coffee roasters of brooklyn unite

I just have to compile another list... hoping to find out and try as many coffee roasters in Brooklyn as I can. The thing is, we only drink coffee on the weekends while doing homework. During the week I get my cup of joe at the office. So it's important the ground beans last 2 weeks or more.

• Gorilla - it is excellent, the best and lasts long time
• Stumptown - the flavor was off and turned bitter after a week
• Kitten Coffee -
  
• Hena - I had this at a local cafe spot and love it, they only sell it wholesale
  
• Cafe Grumpy - they just started to roast in Greenpoint, will have to check it out
  

last day in rochester

Today was my last day of vacation in Rochester. The only plan was to drive to Cayuga lake and visit a few spots. Simple enough. Mom and I headed out to Eastview mall area for breakfast, but the place was closed... only Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So we hit up Denny's which turned out fairly good. We were hungry. As we walked out, Neko Case song was playing. Which is worse, her song playing at Denny's or me eating there? We took the thruway to exit 40, totally boring road. We decided to take a different route home. Our first stop was Mackenzie-Childs. A very expensive ceramic factory, I was unable to afford the doorknob wine corks. The garden was real nice and it was good to stretch our legs. Then we started down the east side of Cayuga. (Brief interruption here... mom is making pesto sauce right now... oh my god! It smells amazing!!!!) We next stopped at King Ferry winery for a tasting. I ended up getting two bottles, that end up not fitting in my suitcase. Oh well. Mom got 1 bottle for herself. After that we continue traveling south on the east side of Cayuga lake. During this whole trip we listen to my iPod favorites playlist. Probably not all the kind of music my mom likes, but she tries to enjoy a few of the songs. There is nothing like driving country roads with the best tunes ever playing on the radio. We make a brief stop in the town of Aurora, there isn't much, but we grab a drink and snack at this little lunch spot. It had a back deck over looking the woods and lake. Super cute. Just as we left the lunch crowd was coming in. We decided to make a straight drive to Ithaca to get to Moosewood restaurant for our lunch. We park and go to where Google maps says it is, but we are actually at the back entrance (no sign). Funny that we had to ask for directions. It is set in this indoor shopping mall, not like those ugly suburban malls. Checked out the bookstore and Japanese goods shop and stuff. Got to the restaurant and asked to be sat outside. Our server lady comes up for our drink order and announces her name is Emily. Mom and I always get a kick out of meeting other Emilys. She is real nice and tells us about her husband going to Cornell University. I got the Apricot Ale from Ithaca brewery, it was totally yummy. It was a tough decision because it was so hot and yet I was real hungry. In the end the food was delicious! We walked around a bit more and then headed off. We still a lot of driving to do. As we made our way north we chatted, listening to more awesome tunes. We saw this one billboard of some politician, his face was so washed out he looked very creepy like. Mom said he looked like a vampire. We had been discussing True Blood, deciding what would happen next. It was a good laugh to see a vampire running for office. Up near Seneca Falls we turned off from the lake to stop at an Amish market mom likes. We knew they were not really Amish, more like Mennonites. There was a great selection of goods, mostly made by them. I got jam and mom got some stuff. Then we headed out to try to be home before it got dark. We also decided to take route 5 and 20 home instead of the thruway. There were quite a few traffic lights, made me wish the car was a manual transmission. That can be a lot easier to roll to a stop and such. I only really miss driving stick-shift, I do not miss driving an automatic. We knew we had to stop at BJs for pine nuts for the pesto sauce, but figured we would stop in Greece near mom's house. But there was one on 5 and 20, so we swung in to get that shopping done with. Right next door was Red Jacket Orchards. The apple juice from there is all over the place in NYC, kind of like premium apple juice. We had to stop there as well. Not a very big place, certainly been there a long time. We tasted a bit of their apple juice out for sampling. I picked up chocolate covered pretzels. Around 6:30 we made it home. Unpacked the car and started supper. Mom put her bottle of wine in the freezer to have with dinner. I cleaned the table on the deck and started up the candles to keep bugs away. After dinner we had mom's neighbors over and Ted's friend Gary stopped by for dessert. The wine was excellent and the pesto sauce was of course the best ever. I hardly wanted the day to end, knowing that in the morning I would be getting on a plane to fly back to Brooklyn. It was one of the best days of my life. There is nothing like hanging out with my mom, driving back-roads on a sunny summer day. Now that is a vacation.



