My blossoming relationship

I was so excited to get to sleep in today, until I woke up to my crazy co-worker calling me at the crack of dawn…there goes that.  In her defense, she’s crazy in a good way…still, when I’m with her, I don’t know if I should (a) shoot her up with Haldol or (b) just further feed her kookiness with my own wacky ways.

*FYI: Haldol is a med for schizo patients

She works night shifts, so we don’t actually work directly with each other, hence the ridiculously early phone calls on my days off.  Sweet.

So since I was up, I had some coffee and OJ (I know, what?!?).

Notice how I’m really trying to expand my foodie horizons.  I’m not sure that I’m going to keep up with the juice thing, but at least I’m trying.

Old school oats with a TON of peanut butter…food porn to follow.

And a crunchy apple on the side.

 

Yeah, I went big for brunch.  But that’s what happens when you’re up with the sun rain clouds.  Good thing lunch was on the lighter side.

Enter salad “challenge.”

 

Contents: spinach, broccoli, asparagus, onions, edamame, and a heaping portion of BBQ-ed up seitan.

No dressing needed with the amount of BBQ sauce on this baby.  I love BBQ sauce.  Even more, I love dark green.  NOM. 

I wanted to go for an outside run, but I had to get my gym on instead since the weather wasn’t cooperating.  It was YUCK – rainy all day long.  I did a mini-elliptical sesh, and some arm crap, and hit the road.

For dinner Jess and I went to one of our fave neighborhood places.  The one and only, Blossom Cafe (the UWS location).

I LOVE BLOSSOM!!!

So much so that I know the menu forwards and backwards, and immediately recognized a newbie!  So obviously I had to try the Balsamic Grilled Seitan.

After the first bite I was worried I was dreaming…I almost pinched myself.  Sooooooo good.  Can Blossom cater my wedding even though it will be in California?

The balsamic grilled seitan was on a bed of roasted asparagus, pearl onions and baby Yukon gold potatoes with a roasted red pepper cream and garnished with straw onions.

Those crispy little straw onions and the red pepper sauce were absolutely the definition of perfection in my mouth.  And Lord knows how much I love seitan (is it wrong to have the L word and seitan in the same sentence?)

…hmmm…

Jess got the Southern Seitan Sandwich, which looked equally as tasty. 

Check out that bread!  The sammie contained spiced seitan with caramelized onions, avocado and chipotle aioli on foccacia bread.

I was totally stuffed but Jess went for the Lemon cake for dessert, and I’m not gonna lie…it was tempting ;)

It was HUGE, so she brought the rest home, which I’m sure she polished off within 10 minutes of walking through the door (and I’d place a considerable amount of money on that).

When I got home I relaxed on the couch and caught up on my latest recorded boob toob episodes.

My dessert was a little non-traditional.  I was craving oranges, what can I say. 

I can’t WAIT to get my fiancé back once this freakin’ China deal is done.  He was still at the office as I got ready for bed and packed my stuff up for work tomorrow…poor Kyle. 

Kirsten who?

Adios Caroline, hello Sen. Gilliweed.  Ok, ok, that’s not her last name…it’s actually a Harry Potter reference, but it’s kinda close?  Sen. Gillibrand is her real name.  I’m liking the recent fad of appointing female politicos to power (minus the near VP disaster). 

As for non-red/blue conversation, I had a pretty solid gym day, which consisted of 60 mins ellipticaling on the random setting (levels 9-15) and 15 mins of spinning (escalating intensity).  No abs/arms – it was a day of rest for the mat work :)  The random setting on the elliptical can be hard when you aren’t paying attention!

Post-gym/PM snack was none other than my newest fave (figs), along with a few friends. 

A cute little dried fruit spread, no?  I LOVE dried fruit, I think I go through phases with my favorites (figs being my latest obsession), but dates will always be my true love.  That coconut date roll is a serious front runner today, though!

After snacking, I got all dolled up for a night out on the town.  It was my BFF’s birthday so me and 2 of my girlies had big time celebration plans (with a strict no boys allowed policy).  I even wore a dress that’s how much I love this girl.  Granted I had some etoh to help warm me up, but still, braving the 40 degree weather in nothing but tights to keep my legs from freezing off is not something I plan on repeating.  That said, Jess is seriously my soul mate (aside from Kyle); we’ve been inseparable since she moved to the Bay Area in 7th grade.  Even after high school, we went to college together and now live only blocks apart in NYC.  She’s like my BFF/sister/lover.  Here’s a pic of us from college graduation (I’m left, she’s right). 

