hallows & goodbyes

No, this isn't a picture of Isaac wearing a Halloween mask. It's just Isaac. And he's leaving town. Again. Last time it was Kentucky and he was back by summer. Time before it was Kentucky and he was back in two weeks. This time it's to Chicago and there's a betting pool among some of us friends as to when he'll be back. Some say January, some say March. I bought in for June 3—the beginning of beautiful summer here in Burlington, Vermont. We'll see. Bye Isaac, for now.


See more photos from dinner last night »

vietnam restaurant

If you ever go to Vietnam Restaurant on Route 15 in Essex, Vermont, you'll find yourself in one of those rare moments when understatement is your best dinner companion. Where simplistic elements and uncomplicated combinations guide the cuisine to new plateaus of flavor. You can jump out of your skin of expectation and truly enjoy a pure and delicious meal. For under $10 a plate. The staff is friendly. Not overbearing. Genuine.

The only thing, I might add, that is not understated is the fabulous printed plastic dinnerware in saturated florals of blues, pinks and yellows. In any other setting, I might call it kitschy or gaudy. But at Vietnam, it's endearing and special.

We went there on Saturday night on a double date with Mark and Kathleen. For starters, I ordered my favorite dish, the Shrimp Imperial Roll with hoisin dipping sauce. After that, it was all by numbers (I think my main course was #39).

stream of colin-ness

“Can you write about rainy day weekends and how they make you wanna hang out and be with the cats and think about what movie you wanna see and what popcorn you wanna eat. It could have a light coating of Parmesan cheese or even taco seasoning. I don't know.

“Sometimes I get the urge to order chicken wings in the morning for breakfast. It's only 8:35 though. I just made coffee. Coffee and chicken wings would not taste good together. Fresh pineapple would be good though.

“When I opened up my eyes this morning. I thought it was snowing. But then I realized my eyes were still hazy. But, it reminded me that winter is soon on its way and we'll soon wake up to snow-falling skies. Which will be NICE!

“My back hurts. I could probably use some Advil. It's from lifting boxes yesterday at our Trailer Trash party at work. It was fun, because we gave people the option to partake in the most extreme challenge--or should I say challenges. They ate pickled eggs. Cat food sandwiches. Chugged milk. Swallowed spoonfuls of cinnamon. Chicken winged outerwear dressed bike marathon challenge. That was fun to watch. All of this to get their free Burton outfit for this coming season.

“Yeah, I think going to see a movie is a good idea today.”

what—chocolate makes you younger? Plus, 6 other foods to beat aging

We're all about healthy aging these days at work. That's because the featured special report in our new issue is The Search for the Anti-Aging Diet. Something fun I worked on today is a new recipe collection: 7 Foods to Keep You Young—and healthy recipes to go with them. The so-called fountain-of-youth foods are:

1. Olive Oil
2. Yogurt
3. Fish
4. Chocolate
5. Nuts
6. Wine
7. Blueberries

It's probably no surprise these foods have certain health benefits, but who knew they may also protect against age-related diseases? Turns out what you eat has a huge impact on how long you live (duh!). Check out this quiz to find out if your diet is making you younger or older.

secrets, sister, blah blah

It's Hanushka's birthday today. I called her to make sure she was having a good day. I gave her all the gossip I was good for (not much) and she repaid me with the best gossip of my life. Enough to elicit a gasp so loud it woke Colin up from his nap on the couch. Now I can't tell you what it is though, can I?

Before the call, I was working on Eat Peas and watching some old sitcoms: Designing Women, Perfect Strangers, and Whose the Boss. Colin came home during Whose the Boss and he got hooked right in too.

"Remember the good old days when there were just sitcoms and no reality shows?" I said.

"Yeah," Colin agreed. "Like Full House, Growing Pains, the Cosby Show, Webster..."

I told Hannah about the sitcoms. She was like, "No way! I was just watching Whose the Boss too! Was it the one when Sam gets caught for cheating on her French test?"

And I was like, "Yeah! Ohmygod, that's so weird." Turns out ironically that she was switching back and forth between Whose the Boss and some reality show I've never heard of called I Love New York. Oh, the webs we weave...

Meanwhile, the new Eat Peas post is up, and it's a good one too, I might add!


Here's a picture from yesterday. That's about as much of the beautiful day I got to enjoy since I was working on those freakin' menus for work all afternoon. Oh, and then we did go to Isaac's birthday party last night at Red Square (he and Hanushka have the same birthday) which was pretty uneventful. Except that some drunk guy tripped over some cables and pulled down the speakers and projector that were broadcasting the Red Socks game on the side patio. Which was fine by me and quite funny actually (all the security guards went running).

Good night, sweet dreams, and DLTBBB!