Wordless Wednesday: Lucky Truck

Tags

burritos, food trucks, landscape, NY, Red Hook, summer

This is the view from behind The Burrito Stand in Red Hook, NY.

Update from Upstate

Tags

New York, summer, updates

Where in the world have I been?!

Aside from a bit of an absence from the blog (oops), I’ve been in upstate New York this month doing this again:

If you followed my adventures last summer, you may remember that I drove all the way from Texas like a nutter, but that I also spent some time working in Ohio afterward. This year it’s just New York, so I flew…and took two trains, a cab, and then got a ride to this place. Remote gig is remote!

Without the luxury of being able to overpack my trunk, I’m even more limited than last year in the unequipped dorm kitchen, but my little french press totally made its way up here. Bless that wonderful caffeinator. As you can imagine, I’m cooking super basic things that would bore you to tears and I definitely haven’t been baking. (Ironically, I made Butterbeer here a year ago which is now the most popular post by far, traffic-wise…)

When life gives you soupy ice cream, make milkshakes!

Tags

basil, cream, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, milkshake, peach, summer

Last summer while working super long days in Cleveland, I would stock the office kitchen with food for each meal of the day to avoid starvation. (It really was a good job.) The inevitable ice cream craving kicked in one night during a trip to the grocery store, so I made a beeline for the freezer section. Lo and behold, I discovered pints of ice cream demanding $9.99! Who were these pints and what gave them the nerve to think so highly of themselves?! Actually, the flavors sounded amazing, but I couldn’t justify spending so much.

I later asked friend and co-worker Leslie, “What is this ice cream and why is it so dang expensive?!” She then told me that Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams were really good and based in Columbus. Okay. I then looked up their website and proceeded to swoon over all of the flavors.

Sayonara, Summer…

Tags

black beans, breakfast, corn, feta, jalapenos, lemon, lime, onions, rice, rolls, summer, yeast, zucchini

Yep, I know it’s been fall for a week.  In south Texas, though, it will feel like summer for probably another month or so, but with shorter days.  After that, the weather gets really awkward.  Way back in the day, I remember checking the forecast every morning before going to school.  The temperatures could span 30 degrees in one day, so I needed to know whether or not to bring a hoodie.  (These are Important Matters.)  Then it’s like the heat becomes slightly dormant until March or April, when summer resumes its sweaty dictatorship.

Regardless of the endless summer here, tomorrow is October.  We’ll have peaches and tomatoes galore at least until November, but it feels awkward to blog about summery things while friends are starting to post pictures of snow (!) on facebook.

With a few hours of September left, I’ll share a couple yummy recipes I made this week that err a little more on the summer side.  

Wordless Wednesday: Summer Garden

Tags

Cleveland, eggplant, garden, Ohio, summer, tomatoes, Wordless Wednesday

A few photos from the grounds outside where I worked in Cleveland this summer.

(sorry that I’ve been slacking with posts lately…been getting settled in at the new place and not baking or cooking much!)

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Wordless Wednesday: Got Rain?

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drought, San Antonio, summer, Texas, Wordless Wednesday

This is just by the curb…not in a desert!

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I’m back!

Tags

Cleveland, friends, life, New York, NYC, Ohio, roadtrip, summer, travel, work

Whew!  4,000+ miles later, my ever-trusty Corolla and I are back from my seven week work trip to New York and Ohio.  Yes, I decided to drive and think it was totally worth it in the end.  The more you know: Red Hook, NY seems MUCH further away than Cleveland, OH.  My bum can vouch for this 100%.

So what was I doing this trip besides not blogging very much (sorry…)?

Blueberry Crumble

Tags

baking, blueberries, crumble, dessert, ice cream, New York, recipes, summer

Remember how I was in upstate NY playing in a conductors’ orchestra?  Since then I’ve moved onto Cleveland to work at my old job and am done with that, but my old ‘hood just can’t seem to get rid of me.  The blogging got behind with all of the work that job required, so it’s time to do some back tracking.

When I picked blueberries for the first time ever, I was determined to make a crumble/crisp/etc. with them.  I bought everything needed to make it…except brown sugar.  Doh!  On the second to last (and hottest) day in NY, I went blueberry picking again at the hottest time of day.  Texas girl don’t care.

Related side note: I was so very amused by the warnings they had up ALL over the gym about the heat.  Sure, it was supposed to be 100F that day, but to me, that’s a typical summer day.  The same thing happens in Texas, though – when the temperature looks like it might hit the freezing point, people flip OUT.  It becomes The Big Chill 2011 with newscasters warning people to bring in their pets, cover their plants, and let the faucets drip so the pipes won’t freeze.  It’s cute. 

Wordless Wednesday: Urban Lagoon

Tags

Cleveland, lagoon, Ohio, summer, Wordless Wednesday

Wade Lagoon at University Circle in Cleveland, OH.

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Wordless Wednesday: Sky and the City

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buildings, Central Park, clouds, New York, NYC, sky, summer

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