I have been published

See my recipe for Overnight baked French toast on Crownmaple.com

The day after

Slept thru the night except for a text from Matt that he got home from Nicaragua. He was heading right to the emergency room as he had been bitten by fire ants I guess that happens when you stand in an fire ant hill -his ankles were all swollen .Spent 2 hours in emerg and finally went home without seeing anyone. Luckily the swelling is down today
We thought that we had missed the storm completely however- Harold -for some reason -walked across the carpet in his bare feet and let out a gishray(Yiddish for scream) the carpet was soaking wet.It seems we had a flood and at least 1/3 of the hardwood floor was soaking. Now the nice part about renting is that they management took the rug and are going to have it cleaned and as soon as the hardwood dries they will see if the floor needs to b replaced There are also some water damage spots on the ceiling ..They said they think the leaks came from the soffits???? But it is not our problem-love it!!
rain had stopped and the sun was trying to come out and we went on one of our marathon walks to the east village.Many stores were boarded up and still closed. The subways and busses still not running but any restaurant that was open was packed. new Yorkers love to eat!!! two grocery chains were open Gristedes and Food Emporium. We wanted to go to our favorite B &H vegetarian for borscht but it was closed so we went to a place on St Marks Square called Jebon Sushi & Noodle. We had veggie dumplings that were to die for .The wait staff is exceptionally nice and really try to make sure that everything is to your liking.Would definitely go back.We had to walk back home and it was drizzling amd quite windy and I think I've walked enough for awhile . Made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and Jenn came over to share with us!!! Funny thing. -she went home with groceries for the week.
Let's hope the subways and buses start up again tomorrow. I miss the hurly burly
Mahj at my place tomorrow

Saturday evening awaiting the hurricane

So we went out for dinner with friends to Beyoglu on Third in the eighties.The restaurant called us to come a bit early as they wanted to close the kitchen early -I am sure to let the staff go home. not a problem and we had a great meal .The Shepherd salad is crisp and crunchy with delicious dressing over cucumbers and tomatoes. Also had and hummus and babaganoush that were perfect.I ordered a chicken kabob and there was so much that I took 3/4 of it home. The chicken was tender and very flavorful. Harold had swordfish kabobs also very good and he ate it all!!!!
We walked home in the pouring rain but nothing like hurricane stormy -yet

Waiting out the storm

last nite we decided to take a very long walk since the weather was beautiful and we knew what was coming. We headed across the park and it was teeming with people -running ,walking and even relaxing and reading on benches. The west side was bustling and all the restaurants -especially the outdoor eating areas were jam packed. We couldn't decide where to park our rear ends so we made it to Columbus circle and headed back over to the east side and walked up 2nd. Finally at around 9 we stopped at Al Forno Brick Oven Pizzeria between 77 Th &78th. Ordered a small cheese , small Caesar salad and ai had a glass of wine ($6) .On the whole it was great -probably would not get the salad again but the pizza was delicious -homemade small chunky tomato sauce and delicious cheese and... We have enuff left over to have some later and that was the small. also the wine was fine .Barely made it home and fell into bed -full but exhausted.
Walked some of the city today and very weird vibes. While a lot of places were closed -star bucks was closed- many movie theaters were closed but many resaurants were open and packed -when there is nothing else to do -eat!!!! Our gym was open so stopped in and even managed to get some weights in. And we wait

Added to stash

We r good bought 2 bags of doritos happy campers Meanwhile it is hot and sunny in beautiful NYC

huge salads

Played mahj last night and ordered a HUGE turkey salad from Viand diner.Very expensive but easily feeds three!!! Having leftovers for lunch and the turkey is fresh roasted

A storm is coming ..A storm is coming!!!!!

