Morning calmness at the Vendy Awards on Governor's Island this past Saturday. That was before it got crazy busy! Personally, there's no way I would want to spend an entire day waiting in line over and over again (guess I'm no longer a "foodie!") but I sure don't mind being on the other side prepping and serving. It was exciting and nerve-wrecking in the weeks and days leading up to the event... but it was all worth it!! 

Mini watermelon, mini bell peppers, & white peaches from Greenmarket today.

Today I had breakfast in Ithaca, drove through the finger lakes, had a good lunch and amazing sorrel ice cream at a winery in Niagara, and then Chinese food for dinner in Richmond Hill, Ontario near our home. Stuck on songs that start with "T"s during the drive... This Charming Man, This Year's Love, Thunder Road, Time to Move On, Tonight, Try, Tupelo Honey. Now sleeping on the floor under my grandmother's portrait-- which is oddly comforting. Thankful for a nice day. Goodnight.

Didn't know where to put these guys, so I left them beside a wall. See how they're struggling for light!!

What a week. A bit stressful at work,  it's been busy considering it's summer. Learning how to assist in colposcopies, I made a mistake with the doctor I was working with. Then, yesterday our employee kept making mistakes-- like giving meat to vegetarians.

Sleep eludes me.

I'm up before the sun rises every freakin day no matter what. It's Sunday!! And I'm driving home to Toronto later today. About time I have a nice break from work. Two whole weeks! Doesn't matter that I'll be spending half of it taking care of family affairs. Thinking about stopping half way and staying in Ithaca overnight as it's hard to do a 9-hour drive by myself straight through. Anyhow, it's going to be very nice to leave NYC. I've had enough, sick of the city, sick of everything.

Wild Blueberries

From Mountain Sweet Berry Farm at Union Square Greenmarket today. Feel so lucky to be able to eat these-- they'll only be around for another week or so!

We have a guest over this weekend. Rico is his name and he's very lovable.

 An hour of Radiohead. Enjoy.

Love-in-a-mist. Beautiful name for a beautiful flower. I've been neglecting my garden lately, but everything still seems to be doing fine. My basil is huge-- not quite sure if that's good or bad. Still full of flavor but I'm going to have to harvest more often. I use some every couple of days but they keep growing!

Tea I drank today:

-Earl grey hot chocolate
-Lemon verbena with honey
-Black milk bubble tea
-Yerba mate

Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn.

Really thankful for the day off to rest and catch up with things I normally don't have time for anymore... like having a nice breakfast! And gardening, shopping at the Greenmarket for myself and not just for the business, watching movies, and eating dinner at home.

My poppies... here today and gone tomorrow. But beautiful while they last.

Thirstea at Smorgasburg

... the best bubble tea in the city!

Great day at the Smorg. Come and visit us next week!

I'm so tired, so this will be short. This is what was left over for ourselves from making a large batch of strawberry rhubarb puree at our commercial kitchen tonight. Gotta wake up for my real job in 5 hours. Goodnight.

Greens from my balcony. Garlic and garlic scapes from Greenmarket. Lounging in the sun. Dinner of black cod, millet, veggies, and micro cilantro.

It was Neil's first Saturday launching Lumpia Shack at the Smorgasburg in Brooklyn and it was a success! We had prepared all week and the hard work paid off. Looking forward to next week-- we're already starting to shop, cook, and store. Hopefully, we'll be more organized and prepared.

Aside from that, it's been a good long weekend. Dinner at the John Dory, biking around the neighborhood, catching up on shows, and spending a lot of time in the kitchen.

Just spent a lovely weekend visiting Toronto with my friend Diana. After a stressful Friday, it was just what I needed. It's actually warmer there than it is in New York City. Relaxing at home now as the weekend comes to an end. My growing peas shoots, sunflower, and okra. Looking froward to Mad Men tonight!

Strawberries back at Greenmarket! I'll be making a smoothie every day now. Asparagus and ramps also in season. I'll be looking for rhubarb soon-- going to make lots of strawberry rhubarb jam and desserts.

Garden Journal

Peas and tatsoi growing... slowly but surely. Not sure if they will even feed us for one meal but it's exciting to watch the progress nonetheless!