After passing a pleasant couple of hours at Gina’s on Sunday, we all motivated and set out on the three-block walk to Kareen’s house for her combined birthday and going away party. The boys were appropriately effusive:

Kareen is leaving for grad school in Israel this week, and we are sad to see her go! But not too sad to pose in classic NYU girls formation:

(Photo courtesy of Gina. Left to right, starting in back: Wife, Gina, Kate, Kareen, me)

And definitely not too sad to celebrate in her honor with lots of food 😀

In addition to the tables of snacks, Kareen had some trusty men manning the meat:

I kept things light for my first plate since we all know how crazy I go when it comes to party food.

I had salad, marinated veggies, chips, hummus, and fresh salsa:

And then the protein medley began:

We did a good job of sharing each new thing that came off the grill so that no one ended up suffering from meat overkill (except for maybe Chris who, according to Gina, made Monday a salad day — I almost fell over from shock when I heard that — to make up for Sunday). There were chicken wings, lamb ribs (?), pepper steak, morningstar “chicken” patties, pepperoni, and various other parts of the chicken. All kosher of course!

This skewer was a hit, as you can see from Kate’s starving glare in the background:

And Gina’s eventual attack:

Wife went wild over the veggie burger:

Ted showcased his superhuman strength in an uncharacteristically creepy moment with a beer can:

And the princess of the ball kept herself busy with a funnel:

I admired the scenery, as usual:

Also as usual, I got way too excited about the food, like the dazzling array of watermelon, strawberries, and cherries:

And this perfectly charred cob! Corn was in short supply, so I had to share the kernel love of course.

Someone who was after my heart had the brilliant idea to skewer kosher marshmallows.

And the equally brilliant though somewhat misguided idea to throw them on the grill alongside burgers and hot dogs for a toasting session.

Ummmm, I’m so glad I was not the one responsible for cleaning that grill at the end of the night!

And then, what’s a night in expansion-land without cake??

Chocolate mousse birthday and bon voyage cake, to be exact.

I had a whopper of a piece, alongside a white sugar rose:

And a rare concession to the power of flash in the name of capturing the full density of this masterpiece:

For the even more kosher and dairy free in the bunch, there was a thing called “pie nuts cake.” No one knew what that meant or what it contained. Cinnamon and nuts were pretty safe guesses though.

At around 9:45 (wayyyyy past my Sunday night bedtime), I told Wife that I needed to be removed from the situation before I accidentally ate all of the pie nuts. Fireworks were set off illegally in our honor (ok, maybe they were in Kareen’s honor):

And then we continued with our law-breaking streak by squeezing too many people into Wife’s car for the ride home. I sat in the middle on top of the seat back that had been lowered to make room for Ted’s workout bench. (Yes, Ted travels with his workout bench. How else do you think he’d be able to develop those superior can-crushing skills?)

Sigh, I wish summer could last forever (minus the summer classes).

Have you witnessed/taken part in any law-breaking lately? And what was the reason for the last party you attended?

Sunday morning, the “family” and I took a group field trip to the gym first thing. It was lovely to have guests who wanted to be active! When we returned home, I went straight for one of Wife’s homemade farm-inspired blueberry scones (she used this recipe) and topped half with SOTBPPBDCS butter:

Mmmmmmmmmm, this was delicious. Thanks, Wife!

I ate some yogurt and fruit on the side (about three times this amount, actually!):

We puttered around and had some more snacks, and then we were off for more adventures! Ted was in the mood for a light lunch, so I steered us toward Sweet Melissa, an adorable patisserie where I’ve eaten many times before (most recently for dessert).

Wife and Ted split the smoked salmon platter:

(I had a piece of that delicious and crusty seedy bread with some of their dill cream cheese.)

And I ordered the green apple and goat cheese salad with walnuts and cranberries, aka the most enormous salad ever:

There were mountains and mountains and mountains of greens and toppers.

But we all know I ate the whole thing!

After lunch, we made a stop into the grocery store because we needed to pick up something kosher to bring to our friend Kareen’s birthday party. The original plan was chicken, but the world of kosher chicken seemed a little too daunting. We settled on Hebrew National hot dogs and free samples of black and white cookies:

Fully lunched and supplied, we all drove out to Gina’s house (yay for guests with cars!) so that Wife and Ted could get in some solid visiting time with her. While we chatted, we (as in I) snacked on grapes.

And Jelly Bellys:

(Gina suggested that I bring the nearly full box home after we’d snacked on a few, and I did not hesitate!)

