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Sisterly Love – A Sweet Night

My sister came into town last night. She has off today, so we are headed up to Providence to visit Brown (she is a senior in high school). We’re taking the Peter Pan bus (just $29.95 RT from NYC to Providence). I miss Julia! She was my maid of honor. She is also a vegetarian (going on 10 years probably – she hasn’t eaten meat since she was about 7).

I still love looking at my wedding photos. (Tarantino Photo -> Featured Events -> Maggie & Robert. If you want the password to my gallery just email me.)

Last night when she arrived it was pouring rain. We decided to have a simple dinner at the Whole Foods hot/cold bar and we followed it up with The Lite Choice. Always a favorite. When we got home we enjoyed some digestive tea (from Coco!) sweetened with NuNaturals stevia (Julia loved it – she will probably be buying it herself).

We got girly and painted our nails. I got a new Essie color: silver. I almost always paint my nails a dark shimmery brown/red so this was a big change.

There were grapes.

And we watched an episode of Taboo, a show on National Geographic about weird things in different cultures (on Netflix streaming).

And then Julia conked out. She’s been working like crazy – the (amazingly smart) girl is taking 5 AP classes, she works at an organic farm, she volunteers, she’s in clubs, and she has a very busy social life.

Do you have siblings? What do you do together?

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Family, Salads, Documentary, Flowers, Dessert, and Zumba (!)

This post is full of random.

Family Time

Last night after work I headed home and found my brother waiting in the cafe under my apartment. I like being with family; I’m glad that I get to see him a couple times a month. I miss the rest of my family and Bobby’s family too. Luckily we will be hosting Bobby’s parents later this month, which we are both excited for. We want to take them out to all of our favorite places. These are my siblings now (left to right: sis, bro, me, bobby, sis-in-law):

Salad Time

The cafe downstairs was having $1 off salad day yesterday so that is what I had for the first course of my dinner. I said “tofu” but the guy heard “tuna“, so that was my main ingredient. I should accidentally order tuna more often; this was delicious. It also had: egg whites, portobello mushrooms, mandarin oranges, olives, grapes, apples, broccoli, sprouts, roasted peppers, regular peppers, beets, tomatoes, and I can’t even remember what else. It has unlimited toppings so I get pretty much everything. I get the chipotle ranch dressing on the side (but I use the whole thing).

Mind Over Money

I ate my salad while watching a Nova documentary called Mind Over Money. If you are an economist (Coco) or if you just enjoy learning, check it out. It talks about the debate between behavioral and traditional (more rational) economics, and basically says that humans don’t act rationally when it comes to money – we are irrational and very much influenced by our emotions. It talks about the (in)efficiency of markets, why the crash in 2008 might have happened (and why economists didn’t predict it), the housing bubble, the tulip bubble of the 1600s, decision making, and more. I really enjoyed it. I double majored in econ and math so this was right up my alley.

We have Netflix and I watched the documentary streaming on my computer (we can watch Netflix streaming on the TV too using Bobby’s XBox). We don’t get cable and I don’t watch TV aside from Netflix documentaries anymore. And Hoarders.

Flowers for Sanity

I read somewhere that keeping flowers in the house helps keep you happy and healthy. I like them because they are a little bit of nature right in my Manhattan apartment. These are from Trader Joe’s and they were just $3.99. Good deals make me happy too 🙂

Dessert Snack Time

I never have “just a salad” for dinner and tonight was no exception. I don’t usually like nut butter, but I was in a nutty mood last night so I spread a large Trader Joe’s blueberry muffin with probably too much peanut butter and savored it. I don’t have a picture though. It wasn’t that pretty but it sure was toothsome, sapid, and titillating. There are some good vocab words for you!

And… Zumba!

I went to a gym class and I ran into Missy! We chatted and then did class together. I have been to better Zumba classes though – the instructor last night was very repetitive and too fast.

Do you have any random things to share?

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Veggies are a Healthy Snack: Turnips over Massaged Kale

Last weekend (Friday) I picked up turnips at the farmers’ market. I have never bought turnips because my dad hates them and I always assumed they were gross. It turns out they are only gross if you steam them too long and don’t season them (not what I did; I am assuming this is how he had them).

Turnips are a root (starch) but only have a third the calories of potatoes (36 calories in 1 cup – 130 grams). They have a ton of nutrients – vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, manganese, pantothenic acid, copper, thiamine, potassium, niacin, magnesium, vitamin B6 and E, and riboflavin.

