Archive for May, 2010
One sweet world, around a star is spinning…
I just got back from a fantastic evening at the Museum of Science and Technology down in armory square. After a year of of comedy nights, coffeehouse performances, and Sunday morning brunches, Upstate’s CAGB had it’s end of the year event at the museum. Not only did the we get to roam through all the exhibits, but we also got to take in a show at the planetarium and the IMAX theater. The movie was called Wild Ocean, and although I heard some mixed reviews from my classmates, I very much enjoyed it. Ever since the marine bio class I took back at Colgate, I’ve had a thing for any type of ocean documentary. I even own the entire Blue Planet collection. Anyway…It was a great night and as always, I brought my camera along 
One of the best parts of the night was definitely the desserts. The event was catered by Sweet Endings.
Mini cheese cakes, mini cupcakes and mini cannolis.
The three I picked…mmm they were delicious
Cake on stick!
Tara opted for a tasty looking raspberry tart.
Andrea, Anna’s friend Sarah, and Anna.
Me, Tara, and Justin.
Erica enjoying a mini cupcake.
Inside the museum.
One of my “candid” shots 
Tara making a new friend and working on some type of puzzle.
Andrea posing with the giant heart.
Erica inside the heart.
More science museum fun!
As many of you may know, I LOVE scaled down miniatures. Yes it’s weird thing to enjoy, but does anyone remember my trip to Miniature World ? Canada’s “Greatest Little Show on Earth?” I can’t get enough of the stuff! Little did I know, the museum had a special exhibit devoted to miniature temples and towers. How exciting!
St. Patrick’s Cathedral…made out of toothpicks!
Friends checking out the toothpick masterpieces.
I loved little King Kong on the Empire State building.
Notre Dame
Grand Mosque
On the fifth day of May…
¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Even though most of my day was spent studying, I did get a chance to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. It was such a beautiful day in Syracuse. I have a confession. I didn’t actually get a chance to cook today. Tara, Andrea and I went to Taco Bell. Not the most authentic Mexican food, but then again, it’s Syracuse. I had two of the fresco ranchero chicken soft tacos. Technically it’s fast food, but it’s o so tasty. Since I didn’t actually make anything today, to commemorate the holiday I thought I would highlight some of the Mexican food I made this past weekend.
Found this spicy taco seasoning at Wegman’s. Good, but could have been a little spicier.
I love Garden of Eatin’ chips, and I’e been wanting to try their taco shells.
Turkey blue corn crunchy tacos! Mmm…
On Saturday, Tara had a space age themed party. Unfortunately, I didn’t get many pictures from the night 
I crafted up some sparkly antennas, made Michele’s Mango Salsa, and called it “Moon-go salsa.” I know, I know…I’m super cheesy. Regardless, if you’ve never tried it, you’re missing out. It’s delicious! Mich mixes mangos, red and green peppers, cilantro, red onion and lime juice. So simple, but so good The recipe actually makes quite a bit, and I had some left over. On sunday night I made myself a veggie taco salad with Garden of Eatin’ blue corn chips, spinach, cheddar cheese, and tomato.
The mango salsa is a perfect salad topper!
And on that note, I’ll leave you with an email I got earlier this evening:
The story of Cinco de Mayo (according to Dr. D, my neuroscience professor)
Most people don’t know that back in 1912, Hellman’s mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 cases of the condiment scheduled for delivery to Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was the next port of call for the great ship after it’s stop in New York. This would have been the largest shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico…..But, as we know….the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank….and the cargo was lost forever. The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss…..Their anguish was so great that they declared a National Day of Mourning which is still observed to this day. The National Day of Morning occurs each year on May 5th and is known as…of course….as Sinko de Mayo (English spelling).
Bottle of red, bottle of white…
After the Unit 9 exam, Andrea and Anna and I decided a day of wine tasting was definitely in order. On Saturday, the three of us hopped in my car and headed out towards Cayuga Lake. Even though my GPS took us on the more scenic route, I loved the drive. Not only did I get to see many many cows, but we drove through several adorable little towns that I never visited before.
The first stop on our mini wine tour was the Long Point Winery.
Inside the tasting room.
Tasting counter.
Some of the wines on hand.
A tasty merlot.
I loved this sangiovese that I tried, and yes it was only $2 to try 6 wines. Excellent deal! I ended up buying a bottle of their Pinot Grigio (2009).
Andrea and Anna looking lovely and enjoying some wine.
The woman behind the counter was kind enough to take a picture…twice
Anna and Andrea “frolicking” through the fields.
We stopped the Pumpkin Hill Bistro for lunch. I loved this place and the country style that it had.
The menu was on a painted clipboard. Very different, but it worked and added to the cute country feel of the restaurant.
I had the “East meets West” wrap with applesauce.
A blend of curried chicken salad with moroccan chutney in a wheat pita.
