Oh no! I got on here to check something yesterday and realized I haven't posted anything since... MAY! Ahhh! And now it's June... oh, no, July, July 1st already!
Well, since May 7th I made the Big Decision to move home, to Ohio, for the summer. So things were crazy for awhile as I crossed all those things off my "To Do While Living in New York" list (and had a pretty fab time doing everything) then had the fam with me and all those sad goodbyes with my friends then packed up the last year of my life (actually, I couldn't really get myself to pack up like anything so thank goodness my family understood and could do everything for me -- thanks Mom, Dad, and Bec!) and headed west, back to Ohio.
I've been back for a week and a half and so far it's been pretty great. I've done some odd jobs, painting and such, a little unpacking, a lot of fun cooking, and gotten to enjoy the slower pace of life that comes with the country and not being in New York City.
How long I'll be here, I can't say for certain. I'm weighing a lot of options right now and doing a lot of praying. I could go on a new adventure somewhere else in the world/country, or go back to New York. For now though a break was needed and I'm content to enjoy where I'm at and treasure the time I have with my family :)
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Monday, July 1, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Love Us Some Hummus
I love hummus.
I first tried it while in college. One of my more health-conscious friends had it to snack on, or for when meals at the caf just weren't up to par. At first I wasn't quite sure about it, and my room mate agreed. I don't remember what we even tried it on, crackers of some sort maybe? However, later that evening, we found ourselves returning for another try. And thus it began. We soon bought our own container of roasted red bell pepper hummus at Wal-Mart to keep in our mini fridge, sneaking potato bread from the caf to eat it with.
When I was home for the summer between that freshman and sophomore year, I remember telling my mom about my newfound love for hummus and asking her to buy some for them to try. She wasn't too keen on the idea and suggested I try making it myself. So I found a recipe and whipped it up. Excitedly pairing it with Wheat Thins and carrots at suppertime and eager for my parents to try and love it as well.
Well. To put it lightly -- it was awful. I'd added waayyyyy to much garlic powder and it wasn't very creamy. Just thick and lumpy and spicy, garlic-spicy.
Disappointed, I decided I'd have to find a recipe that was a little lighter on the garlic and a little more reliable before trying to re-introduce my parents to hummus.
Back at college, another friend was bragging up her mom's hummus recipe which she made for all family gatherings. I begged for the recipe and got it over text when I was home for Fall Break. Unfortunately, it called for tahini which neither my mom or I had never heard of and couldn't find anywhere among the spices. So I tucked the recipe away and the can of garbonzo beans my mom had bought along with the first recipe, just waiting to miraculously find some tahini somewhere.
Fast-forward 1 1/2ish years and here I am in New York City. I learned that tahini is not a spice but a paste made from sesame seeds. I scoured the aisles of my local grocery store as well as any store I happened to wander into that sold groceries. Surely here in New York, tahini would be a common household good, right? Wrong. I couldn't find it anywhere. I looked by the spices, I checked by the peanut butter and various nut and seed butters, I searched up and down the racks in the exotic or specific-culture food aisles. Nothing. Well lots of other stuff. Sunflower Seed Paste and Duck Sauce and Caribbean Jerk Chicken Rub, but no tahini, no sesame seed paste.
As I mentioned in my last post (Playing Catch-Up), last weekend I went to my friend Mindy's dance gala. Before heading to work, my friend Selina and I wanted to grab some lunch in the area and Mindy suggested Bread and Honey, a deli and market on 8th Avenue. After getting a BLT to go, I was wandering the aisles in search of the beverage aisle and low and behold, in the first aisle I walked down, my eyes fell upon jars of tahini, right there by the peanut butter. Imagine that. Just for kicks, I also checked if they sold rice noodles, something else I haven't been able to find but want to use for homemade Pad Thai -- sure enough, they had those too!
I didn't get either item that day since I was on my way to work, but happened upon another Bread and Honey, closer to my job, the very next day and found that they also stocked tahini (though no rice noodles) that was actually cheaper than at the other location. I'd call that Fate.
I did find it funny: tahini must not be a big seller there -- the girl ringing me up had no idea what it was and didn't quite understand that it went into hummus.
Finally, I could make this infamous hummus! And boy was I excited.
To start, I'd like to say that I don't have a food processor so I used a blender to make mine. If you have a food processor, use it! It's completely possible to make hummus in a blender, but it definitely involved a little extra work of stopping the blender to push the beans down. Many, many... many times. But in the end, this hummus was totally worth it! I also halved the recipe (hence some of the funny measurements) because it's just for me, not a family get-together. Lastly, I didn't have bulbs of garlic so I used garlic powder. The original recipe would have called for 1 1/2 cloves of garlic + 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder.
This recipe is for a basic "original" hummus, but I think you could easily add red peppers, roasted garlic, olives, or whatever additives you like :)
I first tried it while in college. One of my more health-conscious friends had it to snack on, or for when meals at the caf just weren't up to par. At first I wasn't quite sure about it, and my room mate agreed. I don't remember what we even tried it on, crackers of some sort maybe? However, later that evening, we found ourselves returning for another try. And thus it began. We soon bought our own container of roasted red bell pepper hummus at Wal-Mart to keep in our mini fridge, sneaking potato bread from the caf to eat it with.