So we decided to start the night with dinner and drinks at Blossom (a vegan restaurant in my ‘hood).  Jess is vegan, and although our other friend is not, she’s very open-minded, so she was game.  I’ve been to Blossom before, and knew exactly what I wanted this time. 

We started the night with a bottle of Pino Grigio for the 3 of us to share, then moved on to appetizers.  Our waitress recommended the Crostini Tapas, which was perfect for sharing.

I came with six toasted crostini breads with hummus, spinach walnut pesto and tomato basil bruschetta mix dressed with kalamata olives – and it was AMAZING.  The hummus alone could have been my dinner, I literally had to use all self control to not shovel it in my mouth.  I think I may return to Blossom just to order 5 of these appetizers for myself!  The tomato bruscetta was good, too, but a little too onion-y for my taste.  I don’t like pesto, but Jess said it was her fave on the plate, so it must have been good.

For dinner I got the Porcini Rubbed Tofu with celery root puree and charred Brussels sprouts.  Last time I went to Blossom they were out of this dish, so I was so excited to get it.  It was really really good.  The tofu rub was a bit spicy, definitely had a kick at the end of each bite that I wasn’t prepared for, and the celery root puree tasted like a twist on a mashed potato dish (with a vinegar flavor to it).  So good.  Also, the brussels made up for my oven nightmare a few days ago. 

Hannah got the seitan scallopini (which I had last time) and is SO good.  It actually might still be my favorite…shhh, don’t tell the tofu.  Anyways, Hannah seemed beyond impressed that her meal was vegan.  She definitely enjoyed each and every bite.  A new convert?  Prob not, but still good that she could appreciate a fine non-meat meal. 

Jess got the walnut crusted seitan cutlet, which looked like a Thanksgiving dinner!  She definitely was blown away by this.  I can’t believe I got to take her vegan restaurant v-card (she’s been vegan longer than I have and has yet to take advantage of living in NYC)!  Looks like I’ll have to drag her around the city with me to conquer all the other amazing vegan places…something tells me she will be more than on board, though.

For dessert we got the birthday girl a slice of “cheese”cake (which we all split).  YUM!!!!  I heart vegan desserts and this one was so decadent, thick and rich.  I want to get desserts from this place every night from now on. 

After dinner we went to a couple of bars for some innocent fun, gin & tonics and dancing.  Cheers!  The rest isn’t PG enough for HHH :)

elise navidad

First off - Merry Christmas!! HO HO HO...I reeeeally heart the holidays.

Last night after I finished the blog, I totes finished off the dried edamame.

Then Kyle called me and told me Santa had come to the apartment!!! SANTA!!

I was confused, but then he told me to go look behind his laptop and whoa! Santa HAD come :)

Check out the stocking that Kyle (er, Santa) left for me...so sweet. I'm a pretty simple girl - crosswords, fitness mag, starbucks card, and gum...yep, that's me!!

I also got a package from K's parents with (among other things) 3 homemade jam preserves!!!

From left to right, apricot, strawberry, and plum. YUM!!!!!

I look forward to these jams all year, no joke.

Here's the lunch I packed up for the work day (I don't know how much I'll end up eating since everyone is bringing in food). Still, gotta be prepared, I don't wanna end up without any veggie options...

These are my Blossom leftovers (scalloped potatoes and seitan).

I also packed up a few things to share with others who are working on Christmas, too.

I decided to bring in vegetable hummus...

...as well as a few things to dip (sesame sticks and veggies).
Celery, red peppers, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and cucumbers.

Empty unit much?

Okay, before I get ahead of myself, let me back up to the AM food-ing. I managed to find a little market that was open on my way to work. Thank goodness, otherwise I'd be without the very necessary coffee loading (duh)!! So the day started with loads of water (as per my new routine) followed by my coffee. A bit later someone brought in dunkin donuts coffee and donuts for everyone. I had another coffee (no donuts)...buzzinggggggg with caffeine. Woot woot! Not that it was really needed, I was so bored, since the hospital was dead (ok, poor choice of words), let's just say it was a slowwww day.

Lunch-y snack time.

People brought in lots of stuff: cookies, toffee, fudge, etc.

Above was my personal fave, an eggplant dish, which I then sandwiched between 2 pieces of bread (I made 2 of these delish sandos). Granted the eggplant was fried in EVOO, so it was pretty greasy (not usually my thing), but I had to try it since the girl who made it was SO sweet to make a vegan dish especially for me. Only a few people at work know about my dietary habits, so this was a really nice thing for her to do. There were a few made with mayo and a few without (mine), so all of mine are the ones not pictured (eaten), but you get the idea.