For dessert the three of us split the “Pumpkin Hill Dirt Pudding”
Anna, me and Andrea and the dessert menu which was on that rolling pin in front of me. Again, so different, but adorable.
The absolute only thing i didn’t like about this place was the creepy cloth man in the bathroom. I don’t know if you can tell, but it was very large and seated directly next to the toilet. Didn’t like the feeling of the weird clothe person watching me while I used the bathroom
Andrea and Anna enjoying the sunshine.
Next up was the Montezuma Winery. This place had several fruity wines that I was a VERY big fan of.
I loved the Cranberry bog and the Raspberry Melomel (a super sweet honey wine) AND I got a bottle of each:). I also very much enjoyed the Pear Perfection and the Midnight flight, a sparkling blueberry wine.
All and all, it was a lovely day, and I’m so excited I finally got to try some of the fantastic wines the Finger Lakes region has to offer:)
Let the good times roll
Although I spend the vast majority of my time in a setting that looks much like the picture below (a desk at the library), I still managed to have quite a few good times this past semester. Here are a few highlights:
First off, thank you Renate for the lovely new pencil case. My friends think smart things
I splurged and bought myself a new vera for school since my other one was not looking so hot. Let’s just say a highlighter staged a revolt in my bag and my bag was not the winner of the fight
Puccini!
To celebrate the return of my favorite TV show, I had a lost themed party. Here is my Lost themed cup-Kates with palm trees on the island and a plane crashing in the water.
Tara brought a Dharma Initiative cherry chocolate cake, that we had with coffee ice cream Jenny brought.
I put my punch bowl to good use with “Down the Hatch” punch.
We also had John Latkes and Sweet and Sawyer chicken. Bethan brought Sun Chips and 7 layer dip (with Jake cheese).
Tom got crafty and made a 6 pack of Dharma Initiative beer.
Another super exciting event was attending the SU vs Villanova game at the carrier dome with 34,615 other fans.
Tara and I went all out with temporary face tattoos.
Tom and Colin enjoying the game.
Yet another highlight of this past semester was having Vicki come out to Syracuse. I love that she’s back in the country and we can now do weekends together again:)
St. Patty’s Day at Mully’s: Andrea, Anna, Christopher, Vicki, me and Tara.
Jenny, Justin and Bethan
Vick, me and Tara.
Mark and Sarah.
Another night out at Al’s. Mike, Tara, Erica, Matt and Christopher.
Christopher, Justin, Jenny and Jenny’s friend Christa.
I love the back nook at Al’s. Me, Tara, Erica, and Jenny’s other friend Brittney.
And the final highlight that I’ll mention was the day we took a study break from the library, walked outside and Syracuse looked like this. I can’t tell you how excited I was to see blue skies, sunshine and flowers. Summer is almost here!
Seasons of love
It’s that time of year again. Wedding season! This year is particularly busy for me. I have five weddings, and I’m in three of them. Between weddings, bachelorettes, showers and the half marathon, I will have 2 weekends where i don’t have something planned. Needless to say, it’s going to be a busy summer. This will be the first of many wedding related posts…
Wedding season officially kicked off for me with Sarah’s bridal shower in Rochester. The party at an adorable place called Edibles Restaurant and Bar.
Me, Anna, Tara, Sarah, Erica and Caitlyn
Enjoying our mimosas.
Chicken and pesto panini.
As I said, the restaurant was adorable.
In other weddings news, I have two of the three bridesmaids dresses in my possession. I actually had the dress for Hanley’s wedding out when I received her invitation. I just want to take a moment to show off her super crafty invite. First of all, it arrived in a box. You will also notice that the font is a David’s Bridal color called Pool. Yup, the invitations match the wedding colors:)
Upen opening the invitation, Hanley and her mom had attached a starfish and a sand dollar to EVERY invitation.
Hanley did an amazing job with these!
I’m going back to Colgate, to Colgate….
I love when friends come to Syracuse, and it was a particularly exciting visit when Renate came in February. Not only did we have a fantastic night out with Tom and Tara, but we drove out to Hamilton on Saturday with Andrea. For anyone who hasn’t seen Colgate before, I recommend clicking here and getting a proper tour. It’s a beautiful campus (#1 Most Beautiful in the country according to the Princeton Review), and my pictures definitely do not do it justice. I took lots of photos of places that have special meaning to me or changed drastically since graduation in 2006.
First off, they moved WRCU to the Coop! For all my Colgate friends, they had to push back the computer lab (it’s now called a media center).
Renate picked up a chicken Caesar wrap.
Inside the new Ho Science Center.
You know you’re a nerd when you’re upset because “all this quality study space and awesome geology museum wasn’t there when we graduated!!!”
I made Renate awkwardly pose so I would have more reasons to take pictures:)
They put step by Wynn! It’s about FrycN time!
Olin hall (my second home during senior year) and the Ho.