When I was home for the summer between that freshman and sophomore year, I remember telling my mom about my newfound love for hummus and asking her to buy some for them to try. She wasn't too keen on the idea and suggested I try making it myself. So I found a recipe and whipped it up. Excitedly pairing it with Wheat Thins and carrots at suppertime and eager for my parents to try and love it as well.
Well. To put it lightly -- it was awful. I'd added waayyyyy to much garlic powder and it wasn't very creamy. Just thick and lumpy and spicy, garlic-spicy.
Disappointed, I decided I'd have to find a recipe that was a little lighter on the garlic and a little more reliable before trying to re-introduce my parents to hummus.
Back at college, another friend was bragging up her mom's hummus recipe which she made for all family gatherings. I begged for the recipe and got it over text when I was home for Fall Break. Unfortunately, it called for tahini which neither my mom or I had never heard of and couldn't find anywhere among the spices. So I tucked the recipe away and the can of garbonzo beans my mom had bought along with the first recipe, just waiting to miraculously find some tahini somewhere.
Fast-forward 1 1/2ish years and here I am in New York City. I learned that tahini is not a spice but a paste made from sesame seeds. I scoured the aisles of my local grocery store as well as any store I happened to wander into that sold groceries. Surely here in New York, tahini would be a common household good, right? Wrong. I couldn't find it anywhere. I looked by the spices, I checked by the peanut butter and various nut and seed butters, I searched up and down the racks in the exotic or specific-culture food aisles. Nothing. Well lots of other stuff. Sunflower Seed Paste and Duck Sauce and Caribbean Jerk Chicken Rub, but no tahini, no sesame seed paste.
As I mentioned in my last post (Playing Catch-Up), last weekend I went to my friend Mindy's dance gala. Before heading to work, my friend Selina and I wanted to grab some lunch in the area and Mindy suggested Bread and Honey, a deli and market on 8th Avenue. After getting a BLT to go, I was wandering the aisles in search of the beverage aisle and low and behold, in the first aisle I walked down, my eyes fell upon jars of tahini, right there by the peanut butter. Imagine that. Just for kicks, I also checked if they sold rice noodles, something else I haven't been able to find but want to use for homemade Pad Thai -- sure enough, they had those too!
I didn't get either item that day since I was on my way to work, but happened upon another Bread and Honey, closer to my job, the very next day and found that they also stocked tahini (though no rice noodles) that was actually cheaper than at the other location. I'd call that Fate.
I did find it funny: tahini must not be a big seller there -- the girl ringing me up had no idea what it was and didn't quite understand that it went into hummus.
Finally, I could make this infamous hummus! And boy was I excited.
To start, I'd like to say that I don't have a food processor so I used a blender to make mine. If you have a food processor, use it! It's completely possible to make hummus in a blender, but it definitely involved a little extra work of stopping the blender to push the beans down. Many, many... many times. But in the end, this hummus was totally worth it! I also halved the recipe (hence some of the funny measurements) because it's just for me, not a family get-together. Lastly, I didn't have bulbs of garlic so I used garlic powder. The original recipe would have called for 1 1/2 cloves of garlic + 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder.
This recipe is for a basic "original" hummus, but I think you could easily add red peppers, roasted garlic, olives, or whatever additives you like :)
Jan's Original Hummus
1 15 oz can garbonzo beans, drained reserve the juice
1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon + 5 shakes garlic powder
1/4 + 1/8 cup tahini
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
Add all ingredients to a food processor (or in my case, a blender. But, as I said, a food processor would be much easier). Blend the ingredients until smooth and add 1/4 a cup of the reserved bean juice for thinning. Add another 1/8 of a cup until you get the consistency you want.
**Using the blender, I had to add the 1/4 cup bean juice from the start so that it would all blend together and I thought that gave it a good consistency. I also had to stop the blender and push the beans down or stir it up with a spatula multiple times so be prepared for that if using a blender.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Playing Catch-Up
Hello my friends!!
I know, I know, it's been too long. At first it was because nothing that interesting was happening (well except for a spray tan that left me darker than I've ever been in my life...) but don't worry, after nearly a month, I have plenty of fun happenings to report :)
I went home to Ohio for a week over Easter which was wonderful! Except for the part where I had a major cold... which quickly became laryngitis. Oh, then I had to get my wisdom teeth all removed :/ It's alright though, I'm just glad that I was home for all of that and could be taken care of by my sweet parents.
Ohio was filled with family events, church, ice cream dates with my sister, recovery, amazing home cooked meals, and a little thrift shopping. But I did, for the first time, actually miss the city and especially my friends here.
Back in New York, I jumped right back into work at Hill Country. Arriving on a Thursday afternoon (after many delays and what ended up being a 16-hour bus trip) and heading into work that night.
Last weekend I felt like I was living at HC. After working there 8 months I finally had my New Hire Orientation (a 3 1/2 hour event, it did include pastries from our sister restaurant so that made it worth it). It wouldn't have been so delayed except the last orientation was scheduled on the same day Hurricane Sandy rolled into town...
