Happy Halloween! New York has grown cold this past week. Been waking up to 45 and lower degree weather. Even with the heat on we've have had to triple up on blankets. I find wool the warmest. Although some consider fleece softer I prefer wool especially covered in a duvet. I forget that it is almost November but with two more months of Fall left I would think it would be a little bit warmer. I have heard it will be a longer and colder Winter so I guess I should not be surprised that the colder weather is coming early. Niel and I spent the weekend running errands and I already started to wrap presents for Christmas. Since I shop year round for various gifts I thought I should start to wrap so curious eyes cannot get a hold of the gifts. We also went bowling. Before going bowling I watched Twitches on the Disney channel. Cute movie. I love the Dinsey channel. We had not bowled in a while and had a good deal of fun. Part of the fun was we were dressed in our Halloween costumes. I was a cat and Niel was Albert Einstein. Pictures here. It was a good weekend.

Song Stuck In My Head: "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon

It really is the little things that make me happy. Getting a new ironing board with a cute polka dot pattern, going back intime with Degrassi Junior high, the chopped onions in the fridge that reminded me of my dad's bbq's, and surprises. I recieved four last week.

My first pomegranate of the season courtesy of Niel.


A package from Jessica! A neat pineapple ice tray, a book on my wish list, lovely bowl, cute note cards, and a eggy slicer!


Halloween goodies from the Squilky's. The flowers were given to us when we were in D.C. but everything else arrived by mail.


And candy from Just Jenn for Halloween.




Song Stuck In My Head:"Hey You" by Pink Floyd

Yesterday Niel and I managed to sneak off and watch The Squid and The Whale in one of our favorite neighborhoods in Queens. Kew Gardens. The neighborhood has the best pizzeria, an artsy theater, an old world feel combined with the newness of the Long Island Rail Road, an organic shop, and a neat German bakery with the most awesome cherry struedal. And its ok that its only Indian restaurant is not so good. The movie wasn't as we expected it to be. Not enough quirky, more serious. Not bad though. But the struedal was heaven. We don't get out to Kew Gardens very often but when we do we make sure we visit The Homestead Bakery and purchase the cherry confection. The pastry itself reminds me of Baklava dough. So I am sure with most baked good the dough they use is Phyllo. It is light, flaky, with a nutty taste to it, and has a bit of brown sugar sprinkled on top. Though I am not certain if the owners use canned cherries or fresh ones, and honestly I don't care really; the filling is just the perfect combination of sweet and tart.

Cherry Goodness


Me in my pink pj's cutting our dessert


Oooh a little bit got on my thumb, must taste


Niel wanting some cherry struedel


And congrats to the White Socks for breaking their own curse.

Song Stuck In My Head: "Kids In America" by Kim Wilde

Since I had a whole post about the Vietnamese restaurant yesterday I thought it was only fair to post about The New York Burger Company. The ambiance is neat with pictures of their burgers and silhouettes of the various cities the burgers are named after. But honestly I didn't see how the name of the burger had much to do with the city. Besides burgers they also sold smoothies, chili, salad and fries. There were various sauces that came with the fries. Our favorites were the spicy ketchup and the honey and picante sauce. I ordered the Seattle Burger. It was a big burger with onions, mushroom, lettuce and tomatoes. Niel had the Skyscraper burger. I believe it came with cheese and bacon. It seemed the establishment focused more on the theme rather than the food. Although the meal was mediocre and over priced it was still fun to try a place that we had wanted to. And now we know.





