Weekend Adventures in New York!

Last weekend The Boy and I took the train to New Jersey to visit my aunt and uncle. As I stated in my previous post I was nervous about overeating, but trying to stay positive by telling myself even if I did, I’d be okay. 

Well, now we’re back, and I’m telling myself I’ll be okay. 

Friday night we arrived in NYC and my aunt picked us up. We decided to drive back to New Jersey for dinner. After dropping our stuff off, we headed out. Finding a good place to eat in New Jersey is like looking for a jar of peanut butter in my kitchen (trust me, it’s going to be there). The mention of a NJ creation called “Disco fries” convinced The Boy that a local diner was the place to eat (I tasted one, I can see what the buzz is about). They are this mesh of fries, gravy, and mozzarella. It’s not exactly appetizing to look at, but the one I stole (without cheese, mozzarella, yuck!) blew any fry out of the water for me. I can see where the phenomenon started.

(Sorry for the terrible pictures.)

We sat down in a booth on an especially packed night for the diner Park West. My aunt wasn’t kidding when she said you can find pretty much anything on their menu. To fully read the menu would take a good 20 minutes alone. Lost in the labyrinth of unknown and familiar dishes, I worked my way through the lists. While a good portion of the food seemed to be Hannah-friendly, I stuck to my good old friends, the salads. I chose the Honey-Mustard Grilled Chicken Salad. The presentation was beautiful. Large chunks of grilled (and blackened!) vegetables - zucchini, eggplant, carrots, tomatoes, and topped off with asparagus. The thin, tender grilled chicken was set on a bed of crisp spinach. While my eyes were occupied traveling the different slopes of the dish, the honey-mustard dressing softly and sweetly rose to my nose. As for taste, well, when I decided to be done, let’s just say there wasn’t much left.

After dinner my uncle called and we met him at Houlihan’s for his dinner and our dessert. My will power tried to stop my taste buds, but as I searched this new menu, I found a Hannah-friendly treat and couldn’t resist. Raspberry Sorbet. Three mounds of my least favorite color, but three scoops of silky rich sorbet. The tang of the raspberry came through just enough to not be overabundant. 

The next morning The Boy, my aunt, and I took the ferry into NYC. Here we walked around a few 9/11 memorials. I’d never been there before, and even though I was still really young when it happened, it was strange walking around that place. There’s still an air that floats above the people viewing the sight, a solemnness that no one could think to disturb. There aren’t many images from my childhood that I remember vividly. However, the TV screen showing a plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers, my mom so absorbed and calling my brother (only four years older) to come into the living room quick will take a lot to be removed. It was the only image I saw of it that day too, my mom took my brother upstairs to watch it, letting me watch a movie and have the day off from school. I didn’t understand what was going on, but somewhere in my head I knew something wasn’t right at that moment. 

Next, we asked a vender who could give us walking directions to China Town and Little Italy. A Hannah-friend lunch was found in Little Italy at Caffe Napoli. NYC menus are pretty forgiving. While they do serve white flour pasta, they also offer whole wheat and gluten free. I indulged in chicken marsala with whole wheat penne. I’m not sure how to describe the chicken, I love chicken marsala but I don’t eat quite enough of it to know the right words. However, when writing food, the important part is to give your opinion. My opinion? I’d eat it a second time. The penne was cooked perfectly, soft, but sturdy. Not sure if people use “sturdy” for pasta, but it was. It wasn’t disintegrating as soon as it touched my tongue. The sauce was as it should be, a pool for the main elements to swim in. Smooth, velvety, and just enough flavor. 

The Boy adventured to something new and tried gnocchi with red sauce and mozzarella. He then stated that he enjoyed it a lot, but every time he thought of it he thought “Yucky.” While I’m sure it’s delicious, the name does seem to give that impression…

Once we had finished stuffing our bellies with a full lunch, we headed to walk around for a bit till we could take a cab to the show. My aunt surprised us with tickets to Stomp. Loved it. The atmosphere of watching the performers create music with the oddest things was entertaining but also invigorating. The show holds so much energy. It’s hard to not enjoy it.

Before Stomp, however, we happened to pass Pinkberry. 

Of course, if anyone is a frozen yogurt fan and has eaten at Pinkberry, they know you do not just “pass Pinkberry.” 

So even though my belly was happily satisfied with meat and pasta, my mouth craved the creamy chill of frozen yogurt. The Boy and I shared a medium and we got Chocolate Hazelnut. Mmmm. Must I say more? 