I'd taken my laptop into Manhattan and got to relax at the wonderful Birch Coffee, a new favorite spot of mine, between orientation and the time I actually went into work.
Friday morning, there was a semi-secret concert by Brad Paisley at HC. NashFM, the first country radio station in NYC has been hosting a few little events in our downstairs area and let me tell you, when I picked up the phone my first day back from Easter to hear a guest wanting to make reservations for after the Brad Paisley concert, I got pretty excited! I woke up early and headed into HC once again, and got to watch Mr. Paisley live and up close, playing for just a couple hundred people, packed into the club level of HC. What a great perk of my job, no?
I had another fun, cultural experience on Saturday. My friend Mindy is part of the company at Elisa Monte Dance which had their 32nd Anniversary Season Gala last weekend. After some schedule shuffling, Selina and I, as well as some other HCers who we saw there, were able to go out and support our girl! It was an awesome show.
I'd never been to a dance gala like that or seen much modern dance. I was in awe of the grace and synchronization of the dancers as well as the abilities and endurance of a well-trained human body. My dance repertoire is mostly fun and I hadn't experienced pieces that held so much emotion and stirred up feelings like these did.
My latest new experience was last night -- I went to my first Broadway show!! My high school always has a senior trip to NYC (I didn't actually go on the trip my senior year, having gone to France the summer before and not having the money for both. Oh well, I thought, NYC is close enough to Ohio, I know I'll make it there someday... Little did I know that 3 years later I'd be living here!) and lucky for me, one of the chaperons is not a fan of the Broadway show part of the trip, and gave me his ticket! Yay!
Yesterday morning I found out there were two tickets up for grabs if I could find a friend who wanted to join me, so I called on Samantha who also had never been to a Broadway show! I have to admit I was a little skeptical of seeing Spider-Man: Turn Out the Lights on Broadway... I mean, it's action-packed Spider-Man! And what, now he's gonna sing? But it was great! It took me a bit to get into it but by the end I was loving and very impressed with the stunts and special effects. They stayed true to the comic book nature of the story as well as bringing in the musicality and choreography of Broadway.
It was a nice night (loving this warm, spring weather!!) and we kept it true to New York form. Grabbing dessert at Roxy Delicatessen in Times Square before hitting up the Broadway show then finishing the night by meeting up with Selina for supper (at 11 o'clock at night... we run on a different time schedule than most) in Koreatown.
I hope your last few weeks have been just as delightfully eventful as mine! And I'll really try to do better at consistency... TTFN :)
I know, I know, it's been too long. At first it was because nothing that interesting was happening (well except for a spray tan that left me darker than I've ever been in my life...) but don't worry, after nearly a month, I have plenty of fun happenings to report :)
I went home to Ohio for a week over Easter which was wonderful! Except for the part where I had a major cold... which quickly became laryngitis. Oh, then I had to get my wisdom teeth all removed :/ It's alright though, I'm just glad that I was home for all of that and could be taken care of by my sweet parents.
Ohio was filled with family events, church, ice cream dates with my sister, recovery, amazing home cooked meals, and a little thrift shopping. But I did, for the first time, actually miss the city and especially my friends here.
Back in New York, I jumped right back into work at Hill Country. Arriving on a Thursday afternoon (after many delays and what ended up being a 16-hour bus trip) and heading into work that night.
Last weekend I felt like I was living at HC. After working there 8 months I finally had my New Hire Orientation (a 3 1/2 hour event, it did include pastries from our sister restaurant so that made it worth it). It wouldn't have been so delayed except the last orientation was scheduled on the same day Hurricane Sandy rolled into town...
I'd taken my laptop into Manhattan and got to relax at the wonderful Birch Coffee, a new favorite spot of mine, between orientation and the time I actually went into work.
Friday morning, there was a semi-secret concert by Brad Paisley at HC. NashFM, the first country radio station in NYC has been hosting a few little events in our downstairs area and let me tell you, when I picked up the phone my first day back from Easter to hear a guest wanting to make reservations for after the Brad Paisley concert, I got pretty excited! I woke up early and headed into HC once again, and got to watch Mr. Paisley live and up close, playing for just a couple hundred people, packed into the club level of HC. What a great perk of my job, no?
I had another fun, cultural experience on Saturday. My friend Mindy is part of the company at Elisa Monte Dance which had their 32nd Anniversary Season Gala last weekend. After some schedule shuffling, Selina and I, as well as some other HCers who we saw there, were able to go out and support our girl! It was an awesome show.
I'd never been to a dance gala like that or seen much modern dance. I was in awe of the grace and synchronization of the dancers as well as the abilities and endurance of a well-trained human body. My dance repertoire is mostly fun and I hadn't experienced pieces that held so much emotion and stirred up feelings like these did.
My latest new experience was last night -- I went to my first Broadway show!! My high school always has a senior trip to NYC (I didn't actually go on the trip my senior year, having gone to France the summer before and not having the money for both. Oh well, I thought, NYC is close enough to Ohio, I know I'll make it there someday... Little did I know that 3 years later I'd be living here!) and lucky for me, one of the chaperons is not a fan of the Broadway show part of the trip, and gave me his ticket! Yay!
