It was my friend C—‘s birthday today. (Many happy returns of the day, my beloved friend.) Prior to lunch, C— received a cute food related birthday gift—a cupcake from Appetite. (Read more in Fun Playing with Food.) I don’t get to Appetite in Lyndhurst too often, because the Mayfield Road construction burned me. But, a couple friends are loyal customers. One friend got there this morning to find that there was a single providential cupcake left. I am cupcake obsessed. I blame Belle, because this obsession did not occur until my pregnancy. I love them, think about them and talk about them. I love Isa Chandra Moskowitz even more for her cupcake tattoo. And this cupcake came in its own carrier WITH a candle taped to the top. Now, men at Appetite, that is superb. 
In celebration of my friend C—‘s birthday, we had a lovely work get together. A pair of friends at work are of an extremely congenial sort, and they put together a lovely spread to celebrate. Having forgotten these plans, I brought leftovers from last night for my lunch, but could not turn down the offered food. There was a nice salad of broccoli, olives, peppers, white navy beans(?) and then a wonderful squash soup. While the label near the soup stated it could be eaten warm, cool and at room temp, everyone was heating it up, and so ever one to feel peer pressure, I followed suit. Honestly, the label was right—the soup was tasty enough to be eaten anyway. It was served with a dollop of plain yoghurt, to mitigate the sriracha in the soup, and something crunchy (I think it was macadamia nuts, though I didn’t use them.) The meal was completed with a moist cake. My guess is the recipe is what box cakes aim at—it was similar in color and texture but it lapped those cakes in flavor and aroma. Apparently, the secret to the cake was the 1 cup of brewed coffee that was included in the batter.
This food was accompanied by lively, stream of consciousness banter, and having read these blog entries, you shouldn’t be surprised that I was party to this. As I told my friends, who are the only ones reading this anyway, it seems improper to report on them in such a public way. Suffice it to say, today at lunch I had a lovely vegetarian (not vegan) meal that left me satisfied and happy that (1) my friends are great cooks and (2) today was my friend C—‘s birthday.
In celebration of my friend C—‘s birthday, we had a lovely work get together. A pair of friends at work are of an extremely congenial sort, and they put together a lovely spread to celebrate. Having forgotten these plans, I brought leftovers from last night for my lunch, but could not turn down the offered food. There was a nice salad of broccoli, olives, peppers, white navy beans(?) and then a wonderful squash soup. While the label near the soup stated it could be eaten warm, cool and at room temp, everyone was heating it up, and so ever one to feel peer pressure, I followed suit. Honestly, the label was right—the soup was tasty enough to be eaten anyway. It was served with a dollop of plain yoghurt, to mitigate the sriracha in the soup, and something crunchy (I think it was macadamia nuts, though I didn’t use them.) The meal was completed with a moist cake. My guess is the recipe is what box cakes aim at—it was similar in color and texture but it lapped those cakes in flavor and aroma. Apparently, the secret to the cake was the 1 cup of brewed coffee that was included in the batter.
This food was accompanied by lively, stream of consciousness banter, and having read these blog entries, you shouldn’t be surprised that I was party to this. As I told my friends, who are the only ones reading this anyway, it seems improper to report on them in such a public way. Suffice it to say, today at lunch I had a lovely vegetarian (not vegan) meal that left me satisfied and happy that (1) my friends are great cooks and (2) today was my friend C—‘s birthday.
4 comments:
As C...'s mom, I have to tell you she had a wonderful birthday at work. She said the celebration, including the meal, was wonderful. What good friends she has. Unfortunately, our dinner is not as healthy. We are having some of C...'s old favorites ...Chicken paprikash over noodles. We ARE having fresh green beans, however and the noodles have no yolks! The paprikash is made with light sour cream. The cake also has very little oil and no eggs and a cinnamon sugar topping. Where do you find your ingredients for some of your recipes? Some I have never heard of. You are certainly not afraid to try anything ...wish I could be more like that. Keep experimenting!
Fun blog. Nicely written. Feel like I'm reading a cool New Yorker article. Nice pix too.
Will look forward to word of the next intriguing dinner---which is tomorrow night!
Westlakekathy,
dinner sounded full of love and yummy. it also sounded like you worked hard to make it healthy. if we ever go back to milk products, i will call for the recipes. AND THANKS FOR BEING MY 1st COMMENTATOR.
tomodachi, high praise. thank you.
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