Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Hi there!  Terrible blogger here.  I have missed you guys, but honestly leaving DC after work on Fridays and not getting back to DC until Sunday night made it really hard for me to keep up with this.  We kept cooking and eating and running over here, but at the end of the evening, after the dishes were done and the laundry was done and lunches were made, I just did not have the desire to sit down and rehash it.  I have the beginnings of a few posts on meals we've cooked over here, but first I thought I'd fill you in on what has been taking up most of my energy the past month: being a jetsetter! Sort of. If taking the Megabus to NYC qualifies as "jetsetting."

So, without further ado, a somewhat brief recap on my adventures of late.

1. We went to NYC. It was awesome.  Among other things I: ate at an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant the length of a city block; walked across the Brooklyn Bridge; had Tasti-D-Lite for the first time (verdict: yummy, but Frozen Yo is better); had a lengua taco (verdict: not a fan); and...saw NEWSIES!! I have loved that movie since I was a little girl, so I jumped at the opportunity to get tickets while we were in the area.  It was amazing!  Never fear, Brooklyn is here!

 

Sushi. So many different kinds of sushi.

Tasti-D-Lite! 

My sister showed us around her grad school campus.

2. I ran 7 miles in Central Park. My first 7 miles! And then ate a yummy egg and cheese bagel.

3. We went to Baltimore.  I have two close friends that I've known since high school who live up there, and our mutual lack of cars means that we don't see each other as often as we should.  So MG and I took the Amtrak up on a Saturday to spend the night.  We: had a picnic in a beautiful park; had a delicious and fun meal of vegetarian moussaka homemade by my dear friend and cook extraordinaire, Rachel; enjoyed Indian buffet; visited a cool free art museum; and played Scattergories in a sculpture garden.  I love my friends!

 

Teamwork!

 

The moussaka assembly.

Friends, food and wine. Pretty much all you need.

4. I ran 8 miles on the National Mall.  My first 8 miles!  And then ate a yummy egg and cheese bagel.

5. MG finished his civic duty on a trial, so we celebrated with Frozen Yo.  Also he surprised me one day after work by having 3 loaves of pumpkin yeast bread in the oven when I walked in the door.  I love him.

6. MG and I did a little paint your own pottery and then went out for a fantastic Vietnamese dinner for one of our monthly secret dates that we plan for each other.

The artist at work.

Coasters!

 

Lemongrass chicken for him, pork bun for her.

7. We went to New Jersey for the wedding of one of MG's friends from high school.  It was a beautiful wedding and I loved meeting all of his friends.  It was also the most extravagant wedding I have been to, foodwise.  During cocktail hour I ate my weight in Chinese food, Italian food, shrimp cocktail, and perhaps a bacon-wrapped scallop or two.  And I tried caviar (verdict: love it! Wish it wasn't so freaking expensive).

Approximately 1% of the full extent of the cocktail hour food and drink spread.

The caviar station. That guy looks creepy, but I can overlook that for expensive fish eggs.

8. Went to a panel talk at the National Archives featuring three former White House chefs who collectively served presidents from Carter through Obama.  Highlight: learning that Amy Carter used to ask the chefs to help her bake cookies, then would run off in her roller skates and let them burn.  Also the time that one of the chefs was instructed to destroy a box of expensive caviar that Gorbachev brought to President Reagan, because it was a security threat. The chef decided it was worth dying for and took it home. See #7, above.

We have one more trip to make, this time to Wisconsin for the wedding of two of my best friends from law school.  I can't wait to celebrate with them, but it will also be nice to have a weekend at home and get back into a normal life routine.  Once we return, Cookies and Kale will be back to its regularly scheduled programming.  Happy Halloween!

Photo source: Lynn Dairy