Yesterday morning I found out there were two tickets up for grabs if I could find a friend who wanted to join me, so I called on Samantha who also had never been to a Broadway show! I have to admit I was a little skeptical of seeing Spider-Man: Turn Out the Lights on Broadway... I mean, it's action-packed Spider-Man! And what, now he's gonna sing? But it was great! It took me a bit to get into it but by the end I was loving and very impressed with the stunts and special effects. They stayed true to the comic book nature of the story as well as bringing in the musicality and choreography of Broadway.
It was a nice night (loving this warm, spring weather!!) and we kept it true to New York form. Grabbing dessert at Roxy Delicatessen in Times Square before hitting up the Broadway show then finishing the night by meeting up with Selina for supper (at 11 o'clock at night... we run on a different time schedule than most) in Koreatown.
I hope your last few weeks have been just as delightfully eventful as mine! And I'll really try to do better at consistency... TTFN :)
Friday, January 4, 2013
My Year in Review
Happy New Year everyone!
I love journaling.
Usually.
Sometimes, I get really distracted and can't write, no matter how many awesome things I have to say. I'll literally just sit, pen in hand, and stare into space, usually thinking through the words I want to write but my hand can't keep up with my mind and the words are lost....
But usually journaling is very therapeutic for me. It's how I put my thoughts together and record memories. And one of the best rewards is going back through old journals and remembering fun or hard times and seeing how God pulled me through situations that seemed earth-shattering at the time.
Some days I like to pull out an old journal and flip through to see what I was doing on that date (or around that date...) one year ago. At the end of the year, I like to flip through my journal from the past year and see how my thinking has changed or look at all the things I went through, all the fun times I had, and how things ended up. Plus, there are so many beautiful journals out there, how could you not want to write and fill it's pages?!
I usually go through one journal a year but this year was a big year for me and I went through two! Since it was such a big year I wanted to share some of the big adventures :) and hopefully encourage you to look over your year!
2012
January: Felt real old, like an actual grown-up, turning 20!
Spent my birthday on a college visit :P but with one of my besties!
Visited home twice!
Got my first internship at Doric Concrete Vaults (designing tombstones ;)
February: Hmm lots of ups and downs in that month....
March: Spring Break! at home... it was fun though!
Dressed as Tinker Bell for Pick-a-Date
Played Cobweb (rocker fairy!) in Hesston's 80's style Midsummer Night's Dream
April: When the schedule became - class, lay out, Sonic :)
Was offered internship in Brooklyn at Resource
May: Got my helix triple pierced
Graduated from Hesston
Said goodbye to all my friends :(
June: Becca graduated!
Visited New York City for the first time.... and moved there 2 weeks later :)
Road trip to Iowa! For Jodi's wedding
Started web design internship at Resource Magazine
July: Celebrated the 4th on the roof with popcorn and chocolate covered strawberries
Used my days off to visit free museums and attractions
Saw Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
Had my first visitors! Gingeriches
Boob Auction...
August: Started working at Hill Country BBQ Market as a hostess
Visit from Wendy!
Moved Becca to college
September: Decided to move back to Ohio at Thanksgiving.... yeah that didn't actually happen
Internship at Resource ended
Visit from EMUers
October: Started graphic design internship at WeSell.com
Extra time = gone (working every day)
Hurricane Sandy
November: Granny passed away - went home
Emily's wedding in Indy
Thanksgiving at Hesston!
First Black Friday shopping experience
December: Worked 60 hours every week
Home for one week at Christmas
Visitors! Mom, Dad, Becca, Grandpa
My resolution: Start a new adventure :)
I love journaling.
Usually.
Sometimes, I get really distracted and can't write, no matter how many awesome things I have to say. I'll literally just sit, pen in hand, and stare into space, usually thinking through the words I want to write but my hand can't keep up with my mind and the words are lost....
But usually journaling is very therapeutic for me. It's how I put my thoughts together and record memories. And one of the best rewards is going back through old journals and remembering fun or hard times and seeing how God pulled me through situations that seemed earth-shattering at the time.
Some days I like to pull out an old journal and flip through to see what I was doing on that date (or around that date...) one year ago. At the end of the year, I like to flip through my journal from the past year and see how my thinking has changed or look at all the things I went through, all the fun times I had, and how things ended up. Plus, there are so many beautiful journals out there, how could you not want to write and fill it's pages?!
I usually go through one journal a year but this year was a big year for me and I went through two! Since it was such a big year I wanted to share some of the big adventures :) and hopefully encourage you to look over your year!
2012
January: Felt real old, like an actual grown-up, turning 20!
Spent my birthday on a college visit :P but with one of my besties!
Visited home twice!
Got my first internship at Doric Concrete Vaults (designing tombstones ;)
February: Hmm lots of ups and downs in that month....
March: Spring Break! at home... it was fun though!
Dressed as Tinker Bell for Pick-a-Date
Played Cobweb (rocker fairy!) in Hesston's 80's style Midsummer Night's Dream
April: When the schedule became - class, lay out, Sonic :)
Was offered internship in Brooklyn at Resource
May: Got my helix triple pierced
Graduated from Hesston
Said goodbye to all my friends :(
June: Becca graduated!
