On Hiatus...

#2 Cook'n

A lot of people do certain repetitive activities as a form of meditation: knitting; gardening; playing piano. I load recipes into my Cook'n database. It's not as time-consuming as it used to be, mostly because my recipes come from magazines like Living and Food & Wine and they keep their recipes online, so it's little more than cutting and pasting. Some recipes--say ones I clip from a newspaper or come from friends--need to be scanned.

This still takes time, I admit. And I have stacks of magazines I haven't been able to digitize yet. But I still think it's worthwhile. The program lets me sort recipes how I choose (I block them by source and year) and as far as I can tell, there's no limit to how many recipes you can store (I must have several hundred by now). It came preprogrammed with its own recipes, but I deleted all of those, because I wanted only to include recipes that I hand-picked. I can also attach bmp photos, which I love. I can search by ingredient (great for when I use one stalk of celery for tuna fish and have six stalks left over). And I can add my own notes, so after I try a recipe I can add things like "needs more salt" or "careful not to over bake." I also add my initials to a recipe once I've tried it, so I can remind myself later. It also makes it really easy to share recipes through email. And think of how easy it would be to pass on to future generations! Instead of a huge binder with papers jutting out everywhere, all I have to do is hand over a CD! What I also like is that when I'm making something, I can print out the recipe and it doesn't matter if I spill oil or gravy or jam on it, because I can always print out another one!

Today I added some recipes for a shrimp, crab and avocado salad; honey-roasted root vegetables; potato dill bread.

#1 In The Beginning...

They say all roads lead to Rome, but I say all roads lead to my mouth.

I'm not sure what's going to become of this project--perhaps nothing at all. I'll post recipes and restaurant reviews as well as, well, basically, anything that has to do with food.

So this is what happened today:

For breakfast I had a leftover smoothie I had concocted for Snowman out of frozen blueberries, strawberries and raspberries plus a banana, some skim milk, and honey. Sounds good, right? Nope. Bleck. My first foray into smoothie-making, a dismal failure!



For lunch I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which I probably eat for lunch 3-4 times a week. I used to swear by Jif, but as I've gotten older (quel dommage!) I've decided to go the all natural route. I was having a hard time finding one that actually tasted like anything, until I came across Whole Foods own brand, called 365. They make a natural creamy peanut butter which is delicious and not overly-goopy like some of the naturals.

For dinner Snowman and I had--a real gastronomic delight--Kraft Mac N Cheese. I don't want to air anyone's dirty laundry, but Snowman tried to make it the other night and overcooked the pasta to a sad, mushy matter which was quickly deposited into the trash can. I added some broccoli, extra cheese, and a little chili jam (so wonderfully spicy and sweet) to jazz it up.

I also went to Barnes & Noble to find a proper smoothie book with recipes, since the one I made up on the cuff didn't work out so well. There is a much better selection on Amazon, of course, but when you get an idea in your head, only instant gratificiation will do. So there I was, sitting on the floor, books spread out, trying to figure out which smoothies sounded the healthiest, the most appetizing, the easiest to make. I settled on The Big Book of Juices and Smoothies because it had lots of tasty recipes, simple ingredients, and told you what vitamins you were getting and whether it was good for energy, immunity, detox, digestion, or skin. Haven't made any yet, but will soon.

I also ordered FreshDirect. Nothing like an impending shipment of munchies to help one sleep soundly!

Can't promise all entries will be this long. After all, 365 days is an awfully long time...

Cafe Bar

3290 36TH St
Astoria, NY 11106-1151
(718) 204-5273

I haven't been here in many, many years. It was good to go back.

Decor: Eclectic: mismatched furniture and lamps, intriguing wall art.
Service: As long as you know when you come that the service is tres leisurely, you'll find it quite pleasant.
Food: Tasty. I had an English breakfast with poached eggs, baked bean, and grilled tomatoes.
Overall: When you have a luxurious day ahead of you, this is a pretty good way to start it off.

Grade: B+

Honmura An

170 Mercer St.
New York, NY 10012
212-334-5253

I came for the bukakke; I stayed for the okame.

Decor: Typical Japanese decor. Cramped seating.
Service: Pleasant.
Food: They didn't techincally have bukakke on the menu, so I got the okame "rosy cheek" which was delicious and filling.
Overall: Good food, service, and atmostphere.

Grade: B+

H2O

215 West Main St.
Smithtown, NY 11787
631-361-6464

We went here for Mother's Day dinner with Snowman's parents.

Decor: White wainscotted walls and comfy booths.
Service: Pleasant, although not completely informed.
Food: Delicious salmon sashimi and stone crab claws. Other sushi and my main entree of seafood pot pie was fine, but not stellar.
Overall: Too far away to be a regular experience, but fine for one night.

Overall: B-

Oscar's at the Waldorf Astoria

I generally dig hotel bars and restaurants.

Decor: Kind of lame considering it's the Waldorf. It looked like the inside of a Denny's.
Service: Friendly and pleasant.
Food: Good. I had a vegetarian Mexican salad with black beans and avocado.
Overall: A bit pricey for what it is, but not bad either.

Grade: B-