Song Stuck In My Head: "Cut You Up" by Peter Murphy

I liked Little Saigon a lot. The place was clean and had a family vibe to it, service quick and the food delicious. Niel not so much. He did try though. It was our third time trying Vietnamese cuisine. The first time was in Victoria, B.C. where we had Pho. The second time in Albany. I had a Summer roll and Niel had salmon with lemon grass. This time we ordered some really good beef sticks (which he did enjoy) and Spring rolls for appetizers. Besides the peanut sauce both appetizers accompanied there were three sauces at the table. A spicy red sauce, what appeared to be soy sauce and another red sauce which I couldn't make out. For our main course I had a seafood pancake which looked more like a seafood omelet. It came with a thin red sauce and romaine leaves. I liked my appetizer and meal a lot. Niel seemed to like my main course more than his so we switched. He ordered some beef noodle dish(I don't believe it was Pho) which I admit was too coconuty so I added a lot of the spicy red sauce to it which worked out fine. For dessert we ordered coconut ice cream (awesome) and a mango ice cream. It was too milky for Niel. He prefers the mango sorbet. I do hope the restaurant stays in business but I will take Niel's advice of just picking up food for myself and a pizza for him anytime I am in the mood for some Vietnamese.








Goodbye to civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.


Song Stuck In My Head: "Where The Streets Have No Name" by U2

Hope everyone had a good weekend. I did. Besides our usual chores we managed to have fun. Friday night we tried a new Vietnamese restaurant called Little Saigon, the next town over. I liked my meal a lot. Niel liked his appetizer. Afterwards Niel drove around and pointed out neat Halloween decorations he thought I would enjoy. Saturday we went into the city to watch Serenity. We waited so long to see the movie there were only limited theaters left. But we saw it at the 14th street theater which is a neat part of the city. The film was very good! I recommend it for fans of the short lived TV show and for new comers. If you want to watch a well written, acted, thought provoking, funny, but a bit sad, action adventure flick than Serenity is for you. I hope the show can live on through the movies. Before the film we ate burgers at The New York Burger Company. Niel had seen it and had wanted to try it. While walking back to the train I took some pics of the Autumn goodness at the Farmers Market. We then took the train back into Brooklyn where we had parked and stumbled upon an organic supermarket called Sunac and two restaurants we want to try. The organic supermarket will be easier to get to than going into the city or the island if we want any organic products. During one of our errands Niel thought it would be funny to dress me in a coat he thinks I should get. I don't look ghettofabulous. Sunday we went to visit my parents. For dinner my mom made mussels with basil rice, roast chicken with little red potatoes, a scallion and romaine salad, eggplant dip and flan and Irish coffee for dessert. All very good as usual. I hope the people who are being affected by Hurricane Wilma will be alright. I still can't get over the amount of deaths from the earthquake a few weeks back in Pakistan and parts of India and Kashmir. I hope they can recover. Pictures here.

Song Stuck In My Head: "It's Not Easy Being Green" by Kermit

The heat came sizzling on a few nights ago. I was a little chilly without the heat, but now I am overly warm. My body temperature is really never comfortable. Even this morning I was warm from rushing to work and I had to put on my trusty desk fan. Glad to have the heat none the less. I am really into the Martha Apprentice show. Which is surprising because I wasn't really into the Donald Trump version. Which is what the Martha show is based on. But now I am watching the Donald one also. Niel and enjoy both shows, but agree that Martha's show is more exciting. The players are a little wackier. And Martha seems really nice. I wonder if that is because her two assistants seem a bit drab? Martha seems more comfortable on the Apprentice than on her talk show.

I found this quiz on Dave and Mike's blogs. Here is how I scored. Seems pretty accurate. Play if you like. And have a nice weekend especially to Squilky the birthday boy!

Pure Dork 47 % Nerd, 39% Geek, 56% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Dork, earning you the title of: Pure Dork. Like our friends Napoleon Dynamite & co. It's not as though you were some whiz-kid in school. Oh, sure, you probably did okay in some classes, but were probably awful in others. Certainly most people thought you were smarter than you thought yourself to be. And it's not that you have some overriding passion, like computers or Star Trek that sets you apart for the crowd, though you likely share some interest in some of those sorts of things. You just like to be yourself, and want to express yourself for who you are. And, really, there's nothing wrong with that. Being who you are often invites scorn, and so it's a difficult thing in a world that rewards conformity. Be proud of your dorkiness, for often it's just another word for individuality. (I'd vote for you!) Congratulations! Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Professional Wrestling Love & Sexuality America/Politics Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 30% on nerdiness You scored higher than 45% on geekosity You scored higher than 94% on dork points

Link: The Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test written by donathos on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Song Stuck In My Head: "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher

Yesterday I posted about breakfast. So I thought today I would talk about lunch. 99% of the time I brownbag, but sometimes for whatever reasons I get to splurge and buy lunch. The area I work has decent meal options espcecially if I walk to ninth avenue but sometimes I want convenience but still a satisfying lunch. So I get a Seafood Udon. It has wheat noodles(or one can request Soba (buckwheat) noodles), a spicy base(also by request), fried tofu, veggies, and shrimp. It is a huge bowl of warm lovliness.
Here are some good links about what Udon is and the different types of Udon.