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50 bands

In no particular order:

1 Mighty Mighty Bosstones
2 The Jets
3 Blue Man Group
4 Busta Rhymes
5 Moby
6 Si*Se
7 Neko Case
8 Death Cab for Cutie
9 Missy Higgins
10 Erykah Badu
11 Rage Against the Machine
12 Wu Tang Clan
13 Dios Malos
14 Yeah Yeah Yeahs
15 Vertical Horizon
16 Pat McGee Band
17 G. Love and Special Sauce
18 Back to Blonde
19 Dar Williams
20 Violent Femmes
21 Dido
22 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
23 Phish
24 George Clinton
25 Ani Difranco
26 David Byrne
27 Jesse Cook
28 Christian McBride
29 Dave Matthews Band
30 Alanis Morissette
31 Tori Amos
32 Goo Goo Dolls
33 Jon Bon Jovi
34 Porno for Pyros
35 Fun Lovin Criminals
36 They Might Be Giants
37 Bauhaus
38 Sarah McLachlan
39 Barenaked Ladies
40 Rusted Root
41 Stabbing Westward
42 Nerve Circus
43 Lords of Acid
44 Thrill Kill Kult
45 Space Hog
46 God Lives Underwater
47 Jill Scott
48 The Cardigans
49 Lisa Loeb
50 Fiona Apple

pesto

I will admit it. I'm not the best cook in the world. Mostly cause I do other things besides cook. Like important things... homework, movies, read, stuff.

Buitoni: This one is OK for store bought. It is not overly powerful, yet is enough to remind me it is pesto sauce. Perfect for those quick weekday meals. Add parm cheese to it to help it along.

Santa Barbara:

Contadina:

Freshdirect: I expected more, but there was a terrible after taste. Something was off and weird and certainly not pesto. The sad thing is it was my roommates' first try at pesto, and now he doesn't want to try it again.

Fairway: It was a very simply done pesto, nothing fancy. Walnuts were used, but that's ok. It was good and I would buy it again.

Rawstar: I have only stopped at this place a few times, it is vegan and nothing cooked over 90 degrees. When I saw pesto pasta I knew I had to try. What I forgot was to cook pasta the water has to be hot (over 90). Well the pasta was actually strips of cucumber. Strange, right? Yet so very very tasty. I got to taste the pesto with a light clean addition. They added a little red spicy sauce on top of the pesto, it added the perfect flavor to it. Plus I was able to eat everything on the plate without getting totally bloated and fat. Even was able to stuff some dessert in my mouth too. I will actually try that same thing at home some time.

Park Slope Co-Op: Got to try this cause a friend works there, otherwise I may never had the chance. It was delicious and tasty. Just like pesto should taste.

Mom's: The best for last. There is nothing you can compare to basil picked from the garden, olive oil brand that she has used since I was in her belly (yes I believe she fed me enough olive oil while I was in her womb to get me hooked), and then everything added together allowing the smell to fill the house. She don't use measuring cups. She don't know exactly how much it is (a pinch, a drizzle, a scoop). I just got to experience mom's pesto sauce this past August. We sat on the back deck with the pesto on pasta, salad, fresh baked bread and a bottle of wine. We gabbed and laughed, the little fire in the chiminea keeping us warm. As with any Italian meal, it's not just the food, but the experience.

books

4 ordered at local bookstore
2 picked up street for free
1 bought at a stoop sale
2 bought at a flea market

Now where do I put them all?

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

kittens!!

As of today I am responsible for two friendly boy cats from the streets of Brooklyn. Pictures coming soon so we can get them adopted. Tomorrow they are getting fixed and veted. They are very sweet and loving. Let's hope all goes well. Also the kitten season has begun. Check out the pics - are they freakin' cute! If you think they are cute, image 18 of them. Oh yes, the fun never ends in Brooklyn cat rescue land. Please feel free to write a check and help us out with caring for them. Email me and I will send you the information.

spell check

The other day I had an interesting discussion with a co-worker about spell check. We were trying to determine if spell check has made spelling worse or better for people. For myself I'm a horrible speller, but I do know words. So in fact the spell check has helped me spell words I may not know how to spell but know the meaning and use of. If I was writing it out by hand, I may find a simple word to use instead of something a bit more worthy. I rarely if ever use the grammar check at all. It is always a bit too strict and makes some sentences sound less like English and too proper for common usage. Now if only more people used spell check. And if only spell check be made available in more places (IM, text messaging, in email when you forget spell check is off, etc.) Thank goodness that Firefox has it, been very helpful, and sometimes not.

her family tree from Geni.com

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15 mins of fame

Look mom, I'm on the internet!

