A Cure for Whatever Flu You May Have

Never would I ever claim to be a health professional, although I do technically work in the mental health field, but I WILL claim to have a cure for *almost* anything you are suffering from.



This, my friends, is a big bowl of D.Z. Akin's Mish Mash soup. Almost as good as their rugelach, this soup is the perfect cure for a bad mood, a bad case of the coughs, or a minor fever. The illness I was suffering from the night I enjoyed my bowl of Mish Mash was extreme hunger, clinically known as the "foodius moodius."

D.Z. Akin's Mish Mash soup contains (1) matzo ball, (many) fresh noodles, (4) carrots, (1) Jewish meat ravioli that I forgot the name of, and (1) big heaping ladle full of home made chicken stock. Rain or shine, this soup continues to impress. Especially those of us in food moods.

*Side Note*

I just noticed I posted on weight loss and a low fat omelette, then my next post was about donuts. That is awesome.

Peterson's Donut Corner

I would not consider myself a donut fanatic. Glenn is a donut fanatic - his family has grown up eating donuts on special occasions, mourned the loss of Christy's Donuts on University Avenue and La Mesa Blvd., and his entire countenance changes when the words 'maple' and 'bar' are combined. What I would consider myself, however, is a Peterson's Donut Corner fanatic. I love that place. Like really, I love it. Have thought about marrying it, yes, if you were wondering.


Peterson's Donut Corner is located in the slightly thugged-out community of old school Escondido. It's on the wrong side of the freeway, but beyond a shadow of a doubt worth risking your safety for. I had the privilege of introducing 3 of my fun friends to Peterson's last night. When you go to Peterson's, if you are not with someone who has been there and will show you the ropes, here is what you should do to ensure the best possible experience:


1. Go at night. It's not that dangerous, and you need more spice in your life anyway.


2. Walk along the side of the building before getting in line. This is what I call "the tour" - you look through the glass walls into every ounce of Peterson's world and get the chance to oogle each donut individually before you make your final decision.


3. Ask what the freshest donuts are. At night the fresh ones are usually of the cake variety. Order one of the fresh donuts. Your mind will be blown at just how delicious a donut can be.


4. Soak it up. Enjoy your Peterson's donut (and milk, if you so desire) and realize this is something you will only get to do every once in a while.


Peterson's Donut Corner

903 S. Escondido Blvd.

Escondido, CA 92025
760) 745- 7774

Avoidance, Truth, and Measuring Tape

This week was filled to the brim with fun activities, reasons to go out to eat, and delicious wines sampled by the glass with friends from all over. It was also filled with me avoiding the gym and my running shoes. I try to tell myself I am avoiding running because my shoes are hurting and I need new ones yet can't seem to find what seems the entire paycheck it takes to get them... but that's not really true. I have been avoiding running and the gym because I'm laaazzzzyyyy.



Here is what happens when you are lazy (and when you have wine multiple nights a week for the antioxidants and healthy heart benefits...): you gain *almost* 2 pounds. "That's not much." you may be saying to yourself. "Your sodium levels are probably off, or maybe you just really need to go to the bathroom." No friends, no. I gained 2 pounds of pinot noir, decadent chocolate cake, pizza, and olive oil. Seeing as I do not want to continue in this pattern (up 20 pounds by Memorial Day? why not?) I decided to make a plan for the week. Note all of the crossed out areas - those are things I intended on eating and then realized how many calories were in each and decided I had better stay away. The antipasto platter and goat cheese stuffed figs wrapped in prosciutto and grilled will have to wait, depressingly enough.

Enough about the foods I'm not going to be eating. I found something this morning that was delicious AND healthy AND beautiful! I scarfed this omelette and am now the proud parent of a lean, protein-rich breakfast that actually has flavor. I call it the "Get Skinny" omelette and it is sure to impress even those who aren't looking to still fit into their pants next month.

'Get Skinny' Omelette

1 egg
2 egg whites
1 t freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 asparagus spears - diced
salt
freshly ground pepper
no calorie cooking spray

Let me just interject here for a minute and say that cooking spray has never been my preferred way of doing things, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and honestly, I couldn't tell the difference in this dish. I cooked the asparagus for a few minutes and then poured the egg white mixture over it and sprinkled it with salt and pepper. When it was finished, I folded the entire thing in half and sprinkled the top with the Parmesan cheese and a little more pepper. It was super tasty! I had a slice of dry whole wheat toast alongside my omelette, and used the omelette to give the toast more flavor. Totally satisfying and delicious - plus I don't feel the way you feel when full from pancakes and eggs benedict at Hash House: like you just ate half a buffalo.

