Never were truer words spoken, and certainly not this week. A hellish week at work, we were all glad to see it end. Going to be a short post tonight, ’cause I’m exhausted.
The times they are a-changing. You may notice a name has been added to the right of this post, in the sidebar … Cate. I figured since I was starting to do writing for some other sites using this name, I should make it a little more consistent. It lends a little more credibility when a piece is written “by Cate O’Malley,” as opposed to “Sweetnicks,” you know? Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be invited to be a contributing writer to another online food magazine (details to follow once my first piece goes up), and I’m really excited about that, so it stands to reason that since the name is going to get used more and more, it might as well be here too. ;) But, no worries, I’m not revealing all my secrets! I’m also in the process of doing a redesign on the website, so stay tuned, because changes are coming. Not big ones, but nice ones.
So the week is over and here’s what I spent on groceries all week: $0. Not bad, eh? I cooked several new meals this week, all using ingredients I had on hand. Just another way to challenge myself creatively, and keeping my toes from getting bruised when things fall out of the freezer because it’s a little, uh, overstuffed.
Tonight, Nicholas had Friday Night Date Night at The Girlfriend’s house, so The Husband and I escaped for a little while to run errands, including a quick dash into the bookstore, since I was still anxiously awaiting the newest Donna Hay issue. SCORE! Got the new Donna Hay and Waitrose. I’ll be writing a review on the Donna Hay issue this weekend for Paper Palate, so be sure to stay tuned for that
If it’s the weekend, it must be time for Weekend Dog Blogging, so get your cutest pup pic in to me to be in the Sunday night round-up. Weekend Cat Blogging is on as usual at Eat Stuff and my contribution of the beautiful Callie is below. Lastly, stop by Kalyn’s Kitchen to be included in her Weekend Herb Blogging event. Until tomorrow…
A year ago today … I was baking banana bread. Haven’t made this recipe since then actually … Nigella’s recipe (in my sidebar under Breads) is the one to beat these days.
P.S. For my East Coast readers, you can help with an article I’m writing. What says “East Coast” to you in terms of food, restaurant trends, cooking, etc.? Talk back to me in the Comment section and let me know. Thanks much.
Ok, I’m not an East Coast reader but I have some friends who invite me to their house on Block Island in the summer, and the thing we go for when we go to Cape Cod is lobster rolls. (Not low carb, but when I visit them I take a vacation from the diet.)
Nice to see your name. I had figured it out from the piece in Well Fed, but still, it’s good to have a name.
What says “east coast” to me? thin-crust delicious new york style pizza! and good properly-made bagels.
Ohhh, I am so jealous of all those great American food magazines (I’m in withdrawl from my native language)!
I always think of Maine Lobster when I hear East Coast and I second the bagels as well as some nice deli foods like roastbeef on rye stacked really high.
Lucky’s mom is a calico, she looks a lot like her!
Even though I am a 6 hour drive from PA I have great memories of living there and going into Philly and having a Pat’s Philly Cheesesteak and a fabulous warm soft pretzel. I second the Lobster roll and how about a New England Clam bake?
Bagels. Philly cheesesteak. NY Cheesecake. donuts. chinatown restaurants (yes, this could be SF too, but when you say the word “chinatown” you think NYC). crabcakes.
expensive drinks. delivery men on bikes (okay, that’s a NYC thing). cranberries. celebrity chefs.
Rose, you think there are more celebrity chefs out here than the West Coast? Trying to think of who I know that’s from the East Coast… Rachael Ray in from NY, as is Tyler Florence and Dave Lieberman. Others?
Kalyn – Lobster Rolls, for sure. Driving home from Maine, all the McDonalds even have them!
Nupur – definitely thin crust pizza and bagels. Bagels from anywhere else just aren’t the same. :)
Riana – e. ;) Roast beef on rye – that’s a good one.
vlb5757 – New England clambake is another good one. I had a cheesesteak from Pat’s 2 years ago and it was drippingly delicious.
Hey Cate!
It’s nice seeing the real name behind the moniker. Thanks for sharing.
Steamed clams, specifically Ipswich soft shell steamer clams with drawn butter in the summer.
Fried clams with tartar sauce and a vanilla shake.
Lobster rolls. Only in a roll that is a top split hot dog bun, pan seared in butter.
Clam chowder – Never, ever red. Ever.
Tiny Maine blueberries in pancakes with maple syrup in August.
Fiddleheads and ramps in the spring.
What does East Coast mean to me in terms of food: I agree with Nupur on the NY Pizza. No other pizza is better (except my husband’s homemade which is pretty darn close to NY style). And living near (well, a few hrs away) to the Chesapeake Bay, crabs, crabs, crabs.
In terms of restaurant trends: ethnic. Living in the DC area we have a plethera of restaurants from just about every country in the world. We even have a Bosnian take out place opening up down the road from our house, Bosnian!
When there’s unrest in a country and people immigrate to the US, they bring with them their food. And with over 100 spoken languages in our area, you can imagine the variety we have in terms of restaurants.
In terms of cooking: I don’t really know. I cook what we like to eat and what we happen to find that looks good in the market that week. We have a number of Asian groceries in the area that also cater to the growing Hispanic community and the variety of vegetables and fruit they sell is amazing. We’ve tried things we’ve never had before.
And lastly, we must be on the same wavelength. I also put my name on my blog. After a year being only known as Biscuit Girl I decided everyone should know who I really am. Curious to know, well, skeedaddle over to my blog to find out. :)
Thats a great profile shot!
East coast …..black and white cookies.
Maybe, knishes, cannoli’s.
Sandwiches with french fries on them (must be homemade fries) and coleslaw. Can’t visit Pittsburgh without having one.
Thanks, Clare and Anna.
Jo – fiddleheads and ramps must be more East Coast than NJ, no? Never seen any here, but maybe I’m not looking in the right place. ;)
Barbara – you rock! Great commentary!
Anon #2 – french fries on sandwiches? That’s a new one for me. My sister always puts potato chips in hers, but that’s a “her” thing, not East Coast. ;)
hey… just trying to think of some things that haven’t been said… crabs , particularly in crab cake form. cheesecake made w/ cream cheese (ny style), and, as a restaurant trend, african food.
Sorry Cate,
It’s spring break and I’m working in the kitchen and spending very little time at the computer.
As to celebrity chefs, I don’t know many at all from the West Coast–I believe Emeril is from Massachussetts (am i correct?), Ina is from the hamptons, Bobby Flay is NYC, Tyler Florence is now NYC, but was Georgia or North Carolina, Mario Batali is NYC. There’s David Bouley.
The only west coast chef I know of is Thomas Keller.