Visited New York City for the first time.... and moved there 2 weeks later :)
Road trip to Iowa! For Jodi's wedding
Started web design internship at Resource Magazine
July: Celebrated the 4th on the roof with popcorn and chocolate covered strawberries
Used my days off to visit free museums and attractions
Saw Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
Had my first visitors! Gingeriches
Boob Auction...
August: Started working at Hill Country BBQ Market as a hostess
Visit from Wendy!
Moved Becca to college
September: Decided to move back to Ohio at Thanksgiving.... yeah that didn't actually happen
Internship at Resource ended
Visit from EMUers
October: Started graphic design internship at WeSell.com
Extra time = gone (working every day)
Hurricane Sandy
November: Granny passed away - went home
Emily's wedding in Indy
Thanksgiving at Hesston!
First Black Friday shopping experience
December: Worked 60 hours every week
Home for one week at Christmas
Visitors! Mom, Dad, Becca, Grandpa
My resolution: Start a new adventure :)
Friday, December 21, 2012
It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!
Home, sweet home :)
After working 60 hours each of the last 2 weeks, I am finally home and ready for a break! In typical fashion, I took a Greyhound last night at 11 out of New York, expecting to arrive in Columbus at 11 this morning. Well the bus that I was transferring to in Pittsburgh was running late, it was also coming from New York but was supposed to leave an hour before us and hadn't left when we did... After a 2 1/2 hour delay in Pittsburgh we were on our way again!
I was able to sleep on and off during the trip and was amazed that every time I opened my eyes, the scenery was more an more white! It was in the low 40's in New York and the more east I got the worse the weather became! I got in around 1:45, two hours and 40 minutes later than anticipated, and was happily reunited with my family :)
On the way home the roads were bad and the snow continued to fall and blow. Right in front of us, a man in a 4-wheel Dodge slide into a deep ditch. We pulled over and helped him get a tow and were reminded to drive slow and be wary. We passed another car being pulled out of a ditch on our own road later.
Once we were home, we were ready to settle in for the evening and enjoy being together again. I'm very excited to have this break from work and stress (hopefully) while taking care of a few things I need to do here. But most of all, I'm thrilled to be back with my family and ready to pick up on all our Christmas traditions and make new ones. It finally feels like Christmas to me :)
After working 60 hours each of the last 2 weeks, I am finally home and ready for a break! In typical fashion, I took a Greyhound last night at 11 out of New York, expecting to arrive in Columbus at 11 this morning. Well the bus that I was transferring to in Pittsburgh was running late, it was also coming from New York but was supposed to leave an hour before us and hadn't left when we did... After a 2 1/2 hour delay in Pittsburgh we were on our way again!
I was able to sleep on and off during the trip and was amazed that every time I opened my eyes, the scenery was more an more white! It was in the low 40's in New York and the more east I got the worse the weather became! I got in around 1:45, two hours and 40 minutes later than anticipated, and was happily reunited with my family :)
On the way home the roads were bad and the snow continued to fall and blow. Right in front of us, a man in a 4-wheel Dodge slide into a deep ditch. We pulled over and helped him get a tow and were reminded to drive slow and be wary. We passed another car being pulled out of a ditch on our own road later.
Once we were home, we were ready to settle in for the evening and enjoy being together again. I'm very excited to have this break from work and stress (hopefully) while taking care of a few things I need to do here. But most of all, I'm thrilled to be back with my family and ready to pick up on all our Christmas traditions and make new ones. It finally feels like Christmas to me :)
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
A Good English Cuppa
It's been a crazy last few weeks, first travelling home for the weekend which turned into a week then returning to New York for 5 days before heading out to Kansas for Thanksgiving and to be reunited with my college friends in what is a big visitation weekend at Hesston. My days and body are very confused on the ever changing schedules but I'm pretty sure that today is Monday which can only mean one thing: it's recipe time!
I'm not going to get all fancy this week, this isn't even going to be a recipe for food (although I do have some great dessert recipes I've discovered... stay posted!). This may be cheating since it's a drink and drinks are commonly made in mugs... but my recipe for the week is simple English tea in a mug.
Yes it's simple and maybe this version of tea is cheating on another level because it doesn't involve a kettle and stove and whistle but tea means a lot to me. You see, my granny was born in England and although she moved to America at just 6 months of age, she was very English, her mother having grown up and living in England until that point. And what is more English than tea?
Grannie passed on the tea-loving gene to my mom who also raised my sister and I on it. Our coffee maker was even turned into a hot tea maker as my dad slowly gave up on anyone else in the house liking coffee.
Growing up, I might be greeted in the morning with a hot cup of tea to 'help me wake up slowly'. Whenever I was sick or feeling down, a cup of hot tea was always the answer and would be quickly delivered by my mom or my grannie. Before school started each fall, my grannie would host a tea party for the girls in the family, my sister and I, Mom, my youngest aunt, and my younger cousins. Whenever we would stop by Grannie's house after school, have a sleepover, or after a big family meal, a nice cup of hot tea was offered. At our tea parties, Grannie would educate us on the etiquitte of tea and always have a few different choices of tea. Sugar cubes were always on hand because that was the best way to sweeten tea.
