Saturday, April 23, 2011

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Writing

"All writing, even the clumsy kind, escapes in its loops and slants a yearning deeper than an intention, the soul of the writer flopping on the clothes-peg of his exclamation mark"
~Paul Theroux, Saint Jack (1973)

New York on a Budget Part 1

This weekend two of my friends from home came up for a visit, and to paint the town red.  Since NYC is just a stone throw away, we decided to spend the day in the Big Apple.

Our first stop: Coney Island.
This week it was a bit chilly to fully enjoy what Coney Island has to offer, however it was still wonderful.  With it's campy atmosphere, carnival rides and famous Nathan hot dogs, there was no wrong doing here.  We spent $6 dollars to take a ride on the Wonder Wheel. One of my more adventurous pals persuaded us to go on the "swinging seats." This, as I found out, is not ideal for those who have a death-defying fear of heights. While my one friend was smart enough to ask to get off after one go round, I decided to risk my life, and or sanity to stay on the ride, not to leave my friend solo.  You can not go to Coney Island and not enjoy a Nathan's hot dog.  I ordered mine with peppers and onions, while my other friend ordered a chili cheese dog, bot options were less than $5.00 and well worth the long wait in line.  The D, F, N, or Q will take you straight to Surf Ave, to show a different side of New York City.

We then headed over to McSorley's. A neighborhood favorite since the 1850s, McSorleys is one of the city's oldest Irish bars.  The atmosphere is great, and the beer is better! There are only two options, light or dark. And with every $4.50 order, you get two glasses of the stuff. It is probably one of my favorite spots in the city, and a must see, just for history's sake.

Our Third stop was Kabin Lounge. Located on 2nd ave between 6th and 5th, this divey bar has been a favorite of mine for two years now, especially with its 2 for 1 happy hour special on anything you want. PBR, while not classy, is affordable at $3 for 2, or if you want something a little stronger get the Jameson and Ginger Ale for $6 for 2. With a guaranteed seat in the bar, you and your friends can finally have a chance to sit down and catch up.

Hungry?  2 Brothers Pizza has a great deal and some GREAT pie! For $2.75 you get 2 large slices of pizza and a soda. There is limited seating in the establishment its self, however there are plenty of curbs and stoops to find in the East Village that will accommodate you while you enjoy your slices.

It was great having my friends up to visit, I love getting to show them around! One thing I did learn however is to never offer to give a Piggy Back Ride after a few drinks, well unless you like having a chipped tooth, bruised leg, scratched nose and scrapped hands...no? I didn't think so either.



Song of the Week:
"Low Budget" -The Kinks

Sunday, April 17, 2011

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Playoffs

"The playoffs separate the men from the boys, and we found out we have a lot of boys in our dressing room."

—New York Rangers general manager Neil Smith after losing to the Washington Capitals


Spring has Sprung

FINALLY!

Having spring show up weeks after its official date of March 20th is old news. Winter weather has always lingered around longer than one would like for years. Heck this year it snowed on March 20th...not a very welcoming gesture for the 1st day of spring if you ask me.

Following the snow, has been days and days of rain...cold, bone shivering rain. As the saying goes "April showers, bring May flowers." I actually don't mind rain, but when you add it to 40 degree windy weather, my attitude towards mother nature goes sour.

However, TODAY, Madison, NJ, opened it's arms wide and welcomed Spring; with its big bright sun, moderately warm temperature, birds chirping,  deer grazing, squirrels chasing squirrels, daffodil's blossoming kind of day.  So before burrowing into the depths of the New York Public Library's Microfilm department, I took advantage of Spring and went for a nice jog around town.  I clearly was not the only one with such a fabulous idea, for the streets were filled with my community neighbors trying to get a little exercise in before mass  on a beautiful day today.

So "Get up, get out spring is everywhere"

Song of the Week:
"Spring Fever" - Elvis Presley

    

Sunday, April 10, 2011

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Procrastination

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow. "
~Mark Twain



I'll do it Tomorrow..

Procrastination (v) pro-cras-ti-nate-tion
:to put off intentionally and habitually

Origin: Latin procrastinatus, past participle of procrastinare, from pro- forward + crastinus of tomorrow, from cras tomorrow
First Known Use: 1588

It's a graduate's students worse enemy, the reason why diets don't start until a week after the intended start date and a huge factor for a majority of stress related feelings. But why do we continue to act upon such tasks with the art of procrastination? After my first encounter with procrastination, I swore that I would never do it again. However, come paper time, it lurks its evil head around the corner and BAM, I find myself in the same situation all over again.

