Family Friends

A couple, friends of my parents, came over. My mom met them when I was going to preschool with their sons, and they were characters in their lives for pretty much the rest of their lives, from me and their sons going to each others birthdays and playdates, summering together, up until my dad retired and visiting them where they moved in Michigan. They were in town visiting their son, who moved to Brooklyn.

It was nice seeing them, having Betsy here some stories about my parents and me as a kid. It wasn't depressing at all, it was like my parents were going to arrive any minute, they were walking from their apartment a few blocks away, and I just had to entertain until they got there.


AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 10:30am, ricotta pancakes with banana, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 12:45pm, bottle of gatorade


PM SNACK: 3:30pm, ear of grilled corn


DINNER: 5:45pm, assorted slices of homemade pizza, a little fruit salad, scoop of homemade mint chocolate ganache ice cream, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Healthy-ish

A nice day with the Edles. We road the bike to Madison Square Park to hand with some parental friends at a music event, then met El for lunch in the hood. We did some chores via bike then home. Got laundry done, B came home and I went out food shopping. I was hungry, and it's bad to do food shopping hungry, so I indulged in some healthy-ish fast food at Subway.


BREAKFAST: 8am, iced green tea, multigrain tortilla chips with salsa, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12:30pm, grilled octopus, chickpea fritters, pasta with lemon pistachio pesto, chocolate gelato, bread, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7pm, foot long veggie burger sub, potato chips, soda, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Special short bread

Mellow day of unwinding after two 13 hour shifts. Took Edie out to swim class in the morning, then T came over and we made summer rolls together. We also made special shortbread, with green food dye to mark it as special, though I'll be waiting for the right occasion to indulge.

B was out late at her book club, and I was lazy and ordered an old vegetarian standby from my less-meaty days. Edie was happy and hungry, and pretty much conked out after burning brightly for a few hours.

BREAKFAST: 7am, iced green tea, organic wholegrain chex with dead milk, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH 1: 11am, sardine & avocado on wholewheat bread, 2 pickles, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH 2: 4pm, shrimp summer rolls with lime-nam pla dipping sauce, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH 3: 6pm, more shrimp summer rolls, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 8:30pm, large salad, eggplant parm hero, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Workworkworkwork pt 2

The 'rant was deadly slow today, which is much harder to deal with than a fast restaurant. A little bit like a counselor at summer camp on a rainy day, I had to work to find stuff to keep the staff occupied, mostly cleaning, sidework, extended lunch breaks and a little bit of looking the other way, but keeping conscious of no lines being crossed.

Started having the guys make off-menu stuff for me, not the healthiest (yet) but it's evolving.

BREAKFAST: 7am, iced green tea, toasted bagel with cream cheese, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: noon, potatoes, sausage & vegetables, Manhattan Special.75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 4pm, shrimp & clam cheeseless pizza, 1.5 meatballs, sprite, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 7pm, chocolate ice cream, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 11:30pm, watermelon, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Workworkworkwork

We've extended the hours at the 'rant, so now it's 13 hour shifts. Quite busy for a Monday, fell pretty easily into the haze -- key to making the time fly. I made a point of drinking three pints of water toward the end, which I credit to curbing my desire for Chinese food in the evening.


BREAKFAST: 7:30am, iced green tea, fistful of almonds, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


RESTAURANT HAZE: 12-11:30pm, meatballs, slices of pizza, small glass of beer, a couple of sodas, a few pints of water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 12:30am, whole grain tortilla chips and salsa, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 2am, watermelon, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Poppa's Day

A mellow father's day. Woke up after a refreshing 9 hours, ran out and did a food shop. C & T and baby Autumn came over for lunch and hanging out. B & Edles & I did a mini bike ride in the hood ending in swings with neighborhood friends. Food delivery and TV before sleep. Tomorrow we start fresh.

