Food on Fridays

This job sure is keeping me on the go... or behind my desk... or in bed trying to get some rest. Working full time and commuting like I do every day is tiring! But do I ever enjoy my weekends! I just LOVE when Friday (my weekend) rolls around. I love the chance to sleep in a bit, have a nicer breakfast and coffee, catch up on chores around the house, and COOK! I went through a few of my old cookbooks and magazines and made a list of some recipes I would like to try. It was rather cold last week, so I was really craving some good warm comfort food. I bought ingredients for two new recipes, but only got around to making one. But oh, it was good. It was a recipe for White Bean Turkey Chili. I found it in an article about what to do with your Thanksgiving turkey leftovers. Since I didn't have any leftover turkey but I did have chicken breasts in my fridge, I made it with those instead. It was super delicious. I am moving this soup onto my 'favorites' list. It is thick, hearty, spicy, and smooth... and healthy!!! It uses my new favorite toy - the immersion blender - to thicken/smooth it out. I ate leftover soup for the week and they were fabulous too. I highly recommend giving this one a shot.

WHITE BEAN AND TURKEY CHILI
(from Cooking Light, November, 2006)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 cups diced yellow onion (about 2 medium)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 (15.8-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups chopped cooked turkey
• 1/2 cup diced seeded plum tomato (about 1)
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 lime wedges (optional)

Preparation

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 10 minutes or until tender and golden. Add chili powder, garlic, and cumin; sauté for 2 minutes. Add oregano and beans; cook for 30 seconds. Add broth; bring to a simmer. Cook 20 minutes.

Place 2 cups of bean mixture in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed mixture to pan. Add turkey, and cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat. Add diced tomato, chopped cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper, stirring well. Garnish with lime wedges, if desired.

Coffee, of course!

It's been a while since I've had a proper coffee picture on here and I don't want people to start thinking that I don't like coffee or something, so here we go. Yummy. Isn't that nice?

It's Here!

The weather has changed.
The chill in the air.
The leaves begin to dry.
The time has come.
Today is the day.
The first soup of the season.

That is my poem accepting the fact that summer is gone and we will only see cooler days from here on out. Making my first soup of the season is a sure sign that I am embracing the new season, even if I am scared of the winter that is to come. This afternoon I mixed up a delicious pot of lentil soup. I do love soup and hope to make many dishes of it this year. With my new job I don't have a lot of time to cook during the week, so my goal is to make a few things over the weekend that I can eat throughout the week. By the way, I have Friday off - so this is technically my weekend.
I enjoy having a day off that most everyone else has to work. Although my favorite thing to do is hang out with my friends, it seems that when we are off work at the same time all we do is hang out and I don't get a lot done. This way I can take care of my business on Friday: cooking, laundry, shopping, etc. Then I will have Saturday to spend with friends and have fun. Ah, the organized life I have thrown myself into. It is amazing how having less time makes one more organized. Funny how I get much more accomplished when I have much less time.

Well, the soup is done and I think I need to test it out. And I have to say: I just love Hamilton Beach Immersion Blender. It is nearly the best thing on the planet. I use it at the end of the soup-making process to make it creamier...mmm... time to taste test. Bon appetit!

a bite of the apple

For no reason at all I am up extra early this morning. I don't know what that's all about. Oh no! Maybe I am turning into my mom, the way she gets up way too early. Speaking of Mom... I had a couple of visitors last weekend. Mom and Dad came up for their first visit to the Big Apple! We had such a great time. They arrived on Thursday night, just in time to pick me up from work. Over the next two days we spent time seeing the sights of the city and hanging out in my apartment. We really hit a lot of the spots. Of course I took them to Times Square where we HAD to visit M&M World and the Hershey Store! And Mom and I being the shoppers that we are had no choice but to hit every floor of the world's biggest store - MACYS!!! Of the other highlights I'd say going up in the Empire State Building, which I had done years ago, but was a real treat. In the past I had been at night, but this time we went during the day. I could pick out a lot of places from up there. That day there was a chill in the air on the street, but up 80-some floors was quite brisk! Plus the wind was blowing all around! But it was still a great experience to go up in such a landmark and look out over the city.

Also I took them to an opera at the Metropolitan Opera. I figure since I work there and was able to get amazing seats for an amazing deal that they should check it out. We went to Barber of Seville, which was the first opera for both of my parents. I was a little nervous because some people have negative reactions to opera (just because it's opera) or find it boring and want to sleep through the entire thing. In my opinion, Barber of Seville is very accessible and a great first opera. Besides, if you are going to give opera a try you might as well start at the top with the Met. Well, they loved it! I was so happy that it was a success... despite traffic and parking issues.

Lastly, on their way out of town Sunday evening I made them stop at Junior's for a slice (or two) of world-famous cheesecake. We split a slice of original cheesecake and one of strawberry. Paired with a cup of coffee was just perfect! Needless to say, we had two empty plates in front of us in no time at all! New York cheesecake is an absolute must. The texture and flavor just can't be beat.

Those are some of the highlights of our little vacation in the city. I love living in a place that can turn into a vacation for me. New Yorkers rarely go to the places that tourists visit. We have different neighborhoods and in general try to stay away from those busy areas so our lives are more 'normal' and we aren't always fighting through the crowds. Because of this, the city can be instantly transformed into a different place when visitors come and we DO go to those places and see our home from a different perspective. Kind of cool. Well, I'm up early and don't think I'll be going back to sleep, so I might as well go on in to work. Early in means... early out!!! I can handle that!!!

what is she doing???

I have been quite the busy bee lately. Buzz buzz buzz...

