Easter Tea

This Easter, I was invited to my first legitimate tea party. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was exactly how I imagined. My friend Sara was the perfect hostess (as in the opposite of most of my friends). She had put together a smorgasbord of miniature sandwiches, tortes, and desserts that would blow your mind.

 There were bite-sized snacks of prosciutto, mashed peas, and cheese on pieces of baguette. On English muffins were blackberries, raspberries, and lemon curd. Zucchini, eggplant, mint, and a Greek yogurt sauce filled mini pita pockets. The little sandwiches included tomato and cheddar as well as cucumber and smoked salmon. Pieces of sweet whole grain bread (with raisins and such) were covered with cream cheese and strawberries. Each of these unique creations was delectable!



There were cookies (thank you, Whole Foods), and one of her guests brought homemade scones (I had planned on bringing banana bread, but of course forgot the loaf on my counter, so I quickly bought a bouquet of flowers to make up for my thoughtlessness). Sara also made a delicious yellow cake covered with lemon curd, homemade whipped cream, and shredded coconut.

And of course there was tea! She had many different varieties, and we all had cute little china tea cups (along with matching plates, I might add) from which to enjoy our beverages.

After having experienced other friends host get-togethers, I must say that this was the best one I have ever attended. The food was delicious, but the presentation was even more incredible. And the fact that Sara was prepared to host several guests in her small studio apartment, having enough chairs, cups, etc. for everyone, was impressive compared to what my other friends have put together (and even though I host a classy wine and cheese, I myself do not measure up to these hostess standards). Five stars for this Easter party!

P.S. I even got to hang out with a real bunny on Easter! Does it get any better than that?

Kona Kase

Before I work out, I usually like to eat a little bit beforehand. Lately it's been a third of a Special K protein bar and a half-glass of orange juice. But after a couple of months, this tiny workout snack was getting pretty boring (but at least they taste better than the original PowerBar). Then I heard about Kona Kase through work. It's like a subscription for different types of dietary supplements and the like. For $15 a month, you get a box of 8 items: they range from protein bars to trail mix to organic chocolates, and more! Every month it's something new and different to try! If you try an item that you really like, you can then go to the store and just buy that if you like, but Kona Kase gives you the opportunity to try these different things at a very reasonable rate. I just got my first box, and I'm very excited to see what I like! And who knows: maybe some of the things will actually improve my performance at the gym!

Eating Habits

I had another Living Social deal, so I met up with a friend to have a prix fixe dinner at Leek American Bistro.While this kind of deal sounds awesome and saves you money, it's very difficult for me to eat three courses without feeling incredibly full (disgustingly so) afterwards. And that's exactly what happened. We started with a little bread, then I had soup, a chicken entree, and then we split two desserts between the two of us. The food was all very good, but even hours after the meal I felt like I wouldn't be able to eat anything for two days.

In general I try to prevent feeling this way whenever possible. Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins, and it really just makes me feel completely gross. So, when I eat out, I almost always try to cut the meal in half, planning on eating part of it there, and taking the rest home as leftovers. Of course some food isn't very good the next day (salads and seafood just don't seem to last very long), but then again I don't order those types of things too often. But this cut-in-half rule is a good one to live by all the time, even at home. I usually only eat half an apple at a time; the same goes for sandwiches. I've heard a lot of talk about how eating several smaller meals a day rather than 2 or 3 large ones is better for you (stabilizes your metabolism, etc.), so this rule fits right into that. You eat a half of sandwich at noon for lunch, and if you start getting hungry around 3, eat the other half then. This is a very easy way to keep from gorging yourself.

And while I have a HUGE sweet tooth, I general skip dessert at restaurants. One, it saves me money (when you're living on a budget when you're at your first job out of college, you don't spend frivolously). But desserts are empty calories that have no nutritional value. Now I'm not saying never eat sweets: I keep candy in my desk at work, and you know I love a free treat from Georgetown Cupcake on the weekends. But everything in moderation. So if you've just finished dinner and you feel content (full, but not too full), just stop there. Don't get dessert just because you can; you'll feel sick (and guilty, most likely). Just say no.

Recap: Two great eating habits I try to follow is cutting meals in half and limiting myself on desserts. While most Americans would probably consider this close to anorexia due to the obesity epidemic that is sweeping our nation, a HEALTHY human body can survive just fine on limited resources. I went a week once without eating and only drinking ginger ale, and I'm still alive. So don't pig out!

Boloco

I realize this isn't a food blog, and that if I want to write a review I should just go to Yelp.com. But this blog is all about what's on my mind, and since I just ate there, that's what I'm thinking about. The first time I heard about Boloco was in college; there was one in our tiny little town, and I'd go every once in a while. So I was excited (as well as a little nostalgic) when the restaurant came to Bethesda. The first time I went to this new location I had a coupon in the mail for a free burrito (who doesn't love free food?), so I had one of their Asian-inspired burritos, which was quite good. Today, I went there to meet a friend for a night-time snack (neither of us was very hungry, but we wanted to hang out for a bit). I was greeted by a sign right at the register that read "Cake Shake." My curiosity was instantly piqued. Cake is amazing, shakes are delicious, and here I had both in front of me all at once. Umm...Yes, please! The cashier suggested I throw in strawberries (for free), so I thought, "What the hell" and went with that, too. They made my shake, and I see that there are cubes of cake on the bottom, the shake is on top, and then sprinkles garnished the entire thing. O.M.G. I was excited. I clearly had to take a spoon (there was no way those cubes were going to make it up my straw), and I dug in. It was as yummy as it looked! To enjoy a "Cake Shake" even on a chilly evening is pretty awesome. I definitely recommend trying this tasty creation!