Later that night we tried to see if we could get a spot at the Hard Rock Cafe or Dave and Buster’s. However with a two-hour wait at 7pm, we figured the Hard Rock was out of the question. So we kept walking. Eventually, despite the obvious reluctance on my uncle’s face, we chose a decent Japanese restaurant, Haro. As my aunt wanted to rest and relax from our long day, she gladly approved of the quiet, soothing “ambience.” My uncle, regardless of the fact he doesn’t like Japanese, found a dish he would eat. My aunt and I had a hard time choosing, sushi? A dinner? It all looked good. 

I enjoyed Teriyaki Chicken (hmm…I seem to have consumed a lot of chicken, I never noticed until writing this, interesting) and a role of avocado sushi (my favorite). I know most people like fish sushi, but I’m not a fan of fish. Plus, for me, the texture of avocado, the explosiveness of it as you throw a piece in your mouth is hard to beat. One bite and it splits open and there’s a luscious gush of that undeniable avocado flavor. As for the chicken, I probably could have used a couple more grill marks on mine, but, personally, I think I’m just a little obsessed with burning things. The teriyaki sauce was the highest end of sweet and savory. Again, the presentation was beautiful. It wasn’t like the restaurants that just pile everything on the plate; it was elegantly placed. 

The saddest day of our trip came too fast. The last one. Sunday, The Boy, my aunt, and I decided to waste some time at the mall. We ended up wasting five hours there. The Boy now makes me look like a slob with his fedora hat and new jacket. Seriously, I’ve got to start wearing my good clothes like all the time now. No more of this comfy t-shirt deal. I knew he was handsome, but sheesh. 

I got a dress that could top any outfit any day. The only issue is it’s not the type of dress you wear every day. Somewhere between feeling absolutely gorgeous in it, the look on The Boy’s face when I walked out in it, and the mild but slightly persuasive words of him and my aunt, I became convinced that buying a full-length gown might actually make sense. Either way, I love it to pieces. 

I think buying the dress made up for doing something I NEVER do. 

I ate mall food. 

In my head, I was a little scared. But this food court had some decent places. Not like the ones here at home. I got to enjoy one of the top foreign foods on my favorite foods list. Thai food. Mmmm so good! I first had it when I went to upstate NY to visit my best friend, Buds, since then any chance I get it’s one of my first picks. In the line you could pick either rice or noodles, and then two other options of meat or veggies. I got rice noodles with BBQ chicken (oh wow, again with the chicken. This is started to seem a little pathetic) and a vegetable mix. Surprisingly, I liked it. It wasn’t like world class or anything, but decent for a food court. 

That night, although I didn’t snap a picture (it was too good to wait), we had a homemade dinner with my aunt and her family. We feasted on whole wheat pasta, homemade sauce, a plethora of meat to choose from, and string beans and potatoes. For once I did not have chicken (although it was an option), instead, I went for the sausage. Yum. It was a good choice. My aunt’s parents are from Sicily. They are always a joy to be around. You know that feeling you have when you finally come home to those who you call family? Well, I’m only related to my aunt through marriage, but whenever visiting it’s always like coming home to second family. It’s just the type of people they are. 

As we enjoyed our winter meal (they made sure to let us known they would rarely eat that heavily during the summer months), we discussed our day and enforced will power to not eat every bite on the table. There isn’t much superior to a big meal with good family and friends. I don’t think we could have ended the trip in a better way.

A Weekend Trip and A Hannah-Friendly Treat!

1:30. 2:00. 2:42. 6:00.

This is my time schedule. 

For what?

For the day my month long count down ends. 

1:30 - The Boy arrives.

2:00 - We leave for the train station.

2:42 - Our train departs (hopefully on time).

6:00 - We arrive in NYC, awaited by my Aunt. 

We made plans to visit my Aunt and Uncle in New Jersey around the end of October. November 1st hit and the count down began.  

Well, if I'm going to be honest with myself (which seems to be the consensus of appropriate behavior) I should admit that the count down probably started when I thought of the idea. Say...Mid…September?

Early October?

Yea, that sounds about right.

Either way, I'm excited. 

I don't get to see this part of my family often. When we do get together, my aunt and I tend to spend our time getting lost during some adventure, shopping around, sight seeing, and usually double taking the sights because some how we managed to go in a giant circle without realizing it. Part of this may be due to our lack of knowledge concerning her (at the time) new GPS.

