Charity Walk for Multiple Sclerosis

This year I joined Walk MS Manhattan to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis. 

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that effects the central nervous system and brain. There are many symptoms of MS, some of which include muscle spasms, fatigue, depression, loss of feeling in the arms and legs, etc. It is a debilitating disease with no known cure yet.

Funds raised by the walk will go towards programs and essential services for people living with MS and to support research initiatives for the cause, treatment and cure. Overall, I raised $390 in four days. That’s $40 over my goal and I could not have done it without the support of my friends and family.

Every donation, no matter how big or small, makes an impact. I learned that $37 pays for two hours of personal assistance for simple things we take for granted such as bathing, $75 pays for counseling when a loved one is diagnosed with MS, and $250 can cover three sessions of rehabilitation. A person with MS can develop so much pain in their body that they are unable to function and move without assistance.

On Saturday, April 30, I walked along with 7,000 other participants in Manhattan. I chose to do the 6 mile walk. Initially, I was going to do the 3 mile walk but my friends encouraged me to do the 6 miles. I finished in a little over an hour. 

The route took me from the South Street Seaport to the Brooklyn Bridge over to the Brooklyn Promenade and back. Green was my path.

It was a gorgeous day and the walk ended with a party, music, activites for the kids, and lots of free beverages and food. I highly recommend Walk MS as it was extremely organized by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. I’m looking forward to Bike MS in the Fall.

Thank you all for your support and let’s keep working towards a happier and healthier world.

For Donations:
National MS Society
Attn: Walk MS
P.O. Box 10123
Uniondale, NY 11555

Recipe: Bread Pudding

What do you do with day old bread? Eat it of course! Or feed it to the ducks.

My office ordered lunch from Angelo's Pizza and was given a whole bag of bread rolls. We had plenty left over. It seemed like such a shame to just throw it away so I decided to take them home and make bread pudding. My recipe was a success. Not too sweet, fluffy, plump with raisins, a hint of cinnamon, and served warm out of the oven. I could not think of a better way to end this wonderful weekend.

Ingredients:
4 bread rolls
2 cups 2% milk
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
3 egg whites
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
raisins

Directions:

In a sauce pan, warm milk just a little bit. If you boil it, that's too much! Add the butter and stir until it melts. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool a bit. Add the sugar, egg whites, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

Cube or tear the bread into small pieces. In a lightly greased or buttered casserole, place the bread. Add a handful of raisins to the bread.

Pour the wet ingredients on top of the bread.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Serve warm. This recipe can be enhanced by adding an icing to the bread pudding, vanilla or Bourbon sauce, or bacon cream anglaise. Enjoy! I think you will be surprised at how delicious it is in this simple form.

Angelo's Pizza
1032 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10022

You've Got Snail Mail

Compulsive Mail Checker

Do you remember when stamps used to be 25 cents? I was 9 years old and I found mail to be so exciting. I knew what time the mail arrived and as soon as the mailman drove away I would run to the mailbox and bring the stack of bills and junk mail in. I never got any mail addressed to me but I settled for anything addressed to Resident. Publishers Clearing House was my best friend. It's a shame only old people won. I really thought I had a chance.

As I grew older and gained friends in school, I would occasionally get a postcard in the mail. In high school, we traded notes folded into origami during passing period. In college, distance became a challenge and we resulted to dropping letters in the mail. There were only so many calling cards we could go through in a week. Long distance phone calls were expensive, cell phone plans were just getting introduced, and e-mail hadn't quite caught on yet. I loved the letters that came through the mail. My friends were so creative. They'd draw, make collages, use sticky notes, stickers, pretty much anything to jazz up a piece of paper. Did I mention they were wonderful writers too? In three hand written pages, they had somehow painted a picture of their daily lives filled with gossip, cute boys, weird boys, new developments, and milestones I fondly remember only by re-reading the stacks I've piled away in keepsake boxes.

These days, communication with friends is done over Facebook, Twitter, one sentence e-mails, and texts. Not many people want or find the time to chat on the phone anymore. And snail mail? Snail mail is a lost art.