I also had a few of these sesame sticks with hummus...and veggies with hummus...and maybe some pieces of bread with hummus...

Smorgasbord of food...my tummy was a little freaked out at this point. So much new food, so many different types, in such a short amount of time. Grrr...

The rest of the day could NOT have been slower. I was agonizing trying to create things to do all day. I organized the stock room for Christ's sake (no pun intended). I don't know what's better, running back and forth without a second to spare or twiddling my thumbs while watching the monutes tick by...if only the days could be in between.

I got off work right on time, and was home by 8, cooking a dinner feast (not really).

I had the Blossom leftovers (seitan and potatoes) and steamed veggies. Then I went a little crazy with mini meals.

First I had the rest of the box of whole wheat sesame sticks with veggie hummus.

Then, baby carrots with the rest of the hummus (did I mention I really like hummus).

Then edamame (so fresh and so green green).

Dessert!! Pineapple rings and dates.

Sweet tooth satisfied.

:)

Merry merry Christmas.

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

-Dr. Seuss

Awesome Blossom

Good (hungover) morning! Thank god I pounded water before I went to bed last night and then slept in today, because after last night's festivities, I needed sleep and hydration big time. I had SO much fun at the work holiday party. Drinking and dancing with the whole cardiac surgery team in a fun (non hospital) environment was a complete blast. The biggest shocker, though, is how SORE I am today! I danced for maybe half and hour, but since I was in heels, I guess I was using different muscles? My quads are aching. I can't stretch enough. Who knew in addition to fine wine and fine dining, I'd be getting in a work out! The DJ played most of my requests, so I was in heaven :)
Anyways, I started off the day with a mug of Starbucks' holiday blend coffee with ff skim plus (we're out of soymilk).

I had a few cups, and wasn't really hungry until later in the afternoon. Looks like I'm back to my normal meal times now that I'm officially over the cold. So, for my late lunch I made myself a new type of sammie (I was in a creative mood). I mixed approx 3 oz. of "chicken" Smart Strips with brocc slaw, veganaise, ff chobani, and curry powder.

Then I heaped it all onto a slice of Alvarado Street (CA style) bread...

It was too big to eat open face, though...so I added another piece of bread on top.

Pic of sandwich doing the splits below.

Yummmm...note to self: curry "chicken" salad sandwich is a repeat, fo sho.

I needed a little sugar pick me up before I headed off to the gym, so I had a big (organic) gala apple.

Summary of my gym visit in three words: ouch, stretch, ouch. My quads were in pain! I was planning on kicking my butt today, too. Clearly, I accomplished no such mission. I managed to stay on the elliptical for 60 minutes, alternating between levels 10 and 11, but I was in agony the entire time. At least I had some good football on tv to distract me :) Favre and the JETS made quite the last minute comeback.

After the gym, Kyle and I headed out for errands and stuff. I hit up Starbucks while we were out for a coffee. I added fake sugar (when will Sbucks get on the Stevia bandwagon, stupid FDA) and vanilla silk soy milk. I'm not sure how long we were out, but by the time we made it back home, we were both starving.

We had a dinner date planned for the evening, which I was VERY VERY excited about. I have been looking forward to going to Blossom Cafe since it opened! This is the sister restaurant to the original Blossom in Chelsea, and is jsut around the corner from us on the Upper West. It is one of the more popular vegan restaurants in NYC, so naturally I had to try it out.

I started with the soup of the day, which was a sweet potato, ginger, coconut milk soup. HOLY YUM! This $h#% is bananas!!! Really thick, really favorful, and really good.

I was savoring every bite, and was about 2/3 into it, when my entree arrived. I initially ordered the porcini crusted tofu, but they were all out, so I instead order the Seitan Scallopini. I am so glad I was forced to order this instead of the tofu. I always get tofu, and I really am glad I branched out.

Pan seared seitan cutlets in a white wine lemon caper sauce served with mashed potatoes and sauteed greens. OMG. This meal was so f-ing good. I. heart. good. food. I'm officially in love with Blossom after this meal. The pic doesn't even do the size of the dish justice. I have never had seitan in any other form than shredded pieces, so this was new, and quite delish. Also I was so happy to finally have mashed potatoes on my plate that I could actually eat without fearing the revenge of the butter/milk/dairy the following day!! Vegan dining is the way to go! Words just don't describe how good this meal was (definitely just cracked into my top 5 fave restaurants of all time - and that is a serious accomplishment with my fine dining experience)!! Kyle and I left the restaurant stuffed to the bone. I wanted to finish my soup, so I couldn't even finish all the seitan (so of COURSE I had them make me a take-away bag of the rest of the meal). Leftovers :)