Gina had just come back from a baby shower and had received this little box containing candy favors. The box reminded me of myself just a little too much, so I took a picture and took the candies 😛

While the boys were content inside engrossed in the Yankees game (I think), I convinced Wife and Gina to go for a stroll in Marine Park. We had an excellent time chatting about life and Mister Softee imposters. When we got back to the house, Gina (aka Divine Priestess of Chocolate) whipped out some goodies she had hanging around. I had a bite of this amaretto chocolate truffle:

Thanks to Gina, I have several more waiting in my freezer for the perfect moment 😀

Also, I need to apologize for my complete lack of blogging etiquette as of late! I know I’ve been a failure at replying to comments and reading your blogs. Please don’t take it personally. I am having quite the time trying to balance work and the intense grad school summer session schedule, and some things that I was able to do before have joined the realm of physical impossibility. I do, however, like to post about my food adventures and find it kind of therapeutic, so I hope you enjoy my stories even if I seem to disappear for big chunks of time! If you have a question or comment that requires an actual response, it’s probably best to email me directly at talesofexpansion@gmail.com. I love reading your comments, but I can’t pore over them with a fine-toothed comb the way I normally would, so I’ll be able to respond faster if you email.

With my crazy summer schedule, multi-tasking has become an even greater key to surviving each day. How do you combine exercise with social activities?

Saturday night, I rounded up the troops for a rare night out in Brooklyn and convinced Wife, Ted, and Kate to try brook-vin, a newish wine bar just blocks away from my apartment.

I love everything about how this place looks. I always walk by brook-vin after work/class and wish I had time to go bask in the warm lighting and exposed brick walls and lush garden instead of going home and to bed. It seems cozy and charming inside, so I’ve been dying to try it even though I don’t even drink wine!

Wife and I had a little photo shoot:

And then we all moved out to the garden to take advantage of the unseasonably cool and comfortable weather.

Wife and Ted engaged in intense philosophical discussion (I’m not even being sarcastic here) regarding drink selection:

And I enjoyed the scenery some more because I like to keep things superficial and non-taxing on the weekends!

Wife and Ted ordered wine, Kate ordered the raspberry ginger lemonade (house infused raspberry vodka with house infused ginger lemonade), and I ordered the Spanish 75 (house infused strawberry gin, lemon juice, framboises topped with Cava):

My drink was lovely — very fizzy and refreshing without any sort of sickening sweetness.

And I felt the burn immediately from it, too. I stood up to go to the bathroom and had to pause for a moment to get my bearings. That did not used to happen to me after only three sips. I’m such an old lady!

For dinner, Kate and I shared the shaved vegetable salad with peas, mint, and reggiano:

I loved the paper-thin slices of veggies, especially the beets (not to mention the big mountain of reggiano on top).

Kate and I also split the tartine with Salvatore Brooklyn ricotta, roasted cherry tomatoes, aged balsamic, and basil (though I think it was actually cilantro):

Wife and Ted shared the tartine with white beans, fennel salad, piquillo peppers, and smoked paprika oil:

Along with the panzanella salad (local tomatoes, bread, capers, oil):

Wife and Ted were actually a bit underwhelmed by their selections and agreed that Kate and I had picked the winners of the evening. I loved what we ordered. It made me want to go back to brook-vin every night!

We enjoyed chatting for a couple hours as the sun set and all the pretty lights came on:

After dinner, Kate headed home, but Wife, Ted, and I took a little stroll farther down the street for some yogo monster:

I ordered a small tart original with kiwi, chocolate chips, and coconut. Ted treated, awwwww. What perfect house guests!

That makes, what, the 17th frozen yogurt I’ve eaten in the past week?? I ended up sharing half with Wife and Ted because they had only split a small between the two of them.

Other snacks of the weekend, courtesy of my guests, included a piece of this fruit leather (along with unpictured tapioca ball tea in Hanco’s):

And rice crackers with light sheep’s milk feta:

I also received this special delivery (another expandable bag, yayyyyyy!!! as you’ve seen, I use these allll the time) from Leslie at Jackson’s World because I won her Envirosax giveaway:

How many times would you eat frozen yogurt/ice cream in one week?

Saturday morning, I was up nice and early for my amended Saturday routine. Kate had emailed on Friday suggesting that we check out this event in place of our usual hot yoga class. Free stuff? I am there!

While Wife and Ted slept on, I got myself psyched for early morning exercise with part two of my Amazing Grass adventure:



Unlike the packet I tried Friday that had other grasses and fruits, this packet was 100% wheat grass powder.



It was greener and grassier and not really sweet at all, but I was a fan again! I think something about eating cool whip straight from the tub Friday may have re-wired my taste buds to crave grass.



Wife woke up, so we just had time for a little chat before I had to go meet Kate. The Women’s Health event was held at Pier 46, a gorgeous spot in the West Village right on the Hudson. Any time I’m near water, I can’t help taking scenery pics!







Our plan was to attend the 10:30 Lyrical Vinyasa class (part of the event was free Crunch classes all day long — too bad we didn’t have more time!), but it was full already, so we contented ourselves with some free sampling from Edy’s new Yogurt Blends line.