There are many forms of procrastination. The "Hey One Drink Won't Hurt" night out with your friends that ends up as a next day of non-productivity; the "I need a clean atmosphere to work in" which turns you into the Mr./Mrs Clean, you find yourself cleaning the stove, the toilet, scrubbing the floor, washing all of the dishes, that are already clean; one word "netflix," its a vortex of procrastination, I warn you if you wish to avoid procrastination STAY AWAY FROM NETFLIX!



However, in the long end, the work ends up getting done, you earn a few gray hairs, and loose many hours of much needed sleep. You will swear never to procrastinate ever again, however I'm sure it'll show it's ugly face again. For once a procrastinator, most likely you'll always be a procrastinator.

This week's Song of the Week:
"Watching the Wheels" - John Lennon

Sunday, April 3, 2011

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Influence

"Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known." 


 Chuck Palahniuk (Invisible Monsters, 1999)


Eat, Drink and Be Merry...

Dinner and drinks in the middle of the week? Yes please.
This week I thought I would bring the procrastination of writing my thesis to a new low...cooking dinner for a few of my friends, and maybe throw in a little drink and apples to apples in there as well...So this week I dedicate my blog to food, good times and my love for procrastination.

The menu: Stuffed Chicken, creamy potatoes and one nice and veggie-full salad!

Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients: 

  • an even amount of chicken breasts (you need to multiply however many you want to make by two)
  • fresh spinach (chopped)
  • sun dried tomatoes (chopped)
  • feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 cup of milk
  • bread crumbs
  • tooth picks
  • aluminum foil
Prep Work:


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 
Cover some baking sheets with aluminum foil.
This will help when cleaning up later!

















Make sure that your spinach and sun dried tomatoes are chopped. And that your feta cheese is crumbled, your milk is an a bowl and your bread crumbs are in a large zip block bag.















You want to be able to make an assembly line of the ingredients you need; if everything is ready to go, it will be easier on you.













Instructions:

  1. Place 2 pieces of chicken in the bowl of milk.
  2. Place the milk-coated chicken in the zip block bag filled with bread crumbs
  3. Shake the zip block bag, until both pieces of chicken are coated.
  4. Place on piece of bread crumb coated chicken on the aluminum foil covered baking sheet.
  5. Fill the piece of chicken with a layer of spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese
  6. Place the second piece of bread crumb coated chicken on top of the other, and secure it to the first piece with tooth picks.
  7. Cook for an hour at 350 degrees


Creamy Potatoes 
Ingredients:

  • Desired amount of potatoes ( I used a pound to feed a group of 8 people) 
  • 2 quarts of heavy whipping cream
  • 3 cups of shredded swiss cheese 
Recipe

  1.  Wash, peel and slice the potatoes into smaller pieces.
  2. Place the potatoes into a large pot and cover the potatoes with the heavy whipping cream.
  3. Boil the potatoes and cream until the potatoes are soft. This should take approximately 20-25 minutes.
  4.  Drain out half of the heavy whipping cream.
  5. Place layers of the potato cream mixture and swiss cheese in a baking dish.
  6. Finish with a layer of cheese on top.
  7. Bake in the oven until the cheese browns. This takes approximately 15-20 minutes
  8. Take out of the oven, and  enjoy



Veggie-full Salad
You can't really go wrong here. I tried to add as many veg possible for my non-meat eating friends. I included, peppers(red, yellow and orange), red onion, mushrooms, chick peas, feta cheese, spinach and romaine lettuce and grape tomatoes.


Overall, everyone seemed to enjoy the meal! We were able to find enough seating in my lovely apartment to accommodate for everyone. Old friends chatted with old friends, new friends made some new friends, and everyone seemed to enjoy the nice break in the the middle of the week.
















We concluded the evening with some vino and a nice friendly game of apples to apples. Laughs were plenty, and good times were had.



ALSO, I would like to dedicate this week's post to a food friendly gal who writes a pretty rad blog on food! Soooo you should definitely check out her work: http://sliceofearthlydelight.blogspot.com/


Song of the Week:
"Jimi Thing" -Dave Matthews Band