Labor Day Weekend Plans

This labor day weekend Jason will be going to Gainesville to meet Dylan for the first time (wish I could go too) since it's his turn to go on vacation. I went to Barney's Joy and he goes to Gainesville -- somehow that worked out the way it did.
Since Stella was born I haven't had the time to knit anything. I've started a few projects here and there but nothing worth mentioning and really nothing I've managed to finish. Although I'd rather hold her, I do miss having needles and yarn in hand. I also miss that feeling of excitement when you're about to start and later finish a project. This weekend I'm going to try my hardest to really start and commit to something. I figure I'll start small with the little inga hat and work up the courage for the Shetland Shorty.
Wish me luck. Maybe I'll even have time to update my ravelry. Maybe it's all wishful thinking.

In other very sad news, my favorite cupcake blog - Cupcake Bakeshop - was closed and I didn't find out until this week when I thought of possibly baking over the break. It was a great inspiration while it lasted. Chockylit will be sorely missed.

What I did this winter break

Here is the vibrant green hooded kaftan (Debbie Bliss, Special Knits) minus the embroidery that I managed to start and finish while in Miami for the holidays. It was nice to be at my grandma's with no particular itinerary and most of the morning to knit in peace and quiet. Of course, not having a car down there determined the pace. Miami is,well, unforgiving to those without their own means of transportation. I was ok with staying home to start a new project for Stella but poor Jason was starting to show signs of an animal in captivity after a few days, i.e. pacing back and forth in one spot. I'm still not sure if I even want to add the embroidery seeing that my sewing skills are not up to par with my knitting ones. We'll see, I guess I'll give it a try. Next I might give a try at the picot dress but in a different color. For those of you who have Ravelry I will post details on the pattern, yarn and so on. Just give me some time since apparently my blogging/internet pace is on snail mode lately.

So, besides knitting and relaxing, need I mention the enormous amounts of delicious Cuban food we had. Especially, my grandma's cooking. Oh, I paid for it in the end by being 3 pounds over my target weight.
The funniest thing while there was that because of the heat, it was in the mid 80's + humidity the whole of our vacation, I started to show major signs of edema in my hands, ankles, and nose. Funnier yet, is that it all went away as soon as I returned to the cold here in Philly. Believe me, edema does not help when you're already so self conscious of your body image.

The little bun in my oven has recently made me aware of how precious sleep is. For some reason I've had a real hard time staying asleep at night. Besides reading I've been taking advantage of this time to do some baking. I know it sounds crazy to be stooped over the oven at four or five in the morning but I imagine this is what they mean by baker's hours. I managed to make bagels from scratch on two separate occasions. Pictured here is my first attempt and it shows. I didn't knead the dough enough causing the final product to be far from a complete ring. The second time around was much better. They came out really crispy on the outside and nice and doughy on the inside. Now I just have to get better at making them smaller like the ones we had in Montreal. That dough is a little deceiving. Just when you think you've made them nice and small they blow up while poaching.
Besides bagels I also made a batch of cinnamon rolls from Nigella's How to be a Domestic Goddess and a batch of Christmas tree cookies (Martha of course) pictured below.

These cookies look intimidating at first but are really not that hard to make. I think the hardest part was to crush the candy to pieces -- Jason had fun figuring that one out. The other hard part was finding a cookie cutter shaped like a tree in the middle of Christmas season -- Jason did not have fun figuring that one out. I never would have thought that mixing cookies with candy would have been a good idea. I'm still not sure if I agree with the whole thing. I mean, they were way too sweat for my taste but a lot of people liked them. It was funny that they were so amazed that you could get a cookie to taste like a jolly rancher when in fact that was what they were made of. I guess you get lost in the effect to associate the center with this candy. I would say that in the end they look pretty and would make great ornaments but would not recommend for ingesting unless you have an unimaginable sweet tooth.

Week Twenty-eight

Here are more Spring pictures and the missing-its-sleeves-Ribena.
On Thursday's picture you can see the many faces of CC (aka Nathalie's Cool Cat).

On Saturday, after taking care of my cells, Megan and I went to MoMa. The Jeff Wall exhibit along with all the heavyweights on the 5th and 4th floor are more than worth it but the real treat was Project 85: Dan Perjovschi. It was just such a great way to start the day/museum experience. We also went to Republic for a late and amazingly great lunch. Of course I stopped at Mariebelle's. C'mon, that was a no brainer. I almost went to Purl, but I think by then I had tortured myself enough. I can't fathom leaving empty handed and I really didn't want to spend too much as it was. Let's be real here.

