Take Your Boyfriend To Breakfast Day

Not officially “Take Your boyfriend to Breakfast Day” but I did so I made it MY day.
I suggested a local dinaer but Henry chose POP Diner cuz “The food and service is better here, babes” Ok Henry, you win.

Funky Menu! And Brekkie specials! Ka-Chao!

I ordered the “Latin Wrap” for $7.95. Its a corn tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, pepper jack cheese, jalapeno peppers, bacon, and served with a side of tostones. I ate everything except three measly tostones. Well Done Mo Diva, well Done.

Henry had the Western Omelet special. It is an omelet with peppers, onions, and ham. Came with waffle fries and two crisp and juicy pork sausages. We always taste eachother’s food… even on our first date (awe!)

And I enjoyed a lovely bottomless cup of coffee, twice. MMM.

Last night I decided to try a recipe from the Hugry-girl dot com website. Hungry Girl, AKA HG recreates classic meals that are loaded with fat and calories and makes them healthy. Since tofu shirataki noodles were on sale at the supermarket I decided to try one of their recipes for that. So I am making cold sesame noodles…minus the sesame seeds.

Here’s my package of noodles and above it is the peanut sauce I was mixing up.

When it was done, I poured all the excess sauce on it.

And thought it could use some broccoli.

I haven’t eaten it yet but I’m a lil sketchy. I’m not hungry for lunch just yet but… I am still a lil sketchy as to how it will taste.

The tofu Shirataki noodles (angel hair) are a lil chewy and smell bad if you dont rinse and dry them really really well. Once you get over the rubber chewy texture, enjoy the sauce you pair it with. But like I said; I’m sketchy… I will let you now.

Lunch Date with Daddy-O

I mentioned before that Thursday is “Lunch with Dad Day”. We didn’t get to go to lunch last week because he was out of town. But he’s back this week and left me a voicemail the morning of “Mo, Lunch today with ur old man?” I called back, “Most Definitely, Dad”. Because it just so happens that I left my brekkie home.

Good thing there is a cafeteria in the building (AKA the Roach Coach). I kept it safe and had the yellowest banana they had (it was still a lil green) and a tangerine with a cup of watered down coffee. Better than nothing. But this left me famished for lunch!

The venue today is Spaghetti Western (downtown Manhattan) and they get pretty crowded during lunch. Word on the street is their new head chef was a sous chef at a 5 star restaurant. I beleive that…

I had 2 pieces of bread. *blushes*

I ordered the Country Salad. Their salads run between $10 or $13 dollars but they are HUGE!

See? Gi-Normous! It was tasty! It was served with an array of greens (raddiccio, argula, romaine, bibb, mesclin, etc.), grilled chicken, gorgonzola cheese, procuitto and a balsamic glaze. OMG. I live for Spaghetti Western Salads!

Then Mom asked me to take a pic of her with her lunch.

Hi mom! Mom got the Margherita Pizza. It had a delicious marinara sauce and fresh mozzarella baked onto a thick and cripsy crust. It was sprinkled with fresh basil. Mom was sneaky in offering me a slice of pizza- when i accepted she asked for some salad. DANG Ma, you got me! We liked our lunches very much!

Then I took a pic of Dad’s lunch. He got the Pizza Bianco. Essentially a WHITE Pizza with ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, and garlic with fesh basil on top.

“Hey! You took a bite before I could get a pic of it!”

Dad really liked it… apparently he needed to take a bite before I snapped a pic of it. When I asked “How is it dad?” he just nodded his head while his eyes nearly came out of their sockets. I think that means “This is good”.

Work was hectic as all hell and I didn’t get to post much. When I got home my boyfriend called to see how I was and I was beyond frustrated at work so he surprised me with dinner.

How did he know I was craving sushi???

He got pad thai and he let me taste it. It was pretty good! And a total surprise.

If anyone was wondering, I am going to keep him. He totally flipped my day in a good way!

White Stuff? AGAIN? Ugh!

The instant that I walk outside of my apartment building I see this… Snow. Blech.

And No one has started to shovel their sidewalks yet so hopefully by the time I get home there will be salted sidewalks to tread carefully upon. I am a clumsy lady so I must use extra caution in weather like this.

In Manhattan, they are all over the shovelling! Thanks guys! I haven’t busted my ass yet! (hopefully won’t get to either!) It’s cold today and I hear tomorrow is gonna be 6 degrees. So all the lovely stuff that hasn’t been shoveled will turn to a lovely sheet of ice. Hooray for slippage! Might get *sick* tomorrow.