Greenwich Letterpress

I recently received this "Mad Props" card from a friend after I took care of her dogs while she was away. I find it brilliant. It's a shade of green that I love and it keeps it old school and traditional by using letterpress while staying with the times. Urban Dictionary defines mad props as an alternative to thank you. Mad props to my friend for picking out this card.

Night Owl Paper Goods

I gave this card to my sister for her birthday. It's an inside joke of how we hail taxis. It's genius how you can walk into a card shop and find the perfect card for someone. It's as if the card was made for you, or him, or her, or them.

Fomato

This is a card one of my friends from California mailed to me just because. We're big fans of Fomato cards. They are pretty random and humorous. I was perusing their site and came across this one birthday card . Sick and I couldn't stop laughing.

I used to write beautiful poetic letters. I went through stationary as if it were college ruled paper and I was taking notes. I loved sending mail and getting letters. I don't write letters anymore and my e-mails are looking more like instant messages these days.

I think it's time to go back to handwritten letters and postage stamps. Call me sentimental or old fashioned but some things are worth preserving.

Greenwich Letterpress

39 Christopher St.

New York, NY 10014

Paper Source

102 Smith St.

Brooklyn, NY 11201

Intro to Burmese Food: A Tradition in San Francisco

Burma, or Republic of the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country in mainland Southeast Asia. If it's so large, then why has every Burmese person I have met in my life (3) been so excited when they've met or heard of another? It seems as if Burmese people are a rarity. 

Burma borders India, Bangladesh, Laos, Thailand, and China. It's cuisine is heavily influenced by these countries and religion (Buddhism, Muslim). Vegetarian dishes are prevalent. With all these influences, burmese cuisine is still very unique. Common dishes include salads, curries, rice, noodles, and all sorts of meats flavored sweet, sour and spicy complimented with fruits and vegetables.


My first experience with Burmese food (other than samusas) was on a trip to the Bay in which one of my New York friends came with me. She is Burmese and requested that Burma Superstar be one of the places we visit. Burma Superstar is really famous in San Francisco. I immediately incorporated it into our itinerary.


We waited 40 minutes for a table and it was well worth it. My friend compared the food to her mother's home cooking and while some dishes were hits and others were better home cooked, she enthusiastically approved. We went with two other friends and their toddler. Even the kid loved the food! Especially the spiciness of the samusas!


As an introduction to Burmese food, my friend ordered quite a few dishes. We got the Tea Leaf Salad, Burmese Samusas, Salt and Pepper Calamari, Pork Curry with Potato, Okra Egg Curry and the Classic Burmese Chicken Casserole with Cardamom Cinnamon Rice. 


The Tea Leaf Salad is my favorite Burmese dish and I order it every time I go back. It has a spoonful of tea leaves all the way from Burma and is a mixture of lettuce, sunflower seeds, lentils, fried garlic, tomato, and sesame seeds. The salad is crunchy and full of flavor. I think the secret ingredient is fish sauce. 

Tea Leaf Salad

The samusas were spicy and served with an even spicier dipping sauce. It was addicting.

Vegetarian Samusas filled with curried spices and potatoes

The Salt and Pepper Calamari was ordinary and no different than what you could get anywhere else. Skip it if you want the true Burmese experience. 

Salt and Pepper Calamari

I wasn't a fan of the Okra Egg Curry being neither a fan of okra or hard boiled eggs but in terms of curry it was very subtle.

Okra Egg Curry

I would gladly gobble up the Pork curry any day. The pork reminded me a lot of Filipino Adobo. The pork was soft to the point where you did not need to cut it with a knife.

Pork Curry with Potato

The rice dish was like a Burmese paella. Fluffy biryani rice, almonds, raisins... It's all real good. The chicken and shrimp are buried in the rice and baked in the claypot.

Classic Burmese Chicken Casserole with Cardamom Cinnamon Rice

To top it off we ordered two desserts.

Coconut Fritters w/Vanilla Ice Cream + Strawberries

Platha w/Bananas + Strawberries

Every time I visit San Francisco, I make it a point to try new dishes from Burma Superstar. It has become a nice little tradition every time I go back to the Bay.

