And just like that….Spring Break is right around the corner. Here is what I am loving this month.
Located near the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn, this new statue of BIG is set up on a hill and is fun, colorful, and different. As a huge fan of BIG, I love it. VERY MUCH.
The cookbook I use the most so far in 2023 has been “Smitten Kitchen” and the two recipes I cook on a weekly basis are the broccoli rabe with burrata and the charred salt and vinegar cabbage. I COULD EAT BUCKETS OF CABBAGE because this recipe is to die for. This is absolutely amazing and I highly suggest making it (even if it sounds weird) — I promise you will love it.
Ingredients:
Here we are, already a week plus a couple in the second month of the year. How does time fly by so quickly? Before you know it, it will be spring break and then school is over and then POOF summer. Here is what I am currently loving this month.
1. NY Times article: Future Cringe
One of my favorite articles in 2023 — a must read if you haven’t seen it already!
It was VERY, VERY, VERY cold over the weekend in NYC. It was hard to do much of anything because of the frigid air. Here is what I suggest doing if you are in NYC when it is very cold outside.
I went the other weekend to celebrate the Chinese New Year and see a special dance performance. It was fun to be in the museum (the actual performance was so so), but I love how beautiful the structure of the Met is and how you can get lost in it for days.
I posted this breakfast hack several years ago, but it is so good that I think it is important I tell you AGAIN just in case you missed it the first time. TWO ingredient pancakes. They are beyond easy and so delicious that everyone in the family will like. The two ingredients: banana and egg. Et voila, 2 ingredient pancakes.
You take 1 banana and 2 eggs (or 1/2 banana and 1 egg) and smash it together. yes, if you use a blender, it is smoother and nicer (but that also means more of a mess to clean up). So I am A OK with clumps, and just smash it and mix together in one bowl.
A new bakery in NYC has arrived and it is absolutely DELICIOUS. Thanks to a dear friend of Ken’s from boarding school, Newmie, she always sends me lists of everything new and cool that she loves in the city. And last week, she wrote to me that this new bakery, Michaeli Bakery, had opened up. Sure enough, after research, she was right — it was straight up my alley. It is an Israeli bakery, started by the first baker that was brought to NYC to open Breads Bakery. It specailizes in Jewish baked goods — ie burekas, rugalach, babka, challah, and more. It also has TWO locations — one on the UES (401 East 90th Street) and one on the LES (115A Division Street).
I decided to try four different cookies — and HOLY SMOKES they are amazing. Better than Levain, better than crumbl, they are truly the perfect size, density, sweetness and flavor.
Is this month over????? Always SOOOOOOO long. Luckily it has not been THAT cold in NYC this past month. I mean, definitely hat and jacket weather, but not my big BIG coat. Here is what I am currently loving.
1. Feel Better Live More Podcast
Super insightful and love all of his shows. A must listen to.
January is always the longest month. It feels like February is right around the corner, but it actually isn’t — it still is weeks away! Here is what I am loving this month!
1. Anything Pendleton-pattern-esque
I love everything Pendleton. I’ve had the blue coat since Cruzzie was in my belly (13 years ago) and it is a coat that I imagine I will have as long as I am alive. And I keep adding to my collection…now the dog has one (if only she liked it — she hates clothes).
I came across the cookbook Smitten Kitchen Keepers over the holidays, and since then, I have made dozens of recipes. It is HANDS DOWN my favorite cookbook. Everything I have made has been absolutely delicious (and there have been many repeats) and literally everything in the cookbook, I want to try and eat. So if you want to be inspired in the kitchen, get this cookbook! I AM IN LOVE.
I love absolutely everything about this cookbook — the recipes (most importantly), the photos, the writing, all great.
In the past month, we have been going to Brooklyn for brunch. There is something and fun and different to get in our car, drive to a different borough, and eat where we are not going to know a single person. Recently, we ended up at Sunday in Brooklyn, on a SUNDAY in BROOKLYN (very meta). It was after I researched where “the best pancakes are served in NYC,” and this was at the top of every list I came across.
