Not Selling the Farm

Alert....Alert....Sue is heading back to the farm in Maine and you know what this means, the resurrection of "A Goat Walks Into a Bar" blog. If you haven't read her blog or you have no idea what I am talking about, then you really need to get in the game folks. I have her blog linked under my "Wild World of Bloggers". Sue will be checking-in on Goat #18 for me (my favorite), feeding the pigs and letting those darn cute chickens follow her around all day. In her "spare time" on the farm, she makes wheels and wheels of artisan cheese, creates farm collages and other art projects and sends hilarious postcards.

Speaking of farms, I took one of those quizzes on Facebook today and it told me that my ideal living location is a farm in the country. Hilarious considering I live in NYC. I do miss my Utah mountains and I do love spending time in nature, but I love living here and plan to stay here until I am old and grumpy....and that my friends will take a very long time (the grumpy part, not the old part).
It is time for me to say goodbye to work and hit the amazing 65 degrees that has blessed us with its presence today. I will be yanking off my scarf and coat and enjoying some much anticipated spring-like weather.

Happy, Healthy and Farty

Last night we celebrated Sue's belated b-day by eating at Pure Food & Wine. This restaurant only serves raw food, which means that nothing has been heated over 118 degrees, which serves to keep all the nutrients and enzymes intact. This means that your body can easily soak up all the vitamins and minerals and everything else offered by raw fruits, nuts and veggies. It also helps to "catalyze digestion"....which I will get to later.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is really beautiful - low lighting, great sound control, zen-like tables and chairs, pictures of stylized ducks on the wall....all making for a sleek and sexy feel. Sue and I opted for the tasting menu, which included about 15 small items, perfect for sharing. My favorite dish was the "Zucchini and Roma Tomato Lasagna", which consisted of zucchini sliced so long and thin that it was just like a pasta noodle. The noodles were piled on the plate and topped with basil pistachio pesto sauce with sundried tomatoes and pignoli ricotta. Keeping things raw means that the flavors are really intense and crisp and clean. I can't explain all the other dishes because they were just too creative and I can't begin to remember all the special ingredients. I do remember there was this delicious cheese on the salad that wasn't cheese at all, I think Sue said it was aged bean curd. Crazy!

Now, let's get back to the "catalyzed digestion" thought. "Catalyzed digestion" is code for "your stomach will go nuts". In an effort to shield the readers of this blog from too many poop and fart jokes, let's just say that 50% of my day today has been spent in the loo. My poor co-workers! It was worth it though, a great night with a great friend over great food. And this, my readers,is what life is all about.

Oh, and I got a great 80's cropped jacket at Forever 21 before dinner, which really started the night off right. Sue was thinking of purchasing this little number. who says neon doesn't look good on everyone?

Happy St. Pattys Day!

I work in a really uptight, serious, corporate setting where lots of yelling occurs on a daily basis and people are always on the verge of an ulcer or nervous breakdown. It's the nature of a big city law firm. But, once a year, people let down their guard. It's the St. Patty's Day Office Parade! I don't know when this tradition started, but I have to say I LOVE IT! They hire a bagpipe player and then have a group of people walking behind him, handing out mardigras beads and stickers and hats. The whole office follows them down to the big conference room where there is green beer, corned beef & cabbage, potato pancakes and all sorts of other Irish goodies. Sometimes they even order mini quiche, not because it is Irish, but because those things are so delicious.

There are always a few scrooges who get upset because their conference call is interrupted by the noise, but to those people, I say "LIGHTEN UP".

Super Stratton Ski Weekend with Sue!

What do you do when you are stressed to the max, the market is crumbling and you cannot take another NY'er running in front of you to get the last seat on the G train? You go skiing! Last Friday, Sue and I packed up our bags and jumped in her truck and headed out to Vermont for a long ski weekend. Here are some things I learned on our awesome girl trip:
1. Sue bought pink snowboarding pants so that guys would know that it was a girl passing them on the slopes (loves it!)
2. One of the best things about Stratton is their Tissue Greeters. When we hopped off the shuttle, we were greeted by friendly ski-types holding giant boxes of kleenex. This is something I have wanted for ages (my runny nose thanks all of them).
3. Swiss dressing is comprised of a mixture of ranch dressing and thousand island dressing and some sort of sour cream. I found that it was good drizzled on salad but also really good when spread on rolls (and just about anything else).
4. The best meal after a long day on the slopes is a giant plate of nachos and a growler of beer.
5. Sue and I can now add skiing/boarding to the list of activities we like to do together (up until now the list was shopping, eating, yoga, burlesque and other weird shows).

I can't wait to hit the slopes again. There is nothing better than the cold on your face, the burn of your thighs as you are heading down a steep hill and the sore legs and bruised shins you have for days after to remind you of what a fun time you had! Too bad there are just a few ski weekends left. Maybe I should move to Switzerland.