zero otte nove

Yesterday, I took the train up from the city to meet my parents, brother, sister and Swiss exchange student (they're hosting) in the Bronx for an early dinner on Arthur Avenue. It was my dad's birthday.

My mom chose Zero Otte Nove, a new-to-me pizzeria and sprawling trattoria.

We ate well, as expected, beginning with an incredible Neapolitan-style margherita pizza prepared with fresh buffalo mozzarella and a spectacular homemade sauce from San Marzano tomatoes.

 At the same time, my mom, dad and I began working on a Pinot Nero.

Soon after, I received my Insalata de Arugola with spicy arugula, shaved parmesan, olive oil and fresh ground pepper.

Then came the entrées... or antipasti, Portobella al Forno, being as I'd had a slice  pizza as an appetizer. The portobello mushroom filled with diced tomatoes, basil and goat cheese was just enough while also leaving me room to enjoy...

 a side of broccoli di rapa, the bitter staple at all Italian dining experiences.   

I also helped myself to one of my mom's soft shell crabs, served fra diavalo with one of the most amazing sauces I've ever tasted. And afterwards, it was time for me to "run to the rest room" (read: secretly tell the waiter it was my father's birthday so that he could bring out dessert with a candle).

Before we knew it, a small strawberry cheesecake, candle and birthday song were served. I think he had a happy birthday, don't you? He definitely deserved it.

garden of eating

Ahoy mateys! Hope you all had weekends of the spectacular caliber. Mine was supposed to be low-key and uneventful and it turned into anything but :).

I spent most of the weekend at home, or at least in my local area, and it was paradise. Boston was a patriotic choice for the fourth, College Park / D.C. / Baltimore was an ideal musically collegiate summer break, and Chicago is bound to be a thrill with the much anticipated Healthy Living Summit, but there's nothing quite home sweet home.

Saturday was a "work" day. I ran a few errands and then snuggled into a cozy seat at the Pleasantville Starbuck's for some freelance work with a side of job applications. I was good until hunger hit (aren't we all) and so I headed home to put together a lovely hummus and garden veggie sandwich with cucumbers galore.

Flashback! The night before (that would be Friday photo to the left), I went out locally with my one of my best friends from high school, Marisa. Her and I have so so much history and it was fun to let loose together again.

Anyway, back to Saturday. To reward myself for such productivity that afternoon, I decided to take a walk through one of many Rockefeller parks in Westchester. I invited company too: my sister, our two dogs, and her friend.

The weather was perfect.

 The scenery could not have been more serene.

And there just happened to be a wide, open field made for frolicking ;).

 I could not get enough of the natural paradise.

We walked, and we walked, and we walked before quickly turning around and joining the rest of the family for my dad's celebratory birthday dinner.

For that we drove down into the Bronx for an authentic Arthur Avenue Italian meal. I was nothing short of starving! I'd like to say that the bread was delicious, but although I ate three pieces in less than three minutes (possibly an exaggeration), I cannot, for the life of me, remember what it tasted like. I do, however,  recall their olive oil to be superb. With minced garlic, dried basil, and red pepper flakes, I couldn't imagine anything less.

Despite my dairy-free tendencies these days, I ordered the Eggplant Rollatini from the appetizer menu as my meal.

As a result of my constant green tendencies, I also had sautéed broccoli rabe.

And then I went out again, with that same Marisa, to the same Wicked Wolf. Saturday photo is to the right if you're keeping track ;). It was nothing short of a high school reunion in a good way. I had such a great time catching up and dancing with everyone that the hours all but flew by. I wasn't in bed until 4:00,

yet somehow I managed to spring out of it at 9:30 this morning. Oh internal alarm clock! The drowsiness may have been worth it though because I made it to the farmer's market just in time to snag the last carton of blackberries.

Banana oatmeal with almond butter and blackberries... how I love thee. 'Tis a love almost as intense and pure as that I possess towards the macro mode on my new bundle of photogenic joy. (Apparently I think I'm Shakespeare.)

Later, I reunited with Sagan in the city to see an Off-Broadway. I've been to dozens of plays and musicals, and Falling for Eve still managed to blow me away. The York theatre described the storyline as, "an enchanting second look at the world's first love story." And it was, in addition to creative sets, phenomenal music, a beyond talented cast, and more than a few hysterical lines. Ladies Man-ribs and gentlemen everywhere, I really wish I could tell you to go and buy tickets now, but we saw the last showing. Meet me at Candle Café, where my newest blogfriend and I had our early bird dinner, for ethereal Chocolate Mousse Pie... and we can all wallow together ;).

uneggspected

Good morning, my sweets! I have really got to get into the habit of waking up earlier. I haven't been able to sleep in this much, or this often, since at least the summer between eighth and ninth grade... er, in that case, I suppose I should just enjoy it ;). Anyway, I thought I'd share one of my unique qualities with you today: my nearly OCD desire to plan and my "irresponsible" yearning for spontaneity. Oh, yeah. Life is a series of moments, most of which you can prepare yourself for, but every now and then, people and things come out of seemingly nowhere, and even a control freak like me has learned to run with it. Pull in my innate sense of optimism, and most of these surprises are good ones, great even.

