‘Tis the season…
… for long, golden walks!
This weekend I strolled through the sunlit trees and city streets quite a bit. My friend Greg was in town for a few days, so we crunchcrunchcrunch!-ed through the leaves for a couple hours while we caught up.
Charley loves the fall, too. Those big fluffy piles are fun to run around in! He tuckered himself out.
And when there’s time to walk, why take the subway? I subscribe to a few podcasts, whose authors kept me company on a particularly pleasant 5 mile walk on Sunday afternoon.
So, this weekend was just as relaxing and social as I’d hoped. On Saturday night, Danielle and I met Caitlin (who was visiting from Connecticut) for dinner at Josie’s. It was fun to finally meet her in person! Note to self: do not be afraid of the camera! Can’t you tell how awkward I am being on film?!
Every time I eat at Josie’s I order a tofu salad or stir-fry which is certainly delicious, but it was time to branch out and try something new! So I ordered the All Veggie Meatloaf, made with organic lentil, seitan, shiitake mushroom & sweet potato loaf; served over sautéed bok choy with miso gravy.
Ooh, so good! Before I was a vegetarian I never ate “real” meatloaf, but I found this to be just delicious. I know there are so many recipes out there for it so I’m going to have to try one myself!
On Sunday morning, my friend Caitlin and I visited the New York Chocolate Show at the Metropolitan Pavilion. One of my friends was able to give us guest passes, so we jumped the (enormous) line and saved the $40 ticket price! I’m so glad we were able to go… along with the rest of the city! It was so crowded.
Different chocolate artisans set up there stalls, showcasing everything from hand-ground cocoa for hot chocolate (what George Washington would have sipped! see photo below) to raw vegan chocolate to chocolate couture. Very, very cool. And of course, there were tons of free samples… we certainly quenched our chocolate cravings!
Chocolate for the Spirit 
Antidote 
Gnosis 
MOHO Cocoa
We loved many of the truffles (including old favorite 5th Avenue Chocolatiere and prize-winning Des Lis), but we both agreed our favorite treat at the event was Salt of the Earth Bakery’s chocolate chip cookie. Holy. Moly. The cookie was perfectly chewy and gooey and the sea salt dusting made it phenomenal. I ate many bites, but they were not enough!
I’ve been craving chocolate chip cookies for weeks now and am going to make my own soon. Sadly, that will have to wait a few more days.
The contents of our kitchen has moved from the kitchen to the dining and living rooms (where there has already been an unfortunate incident involving a poodle and a bag of flour) while we wait for the exterminator’s visit on Friday.
Oh, city life.
—-
Goal for 2011 update: Cook One New Recipe A Week
Week 1: Lemony Spaghetti with Bitter Greens & Chickpeas
Week 2: Lentil Chili
Week 3: Chickpeas in Star Anise & Date Masala
Week 4: Thai-Style Black Beans w/ Mango & Cilantro
Week 5: Ten Minute Tasty Asparagus & Brown Rice, Brussels Sprouts Salad with Cheddar and Toasted Almonds, Warm Red Lentil Salad, Garlicky Sesame-Cured Broccoli Salad.