Sunday I made a flan to take to Christian and Amy's house for dinner. Christian's Mom, who was visiting for his birthday, made us delicious homemade Brazilian food.
So, this week was in some ways about eating good.

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04.24.07

Week Twenty-six

Spring is here and you wouldn't even know it. With out April showers there will be no May flowers but must there be snow too? That is the scene this morning in front of my apartment and apparently throughout most of the eastern seaboard. I'm glad this didn't happen the first year we moved here or I might of just packed my bags and gone back to Miami. At least I know better now that it's just a fluke, or is it?
They're promising mid 60s this weekend. I really hope that's the case so we can finally enjoy the out doors. We're so sad (at the brink of tears) Josh and Alia won't be able to come. Libraries up and running of Sundays; what is this world coming to?

My Ribena is coming along. I'm working in the arm hole shaping and although I complained earlier that it's going slow I have found my new inspiration in Brooklyntweed. His latest is a true beauty and it only took him a month.

Speaking of inspiration, on Wednesday I saw the placard bellow at the TRL building. I think I might be Madame Curie next Halloween.

On Friday we were Wiid out at Megan and Nicole's. I did hold the boxing championship tittle until Jason stripped it away (or maybe I let him, we'll never know).

Finally, on Saturday, after my haircut at Jean Madeline/Aveda Institute (salon hair cut $16 and I'm super excited since a new one is about to open in University City) we went for sushi at Mizu. What we did before brown rice sushi and udon noodle soup is beyond me.

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04.10.07

Week Twenty-two

This week we had close to 80F degree weather early on, perfect for a drink at La Terrace, and annoying last minute snow. On St. Patty's day I was good to my body by not getting sloshed and instead going to Horizons (all vegan/organic all the time) for dinner. The Pacific Rim Tofu was amazing and the pomegranate sangria/peanut butter chocolate bomb combo were extra yum.

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Happy Hour at Zocalo

On Friday the lab got together for another of our rather frequent happy hours. We've been a little reluctant to go lately seeing our usual place was not only getting boring but the service is worse and worse by the week. Not to mention, the crowd of Penn students making it difficult for a big group such as our to get a table. No reservation, don't even bother.

So, this time we ventured off to Zocalo. It's a bit of a longer walk (on 36th and Lancaster) but well worth it. Pictured here is the zocalo sangria : white wine + the fruit of the season. In this case it was berries. Honestly, I don't know what's up with me and going to places where I can eat/imbibe things that are so berrylicious. I almost ordered the Pablotini (vodka martini + habanero chilies) but it wasn't at happy hour prices and Jason wasn't around to ensure I got home OK. So, definitely next time.

The appetizers, which like the house drinks were also 25% off, were really great. I ordered/shared the Volcan, a layered dip of refried beans, melted cheese, pico de gallo, and sour cream. It came with their in-house-made tortilla chips. Delicious! Some one else ordered the Plato Surtido: beef empanada, pico de gallo, and an amazing guacamole. On the other side of the table I saw the much acclaimed Queso Fundido. Although seeing that gooey cheese was more than tempting, I decided I'll leave the mini heart attack for next time. Though, I'll make sure to add the portobello mushrooms and the poblano peppers for extra taste.

Overall, we had a great time. One thing that made a difference is the fact that it was practically empty. Apparently, it's like this most of the time. This has me a bit concerned, for I wouldn't want this venue, recently made known to us, to go out of business. At the same, time the emptiness made it more pleasant for us and the waiting staff was a lot more attentive. I figure it's either one of "powelton village's" best kept secret or most people only associate margaritas and sangrias with summer. Maybe, it's that although their happy hour specials are at a fair price, the same can't readily be said about their dinner menu -- I'm not in the habit of paying close to $18 for enchiladas verdes.

Because I Promised

Here is the recipe for the Toffee Cake (or pudding) I promised Andrew, since he was so nice to heed to my advice. It's from: Everyday Food, December 2006. In case this picture isn't good enough you can find the recipe on their web site.

Banana Leaf & Naked Chocolate Cafe

So, on Sunday, Jason's last day of his last golden weekend during his surgery rotation, we decided to have a fun day in center city.
Seeing how the weather permitted it, mid 30s, we took a walking tour with our friend Sarah. Our first attempt was to go to a late lunch at Aqua on 7th and Chestnut. It's a recently new Malaysian and Thai fusion BYO whose chef was previously from Penang, NYC. Unfortunately, it was closed.
Seeing how we craved Malaysian, we decided to go to another fairly new place in Chinatown -- Banana Leaf on 10th and Arch. The food was delicious. As appetizers we had the Roti with chicken and potato gravy (on the side) and fried tofu with cucumber and peanut sauce. The hearty peanut sauce, which was generously piled on top of the tofu, had a noticeable crunch and a pleasant bit of spice.
As entree we had the pineapple fried rice, mango with shrimp, and fried spare ribs. I can't say much for the ribs but the mango/shrimp was my favorite so far.

