Warming soup!

Fall is here in NYC which means it's soup weather! I love making soup because it's filling and also is so easy. This soup was inspired by random items that i had in my fridge.

I needed to use up Brussel sprouts so I roasted them up in the oven for 35 minutes at 450. Then I simply sauteed up half an onion in the bottom of a stock pot. Filled the stock pot with veggie broth and tossed in the brussel sprouts and a can of white beans. I added a bit of cumin and black pepper. I let it simmer for a while and let all the flavors chill together.

After about 10 minutes, I used my immersion blender and smooshed (that is the technical term) up the chunks.




I put the soup in a bowl to enjoy and topped it with some shredded cheese. Easy, healthy and delicious!

Coney Island fun

Sorry my poor neglected blog…

This summer has been amazing and full of fabulous only in NYC experiences. This past weekend I went to Coney Island with a friend who had never been there before. I was meeting my entire family there for a Brooklyn Cyclones baseball game. The Cyclones are the Mets minor league baseball team and they play in this fun little cute stadium very close to the world famous Cyclone roller coaster. As I ticked down the subway stops until we arrived, I texted my food order to my parents for them to get at the World Famous Nathan’s. The original Nathan’s is located across the street from the subway station. This food was waiting for me when I arrived. (The original nathan’s has seafood!)


There were two people at my table who had been at the beach all day and gave us beers that they weren’t going to drink. Score!

The baseball game as starting soon so we went into the stadium and met up with my family. The game was filled with cheesy cheerleaders, hand painting, giveaways and rain booo. I totally rocked my bright orange poncho.

I didn’t really watch the game but was super excited for the after game fireworks. Before the fireworks started they played all sorts of cheesy music which my insane family and I danced to and videoed. Then BOOM there were awesome fireworks!

After saying goodbye to the fam, it was time to start the rest of my night. A second meal was in order… raw clams and hot dogs and candy apples for my friend! Then a ride on this insane slingshot ride… 150 feet in the air at 90 mph. Amazing and I did not puke or pee my pants as I feared.




After the ride, we took the train back into the city and went out to a bar. We clearly had not had enough beer and def not enough food. Because then we had more drinks and became friends with the guy at the bar who totally owned the pizza place next door and brought us each two slices with requested toppings!

After a few more drinks, it was time for bed. What an adventure-filled day!

Tofu is yum

Cooking for one,
is never any fun.
But cooking tofu
that’s the thing to do!

I crack myself up! Anyway, I wanted to share my lunch today because not only was I proud of the fact that I made it for dinner last night, but because I styled it to enjoy at my desk.




Last night, I baked up the tofu with this awesome sauce I randomly found in my supermarket. It had a bit of a sweet spice to it and it’s fabulous. I found myself dipping the roasted potatoes in the sauce as well.



I also sautéed some zucchini, so that my meal would be balanced. I tend to not get enough protein in my diet and baking the tofu is a way to enjoy it without the squish factor.

I am usually not too excited about sauces but after trying this one I have come up with lots of ideas on how to use this sauce. I want to mix it into a quinoa salad to give it a fruity kick.

I am hoping this is a start to blogging about the food I eat. So join this NYCBean as I eat my way through the city!

Craigslist and the 5 boro bike tour

The tulips are out which means biking season has started again. I sadly missed the sign up for my usual first ride, the 5 boro Bike tour. This ride is 42 miles on car free roads in the 5 Boroughs of NYC. I realized that the ride is the Sunday and I had no plans so I went to craigslist to assess the selling of the bibs situation.

Since the ride is 32,000 people, there are tons of people who can’t make it last minute and want to sell their bibs to get back the cost of the ride. Some people suck and were selling their ride packets for well over the $80 it originally cost. I emailed a few of the more reasonably priced offers. I noticed there was one by where I live and he was selling it for $65!

I emailed back and forth with the guy and told him I would meet him at 7:30 on a street corner. Of course President Obama decided that he would like to visit NYC at that exact hour so I had a bit of a difficult trip driving home. I parked the car and decided that the subway would be a fast way of getting to the meeting spot. I was right but as soon as I got out of the subway I realized that the street he had picked was the street Obama’s motorcade was driving down. There were barriers up on both sides of the road and tons and tons of cops milling about. Then about 7 cops cars, sirens blasting, screamed down the street. Pretty intense.