Any way, I got a lovely email from a reader that asked me how I have the discipline to pack my lunch on a daily basis. I won’t hesitate to share this answer… Its because dining out in Manhattan is expensive. The average lunch in Manhattan (Downtown, anyway), even in a deli, will cost you between $10 – $15. If you take the minimum of that and multiply it by the number of days you work per week,(for me 5) $10 x 5 = $50. Then multiply that by the number by 2 (because I get paid every 2 wks) and you got $100. And that’s $200 a month on JUST lunch for 20 days out of the month. I spend $200 in the supermarket and can eat Breakfast, Lunch, AND Dinner, and then some. So really, I do it because I MUST. The only other option would be to eat cheap junk food and be unhealthy. (which isnt really an option anyway!)

I’m rather thirsty this morning. I drank the contents of the pink water bottle before breakfast. AMAZING! Two more and my water quota will be met! And next to it is my coffee – Slurp!

Grits for Breakfast today. They came out great. I made one cup of grits with a touch of garlic and pepper with a lil cheddar that I stirred in when it was heated up. This hit the spot!

For lunch today I’m having Grilled Salmon! I haven’t had Salmon in a LONG time (mostly in part to the fact that its expensive) but Mom was cleaning out her freezer and bought a shit ton of salmon and decided to share some with her poor daughter (thanks Mommie!)

The snack attack today will be Prose Inspiring Yogurt and a Pear.

For Dinner today, I plan on baking 1/2 block of tofu with the Korean Red Pepper Paste I made the other day with a lil brown rice and roasted sugar snap peas! *squeal*

Brekkie Quesadilla for Lunchie and RECIPE!

Good Tuesday!

Don’t you love realizing that there is one more day of the year left? Then you look back on the year that has flown by (again) and think about all the Resolutions that you never fulfilled (again) and then vow to hit the gym like a maniac (again) and so on… until February. February seems to be the death sentence to all resolutions. So this year I resolve to Not make a Resolution…and to use my Wii Fit 4 times per week… and to make a trip to California (Hi Allie! Hi Carol!) And one more… to meet the REST of my WW Challenge girls! I think 2009 will be our year to finally meet!
I’m in a very good mood today! Must be the new coffee cup my brother got me. I left my camera at home (DOH!) so Im taking pics with my cell phone – the quality sucks.

Its filled with delicious French Pressed Christmas roast with a touch of International Delight Creamer and 2 splendas. Gotta love the Coffee Fix in the AM! It was accompanied by a bagel but I eated it already.

I would totally say this by the way

Lunch today was made last night in a hurry so I could do laundry. I know its so fun doing luandry – no wonder you rushed through your cooking routine to get it done. And in all honesty I would rather clean the bathroom than do laundry – and if you ever mention this out loud, I will deny it.

Anyway, I subscribe to Rachael Ray Magazine and I love the little menus that you can rip out for the week. About 2 months ago, a really simple recipe caught my eye. It was a Bacon Egg and Cheese Quesadilla. It looked different, easy, and quick! All of my fav elements in a dinner. However, since I moved several months ago, I have adapted my cooking styles to fit my shrinking budget. So I tweaked the recipe to fit my shopping list that week and am happpy to report there has been a quesadilla in my tummy at least once a week. (I even tried a Quesadilla on the boyfriend and he approved…and even better – he asked for seconds!) So I am posting this recipe and giving Rachael all the credit – she IS a diva!

TURKEY SAUSAGE, EGG, AND CHEESE QUESADILLA

(for one)

Ingredients

1 egg

1 whole wheat tortilla

1 slice of cheese (or 1/4 c shredded cheese)

1 turkey sausage (casing removed)

1 T. guacamole

Hot sauce

Directions:

In a non-stick skillet, cook egg sunny side up. Once the egg is cooked (i like mine over easy so when i slice the quesadilla I have yummy yolky goodness in the middle) Set onto one half of the quesadilla. *Please remember that you will have to fold this thin in half so keep it symmetrical people. * In the same skillet, cook turkey sausage and flatten as it is cooking. It will look like a meat patty – but this will make folding easy. Once sausage is cooked on both sides, lay it on top of the egg and tortilla. Spoon guac onto sausage and top with cheese. Fold tortilla in half and place in the skillet with the egg and sausage love going on. (good flavors there) and grill each side till crisp or golden or however way you like it. Slice into lil pizza slices and drizzle with hot sauce. Eat it up – this thing is goooood.

Food at Work

Happy Christmas Eve!

As previously posted, I baked some pumpkin bread for the co-workers. I snagged a piece before it was gobbled up… rightfully so- there were nothing but crumbs left after an hour!

The bread was light, fluffy, moist, and Delicious! It went very well with my triple grande skinny cinnamon dolce latte.

Someone brought in Bagels ans Bialys and I might have had half a bagel with scallion cream cheese… I might. But since there is no picture – it doesn’t count.

Lunch!

Arroz Blanco con frijoles y chuleta con salsa picante.

