As Long As This Ice Doesn’t Melt / I Know I’ll Stay Alive

It is soul-crushingly hot in NYC.  Even in the shade, it’s unbearable.  I have never enjoyed summer weather (or any weather that is not snow), but days like this underscore exactly why heat is so commonly used as a metaphor for anger.  Best of all, at night when it “cools down” to the mid-80s (with 50% relative humidity), it’s still hot enough to merit a local heat advisory and keep me from my favorite anger outlet: a three-mile run through my neighborhood.  I cannot WAIT until this wave passes and I can start training again.

In the meantime, this is how I am coping:

1. Grande half-caff iced coffee, taken black. 
   Con: It will vaporize within 4 blocks unless you suck it down really, really fast.
   Pro: That momentary brain freeze will feel euphoric.
2. Aveeno Continuous Protection Sunblock Spray, 70 SPF.
   Pro: Honestly the best sunscreen I’ve come across in a while; very light, easy to apply, not greasy or irritating, and odorless.
   Con: Since I can’t see or feel it on my skin, I’m not sure how to confirm my suspicion that it just melts off my skin as soon as I step into direct sunlight.

I Am, Like, So Totally California

Disclaimer: I STILL have never been to California.  (This may be remedied as soon as July or August, when I am tentatively planning a trip out to the Left Coast.  In my dreams, I fly out to Seattle to visit Jess #1, and then spend an awesome week on a rented motorcycle, driving down the coast towards LA–via Portland and the Northern California redwood forests and the San Francisco Zoo–to visit Jess #2.)  In any case, though, you came here for a quality story based on actual real-life events, not a list of my vague summer plans.  So, onward.

I first read about the existence of date shakes in National Geographic.  They had an illustrated sidebar about regional American food specialties, and I noticed that in addition to a variety of foodstuffs I was intimately familiar with (Beef on Weck, Coffeemilk, Kringle), there were some peculiar delights I had not tried.  One of those was a California treat, the date shake.

I’m not really sure what else besides sitting in front of this pinned-up article for more than eight hours a day inspired me to actually make my own date shake this week, but I decided I had a craving for one.  In fact, I’d never actually eaten a date prior to this week.  Mom would occasionally bake date bread for Grandpa on Father’s Day or his birthday, but I am pretty sure I never ate any of that.*

Based on some half-hearted Googling and a quick search on Seamless Web, I determined that there were really no reliable date shake vendors in NYC (kind of surprising, actually, given how many other California trends seem to get imported).  Instead, the minute I finished up at work, I booked it to Whole Foods to pick up vanilla protein powder (thick and frothy without the saturated fat of ice cream) and dates, which were not available fresh, to my chagrin.  (Not that I would really appreciate the difference at this point… I just heard the fresh ones were good.)  I settled for the dried, pitted variety, billed on the plastic container as “Nature’s Candy.”  This was a promising slogan.

Store-Bought/Scavenged Lunch Recommendation Of The Week

A bowl of Pacific Natural Foods’ Cashew Carrot Ginger soup + a toasted slice of Pepperidge Farms’ multigrain Cinnamon Apple bread + a cup of hot black tea + free papaya from the fruit plate in the office kitchen.  Yum.

I’ll Hate On Chain Restaurants… Unless Red Raspberries Are Involved

I’m not especially fond of chain eateries (although small, local, independent chains like Mama’s Empanadas are fine), but after tonight, I fully support the rise of Yogurberry in Jackson Heights.  Somehow, the first and only franchise in NYC is located right on 37th Avenue, and somehow it’s taken me this long to notice it (last September marked the grand opening). 

I expected it to be really, really similar to Pinkberry, since aesthetically, it’s a total knockoff.  But the Yogurberry “substance” (I hesitate to call it “yogurt,” “ice cream,” or even food, since they won’t post the full ingredient list, and I hear it’s made from a powder) is surprisingly much tastier than the so-called Pinkberry swirl.  It’s actually got enough flavor (yes, even the “plain”) and sweetness (thanks to lots and lots of fructose) that you don’t need to rely on a handful of Fruity Pebbles to render it edible.

In terms of toppings, Yogurberry offers the standard choices–ranging from mango to coconut to Cap’n Crunch–although the presentation leaves a little to be desired.  Pinkberry still does a better job keeping their berries unbruised and kiwi chunks intact.  However, Yogurberry is pretty damn good, and wins serious bonus points for being within walking distance of my apartment.

I Have Partaken In Enough Fruit Plates To Protect My Children’s Children From Cancer

Despite being born into a family with no history of cancer, I have an irrational fear that I am going to be diagnosed with nine different forms of the disease in my early 30s.  I have a vague feeling, founded on a very shaky understanding of Chemistry, that free radicals may contribute to development of cancers.  And I also “know” (in that same spotty, kinda-sure way) that antioxidants are the way to fight these dangerous beasts (insert valance shell diagrams that shows how free radicals are relentlessly determined to attach themselves to benign neighboring substances). 