Week 6: Beets, Spiced Quinoa & Yogurt, Sesame-Cooked Eggs Over Rice
Week 7: Curried Parsnip Fries
Week 8: Curried Lentils & Sweet Potatoes
Week 9: Rutabagas with Buckwheat, Black Beans & Kale, Garlicky Mushroom Greens
Week 10: Tamarind Lentils, The Double-Shift Scramble
Week 11: Spicy Chickpea Salad, Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze, Spicy Red Lentil, Peanut & Pumpkin Soup
Week 12: Sunday Night Supper Salad, Peanut Butter Banana-Berry French Toast Sandwich
Week 13: Grilled Cheddar-Mushroom Sandwich
Week 14: Black Bean Soup, Sweet Pumpkin Pudding
Week 15: Green Rice
Week 16: Matzoh Buttercrunch Candy, Quinoa with Moroccan Winter Squash and Carrot Stew
Week 17: Truffled Turnip Soup, Nutty Lemon Brussels Sprouts, Cookie Dough Smoothie
Week 18: Raw Chocolate Fudge Cake, Spring Pasta
Week 19: Chopped Kale w/ Hot Pepper Vinegar
Week 20: Ultimate Veggie Burgers, Mmm Sauce
Week 21: Ribbed Asparagus Salad with Lemon, Spinach & Chickpeas, Chocolate-Chip Blondies, Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough Pancakes, Leek Zucchini Pasta Salad
Week 22: Sesame Ginger Kale Salad, Hoisin Ginger Tofu with Smoky Tahini Slaw
Week 23: Pan-Seared Asparagus Salad with Frisée and Fried Egg, Baked Ziti, Brown Butter Banana Strawberry Bread, Green Bowl
Week 24: Quinoa Cookies, Chocolate Mousse
Week 26: Sweet Potato Stuffed with Caramelized Tempeh and Sautéed Kale, Shaved Fennel Salad, Summer Pesto
Week 27: Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge
Week 28: Choco-holic Pancakes
Week 29: Green Israeli Couscous Salad
Week 30: Swiss Chard with Currants and Pine Nuts
Week 31: Babaganoush Soup, Freekeh Risotto, Brown Butter (Plum) Cake or Cobbler
Week 32: (Modified) Tomato Salad on a Roll
Week 33: None 
Week 34: None
Week 35: Pappardelle with Spiced Butter
Week 36: Cucumber Peanut Salad, Grilled Peach and Avocado Salad
Week 37: Nut-Butter Crusted Fries
Week 38: Harvest Bread, Red Lentil Soup, Halibut with North African Spices, Warm Shrimp Salad with Red Chili, Kamut and Tarragon
Week 39: Roasted Garbanzo Beans and Garlic with Swiss Chard, White Bean and Parmesan Baked Orzo, Rustic Plum Crostata with Lemon Thyme
Week 40: Chocolate Cherry Pumpkin Bread
Week 41: Pumpkin Boatmeal for One
Week 42: Hot Apple Pie Pancakes, Lentil Stew with Pumpkin, Tamari Roasted Chickpeas
Week 43: Pear-Apple Compote, Four Easy Pizzas
Week 44: Pumpkin Softies, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie for One
Week 45: Rice + Beans for One, Rosemary Kale Chips
Week 46: One-Minute Chocolate Cake
1. Do you like long walks? Do you go alone or with friends, with headphones or silent?
2. What is your favorite chocolate dessert? And please share your favorite cookie recipes!
a chocolate show – how fun! and i love love love your kitchen. it’s so classic.
last night at the smith i had an epic chocolate peanut butter ice cream with caramel, toffee, nuts and whipped cream. it was HEAVENLY.
so. much. CHOCOLATE.
while traveling around Europe I’ve been forgoing public transportation and walking around most of the city. it means that I get to see so much that I wouldn’t if I were riding on the metro, plus I get to eat as many french fries and drink as much beer as I want without feeling too bad about it.
Glad you were able to enjoy the outdoors so much this weekend! And chocolate fest sounds like a blast
Good luck with the exterminator and I love the nature shots and you with the girls…fun, awesome pics
omg how fun!!!!!! what a cute little meetup and then the next day ath the chocolate show! you’ve got yourself a good connection there with the friend and the tickets! i seeriously love romping the city and walking (well not when its cold) but its one of my fav things to do is just walk the city coffee in hand and explore!
The best chocolate chip cookie recipe is on the back of the Toll House chocolate chips bag.
The best butter cookie recipe is from Gourmet magazine. I’ve tried them all over the years, and this one’s perfect.
Yikes– good luck with the exterminator!!
I love your dog– my parents have a standard poodle as well, and I love it when they let her fur grow out super fluffy
That chocolate show sounds amazing! Your description of that cookie has me seriously craving chocolate and sea salt. Hope the extermination goes ok, I can sympathise – we brought home some unwelcome guests when we stayed in NYC it seems
This blog has gone drastically downhill with the introduction of one Mr. Moscow. However, I made your brussel sprouts a while ago, and they were delicious.
i am craving chocolate now!! YUM!
looked like a great weekend