 


Song Stuck In My Head: "It's My Life" by Talk Talk

I have really have come to enjoy breakfast foods. I have noticed a distinction between Armenian and American breakfasts. Most Armenians enjoy deli meats, tomatoes, fresh tarragon, boiled eggs, olives, cheese (specifically Feta), tea and Lavash bread. While American breakfasts usually consist of cold or warm cereal, or doughy goods like, waffles, coffee, muffins or pancakes with a side of sausage/bacon and eggs. In last April's issue Martha Stewart there was an article describing what country various American breakfast foods originate from. I remember when my family first came to America, my mother would cook Cream of Wheat for my brother and I in the winter. I think that was our first taste of American breakfasts. I still call it Farina when referring to it, because of the brand my mother used. I enjoyed it and still do with some cinnamon on top. And as I mentioned some posts ago the Mamalika my mother made. She also would make great omelets that she learned from her mother, with whatever we had on hand in the fridge and pantry. She would use such ingredients as fresh tomatoes, or green beans, or potatoes. My favorite American breakfast of Eastern European descent are bagels though. I like a non toasted, pumpernickel bagel with scallion cream cheese. Heaven! When Niel and I were first married I made bagels from scratch twice. That was a lot of fun but also a lot of work. I've chronicled before the variety of breakfast foods I have tried and I've actually become quite good at being able to make different types of breakfast meals for Niel and I. Such as puffed apple pancake, oatmeal, Farina, coddled eggs, scrambled eggs, eggs sunny side up, birds in a nest. And as some of you have pointed out is also called Frog in a hole. And the egg dish is usually accompanied by bacon, or Irish ham, Canadian bacon, or Irish breakfast sausage or breakfast links. But my favorite breakfast foods are still the ones I grew up with.



Song Stuck In My Head: "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie

I love Indian food. It was one of my many favorites. So I was pretty happy to find Ashoka Foods. It is all vegetarian. And works the same way the boil a bag of rice did. You just add the foil to a boiling pot of water and depending on your taste(I purchased the peas and potatoes) in minutes you have Indian food at your home. While that was cooking I made some brown Jasmin rice to go with it. I tend to like spicy Indian food so I added more spices too my quickie Indian concoction. I think the makers sell it a little bland as they don't know the spice and heat toleration of consumers. The company sells a variety of different flavors to choose from. A nice quick meal.

 


 


 


Song Stuck In My Head: "Hanging Tough" by New Kids On The Block

It was a nice weekend. The sun came out and the wind followed. Got a lot of errands done on Saturday and came home to watch Dune which Niel had rented. We both had seen bits and pieces of it previously but never the full version. After half an hour we were so confused that we stopped watching. Plus it was very gross. We also tried Croissant Pockets steak and cheese and really liked it. Sunday there was a neighborhood flea market. And thankfully we purged loads of things. I think we will do it again before we move or maybe even in the spring when the next one will be.

This test is pretty accurate. Still love mostly the music from my youth. Oh youth. I'm going to go cry into my New Kids tapes. LOL.

Your Taste in Music:

80's Pop: Highest Influence

80's Alternative: High Influence

90's Pop: High Influence

90's Rock: High Influence

Adult Alternative: High Influence

Hair Bands: High Influence

80's Rock: Medium Influence

90's Alternative: Medium Influence

90's R&B: Medium Influence

Alternative Rock: Medium Influence

Old School Hip Hop: Medium Influence

R&B: Medium Influence

80's R&B: Low Influence

90's Hip Hop: Low Influence

Classic Rock: Low Influence

Progressive Rock: Low Influence

Punk: Low Influence

Ska: Low Influence

How's Your Taste in Music?

