food docs

A+ documentary. Made me really want to drive through Colorado, but more importantly to start juicing. I've been resistant because they're sort of pricey and really messy, but after watching Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, I want to juice every fruit and vegetable I see. Maybe I'll even attempt a fast. We'll see! Stay tuned for The Day I Buy A Juicer. And watch this documentary if you have access to Netflix!

trader joe's does thai

i'm a big fan of thai food, red curry chicken especially. to be honest, i haven't ventured much further into thai cuisine because i love red curry so much (paired with thai iced teas. heaven). i was reading ainsley's entry on trader joe's yellow curry and became so excited at the prospect of cooking my own thai inspired dinner that i took the 15 minute drive to trader joe's that day to get started. i guess it was obvious, but not to me, as i was surprised that they also make red curry sauce (which already uses coconut milk as an ingredient instead of adding it additionally, so i saved a buck). i also modified the recipe and added some chicken as i am carnivorous and i felt my dinner needed some protein. this is kind of how i did it:

peel and slice three small red potatoes, add about 3 oz. shredded carrots (eyeball it, it really just depends on how carrot-y you want your dinner), boil in a pot until cooked

transfer to a large saucepan and pour 1/2 bottle of red curry sauce over the mixture. stir and let simmer on low heat.

if you're feeling adventurous, add pineapple! i mixed about 2 tbsp. crushed pineapple to this for that authentic thai flavor.

it'll look like this!

in a separate pan, cook up some chicken if you want. i bought some thinly sliced chicken cutlets and cut them into smaller bite-sized pieces. once that's ready, pour some more sauce over the chicken to taste. then transfer to the carrot and potato pot.i'm now going to have to apologize for the half-assed job i did photographing this. upcoming entries are going to include real live digital photos, instead of using my iphone/instagram for documentation. but back to the recipe! i served my red curry chicken over trader joe's microwaveable brown rice. serves three, andrew and his mom both told me it was delicious :)

(the rice, for reference. photo from cooking with trader joe's. this stuff comes in handy for almost everything. stays in the freezer and it ready in 3 minutes. convenience!)

this was a delicious, adventurous recipe that i will definitely be making again. i even had some red curry sauce left over and threw it on top of some whole grain couscous and tofu for a quick, healthy dinner tonight. if you try it, i hope you enjoy it!

smog

this. irrelevant, but this.

sapsuckers saturday

for the first time in what felt like forever, i had the weekend off from work, and took full advantage of it with a bunch of friends. on saturday, we drove around and found some out of town garage & estate sales (it still amazes me what iPhone apps can help you do). i picked up some fun stuff, but really i love these trips because i, for some reason, thoroughly enjoy rummaging through people's garbage.

afterward, we headed to centerport to the vanderbilt estate and planetarium! we watched a light show that used songs by the beatles as inspiration and then we roamed around the grounds. the vanderbilt estate is a super interesting place. it's incredible what people used to do with their money. lots of freaky taxidermy and beautiful architecture.

after spending half the day entirely too active for long island's recent heatwave, we were all starving and met up with some more friends in huntington for dinner. with the help of yelp (once again, iPhone to the rescue), we all agreed to try sapsuckers (which was especially exciting for me because new restaurants give me more to do now). it was awesome! thanks yelp!

the menu was short but sweet, with some creative takes on old favorites and a bunch of vegetarian options. sapsuckers is well known for their beer selection also, and half of the restaurant is actually a bar. i decided on some summer blend of dogfish head (the. best. beer.) and the veggie burger,

which was less burger, more chopped spinach and artichoke and mushroom and sheer deliciousness topped with melted cheese and a tomato slice. oh man, it was great.

then, chris had a groupon for a dozen free cookies at a chocolate shop nearby called chip'n dipped. like a good dad (my cell phone service is under his family plan), he let all six of us choose which kind we wanted. i, being me, chose chocolate chip.
and it was yummy, as all cookies should be.

the rest of the night was spent in a swimming pool and in port jefferson eating the frozen goods of our choosing (i went with my tried and true red mango). i slept like a baby well into sunday afternoon.
next entry: cake pops and trader joe's thai!

soft pretzel video recipe & birdhouse productions

i'm totally going to be making these soon. but can we talk about how awesome videography is? i strongly admire people who are good at it. people like my penpal, natalie. her production company has really taken off within the last year, and although her main focus is wedding and engagement videos (two things i'm nowhere near planning at this juncture), i find myself watching her stuff all the time. if you're planning a wedding, or are looking to document an important event, definitely check out birdhouse productions. here's something really sweet they put together:

and share with me your favorite vimeo's, or instructional videos!