These turnips happened to be pink! The farmer said they taste about the same as the white ones. She suggested I saute them in oil. So I did.

(For my original massaged kale recipe click here.)

Sauteed Turnips over Massaged Kale

Ingredients (serves 1)

  • 1 large turnip
  • peanut oil (<1 tablespoon)
  • kale
  • olive oil, salt, lemon juice, soy sauce, honey
  • nooch (nutritional yeast)

Method

  1. Chop the turnip into bite sized pieces. Heat the peanut oil over high heat; add the turnips. Cook (stirring) for 4-5 minutes or until the turnips are tender.
  2. Massage your kale with olive oil and salt. Add lemon juice, soy sauce, and honey, to taste.
  3. Top the kale with the turnips and add a sprinkling of nutritional yeast.

While not big enough for a full meal, this was a perfect late afternoon snack. Voluminous and yummy.

Exercise of the day: Self’s Slim and Sleek, Fast! with Ellen Barrett (my favorite instructor). This is free from Netflix streaming. Ellen takes you through a quick warmup (3 minutes or so), then a ballet sequence, cardio, weights, and finally a cool down. It’s about 35 minutes total. When we started the ballet sequence I though that it would not be a good workout, but by the time we finished cardio I was sweating. Will definitely do this again. I also plan on walking home (1.4 miles) if it’s not raining.

Have you eaten turnips? How do you like to cook them?

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Recipe: Summery Israeli Tomato Salad

For brunch one day this weekend (Saturday I believe) Bobby and I headed uptown to Effy’s Cafe up on 3rd Ave and 92nd Street. We’d been there once before and I missed out on their delicious omelettes. I got one this time. But this post is not about the omelette – it’s about the Israeli salad that comes with the omelette.

Bonus points for this salad:

  • vegetarian and vegan
  • organic, seasonal, and local (all the ingredients are from my farmers’ market)
  • cooling (we’re having a heat wave here!)
  • delicious 😀

Fresh and Crunchy Summery Israeli Tomato Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 medium/large organic tomatoes, chopped
  • 3 small cucumbers, chopped
  • 1/2 of a large red pepper, chopped
  • red onion, chopped (optional)
  • olive oil
  • lemon juice
  • salt and pepper

Method

  1. Mix everything together.
  2. Add more olive oil, lemon juice, and salt & pepper, to taste.
  3. Eat and enjoy. Stay cool this summer.

Exercise of the day: 10 Minute Solution – Fat Blasting Dance Mix (first 3 10-minute sections) (instructor is Jennifer Galardi). Walk home from work (1.4 miles) (this didn’t happen yet).

I am still looking for guest posters for while I’m away on my honeymoon – email me or leave a comment. I will take any posts that you can tie back to marriage/relationships, honeymooning/travel (we’re going to Maui), etc… I’m definitely open to suggestions. I have some great ones so far.

What’s your favorite thing to eat when it’s hot out? I like fruit and salad!

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Hot In The City: Grilled Cheese!

It is HOT in New York. HOT HOT HOT. Currently (8pm) my weather widget says:

95 degrees F (35 C). What is the best thing to do on a hot day? Get your nails done of course! (I actually had these done yesterday, which was almost as hot.)

This is a “UV manicure” which is supposed to last up to 2 weeks. We’ll just see about that. If it does I will never go back to regular manis, which only last 2 days for me. So far it hasn’t chipped, so it’s off to a good start 😉 The woman put a kind of gel on my nails that hardened; then she put on the color. I love dark nails – I always go for dark red/brown/purple, even in the summer. I think I will do purple for the wedding (it’ll be tasteful). Speaking of the wedding…

We got Bobby’s wedding band today. It’s very nice but you’ll have to wait until after the wedding to see it.

Oh, this is a food blog? Okay! Here is my lunch:

It’s a grilled cheese sandwich with tomatoes. I put it in Mr. George Foreman before I left for work. It was a li’l soggy by lunchtime but still yummy.

Ingredients

I made Bobby a similar sandwich this weekend – just grilled chicken (love you, George) with tomato; sauces were mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce… (same bread and tomato as mine):

He liked it.

Exercise of the day: Pick Your Level: Weight Loss Pilates with Ellen Barrett (Netflix). Walk home from work (1.4 miles). Walk to Tiffany’s and to dinner (Chipotle) (1.5 miles).

Was it hot where you live? What did you do to beat the heat?