TriBeta mural
We stopped back in my old lab and Hoopes has kept up all lab groups photo and quote wall. We totally are an impressive group of students All four of us will be able to call ourselves doctors (eventually… )
Stopped by Frank (the dining hall). The froyo machine got a nice upgrade.
Renate and Andrea in front of the chapel.
New library is the most ridiculous improvement.
What’s this you ask. Why its a giant robot designed to retrieve books. You type in the book you want. Robot gets it.
New senior thesis study desks.
My two favorite places on campus. The view looking over Taylor lake from the Perrson steps. Adam and eve (our resident swans) we’re in storage for the winter.
Willow path. Even in the snow, it’s still pretty
Eat, drink and be merry
Way back in January, my best friend Emily turned 26. As she does every year, she planned a spectacular wine party to celebrate the occasion. Vicki and I drove out from New York to spend the weekend with her and Trevor in Worcester.
A place setting at the table.
Emily labelled corks to serve as name cards.
“Rah”
As you can see, there was plenty of wine for everyone.
Our fabulous hostess.
Vicki and I before the party began.
I wasn’t the only one taking pictures
Emily at work.
Smoked salmon and avocado cream cheese terrines.
Emily and Vicki.
Tarragon-roasted zucchini with goat cheese and black olives.
Party guests enjoying my favorite dish of the night.
Mmm red wine.
Ravioli di portobello with a gouda cheese sauce.
The picture is a little dark, but we had tiramisu for dessert.
Emily did an amazing job! Everything was made from scratch and absolutely delicious. Love you Em!
Too good to be real, the smell of something cooking…
So that’s a relatively obscure song reference, but DMB is one of my favorite bands and always is on my cooking playlist
Although I don’t have a ton of spare time and I spend many many nights at the library, I do try to cook something from scratch at least once a week. Even though I haven’t been blogging, I’ve still been snapping photos of some of my favorite recipes:
A few months ago I made a low fat chicken pot pie.
It was chuck full of veggies and lean chicken breast.
I used chicken broth and no fat evaporated milk to make the sauce…
…and low-fat pillsbury grands for the top crust.
For Christmas, Andrea’s mom got me a super tasty pomegranate balsamic vinegar.
I’ve used it on salads…
…and recently I made tofu pomegranate bars.
While making the tofu bars, I used a giant bottle of yellow tail to perfect my tofu pressing process
I found this dip packet in the Wegman’s health food department. Hands down, the best french onion dip I’ve ever head!
Over the past few months, I’ve started incorporating mushrooms into my cooking. It’s so funny that I hated them so much growing up, but have started to love them in my old age
I often use fresh basil and tomatoes…
…to make tasty portabella burgers.
Another one of my favorite recipes that I tried was a butternut squash walnut casserole. I used ricotta, whole wheat penne, squash and walnuts to make a pasta bake that was pretty darn close to a dish Pastabilities featured on their fall menu.
I also finally got around to using my crock pot when I made chicken paella.
Since I found out I’m no longer allergic to seafood, I’ve slowly started introducing seafood into my diet. I cooked with shrimp for the very first time…
…and made shrimp with red pepper and spinach over whole wheat penne.
I also finally got around to making Vicki’s Guiness cupcakes with Bailey’s cream frosting.
I didn’t snap pictures of the guiness or bailey’s but lets just say there was quite a bit of alcohol involved.
The finished product with butter cream frosting made from scratch!
Long time gone
Hello hello! As you may have noticed, it’s been quite some time since I last had the chance to post. School has kept me remarkably busy. Four units worth of medical school have gone by (including two of the most difficult). I have less than a month to go, and I will be done with my first year. Time has gone by so quickly, but a lot has happened in the 4 months since I last wrote. I have a full day before I have to get back into the groove, and it seems like the perfect opportunity to get some quality blogging done! The next couple posts will be me playing catch up. Happy reading!
Where we last left off, Syracuse was cold and snowy (as it often is). I snapped this picture back in January the day before school started back up after Christmas break.
Michele came up to visit for a weekend in January. It was so awesome to see her (miss you Mich!) Not only did we attend a dance marathon that I helped plan, but I also put her to work helping me make red wine cupcakes for a potluck dinner we went to with some friends from med school.
Opted for a Shiraz for the cupcakes.
Lots and lots of chocolate.
Chocolate melted and mixed with the wine.
The dry ingredients.
All mixed up and ready to go in the oven.
Finished product!
MMM…they were really good. Highly recommend the recipe I found at wearenotmartha.com
Since my last post, I’ve made several improvements around my apartment. My little brother and his girlfriend Kayla came up for the weekend a few weeks ago and bought me a surround sound system for my TV. The sound quality is probably about 10 times better than before
Also, I found this painting of a bulldog, and its currently hanging in my living room. So cute. Some day I’ll have my English bulldog named Darwin…
Also, my dad picked up this beautiful painting, and mom drove to Syracuse to help hang it.
