steel dust

Steel dust was everywhere.

It covered the walls, the handrails, the tiled ledges. The soles of my shoes. My hands.

And inevitably, my face.

Trains rumbled through every few minutes, emitting earsplitting wails from steel wheels grinding on unusually curved steel tracks. That's where the dust comes from. The MTA cleaned it up back in 2004, for the centennial, but it's back.

I half expected to look up and see a Low-V rumbling through, passengers in bowlers or carrying parasols. But instead brightly lit shiny new cars rolled by, empty save for the occasional sleeper who forgot to detrain at Brooklyn Bridge, or the daring who hid in the last car to catch a glimpse. The juxtaposition of the recently introduced R142A's against the backdrop of the ancient station was both strange and compelling.

Click image below for slideshow:

...more on our tour here.

tonight's experiment

Orange-Vanilla Sherbet. Think the grapefruit sorbet, except this time using fresh orange juice, 2% milk, some lemon juice, some vanilla extract, some Equal.

The ice-cream maker is on full tilt, practically overflowing. This thing basically doubles the volume when there's milk involved. Its been running for 25 minutes, 5 left on the timer. So far so good...initial sampling reveals a nice fluffiness, though a little on the vanilla-y side and a lack of creamy finish due to the 2% milk (unlike if I were using heavy cream, but that's for another night.)

Do I write too much about food? Yes? Hmm.

beer and pizza

We were supposed to meet our friends at Sutton Place -- the sort of bar that plays the Fray and Nickelback, and everyone's doing shots. I was transported to 1996, and not in a good way. Luckily our friends had relocated so we immediately exited to meet up with them at yet another midtown bar, Corner 51, which was empty and like most bars in the area, offered a disappointing beer selection. I opted for Guinness, which is technically good for you, and surprisingly not as caloric as one might suspect. And a favorite of mine. Not quite what I had in mind for my first night gently stepping off the wagon, but it sufficed.

The highlight of the evening was still to come.

Walking towards the subway, and feeling slightly hungry (and DYING for pizza) I spied a glowing sign and was immediately drawn to it. We were on 2nd Ave and 52nd Street, and the sign was for Krunch Pizza Bar, where they serve crisp square thin crust pizza with a variety of toppings. We shared the Salsiccia and the Margherita, and finished with the Pizza Fagioli -- tomato, Tuscan beans, tiny cubes of pancetta and a sprinkle of gorgonzola. Yum. They were light and fresh and the three small pieces added up to about one slice of regular pizza so not too bad.

twenty years

20 years ago I was halfway through my freshman year of high school.

Lots of great records -- and some not so great, but yet still defining records for me -- were released in 1987. While not necessarily the best works of these artists, they shaped my musical taste for years to come (and still do).

Here's a sampling of what was on my Walkman in 1987:

The Joshua Tree -- U2

Strangeways Here We Come -- The Smiths

Appetite For Destruction -- Guns 'n' Roses

Music For The Masses -- Depeche Mode

Hysteria -- Def Leppard

In My Tribe -- 10,000 Maniacs

Faith -- George Michael

Substance -- New Order

The Lion And The Cobra -- Sinead O'Connor

The Lost Boys OST -- Various Artists

Never Let Me Down -- David Bowie

Plus a plethora of Freestyle.

And I'm definitely leaving a bunch out.

What were you listening to in 1987?

seven days

the first five were difficult, really difficult. the past two much easier for some reason.

maybe its because my body has become accustomed to the absence of sugar and alcohol

maybe its because I've cleared my calendar of all socializing

maybe its because the weather has returned to normal, filling my head with dreams of snow (and snowball fights)

maybe its being 4lbs lighter

whatever it is, I'm feeling pretty good. and kind of wary of reintroducing the things I've eliminated. we'll see how the week goes.

cooking up a storm

One of the benefits of this whole detox low-carb thing is it forces us to prepare more meals ourselves.  So eating out is down, and trips to the supermarket are up -- this weekend we hit both the Amish Market at the new Atlas Park shopping complex, and our beloved Stop&Shop (both located in lovely Glendale, Queens).

 

The weekend's dishes included strip steak with roasted plum tomatoes and sauteed green beans; a spinach mozzarella omelet with smoked salmon; tuna salad (no mayo) with fresh spinach, hummus and kalamata olives; pan-seared boneless spareribs dry rubbed with The Squeal and served with roasted mixed veggies (yellow squash, zucchini, green pepper and onion).

 

Oh and a 3-bean chicken and chorizo chili.  Not eaten, but prepared to bring for lunch this week.

 

Another of our resolutions for 2007 is to use the appliances we registered for, which for the past two+ years have done little more than take up shelf space.  Today I put the ice-cream maker to good use, preparing a sugar-free and surprisingly tasty pink grapefruit sorbet, and last weekend I whipped up some sweet potato samosas in the food processor.

 

Of course now that we're actually using the appliances we decided to add to the collection this weekend, pooling our Macy*s gift cards and walking out of the Manhasset location with one shiny new Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer -- in pistachio.  It cost us $16.27.

 

I think the crock pot is starting to feel neglected.  Any suggestions?