We then happily walked over to 13th and Walnut to another place we hadn't been to: The Naked Chocolate Cafe.

The minute you step in you feel like a kid in Candy Land. There's an almost endless array of chocolates, cupcakes, brittle, cakes, sweets...you get the picture.
I had the Spicy Hot Chocolate and although it didn't have the same kick as MarieBelle's spicy hot chocolate it had the same velvety ganache like consistency that's to die for. A small is more than you can ask for. To accompany it, we shared a Strawberry-Vanilla cupcake. It was honestly the first time I've had frosting that actually tastes like strawberry.
To finish this very fun day we went to see Almodovar's latest, Volver. It had a surprising amount of humor intertwined into a slew of very serious subjects. Once again, Almodovar has produced a gem.

The End of an Era

Finally!
It took us a couple of years but we found it.
Lemongrass is seriously the best Thai I've had in Philadelphia.
Their Green Curry is just right and the Pad Thai is one of those things you suddendly crave.

Best of Philly Tour...

So Josh and Alia came to visit us this weekend, finally, and we took them to a few spots they hadn't had the pleasure to experience yet. We didn't get a chance to go to Lee How Fook -- Best Chinese Ever-- but we made up with it with a few Philadelphia staples: A stroll in Clark Park, tea and coffee at Green Line, lunch at Ron's Ribs, shopping in Rittenhouse square, and brunch at Sabrina's Cafe.

Green Line is the Emoest/Indiest coffee house ever and when you go there you can't help but act as emo as humanly possible. At least that's the effect it always has on Jason. Right now they're exhibiting some of Adam Rex's art work. I really like this one painting of a man in peaceful slumber being cradled in the cavity of a robot. I couldn't find it on his web site but there's plenty there for you to get an idea.

Ron's Ribs is great for ribs, so I'm told, but I can swear by the soul food. The candied yams are my favorite and the collard greens and baked macaroni are so worth it. Sadly, we missed out on the corn bread...Hadn't been made yet.

Sabrina's brunch is city-renowned -- if the long line of people waiting to get the nod as if it were some posh night club isn't evidence enough I don't know what is. Luckily, our waiting time wasn't as bad and the atmosphere is far from stuffy. They even had a doggie bowl for Emerson. To top it all off we saw Questlove (aka Ahmir Thompson) from The Roots pass by. I'm told he frequents Sabrina's.

A stroll down 9th St (the heart of Italian market) ended our pleasant day. Now our friends are back in DC waiting for our next visit.

On this The One Month anniversary of My Last Blog Entry...

Don't worry, I haven't given up.
I blame it on being a robot for the last month. Automation is so overrated.
Pictured here is one of the things I was busy doing. This is a Passion Fruit Cheesecake (Nigella Larson) I made for Jason's birth day last week. I served it with a guava sauce (I made up) on the side. What you see on top are passion fruit seeds, not frog eggs as Jason may have you believe. As a gift I got him a Treo smart phone so he can start pretending to be a doctor in the hospital as he starts his rounds. Don't worry, I didn't pay full price for that thing. I'm not that much of an asshole! I actually got it for less than half it's retail value, if you can believe it. No, it wasn't ebay.

I was also very busy trying to finish a hat I started a couple of months ago. The pattern ( from Knitty, of course) turned out to be more fun than I would have thought.

Jason takes his boards on Monday (Yikes!) and he's been hogging the computer with "Q-bank" sessions so that's another reason why I haven't been writing. He was generous enough to share today -- I tease.
After his test I have three days off + a weekend to spend some much needed rest/quality time together. I was hoping to go to boston, cape cod (provincetown), martha's vineyard, and or nantucket but It seems those plans will fizzle. It's totally doable especially since we still have a gift certificate for bnbfinder.com that Derek gave us. I found a few really nice bnbs that actually still have rooms. But Jason seems to think he won't have a very good time there. Stuffiness aside, I'm just curious to go see what it's like. To see something new. Especially since it's so accessible now that we live in Philly. I'd like to think that it's as simple as him just being a creature of habit but I think it's more like he has to be convinced. Or even simpler, he just doesn't care that much. Boards are more important right now. God, how could I be so bad in trying to distract him with silly decisions. Maybe I should just book/plan a vacation and tell him to sit back and enjoy.