Song Stuck In My Head: "Human After All" by Level 42

These are one of the mornings I wish that I stayed home. First it's three days later and still raining. Everything that could have gone wrong at work did. Blech. Things could be worse. Things always could be worse.

But the first Supper Club meeting went well. We met in a restaurant to get to know one another a bit. Everyone seems nice and interesting. We are meeting in November to start cooking a Fall themed meal.

Before meeting the other Supper Club members I watched Just Like Heaven. I enjoyed it immensely. It was acted, written and just done very well. I recommend it.

The N is now showing old DeGrassi episodes. It's neat to go back in time for a little while and revisit Joey, Snake, Spike and the rest of the gang in the beginning. I had a crush on Snake.

Two reality shows that are coming up. The first is Tuckerville on TLC. It's about country music star Tanya Tucker. The second is Run's House on MTV. That show is about legendary Reverand Run from RUN DMC fame and his family.

I think I may end up seeing Elizabethtown. The commercials seem interesting. A few more films that were not on my list but I want to see are: Squid, Thumbsucker, The Weatherman, The Family Stone, and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.

And now here is the Friday Five. It's about food. Hee hee! Have a great weekend all.

1] Which snack foods do you enjoy the most? Do you prefer salty or
sweet snacks [or both]? It depends what I am in the mood for really. Mostly it is salt though. I love cheese a lot and can snack on that with grapes. But only if I drink ALOT of water otherwise the cheese can bind my tummy.

2] Do you tend to snack most often during a particular time of day,
such as mid-morning or late at night? At night because I am too busy during the day, or if I am home and don't have anything planned.

3] Have you been craving any snacks in particular lately? Like what? Lately it has been salty fish. What can I say I am a strange foodie.

4] Would you rather snack on chocolate or candy? [In other words, are
you a chocolate or a candy person?]I do like both so I can't really choose.

5] Do you crave any snacks that others might think are strange? Like
what? Did you invent this snack yourself, and how did it come about? Well I did just say I love salty fish like herring, sardines and anchovies. Oooh also I am craving Cup A Noodles lately too. And sometimes I will get into a mood where I just want to eat one particular food.

Song Stuck In My Head: "Boyfriend" by Ashlee Simpson

I love finding neat ways to freeze ice. The ice tray below is my latest find. Letters and Numbers. I also have some wacky Ikea ice trays, a Lillian Vernon tray with hearts and test tube ice tray. It makes drinking a beverage a bit more interesting.

 


Song Stuck In My Head: "Rhapsody" by Souxsie and the Banshees

New York has had the most rain I have seen in a while. The sidewalks on my block were ankle deep in water and crossing the street was worse. It was an experience getting to work. However we need the rain and that is all that matters.

Now all fans of Esther (formerly known as Madge and formerly known as Madonna) can get a Madonna Nano. U2 was the first to do it though;)~.

I am a Krispy Kreme type of girl. I love their donuts a lot better than Dunkin Donuts which always taste stale to me. So I was happy to see a local store carry individual packets of mini Krispy Kreme donuts called Krispy Juniors.



Song Stuck In My Head: "Fernando" by ABBA

Ever wonder what celebrity shares your birthday or? I found this link on Laura's site that provides that information along with world events that happened on the same date. I won't bore you with all so below is a select few. Find out who shares your birthday and other interesting facts about the day you were born.

Famous Peeps
Beverly Peele

Ronde Barber

Tiki Barber

Victoria Adams

Bill Bellamy

Jackie Chan

Francis Ford Coppola

Ravi Shankar

Billie Holiday

William Wordsworth

Notable Events

1997 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Ft Myers FL on WRXK 96.1 FM