I also recommend beef with mango and platha. Platha is pan fried layered bread. Other dishes I have tried are the Nan Gyi Dok (burmese rice noodles with a mild chicken coconut curry sauce, eggs, split yellow pea, and fried onion) and Garlic Noodles. The Nan Gyi Dok was similar to Filipino Pancit Palabok but with curry and the Garlic Noodles were more like Chinese Chowfun. Both were great as we love our noodles but I think the Cinnamon Rice and Pork Curry are better main dishes.


I can't wait to have Burmese food again. Like the few Burmese people I have met, there just as few Burmese restaurants around. We found another (Pagan Restaurant) down the street from Burma Superstar on Clement Street and heard of one on Mission. I am curious to try the one lone Burmese place in Manhattan Cafe Mingala. San Francisco is too far to travel for Burmese food!


Photography Credits: Jennifer Cheng


Burma Superstar
309 Clement St.
San Francisco, CA 94118

I Wonder What The South Thinks of All of This

Ever since the cupcake came to town, red velvet has been as common as vanilla. I've had red velvet in a variety of forms from red velvet twinkies and red velvet ice cream to red velvet whoopie pies and Sprinkles red velvet cupcake mix sold boxed from Williams Sonoma.


The fascination for me has always been more fad than taste. The origins of red velvet are hard to pinpoint. Is it Canadian? Was it born out of food scarcity during World War II? Is it now back in style because of pop culture references? There is no doubt that red velvet is a hit. The cocoa undertones have always been secondary to me in terms of it's overall flavor. Red velvet, when done right, is a darn good cake. It is often paired with a cream cheese frosting. Together it is finger lickin', fork lickin', and bite-tastic!


I recently attended a baby shower where there was a photocake ordered from the famous Lords Bakery in Flatbush. Lords Bakery was one of the first bakeries on the East Coast to offer photocakes. What is a photocake? I'm sure you've seen then advertised in your local grocery bakery. Submit a photo and voila! The image is printed on an edible sheet of icing with the consistency of fondant and gum paste. It's strong, chewy, and the image will hold as if it were printed on paper.

Imagine the excitement when we found out that it was a red velvet cake. The cake was gigantic and all ours! We did not have to wait in a line with a cupcake bouncer nor did we have to travel far and wide for this sugary sweet confection. Then came the squeals.

It can get pretty gruesome when you cut into a red velvet photocake. The knife to the face reminded me of Sylar's signature move from NBC's now defunct Heroes. Mmm my what tasty brains you got there. Nonetheless, the cake was absolutely delicious. It was perfectly moist, rich, and had a healthy slathering of cream cheese frosting. Of course the Cake Man Raven was brought up in comparison but when what you've got on your plate is Lords Bakery, there is only one winner: Lords.

The red velvet photocake got me thinking. The last time red velvet made national headlines was a year ago when American Cupcake in San Francisco debuted red velvet fried chicken. The internet article spawned a week long vacation to the Golden State for my friend and I with American Cupcake being our first stop right off of the airplane.

How far would you travel for some fried chicken? I must admit I felt a slight bit of smug satisfaction knowing that we lucked out and got the last servings of chicken. American Cupcake makes a limited amount each day. The recipe calls for marination and the result is the perfect balance between sweet and savory. The Red Velvet Fried Chicken was similar to Chinese roast pork. It shares the same dyed effect of pink flesh but have no fear of the outer color. This chicken is cooked. Some say the chicken looks burnt. It isn't. The batter of the chicken becomes crispy, protects the inside from drying out, and the coloring darkens when fried. The Red Velvet Fried Chicken is worth having if you ever make a trip to American Cupcake. It also comes with a side of cream cheese mash and cocoa vinaigrette cole slaw.

Cupcakes and goody, goody gumdrops aside, American Cupcake is more of a grownup place where grownups stop by to eat real food like truffle parmesan popcorn, Heirloom tomato salad, and red velvet fried chicken. The desserts are paired with beer and wine samples. American Cupcake is a fully functioning restaurant and bakery complete with a chef, sous-chef and all.


As much as it is popular and of the moment, I think red velvet is going to stick around. It's just come a long way from the form of an armadillo groom's cake. Did we think that was tasty back in 1989?


