Spiced Moroccan Chicken with Onions and Prunes

I hate letting things go to waste.

Which is why a random box of prunes sitting in the kitchen led me to try this recipe.

When it was done, I took one look and thought “Well, at least we can order pizza pretty quickly.”

The first bite was pleasantly surprising and I even had the leftovers for lunch the next day.  Because I had assumed the meal was a total bomb, I didn’t take a picture until dinner was over.  So, um…. here is an incredibly unappetizing picture.  But I promise it was pretty yummy.  I mean, I did eat it.

The Godfather

For someone who claims to enjoy watching movies, there are a whole bunch of movies that I have never seen, that I should.

One that is no longer on the “No, I have not seen that… yet” list is The Godfather.

There are a few things about my viewing experience that I am ashamed to admit.

1. I did not recognize Al Pacino.
2. I remembered the scene where Don Corleone dies…. but because Leslie Nielsen spoofed it.
3. I saw so many things coming because they have become part of pop culture…. the horse head, the exploding car, the cannoli line…..

But now I understand, “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

The Smoke Joint

There are not a whole lot of BBQ places in New York.  You are shocked by this, I see.

While out enjoying the lovely weather (which I have a feeling will be happening more and more often) we came across The Smoke Joint.

Besides having a clever name, the scents emanating from the place were saliva inducing.

The pork sandwich was massive.  In fact, I didn’t even finish it.  It was a little on the dry side, but I am spoiled by Texas Barbeque.  I should have gotten the fries instead of the beans.  Not that the beans were bad, but there was so much pork on the beans that it was like having more of my sandwich.  I did steal some of the seasoned fries though and my goodness were they yummy.     The people next to us got hot dogs and mac & cheese for the kids, and it looked like some serious deliciousness.

On a scale of 1-5 Ninja Monkeys:

Atmosphere:  3 Ninja Monkeys (It was a little cramped, and I wanted more rustic.)

Food: 4 Ninja Monkeys

Drinks: N/A (but the Black Cherry soda was pretty yummilicious!)

Service: 2-3 Ninja Monkeys  (Nice girls, but took waaaaaaaay too long to take our order)

Music: N/A

Overall, I give the place 3 Ninja Monkeys.  I’ll probably go back though if I’m really hankerin for some BBQ.  Maybe I’ll try something different next time.

Heat Wave

Along with most of New York, we headed out to Central Park on Saturday.  Such a sudden burst of heat (88 degrees F) woke up the city like a once wilting plant.  It was hard to find a place to sit down and relax among such an interesting sea of humanity.  And I don’t just use the word “sea” to be cute.  You probably could have gotten in a small boat and gone crowd sailing without ever once hitting the ground.

We brought a frisbee, but I’m still a beginner and my fear of pelting some sunbather in the face kept us from playing.  So we laid out, and participated in the age old sport of people watching.  New York must be one of the best places in the world to do that.

The evening was warm, and people were not in a hurry to leave the park.  Even after sundown we were there, strolling down the paths, catching glimpses through the dark of kissing couples under trees, on benches, on blankets in fields…. until we came upon a dance party.  Rollerskaters had been dancing all day, and now people without skates were getting in on the fun(k).  We threw down our bags and danced.

The Return of the Natalie

It is coming.

Soon.

Hiatus

I’m taking some time away from the blog.

So much is happening in real life.

Love.  Work.  Planning.  Travel.  Friendships.

I’m going to take some time off, redefine what I want this blog to be, and get back to you later.

A Rough Start

It was a rough day.

Not even 8 am yet, and I could tell.

“Maybe some donuts for the office will make me feel better.”

I approached Dunkin Donuts and a homeless man stood by the door.  This happens a lot.  I braced myself for the request for money, but he simply opened the door and said “Hi Pretty Lady.”

I bought the donuts and as I went to exit, he opened the door again.

Now, I’ve been opening doors for some time.  I’ve gotten pretty good at it too.  I can open doors while on the phone, with my arms full, and if the door swings the right direction, I can even open a door with my back.

I have allowed a man to open the door for me before.  I’ve spent time with men who insist on doing it.  I admit, it does make one feel special, and if a man takes the time to open the door I will always give a gracious thank you.

But this situation was a little awkward.  I know how to open the door.  I am capable.  This man is opening the door for me and I know he has other motives than just because I’m a “Pretty Lady”, because he opened the door for the middle aged business man who was walking behind me.

He opened the door again anyway, and I smiled and said “Thank you”, even though I didn’t really mean it.  Even though I was thinking “I can open the door myself thanks”.

That’s the precise moment when he said,

“What.  No tip?”

NYC First

As I approached the barren wasteland known as the G platform, I noticed two young punks up to no good.  First, they were lurking where the train doesn’t stop.  Second, they were laughing in a conspiritorial manner.  They were 14 or 15, and I decided to use the Dog Whisperer technique.

When a threatening dog approaches you, assume an aura of authority and power and act unimpressed.

“Scuse me, do you have the time?”

I just happened to have my piece of crap phone in my hand, so I told him.

“Six twenty four.”

Just so you don’t worry, I wouldn’t have gone digging for the time if I hadn’t had the phone in my hand.

They looked disappointed.

I proceeded to where normal people waited for the train, boarded and continued reading Fight Club as the train moved on.

A few stops later, the doors opened and the oddest thing happened.

One of the punks was dragging someone by thier sweatshirt.  I assumed it was him and his buddy screwing around.  But then I heard tile shattering, and the 30 or so people that were exiting, entering, walking by that point on the platform all froze.

For five seconds, no one moved as this kid then yanked his victim in the other direction.

Take a moment and time 5 seconds.  That is a long time for a group of New Yorkers to pause.

As the punk turned and ran, the spell was broken by a man yelling “Stop him!  Stop him!”

He had pummelled a young girl and ran off with her iPod.

Less than a minute later two cops approached and helped the young girl up.  They told us that they caught him (this stop just happened to house a police station) and that EMS had been called for the girl.

The doors closed and the train moved on.

I shook my head, exchanged compassionate glances with my neighbors, and continued reading Fight Club.

Album Cover

To Do This
1 – Go to “wikipedia.” Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 – Go to “Random quotations”
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 – Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 – Use photoshop or similar to put it all together.

5 – Share!  I want to see what you got!  If you don’t have a blog, put it on Facebook and tag me.

Questions for the Ages

(..or…I have no idea what to blog about.)

If a fluffy bunny ate a donut, would his fluffy fur get sticky?  Then would grass would get all stuck in his fur, and would he not hop fast cause his fur was getting caught?

If a woman watches Spanglish over and over, will she only date men who look like Adam Sandler?  And more importantly, will she start speaking English with a thick Spanish accent?

If you take a picture of a monkey and then give him a banana, will his offspring talk with a lisp?

If I march in formation with a bunch of marines, will they think I’m cool and give me a gun of my own and a shiny hat?

If I challenge you to come up with a question that seems like it might mean something, but really doesn’t…. will you be up to the challenge?