1994 Shannen Doherty files for divorce from Ashley Hamilton

1994 Vatican acknowledges Holocaust (Nazis killing Jews) for 1st time

1986 Wrestlemania II at 3 locations, Hulk Hogan beats King Kong Bundy

1985 1st live telecast of Easter Parade

Song Stuck In My Head: Gold Digger by Kanye West

The highlight of my weekend was the U2 concert Niel and I attended on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. It was one of my birthday gifts. The concert was AMAZING. We had a really good time. Keane was U2's opening act. They are pretty good live. I only know one song of theirs though. Niel couldn't get over how loud the crowd was when U2 came out. I wasn't surprised. Niel isn't a big as a fan as I am, but he knows a lot of the songs and enjoyed the show too. The New York show was sold out for all five nights. I believe that the last three nights were added. They played a lot from their new album of course, and a good deal from their 80's albums. My favorite U2 80's song is "With or Without You". Unfortunately they did not play my favorite modern U2 song which is "The Sweetest Thing". I love that song a lot. Bono did a good deal of talking and tried to raise awareness for poverty which is very cool. The stage was set up very neat. Niel said it reminded him of the movie Tron because of the neon lights on the stage looked like a track. Bono also asked everyone to hold up their cellphones at one point and it looked like the milky way. Luckily Mike and Erin also were at the concert(right by the stage) and they gave us a ride home. It was a fantastic time even though we did get a bit of Tinnitus(Niel's lasted longer) and I really am appreciative to have been given the opportunity (by Niel) to be in the same room with U2 (albeit one big room with 19,999 other people. The rest of the weekend was a bit rainy and the temperature dropped again. We attempted to go out on Saturday but didn't get too far because the rain was quite strong. We went to the bank, where the battery of our car died and luckily there is a gas station across the street and for $15 they recharged the car. Then we stopped by my parents briefly and headed home. Sunday we went grocery shopping and stopped by at Michaels so I could get some supplies for some Halloween cards I am making. I also snagged some pumpkins I've been coveting for a while that were on sale. And Niel got a cool skull candle he had been wanting also on sale. We also went grocery shopping and picked up some baby gifts for two new cousins on my side of the family. Both girls. Actually one was born already in the end of September and one is coming in November. Since we stayed in most of the weekend we watched three movies we had taped on The DVR:Bubble Boy(wacky), Around The World in 80 Days(cute) and a Disney tv movie with Ryan Reynolds. I forget the name but it was sad. We also saw John Heder host SNL. I liked the Werewolf skit. I hope everyone had a good weekend. For pictures click here.

Song Stuck In My Head: "Where The Streets Have No Name" by U2

I've been tagged by Azuradec.

7 things to do before I die

1. Have children

2. Own a home

3. Travel more

4. Pay off debt

5. Own a pet

6. Be at a healthy weight

7. Complete my 101 list

7 things I cannot do

1. Play the piano

2. Stop biting my nails

3. Cook something and make it look pretty. But it will taste good!

4. Bake something and make it look pretty. But it will taste good!

5. Be suspicious

6. Stop cleaning. No I don't have OCD.

7. Forgive and forget

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex

1. Humor

2. Kindness

3. Brains

4. Understanding

5. Friendship

6. Voice

7. Patience

7 things I say most often

1. Why won't the phone stop ringing? (But thank God (for work) it never does.)

2. Bastards!

3. Crap!

4. AAARGGGHHH

5. Niel

6. Honey

7. That was so funny!

7 Celebrity crushes

1. Matthew Goode

2. Batista(WWE)

3. Zach Braff

4. Jack White

5. John Stewart

6. Seth McFarland

7. Jason Lee

I need a longer list to include Paul Rudd, Keanu Reeves, Simon Pegg, Callum Blue, Jason Segel, Larry Mullen Jr., Myth Buster Adam Savage, Brendan Frasier, Ryan Reynolds, Oded Fehr, Tyron Leitso, River Pheonix........

7 people I want to do this

1. Catipillar Baby

2. Jesser

3. Yvett

4. Lisanne

5. Laura

6. Enid

7. Holly-so she can blog again!

Another place to find lovely photographs by Enid is here. So please check her out.

Song Stuck In My Head: "Sleeping Satellite" by Tasmin Archer

I'd like to share another slow cooker recipe. It's for pot roast. I have to admit at being skeptical. I wasn't sure how the ingredients would work together. I just didn't think there was enough liquid. But it was fantastic!

Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast Recipe

2 (10.75 ounce) cans
condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion
soup mix
1 1/4 cups water
5 1/2 pounds pot roast


Directions
1 In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion
soup mix and water. Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat
with soup mixture.
2 Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low
setting for 8 to 9 hours.

Song Stuck In My Head: "Womp There It Is" by Tag Team.

My favorite time of day is just about bed time. The dishes are washed, our lunches packed, the next day's clothes are picked out and ironed. Niel and I just lying still next to one another, laughing at whatever is on the TV. The stress of the workday leaving our bodies and minds. But all I can really hear is the rhythmic dance of his heart and lungs.



Song Stuck In My Head:"Music" by Leela James

If I had extra money I would join the Equinox gym. My physical therapist's office is located at that particular gym and after my sessions I go into the bathroom to clean up. They have free deodarant in there, Q-tips, mouthwash, hairspray and other nice extras. Plus there is web acess, a clothing shop and a little cafeteria. Oh yeah also gym equipment.



Things I am looking forward to: Seeing a movie with my friend Rivka on Thursday night, my local post office has longer hours, and a neighborhood flea market where I will part with some items, and meeting the ladies from my cooking group.

Song Stuck In My Head: "Pon de Replay" by Rihanna

Niel and I laid low this weekend. Niel is still fighting his cold so we stayed home, so he could get better. I cleaned a bit, rearranged some of my files, worked on the new website some more and watched some television. Caught up on shows and movies we DVR'd, and rented the newly released Stewie Griffin-The Untold Story. Now that is a funny movie. I can't figure out who is my favorite Stewie or Brian. But why do I have to choose? We also saw The Bourne Supremacy. The plot was riveting but the acting was so, so. I don't know what I was expecting from an action flick though. I really liked seeing Steve Carrell on SNL, but I didn't think they let his true funnyiness shine. I also didn't realize that Maya Rudolph is pregnant. I did a little research on her at IMDB and found out some interesting info about her. Check it out. I'm also enjoyng the October 7 issue Entertainment Weekly a lot. And not just because it has Orlando Bloom on the cover. Ok he's sharing the cover with Kirsten Dunst. But here at foodiechickie we don't like Ms. Dunst too much. I'm contimplating whether or not to see Elizabethtown because it has her starring in it also. That is the reason why I did not see Wimbeldon. However Elizabethtown also has Paula Deen in it and two good's will outweigh the bad (constant presence of Ms. Dunst in the film). Anyway I'm enjoying the issue because it has a story about Wallace and Grommit. I love those clay figures. A little interview with Mayim Bialik. Yes I watched Blossom. She is going to get her Phd in neuroscience and is about to have her first baby. An article about Phillip Seymour Hoffman who is the star in a movie about Truman Capote. PSH is a great actor. Never forgot him in The Big Lebowski although his role was minor. A nice little article about Nathan Fillion. I remember him from the tv show Two Guys, and a Girl. And of course Firefly and Serenity. He's a cutie. A nice article about Franz Ferdinand and a blip about other musicians from Glasgow. Ahh The Jesus and Mary Chain. And apparently Linda Perry is trying to release an album that was shelved. Remember Linda Perry, she used to front 4 Non Blondes. My favorite though was Paul Weller suggesting Twelve Cd's You've Got to Get by Any Means Necessary! Paul Weller!!
The October-November edition of All Things Girl is out. The theme is about Boys and Men. It's another great issue. So please take a look at the Review section It's my first issue as the Reviews editor. I am excited about it. Plus I have a piece in Around The World and On A Girl's Mind. I hope to get more articles from other folks (besides me) about movies, books, television and music. So if you are interested in writing for the Reviews section please submit here. And of course you can submit articles to the other wonderful sections. I'm looking forward to wrestling tonight. WWE is going back to the USA network and it will be a three hour show with wrestlers of the past. Woo hoo. And I know you have been waiting to see the pics from D.C. Yahoo wouldn't let me have that many pictures in one folder, so I had to create two. Click here and here if you are interested.

Song Stuck In My Head: "Jolene" by The White Stripes