BREAKFAST: 8am, iced green tea, organic chex with good milk, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 2pm, vegetable sticks with a little hummus, homemade pizza, a little ice cream, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7pm, sushi & shashimi, tempura, shumai, green salad, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Montaukin'

A day on the bike, 100 miles from Babylon to Montauk, an organized ride with 1000 others. Rest stops had food, which I ate from. A lot of carbs and refined sugar, but it got me through. I wonder if I would of moved faster if I stuck with more complex carbs and less simple. Something to experiment next time. But that pie was heavenly. I would of wolfed a third slice, if they didn't run out of apple pie!

Got home quite blown out, but found the energy to whip up some Pasta a la Norbert.


AM SNACK: 3:15am, iced green tea

BIKE SNACK: 4:15am, banana, 2 pieces pound cake, 1 slice wholewheat bread with nutella

BIKE SNACK: 6:30am, 2 pieces pound cake

BIKE SNACK: 8am, Gatorade, a few bites of chocolate


BIKE LUNCH: 10am, watermelon, hummus in wholewheat pita, a few bites of chocolate

BIKE SNACK: noon, 2 slices apple pie, graham crackers with PB&J, Gatorade, bites of chocolate

BIKE SNACK: 2:30pm, burger, pasta, coconut water, water, a few bites of chocolate


DINNER: 8pm, homemade pasta with wine & butter sauce, leftover wonton soup, big bowl of cherries, 2 bowl, hunger 4/5

Ediemorning

Woke up early to get ready for tomorrow's Montauk Century. Let B sleep in, took Edie out for a 5:30am walk, the local diner was still closed so we went to the local playground, we were the only peeps there. Serious quality time -- me & Edie were the only people alive on the Lower East Side! Me and Edie vs. the world!!

Looking back at what I ate today, oy. Next week got to refocus on the color system, and perhaps a big ol' salad.

AM SNACK: 3:15am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 6:15am, BLT on rye, homefries, diet coke, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Took Edie out to the greasy spoon around the corner, where I used to go with my parents in later years. I had a diet coke in their honor, with a slice of lemon just like my dad liked. I try not to go on and on about it in this blog, but I miss them every day, though in a happier way, wishing they could see all the neat stuff Edie does and is becoming. Edie was a little resistant to the bottle of milk and wedges of cheese I brought down for her, but she gobbled up the greasy homefries from my fingers like it was the best thing since sliced bread. Ridiculously cute! OH, if only my parents could see!

LUNCH: 2:30pm, half a pork sandwich, fries, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Out in the West Village via bikes with my family. Heavenly, except for the mediocre sandwich. Travelling by 2 wheels as a family unit brings another layer of depth my my cycling career. Doesn't hurt that B just got a proper bicycle.

DINNER: 6pm, shrimp and broccoli with pork fried rice, egg roll, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Usually wait until AFTER a big ride to eat like this, but was feeling it.

Day of the Shortbread

The shortbread I made yesterday kept on jumping down my throat, bad shortbread!! Good thing it's all gone now, except for a dozen pieces set aside to compete in a bake-off in B's office. Good shortbread!

Took Edie to a play group at the local community center in the morning, we road the bike over the Manhattan Bridge and visted the resto in the afternoon. A short nap made the afternoon a bit cranky and we had to skip E's bday party, hopefully she'll appreciate that my daughter's safety and comfort kinda comes before all else...

BREAKFAST: 7am, iced green tea, organic wholegrain cheerios with the good unhomogenized milk, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


AM SNACK: 8:45am, piece of chocolate coated shortbread


LUNCH: 11:30am, rice noodles with curry sauce and fishballs, 2 lotus leaf wraps with pork, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 1:30pm, piece of chocolate coated shortbread

DINNER: 6:30pm, beef taquitos, shrimp burrito, 3 pieces chocolate coated shortbread, 2 bowl, hunger 4/5
Ordered in from a local Mexican place I've passed many times but never actually ate from. I heard from peeps that it's good, and indeed it was better than the more gringo-friendly places I've had, though I think I ordered wrong, like a gringo. I think I need to explore their menu a bit, get out of the gringo comfort zone...

