Side Of Spaghetti: #16
Dark times, bright flavors
Monday 7/7- Started the week off with some light panicking, iced coffee, more panicking and last round of edits on my manuscript. Headed to a midday hot yoga class with my favorite teacher, Paulo. I don’t quite know how to describe Paulo or his classes, except that he is a magical little man with a transatlantic accent and zero percent body fat, and his classes feel like being wrung out like a wet rag, but in a good way. I love him very much. I listened to the latest Rewatchables about Jaws 2, and then re-watched Jaws 2 on the treadmill. What a picture! Not as good as Jaws 1, but not as bad as Jaws 3. For lunch I made a smoothie with frozen berries, banana, kale, cucumber and collagen and continued working on my writing. I caught a late afternoon screening of F1 at Cobble Hill Cinemas and I throughly enjoyed it. Was it life changing? No, but it was fun and I turned off le brain for a few hours. My only real critique besides it being one of Brad’s most lackluster performances, was that it was a bit downbeat. Maybe like two too many losing scenes, but if you want a fun blockbuster I say go ahead and see it. For dinner I made a quesadilla with goat gouda and kale dip and an avo, cuke, tomato salad on the side. SO good! I watched an ep of And Just Like That and hit the hay.
Tuesday 7/8- I had iced java w/ pistachhh milk at my home and also nibbled berries like a little deer. Went to pump iron and then to the Borough Hall farmers market where I purchased some fruits and veggies for the party and personal use, and a gorge bunch of snap dragons from the spectacular Luna Family Farms, who are set up there on Tuesday’s and I think also Saturday’s. Their flowers are beautiful and the people who run it are too! I went to the gym and pumped some iron, then I met Liz at Frankie’s for lunch, which was a real treat. I rarely ever go out for lunch, and this was a wonderful way to get into the week. Frankie’s is the best for lunch and Liz is always the best and we had a great time. We shared a BLT and a tuna sando, both on that delicious, thin, crispy, chewy bread and each had a diet coke. Perf! I have a party that I am catering this weekend so I started prep on making some dressings and some roasted cherry tomatoes, then I went back to the gym for a hot Pilates class. I went to visit Susan in the hospital on the way home, and then I made the most delicious stir fry thingy for dinner with tofu, eggplant, summer squash, spinach and egg and watched my president, Harrison Ford, take names in Air Force One.
Wednesday 7/9- I started the day with watermelon with Tajin and lime and an iced coffee from Octavia. I lugged groceries back to my place for the weekend party, then hit Paulo’s class and sweated so much I needed to be mopped up and reconstituted after it was through. I watched the rest of Jaws 2 on the treadmill and smashed a human dog treat AKA a turkey Chomps stick on the way home. I ate leftover stir fry mixed with raw spinach and carrot ginger dressing and worked on my In The Year letter. I had a ton of cooking to do for the party, so I freaking did it while listening to The Big Picture podcast. I made pasta with tuna, cherry tomatoes and tons of herbs and a huge kale salad with lemon and red onion and mixed it all together while re-watching Citizen Kane. What.A.Film.
Thursday 7/10- I had bought a box of Heritage Flakes, my trusty old favorite cereal and was excited to eat some for breakfast, but idk if I got a weird box or they changed the recipe, or maybe I have just not had it for a long time but it was different. They were pale, but still very crunchy. I had some with berries and cinnamon and also chugged iced coffee. I did shopping for the party and made vanilla cake for the strawberry short cakes, cooked off some chicken cutlets, made lemon curd, hummus, salsa macha and ranch dip and listened to The Rewatchables about Sleepless In Seattle. I had moved my plans with my bff Becky from Wednesday to Thursday because I was so busy, and I was almost too busy again but couldn’t miss seeing her! I dipped to a late Pilates class and then headed over to see her and her partner Adam at their apt in Ridgewood. Becky is 8 months pregnant so we chilled at their place and took it easy which was really nice. They got delivery from Win Son and it was delicious. We had some tasty Dan Dan-esque noodle dish, fried eggplant, crab fried rice and scallion pancakes. YUM! I got home and ate a frozen date stuffed with peanut butter and caught the fast train to dreamland!
Friday 7/11- Busy day!! I got up bright and early and went to the Union Square greenmarket to shop for the party. I got eggplant, mini zucchini, cabbage, Romano beans, peppers, herbs and cherry tomatoes from the incomparable Norwich Meadow Farms and potatoes and cucumbers from Halal Pastures. Everything was so vibrant, I love it here! I walked over to get clams from Eatly because my local fish store, Fish Tales, was moving this week, but they were outrageously expensive, so I decided to go to Mermaid’s Garden in the afternoon instead. I got back and booked it to hot yoga with Paulo, and then home for a giant salad with tuna, herbs, tomatoes and spinach. I processed a bunch of veggies and then headed out to Mermaid’s Garden and made a pit stop at my favorite place on planet earth, Cultured! I freaking love this place and dream about it constantly. I got a frozen yogurt (duh) half original half mango with strawberries and fell madly in love with it. I considered getting a second but decided I against it and am still regretting this decision. I stopped by Caputo’s Fine Foods to get pasta, parm and burrata and had a nice little chat with Franco and Joseph. Came home and processed the clams and did some other odds and ends for the party and went down to the hospital to bring Susan some goodies and cheer. For dinner I ate a chicken cutlet and a salad with fennel and celery and watched The Larry Sanders Show.
Saturday 7/12- Party day!! I got up bright and early and got fresh bread from Caputo’s Bakery and a peach scone from Poppy’s and packed up the car. I met my friends Millicent and Guy who were helping with the party, in Williamsburg, and we headed out to West Hampton. I love these guys and we had a lovely drive out. We got there a bit early so we stopped at this little farm store and got some watermelon, tortilla chips, chicken salad and lettuce and had a little picnic. This store sold cooked chicken cutlets piled in ziplock bags and labeled with a Sharpie. Unhinged but also, respect. There were chickens and goats behind us and the chickens must have realized we were eating their relatives and slowly started to surround us, I believe planning to commit murder. We escaped just in time and made it to the client’s house, which was so beautiful and chic. They were super nice people and a joy to work for. Millicent was kind enough to bartend. She is a phenomenal cook and pitched in in the kitchen too— a true legend! Guy is also just so much fun to work with and our events, while physically demanding, always feel like a good hang. We made fried mini zucchini with burrata and salsa macha, linguini vongole, a summery chicken parm with egg battered cutlets, cherry tomato and shallot sauce and fresh mozz, beautiful grilled veggies with salsa verde and strawberry shortcakes with lemon curd for dessert! We zipped home and I wound down for a little with my guy Larry Sanders before passing out.
Sunday 7/13- Today Guy, AD and I helped out bartending and serving at a memorial service for a friend of a few of our friends, and a beloved member of our extended and close communities. It was a warm but breezy day and over a hundred beautiful humans came to The Onderdonk House in Ridgewood to remember this amazing woman who tragically passed in May. There was a mix of deep pain and grief and also joy and sweetness blowing through the trees in the garden, and while it was in many ways heartbreaking, we all felt honored to be a part of this really powerful gathering. Caputo’s Fine Foods sent over gorgeous platters to help nourish everyone, and a young woman in attendance made a gigantic strawberry shortcake for the whole crowd. I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for my friends and my life, and amazed by how tender people are even when the pain of life tries it’s best to harden them. Being around such kindness and love gave me much needed hope in such a dark time, and it was a real reminder to love as much as possible, whenever possible.
Love you sweetie pies. Be kind and may kindness find you in return<3
xoxo,
z
