The story of two necklaces

Two of my friends are Jennifers.

One is Jenny and one is Jenn. Perhaps people with the same names think alike? Because for this holiday both gave me really pretty necklaces. The first one if from Jenn, the second one is from Jenny. Thank you, girls.

+2=64

I know I've written about my mild obsession with shoes. It just got worse :)

I ordered the cutest pair of flats at Aldo and Stacey gave me a spare pair of my favorite red shoes for the holidays....the collection continues to grow.

A Season of Giving

You know those 20 cupcakes I made? I brought some to work and the rest to my rueda group. After all my dancing friends had a few cupcakes, I still had eight left and really did not want to take them home***. So after practice I decided to give the leftover cupcakes to homeless people around U Streen and luckily DeM came along for protection :)

To my surprise, we only found one homeless person, and he was more than happy to take two cupcakes.

Then I just asked random people waiting for the bus if they wanted a cupcake. I was actually surprised that most everyone said "yes." I don't think I would have taken unpackaged food from a stranger (might I have some trust issues?). By the time we got on the Metro I had 2 cupcakes left. One of them I gave to a Metro employee and told him to be careful not to get arrested for eating inside the Metro. He thought it was funny and said he'd wait till he gets out of the station before eating the cupcake.

The last cupcake I gave to the desk lady in my apartment building.

It felt so nice to give away all that chocolate!!!

***because that would mean I'll eat them, and I really should not. And plus, I still have cookies left over from the cookie exchange.

Oya or Oy Vey!!!

Stacey and I decided to go out for a holiday lunch this week and thought it'd be fun to choose a swanky new place where neither of us have been before.

After consulting one of our favorite people, Tom Sietsema of Washington Post (okay, yes, obviously we don't know him personally) we settled on Oya. We arrived at Oya shortly after 12:30 and were super impressed by the beauty of the restaurant. White was definitely the dominant color with highlights of silver, red and the warmth of a fire.

After we were seated and decided to get drinks (I had a pomegranate flavored drink, and Stacey a raspberry flavored one), the waiter brought out three delicious cheese puffs still warm from the oven. We were off to a good start!

Oya has a $19 lunch prix fixe menu and that's what Stacey and I decided to have.

My order: Grilled Sirloin with white beans and parsley vinaigrette; Tuna Burger with mirin, avocado, and tomato confit on brioche
Stacey's order: Tuna Tempura roll with scallions and seven pepper sauce; Grilled Beef Sirloin with fingerling confit, glazed mushrooms and beef jus
Dessert: we ordered the same dessert: Chocolate, Chocolate, and Chocolate: chocolate mousse/hazelnut biscuit/strawberries

We should have known something was off when it took more than 15 minutes to get our drinks, but we were happily chatting and snacking on our cheese puffs. The arrival of the drinks (really delicious!) made everything better. We drank, we chatted, we waited for the food to arrive.

...and we waited
...and we waited some more
...and then it was an hour later and no food has come and Stacey had to go back to work because she had a meeting.

So what happened? Stacey left and asked for her food to be made to go. I stayed. Eventually I received my appetizer and it was really good. The meat was cooked perfectly and the white beans with carrots and a bit of celery tasted exactly like the vegetables in my mom's beef soup: perfect! After more waiting and looking around and listening to other people's conversations, I received my tuna burger. It was not what I expected. The bun was huge! (and yes, I have a little mouth) There was just too much tuna and not nearly enough avocado or tomatoes. Also, it came with a salad, which although was pretty good (just some fancy greens in a vinaigrette), wasn't substantial as a side dish. But I was just glad to finally have food in front of me.

I then asked for my dessert to be to go as well, because I had to return to work too (yes, shocker!). But there was still an issue of Stacey's main dish. The manager brought out an appetizer version and had to go back to the kitchen to correct her mistake. Two hours since the lunch started I finally had all the food and was ready to go back...

...but was it really fair of them to expect us to pay? I did not think so. I asked the manager if she really expected us to pay and she said she'll go talk to the manager (excuse me? I thought she was the manager!). The waiter came over and asked if everything was okay and when I told him about the "manager" he said I was free to go. I left the tip, took Stacey's bagged lunch and my dessert and left.