Raviolios

The nanny may not of fed Edie enough yesterday, as she woke up hollering only an hour after I finally got to bed. It's not the nanny's fault, it just seems Edie becomes more resistant to food when fed by other people. Woke up again at 7, felt tired but energized by the last 2 days. E came over to cook, we knocked out some short bread and raviolis. I used bok choi from my CSA share to turn the dough green, and made a filling of sauteed kale & garlic scapes from the CSA, as well as onion, ricotta and parm, with nutmeg, paprika and cayenne and salt.

When B came home, she was hungry so I whipped up some raviolis for us. I made myself a dish of 10 pieces, and felt very unsatisfied after eating, so ate another ten. Then a heavy (albeit homemade) dessert after.


BREAKFAST: 7:30am, iced green tea, bagel with cream cheese and sable, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 1pm, sardine & avocado on wholewheat multigrain bread, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6:15pm, freshly made homemade cheese & chard ravioli in oil and grated cheese, 2 pieces of freshly baked shortbread and triple chocolate ice cream, 1.75 bowl, hunger 4/5

Wooooork

Long day at the 'rant.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 8:30am, good yogurt with honey, vanilla and almonds, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 11:30am, handful of bacon
When freshly cooked bacon comes out of the oven, it's hard not t o test it to make sure it's, you know, suitable for consumption.

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, vanilla soda, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 4pm, spinach lasagna, cranberry lime soda, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
The lasagna at the restaurant was sitting around too long, so we served it to the staff. Not particularly good, but filling.

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, Manhattan Special, .5 bowl, hunger 3/5


EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, ginger ale

Contemplating work meals

Busy enough at the restaurant to get into a haze, but not busy enough to be stressful. Being I don't get breaks, maybe I should either bring food or prepare my own food while there? This may evolve over the summer, I predict. The restaurant only has a 550 degree oven to cook in, may have work around that...

BREAKFAST: 8am, organic whole grain chex with industrial milk, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


RESTAURANT HAZE: 11am-10pm, including 4 pieces of pizza, a few spoonfuls of potatoes, 1 Manhattan Special, 1 sprite, a green salad, some water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 11pm, beef lomein, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Starving by the time I got home. Fortunately, I didn't get to bed until 1am, which means my digestive system was almost done with this by the time I went down.

My girls like to party all the time

I pooped out around 8:30pm yesterday, due to the 3:30am wake up and the bike ride, then the task of hand rolling over 150 summerrolls. I woke up around 8, definitely got enough sleep. I mixed three gallons of Arnold Palmers (half mint green tea, half lemon aide, then spiked each gallon with 2 cups of simple syrup, 1.5 cups of limoncello and 1 cup of gin -- surprisingly delicious!)

After going out for a few bags of ice, it was all action -- setting up in the park behind our building, then greeting our guests. We had positive RSVPS for about 60 adults and 20 babies, and maybe 3/4 showed up, which was still a lot of people. Weather reports shouted rain, but like on our wedding, lucked out with perfect weather -- sun with clouds, high 70s, and no rain for the time everyone was congregating. I thought I might of made too much food, but all 3 gallons of cocktails went, only 1 dinky avocado summer roll remained, and the triple chocolate ice cream I made was vanquished.

The party started at 12, and was full on by 12:30. It started to wind down around 2, and packed up and went indoors around 3, just as the clouds seem to gather. All in all, a wonderful and perfect party. It would of been better if the HVS was there (the avocado rolls and peanut dipping sauce was vegan), but I guess perfection will have to wait.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese and sable, 1 bowl


PARTY EATS: 11:30am-3pm, a few cups of Arnold Palmers, summer rolls, a couple of cupcakes, a few chocolate chip cookies, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6pm, shrimp curry with rice, samosa, naan, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Early Ride

Rode early, so I could have a good part of the day to prep for Edie's party. Unfortunately, the bike had technical issues and got home early.