I haven’t seen my Aunt and Uncle since a couple of summers ago, and they will be meeting The Boy for the first time. They've never met a boyfriend of mine, but because this one seems to be sticking around for a while, I thought it might be nice. Another reason for me counting the days like a child does for Christmas or their birthday is because not only are we going to New Jersey, but also if weather allows, we'll be spending Saturday in New York City. Who knows what foods I'll find to munch on? 

My blog is all about adventures with food, and in America, what's one of the best places to do that? NYC.

How much food I’ll find to munch on, however, is a concern of mine. So soon after Thanksgiving, portion control is just regaining its strength. After not seeing a good and helpful friend for a few weeks, you tend to be a bit reserved at the chance of them leaving again.

Nevertheless, I’m keeping my thoughts positive and looking forward to the tasty treats. As well as working to keep up my will power.

So with my up coming travels, I figure I'll send off with one of my own (personal favorite) recipes.

Out of all the things I can’t eat, not being able to have dairy, is pretty rough for me.

Not because I’m a cheese fanatic or a glass-of-milk-a-day kind of person, I just really, really, really, love ice cream.

Yes, really.

Like eating a big bowl of chocolate ice cream a night for basically an entire year.

It’s not too hard to find alternative ice cream products. These days there’s coconut milk ice cream, soy ice cream, almond milk ice cream, and they’re all getting better at mimicking the creaminess and alluring texture of dairy ice cream.

Although I due indulge every now and then with those products (even real ice cream once in a while), I’m always careful of the type of food I put in to my body. I wanted a healthier option that would still sooth that ache in my taste buds.

Sorbet.

Obviously!

However, go take a drive to your local food store then read through a couple labels of the various sorbets. No, they don’t contain dairy. No, they’re not as bad. Yet, there are still a lot of unnecessary ingredients. Especially for a person like me, needing to extensively watch her sugar consumption. When companies make foods like sorbet (which is mainly fruit - a natural sugar) and then add even more refined sugar on top of that, those grams add up fast.

Take for instance Haagen-Dazs Mango Sorbet. At 150 calories per 1/2 cup, the ingredients include: water, sugar, mango puree, lemon juice concentrate, pumpkin juice concentrate (for color), carrot juice concentrate (for color), natural flavor, pectin (copied from http://www.haagendazs.com/Products/Product/2488). Each item in here isn’t so bad; none of it is particularly harmful. My point is… Why do we need all of it?

Granted, give Haagen-Dazs some credit. This list isn’t nearly as bad as it could be. Most of those are probably for color (as it says) and to help maintain it through shipping and all of that. But still… There are much simpler ways to do things at home.

So I did some research for what most people put into HOMEMADE sorbet. Turns out, if you want one specific fruit flavor there’s usually only that one fruit included. Homemade sorbet contains as little as your choice of fruit, some type of other sweetener (if desired), and…that’s about it. Throw it in the food processor and you’re all set.

But just fruit? That’s not much to enjoy…and just purreed fruit wouldn’t be too good for my blood sugar either.

So what could I possibly add?

Hah, of course! Peanut butter.

And along came one of my most personally adored dishes. It also happens to be a dish that supplies one of the highest numbers of comments and concerns for my mental stability. (I still haven’t figured out why though, it seems pretty normal to me?) I promise you though, if you like mangoes and if you like peanut butter, you will have a hard time picking between ice cream and this luscious sorbet.

The tang of the mango and the taste of peanuts complement each other well. They mix together forming a thickness like that of right-out-of-the-freezer-slow churned ice cream. Process it thoroughly, let it re-freeze for a sufficient amount of time, and you’ve got yourself a light dessert that feels anything but.

Mango and Peanut Butter Sorbet.

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen mango

2 1/2 Small Spoonfuls of peanut butter (for a yummy twist, use The Bee’s Knees Peanut Butter by Peanut Butter & Co.)

1/2-1 cup of your favorite cereal (I use either a type of cheerio or PB flavored cereal)

Directions:

1) Pour mangos into food processor and process till smooth. You will have to continue to push the mango down off the sides. Warning! The processor will be making a lot of noise to blend the mangoes!

2) Add peanut butter and process again till almost all of it’s blended together (feel free to add more or less peanut butter depending on your taste).

3) Place into a bowl and re-freeze until the sorbet has hardened.

4) Crush cereal and then use as a topping right before serving.

Okay, so I know you can't really see the actual sorbet due to the cereal. But I wanted to point out that the spoon, (which is stuck in the mango) is not touching the bowl. Yup. That handle ain't moving. Ahh, the strength of a thick sorbet!