Casual Writing and Weekend Adventures

When I started this blog, I wanted my posts to stand alone almost as works of art. I wanted them to read as singular pieces that tell deeply personal culinary stories– complete with catchy prose, a familiar-sounding narrator, and an important takeaway. I wasn’t aiming for perfection, but I wanted my work to stand out against the swaths of casual blogging that exist on the internet. The downside of that attitude though, is that in my search for the perfect story to tell, I shoot down so many ordinary food adventures that can actually translate into some thoroughly enjoyable pieces of writing. 

Today, I’m taking a step back from perfection and sharing what I made, what I ate, and where I adventured this past weekend -- all with no particular end message. Enjoy.

Fourth of July: 

To be quite honest, I feel the most disconnected I’ve ever felt from my American identity this year. In between navigating my eligibility to vote in my first presidential election and witnessing genocidal footage on social media, right now I don't feel proud of the stars and stripes. Hopefully some day soon I will.

One thing I do know is that I love to celebrate with food and friends– regardless of the occasion– so I decided to take advantage of the return of my best friend, Andrea, from her 2 week long vacation to make an alternative excuse to party. We spent the day cooking, eating, and enjoying the sun– what we’ve done together since we were in middle school. 

First, we took a trip to one of New York’s many too-crowded Trader Joe’s and bought ingredients for burgers, pepinos con Tajín, and brownies (the perfect summer menu). We ended up making some killer double smash burgers with cheese, caramelized onions, pickles, and hot sauce + mayo on Hawaiian rolls and washed it all down with some ice-cold Palomas. We ate the pepinos and brownies while waiting to watch the Macy’s fireworks show (we showed up 3 hours early– worst decision we’ve ever made) and played with some antsy little girls while their parents took a breather. 

We ended the night at a nearby bar to catch the last half of the Argentina v Ecuador Copa América quarterfinal. Argentina barely won in a match that, I regrettably admit, Ecuador probably should have taken (don’t let my Argentinian ancestors hear that). **since drafting this post, we made it to the finals. VIVA ARGENTINA!!

Saturday:

I woke up early Saturday morning to catch the subway to my 6:00am swim practice, and after two hours of middle aged men kicking my out-of-shape butt in the pool, I headed to Black Star Bakery in the Upper East Side for a well deserved breakfast. I ordered the egg and cheese on a croissant, an almond financier, and a cortado. In all honesty the meal didn’t blow my mind, but I was so overwhelmingly hungry that it really didn’t matter. I enjoyed my too-small sandwich while catching up with my mom over the phone and then promptly made the commute back to my apartment. When I got home, I made more eggs and ate them with some rice before taking a nap. 

With the city heat actively preventing me from leaving my apartment, I decided to stay in and meal prep (a habit I’ve picked up on after going to the gym after work and getting home pretty late). On the menu: adobo chicken, frijoles, cilantro lime rice, and an avocado crema. Luckily for me, I already had some prepped falafel dough, pasta, and salad fixings in the fridge for some variety throughout the week. 

I quickly sauteed onion and garlic before adding beans and some spices and then refocused my attention on an olive oil quick-marinade for the chicken thighs I was using. While I let the chicken sit, I started the rice and made the crema with my avocados that would definitely turn bad if I didn’t use them immediately. 

About an hour later, I had some crispy adobo chicken thighs coming out of the oven, rice ready to go, beans already on the plate, and a crema begging to be eaten. After cleaning up, I enjoyed a plate on my balcony while listening to some jazz. 

Sophia’s frijoles (loose recipe):

• Olive oil

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 2-3 minced garlic cloves

• 1 tsp chipotle powder

• 1tbsp cumin

• Two 16oz cans of black beans

• Juice of 1 lime

• Kosher salt to taste

  Method:

• Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil until reduced in size (5-7 mins)

• Add chipotle and cumin, let simmer for another 2-3 mins

• Stir in your black beans, transfer into bowl and mash them, add back to pan with some extra olive oil

• Let simmer for at least 5 mins and finish with the lime juice and salt. Enjoy.

Sunday: 

I love a lazy Sunday, and while I wasn’t on the couch all day, the self-indulgence I treated myself to made it feel like the perfect lazy-ish day. 

I woke up at around 11:00am and had a late breakfast of beans and eggs before getting dressed and walking to Saraghina Bakery in Bed-Stuy to meet Andrea. They sell pastries, pasta, and specialty foods in house with a neighboring dine-in restaurant. We got the raspberry tart slice, margherita focaccia slice, and some coffee and ate it while standing under the air conditioner. I can’t wait to come back and try more of their goodies. 

After a sweaty stroll back to my apartment, we parted ways and I decided to head to the Brooklyn Flea Market to test my luck at finding a cute bag. 

The Brooklyn Flea is located right under the Dumbo archway and it’s one of the coolest places I’ve been to in New York. I thought I would find a bunch of overpriced, not-so-vintage items (I’m looking at you, Williamsburg), but instead I found carefully curated pieces from a range of price points. I ended up purchasing the most gorgeous Dooney and Bourke black leather bag that perfectly fits my water bottle (yay!) and all my other essentials. As soon as I bought it I took out all the items from the tote I brought, transferred them to my new bag, then rolled up the tote itself and fit that in too. Pictures of said bag will be making an appearance on my Instagram shortly. I can’t wait to show it off.

The last part of my adventure was my obligatory sweet treat. I had been craving a good scoop of ice cream and decided to try out Gramercy’s Café Panna. Just a short subway ride away, I arrived at the shop to a line wrapped around the shop moving surprisingly fast. While surrounded by influencers taking photos of the entrance (guilty!), I ordered a scoop of the strawberry mint ice cream with strawberry syrup, sea salt, and whipped panna. The resulting bite was the answer to my sweaty prayers. The rich strawberry ice cream had a refreshing mint finish, the syrup was a little sour, the sea salt added some complexity and crunch, and the panna was like eating sweet clouds. It was so worth the line and the hype. I will be returning. 

Afterwards I went home, cooked up some falafel and salad, and went straight to bed.