozzarella + parm. I’m sure you can guess which pizzas I had.

But we didn’t just have pizza. I made a nice veggie stir fry as well (Brussels sprouts, collard greens, red pepper, onions, burdock, and various sauces).

And our friends made this yummy bread topped with crab + mayo + curry dip. They baked it for a few minutes and it was delicious.

Dessert was ice cream for me, and another slice of pizza when we got home.

This morning I woke up to a nice bowl of oat bran. I loved that grilled cheese yesterday, but it was not filling at all. (For me. Bobby claims his was very filling.) A heart healthy serving of oat bran is my favorite breakfast. This one had some protein powder, flax seeds, and sesame seeds for crunch.

I also did a little raw experiment this morning. I made Averie’s Raw Donut Holes – so simple. Mine were kind of crumbly, because I am impatient and my food processor is getting old.

Ingredients – 1/2 cup flax seeds + 1 tablespoon maple syrup + 1 tablespoon flax seeds mixed in at the end.

Directions – grind the 1/2 cup of flax seeds. Add the maple syrup and blend some more. Add the last bit of flax seeds, mix some more, and shape into balls. Mine made about 20 balls (teaspoon size).

Haven’t figured out lunch yet. Tonight we are heading up to San Francisco to celebrate our friend’s birthday. We’re going to this Italian place and I’m trying to figure out what to get. What do you get when you eat Italian? What would you order from Amarena?

Oh yeah… we are moving. I’ve kept it a semi-secret for a while. We’ll be heading back east to New York city in a few weeks. I’m happy More deets to come.

Last night Bobby and I hosted our very first dinner party!  We invited over our cousins, Miwa and Armand, and we had a great time.  Bobby and Armand are so similar and Miwa and I are really similar as well.  Bobby and Armand discovered that they went to the same comic convention thing (Comic-Con or something) a few months ago, and they both talked about how they didn’t want to drag me and Miwa along.  They see the same movies we do, so I think we’re going to see something with them soon.

We spend a few hours cleaning and getting ready.  I made a few different things…

Caesar salad – hearts of romaine, olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper, lots of parmesan.  (Got this lovely Mexican bowl on sale at Kohl’s a while ago – it was on super sale.)

Two pizzas – 1) bbq chicken (whole wheat dough, bbq sauce, sauteed onions, chicken, cheddar cheese, sprinkled parmesan) and 2) mushroom (whole wheat dough, tomato sauce, sauteed shiitake mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, sprinkled parmesan).  I used my whole wheat pizza dough recipe, with a few modifications.

I have a very secret awesome recipe for pizza dough, and it’s awesome.  Even better than the recipe that I have posted.  If you want some guidance, feel free to e-mail me for it.

Miwa and Armand brought over a surprise dessert – cupcakes!  (I forgot to take a pic before we started eating them.  There were 6 to start.)  They are from a place on Santana Row called Kara’s Cupcakes and they were the BEST cupcakes I have ever had.  Miwa tried the “M” one (the M’s were for mother’s day, but since Miwa and I both have names that start with M it worked out), Armand had a chocolate, and Bobby and I split a vanilla.  The icing was so soft and fluffy, the cake was light and airy, and even though they were really sweet, I liked them.  Amazing.  Even cooler – Kara’s uses local ingredients, and they are organic and sustainable whenever possible.

I had so much fun cooking, cleaning, and hosting this party.  We almost finished the pizzas, so I think they both liked them.  The bbq chicken was a definite winner and I’ll be making it again very soon.  Do you like hosting parties?  What’s your favorite meal to serve?