I texted the guy and we met on the corner and did the exchange in front of a group of about 20 cops. That was the safest craigslist exchange ever!

Wish me luck on my ride on Sunday!

Snowpocalypse 2010

The one thing I dread about owning a car is what happens when it snows. The roads get messy and slippery and my car likes to pretend it is ice skating and then my knuckles go white as I grind my teeth and think of selling my car.

New York City got hit with a huge blizzard that covered the roads giving me a “snow day” from work. Well, sorta. I still had to work from home and as I looked out the window of my building at the snow covered cars and drifts next to them, the realization of the other job I had to do sunk in.

I had to dig out my car and it was plowed in. I got myself bundled up and went out side with a friend who was nice enough to undertake the dreaded task with me. When I got to my car, I found this.


Ugh. This was going to take a while. I started to dig with my plastic blue expandable shovel. The pile of snow on the side of the road was getting a bit bigger but I still was not through the wall of snow between the clear road and the car. We took turns heaving the snow when my friend realized the handle was popping apart from the shovel. We would need to find another one. So off he went to see if any store wasn’t sold out. I keep shoveling until the handle snapped and I was left with just the scoop.

He came back without a shovel and we had to go trek through the snow to find a store that still had shovels in stock. The small hardware store close by had two choices left a huge wide shovel or a large garden shovel. I figured the garden one would fit in my truck. $25 later I was back to digging.

After about 20 minutes, a man arrived and started to dig out his car, which was in front of mine. He had no gloves and was doing a very bad job. He was complaining as we continued to dig. Then he came up with a plan. If he helped to widen the space we were digging, I could move my car out and he could back his car out of the space and move mine back in.

It seemed like a good idea with less digging for me. Another guy asked if we wanted help and he said we did and he would pay him. I stood back and watched the space get bigger and bigger until my car could fit through. I was able to get it out without much of a problem. Then the other guy had to move his car in reverse, which proved to be a bigger problem since he hadn’t shoveled any of the snow away from his tires.

Once his car was out he got a phone called and wandered away leaving me to try to maneuver my car back into the spot. The other guy was telling me how to turn my wheel and how to get my car back in for about 10 minutes. Until he told me he doesn’t drive so has not idea what he was saying. Thanks, dude. Then the other car guy came back and apologized casue he was on the phone with his friend who was in jail. What did I expect parking on the Spanish Harlem border?

With the combination of pounding on the gas in reverse with 3 guys pushing on the hood of my car, the Camry was back in its spot. The guy paid the other guy $20 even though all he asked for was $11. How freaking weird is that?



Two days later, she is still there because I fear if I drive to work when I come back to the city there will be no parking spots at all.

Pre- black friday deal!

Today, I went to Old Navy looking for a puffy vest. I knew they would have some pre-Black Friday sales but was no prepared for what happened next. As I walked into the store, a friendly associate handed me a mystery coupon to be used that day. It said that I could get $2, $3, $10 or $25 off my purchase. My puffy vest was $17.70 so I figured a few bucks off would be nice. I got to the cashier and she scanned my coupon and it was for $25 off! So she told me I could go get another item and then cut the line to pay.

Shocked that I would be getting such a great deal, I looked around the store for something that was around $8. I found a fleece sweater that was exactly $8. I contemplated which color I wanted and went back to the register. They rang up my purchases and I owed them 73 cents for both! Beat that crazy Black Friday 4 am shoppers!

Tales from the George Washington Bridge

Everyday, when I drive home from work, I have to go through a tollbooth for the George Washington Bridge. The EZpass doesn’t give any discounts to commuters so in order to not pay the $8 each day to cross the bridge I fill my car with two other people. This allows me to go through the cash lane and say the secret password to get my toll down to $2. It’s not really a secret but when you sign up for EZpass you can add on the carpool option and when you go through the cash lane you say “carpool” and the toll collector presses a button that gives you the reduced toll.

Usually there is this cranky woman who pushes the button before I even have my window rolled down and when I say “carpool” she nods her head and that’s it. She isn’t the nicest but she does recognize me everyday. Yesterday, I pulled up to the tollbooth and there was a man I had never seen before. I told him “carpool” and he said “I got it!” then as I was about to drive away he said “stay beautiful!”. My face immediately turned beet red as I thanked him.

A discount toll and a free compliment, thanks New Jersey!