My wonderful Grannie passed away almost a month ago. It's hard to believe it's been that much time already. It's been a crazy, surreal, emotional few weeks. I don't want to dwell on all that though. The important thing is her life, I know she's in a far better place now and all we can do is remember the good times and happy memories. It is also important to keep her memory alive through the little things and, for me, one thing that will always remind me of my grannie is hot, English tea.
I don't use a kettle and stovetop. And I don't have sugar cubes on hand or beautiful china teacups. But the taste is the same and that is one of comfort and warmth and love.
I'm not going to get all fancy this week, this isn't even going to be a recipe for food (although I do have some great dessert recipes I've discovered... stay posted!). This may be cheating since it's a drink and drinks are commonly made in mugs... but my recipe for the week is simple English tea in a mug.
Yes it's simple and maybe this version of tea is cheating on another level because it doesn't involve a kettle and stove and whistle but tea means a lot to me. You see, my granny was born in England and although she moved to America at just 6 months of age, she was very English, her mother having grown up and living in England until that point. And what is more English than tea?
Grannie passed on the tea-loving gene to my mom who also raised my sister and I on it. Our coffee maker was even turned into a hot tea maker as my dad slowly gave up on anyone else in the house liking coffee.
Growing up, I might be greeted in the morning with a hot cup of tea to 'help me wake up slowly'. Whenever I was sick or feeling down, a cup of hot tea was always the answer and would be quickly delivered by my mom or my grannie. Before school started each fall, my grannie would host a tea party for the girls in the family, my sister and I, Mom, my youngest aunt, and my younger cousins. Whenever we would stop by Grannie's house after school, have a sleepover, or after a big family meal, a nice cup of hot tea was offered. At our tea parties, Grannie would educate us on the etiquitte of tea and always have a few different choices of tea. Sugar cubes were always on hand because that was the best way to sweeten tea.
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| Back-to-school tea party - many years ago |
My wonderful Grannie passed away almost a month ago. It's hard to believe it's been that much time already. It's been a crazy, surreal, emotional few weeks. I don't want to dwell on all that though. The important thing is her life, I know she's in a far better place now and all we can do is remember the good times and happy memories. It is also important to keep her memory alive through the little things and, for me, one thing that will always remind me of my grannie is hot, English tea.
I don't use a kettle and stovetop. And I don't have sugar cubes on hand or beautiful china teacups. But the taste is the same and that is one of comfort and warmth and love.
Hot English Tea
Fill a mug almost full with water. Microwave 1 1/2 minutes. Place 1 teaspoon loose-leaf basic black tea (I like English Breakfast) in a tea ball, tea bag, or tea infuser of some sort (or use a pre-made, storebought tea bag, of a basic black tea such as English Breakfast. But PLEASE don't use Lipton :P )
Place the tea bag into the hot water and steep 3-4 minutes, depending how strong you like it. Remove the tea bag and squeeze out the bag with a spoon. Add sugar to taste (1 Tablespoon if you're a lady in my family ;) ) Add a splash of milk (about 1/2 Tablespoon) and stir.
*Tea etiquette: Only add milk to basic, black, English tea.
Curl up with a good book, sit and look out the window, use it in the morning to "wake up slowly," or invite a friend over to join you, set out some cookies and sweet bread and enjoy your tea.
<3 Ashley
Sunday, November 11, 2012
From the Greyhound
Hey all!
(*****Sorry that it's been soooo long since I've posted, I wrote this Thursday night but Blogger wasn't working so I'm just now actually getting to publish it :( Lots has happened since this that I may write about later, but I wanted to share these adventures*****)
Thanks to modern technology I am writing this post using the free wifi on a Greyhound bus! Yep, I'm on a Greyhound headed home for the weekend for some family stuff.
I probably don't need to tell you that I've been busy, but I will apologize for not posting recently (and missing another Mug Monday...) There's just been a lot on my mind and a lot going on. But right now I've got 13 hours on the road and wifi so what better to do than write a blog post :)
It snowed for the first time yesterday! Which was really pretty exciting. I don't like winter much at all but I do enjoy some snow.
It was rainy-snowy when I was walking to WeSell, then it came down in big, beautiful flakes that we watched out the windows. Joe from Jamaica was all excited because it was only the second time he'd seen snow. Of course from what I hear, snow in New York is pretty for about 5 minutes before it turns black and gross. So that's unfortunate.
The walk home was not so fun then. I don't have a pair of boots (for rain or snow) and I was wearing about the worst shoes I could be for walking through snow: a pair of flat that rain tends to soak through the bottom of. And by the time I was going home there was a good inch and a half-two inches of snow on the ground! And it was still coming down, blowing right in my face as I walked the third of a mile home. Uphill. In wet shoes. Hehe, just trying to sound like one of "those people," that is all true though...
It was strange also because the trees still have most of their leaves. So here's these trees looking like summer or fall and then branches hanging cause they're extra weighted down by snow!
