Happy Fall!

As Requested.

Meet the roommates, Chris and Katherine.

 Someone made us laugh...

That's better...

Bellweather dry hard apple cider from the market...

Some kitchen pictures as requested by Lena...

 My room - still packed up, no bed, no furniture. I'll get there.

Our living room is a mess. It's mostly my fault - I have too many various flours and mason jars and no where to put them yet. I'll post some pictures once we get our act together.

The act of cooking.

Although I eat my fair share of pizza and can't resist a good Chinese dumpling, I'm adamant about avoiding takeout when I move. It's never really been intentional but I realized that I pretty much never order food or go out to eat in the days that I spend unpacking. I don't think it really has much to do with the food but rather the act of cooking itself. It brings some semblance of normalcy to otherwise upside down days. It's a reminder that not everything has changed; I can still cook. I can still put an egg in a pan and in a few minutes it'll turn out sunny-side up. I can still beat butter with sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour and make a homey cake (with plums stuck in the top). 

Eggs with spicy zucchini and peppers

serves 1

olive oil

1 egg

1 egg white (you can freeze the yolk for a later date)

1 baby zucchini, sliced into coins

half a red bell pepper, chopped

thinly sliced parmesan cheese

hot paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Crack one and and one egg white in a bowl. Make sure not to break the yolk, set aside.

heat olive oil in a small frying pan over medium high heat.

When oil is hot add zucchini and red pepper.

Add hot paprika salt and pepper to taste (I like to do this early on because it will cook into the edge of the zucchini and make a bit of a crust if you use enough).

saute the zucchini and pepper in olive oil until zucchini is golden, about 7 minutes.

push zucchini and peppers to one side of the pan and pour a tiny bit of oil on the empty side. Let it heat up then slide the egg and egg white into the pan. The white should spread to encompass the vegetables but the yolk will stay neatly nestled next to it. Add salt and pepper to the egg and cover with a lid. Cook until egg white is set and yolk is desired consistency (I like mine more runny). About one minute before yolk is done, lift lid and place slices of parmesan on top of eggs and vegetables. replace the lid and heat until melted.

Remove from the pan and enjoy!

Let's get my priorities straight.

This city is so LOUD. All. The.Time.

I signed my lease on Monday and moved into my new apartment Tuesday. I have two roommates (who y'all will meet in a later post), and a fire escape where I can sit in the mornings; just like I did on my balcony in Binghamton. Only this time it's not quiet - even at 5:30am. I'm actually sitting on it as I write this and getting some really weird looks from people walking up the avenue, but who cares, I'm outside. I don't know if I would make it here if I couldn't be.

Just so you can get a feel for my priorities here: I'm sleeping on an air bed until I can transport my mattress, I forgot sheets, I have no furniture except 3 camping chairs, I haven't even changed the light bulb in my bathroom or connected the internet - but within six hours of moving in I cleaned the kitchen top to bottom, organized the cabinets, set up appliances and stocked the fridge with food. Ha! I barely cleaned the bathroom first  [okay, that's a lie I definitely cleaned the bathroom first thing]. I'm always the most grossed out by bathrooms and kitchens - now that both of those are clean and organized it doesn't really bother me that the floor is dusty [haven't bought a vacuum yet], or that I have no kitchen table [let's face it I'd rather be on the fire escape anyway]. At least there are vegetables [and apple cider!] in my refrigerator and I won't contract something from the shower.

Plus, not having any furniture is kind of fun, it makes the apartment seem bigger. Maybe we'll do this super minimalist style: Each person gets 1 floor cushion, 1 mug for coffee/tea, and a singing bowl to learn patience. Or I guess we could just be normal furniture-loving Americans and buy a couch.