It takes reservations, but on the Sunday we went, there were not any available spots, so we walked in, and put our name on the waitlist and walked around Domino Park — which had beautiful views of Manhattan. Windy and cold, but still beautiful and picturesque.
We spent Thanksgiving with our besties in San Francisco, and everything they do is always perfection. The food they cook, their house decor, outfits, life style, plants, vacations, absolutely anything EVERYTHING could be written up and presented as the best, because it truly is the best. So when they told me about this new knife, and especially with its amazing backstory, I knew I needed and wanted it (plus my knives are old and need a serious upgrade). But this knife isn’t just any knife — it is made from recycled skateboards.
Nacionale Bladeworks. This company is in the Philippines, which makes it that much more special.
The weekend before Thanksgiving, I had a craving to go to dim sum in the city. After an extensive search online on what the best dim sum restaurant is, we ended up at Nom Wah Tea Parlor. It was everything that I had hoped for, and I highly suggest going (and waiting) for a great dim sum meal if in the city.
Down a car free street. It was a cold morning and despite it opening up at 11 am (and us getting there then), we still had to wait for 45 minutes. That said, it was worth it.
Just got back from a whirlwind away on the west coast in the Bay Area. We decided to visit our best friends from Stanford for the holiday, and it was truly one of the best weekends yet. We laughed, ate, ate some more, ate even more, laughed some more, and just had great quality time together. Here is what we did (and great recommendations for anyone going to the Bay Area, too!)
National Forest north of San Francisco in Marin. A beautiful, relaxing, and incredible sigh of redwood trees. Redwood trees are supposed to be healing, and just being in their presence felt magical. They are HUGE and ANCIENT.
Yesterday, I wrote that the date was November 2021. I can’t believe that it is not 2021, and in fact, it is almost 2023! Here is what I am loving right now in Early November.
1. Zara Marine Jeans (for kids)
These jeans are the cutest and I wish they had them in adults sizes. They are Tusia’s first jeans (ever) and she loves them just as much as I do (which is never the case).
Currently, Crumbl cookies are all the rage as the store just opened up in Manhattan on the Upper East Side. It is another jumbo-sized cookie (each one is four servings) with 500 franchised stores around the country. There is a ton of hype around the cookies, but I have to admit, they are so delicious. And worth it.
Box of deliciousness.
I love the food website, The Infatuation, that writes about all the new restaurants,bars, cafes, bakeries, in any and every city. Most of all, I love their random guides such as “Best pizza in NYC’ or “Best donuts in NYC“. And of course, not only do I love reading the articles slash lists, but I love trying all their random recommendations. For best donut in NYC, I decided to try something new and different, Mochinut Donuts. Mochinut is a chain with locations all over South Korean, Thailand, and most states in the United States (literally everywhere!). What makes these donuts unique is that they are made with rice flour.
Two locations in Manhattan — I went to the one on 38th and 6th. Super friendly, clean, and easy.
Here we are in October! Fall in New York….here is what I am currently loving (and please send me what you are loving, too! I love to hear!)
1. Flash Flowers by Lewis Miller Design
Walking home from drop off yesterday and I saw this beautiful flower flash installation by Lewis Miller Design — always so beautiful.
New York City’s newest largest rooftop park! This past weekend, we explored new outdoor space and loved seeing the city from a different perspective. Pier 57 is located on W 15 St. & Hudson River Park — a mixture of office space (Google), public park, and soon a Food Hall by James Beard Foundation (JBF).
It is hidden and a little more discreet to get to. It is located just north of Little Island, so you can hit them both up at the same time.
Walking along the pier to get to the entrance of the park.
Great views, even more you go to the roof.
The elevator to get to the park. YES, AN ELEVATOR!!! I found that part so amazing. And I love the colors in this photo — Ukraine Flag colors.
This made me laugh — a button for the park.
The rules — you *CAN* bring dogs, which I didn’t know, but they need to be nice dogs.
Great views of Little Island and southern Manhattan.
The city up high.