For instance, I haven't quite yet told you about my internship, have I? Well then :) I will at least spend the next three months interning for Quirky. They are a social product development company that works directly with inventors and turn dreams into reality through production, promotion, and distribution of whatever the product may be. Pretty cool, huh?! And yet not at all what I thought I'd be doing, having been formally trained in magazine journalism with professional experience in the online world... that's what makes this opportunity, all the more exciting. I can't wait to start next Tuesday!

I also could not have foreseen my sudden obsession with eggs, I have literally been craving them from morning until night. Thankfully, because I now have an entire kitchen at my disposal (sigh), I can create my meals accordingly, be it in the form of an omelette, scrambled, or even this frittata which I forgot to photograph but came out amazingly. If it weren't so hot the past few days I'm sure I could've thrown eggs into a few baked goods as well ;) but for now, I'm sticking with goat cheese and vegetables into them alone. So. not. complaining.

Or this one: Guess who is going to the Yankees game this Friday? Yep, this girl. And it's especially exciting because I just went to one last week. The new stadium is nothing short of incredible, and although I don't follow baseball to a fault, I do enjoy cheering for the winning team, otherwise known as the Yanks ;). This week I'm joining one of my best blog friends, her sister, and their generosity to watch our favorite team play the Cleveland Indians. Looking forward to a great game!

Another example is my ever-expanding blog world. I'm sure that I'm biased but I'd like to share two particular links with you. One is my friend Jenn's blog, A Knack for Nutrition, that follows her journey to healthy, happiness, and strength. She also happens to be studying abroad in Strasbourg, which is, of course, awesome.  And the other is my friend Kate's NEW blog, A Fresh(er) Look. She describes her writing as bits and pieces of her life as a college design student and she is absolutely fabulous. Enjoy. It is funny to have my friends become bloggers when so many others seemed to have gone the opposite direction like the wonderful Liz and Kailey, both of whom I've caught up with, or will catch up with, this week. How I adore my blog friends so!

Then there's this little thing: my summertime goal to join a gym. Do you know that I fundamentally hate gyms? I can't stand the meat head or the twiggy environment and I am what one may call a self-conscious exerciser (okay, okay, I can't imagine being labeled anything else). But! I want to try some new exercise classes. In the next few weeks I hope to join a studio, or fitness center, or even a class or two, I just need to find one(s) that works with my budget, time constraints, and location limitations. Any suggestions for what to look for? Newbie-alert.

And finally, I will be 22 years old on Saturday. It shouldn't actually be unexpected at all, especially not to me, (I know this,) but I've practically been forgetting daily that my birthday is this upcoming weekend.  It is a nice thing to remember :). I intend to spend the day with my family before meeting my crew (ha) at Spring Street Natural for a late dinner of natural cuisine and exquisite cocktails/wine. After that? We shall see, a little bit of the unknown is a wonderful thing. I am convinced. On that note, what's made your summer exciting so far?

home sick

Hello again! Oh it feels good to be back. First order of business: don't take this post's title too seriously :) it's not that I've been missing home (I'm here for "good," after all) or even that I'm sick of it yet but this is literally the first day I've been feeling 100% well. I've basically been a mess with a bad cough, major congestion, and a multi-day headache... in addition to losing my voice. Gross ;) apparently ten days of non-stop "senior/graduation" partying doesn't deliver the best of health. Who knew?!

After the first few days of not really eating much at all, I broke out the stove-top oatmeal last Friday morning. I had mixed my steel cuts with the last of the rolled oats that I had brought from school for a multi-texture bowl that I made the usual way with banana and fresh blackberries. Then, of course, there are the staples of the morning green tea and verre d'eau.

I've also made a return to peanut butter... for no other reason other than the fact that my mom bought a fresh container upon my return. It's a nice change but I do miss my Marantha almond deliciousness. What's your favorite nut butter?

The weather has been gorgeous, so even when I haven't been feeling in tip-top shape, I've been taking my dogs for walk to combine fresh air and a bit' o ejercicio. Walking alongside the Bronx River Parkway path in the late morning/early afternoon issuch a pleasure, mostly when Sable and Colby aren't pulling on their leashes in different directions :).

