Sunday, Lovely Sunday

It was a beautiful day in SouthLite today.  Perhaps a little on the warm side (we hit 84 and tomorrow promises to be 87) but with plenty of sunshine.  The gym was closed because some people celebrate Easter.  Actually quite a lot of people in SouthLite celebrate Easter and they do it in church, which meant the park was empty.

b and I went for a run.  It was the maiden run for my Vibram five-fingers.

I've been using them in the gym for months now and love them.  I've actually acquired an additional two pair.  I walk around town in them quite frequently, including on campus.  I've even been known to teach in them but I have yet to run outside.  They were fabulous.  I don't think I'll ever run in sneakers again.

Later in the afternoon we went to the movies.

It was an entertaining film but it didn't blow me away.  At the end there was a rather stale message about mothers raising sons that I could have lived without but it was mostly enjoyable.

After the movie I sat outside in warm evening air and read a truly bad dissertation.  It is my second defense of the year and, while it is not as horrendous as the first, it is still pretty bad.  I don't understand how I can be correcting someone's grammar at this point in the game.  I'm was the outside member on both dissertations this year and am not sure exactly where the problem lies: with the student, the advisor, or some combination of the two.  I'm not looking forward to the actual defense.

Dinner was a bit experimental.  I made roasted potatoes in pesto and asparagus while b made pan-seared duck breast with mushrooms.

We've been wanting to try duck for a while now.  It was quite delicious but next time we'll try a recipe that leaves a crispy skin.  I also experimented with dessert: homemade cinnamon ice cream and a blackberry crisp.

Eating In Diners

Whenever I travel back to the City of My Birth I try to eat as many of the foods that cannot be replicated in SouthLite. Diners fall into that category. This trip seemed to be all about the diner.

Luckily I managed to slip some pizza in there too.

Pizza Night

This afternoon I made potato leek soup and tried my first bread in the new house.

Then b and I tried out 3 different cast-iron pizza recipes.

The first was a variation of what b has learned on NOLS trips.

The second I found on one of my favorite food blogs.

The third was a faux-deep dish that b found here.

It was the winner. 

Oxtail Stew And Oreos

I am loving my new kitchen.

 Pupzilla loves it when we cook but even more when we drop.

Temperatures have dropped and we are expecting snow and ice.  Oxtail Stew is perfect for this weather.

 Still craving the red meat.

 The Brute loves the kitchen too.

My friend and colleague turned 50 today.  His wife threw him a surprise potluck dinner.  I made this oreo cookie recipe. 

Five Things On A Crisp, Clear, Autumn Day

1. Taking a walk through the gardens with Pupzilla.

2. Listening to Etta James.



3. Making spicy sweet potato soup (and shrimp).

4. Sipping hot apple cider.

5. Turning back the clocks.

RBOC: Gesundheit Edition

• Shortly after our arrival home from the camping trip, b realized he had a cold.  Three days later I was the next happy recipient.
• What if the only way to get rid of a cold was to give it to someone else?
• I'm on Day Two of what appears to be a 4-day malady.
• As far as colds go, it's not a bad one.  b has gone as far as to label it wimpy.  This may be true but it is still pretty annoying.
• Did you know gesundheit means "good health" in German?
• Today b and I went to the gym for a light workout, some time in the hot tub and a nice steam. I thought it would do my cold some good but the steam room never got very hot.  On the other hand I may have now infected my entire gym.
• b and I admitted to each other that we are extremely judgmental of other people in the gym. I don't think either of us are particularly judgmental people in any other area of life but there's something about seeing other people workout that brings out the worst in us.  My current theory is that the gym we are going to right now has an unusually high amount of people who don't know how to workout.  In that I mean, they don't use the machines properly (which drives me crazy...all I can do is think how they are probably doing serious damage to their joints) and rarely break a sweat.  
• I've been enjoying the free weight room at the gym lately. 
• Tomorrow b leaves for an 8-day training somewhere in the wilds of Wyoming.  
• When b is away I usually drown myself in work.  Given that this semester has been nothing but drowning myself in work, I see no good coming from it.  
• Once he comes back he will only be in town for 5 days and then he's off on a paddling trip.
• It seems I'm going to have to get used to him traveling more now.  Years ago it was always me who traveled and he stayed home.  
• When I traveled he used to cook himself meals I would never eat (or tolerate him eating), like steaks and cheeseburgers.  Now that I'm eating meat, there is little left that he can't or doesn't eat on a regular basis.  Since he's going away, I bought brussel sprouts and plan on making sweet potato soup.
• It is going on three weeks now that I have not had an oven.  There has been much discussion with the landlord, a handyman (who has informed me he doesn't specialize in appliances) has been to the house twice and finally ordered a part that we are all hoping accounts for the problem.  b is convinced it will be fixed before he returns.  I am less confident.
• I itch to bake some bread.  
• Home-baked bread goes nicely with sweet potato soup, don't you think?

Going Home: The Food

You didn't really think I could skip a post about the food we ate in the City of Bagels and Pizza now did you?

Since the first few days were spent visiting family, I was mostly fed by them.  However once b and I were reunited we found this little Swedish restaurant.  

We had a lovely lunch and b is still talking about the lingonberry soda.

We also found a great little french patisserie around the corner from the hotel.  We went there for breakfast.  They had great big cups of latte (me) and cappuccino (b).

They also had delicious chocolate croissants.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I met up with Angel and his father for brunch one day.  We met on the Upper EastSide (my ex's current abode).  My ex had pancakes.

Angel and I stuck with eggs: benedict for him and scrabbled with cream cheese and scallions for me.

Sushi was one of the meals b and I had been looking forward to since we first planned this trip.  Saturday afternoon, after meeting my sister Jo and her husband for drinks, we finally made it happen.

Of course we ordered sake.

Walking through the West Village I passed many bakeries.  It is the bread that I miss most.

Another meal b and I had been craving was for a particular pizza at a particular restaurant.  b ended up going twice but I just got this one chance.

Today b joined my gym and the two of us are starting a new exercise plan.  It involves waking up a little earlier and going together before our day starts.  Next week we meet with a nutritionist to get that part under control.  After this trip we have our work cut out for us.