Laut

Recently, I had the incredible opportunity (and you can too!) to try out Laut, a Michelin one-star Malaysian restaurant near Union Square in Manhattan. We were surprised that we breezed right in a week or so after the Michelin ratings were announced (apparently the masses have found it - call during busy times.  Lunch is still manageable.), but were happy to give it a shot.

I can't say enough about this restaurant.  Malaysian and Singaporean cuisine play a big role in our lives since Austin spent so much time there and I got to take a trip there myself.  We have tried a number of Malaysian restaurants in the city, and whenever Austin's parents come to town, we tend to hit one in particular. This last visit, we went to Laut twice with the in-laws (which makes, count it, three times in as many weeks for Austin).

A note: Michelin star does not mean stuffy or formal.  This is a simple Malaysian/Singaporean restaurant with amazing food and great service.  We got to speak with the owner and realized at the bottom of it all, this is finely prepared food made with serious heart.

Must Try Items: Beef Rendang, Roti Canai, Mee Siam, Peanut Pancake dessert, Soft Shell Crab Appetizer, Sake Bomb
(Really anything is good - feel free to experiment!)

Brooklyn Forager Round-Up

It has been a ridiculously long time since I checked in with my Brooklyn Forager posts.  The point was, of course, to track this more regularly, but, alas, this is an easy one to let slip for me.  Here's what has been cooking:

• Harvest Season in the Brooklyn Forager Garden
• Walnut Rosemary Oven-Fried Chicken
• October Daring Cooks Challenge: Stuffed Grape Leaves (This is also my first one back after some time off! I need to get back on my challenges.)
• Late Summer BLT Salad
• Changing Seasons: Swiss Chard and Bacon Risotto
• Summer Weeknight Supper: Zucchini, Tomato and Ricotta Tart
• Bento Lunch Special: Sesame Balsamic Chicken, Pineapple Fried Rice and Roasted Broccoli 

This round-up also highlights the need to get posting! I have a couple of posts lined up, so that's great.  I also need to really figure out how and when to write.  I seem to write in fits and starts and can generally get 3-4 posts up a month, but I'd really like to be blogging (whether here, Brooklyn Forager or my other blogs) every day.  

Hiking in Hibernia

This weekend, I headed off with a group of family members to hike into the hills in Hibernia, NJ.  In the late 1800s and beginning of the 20th century, there was a mining town complete with a railroad, a church and a cemetery.  The cemetery holds the graves of many miners and their families including my great-great-great-grandfather Thomas Heslin.  The day was beautiful, with gorgeous fall colors, bright sunshine and great company. Here are some more photos from our day: 

September in Sonoma

Last month, we got to head out to Sonoma County for a wine tasting trip (there might have been a wedding in there somewhere)! I took woefully few photos, but drank lots of great wine and had much merriment with friends. The wineries we tried were: 

• St. Francis  - notably delicious zins and a wine pairing lunch on the patio that we didn't try, but would take me back. 
• Martinelli - more great zins, interesting sauvignon blancs and even a moscato that was very drinkable
• Arista - known for their pinot noirs which were delicious, as was a pinot gris

Catching up on Reading

I've also been reading in the background and while I wanted to write these up individually, life gets in the way.  I've got a post in the works for one of the books since that is part of a bigger portion of the project (stay tuned!) and the book I'm reading for my October non-fiction will definitely get its own writeup with more exciting things to come from that as well.

• Peony in Love by Lisa See
• Triumph by Carolyn Jessop
• Black Boy by Richard Wright (separate post coming)

Netflix Round-Up: Veronica Mars, Bones and More

I've fallen behind on my round-up, but not on my watching! Our Instant Queue keeps us very entertained, so that's great.  I also dropped our discs at home to two, so keeping up with my 101-things goals means I'll be ahead of the game which is even better!

So, since I last checked in, we've been watching:

• Veronica Mars (um, all three seasons.  What? I was home all day!)
• Bones Season 2
• Avatar Las Airbender
• Up in the Air
• The Men who Stare at Goats
• Beavers: IMAX
• Some Firefly

Altogether, 19 discs since my last round-up.  That's actually on the scary side.  I wanted to separately write up Up in the Air and The Men who Stare at Goats because both were inspiring and thought-provoking in their ways.  Alas, I waited too long and the time has passed.  Both worth watching for very different reasons.  And before you judge on the Beavers movie, they are fascinating little buggers. 

NaNoWriMo is Coming!

November is NaNoWriMo month! The goal is to write a novel of 50,000 words in 30 days.  It does not have to be good and we're not supposed to edit.  Just get it all down on paper and think about it later.  I've never tried anything of this magnitude ever, so I'm very excited to give it a try.  I also realized that my 101 things deadlines only gives me two shots, so the pressure is on, friends.  

The novel must be original (not already a work-in-progress), but you can use character sketches, plot ideas, things you've thought about before.  I'm trying to use October to at least think of things I could write about enough to get 50,000 words.  So far I have some ideas, but they shift daily.  I'm using 750Words to write a little bit every day (to finish the novel, one needs to write 1600 words a day!) and try to gather those thoughts.  

750Words is modeled on the morning pages concept (with the glaring difference that Julia Cameron wants you to hand write and apparently so do scientists so that your brain and your hands are engaged), and it is mostly working so far.  I did miss one day in October, so I can't say that I'll get to cross that one of the list this month, but I'm on a 6 day streak, so that bodes well! 

Anniversary Date Night

September 6th came and went, but I'm just getting through my pictures now.  For a lot of reasons, we celebrated close to home with a bottle of Champagne from our wedding, a selection of Vermont cheeses and a dark chocolate cowpie.

xoxoxo