Hopefully the dessert will be really good.
I can't decide if I'll go back to Oya.

Oy Vey.

Triple Chocolate Threat

(I promise this is my last posting today)

Tomorrow my rueda group is going to have a mini holiday party before our practice. I decided to make chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and a little chocolate chip on top (I LOVE chocolate).

The first five
14 for the party
Stacey, this is yours

(the best part is that I somehow managed not to eat a single one just yet!)

Dinner: egg rolls

I just made one of the best dinners ever! I had leftover pork/cabbage/carrot mixture from last night. To that I added chopped water chestnuts. I then rolled the mixture inside the egg roll wrappers and cooked the egg rolls in a quarter inch of oil in a pan for about 2 min on each side. So unbelievably good!!!! (Now I'll have to decide what else I can put inside the wrappers)

Dinner: Mushroom Caps

This post is dedicated to Angela :)

Yesterday I went to Angela's cookie exchange and she was singing me praises. She was impressed how I can open my refrigerator, see what's inside and invent a meal. Tonight, I did just that.

A few days ago I gave pork another try, and although it wasn't horrible, it wasn't stellar. I decided to put the rest of the cooked pork chops through my food processor's shredding blade. Carrots and cabbage met the same faith.

I then sauteed the pork, cabbage and carrots together in some olive oil, salt, sweet chili sauce, a bit of sesame oil (very little!), soy sauce and hoisin sauce.

The mixture tasted, but I needed a vessel for it. I did not have tortillas or wanton wraps, but I had 4 portobello mushrooms! I removed the stems and black gills from the mushrooms: vessels ready.

I then broiled the mushroom caps drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt for 5 minutes, and then filled them with cabbage, pork, and carrot combo, but still there was something missing: CHEESE! Luckily, I had a chunk of cheddar in the refrigerator!

I really liked the combination of flavors! Tomorrow I might buy some pre-made wanton wrappers and make little wantons with the leftover filling.

OMG too many SHOES

I was doing laundry tonight and saw an ad for a shoe rack. I decided to check it out and purchased a wooden shoe rack for $5.

While putting my winter shoes on the shoe rack I realized to my horror just how many shoes I have. It's insane! I'm honestly scared to count the number of pairs.

Below are two pictures: the first is of my new shoe rack, the second is a pile of my summer shoes...and I still have more....OMG....

I just counted: sixty two (pairs, not individual shoes..but a lot of them are flip flops...and there are a bunch that I could probably get rid off, but I really don't want to)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG

The Scarf is DONE!!!

Here is the final product.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

I decided to add 13 tassels on each side to make the scarf look more professional.

As a side note, just because someone is knitting, does not mean they are expecting.

Biscotti!

Tomorrow I'm going to my first ever cookie exchange and decided to bring 3 dozen of biscotti!

The recipe is courtesy of Robyn Webb, but of course I had to tweak it a bit. I added orange zest and dried cranberries in addition to almonds and also increased the amount of sugar.


Picture 1) dry ingredients

Picture 2) once baked biscotti cut on a diagonal and about to be put in the oven for the second time

Picture 3) ready to eat! (if you want to indulge, you can dip them in some melted chocolate)

The basic recipe is below (I multiplied the recipe by 1.5 and it made approximately 40 biscotti)

BISCOTTI( CANTUCCINI)

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon6 ounces whole blanched almonds
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon and stir well to mix. Stir in the almonds.
3. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and the vanilla extract. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until a stiff dough is formed.
4. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Roll each half into a cylinder, just a bit shorter than the baking sheet. Place the dough onto the baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Press down gently with the palm of your hand to flatten the logs.
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until they feel firm to the touch. Place on a rack and let cool.
6. Once the logs have cooled, slice each log into diagonally cut pieces about 1/3 inch thick. Arrange the cantuccini cookies on prepared pans, cut side down.. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes until well toasted (Note: mine took more like 25 minutes). Cool completely.

