Yum. Cabin In The Woods FTW!
April 13, 2012
Yum. Cabin In The Woods FTW!
Author: cochrancj
I am an American expat who loves to explore the world through the plate and is always curious to learn more.
New York Aquarium & Coney Island
The New York Aquarium opened in 1896 on Battery Island and is the oldest continually operating aquarium in the United States. In 1957 it relocated to Coney Island and has become one of the five parks participating in the Wildlife Conservation Society (The Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo are the other 4). The Aquarium hosts the Society’s Aquatic Animal Health Center, which includes a state-of-the-art marine animal hospital complete with full medical services, pools and recuperation facilities. Keepers work with the animals at the park to enrich their minds and bodies and participate in Species Survival Plan cooperative conservation and animal management programs.
Aside from its historical and conservation value, the park is well worth checking out. It’s not huge, but has some really cool animals (even a few I hadn’t seen at an aquarium before), and the setup is top-notch with lots of learning opportunities for kids and adults alike.
Here are just a few shots from our first trip.
Coney Island
Coney Island’s history as ‘New York’s Holiday Destination’ began in the 1830s and 40s when roads and steamship services cut the trip from Manhattan down from a half day trek to 2 hours. Hotels, electricity and attractions soon followed and in 1896, Coney Island’s Elephant (now gone) was actually the first sight to greet immigrants (it was visible before the Statue of Liberty). Although the amusement park’s peak has come and gone, it is enjoying a revitalization with the MCU Park and minor league baseball team, the Brooklyn Cyclones.
On a side note, wtf is wrong with the NY Aquarium and Coney Island’s websites? They’re nice and all, but don’t people care about the history of a place any more? Neither of these sites had squat about their history. I had to go to Wikipedia (so take the history part with a grain of salt) to find any information – luckily what I did find had footnote references, so one can be somewhat assured that the information is accurate, but damn. Where are all the history nerds?
April 12, 2012
Still life
April 11, 2012
Glasses day 2
April 10, 2012
Since I woke up in the middle of the night with a gush of tears running down my face and my eye doing some sort of weird convulsion thing to dislodge whatever had managed to work its way way into the back of my eye socket in the middle of the night, I’m stuck with glasses today. Headache-inducing glasses. My eye still feels like it got beat up from the inside. I’m seeing glasses in my future tomorrow, too. Providing my head doesn’t fall off from the weight of these babies, that is. Taking them off periodically to squint inches from the screen probably isn’t helping much.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Spring is bursting at the seams all around us and since we finally had a Saturday that was warm enough for two recent Miami transplants to want to spend time standing still, we took a picture-taking excursion to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. And fell in love. This place is stunning, not only because of the blooming cherry trees and tulips, but because it is a very well thought out, very walkable garden with more than enough room to encompass the throngs of cherry blossom obsessed people visiting on the gardens’ free day. Admission all other days is only $13, and a yearly membership is only $50 – well worth the price of admission (and then some).
First, the star of the show and the reason I couldn’t wait to visit, the cherry blossoms.
Only the first blush of trees were ready with blooms and they were mobbed by people wanting to experience Hanami, or the Japanese tradition of enjoying every possible second of cherry blossom season. I can’t wait to go back for the Sakra Matsui Festival later this month when every tree should be in bloom. The cherry tree esplanade promises to be a beautiful sight to behold.
Moving on….
I can’t wait for this garden to bloom. These lattice shots are from the large rose garden. Roses just might be my favorite flower to shoot, other than orchids.
The tulips are also in bloom, as are hyacinth, early rising crepe myrtle, a few dogwood buds and magnolias (to name a few).
Want to see more? Check out our Flickr page.
April 9, 2012
Potato & cheddar pierogi with ramps & home made bacon.
Orange and Fennel Israeli Couscous
This makes a nice light weeknight vegetarian meal for two. If you have someone who is sensitive to texture in the house like I do, make sure to slice the fennel into manageable slices before caramelizing. The original recipe called for serving the fennel in wedges and this elicited the ick face from my DH. The original recipe also called for kalamata olives, which would be great, but that’s another DH no-no, so I omitted them. Capers would make a nice substitute for the similarly olive-challenged.
Orange and Fennel Israeli Couscous
Adapted from The Kitchn’s Couscous with Chickpeas, Fennel and Citrus
1 large bulb fennel
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 can low sodium chickpeas, drained
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 big pinch citrus salt (if you have it)
1 big pinch regular kosher salt
1 cup Israeli couscous
Zest the lemon and orange. Set aside. Juice the zested orange into a measuring cup and add water until you have 1 1/2 cups of liquid.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring 1 Tbsp. olive oil up to temperature. Add the couscous and stir to coat. Let the couscous toast 2 minutes or until it starts to brown just a hair and get the slightest bit nutty. Add the zests, 1 big pinch kosher salt and liquid. Bring to a boil and drop the heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer until the couscous is softened, about 15-20 mins.
Meanwhile, prepare your additions. Trim the fennel and slice, reserving fronds for garnish. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the fennel and cook until deeply caramelized (but not burnt), stirring occasionally to avoid burning, 8 minutes or so. Add coriander, chickpeas and stir to combine. Sautee until chickpeas start to toast. If they get too dry, add a splash of water. In the last minute or so, add the lemon juice and stir.
To serve, combine all components and toss. Finish off with a big pinch or two of citrus salt and a sprinkle of chopped fennel fronds.
Serves 2 for dinner.
April 8, 2012
Coney Island
April 7, 2012
Among the season’s first blooms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. More coming soon.
Gastography 