It therefore delights me to learn that even though I may eat a generally unbalanced diet, it is absolutely loaded with “miracle foods,” “cellular superstars,” and “antioxidant cancer busters.”  A convenient list in a recent issue of Women’s Health lauded the following foods for having tremendous free-radical-fighting abilities.  It basically covers my five major food groups (exotic fruits, berryfruits, nuts, baking spices, and Powerbar):

• Blackberries (5.746 millimoles*/serving)
• Walnuts (3.721 Mmol)
• Strawberries (3.584 Mmol)
• Coffee (2.959 Mmol)
• Raspberries (2.870 Mmol)
• Pecans (2.741 Mmol)
• Blueberries (2.680 Mmol)
• Cloves (2.637 Mmol)
• Baking chocolate (2.516 Mmol)
• Sour cherries (2.205 Mmol)
• Chocolate Powerbar (1.875 Mmol)
• Pineapple juice (1.859 Mmol)
• Guava nectar (1.858 Mmol)

Bran, mangos, broccoli, molasses, tamarind, pinto beans, and spinach also made the list.  Seriously, everything in the top 50 is a substance I would consider a “favorite food.”  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go get an Acai Super Antioxidant beverage from Jamba Juice, loaded with delicious strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, which I will enjoy alongside a Green & Black’s 60% cacao sour cherry bar.  Diabetic shock never felt so good.

*Yes, millimoles.  My rather spotty chemistry knowledge suggests that this measurement has something to do with Avogadro’s number.  I say, let’s multiply it out and then call that the percentage of cancer-proofing you’ll get per serving.

Achieve Enlightenment With The Noble Eightcourse Meal

Last night the online team and I had dinner at Tao with a sales rep we worked with on Halls.  It was a lot of fun, and the food was quite enjoyable, from steak to sake.  We could’ve crafted a rather satisfying meal entirely from the appetizers/small plates, though… I start salivating anew when I think about those pork potstickers and duckmeat dumplings and the spicy tuna roll, sliced into thick rounds.  Mmm. 

For my main course, I had a NY strip steak, done very rare (I’ve started to use the qualifier “very” in order to emphasize that yes, I understand the meat will arrive bleeding and cool to the touch… and that is exactly how I want it).  I did wish that they offered more raw seafood dishes, though.  Since developing an unhealthfully frequent sushi habit (I am going to start attributing any weight gain to the amount of mercury building up in my blood), I no longer enjoy cooked fish.  However, steak tartar is a decent stand-in; it has the same kind of smooth and chewy texture, the rich mouthfeel of unadulterated animal flesh.  As an added bonus, it seems that raw meat kills my protein cravings even more efficiently than a cheeseburger.

We capped off the meal with a molten chocolate cake, coconut ice cream, and not one but TWO fruit plates.  (It’s not a truly luxurious dining occasion without abundant quantities of red raspberries.)  The fruit plates, loaded with mandarin oranges and berries and pineapple and perfectly ripe lychees, were topped with a scoop of citrusy sorbet, and a single sugared cilantro leaf–very elegant.

In addition to the fantastic food, we had a great view– we got to sit right next to the giant Buddha, in one of the cushioned booths in the back.  I was impressed with the sheer size of the restaurant… somewhat unassuming from the outside, but truly massive once you get past the coat check.

In Celebration Of My Brand-New Purple Belt

I am really falling in love with Colombian food. I got a tamal de cerdo and a salpicón at Papa’s Empanadas to celebrate a surprisingly successful taekwondo promotion test (I nailed my form AND my flying sidekick). Admittedly, the tamal was not impressive (I’ve yet to find tamales that taste as good as Kevin’s favorite mail-order variety), but the salpicón, like its cousin the cholado, is perfection. It’s basically a fruit salad in a cup, with lots of sweet, bright red watermelony juice and tiny diced cubes of assorted tropical fruit, and you eat it the same way you enjoy a cholado, with both a straw and a spoon. It’s a deceptively simple treat, if only because I can’t quite replicate the magic in my own kitchen.

The Most Important Meal Of The Day? The Free One.

Women’s Health came in this morning with a delicious breakfast spread, complete with a massive fruit plate, a giant bowl of fresh berries, and the biggest vat of yogurt I’ve ever seen.  And a boat of granola. (Thanks, guys!) I was so inspired by my healthy, crunchy breakfast that I just purchased a bulk quantity (let’s not go into details, to preserve my dignity) of Bear Naked vanilla almond granola from Amazon.com. Breakfast for the next two months is gonna be great.

Be Fruitful And Multiply

Today I have a goal: eat at least five full servings of fruit before bedtime.  I have half a pint of blueberries, a kiwi, a container of mango yogurt, and an absolutely perfect and fragrant white peach in the fridge at work.  I devoured three banana-and-applesauce muffins for breakfast, and I have a bag of citrus vitamin C drops in my desk drawer.  When I go home, there’s a fat pink grapefruit on my counter waiting to be sliced open and juiced.  Mmm, fruit.

Plus there’s another rep lunch today (second one this week, hooray!), at Molyvos, the Greek place just up the street.  I’ve never been there, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a baby goat meat special, and an authentic Greek waitstaff.  Also, I’m hoping that at the very end of the meal, they bring us a lavish and overflowing fruit plate.