Hanukkah presents #2, 3, 4, 5, and 6

Here are a few more Hanukkah presents I bought for myself :)


#2 Very Sexy Makeup Gel Liner Duo in Black and Extra Olive: I left my makeup brushes at work, but hopefully this will be the easiest eye liner I've ever had. (The color in the picture below is not the one I bought, I just wanted to post a picture of the package)

#3 and 4 Clinique's Lash Building Primer and High Impact Mascara: ever since Nicole gave me a trial size, I fell in love with this Clinique duo. The friendship did not last, but my love for Clinique mascara did: so I decided to splurge.

#5 A key chain from Hallmark with my initial on it
#6 ROC Retinol Correxion cream: after all, I am getting older

2 more to go ;)

Dinner: not my dad's borscht

My dad makes the best borscht. He takes his time to peel, cut, shred and mince the vegetables. He then sautes separately carrots with onions and garlic, and beets. He tastes and adjusts the seasonings, adding tomato sauce, sugar and lemon juice as necessary. It often takes most of the day, but the end result is worth it. Every time Anna and I go back to Seattle, there is a pot of borscht waiting for us in the refrigerator.

Tonight I made borscht using the beets I roasted earlier in the week. I did not have all the necessary additions such as tomato paste or fresh dill or the root of parsley, but it turned out well, and will only get better after sitting in the refrigerator over night.

I'm still looking forward to a bowl of my dad's borscht when I visit in February.

Lunch: beet greens

I'm home with a cold. I've had the cold since last week, but braved going to work (LMAO) and still did all the other things on my calendar. Perhaps it's finally catching up with me, and I stayed home today and might stay home tomorrow and Friday.

What does that mean to you? It means I can post yet another quick lunch.

Last week I bought beets: not in a can or a jar, but fresh beets with green leaves still attached to them. I roasted the beets, and they are currently getting acquainted with the other ingredients in a large pot and will eventually turn into borscht.

I saved the beet greens and used them today to make lunch using Robyn Webb's spinach recipe as an inspiration.

All you need to do is saute garlic and red pepper flakes in some olive oil. Add the greens. Let them cook until the done-ness you like (crunchy or soft, etc) and season with salt and pepper. When the greens are done, add golden raisins and toss in some toasted pine nuts. Enjoy!

** I realize the pictures look a bit flashed, but without a flash they looked sort of dead **

Knitting

My grandmother knit. My mom knit. My sister and I knit too. Recently I started yet another scarf project and thought I'd post pictures of the different scarves I've made over the years.

This scarf I made from a turtleneck I used to have that shrunk after being washed too many times. Taking my mom's advice (doesn't happen often) I washed the unraveled yarn, then stretched it on the chair and only then started knitting. Love how it turned out. And the pompons are made the same way I used to make pompons when I was in kindergarten.

This is a copy cat of Anna's scarf, but hers is in black. One year we were visiting our parents in Seattle and she put the scarf on a little table, and it looked exactly like our parents' cat Gypsy. (This is the scarf I was wearing when one of the guys at work asked if I used to model :) )



This scarf I made from leftover yarn I think I took from my grandmother. I don't wear it often because the colors are hard to match to my outfits, but I like the two tone look and of course the tassles.





This is just a simple scarf, but very soft and super long.









This is my new project. You simply knit, pearl, knit, pearl all the way across. And then the second row is reversed. It looks almost like a honeycomb and is really easy but for some reason is taking forever. Hopefully I'll finish it with enough time to actually wear it this winter.

I'm FAMOUS...

...or at least my name is :)

Chicken Salad

Yesterday was a really busy day and I needed to make something super quick for lunch. I decided to make chicken salad using the chicken leftovers I had from latkes/chicken dinner.

Directions/Ingredients:
In a bowl mix together the following: 1 cubed chicken breast; 1 peeled and cubed mango, a few tablespoons of chopped red onion, one scallion thinly sliced, some pine nuts and mayonnaise (I'm not saying how much I added)

Add a few dashes of turmeric and season with salt and pepper. Delicious!