Photography Credits: Rox, Jennifer Cheng


Lords Bakery
2135 Nostrand Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11210


American Cupcake
1919 Union St.
San Francisco, CA 94123

My, That's A Big Shoe You Got There

New Balance BB888HW, Size 16 "4E", Retail Price: $99.95

Why yes, yes it is.

This is not an optical illusion. I am holding up this shoe and it is wider than my body. It is a men's size 16, 4E width New Balance Basketball shoe. It is black and white, free of air pockets, and there are no gel elements in the sole. This is all to adhere to government regulations.

I buy and sell shoes for a living. Did I mention that all of my customers are inmates in federal prisons? Quite a conversation piece, isn't it?

Aside from peddling shoes, I write. I maneuver around the web and I have a bevy of virtual friends. I enjoy what I do. Sometimes I feel like I lead a double life. In a way, I do. My day job keeps me stable, pays my rent, provides me with benefits and grants me the funds to live a luxurious life. When the day dwindles down, of course I report back and share my experiences through social media. I love the interwebs but my sales training has taught me how important face-to-face communication is. You can paint any picture you want of yourself on the internet but a real life meeting is going to tell all. In upcoming posts, I plan to share the things I've learned and observations I find thought provoking. My blog is varied and will really be about anything on my mind for the moment. I hope you are enjoying it.

Thanks for tuning in thus far.

There is much more to come from Spam Is Better Fried!

Q: Got Fabric, Furniture and More? A: Architectural Digest

This year marked for the 10th annual Architectural Digest Home Design Show. The exhibition lasted for four days from March 17-20 at Pier 94. Admission granted for the design show, DIFFA'S DINING BY DESIGN, and Artist Project New York at Pier 92.

The show featured a wide variety of products and services for the home from appliances and outdoor furniture to interior design consultations and general contractors ready to build you a tiled pool. Looking for a home security safe? Bird bath? Vintage posters? The Architectural Digest Home Show had it all.

Here are some examples of what exhibitors brought to the show:

Pillows

aviva stanoff: Sea Fan, Peacock on Calypso, Jewel in Smoke

aviva stanoff, a local designer based out of DUMBO in Brooklyn, fashions pillows that are soft and luxurious. The pillows are hand made, silk, and feather down. The one exception on texture is the Let it Rock line. Encrusted with jewels, these pillows catch light and sparkle.

Door Knobs 

Sun Valley Bronze Art Glass Collection

The Art Glass Collection presented by Sun Valley Bronze reminded me of Venetian glass. Each piece is a work of art. Sun Valley Bronze partnered with Jesse DeMoss to create a collection of hand blown door knobs. The designs are one of a kind and captivating. I couldn't help but stop to admire the craftsmanship.

China

Prouna, maker of fine bone China, incorporates Swarovski crystals into their dinnerware. Simple and elegant, these dishes emit just enough accent and flash to be modern while still being traditional.

Lighting

(L-R) elise Black, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, The Paris Apartment

Lighting came in all shapes and sizes from 8 foot tall floor lamps and spherical chandeliers to sturdy table lamps and sconces emitting mood lighting. Some of the pieces had the industrial look while others evoked 18th century romance. They were made out of all types of material. From copper, aluminum, porcelain and crystal beading to glass and recycled bottles.

Desks

dbOHome: Prototype Desk

I was going to highlight a few desks and coffee tables but did not want to detract from the Prototype Desk made exclusively for dbOHome. It was designed and built by Daniel Oates. The legs are hand carved and wood is live edge Claro Walnut. I love the natural feel of it and the lightness of it. The three levels offer variance and the desk conceals two drawers well. If I heard correctly, the Prototype Desk is valued at $22,000.

The Architectural Digest Home Design Show seemed endless at times. There was even a live auction taking place. It was less packed than The Armory Show which took place at the same location two weeks before. I was able to see and enjoy the show in one day without returning. All too convenient, there were quite a few seating options available for me to rest when I needed a break. My favorite was the movable Iglu daybed made by sky line DESIGN. It looked like a giant wicker apple. Without a hint of green on it, the brown palace was made for the outdoors and the inside was pretty cozy. I'd sleep under the stars if it sat in my backyard. Ah, the Architectural Digest Home Design Show is good for dreaming.

Architectural Digest Home Design Show
Pier 94
New York, NY 10019