Besides today's treat, (of which I'll get to tomorrow,) lunch, has been boring.

I haven't been feeling like anything heavy so toast with hummus and spinach was usually just enough, without being too much, to get me by. Fruit was also unappetizing at the time so there goes that snack. Talk about bland!

Thankfully, the afternoons that have followed haven't been half bad. On Wednesday, I went down to the Bronx Zoo and was really excited... like really, really excited. When I was little I used to adore going to the zoo because I've always found animals to be so amazing to watch. I wanted to be a vet, after all.

This time though, as much as I enjoyed it to an extent, a couple of animals and their exhibits just made me sad. Quite a few are ridiculously far from their natural habitat and just didn't seem to be content with their manmade home. I don't know, I guess ignorance really is bliss. Still, they were beautiful, and I'm glad that I went to pay them a visit (since the money spent does go towards some conservation projects). How do you feel about zoos?

The best photos I got are the four above: a peacock, red panda, elephants, and sea lions. The red panda has always been my favorite animal. Why? I think because red is my color of choice and I like bamboo. Or some concrete reason like that ;).

By Sunday, I was much more back to my usual chipper self. My best friend Chrissie (and Laura too actually) just graduated from Fordham University and I went over to her house that evening for a little celebration. They had a delectable dinner spread of salad with gorgonzola, penne vodka, tomatoes and mozzarella, garbanzos, and Italian bread. There were quite a few carnivorous options as well :) but I obviously did not help myself to that part of the table.

If nothing else, being home is good for ^this^. Although I have stayed very close with a few of my high school bests, there are far too many people that I've lost touch with. Now, between Sunday night at Chrissie's party, and last night at a nearby bar, I have reconnected with dozens of these wonderful people. And I will actually be dining with a couple of them at a new Pleasantville soon-to-be (I can feel it) favorite, Haven tonight. This is going to be one great summer, I just know it.

it's a plan

And she's back! Sorry for the delay my sweets. I was with the boy last night so I didn't have a chance to... wait, what?! I went home after class on Tuesday for a doctor's appointment that was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. It was last minute/spur of the moment decision. The professors of both of my Wednesday classes were away at a conference so I thought it'd be a good idea to take another look at my joints and spend time with my Valentine. The first part was a fail, no one can seem to give me an answer as to the extreme pain that I occasionally feel, nor a solution :(. At least the second part was a smashing success.

When I first chose to adhere to my innate need for spontaneity, I asked the boy to have three things ready for me at his apartment: bananas, salad, and wine. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by the second. We ate our his and hers (left and right) with Coronas and then ordered an eggplant pizza for dinner later on. The next morning, I used a banana from the recently-purchased bunch in my morning oats. But where, oh where, was that vino?

Following my day of homework and a rheumatologist visit, I reunited with my favorite medical student. Our plans were to go out to dinner for Restaurant Week... but then, we developed a new crush. How could we resist? This wine & spirits store is beyond amazing.

Soon after, with our bottle of organic Chilean wine, we followed our cravings to Kami Sushi.

[Seaweed salad for her, Avocado salad for him]

[2007 Veranda Pinot Noir]

[Miso soup x 2]

[Temaki combo for him, NY platter with an A.A.C roll for her]

Our meals were absolutely delicious, and it's a good thing too as this was technically our Valentine's Day dinner. Once again, I will not be with the boy "for the holiday of love when sweeties across America celebrate with crimson roses, chocolate hearts, cuddly stuffed animals and candlelit dinners for two", instead, I'll be in Arizona with family. A lot less romantic (and nauseating?) although I will most definitely be missing him as usual.

I seriously cannot believe it's February. This semester is moving so swiftly, but there's a lot to look forward to before it's bittersweet end. Let's look at my tentative social events calendar, shall we?

• February 10: Foreign film with Genevieve; Syracuse, NY
• February 12-15: Family trip; Scottsdale, Arizona
• February 19: AXO Downtown; Syracuse, NY
• February 27: Villanova game (with the boy); Syracuse, NY
• March 12-14: Weekend getaway (with the boy); The Berkshires, MA
• March 19-21: Fitbloggin'; Baltimore, Maryland
• March 30-April 2: Best friend's visit; Syracuse, NY
• April ?: K & D road trip; Montreal, Canada
• April ?: Parents weekend, CNY Wine Trail; Syracuse, NY
• May ?: Roomies retreat; Niagara Falls, NY

Despite my impromptu, mid-week, day and a half at home, I usually like to plan, helps my dual-sided Gemini self with an optimistic perspective ;). How's your "spring semester" of 2010 looking?