Evening:
an overdose on strawberry rhubarb jam and bread (which isn't necessarily the worst drug to OD on),
long chats over ginger and fiji tea,
followed by a long train ride to Park Slope
an endeavor into cooking with achiote
and a 2-hour-long wait for the rice to be ready.
filled in between with sea salt chocolate,
lemon echinacea,
lime flavored tortilla chips,
and bad salsa out of a jar.

while listening to old gospel songs and learning how to lindy hop for the 87th time in my life.

this time it will stick.

finally, radio jarocho at barbes.

Today.

yoga in a sun drenched room,

then gluttony.

market where they cook the fish you choose (today, branzino) and then you eat it. with a humongous greek salad and terrible-but-awesome buttered bread. And ample squeeze lemon juice. With hearty greek men smiling at you, hoping eagerly that you're enjoying your food.

then, home-ground and brewed coffee. i brought my own almond milk because i'm a coffee wuss (read: i like my sugar with coffee and cream). i also experimented by mixing it with homemade sujeongwa (korean cinnamon hot punch/tea). and we tried different pairings of brooklyn-made (synonymous with self-declared ridiculously artisanal) chocolate.

finally- mate with honey, ginger, and lemon zest. "oh, this is so drinkable!"

and, at the asian supermarket later, "hey, can you make really good mexican food?"
i blanked.
dammit, i guess i know why i need to go back to texas.

the day?
it was all all right, i guess.

today's lunch.

 honey marinated salmon.

4 salmon filets (about 6oz each)
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (i was liberal with this)

i always have trouble with honey and coconut oil. i clumsily melt it into the mixture.

anyway. i mixed the last four ingredients in a quart-sized ziploc bag.
marinated salmon inside for about 15-20 minutes.

i cheated and made a bit more marinade with the honey i had left.

i let the saucepan heat up on medium up. sprayed it down pretty well with some olive oil.

placed the filets on the skin side. i drizzled the extra marinade on top.
cooked 5 minutes. pressed down on the tops with a spatula so that the edges browned evenly. sort of.
repeated on the other side. kind of winged it, since there was a smaller filet, i let that cook for a short period of time.

i committed the cook's crime of eating while standing up.

i read some Shantaram.

i found this great spice store in the east village. i could have stayed there forever.
there were bags of cardamom, coriander, cumin, teas of all kinds,

the guy at the checkout register was this young-looking indian guy with long hair. he said hi to me as i was finishing, and chatted with me (in his distinctly American accent). this older indian guy came into the store and started mumbling something in another language, and i smiled patiently as the checkout guy seemed to respond.
checkout guy looked and me and shrugged, "Don't worry. I don't understand a thing he's saying either." And grinned.
i think he was joking. but i couldn't really be sure.
i laughed and said that i feel like i never understand what people are saying, no matter what language they are speaking.
we talked a bit more about language.


--
two weeks ago when we were in new orleans for french quarter festival, i rediscovered the virtue of apples.
i'm kind of a banana girl, and my mom says it's because i'm lazy. i don't like to wash fruit.
every morning, our hotel would have green apples sitting in a basket in the lobby. the apples basically kept me from going insane from hunger while we "looked" for places to eat (which usually means wandering around for 2 hours).

my refrigerator probably now contains a lot of curb-rose's-hunger fruit. including about 2 dozen apples. i think it's working out well.

breakfast. 

1/4 cup almond milk, unsweetened 

1 tbsp chia seeds, whole

1 soy yogurt (I used silk strawberry)

mix vigorously in a jar and place in the fridge overnight.

wake up.

top with fruit (I used bananas and strawberries).

if desired, shake an ample amount of cinnamon on each bite.

watch the sun appear between the buildings.

almond butter cups!

I experimented with some almond butter cups from Oh She Glows. Another note about being super amateur- I had to figure out how to use K’s food-processor-blender-in-one. I had only used it to make smoothies thus far, and I had to put together the food processor. I know, rocket science.

I’m glad my bachelor’s degree came in handy, since I did eventually figure it out.

 Raw Almond Butter Cups from Oh She Glows

Almond Butter Cup Base:
3/4 cup raw almonds, ground into a meal
1/4 cup rolled oats, ground into a flour
2 tablespoons raw almond butter
1.5 tablespoons coconut oil, warmed
1.5 tablespoons pure maple syrup (I used fresh Vermont maple syrup from our road trip!)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of fine grain sea salt, to taste

for the topping:
3 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
pinch of fine grain sea salt, to taste

1. Add almonds and oats into a high-speed blender and blend on high until a flour forms. Dump into a large bowl and break up any clumps with your fingers.
2. Add the nut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup (or agave), cinnamon, vanilla, and salt into the bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined. The dough should be fairly sticky like cookie dough.
3. Line a mini (or regular) muffin tin with paper liners or use a silicone muffin holder. Portion the dough into each muffin cup and press down until even and smooth.
4. To make the chocolate sauce: Whisk together the coconut oil, sweetener, cocoa powder, and salt until no clumps remain. Spoon the sauce over top each of the cups, distributing evenly. Garnish cups with sliced almonds if desired.
5. Place in the freezer in a flat area for 30-45 minutes, until firm. Pop out the cups & enjoy immediately!

My batter did yield slightly more than I could fit into one silicone mini muffin tray, and the cocoa sauce got a little gloopier for the leftover few that I made. But still tasted good!