so long february.

February was a pretty great month. The skies may have been dreary but I had some fantastic meals, a fast weekend getaway, and fun visitors came to town. And I might have over-done myself with the sweet consumption. Oops.

If it weren't so cold, I'd say we could celebrate the month of love all year long!

Dinner by Murray's Cheese

Lunch by Balthazar

A quick trip to Florida

Valentine's Day flowers: Lining the streets, at home and at the office.

A very special Valentines Day meal at Hill Country

A pink empire state

Lots of sweets.

The setting at Murray's Cheese Bar (not to be confused with Murray's Cheese)

Brooklyn cars & cocktails

sister in the city.

My older sister was in New York this past weekend and despite the cloudy & wet weather, we had a blast.  She's good about visiting often and we always have a great time together. Weekends with big sis always involve lots of good food, long walks and trips to Russ & Daughters...

Essex Street Market

STS in a cool girl headband from Anthropologie at ABC Kitchen

Church at St. Ignatius

We went to an awesome brunch in Williamsburg on Sunday after church. Le Barricou is only a short L train ride away and serves some of the most insane pancakes I have ever had. While I usually go for eggs at brunch, I felt there was no option but to splurge on these pancakes. So worth it.

Bloody at Le Barricou

Indian food on Oscar night: Naan was my favorite

Thanks for a great weekend ST!

out of the oven.

I put hardly any effort in last weekend. I slept in, went to bed (relatively) early, watched movies and caught up on TV shows.

I was in the kitchen quite a bit, though, and had some good results. I hosted an impromptu dinner party so I made an old standby. The baked pasta paired nicely with this chicken recipe in the latest Bon Appetit magazine. I love chicken cooked this way - its crispy and full of flavor. It was an easy recipe to put together right before everyone showed up. 

After the terrible buckwheat disaster last week, I took a stab at muffins again. This time with blueberries and whole wheat flower. I was happy with the results - although I might add some more lemon in next time because the combination of lemon and berries is hard to beat in the dessert department. 

Lastly, I have been battling a significant craving for gingerbread. Josh and I stopped into Dean and Deluca a couple of weekends ago, and walked out with two hot chocolates and one of their gingerbread cookies. It was so delicious that I had to make some of my own. I found this recipe online at The Kitchn.

My cookies did not come out as big as the D&D cookies (which is probably a good thing) - but they tasted great. The recipe made more than 3 dozen so I sent some off to my sister in college who will probably enjoy them after a late night out. 

Blueberry Oat Muffins:

1-3/4  cups of oats

2  tbsp. brown sugar

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2  cup granulated sugar

1  tbsp. baking powder

1/4  teaspoon salt

1  cup skim milk

2  egg whites 

2  tbsp. vegetable oil

1  tsp. grated lemon peel

1  tsp. vanilla extract

1  cup (1 carton) fresh blueberries 

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 12 medium muffin cups with cooking spray.

For topping, combine 1/4 cup oats and brown sugar.

In large bowl, combine remaining 1-1/2 cups oats with remaining dry ingredients; mix well. 

In small bowl, combine milk, eggs, oil, lemon peel and vanilla; mix well. 

Add to dry ingredients in 3 additions; stir just until moistened. (Do not overmix.) 

Gently stir in berries. 

Fill muffin cups almost full and sprinkle with topping.

Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until light golden brown.

something sweet.

I am not a Valentines Day fanatic, but it's nice to get some love on a day when the streets of New York are abundant with bouquets and there's a smell of sweetness in the air. I love seeing men on subways in pink ties, carrying flowers after work to the ones at home waiting for them. And delivery people in the office halls toting obscene balloon displays and oversized teddy bears. It takes the drab out of an ordinary Thursday.

This year, I received a extra special valentine in the mail from a company called Colorado Crafted. I traveled to Colorado a bunch as a kid for Spring skiing season. The package was a curated parcel of goods from Colorado artisans. I love things like this - a showcase of small businesses who craft delicious items you can't find anywhere else. Not to mention it was a very pretty display of packaging. A look at the contents of my Colorado Crafted box below:

Can't wait to dig into this homemade jam. 

thanks Valentine!

maine.

While I skipped town last weekend and missed the blizzard that hit the northeast, I was caught in some snow at the end of January when I went on a spontaneous ski trip to Maine. Spontaneous because I was going to an area of this country I'd never been to, with a large group I didn't know. Driving up and out of the city proved to be a really great getaway. There was fresh snow that was light like powder. Crackling fires in our cabin. The thrill of gliding away on skis, picking up some pace. A perfect winter weekend.

Thanks for having me, Maine. I hope to visit again soon.

this week.

It's only hump day but I can already smell the weekend. Three days into the week and it have been pretty eventful over here.

I had my blood taken, ouch. Started blending smoothies for breakfast. Got a long overdue manicure. Baked with buckwheat flour (terrible idea). Discovered the epitome of laziness when I ordered cookies from the shop across the street and had them delivered to my door.

I'm cutting this week short and heading south for some vitamin D. To the beaches of Florida, to be exact. I'm looking forward to sun, sand and spending time with some family I haven't seen in a while. Hope you have a good rest of the week and weekend wherever you are.

show time.

A great thing about a new year is the return of some great television. Sometimes I fly through the work week and forget about all my favorites, until Sunday rolls around and I see I have a stocked DVR. 

Currently loving:

Top Chef

A long running show – and still just as gripping as season 1 in my book. Also, I have an itch to go out west and see Seattle. Still getting over the sting of Padma sending my favorite contestant Kristin packing… but now I can put all my faith in my second favorite: Sheldon.

Downtown Abbey

I jumped on the bandwaggon along with the rest of America and I have no regrets. Is it the time period? The wardrobe? Their accents? I have no idea, but I love it. I hope it runs a good course and keeps me entertained at least until the 1920s.

GIRLS

I live with my best friend in New York City, need I say more? I love that this show is the anti-sex and the city (even though I adored SATC). It’s real. Its gritty. It’s offensive which is sometimes awesome and hard to watch at the same time. I love learning more about who these characters are in 30-minute interludes. And watching them navigate the city is like I’m floating above my own routine, and getting a different view of all the things going on around me.

Off to fast forward through some commercials...