Today I went in to WeSell, taking my suitcase and carry-on with me, and worked a pretty regular day. Afterwards I had some strange experiences, strange as in my life is always an adventure!
I went to Hill Country to buy some Salted Caramel Cupcakes because I talk about them all the time to my family and I want them to get to try them! (Shhhh they don't know that I'm bringing them...)
If we're being honest though, that's not the real reason I went into HC. I actually went in to get a haircut. No, seriously. One of the cashiers is actually a hair stylist by trade and I'd mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was wanted a haircut and he said he'd do it for free! So we'd been trying to work out a time and it was supposed to happen the last 3 days but something always came up or didn't work out right. I really wanted the haircut before I went home so he said to come in to HC and he'd do it real quick. So I went in and someone else covered the register and we snuck to this little room on the side where the dumpsters are kept and he gave me trim! Haha. Sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do!
After my haircut and saying hi and bye to all my friends there, I headed back uptown and stopped in at Cafe R for some supper (shrimp tempura sushi!) Then it was off to the bus station - Port Authority.
I'm pretty excited for my first big Greyhound adventure. Even though it's a 13 hour ride and I have a transfer that I'm a little nervous about, I have a "free spirit, travel loving, adventure seeking side" (in the words of Wendy) that makes me giddy for new experiences.
I got to the bus station and had no idea where I was going or what to do. I had to find the information area so that I could get my ticket (I had bought one but had no way of printing it...) I've done a lot of flying and am very comfortable in airports but this was a whole new ball game. The problem is that people can tell when you don't know where you're going and they jump on that.
I was looking at a map and a man came over asking where I was going and said to follow him and he'd get me there, he knew the whole place. I declined and he joked that I just didn't want to have to tip him, whatever that's supposed to mean... I then asked someone working at a kiosk there for help and they directed me to the Greyhound information center which I found easily and got my tickets printed, after a lady offered me her ticket that she wasn't using and was expiring today, all I had to do was pay the difference between her $65 ticket and what I told her my ticket would cost.
I searched my tickets for a gate number but no luck. I was standing outside the Greyhound check in area and debating if I should go downstairs and look around since I'd heard that's where I would check my luggage when a man in all black with a cap on his head and badge hanging from his neck walked over and asked if I knew where I was going. He then asked my age and if I had ID to prove that and explained that he was a cop and there's been a lot of runaways going through that station. I hesitantly showed him my ID and he said I was fine, and he's just making sure. Then he made sure I knew where I was going and advised me to get there quickly because there are a lot of bad guys hanging out up there on the lookout for girls who aren't from New York and don't know where they're going. Comforting.
Once I got to the gate there were no more issues, except the lady in front of me bumping me with her big old bum every time she stood up or sat down on the floor, which she felt the need to do every time we moved up in line while waiting to start boarding.
I'm sooooo excited to be going home for a little bit. It will be wonderful to be with my family.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Munchkins on the Counter Make My Day
Back to work today! Buses were "partially running," what that meant exactly I wasn't sure but I set out at 9:45 to catch the 10:01 BxM4 Xpress bus into Midtown, hoping to make it to work by 12. There were other people at the bus stop which I saw as promising and took to mean that they probably knew the bus was indeed running. They did not actually know this, I found. Everyone was on the same page, not knowing for sure when or even if this bus was coming. And it didn't, not the 10:01 AM bus at least. Around 10:30 we saw a BxM4 driving in the opposite direction, towards Yonkers instead of Manhattan. We all grew hopeful then, knowing that the bus was at least running!
It was interesting to see the little community that built as we all waited. A British man helped out a dog walker by informing him that the buses honestly were free today and that he didn't need to keep counting that pile of change and making sure he had $5. The dog walker then opened up to him about his latest bout of struggles and how everything happens at once. An Irish couple "here for a fortnight" nervously joked with anyone who talked to them that yes, this was the stop for the BxM4... if it ever showed up.
Finally, the bus did show up! We saw it there on the horizon, squinted to see the numbers, and all exclaimed with joy (no really, we did) when, at last!, they were the combination of numbers and letters we were all hoping for. We all piled in at about 11:20, happy to get out of the cold and be on our way. We even all got seats!
It was about a 2 hour bus ride, hitting bad traffic once we got into Harlem. I enjoyed being above ground the whole time and seeing the sites of the route I usually am traveling underneath. Surprisingly, I didn't see a whole lot of destruction, not as much as I thought I'd see at least. There were some trees down and some caution tape and some windows/storefronts were boarded up. I suppose everything along the road had been cleaned up though, so the buses could actually run, understandable.
I got to work around 1:10 and found only a handful of people in the office. There's probably 35-40 people who work there and today there were maybe 12 of us. There were also Munchkins sitting on the kitchen counter.... as in donut holes from Dunkin Donuts :) They seemed to be fall flavors (like pumpkin!) and they honestly made me feel that going into the office was worth it.
It was a pretty good day at the office too. With so few people it seemed like I got to chat with more people. I also got to create the flier for an upcoming pubcrawl which makes me feel like a real designer!