Here's to a healthy week! I'm off to buy those running shoes...

New York, Part Two

After the wedding festivities were over, it was time to head into the city and get our eat on. As one last hurrah, the Boston University crowd decided to celebrate with brunch. Derek graciously drove Glenn and I from Armonk to our hotel (and drove THROUGH Times Square - an impressive fete for even an experienced New York driver) so we could drop off our bags. After checking in, the three of us hopped on the subway and headed to what became our most frequented area this trip - Greenwich Village.

The 10 of us celebrated our last meal together at Blue Ribbon Bakery. I ordered the 'Blue Benedict' which consisted of two perfectly poached eggs, serrano ham (siginficantly better than regular ham, which, as discussed here, I hate), Jarlsberg, and tomato on toasted fresh challah bread. Originally the thought of a benedict on challah turned me off, but I trusted the chef and wound up really enjoying the uniqueness of this dish. The most notable thing about Blue Ribbon: not only is the basket of fresh bread they bring out when you sit down delicious, it is all baked right beneath your feet. If you are seated on the main level be sure to walk downstairs and check out the beautiful brick bakery where the bread you just enjoyed was prepared only a few hours prior.

After brunching, we decided to spend some time walking through the Village to find the famous Magnolia Bakery. Not being from parts of the country where waiting hours in line for cupcakes is part of everyday life, many of the BU crowd were suspicious of the line out the door. I don't know if I would say the cupcakes were worth the wait, but the experience certainly was. I loved thinking that this was one of the first places where the cupcake trend started, that it was somewhat of an institution in Manhattan. The Carrie Bradshaw in me squealed with excitement, then sent my sister a text message telling her where I was. I loved it.

A couple of cupcakes and silly stories later, it was time for Glenn and I to head back to our hotel and prepare for the rest of our Sunday. Hard to believe so much still lay ahead, but our limited time in New York made it hard to have any down time. We got to the hotel, relaxed and watched an episode of Celebrity Apprentice (WHY?), then cleaned up for Mary Poppins. The (only) great part about staying in the Times Square area was the location. Any other time I've gone to a show, I have had to think about how long it would take to get to Midtown, let alone try to figure out how long it would take me to leave once the show was over. Not so when you are on 44th and the show is on 42nd! We had a nice leisurely stroll down to the theater and then hiked our way to the (lower) balcony. We both really enjoyed the show, and our seats were phenomenal for the price we paid. This picture is super dark, but imagine us dressed in uber chic New York black loving every minute of our lives.

Next on the agenda: dinner with my good friend Hanson at The Spotted Pig. I CAN NOT describe how excited I was to go to The Spotted Pig. I was ready to order as much as humanly possible, but only wound up needing a glass of wine and the gnudi, along with three bites of Glenn's burger. I know these are talked about on every food blog known to man, but truly, the gnudi were extraordinary. I was skeptical of a place so widely discussed in the food world, and could not imagine it would live up to the hype. IT TOTALLY DID. I know that most of the time I walk around as if I had been smacked with the positivity stick, but truly, I worked hard to figure out where we should spend every meal and every penny and The Spotted Pig was everything I expected it to be, if not better. You should go.

One would think after this many activities in a day we would be through and ready to get some rest. Not so. This is New York! We only had 2 days! Drinks at the Gansevoort after dinner? Yes please. A very fun friend of mine with very good taste stayed at the Gansevoort on her last visit to New York and recommended going to the Rooftop Bar on a non-Saturday night to see the sights. The views from the top are beautiful and reason enough to spend $13 on a glass of the house wine (or gin, straight up, if your name is Glenn Murdock) but I was disappointed in a couple of things. First, the stemware was plastic. I don't care how many intoxicated individuals you deal with on a given weekend, if you want to get away with adding yourself to the top evening spots in Manhattan, you need real glass. Second, the cocktail waitresses were dressed like they were serving drinks at the Palms in Las Vegas, not a 4 star hotel that goes for well over $500 a night. All in all, I would still recommend the Gansevoort as a place to get drinks, because the view is gorgeous and, scantily clad or not, the staff are all lovely, friendly, and helpful.

I leave you with our final image of the night - Times Square at 2am on a Sunday in the off-season. See that guy in the background? He was the only other person around! What a unique experience, to see a place rarely occupied by less than 1000 frantic visitors completely empty.

New York part two: it's a wrap.