Nothing like froyo-for-breakfast (the theme of my week, apparently).



I had one of each of course. It was delicious and creamy and perfect 😀





Free photoboothing with gourmet sunglasses:



And free trampoline-bungee jumping!

I actually managed to flip over backwards! And more than once!

I did it until the froyo in my belly got angry, at which point I kindly asked to be released.

After the event, Kate and I speed-walked through the sun-dappled West Village streets (yet another place I can only dream of living):

And a street fair where I had a little sample of Amy’s bread:

And the subway system until we made it to CSA pickup just in the nick of time:

This week, we each got tons of mesclun, 1/2 head of green lettuce, 1/2 bunch frisee, 1/2 bunch kale, 2 cucumbers (one green, one white), 1/2 kohl rabi, 1/2 lb zucchini, 1/2 lb yellow/pattypan squash, 1/2 lb cherries, 1/2 pint blueberries, and 3 eggs.

I’d never heard of or seen a kohl rabi before, but apparently it is also known as a German turnip and is a member of the cabbage family.



After the CSA pickup, I was finally able to make it to the library during open hours so I could return a wayyyyyy overdue book and renew my library card. Phew! It felt so good to get all of that taken care of. I made myself a big yummy salad for lunch and then set to work getting ready for the evening!

What is your experience with bungee cords (i.e. bungee-jumping, using them to tie stuff to the roof of your car, etc.)? I went bungee-jumping for real at my brother’s 2002 wedding in Costa Rica. It was fun, but it was definitely one of those things that I was happy to cross off my list so I never had to do it again …

I’ve done it. I’ve jumped on the train.

The Amazing Grass train, that is!

Friday morning, I knew that the big breakfast was coming up at work, so I needed something to hold me over and keep me busy until it started. Enter Green SuperFood packet:

I’ve been hearing so many wretched things about the taste of this stuff, so I was all set to blend in bananas and blueberries if needed. I sniffed the powder. It smelled green.

I mixed in about two cups of water and shook.

… And I actually liked it! It definitely tasted green, but it was sweeter than I had expected (almost a little too sweet, really). I can see how these would be an excellent between-meals or pre-workout snack. The flavor was mild and fresh and offered a nice contrast to all the junk I’ve been eating lately!

Moving on, when I left work on Friday, I ran into my coworker Erik on the subway. He lives out near me in Brooklyn and was heading to Prospect Park for another Celebrate Brooklyn show with Los Amigos Invisibles and Aterciopelados. (I don’t know either band, but yay for Spanish!) I was on the fence about going since I had lots to do in my apartment (in addition to greeting Wife and Ted, my house guests for the weekend), so I just dropped Erik off where he needed to get in line and headed home to assess the situation and make sure everything was under control.

As I mentioned earlier, I arrived to quite the array of presents from my “spouses.”

First, Wife brought me a delayed Christmas present: a handmade poster of all the places we went the summer we lived in Ireland (5 years ago, ack!). Next, she brought me a bag of homemade blueberry scones and a bag of homemade blueberry muffins from her berry-picking adventure with Ted last weekend. I had a couple crumbs from a smushed piece, mmmmmmm. They’re all in my freezer now. I can’t wait to eat them for real!

And last but not least, they brought me a little package of fruit-shaped marzapan, straight from Sicily where they visited a few weeks ago!

I loooooooooooooooooove marzapan and I love fruit, so I was excited about this package. I broke into the little orange right away:

Maybe I should be a food sculptor (in my time off from traveling the world saving babies). I think it would be so fun to play with marzapan.

Wife and Ted headed out to meet some of Wife’s friends nearby, and I got a text from Erik that he had randomly run into two of our other coworkers, Ray and Jose (and Ray’s wife Alicia), at the park. OK, NYC is a shockingly small world, but it’s not that small. I don’t usually run into people from East Harlem in Brooklyn, and especially not at such a packed event! As I said to Erik, I clearly needed to scoot over to the park since the entire male population of my workplace was there. I located the boys and plopped myself down on a little square of lawn.

The Colombian band Aterciopelados was up first. They were a crazily eclectic band covering all sorts of genres and just seemed like very unique people in general. Look at those snake-shaped mic stands!

The second band, Los Amigos Invisibles, was a Venezuelan party band that also spanned a million genres from disco to meringue. The audience was holding up cell phones in place of lighters. Ohhhhh, technology.

And here I am with the boys: Ray, Jose, and Erik.

It was a lovely way to spend such a gorgeous night, and it’s a rare experience that allows me to be in the minority as a female (just a teeny teeny drawback to the social work profession overall). I did not mind the change of scene one bit!

Do you prefer to drink grass or sit on grass?