The main reason I have been so busy is that I took the big plunge! I am now the proud owner of a full time job! Yikes! I am a working woman with a salary and benefits and the whole sha-bang. But I have to put in the hours to get all this stuff. I've been trying out this new lifestyle for two weeks now. I think it's ironic that only a day or so after my blog post where I mentioned how life is so interesting and you really never know where it will go - I am offered a full time position. I didn't even know one was going to be available. I am still at the Met Opera, in the same department, but now doing administrative work, which is much more up my alley.

In addition to the full time work, our season at the Met opened this week! I attended opening night festivities on Monday. I got all dressed up in the trusty black dress and went in to see the brand new production of Tosca. It was all kinds of scandal and drama...which is appropriate for the genre. Some people hated the production, which took a different approach to a standard opera. The curtain call was filled with booing. I heard screams of "Go back to Europe!" being directed at the stage. Ahhh... so fun. The following days have been filled with opinionated reviews from everyone from the New York Times and the Nightly News to random people in my office. Everyone seems to be an expert. Personally I had a splendid night and enjoyed myself immensely, and that's what matters to me...not that there weren't some things I would change about the production...but still. Besides, we must remember that the majority of the art that is most esteemed today was greatly criticized when it was first presented to the public. Again - who knows what the future holds.

Happy Autumn!!!

Yes, it is a day late, but I can't believe it is fall already! Where did summer go? I do enjoy autumn, as it is probably my favorite season. I like starting to wear comfy sweaters and jeans. I love the colors of the changing leaves and I like the smell in the air as the humidity is replaced with a crispness in the evenings.

bloggy blog

This morning I have been enjoying the nice weather and relaxing morning. I am finally feeling better after being sick for nearly a week, and boy, doesn't it feel good to feel better! I was looking back through the pages of my blog (because I should be practicing or doing something productive...the best time to look at blogs) and realized I have been blogging for over two years now! Wow - time does fly! It's always fun to look back and see where I have been and what I have done. The blog is nice for that because it provides little glimpses into my life- however boring or exciting that may be. It's also interesting to think of myself when I was writing that blog post from one or two years ago and think about how I had no idea what the future would hold. When I blogged that I was visiting NYC, did I think I would ever really live here? When I started sewing, did I know how many things I would make and how they would turn out? That makes the future seem kind of exciting too. Who knows what will happen. When I blogged about jobs and men... how will that turn out??? What travel adventures await around the corner???

the bird

I realize that I have hardly written about my recent trip to Jamaica, so I decided to do a post about it and went to my pictures for inspiration. Unfortunately, I was completely overwhelmed when I looked at all the pictures that I took and have no idea where to start or how to organize them into a nice blog post. I've been sick this week and in no mental state to think too hard, so let's start somewhere easy. The bird.

No big deal or story, it's just this bird that was always in the tree outside where we would eat dinner and some of our breakfasts. I really liked this bird. It was like a hummingbird with a really long tail. Apparently he is really fast too. The world's current fastest runner is from Jamaica, so I guess that's appropriate. I liked this bird and his long tail and I think he kind of liked me. At least he didn't mind having his picture taken. Maybe he wants to be famous. He thought he would get his big American break on my blog.

My new toy!

I have been craving a bicycle for some time now. I've had bike envy when I see an attractive bike parked or cruise down the street where I walk. I wanted a bike for several different reasons. Mostly, I think it will be a nice thing for a weekend afternoon to cruise around on for fun. There are some really nice paths going up and down the sides of Manhattan. There is also a really nice area to ride around Battery Park, closer to the tip of the island. It's a very pretty walk, but a whole different experience on a bike. If I really get into riding it could be a nice way to avoid giving so much money to the Subway. Well - recently I bit the bullet, swiped some plastic and got myself a bike! Here she is:


My first new bike! I have ridden for most of my life, but I always had a used bike. I had a couple of pink bikes as a kid since I was a girly girl and loved my pink. I didn't ride much during high school, but picked it up again in college as a quicker way to get to class. So here I am with another pink bike!
I went for a couple of rides in the city last week to break her in. I loved it! Today I went for a spin around the park by my apartment. It was a nice ride with a fairly decent hill in the middle; raising my heart rate a bit. Coming from West Virginia, I am quite judgmental of 'hills'. If there's anything I know, it's how to ride on hills. These city folks may beat me on a track or flat surface, but I'll blow their doors off on a hill! Back in the day I lost my training wheels on the hills- and I'm talking uphill... both ways.

We're back!!!

Saturday morning we packed our bags with dirty clothes and souvenirs and boarded a plane taking us back to the US. I had a lovely view of Montego Bay and the Caribbean Sea as we flew out of the airport. We traveled all day before safely arriving home around midnight. Exhaustion quickly set in from the previous week of work and little rest. It was a wonderful week and an experience to be remembered.

To Jamaica...

...or not!
This morning we were on our way to Jamaica. We leave the house at a dark and foggy 3AM. We drive to the church and meet up with our group. We gather together and load our bags into vans that take us to the Charleston airport. Once we arrive at the airport, where we intend to catch our flight to Atlanta, we notice a little problem:


No go. Both flights that our group was on were canceled due to fog in Atlanta. After sitting around at the airport figuring out what was going on and what we were going to do, we were told to go home and we will do the same thing tomorrow morning!!! I've never experienced a flight that is completely canceled. I've had a lot of delays and sitting around waiting for the flight to be rescheduled, but being told to go home and come back the next day is a new thing for me! I do have to say I would rather have it happen this way where I can go back to the house, sleep and enjoy the day than be stuck in a random airport or in a random hotel in a random city.
I guess I'll be up at 3:00 tomorrow morning to try this trip again! Hope it works a little better than this time!