2014: food, books, dogs

Of course, it’s all about recapping the year right now. At first I wasn’t going to do that, because 2014 sucked hard and I didn’t want to acknowledge it even existed. Bring on 2015, I say. But I can’t erase a year from existence, so I’ve decided to celebrate the good things, in food, books, and dogs.

My favourite food photos of the year:

smoked meat sandwich at Caplansky’s, Toronto // burger at Allen’s, Toronto // churros and chocolate at Xoco, Chicago // fried chicken at momofuku noodle bar, Toronto // birthday key lime pie // beet caprese salad at Pizzeria Libretto, Toronto // pizza at Pizzeria Libretto // birthday ice cream // ice cream sandwich at Moo Milk Bar, Toronto

Amazing grapefruit juice at Fat Pasha, Toronto // the rotisserie duck at momofuku ssäm bar, NYC // poutine in Ottawa // the Tim Horton’s chocolate chip muffin that got me a new job// amaretto-chocolate budino with whipped cream, sour cherry compote, and chocolate at Pizzeria Libretto // a meal I actually made myself in the summer

I decided that I spent too much time watching TV and on my iPad and not reading enough, so I set a goal of reading at least one book a month in 2014. I surpassed that, while still watching too much TV and spending too much time on my iPad.

• A Short History of England, Simon Jenkins – everything you need to know about England in one reasonably-sized book.
• Where’d You Go, Bernadette, Maria Semple – the book everyone was reading at the beginning of the year.
• Fresh off the Boat: A Memoir, Eddie Huang – food, swearing, and a little bit about the Malice at the Palace.
• The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion – really funny and sweet
• The Fault in our Stars, John Green – catnip for teenagers. I don’t like overly sentimental, emotionally manipulative books, but as far as that sort of thing goes, this book was fine.
• A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table, Molly Wizenberg – I love books about food. This one made me cry a little.
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), Mindy Kaling – I remember liking this, but not much else about it. I worry about my short-term memory.
• Before I Go to Sleep, S.J. Watson – I stayed up late to finish it, a real page-turner.
• The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein – something different and original.

• This is Where I Leave You, Jonathan Tropper – fine, but I wouldn’t read it again.
• Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of my Appetites, Kate Christensen – one of the better food-centred memoirs I’ve read.
• Jim Henson: The Biography, Brian Jay Jones – I’ve always loved the Muppets, so I had to read this.
• Bossypants, Tina Fey – I love her.
• A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby – a depressing premise.
• The Bling Ring, Nancy Jo Sales – a story of some horrible teenagers.
• Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger, Nigel Slater – obviously, I like reading about food.
• Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China, Jen Lin-Liu – I like reading about travels and food.
• 1982, Jian Ghomeshi – I read this because I was a fan of Q, but I now regret reading this book given he turned out to be a complete asshole. At least it was a library ebook and he didn’t make any money off me. Also, it wasn’t that great a book.

• Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell – teenagers should read books like this one; banning it is a stupid idea.
• Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table, Nigel Slater – I love all things British, including the food.
• Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage, Molly Wizenberg – not as good as her first book, but interesting.
• Yes Please, Amy Poehler – I love her too.

• Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham – the book every blogger was pictured with, it was fine and entertaining, but pretty self-involved. I liked Tina Fey’s and Amy Poehler’s better.

And finally, my favourite random dogs of the year (just call me doggie paparazzi):

Like I said, bring on 2015. It can’t be any worse than this year. In fact, I’m determined that it be better.

Thanks everyone for reading my insane thoughts and looking at all the photos I post this year. Happy New Year!

December 2014 in pictures

December, you were a good month. Even if I did catch bronchitis and was out of commission for a week, with a lingering cough for over two.

J.Crew Bliss sweatshirt // R is for Rachel (or Roots, really) // gus and abby coaster and notepad // Quimby sleeping with his paws up // Quimby and his sister, Echo // trying to detox a little // LOL // yum // yum again

I’ll be back later with a 2014 recap of sorts.

Christmas: a recap in photo form

Many photos of puppies and food ahead; you’ve been warned.

Travelling in Hugo Guinness for J.Crew Springer spaniel tee (I thought it was a basset hound but I think it’s a chubby Springer spaniel)

A really pretty tuna sashimi bowl for lunch before going to the Boston Pops

An actual Springer spaniel at Quimby’s daycare, where we left him before going to the Boston Pops.

The Boston Pops

My sister and her sleeping puppy

BEST. DOG SHIRT. EVER.

Selfies.

Laziest dog ever.

Christmas Eve prime rib roast.

Ginger-cherry white chocolate chip cookies, adapted from this Ming Tsai recipe.

Christmas duck, puppy wants some too.

Still the laziest dog ever.

Homemade poutine on Boxing Day (or as it’s called in the U.S., the day after Christmas).

Will and a lapful of labradoodle.

Waiting for Shake Shack ice cream.

Achieved!

After Shake Shack, a play date with his sister Echo, who lives in the same Cambridge neighbourhood. My brother-in-law met her in the park by accident, and he and Echo’s human realized that they’d both gotten the puppies at the same breeder in Maine. What are the chances?

What did I say about Quimby being the laziest puppy ever? But after playing hard with his sister, he deserves a little lie-down.

Making the NY Times chocolate chip cookies.

They are delicious, and worth leaving in the fridge for 72+ hours.

Quimby and his big buddy hanging out before we left. He (the puppy) and I got depressed afterwards. Perhaps 2015 is the year I finally get a dog.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas too!

Highlights of NYC and Boston, only a month late

More proof I’m a bad blogger: I’m finally getting around to posting pictures of my trip to Boston and NYC, which happened a month ago.

I think I was overwhelmed by all the photos I took and trying to weed out the bad/redundant ones.

Here is the first batch, with minimal commentary, just the highlights (but of course, probably too many pictures).

The rotisserie duck at Momofuku:

We ate until we were sick, but it was so good. I highly recommend it.

SoHo in the rain on a Saturday:
 

This little puppy in a raincoat at J.Crew in SoHo:
 

Puppy post

My nephew dog, 4-month-old Quimby the mini labradoodle:

I have so many photos of him from my trip to Boston and NYC that I felt he deserved his own post.

Mini labradoodles are a bit small for my liking (I like big dogs), but he’s pretty damn cute. (Also the fact he doesn’t shed helps, that’s pretty awesome.)

He’s a really good car passenger. And he looks like he has a bad perm. (The two facts are unrelated.)

He loves my sister and brother-in-law, and eventually he loved me too (he’s a little slow to warm up).

He’s a little shy around other dogs, but he met this Westie at Brooklyn Flea and played nice with him.

This little boxer puppy was so excited to meet Quimby, he bopped him on the head.

 

We selfied in Madison Park, but he was upset that his humans left him with me to go for brunch.

We made up for it with some Big Gay Ice Cream (I couldn’t finish my Salty Pimp).

As sweet as he is, he is sometimes a brat. He doesn’t like to walk when he’s not in a group, so he just lies down on the sidewalk.

 

But he’s so cute, we’ll forgive him.