Week Four Update

As Week Four comes to a close, I feel woefully behind on completing this challenge.  But that's why they call it a challenge, right?  I had planned on doing two posts, but one got rescheduled to May 15th, and one happened on a day when work blew up, so I missed it (was supposed to volunteer at the hoboken homeless shelter, sigh...) But that's life.

Training for the Gran Fondo is going well... I completed a 67 mile ride, and have just two weeks left before the big day.  Also coming up in the next few weeks: a date with a psychic to get my cards read, guest bartending, and traveling to the Galapagos Islands!!!

One success I had: I made SEVEN new recipes... Shrimp Fra Diavlo over whole wheat pasta,  Apricot and cheese strudel, Mahi mahi tacos with a mango avocado salsa, Shrimp and chocolate tortilla soup, and Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon, JC's Sauteed Mushrooms, and JC's Beef-braised Onions. 

I need your help!
#22 on my list is to splurge on something sparkly... so I'm creating a new poll (check it out on the right!).  You have four options - what do you think I should splurge on? (Please don't think of me as super-materialistic... I simply have a tradition of buying myself a gift for my birthday/Christmas rolled in to one :) )

Option A: A Michael Kors watch, such as this gold one or this silver one
Option B: These Gold CZ and green onyx starfish earrings
Option C: Not traditionally what you would think of as "sparkly", but has that same effect
Option D: Way out of my price range... a gorgeous David Yurman ring (part of me really wants you to pick this one so I HAVE to get it, but my budget would definitely cry... sigh.  Responsibilities suck, huh?) Maybe this one as a less expensive alternative?

What do you think?  Don't forget to vote in my poll!

Week Three Update!

As Week Three (?!?!) comes to a close, I'm finding more and more things to put on my list of 30... that's the fun thing about lists, they just keep growing, right?  Or, maybe I could replace a couple of "eh" ideas on my current list... so, what are your thoughts on:
* Swapping Learn how to do the "Single Ladies" dance (by Beyonce), instead of the current #28, Finish a counted cross stitch
* Take a yoga class in Times Square, instead of #25, A picture a day for 30 days

Thoughts??

Number of items complete: 3 out of 30 (10%)

#7: Training for the Gran Fondo: 58 mile ride done.  Next week is 65ish.  I just took a look at the course, though, and I'm now scared.  No idea how I'm going to survive these long hills...

#9: 30 new recipes: 1 new recipe cooked this week: total 4 out of 30 (13.33%)

#10: Blog each of these post: 3 out of 30 (6.67%)

#12: 30 hours of community service:  0 hours out of 30 (0%)

#24: Quit something I do a lot of for 30 days: Decided I would stop pressing the snooze button... I attempted to start this past week, but was unsuccessful... we'll see how this week goes!

#29: Read 30 books: 1.5 of 30 books read! (3.33%)  Remind me not to pick a 700 page book as part of this challenge...

10 weeks left... I'm stepping up my game this week... expect to see some more posts :)

#17: Try a new food

I love food. Love it. Love cooking.  Love eating.  Love dining out.  Love dining in.  Have takeout delivered a couple times a month (yay for living in a one square mile city where every restaurant is willing to deliver!)

So this one is a challenge for me.  Try a food that I've never eaten before.  My local grocery store is pretty good about stocking interesting fruits (star fruit, lychees, gooseberries), as well as Mexican veggies (jicama, chayote).  I recently tried oysters (SO YUMMY!).  I took a bunch of cooking classes, and not only did I learn how to butcher a rabbit and make gnocchi (two different classes, FYI), but I ate pate for the first time!!  For further proof that this is a challenge for me... for my 29th birthday I had an entire lamb, followed by a Vegan chocolate cake (get it? HA!), including a taste of the lamb's brain (eww, mushy!)... so... suffice it to say, I'm adventurous when it comes to food.

Which makes this item hard, at least for me.  What new food could I possibly find?

Enter my good friend Elizabeth.  We work together.  We sometimes dress alike (unintentionally, although we joke about "getting the memo"). We workout after work together.  We think the same people are annoying.  We're besties. We also enjoy food, and the Hunger Games trilogy.  So we went to the local theatre, which was sold out for the Hunger Games, and then decided to go to a wine and tapas bar and just eat and drink.  (Tough life, huh?)  This amazing establishment also has a really interesting "foodie" type of menu, and one of things I noticed is that it offered BONE MARROW.

Elizabeth is amazing in that she's tried bone marrow before, so I can trust her.  So we order it, along with almost half a dozen other dishes (two different types of bruschetta, beet salad, brussel sprouts, AND giant meatballs), and then comes the bone marrow.

Thank god Elizabeth can teach me, otherwise I'd pick up the entire bone and start gnawing on it.  Don't do that.  

So what you do is take your fork (or a teeny spoon if they give one to you), and dig the stuff out of the bone, and then scoop it on to the little piece of toast that they give you.  And then you take a bite.

And it's delicious.  It tastes kinda like pate.  It's definitely rich in that it has some fat in it (like pate or liver), but it's light and airy, kinda like whipped cream is light and airy.  And it has a delicious meaty flavor, not like steak, but like pate.  Regardless, it was delicious, and a perfect way to end the meal.