So everyone is freaked out about this hurricane I even know people who are leaving town.anyway today dawned beautiful and sunny However, it is starting to cloud over now but that may b because of the hordes of people running to the grocery stores to stock up on everything they don't need.. If the electricity goes out what will you do with the 50 pounds of meat and fish you bought and the tons of fresh fruit and veggies? And ...where will you put all this stuff in your tiny little NY city apartment kitchen???? So after being called by everyone we know from near and far Harold and I thought that just Mayb we should try and prepare..And truly that is not easy for us -as most of you know we don't usually plan anything in advance.
so first thing first -we need flash lites and batteries.Headed to Spaha (for those of you not in the know that is Spanish Harlem ) Lots of .99 stores!!!! First stop-we noticed a breakfast truck at 96th and 3rd .I guess we had not been out this early -the truck is gone by 11:30.
Harold just had to buy a sprinkled chocolate covered cream filled donut. Which he scarfed down and we also got a huge slab of marble cake -for later..... Delicious!!!Passed a fruit and veggie outdoor market and bought some fresh mint. Tea later????
Also stopped At the projects community center when we heard Spanish music blasting from loud speakers.I think it was seniors day -they were sitting at tables playing dominoes and noshing and having a good time.
finally reached the store a got the last 2 tiny flashlites and batteries -I hope they work they only cost $.99 each !!!!! We also bought 2 candles -M &M flavored not surprising!!!!
then we headed back to the sublime upper east side to Fairway Markets?. OMG out front the deliveries were stacked 10 deep and the lines in the store were endless. so we just quickly picked up some staples.6 pumpernickel bagels ,bing cherries and watermelon. Almost set-we had one more stop Glaser's Bake Shop at 87th and First. they have been closed for the summer and sorely missed.Harold bought 2of his favorite Lemon meringue tarts -beautiful , whoopee pies and I got a scone. we r set!!!!Just need to see if we have matches to lite the candles if we need them.

What a day!!!!

Lunch and a play with cousin Judy -what could be better. the weather is lovely so decided ( not surprising) to walk over to the west side and our lunch spot of Empanada Mama on 9th between 51st and 52nd.Have been there before and loved it so this was my real test. Same waiters who are friendly and accommodating. So I ordered the Empanada I had before -the oven baked mushroom-sauteed portobello and white mushrooms with onions. it was just as delicious as I remembered.Then ventured into new territory. Judy and I ordered an Empanada called Viagra-mouth watering seafood stew with shrimps,scallops and crab meat Are you on your way over yet??? but wait there is more We also ordered the Cuban -very traditional and very tasty. And then to try something different we had a tapas of veal and rice balls with lemon mushroom sauce with a splash of wine I would absolutely say this is a must to order.I spooned up the sauce till there was not a drop left.
We then waddled over to the theater and saw Master Class with Tyne Daly We both really enjoyed this play about Maria Callas .Learned quite a bit about her life and more than I wanted to know about Ari -the scum bag
We walked back up to the upper east side Judy was meeting her sister in law and we stopped for coffee at Cafe Noi-reccommended by Robin-on 2nd near 77th.Lovely little coffe shop with a friendly owner named Alon.Also had an apple strudel that was nice and sweet. another good day in the city!!!!

Hanging in the afternoon

While I forced myself to stay in and do some paperwork -isn't life a perpetual vacation?Harold went off to the Met for a couple of hours of art and relaxation He enjoyed the Frans Halles exhibit which Is small but very good and also perused some of El Greco& Valenzuela -all from about the same period but all from different countries and very different art. He thoroughly enjoyed himself . We ate in tonight -I know it's a shock -but we ate left overs of our restaurant meals !!! And then went for a lovely 3 mile stroll up Third and back down second.. The subway construction on Second is awful Still terribly noisy and brightly lit at 10 at night. Also stopped at Pinkberry for Mango frozen yoghurt!

Earthquake

Didn't even know about it .Got a text from Jenn that the Chrysler Buiding was swaying like crazy and they had to run down 50 flights of stairs

Twitter

Also tweeting now!!! Too much!!!!

Mahj day

Another beautiful day in NYC Off to play mahj this afternoon. Hope for a winning day -my Pishka is getting low!!!!
Well I managed to win 3 games but lost a lot of money. looks like I need another roll of quarters. A fun day and of course the wine didn hurt. Walked I've to Dallas BBQ fo dinner. The p,ac is a mess They are re modeling but chicken is good as usual an lot left over. So it's great to walk a mile to dinner an a mile home. It takes away some of the guilt of over eating!!!!

Cooked dinner

it was raining so I took the plunge a decided to cook!! Luckily Carla brought us lots of heirloom tomatoes from the Berkshires .So...I chopped them up added a little onion and garlic and wine and of course brown sugar becuase Harold loves sweet and made fresh tomato sauce. it was really good -surprise surprise !!!!!

Indian Day Parade

off to the parade and Madison Square Park!!!
Yeah no rain as we started out .We had a lovely walk along Park Ave and caught up,with the parade in the 30's. What a crush of people -women in beautiful and colorful saris. People dancing in the streets in the heat!!! Many food booths were set up in Madison Square Park however too many people to even get close. We sat in the park for awhile and there is a very Interesting huge white face Sculpture in the center of the park . Walked over to Lex and 24 and stopped at Di DI Dumplings and had chicken pot stickers that were awesome -very tasty and then we walked back home and as we entered our buidling the rain came down!!!!! thinking of Dalllas BB Que for dinner!!!