Saturday Night Live

I can't believe how many of my friends have never watched Saturday Night Live. It's a classic American TV show! While I rarely (okay, never) actually watch the show live the night it airs, I have been watching re-runs and clips for a long time. My parents have "25 Years of SNL" on tape (VHS, oh yeah) that I watched growing up, and I remember the 1990's cast the best (Adam Sandler, David Spade, Chris Farley). I think it's a lot of fun to watch the older episodes and see how the show has evolved and how actors come and go in and out of stardom. For example, the most recent Justin Timberlake episode also featured Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, and Chevy Chase, men who were on the show in the 1970's; that opening bit isn't funny if you haven't watched the older shows!

Today, the show is pretty horrible (again, something you wouldn't know if you haven't seen how GREAT it used to be). In the older seasons, only the funny skits were recurring. Now, some of the worst ones make an appearance on almost every show (Stefon on Weekend Update and Kristen Wiig's terrible Dooneese, just to name a few). In general, I only think a skit or two of each episode is funny (thank goodness for Hulu: they have clips as well as full episodes so you can skip all the nonsense). However, I will say that the new Bruno Mars episode was very good, and JT never fails to please.

I don't watch the show often, but every once in a while I'll see a bit that literally makes me laugh out loud. It gets me every time!

Is this song about a man or God?

There are a couple songs that I hear on country radio (though there may be other genres that do this, too) where, if you interpret the song one way, it's simply a love song, and another way, the song is about the singer's relationship with God. Below are a couple of examples (pay attention to the lyrics, not the videos themselves):

LeAnne Rimes' "I Need You"
Carrie Underwood's "Mama's Song"
Thompson Square's "If I Didn't Have You"

Now maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I think it's interesting to contemplate how songs (poetry in its most popular form) can be understood in multiple ways. And if this actually is what the writer meant, then the song is even more clever than before!

Passover Seder

Even if you're not Jewish, I'm sure you know at least one Jewish person, and if you're close friends, you may receive an invitation to a Passover Seder, and I suggest you accept it! Passover tells the story of the Jews fleeing from Egypt; this is from the Old Testament of the Bible, so therefore Christians can understand what's going on, too. Of course there's a lot of rituals and the like concerning Passover, but the only part I have ever celebrated (and let's be honest, the best part) is the Seder dinner. For most of my life, I have spent Seder with my Jewish grandmother, my immediate family, and my grandma's closest friends. For the last couple of years my parents have hosted, so they bring their friends instead. And last night I celebrated at my grandma's synagogue with her and my father.

I at first was dreading this celebration. First of all, my grandmother's cooking is DELICIOUS. She even makes gefilte fish taste good (homemade, NOT from a jar, and the fish is fresh from the market). So when I heard we would not be eating at home I was disappointed. But it really wouldn't make sense for her to make all that food just for three people, so I agreed to the idea. I was still worried about the company we would be sharing at Seder. Of the few events I had gone to at the temple, all I could remember was that everyone was over 60 (more like 80) except for me, and all they would talk about were their ailments (which I really don't look forward to having myself in fifty years). Lastly, when you grow up celebrating Passover, your family has its own way of doing things, and that's how you like it. I know my family doesn't read through the entire Hagaddah (the book of stories and songs from which you read during Seder), and I feared sitting for HOURS before actually getting to eat.

BUT the Seder last night was much better than I expected! First of all, we were seated at a table where there was another young person! Amazing! He was just about to finish his first year in law school, so we had plenty to talk about (youth really come together when there are so few of you in the room!). Then the Rabbi actually starting skipping part of the Hagaddah, which I greatly appreciated since I was really only there for the food. Speaking of food, it was pretty good! The knoedlach (or matzoh balls) where a little squishy (and tasted like scrambled eggs), and the gefilte fish was just no (I fear once my grandma passes I will never eat good gefilte fish again). But the desserts were amazing (petit fours are my favorite!), and I had who knows how many glasses of kosher wine (very sweet red wine; the first glass is a little hard to swallow, but by the end of the night you keep pouring yourself more and more of the "juice"). So while we were there for four hours, the company, food, and rituals themselves were all satisfactory, and I wasn't even tired when I got home!

P.S. I forgot to mention my worst Passover experience. It was my freshman year of college, and Passover didn't overlap with my spring break, so I had to celebrate at school. First of all, I had to pay $25 (which makes sense, but when you're used to eating for free, you don't relish the idea of paying for this celebratory dinner). Then when I got there, I knew no one, so I just sat down next to these ladies, only to find out they were "special" and were bussed in every year from a group home to celebrate; I'm not good around people like this (I never have been; I just feel very uncomfortable), so I was awkwardly sitting there with these strangers. THEN, instead of reading from the Hagaddah, students from the Jewish Center started reenacting the story of the Jews. If you're at a Seder, you should at least already know the gist of the story, so I didn't see why I had to watch a bunch of fools act like they're in first grade putting on a play for their classmates. The experience was so bad that I left after the first course (matzoh ball soup, which I can't even remember if it was any good or not). So a word of advice: if you're going to a new Seder, at the very least go with someone you know. Even if it's horrible, at least you have each other. Misery loves company.