BREAKFAST: 4am, cake, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 7am, gatorade, shrimp chips


BIKE SNACK: 8:30am, watermelon


LUNCH: 1pm, burger, fries, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 3-4pm, a few summer rolls


DINNER: 6pm, large green salad, cupcake, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Surprise surprise

Errands during the day, hosting a surprise party for Betsy in the evening.

AM SNACK: 8:15am, iced mint green tea


LUNCH: 11:15am, kipper & avocado and oatmeal bread, large green salad, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, cubes of cheddar, a few crackers, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6:30pm, bass with potato, pork ribs, 1 beer, 1 slice of cake, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Happy Birthday, Edie!

It was a year ago today that Edie was born. What a year! She's PERFECT!! I never would of thought a baby would just be so mackin'-ass cool, but she is. Started the day with a birthday cupcake, pulled back with a smoothie, went out to midtown to visit L and had mediocre Indian food, then lost it again with some left-over ice cream from a birthday last week. Finished the day with some comfort, and watching TV with B. A good day.


AM SNACK 1: 6:45am, chocolate cupcake


AM SNACK 2: 8am, iced mint green tea


BREAKFAST: 10am, smoothie, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Banana, grapes, mango, blueberries, cherries, acai juice, the good yogurt, vanilla, salt, ground flax.

LUNCH: 12:45pm, chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, rice, naan, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 5:30pm, chocolate-mess ice cream, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 10pm, Stouffers Frenchbread pizzas, small green salad, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Cooking & Catching Up

Spent the morning at the supermarket with Edie, then MAP came over and we made summerrolls together. Once she left, I made a couple dozen chocolate cupcakes, substituting milk for cream. They came out very tender and moist, much better than I thought they would. I made a simple buttercream frosting, which also came out really well, and before I knew it, I had three cupcakes for dinner instead of the salad I made in the morning.

I put myself to bed around 9, finally catching up on the sleep I missed the past two nights.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced mint green tea


BREAKFAST: 10am, pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese and smoked sable, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 1pm, shrimp summerrolls with lime fishsauce dipping sauce, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4pm, 4 more summer rolls, .5 bowl

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, 3 chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

Workworkworkwork pt 2

Slower day at the restaurant, though I was a bit tired through out. As the head person at the job, I don't get a break, so am limited to what is available to eat in the restaurant,. For lunch I had a cook make me a pizza off the menu, which if up to me would be on the menu: from the bottom, crust, olive oil, chopped clams and garlic, pecorino romano, shrimp, oregano. Pretty good.

BREAKFAST: 7am, mint green iced tea, pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


AM SNACK: 11:30am,  Manhattan Special, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 3pm, 2 slices cheeseless seafood pizza, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 10pm, 3 slices square pizza, soda, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Workworkworkwork

We thought the first official Monday of the restaurant would be a bit sleepy, but between a lot of business and being a little understaffed, I found myself "managing", which really means "serving-bussing-hosting-bartending-cashiering-etc" in a situation like that. A lot of fun, but didn't have time to really eat.  Tomorrow the 2nd half of my work week.

BREAKFAST: 8am, iced mint green tea, organic cheerios with organic dead milk, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


WORK HAZE: 10:30am-11:30pm, 2 slices of pizza, 1 soda, 1 Manhattan Special, 1 beer, 1 big beer, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4.5

Ride Day

Rode the bike 85 miles, to Seaside Heights, NJ, via a ferry that dropped me off in Sandy Hook. Hot & humid, no rain. The lunch options were limited, as Seaside Heights is a low-rent amusement boardwalk kind of town.


BREAKFAST: 7am, whole wheat waffle. mint iced green tea, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 10am, Entemann's apple pie, corn chips, Gatorade, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 1:30pm, meatball hero, diet coke. 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 5:15pm, cliff bar


BIKE SNACK: 6pm, 2 small bags of potato chips

DINNER: 9pm, shrimp fried rice, shrimp toast, bbq spareribs, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5