Out with the Old and in with the Eggs

One day, last summer, as I was jogging around my parents' neighborhood, I noticed a number of garage sales. One of them marketed itself as a "wedding fundraiser." I thought, "what a great idea." I mentioned it to my parents and we decided to throw one this spring.

This is significant because if any of you know either Arthur or me you also know that we are extreme procrastinators. My parents agreed to come into the city yesterday to take some our for sale items and put them into the Hyundai. This helped force us to do a significant amount of inventory, clearing out and throwing out. In fact, a number of Arthur's toys and haven't worn in over two years accessories were removed. Never fear though, we are still holding onto not only one, but two hanging monkeys with the velcro hands. Or is it paws? Anyway, we were able to pack up some of our books, a few kitchen supplies, an air conditioner, a microwave and my 19 inch tv/vcr combo set that I have had since college and send them back to Holbrook.

Before we could muster up the strength to rummage through our material goods, we needed to have a protein packed breakfast. We didn't have much in the apartment, but I managed to create what I calling my tortilla frittata from random things in our refrigerator.

Recipe as I can remember it: 

Ingredients: 

1small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons of olive oil

5 eggs

A splash of water

A pinch of cumin

A pinch of chili powder

A pinch of kosher salt

A pinch of black pepper

Half a cup of grated parmesean cheese (could've been more, I inadvertantly dumped a massive amount in), and two tablespoons reserved.

A pinch of cumin

A pinch of chili powder

5 small corn tortillas

1 tablespoon of butter
2 slices of light swiss cheese (would probably be really good with cheddar cheese)

Approximately 8 oz. of frozen broccoli (I say this because I used what was left in a 17 oz. bag), thawed

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

 

Sautee onion on medium high heat until they soft slightly.  Cover sautee pan and cook for about 10 minutes to caramelize.  Add garlic, a bit of salt and a bit of pepper.  Continue to cook for one minute.  Remove from heat.  Grease a pyrex pie pan with butter.  Discard any left over butter.  Overlap tortillas to line bottom of pie pan.  Place swiss cheese on top of tortillas.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together eggs, water,  1/2 cup of cheese (I recommend using a spoon, as I learned my lesson the hard way), cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Add broccoli to onion and garlic medley.  Pour onion, garlic and broccoli on top of swiss cheese, making an even layer.   Pour egg mixture on top.  Place in oven for about twenty minutes or until eggs are almost set.  Put oven on broil.  Remove pie pan, sprinkle remaining cheese on top of  the eggs and place under broil until eggs are set and cheese is golden brown.   Serve immediately.

 

Makes 4 servings. 

I recommend this dish to fortifiy onself when preparing to carry heavy things down five flights of stairs, followed by walking up the stairs and repeating said process multiple times.

I wonder what we'll use as fuel next weekend when we actually move.   Stay tuned!

We're Moving to Brooklyn

After more than 12 years living in Manhattan (minus my year in London) and more than 10 years living in East Harlem, I will be moving to the PLG in less than two weeks. That's Prospect Lefferts Gardens in Brooklyn for those of you not in the know.*



It is a very exciting venture. The apartment is absolutely beautiful. There are 1700 square feet. It has everything you could possibly want - from a dishwasher to a washer/dryer to OUTGOING mail. The neighborhood feels fine and from what I've heard and read it was up and coming and is now more sort of at a stand still. Hence, why we were able to get this apartment for the price we did.

We are moving in with my brother-in-law and his lovely girlfriend. When I tell people that they tend to get all weird and wide eyed about it. It makes sense for us, though. Did I mention the two balconies?


We will pay less money then we are paying now in East Harlem for an apartment one quarter the size. At this time, we're in no position to buy anything or to rent out a beautiful apartment like this by ourselves. Compromises have to be made and at age 34 and 35 respectively, we deserve an adult apartment.

Am I a little nervous about it? Sure. I'm nervous to live with other people. I've only had one roommate and a boyfriend/fiance/husband since college. We are all reasonably relaxed people (I'm probably the most difficult of the four). There will be the ocassional tiff or two, but we'll work them out. I am also a bit nervous about my new commute. It is straight on the 2 train to Harlem, but I have to admit that knowing it will be over an hour on a good day scares me a bit. After I get used to it, it will be ok. Won't it? And besides, I think it is going to be more than worth it as I feel our quality of life will be greatly improved. Did I mention that there is a fully furnished roof deck?

Yesterday, we bought bedroom furniture - complete with a headboard and a footboard. Arthur has never had a bedroom set and it has been a long time since I had an actual bed (not just a mattress, a box spring and a frame). It makes me happy to think that we are doing something together that moves us in the direction of building a home. Did I mention the two sinks in the kitchen and a refrigerator that makes ice?


*I was not in the know until about six weeks ago. Also, I am pretty sure it is really Crown Heights.*

Romance Visited

I am not a very romantic person. Remember that Sex and the City episode when Carrie is dating the Russian and he reads poetry to her by the fire and she wonders why she is so jaded about romance? Well, I can totally relate. For years, I devoured romance novels with gusto. I will drop everything to watch romantic period pieces. I enjoy a well-done romantic comedy. Yet, when it comes to romantic moments in my own life, I tend to avoid them. I giggle nervously or crack a joke or change the subject.