Variations:
You can also use apples, peaches, raisins, dried apricots. Cilantro or parsley would go well with the salad too. Basically just experiment!

Snowflakes!!!

Every year I make snowflakes from tissue paper. Why? Because they are pretty, they decorate my large windows and because it reminds me of my childhood: my mom always made snowflakes from paper and aluminum foil with me and my sister.

I usually make at least 20 small snowflakes, but this year decided to do something slightly different. I made five big snowflakes, one for each window pane, in a geometric/modern design, at least that's what my intention was.

Enjoy :)

Dinner: got latkes?

I decided to make latkes tonight, but with a twist.

Ingredients and Directions
1) peel and shred one large sweet potato (I used my handy food processor)
2) thinly slice 3 scallions on a diagonal (both green and white parts)



3) put one piece of bread into a food processor and "process" until the bread is in tiny pieces (or use store bought bread crumbs)
4) combine the potatoes, onions, and bread crumbs with 2 eggs, salt and pepper

5) take some of the mixture and form it into a thin patty and cook in oil (do not skimp on oil!!!) for 2-3 minutes on each side [Note: make one latka first and taste it for flavor: you might need to add more salt]

6) repeat step 5 to make all latkes and then put them on a cookie sheet and finish in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes to make sure potatoes are cooked through

7) serve with sour-cream

8) I also had chicken marinated in lemon juice, oil, garlic and fresh thyme

Hanukkah present #1

Every year my grandparents give me money for Hanukkah. And every year the money goes directly into my banking account. This time I decided to do things differently: I'm going to buy myself 8 presents (one for each night of Hanukkah) with that money.

Present #1: a pretty necklace.

I have been trying to find a black faceted bead necklace for at least 3 months without any luck. Today Stacey and I took a mini shopping trip to Union Station and that is when Stacey found the perfect necklace at Ann Taylor. Why is it perfect? It is black, it is faceted, and it is beaded. In fact, I've seen this necklace multiple times before, but did not buy it because it was nearly $70. Well, today it was on sale! I bought it! And after removing one of the strands, it is nearly exactly what I've been looking for. So there you go, Stacey, credit given where credit is due :)
(on the left is the original necklace, on the right is the"updated" version on my neck)

Say What???

I was looking over my blog a few days ago and realized I only had one entry under "say what???" category. I guess no one has said anything overly amusing to me lately...that is until today!

I was in the elevator at work on my way to lunch. One of the men seemed to be walking in the same general directions as me. He asked me something, but I could not understand what he said. So I said: "excuse me?" He asked again: "Did you use to model?" You should have seen the shock on my face! I asked him if in fact he asked if I used to model. He said yes, that is what he asked. Obviously I answered that I've never modeled in my life. He said: "well, you should!"

RIGHT!

Not sure if this is pertinent, but I was wearing an off white turtleneck, my crazy white scarf (Anna has the same one in black) and green corduroy pants.

People continue to amuse me!

Dinner: Another quick and easy idea!

I only had an hour and a half tonight to get home, make dinner, eat, put on my makeup, get dressed and meet Paige at the Kennedy Center for The Queen of Spades, performed by the Kirov Opera.

Not only was my time limited, but I also had a limited supply of food in my refrigerator.
Here is what I made: potato and pepper Spanish tortilla.
1) cut 2 small potatoes (I used my food processor to make sure all the slices were super thin and uniform)
2) cook the potatoes in olive oil and season with salt and pepper
3) add one yellow pepper cut into strips (or it can be red, cut into cubes, or green beans, or whatever else you have on hand) and fresh oregano
4) mix together 5 eggs with a bit of water (or milk, if you have it), add a bit more salt and shredded cheese
4) once the potatoes and peppers are pretty much cooked through, pour the egg mixture over them. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan and let it cook until the mixture is set.
5) then slip the tortilla on the plate and then flip it back into the pan to firm up what used to be the top of the tortilla (if I had more time, I would have put more cheese on it and put it under the broiler, but alas...)
6) Cut into wedges and serve!