DIY Project: 20 Dollar Monitor Stand

is it spring yet?

The last few months have been some what uneventful. Well at least not eventful enough to actually write in the blog. So today I'm just going to jot down a few things that are a bit exciting than the normal life stuff.

Today I applied for graduation from NYIT for Fall 2009. That felt really good. (By the way, got all As on my 3 mid-terms. Mom says I'm smart, I say I'm a good bullshitter)

Yesterday it snowed a bit. Too freaky for April 8th!

On Monday night I got to teach 2 white belt guys in Iaido class. That was really awesome. I totally enjoy teaching. I've had awesome teachers so far and got the chance to learn how to teach from them. Hanshi told me I did a good job and he was happy with my teaching. I felt a huge swell of pride and joy to do well.

Right now I'm listening to "Starry Eyed Surprise" by Oakenfold - always gets me dancing (even if it's in my chair at the office)

Next week off for a few days to travel to Rochester for my good friend's wedding. I saw her dress on Tuesday. It's a one-of-a-kind custom made original... and she looks amazing in it. I can't wait to see the look on the groom's face when she comes down the aisle.

sharing

For the past few weeks I've been pouring all of my creative juices into writing homework assignments. But there is always something to write about my boys. Since I've never had to boy cats in my home before, they are constantly entertaining me. And of course annoying me. Right now they are running all over the apartment, chasing each other. Marley (the orange one) is not aggressive with Ziggy (the gray, younger one). In fact, Marley doesn't play with toys as much now, because Ziggy will jump on him and take the toy away. Being that they are cats, can't exactly teach them the meaning of sharing. Simply can't reason with cats. And I guess since Marley has decided to be the beta-male, can't help him much anyway. Funny how wild things work.

sounding old

I was walking home from the dentist the other night. It was a bit chilly so I was walking at a good clip. I think I had my iPod playing tunes. Up ahead I watched this poor girl take a real nose dive into the sidewalk, she let out fairly loud yelp too. Her cell phone crashed and went into 3 pieces. I was already walking towards her, so I bent down, picked up the cell phone parts and asked her if she was OK. She was rubbing her shin and knee but her stocking wasn't ripped. We assumed it would just be a be a big bruise. Then out of no where I said, "That's what you get for walking and talking on the phone". I really meant it to be funny but for some crazy reason my tone was very motherly like. Pretty sad. Cause I walk most of the time while chatting on the phone. Maybe now I'll reconsider it.

superbowl

We all agreed that the commercials during the Superbowl all had animal violence as a theme. No wonder PETA was banned from showing their commercials.

gold rush

Currently I'm reading the book "Heyday" by Kurt Andersen. Actually I'm on the last 60 pages of the 620 page book. It is set in 1848 with 4 friends eventually going out to California to build a small community and find gold. Well, it got me thinking about gold. The real worth of gold is not much because it fails to produce anything. Imagine if people had left gold where it was and never pulled it out of the earth. Obviously gold was not first discovered in the California... it had to be worth something for everyone to get there as fast as possible to mine for it. When it was discovered how was it determined that it had a worth. Funny how that works in perspective.

funky sunday

The possible things to do today are watch movies or read. Kind of a weird feeling to have this much free time. Hardly know what to do. Just decided to go for a walk and get a few things from the grocery store. I think trying to relax and enjoy it is key.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

calories

I am totally annoyed with the calorie count on restaurant menus. Today I went to Starbucks to use my free drink coupon from Christmas. I actually read the the stupid calorie count for a yummy in my tummy Caramel Macchiato... total of 240 calories. Bastards! Now I actually know how bad it is. I would have to do a ton of extra walking and less eating for the rest of the day to drink that 240 lovely and tasty calories. I hate calories!! They ruin all the fun and joy of life.