Side Of Spaghetti: #5
A sneak peek into a nice little week!
Monday 4/14- I began the week by watching American Psycho on the treadmill. At this point I am hoping that there is someone on the same treadmill schedule as me who has picked up on my inappropriate movie selections and is reporting back to their friends and family about each days selection. I had some roasted chicken that I crammed in little gem lettuce leaves and plunged into Caesar dressing for lunch. I tested a banana bread recipe which was pretty good but needs tweaking. I had a fun dinner date with my friends Ali and Shannon at Cervo’s, which is one of my very favorite restaurants of all time! We had mussels escabeche, tuna concerva on fried sourdough, octopus with white beans, cod with oranges and onions and lots of their delicious bread to sop up all of the amazing juices. So fun! I came home and watched a little bit of The Royal Tenenbaums and went to bed.
Tuesday 4/15- Tax day! I celebrated by watching all of my favorite movies featuring accountants. JK, I ate some kiwi for breakfast, which is a big deal because I haven’t had kiwi in like twenty years. For some reason I wrote off kiwi for being too hairy, but I had an urge to buy some and I’m glad I did! I had a little leftover matzah ball soup for lunch and took myself to an amazing double feature at The Paris Theater of Trouble In Paradise and The Lady Eve, both shown on 35mm. I had never seen either before and loved them both. That Barbara Stanwyck was really something. I was planning to walk in the park after but it was so windy that I feared I might be blown away. I came home and made some steamed tofu, Chinese broccoli and rice and watched Fatal Attraction for an upcoming essay on “the blank from hell”.
Wednesday 4/16- Made my little pistachio milk iced coffee at home and went for a hot and sweaty yoga class, but not before finishing American Psycho on the mill. Had some leftover tofu and greens for lunch and met my best friends Catherine and Becky for dinner at Al Badawi, a fantastic Palestinian restaurant in my neighborhood, for dinner. We had a gigantic mezze plate, freshly baked pitas, falafel, lamb kebabs and fatta jaj, which is paper thin slices of chicken shawarma over fluffy rice with chickpeas, almonds, fermented yogurt and crispy pita chips. Incredible! I came home and continued my “blank from hell” research with What About Bob?
Thursday 4/17- I watched Manhunter on the treadmill and went to a pilates class. Came home and worked on a catering order. I made tortellini with a luxurious cream sauce, garlic butter for garlic bread and salad dressing. I met my long lost friend and former coworker Zach for dinner. Zach used to work at the now closed East One, so I would see them all the time. Now we only get to catch up for dinners every few weeks, but we made it count and packed it with laughs and gossip. We were planning on going to Sam’s down on Court Street for a pizza but there was a sign on the door that said “no pizza today” lol, so we went for burgers at Henry Public instead. Delicious as always! I came home and watched Cape Fear……research people, research!
Friday 4/18- I went to a kettlebell class at the gym and it kicked my butt. Came home and had some kiwi (!), pineapple and raspberries. I finished my catering work by making a big Italian style chopped salad and key lime pie. I took myself to see Blade Runner: Final Cut on 35mm at Metrograph. What a film, my god. Total perfection! I came home just as the Italians in my neighborhood were doing their Easter parade where they carry a Jesus in a glass box and a ghost bride in all black through the streets of Carroll Gardens and play funeral music. Only in New York folks. I came home and watched Kurosawa’s High and Low and had some cheese and crackers.
Saturday 4/19- Busy day! Went to pilates and it made my abs hurt. Had some pineapple and put the finishing touches on my catering order and dropped it off. I was having some mild anxiety so all I really wanted to eat was a croissant, and so i did just that. Caputo’s Bakery has an incredible croissant, and so I marched right over there and got one that was fresh out of the oven. Swoon! I met a friend and took a very lovely walk through the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. It was really warm and I felt overdressed, but it was a great afternoon. Came home and took a long walk around my neighborhood because it was so nice out. I had recommended to someone to watch Raiders Of The Lost Ark and it made me want to watch it too. On a real Harrison Ford kick this weekend!
Sunday 4/20- I woke up super early because my parents were coming into Brooklyn for a cute little Easter celebration. I got the house ready and went to the Carroll Gardens farmers market to get my folks an edible Easter basket. I bought them a bunch of stuff at Lani’s Farm, plus some veggies for a big salad for our lunch. I got a huge bunch of cherry blossoms and then went down to Caputo’s to grab one of their crispy, chewy baguettes and a few of their killer chocolate chip cookies. We took a really nice walk through the neighborhood and stopped at Octavia for a pistachio latte. For lunch I made a huge salad with little gems, potatoes, cukes, asparagus, jammy eggs, cherry tomatoes, pickled things and a big piece of salmon and topped it with maple tahini dressing, yogurt sauce AND salsa verde. This was the greatest salad of all time! I met my friend Thomas in the evening and we went to see Sinners. I really wanted to like this movie, and while it was fun enough and there were parts of it that were stunning and entertaining, I feel like it largely didn’t work. But we had a blast hanging out. Alamo had been on strike for months and the strikers finally reached a deal so we could go back. Thomas is one of my best buds and my favorite person in the world to see movies with. We ate some chips and queso and I came home and worked on my newsletter.
Every week is so different, and this one had some real highs and lows. Spring has never been my favorite season, but it is quite beautiful, and a really profound (and itchy eyed) reminder that things change and die and are reborn. My friend lost her 10 month old daughter this week, and it is hard to know how to live in a world where things like this can happen, and yet the flowers still bloom and we laugh and eat and exist. I ended this week feeling very thankful for my life, and for life in general. For all the heartbreaks, great meals, cold winters and budding trees that signal change is possible. <3
xoxo
z
This is a perfect week! And great tip about the Caputo's croissant.