So I challenge you.  Try bone marrow if any restaurant dares to offer it.  It's actually quite good.  And a tip for you: don't think "Ew I'm eating bone marrow!", think "Mmm, I'm trying something new!" and then dive in.  Let your taste buds flourish.  And be super cute like me when you have a friend take a pic of you devouring it:

Don't forget the glass (or three) of wine! ;)

Week Two Update

This week was another packed week, but unfortunately, not packed with many things on my "30 before 30" list...

I did get to see family this week =), even if it was for a semi-sad reason...

The perfect Manhattan, in memory of Aunt Margy

Number of items complete: 2 out of 30 (6.67%)

#7: Training for the Gran Fondo: 52 mile bike ride completed!  Up next.... 55ish, 60ish and 65ish... then the big 100!

#9: 30 new recipes: 3 new recipes cooked: total 3 out of 30 (10%)

#10: Blog each of these post: 2 out of 30 (6.67%)

#12: 30 hours of community service:  0 hours out of 30 (0%)

#24: Quit something I do a lot of for 30 days: Decided I would stop pressing the snooze button... I attempted to start this past week, but was unsuccessful... we'll see how this week goes!

#29: Read 30 books: 1 of 30 books read! (3.33%)  This past week I finished reading "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi.  Sad book... thankful for freedom.  Currently reading "Game of Thrones".  I should probably NOT pick 700 page books to read for this challenge!!!

11 weeks left... Any good book recommendations?  Any fabulous recipes I should try?

Week One Update!

I can't believe how quickly this past week went!  I didn't make too much progress as I was in New Orleans for the week - half fun, half work - but I did have fun with some really great friends.

Number of items complete: 2 out of 30 (6.67%)

#7: Training for the Gran Fondo is going well... my longest ride was 40 miles this weekend!

#9: 30 new recipes: # of recipes cooked: 0 out of 30 (0%)

#10: Blog each of these post: 2 out of 30 (6.67%)

#12: 30 hours of community service:  0 hours out of 30 (0%)

#24: Quit something I do a lot of for 30 days: Decided I would stop pressing the snooze button...

#25: Picture a day for 30 days: XX days down!

#29: Read 30 books: 3/4 of 1 book read! (0%)

So I'm making a bit of progress... but it's definitely slow.  12 weeks to go!

#13 Take a day and take advantage of NYC

As many of you know, I live in Hoboken, NJ, which is right across the Hudson River from NYC. 

Gorgeous sunrise shot of NYC from NJ

I've lived here for almost 8 years (yes, EIGHT), and I readily admit that I don't travel in to NYC as much as I used to when I first arrived here.  So #13 on my List is a personal challenge to inspire me to explore and take advantage of what is right next door...

The beautiful thing about completing #13 is that it just happened without any planning... which is rare for me!  My friend Naomi came to town, my roommate Ellie told her about the Brooklyn Smorgasburg, and thus we decided to go to Brooklyn... and the rest of the day (frequenting small shops, enjoying great wine, and a show to end the night) just fell in to place... And it was fabulous.

First up, the Smorgasburg....

Aerial shot of Smorgasburg, with the lovely Manhattan skyline behind (courtesy of brooklynflea.com)

Upon arrival, we were overwhelmed by the quantity of vendors, people, and dogs in one place.  We decide to start by seeing what options were out there... and man, were there options! Tacos, briskets, cupcakes, kale chips, summer rolls, lobster rolls, more brisket... it was hard to choose, but we settled on four bites:

Vegetarian Summer Roll.... delicious

Smoked Angus brisket.... PHENOMENAL

Cilantro lime falafel on whole wheat pita (really yummy and tangy)

My favorite of the day: Hotdog topped with Asian cole slaw from "Asiadog"

After stuffing ourselves with the delicious food, we decided to mosey around Williamsburg Brooklyn and see what was what.  We were both surprised at how cute it was... filled with hipsters and "people who dress like they hate their parents" (direct quote from Naomi), Williamsburg is still very industrial, but has lots of up and coming loft-like spaces and really fabulous shops.  On Bedford Avenue, we found tons of small restaurants and shops, and very few chains... it was nice to see small businesses flourish!

We stopped by the Brooklyn Brewery, went to a vintage clothing store across the street (where I bought a cute top for $8), and then ended up at a wine bar down the street, where we split a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc...

After the wine, we did some more shopping, stopped and had another drink at a cute French bistro, and then headed to southern Brooklyn for the "cultural" part of our day... a show at Capri Night Club. The Starlight Pole Show! A good friend was having her first showcase - and she NAILED it. 

For those of you out there who might disapprove of pole dancing... ladies (and men) who pole dance are extremely athletic and fit - just think about doing pull ups on a horizontal bar... it's no different, except that you're vertical... ;)

So bottom line - Brooklyn is kinda awesome.  Loved the small town feel, the great shops, and of course, venues where performers of all disciplines can showcase their talent!