Getting home was another experience. I decided to take the same bus as in the morning so that I didn't have to make any transfers. I left work a half hour early in order to catch the 7:55 bus. Wellllll, just like the morning version, it did not come. Once again there was a little community built as a group of us waited for the bus to arrive. A man told us how he was glad that the bus was free today because $5.50! He could easily buy some rolling paper and weed to fill it with for that money. A guy from Peurto Rico told me about his first experience with a hurricane and how the sky had turned red. I also noticed the oddity of looking to my left and seeing the city full of light while to my left side the only lights were headlights, the lower many streets still being without power.
It was pretty chilly, mostly due to the wind and, once again, it was a long wait for the bus. Another hour and 20 minutes, actually. The trip home was shorter, thanks to less traffic. Plus, when I arrived I found a lovely package of popcorn and goodies waiting for me! (Thank you Grandma!!)
Overall a successful day! I'm very happy that the subways are open (at least the trains and stations that I use) tomorrow! The bus might be a nice change every once in awhile but I don't understand it well enough (and neither does ANY other New Yorker) to have the stress of HAVING to use it.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Fall Is In The Air
Can you feel Fall in the air? Maybe it's just me but there's something thrilling about the start of a new season. And having only experienced summer so far in New York I'm excited to be here for another season.
I am a very sensory person and perhaps it's my creativity or my being whimsical, but I have strong connections between the senses and pretty much anything (as you may have noticed from my Rainy Day Music post). Or maybe everyone is that way, I'm not sure because I'm not everyone :)
Walking back from lunch one day last week, I commented on how "Fall" the day felt. Pointing out the cooler temperatures, light breeze, the golden sheen to the sunlight, and how it even smelled like Fall. Or at least what I guess Fall smells like in the city, not quite the same as Fall in West Liberty...
Anyways, there are plenty of things associated with Autumn in most peoples' minds: pumpkin flavored everything, desserts consisting of apple and cinnamon, leaf piles, hay rides, going back to school (so strange for me not to be doing this year) breaking out the sweatshirts and jeans, Halloween, apple cider, pumpkin carving... And football.
Football has always been a big part of fall for me, which I didn't really think about until I went to college. Friday nights without a football game just seemed empty and sad. And it's not that I'm even a huge football fan. I understand it well enough to get by but there's no way I could have an in-depth conversation about it, or even watch an entire game intently. Nonetheless, I had been going to football games most of my life, thanks to my dad being a high school football coach for most of my life. Then, in high school, I was in marching band and the flag corps so I was at every game.
Working at Hill Country on Saturdays reminds me of being at home for college football games. Of course it's the Texans or Longhorns or Cowboys playing instead of the Buckeyes, and it's multiple people, drinking and cheering, rather than just my dad, who still probably cheers and hollers about as loud as any of the guys at the restaurant. It's amazing how these little things, just being around guys excited for the sport, yelling for and at their team, can take you to a whole different place while reminding you of the time (season) you're in.
Overall I guess the point of this post is to point out how certain things will always be associated with certain times. In this case there are many, many, many elements that prove to me that it is indeed Fall, some are sensory--golden light, chill in the breeze, scent of apple-cinnamon--while others are memory or tradition-based--carving pumpkins, watching football. I never really thought of football as a big part of my life and yet, mostly thanks to my dad, it was a huge part of my life as well as an identifier of Autumn for me.
I am a very sensory person and perhaps it's my creativity or my being whimsical, but I have strong connections between the senses and pretty much anything (as you may have noticed from my Rainy Day Music post). Or maybe everyone is that way, I'm not sure because I'm not everyone :)
Walking back from lunch one day last week, I commented on how "Fall" the day felt. Pointing out the cooler temperatures, light breeze, the golden sheen to the sunlight, and how it even smelled like Fall. Or at least what I guess Fall smells like in the city, not quite the same as Fall in West Liberty...
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| The results of some teamwork pumpkin carving last fall |
Football has always been a big part of fall for me, which I didn't really think about until I went to college. Friday nights without a football game just seemed empty and sad. And it's not that I'm even a huge football fan. I understand it well enough to get by but there's no way I could have an in-depth conversation about it, or even watch an entire game intently. Nonetheless, I had been going to football games most of my life, thanks to my dad being a high school football coach for most of my life. Then, in high school, I was in marching band and the flag corps so I was at every game.
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| Senior year flag corps 2010 |
Working at Hill Country on Saturdays reminds me of being at home for college football games. Of course it's the Texans or Longhorns or Cowboys playing instead of the Buckeyes, and it's multiple people, drinking and cheering, rather than just my dad, who still probably cheers and hollers about as loud as any of the guys at the restaurant. It's amazing how these little things, just being around guys excited for the sport, yelling for and at their team, can take you to a whole different place while reminding you of the time (season) you're in.
Overall I guess the point of this post is to point out how certain things will always be associated with certain times. In this case there are many, many, many elements that prove to me that it is indeed Fall, some are sensory--golden light, chill in the breeze, scent of apple-cinnamon--while others are memory or tradition-based--carving pumpkins, watching football. I never really thought of football as a big part of my life and yet, mostly thanks to my dad, it was a huge part of my life as well as an identifier of Autumn for me.
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