Grassy area.
Views to the North.
A wedding was happening! A very small wedding, but we loved seeing the bride and groom.
You could rent this out for an event!
Then we crossed the street and went to Chelsea Market and had doughnuts and tacos for lunch.
Definitely worth doing on a beautiful Fall day — incredible views, great use of space, and something different!
Zucchini bread and pumpkin bread symbolize FALL like no other. Since I posted about my favorite pumpkin bread a couple years ago, I thought I should investigate zucchini breads. I fell upon this NYTimes Vegan recipe, and since my husband is not currently eating dairy, I thought it was a great one to try. And I love the outcome — so definitely recommend!
Ingredients:
I have heard a lot of wonderful things about Athletic Greens through friends, podcasts, and articles, but I have never tried it until recently. It is my attempt to get more vitamins and nutrients in my body, and not just carbs carbs carbs which is what my body craves most. I have yet to figure out if it is doing anything magical and amazing to my body, but I must say that I enjoy the extra hydration and the feeling that I am TRYING to do something magical and good.
What is it? Athletic Greens is a powder with 75 vitamins, minerals, and whole-food sourced nutrients in one convenient daily serving. One Scoop, 8 ounces of water. It’s all you really need, really. You drink it with cold water, and voila, your body is all good.
Through a friend, I was introduced to Good Eats, a program that feeds elementary school children, every weekend. Sadly, all over our country, there are children that eat all their meals at school through government subsidized programs. As a result, over the weekend when they are not in school, they do not eat. Good Eats comes in to schools where there is a need and gives students a package of food to put in their backpacks for the weekend. Often times these kids do not have can openers or fridges that work — so the food has to be nonperishable and have a shelf life. Yes, the goal is to change the world through KALE (don’t get me wrong, I LOVE KALE), but the reality, is that the food needs to be accessible and easy for the kids to eat. Basic hunger.
A distributor that is partnered with Good Eats, delivers the food to the school once a month. We were supposed to meet him at 830. He did not show up until past noon…..but grateful even more so.
I LOVE SHAVED ICE — not the snow cone with sugar syrup, but the Asian Shaved Ice with condensed milk and so much flavor and taste. It is my favorite thing in the world — so much that when I was in Undergrad, I would drive with all my friends to a place in LA and get Taiwanese Shaved Ice in the middle of the night — I have so many fond memories of that place (wish I could remember the name!) and all the times I had shaved ice with tapioca balls, red beans, mango and shaved ice with condensed milk. So, fast forward to this summer, when I was in Seattle with my family, we went to an incredible Shaved Ice place, Snowy Village (go if you are in Seattle!) and I fell head over in heels. I tasted my college experience!
Seattle shaved ice — Snowy Village. SO good and tasty, loved every single bite.
I am constantly hungry and simultaneously, always on the lookout for the best snacks — yes, I can always grab fresh veggies and fruit, but sometimes I want something sweet — just a nibble. So when I came across Date Better Snacks, I knew it was the perfect snack for me. And sure enough — they are SO good, SO delicious, and just the amount of sweet.
Date Better Snacks are actually what they sound like — dates! Medjools dates are full of fiber, potassium, B-family vitamins, magnesium and calcium! And are the perfect texture.
If you happen to be in NYC and want an adventure, I highly recommend going to Mister Dips, an all-American restaurant that serves (supposedly great hamburgers) and ridiculous soft serve ice cream downtown on South Street Seaport.
We decided to make it an adventure — so we took the East River Ferry that loads at 34th Street (and the East River) and then got off at Wall Street. It was an extremely hot and humid day in the city, so the 15 minutes on the boat felt marvelous. Highly recommend doing just the boat trip!
I am a granola snob and nothing makes me happier than eating delicious and great granola. I have yet to find a homemade granola recipe I love — until now. And now I am obsessed. This granola is not overly sweet, delicious and has the perfect mixture of nutty, sweet, and grains. The beauty of it is that you can add whatever you want to customize it to how you love granola!
Ingredients:
Ingredients