Day in Harlem

Boarded the M101 bus to attend an afternoon concert of jazz at Morris Jamel Mansion at Amsterdam and 161. We were of course running late and thought we didn't have time to walk.The mansion and grounds are fabulous .It is the oldest house in Manhattan and George Washington used it as his headquarters during the war of Independance. Beautifully preserved and furnished. Chairs were set out on the lawn and we listened to jazz for close to 2 hours. Decided to walk back and the architecture in Harlem is still wonderful The vibes kept changing from Black Harlem to Spanish Harlem and back again. Walked thru a street fair and had a very sweet huge fruit punch and Jamaican Patti-just managed to resist the fried chicken !!! happened upon Red Rooster which is one of the hottest restaurants in the city.Trust me if it wasn't random I would never have gotten Harold to go there. Sat at the bar and had a beer and the most incredible corn bread I have ever had-soaked in butter and honey.Unfortunately it was too early for us to stop for dinner there but there was a line up at 5 .
Does anyone know how to download photos from my I phone to this blog????

Walking and walking in the heat!!!!

Started out to meet Toni at 70 Th and Columbus and in my delusion decided I could actually find my way across the park. Not so much-I managed to walk way past my destination and exited at 59th and the Plaza-typical. luckily Toni was running late too and so I headed back north and we decided to meet at Blossom Cafe at 80th and Columbus -almost full circle. Was I a sopping mess. Blossom Cafe is a vegan restaurant which I have always wanted to try and now I can say- been there done that.It was OK at best. After a lovely afternoon and a manicure we I walked back home from 59th again.Not sure if that made up for not going to the gym!!!!
Saw the Help last nite with Jenn , Carla and Jenn' s co worker and her Mom. Thought the movie was better than the book!!! Really enjoyed it. Grabbed a bite at a favorite neighborhood restaurant Pan Asia. The Pho Ga is the best -reminders of Viet Nam. Tried the curry chicken and it was delicious -very different from the usual curry sauce -much lighter and lots of veggies. Great service. If you live in the area -good for take out/delivery also.
matt is off to Nicaragua on a "school"trip for the week I am sure it will be a great adventure.
speaking of adventures we r off to Harlem this afternoon for Jazz at the Mansion!!!!!!

Birthday Dinner

Matt was in town so we decided to celebrate his birthday early and we had a family dinner.We missed you Jordan!!!
Went to Balade a Lebanese Pitza and Grill on1St and 12 Th. Jenn recommended it and it was fabulous.For appetizers we had hummus which is served with great hot home baked mini pitas Also had Fattoush salad,and Makanek which is ground beef rolls with a hint of lemon-to die for.Chicken kabobs ,and two kinds of pizza beef and lamb rounded out the meal .Would definitely go again and great ,friendly service.

Rainy Sunay

rain ,rain and more rain. It just kept pouring down thru out the entire day. But did that stop us -not one bit. With umbrella in hand ,yellow slicker and polka dot rain boots headed out to the New York Gift Show to see what we have been missing for the past three years. We had to wade thru flooded subway stations and walked from Penn station to the Javits Center. So, was it worth it, did we miss it -not so much. Even after 3 years there were still people there who remembered us but we were both glad to be meandering down the isles and not in a booth trying to sell. the aisles were quite empty.
Then we headed over (walking of course) to Jenn's apt and put together a shelf for her. We went for a light dinner to Taza a Mediterranean cafe on Third between 27th & 28 Th. Delicious Hummous and chicken Shawarma.Second time I have been there and enjoyed it both times.Highly recommend for cheap and quick.
and.....we took the bus home on Third.FYI after 10 PM the driver will let you off right in front of your apt building even if its not a regular bus stop.It helps when it is pouring rain.

Words with friends

I admit t it -I'm addicted-spent the evening in and played Words ALL night. Tomorrow is to be a rainy day in NYC -hmmmm

Another great day .Headed off to take the ferry to Governor's Island. Remember to get there in plenty of time -it seems everyone has the same idea.The island is a wonderful retreat from the hurly burly of Manhattan -lots of green and they and an awesome Old VW car show . Does anyone want to see "The Thing" ? And of course we couldn't resist a chocolate chip ice cream sandwich headed back to Battery Park City and strolled along the waterfront -fantastic-Stopped for a snack again at the promenade and had delicious finger licking chicken tacos from the taco stand-highly . Walked thru City Hall Park beautiful gas lit lights and fountains and for good measure to round off the day we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge !!! Subwayed back to UES and of course the ride was typical NYC -girl across from us eating the most delicious looking chocolate pudding cake which she almost dropped but luckily caught in mid drop, a guy with a feather in his cap citing his contempt for women -we finally changed cars .Tonight .???? let's see if we get a second wind.