White rice with black beans a grilled pork chop. You might be thinking “Hmmm, this looks a lot like what she ate yesterday”. And you know what? You’re right! (Boo-ya!) But today I have the green sauce which makes this dish taste better than ever! And on that note, sauce or no sauce – its good enough to eat two days in a row! SO there.

Stay tuned for Christmas Eve Extravaganza at the MoDiva Household!

Oh and below is my cutie pie, Geramiah, Rose’s son. Geramiah is modeling the fireman rain coat and boots Auntie MoDiva bought him for Christmas. Hes Happy its Raining Today.

Tuesday is for Commuters

Good Tuesday to you. Since Friday, the world as I know it has been covered in a blanket of ice. People who neglected to shovel on Friday now have the joy of walking with caution becuase there are sheets of ice everywhere. I had the pleasure of watching someone (probably with 2 wheel drive) try to park his car on a downward slope for nearly 20 mins. It was very scary…

My secret santa (Hi Laura) left me a surprise in the mail last night, and it was too late to go to the post office. I woke up early to get there by the time it opened, 8:30 according to the internet. However, upon my arrival i was surprised to see that damn thing was not open for another hour. I was going to be late to work. CRAP. To make matters worse, the lovely snow that fell over the weekend has turned into lovely ICE and created train delays all around. I was one hour late to work today.

When i got to work I was disgruntled but I decided to let it go. Afterall, I did manage to get to work, late or not. I sat down to my hearty brekkie. Cheesy Grits and a tall coffee from the ‘bucks.

can you see my lovely TWILIGHT Desktop? I have no shame.

Once Brekkie was over, I got to my presents. Sofia, my coworker bought me a lovely gift box with honey roasted nuts and chocolate covered peanuts. I heart edible gifts! thanks Sofia!
Next to the lovely gift was yet another gift; from secret santa! Thanks darlin! I cant wait to read “Chasing Harry Winston”!

In the spirit of the holidays, I purchased a pound of Christmas Blend for my officemates to enjoy using my French Press, lovingly donated by my brother. (Hi chi chi!)

i was excited to eat this lunch today! leftovers from last night! They always seem to taste better the next day!

Below please find a pork chop, white rice, and black beans. If anyone wants the recipe please email me! This meal is a hispanic staple!

OK – You emailed me… Here is the RECIPE:

Ingredients:
1 can of black beans (sauce and all)
1 14 oz can of crushed or diced tomatoes
1 tbsp of Sofrito (found in frozen food aisle or homemade works too)
salt to taste (beans have salt in them with sauce)
pepper to taste
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp spanish Olives
1 yuca or potato (peeled) cut into large pieces.
1/4 cup water

Directions:
In your sauce pot heat a tsp of oil and add sofrito (its very fragrant and pleasant!) Cook for about a minute to heat spices up and add olives. Pour in beans and stir. Cook beans over med heat for 5 mintues and add diced tomatoes and water. throw in potatoes and add spices. cover and simmer on low for 30 mins stirring occasionally. Serve over white rice.

Office Party Crashing

So when I got to work on Friday Morning, I got this:

Translation: Nightmare!

Its very pretty to look at- don’t get me wrong but snow in NYC turns into black slush and splatters everywhere. Friendly-looking piles of snow have hidden treasures; like vomit and dog poop. So we try to steer clear of those… Ah! the joys of city Life.

I started the day off with a bucket of espresso (remember my office party last night?). Okay, maybe not a bucket but a whole 20 oz! That pretty pic there is my triple venti skinny cinnamon dolce latte and praise Cheeses – they made it right today. I can’t tell you how bad a day gets when your cup of heaven is “off” or “too sweet”.

Dear Barista, thank you for making my drink according to the starbucks coffee standards and not your own. You have made me very happy as I sip this $8 latte. Love Always, A Starbucks Junkie.

So I mentioned in the title something about office party crashing… right. About that. My unit has a private party off the office premises and other units have parties right in their offices and utilize the office email as a source of inviting people. Those invitees then hit the lovely FWD button and I get the invite. And then i FWD it to fellow crashers. Its all very simple really.

So at 3 pm, my crashers and I ventured to various office parties and grabbed random things. I managed to grab a glass of wine and some cookies. By the time I remembered to take a photo, this was all that was left. Half a glass of wine and a very creepy Santa Cookie. I devoured a delicious black and white cookie and two very moist oatmeal raisin cookies.

I tried to give the santa cookie away but they pretty much looked at it with the same disdain as I was looking at it. Sorry Santa, No one likes your cookie. Better stick to presents.

While looking at my glass of wine I felt like pondering some of life’s most annoying question:

Is this glass half full or half empty?

My solution: It was full to the top but I drank half of it. Its half full and half empty. So there.

By the way, the wine was good!