#5 Eat at a 3 star Michelin restaurant

I love food.  L O V E Love. 

So it makes sense that the first challenge I complete is Eating =), and specifically eating at a 3 star Michelin restaurant.

I had the good fortune to need to be in New Orleans for work, and since I'd never been before, I decided to come early and explore.  My friends Katrin and Dave joined me, and we packed so much stuff in to 2 days - 5 hour bike ride/tour to Lake Pontchartrain, 2 tours of the French Quarter, a tour of the Treme, a visit to Mardi Gras World, and of course, walking up and down Bourbon Street.  

Hanging out at City Park on way back from Lake Pontchartrain

Hanging out with the Easter Bunny at Pat O'Briens

High fiving Drew Brees at Mardi Gras World

But let's not forget about the food... Incredible breakfasts, fabulous oysters, heavenly beignets at Cafe du Monde (twice!), and of course, sensational dinners. 

Devouring an entire bag of beignets from Cafe du Monde

Incredible oysters from Drago's

Praline bacon at Elizabeth's cafe

Celebrating Dave's 30th birthday at Commander's Palace - INCREDIBLE meal

But then Dave and Katrin had to leave to go back to work.  I stayed for work, but had a nice day to myself.

So naturally I continued the food tour of Nawlins and went to Stella! in the French Quarter, and splurged on the chef's tasting menu.  

Full disclosure here: Stella! is not a 3 star Michelin restaurant, but that's only because Michelin does not rate restaurants in New Orleans.  This place should be 3 star, though. It was incredible.

The chef's tasting menu is technically seven courses, but it ended up being a total of 10, as they provided two "amuse bouche" (which are "little bites of food to amuse the mouth and invigorate the palate") and at the end of the seven courses, 5 mini pastries.  Needless to say, I was stuffed.  But everything was incredible.  Here's what I consumed:

Course #1: "A Composition of Heirloom Beets - Pickled Beet Carpaccio, Baby Beet Confit, Roasted Beets, Beet Sphere and Citrus and Beet Dressing"... the beet sphere (second from the right) had a little beet chip on top, and was essentially beet juice in a bubble... the baby beet confit (second from left) had beet foam on top, which was kinda like air bubbles infused with beet juice.  This dish is just one of many that made me think I was judging Iron Chef... four little mini dishes in one, with fabulous presentation...

Course #2: Grilled Boneless Pork with Apple Fennel Pure, Apple Slaw, Herbed Barbecue Sauce and Spicy Kumquat Marmalade: Wow.  Each component individually was fabulous, but all together was a fabulous burst of savory, sweet, crunchy, creamy yumminess.

Course #3: Lobster Wonton Ravioli with a Lobster Reduction and Truffle Cappuccino: WOW.  While this may not look like much (there is lobster foam on top that hides the ravioli underneath), this was my favorite bite of the weekend.  The lobster ravioli was stuffed with this incredible lobster mixture that was just perfect.  The Truffle Cappuccino sauce was incredible by itself, but again, the combination was heavenly... 

Course #4: Pan Seared Scallop with Seared Covey Rise Farm Red Spinach, Fennel, Pink Grapefruit Butter and Citrus Dust: The scallop was cooked perfectly.  While not my favorite dish of the night, eating this dish alone as my main entree would have made me perfectly happy.  The combination of the grapefruit, fennel and scallop was amazing...

Course #5: Surf and turf - Grilled Prime Beef Tenderloin a la "Cajun Au Poivre", Stuffed Fingerling Potato with Lobster and Robiola, Caviar Creme Fraiche, Glazed Beets and Parsnip Puree: This dish is tied for first place on the amazing scale.  The beef (on the top left, kinda hard to see in my bad picture) was AMAZING.  Combine it with the cajun sauce (the smear that runs from the tenderloin towards the potato, bottom right) plus the parsnip puree, WOW.  It continues to amaze me how individually each component is amazing, but together in one bite, STELLAR.  The potato was good, couldn't taste the lobster... but it did not diminish my love of this dish...

Course #6: Frozen Chevre Parfait with Almond Financier, Poached Pears, Madeira Reduction and Caramel Croquant.  The pastry chef is in the running for a James Beard award because of this dish.  And I can totally understand why.  I'm not even that big of a dessert person, but this dessert was sweet and savory.  The parfait had goat cheese, the madeira wine sauce, the poached pears... so incredible.  

Course #7: A cheese plate.  This is not the typical course 7, but the chef was gracious enough to accommodate my preferences of not being that big of a fan of dessert... thank you, Chef!!!

 And this was the final (TENTH!) dish... five different mini bites of dessert...

All in all... WOW.  Wow.  As I said to my friend Katrin via text message: "Omg. Omg. O. M. G."  Not only was the food fabulous, but the service was outstanding.  Every time I drank water, someone was there to refill the glass.  Every little detail was attended to.  And, one of my favorite things, the wine.  Which was excellent. 

So, even though this was not technically rated 3 star by Michelin... am I good?  Did I fulfill the requirement?  Because if you all vote no, I'm gonna have to eat another amazing meal in the near future... and that would be a huge hardship on me ;)