Last night, avoidance was not an option.

For our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, Arthur surprised me the night before V-Day at the monthly stand-up show he produces at Occhi's lounge in the basement of Comix. As I usually do at these events, I plopped myself down, along side a few friends and thought it would just another night of guffaws. As Arthur was hosting the event, he got up on stage several times.


Then he began talking about Valentine's Day and how he was thinking about what to do for me that would be special. When he said, "and then I realized I have a stage and a microphone and an Irish guy with a guitar," followed by said Irish guy getting his guitar and starting to strum, I realized that this would indeed be special. Arthur didn't sing to me. What he did do was pour out his emotions for three minute. My face flush, my body sweating and my heart beating quickly, I listened from outside my comfort zone as he spouted his love, his wonder, his gratitude and ocassionally his jokes. Speckled with humor, he painted a canvas of his love for me in front of friends, colleagues and strangers. It was beautiful. It was nothing I had ever experienced before and certainly the most romantic guesture I had ever witnessed.

Valentine's Day - the day, as my beloved husband reminded us last evening, that began in carnage - has always seemed a superfulous day for me. And when I was not with anyone, Valentine's day seemed either a terrible reminder of what was not in my life at the moment or an excuse to go out to dinner with friends and drink a lot of wine. I still dislike the Hallmark/make single people feel lesser/pressure to do something grand/made up holiday in theory.

However, last night I was the proud, mesmerized receipient of more romance than anyone probably has the right to. That critical, overly analytical part of me stepped aside and welcomed my Valentine.

Rehearsing? Sort of. Eating? Hopefully!

After the lovely day spent with the wonderful women in my life, it was time to rehearse our exchange of nuptials and then, of course, eat!

Arthur had been freaking out a bit prior to the rehearsal dinner because he, his brother and his mom had gotten a bit lost making the trek out from New York City. I think the idea that he was really getting married started to hit home. He is usually not prone to nerves, but I could hear it in his voice as he called, saying, "I have no idea where we are or if we'll make it." Now, for all you Long Islanders out there, you must be thinking, "you can't get lost on Long Island." I thought the same thing. In any event, they managed to piece the puzzle together and arrive at the Three Village Inn with time to check in and change.

When I arrived wearing my Jessica McClintock (hello, 1992 prom) dress, the whole of the wedding party was awaiting my arrival. It felt a bit odd to be one of the guests of honor and I found myself shaking a bit. I was immediately handed a glass of wine by someone (I don't remember who you are now, but THANK YOU). Little did we know that a wedding was going on that evening and in order to rehearse, we going to have interlope slightly on the other's festivities. This made for slightly awkward moments and bumping into wait staff. My grandfather's temper flaired slightly conjuring up my fear that words would be said that would embarass me, but things calmed down as soon as we were able to move and walk into the room that would be where we got married if it rained (it was NOT going to rain despite the forecast saying that there was a 90% chance).

The rehearsal itself was fun and our offiant and my high school friend, Dan, did a fabulous job of moving things along and working out our kinks.

Next stop: Food Where? Why the Rib City Ale House, of course! It was a great prix fixe deal with decorations and a cake included. However, it turned out that because we had slightly less people than we had originally indicated to Frank, the owner, we were no longer able to sit in the semi-private room. Instead, we were put in the room next to where the band would be playing. This was just fine until the band started playing. Our relatives - old and young alike - had a hard time hearing with the loudness of the whole thing. Arthur's mom began feeling unwell half-way through the meal, which some might say could be attributed to seeing her...no strike that sitting across from and staying in the room next to...her ex-husband for the first time in years. One of my lovely best women offered to take her back to the hotel though and the next day she was fine.

The wine and beer poured, our food ordered, we anxiously awaited our food. And we waited. And we waited. We asked for bread. It was still baking. And we waited. Apparently, they were not prepared for all the people they had that night. Unfortunately, there was barely even an apology. The actual servers did there best, but the management was no where to be seen.




But then we had a great surprise! Arthur's best friend, Tom, after missing his first flight, managed to make it to the dinner mid-way through. Arthur and I were both thrilled by his presence after not seeing him for such a long time.

We then said a few words and handed out the gifts to the Friends of the Wedding and to my parents. Our offiant received the biggest bottle of Jack Daniels we could find. I shopped at Satya Jewelry for the best women, women of the wedding and the flower girl. The best women received lotus earrings. The flower girl was given a butterfly necklace and the women of the wedding received stretch bracelets in different stones. The men of the wedding received a flask, a pocket watch and a lighter with their respective initials engraved into them. The Ultimate Experts received engraved beer mugs. My parents received a gift certificate to their favorite local restaurant.

We ended up having a nice time and it was really great having all of our closest in one room together.

Review of Rib City Ale House: The food was ok, the service was eh and overall we were disappointed by the experience.

Review of our rehearsal evening: It was a great pre-cursor to what turned out to be a perfect event.

Determination

I am bound and determined to finish this blog's first purpose, which was to discuss issues, moments and thoughts regarding our wedding. I know that I have been remiss and I won't dwell on the reasons why.

I do plan to continue blogging about married life after we finish the wedding part.

I hope you can stick with me, but if you don't/can't/could care less that's fine too.