P.S. Paige and I only managed to see the first act of the Opera. The set design and the costumes were gorgeous, the singing was beautiful, and I could understand most of it without reading the English translation (the singing was in Russian). We just could not bear the thought of staying for two more acts, which would have lasted another 3 hours ;)

My Jewish-ness

I just got home after watching Bad Faith at the Jewish Film Festival. There were so many parts that hit close to home, and honestly, I was almost disappointed to see a happy ending. Do those really exist? (I guess I might spoil it for some of you if you are planning to go see it...).

One of the lines in the movie dealt with being a religious Jew versus a cultural Jew. I am definitely a cultural Jew.

Tonight is the second night of Hanukkah, and I'm sitting in my kitchen at 11:18 pm instead of going to bed. Why? Because I lit the candles on the menorah that Cindy gave me years ago and am now waiting for them to burn down. Why am I doing this? Do I really believe in the miracle of oil lasting 8 nights instead of 1? Not really, but I think it is a good story, it gives people hope. Plus, I like candle-light and the fact that I'm continuing with the same tradition followed by so many generations before me.

Tomorrow I'm getting together with Paige to make latkes. I'll light the candles again, and will probably do it for all 8 nights of Hanukkah. And then next Tuesday I'll go over to Cindy's to celebrate the holiday with her family. For me, it is more about spending time with the people you care about, good food, and chocolate gelt (preferably dark!).

Will I fast on Yom Kippur? No. Will I give up bread during Passover? No. But I will remember being a little girl and looking for the first star in the sky as a sign that my parents' fasting was over and we could all have a family meal together. And I will eat matza and maybe even make harosetz.

I'll leave you with the pictures of my menorah lighting up my somewhat messy kitchen.

Happy Hanukkah!

Watch me Dance!!!

Last month I took my love of salsa dancing to a new level. With encouragement from DeM I joined a rueda group. What is rueda? Check out the full definition and history on Wikipedia, but basically, it is a salsa related dance. Couples form a circle and the leader calls out the moves, which every couple performs simultaneously. The male partners also move from one girl to another. To me, it's a combination of line dancing and synchronized swimming.

I was super nervous at my first practice because I never took formal dancing lessons (other than my one class in hip hop and 6 tango classes), and have never seriously considered joining a dancing group. To my relief, it was a blast! Fun music, really nice people, beautiful studio, and although many of the moves were new to me, I was able to keep up.

So far we've had 3 practices and I'm looking forward to more. There is a talk of us performing some time in Spring. I need to get my body ready for those costumes ;)

Take a look at this short video from last Saturday's practice (the video effect is actually in reverse!)

(Zuzu was missing)

Love and Dance

This is not an entry about yet another crush I have on someone from the dancing scene :)

Last night I went to see Love and Dance as part of the Washington Jewish Film Festival.

Chen is a young boy constantly in the middle of the cultural conflict between his Russian born mother and Israeli father. While strolling the halls of a community center, Chen stumbles upon a ballroom dance class for children and is instantly taken with a beautiful young Russian girl in the class. His infatuation with Natalie leads him to join the class. Through his ballroom dancing, Chen ultimately helps to bridge the cultural divide in his own family – with a little help from the cha cha and the tango. Love and Dance is a multi-layered coming-of-age story, peppered with themes of ethnocentricity and cultural differences.

I absolutely LOVED this movie...even teared up a few times. Surprisingly, more than half of the movie was in Russian, so I did not even have to read the subtitles. The rest was in Hebrew, and I was happy to realize that I understood some of the simple words.

This was such a touching story. Definitely go see it if it will play in your area.

Dinner: leftover surprise

Today I took a dessert class with Sarah in Sur La Table. There was so much sugar, chocolate, nuts, etc. So for dinner I wanted something quick and relatively healthy. Unfortunately, it was raining and I had to use only the things I had in my fridge.

Here's what I did: saute green beans in oil, add sliced garlic, cook for a few minutes. Add sliced roasted peppers, kalamata olives and fresh basil. Season with salt and pepper. Once everything is cooked to your desired doneness, add feta cheese and toasted pine-nuts. Awesome!