Today, we are in charge of dinner.
We have been very fortunate that our generous hosts have been feeding us these past weeks. They are very conscientious vegetarians, in that they have researched all the various nutrition involved in a vegetarian diet, and and happy to share what they know with us.
One of the side effects of this is that, even through all of this heat, we have been able to cope with general ease. Yes, we sweat a lot, but there isn't that deep lethargy that comes with a heavy stomach. We will definitely use many of the things we've learned when we finally get into our own place.
Another upshot of this is that we are thinking outside of the box (our box of meat) when it comes to cooking.
We decided to make pasta with pesto and other little tasty things. So we found a local farmer's market, with a Trader Joe's nearby, and decided to head over.
As the crow flies, it was about 4 miles away, but as the train runs, it was 40 minutes, being as there was no direct route.
We all piled onto the L train, Nathan included, and ran over the Broadway Junction, where we caught the A train towards Manhattan. We got off at Jay street in downtown Brooklyn, and split up with Nathan, who needed some time to write.
The girls and I confidently walked off in one direction, only to discover, five blocks later, we were going the wrong way.
So we turned around.
We walked back, past our station (hoping no one was in the same place to notice our mistake) and into the center of town, where there was a Greenmarket.
These Greenmarkets are all over NYC, and they happen every day of the week throughout the city (not usually in the same place every day). Some of them are even year-round! The best part is that they take Food Stamps/EBT, which we have, being poor graduate students, and you even get a little extra bonus to use for fresh fruits & vegetables.
This one was rather small, with only about 7 vendors, but I think it was because it was during the week, and toward the end of the season.
We bought plums, peaches, pears, tomatoes, zucchini and summer squash, and an heirloom orange strawberry tomato. The girls picked the plums out themselves, and got to pay for it with the extra $2 coupons we had received.
Then we walked down the street to Trader Joe's, where we got the things we couldn't find at the Greenmarket.
On the way back to meet up with Nathan, I got a call from our broker.
The good news: our application had been approved.
The bad news: the landlord owned several buildings, and one of the units had had a fire. The tenant who lived there had the option of moving to another open apartment that the landlord owned, and our apartment was one of her choices.
So we would have to wait until she decided which unit she wanted (there were several available in the building we had chosen), and we could take one of the remaining units. She didn't have to take a decision until close of business Monday, which was our supposed move-in day, so we were either to wait or pick a different apartment.
Ugh.
I called Nathan and told him the news. We decided to wait, but to see if there were any other apartments offered by the same broker firm (Bohemia Realty), just in case the first one fell through. Maybe we would even see one we liked more.
We stood in line to get some pizza (from Mamma Mia's Pizza!), which Olivia, who does not like pizza as a rule, reluctantly ate. For some reason, this pizza tasted different to her, and she was amazed that she actually liked it! She likes New York pizza!!
We met up with Nathan and took the A train back to Broadway Junction, met up with the L train, and got off at DeKalb.
Nathan set to work looking at apartments, while I started dinner. The day, which had started out cool, had become sweltering, and the west-facing wall of windows in the apartment were letting in the light and the heat. Not the best time to cook!
We ate a yummy dinner of pasta and pesto, with fresh tomatoes and parsley, roasted brussels sprouts and vegetables, and salad, as well as some parmigiano cheese.
Nathan contacted our broker and set up some apartment showings for tomorrow at 2 PM.
We wrangled the girls into the hot hot bed. Tomorrow will be cooler, so it will be better! (fingers crossed!)
We have been very fortunate that our generous hosts have been feeding us these past weeks. They are very conscientious vegetarians, in that they have researched all the various nutrition involved in a vegetarian diet, and and happy to share what they know with us.
One of the side effects of this is that, even through all of this heat, we have been able to cope with general ease. Yes, we sweat a lot, but there isn't that deep lethargy that comes with a heavy stomach. We will definitely use many of the things we've learned when we finally get into our own place.
Another upshot of this is that we are thinking outside of the box (our box of meat) when it comes to cooking.
We decided to make pasta with pesto and other little tasty things. So we found a local farmer's market, with a Trader Joe's nearby, and decided to head over.
As the crow flies, it was about 4 miles away, but as the train runs, it was 40 minutes, being as there was no direct route.
We all piled onto the L train, Nathan included, and ran over the Broadway Junction, where we caught the A train towards Manhattan. We got off at Jay street in downtown Brooklyn, and split up with Nathan, who needed some time to write.
The girls and I confidently walked off in one direction, only to discover, five blocks later, we were going the wrong way.
So we turned around.
We walked back, past our station (hoping no one was in the same place to notice our mistake) and into the center of town, where there was a Greenmarket.
These Greenmarkets are all over NYC, and they happen every day of the week throughout the city (not usually in the same place every day). Some of them are even year-round! The best part is that they take Food Stamps/EBT, which we have, being poor graduate students, and you even get a little extra bonus to use for fresh fruits & vegetables.
This one was rather small, with only about 7 vendors, but I think it was because it was during the week, and toward the end of the season.
We bought plums, peaches, pears, tomatoes, zucchini and summer squash, and an heirloom orange strawberry tomato. The girls picked the plums out themselves, and got to pay for it with the extra $2 coupons we had received.
 |
| Celery |
 |
| Green Onions |
 |
| Fennel |
Then we walked down the street to Trader Joe's, where we got the things we couldn't find at the Greenmarket.
On the way back to meet up with Nathan, I got a call from our broker.
The good news: our application had been approved.
The bad news: the landlord owned several buildings, and one of the units had had a fire. The tenant who lived there had the option of moving to another open apartment that the landlord owned, and our apartment was one of her choices.
So we would have to wait until she decided which unit she wanted (there were several available in the building we had chosen), and we could take one of the remaining units. She didn't have to take a decision until close of business Monday, which was our supposed move-in day, so we were either to wait or pick a different apartment.
Ugh.
I called Nathan and told him the news. We decided to wait, but to see if there were any other apartments offered by the same broker firm (Bohemia Realty), just in case the first one fell through. Maybe we would even see one we liked more.
We stood in line to get some pizza (from Mamma Mia's Pizza!), which Olivia, who does not like pizza as a rule, reluctantly ate. For some reason, this pizza tasted different to her, and she was amazed that she actually liked it! She likes New York pizza!!
We met up with Nathan and took the A train back to Broadway Junction, met up with the L train, and got off at DeKalb.
Nathan set to work looking at apartments, while I started dinner. The day, which had started out cool, had become sweltering, and the west-facing wall of windows in the apartment were letting in the light and the heat. Not the best time to cook!
We ate a yummy dinner of pasta and pesto, with fresh tomatoes and parsley, roasted brussels sprouts and vegetables, and salad, as well as some parmigiano cheese.
Nathan contacted our broker and set up some apartment showings for tomorrow at 2 PM.
We wrangled the girls into the hot hot bed. Tomorrow will be cooler, so it will be better! (fingers crossed!)
1 comment:
I love reading your posts; makes you feel not so far away. I can't wait to come visit and ride the 'A' train!
Prayed extra for you this morning.
Love you.
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