Missy Maintains » Chocolate

A Jewish Dinner

MissyMaintains — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:39:13 +0000

Happy New Year to my fellow Jewish friends! On Wednesday I took the day off of work and went home to Philly to celebrate Rosh Hashana with my family. We had a delicious dinner so I thought I would share it with all of you.

My mom decided not to cook this year so instead we ordered from a Jewish deli called Ben & Irv’s. Now I know where I get my “never feel like cooking” attitude from! All of the food was amazing so I had no problem with this.

On the Menu:

Challah

Matzoh Ball Soup

Turkey Meatballs

Gefilte Fish

Spinach and Potato Latkes (excuse the presentation!)

Sweet Fruit Kugal (so good!)

Carrot Tzimmes with Sweet Potatoes

Kasha & Bowties

Ziggy was all ready for some chicken and matzoh balls! I started off with the matzoh ball soup mixed with mushroom barley, challah, and a pickle.

My next course was meatballs and gefilte fish. The meatballs were especially delicious.

I was already full before the chicken but still wanted to try a little bit of everything!

I barely made a dent in that plate but really loved the kugal and sweet potato side dish.

There is always room for dessert!

I tried some chocolate chip banana bread and chocolate cake! Best part of the meal! I think we are the only family that does not do the whole apples and honey thing. Woops! It was a great dinner with the family and nice to be home for the night. I went back to New York right after dinner since I had to work yesterday.

If you celebrate Rosh Hashana, what did you have at your dinner?

If you don’t celebrate, what food would you most like to try in this post?

Have a great weekend!

*Want a 3-day guest pass to the Equinox at 50th and Broadway? Leave me a comment with your email!

*Live in NYC and want a free membership to Equinox? Let me know and I will email you with details!

How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries (or not)

MissyMaintains — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:02:17 +0000

Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a nice week! I had a lovely date with my roommate last night making chocolate covered strawberries and drinking wine! She has a potluck at work today and needed to make an easy dessert that only required a couple of ingredients. She was going to make an apple crumble pie but decided that chocolate covered strawberries would be much easier. Hmm…not so much.

I immediately knew we were going to have issues since we bought regular chocolate chips to dip the strawberries in. I know there is special chocolate out there that hardens as soon as you dip the fruit in. We were short on time so we bought the first two bags of chocolate that we saw in the baking aisle.

Can’t forget the strawberries!

It would not be a complete date without some fancy Trader Joe’s $3.00 wine!

We tried to melt the milk chocolate chips in the microwave. Our apartment started to smell like fire so Jackie decided that we should try adding some milk to the bowl.

Lesson # 1: Do not try to melt milk chocolate and almond milk together in the microwave!

The chocolate looked disgusting but I could not let half a bag of chocolate chips go to waste! I decided to dip my grapes in the chocolate and put them in the fridge overnight. Here is my attempt at chocolate covered grapes…

Lesson # 2: When chocolate looks like poop, throw it out!

I decided to sit down and drink my wine while Jackie attempted to make decent looking chocolate covered strawberries. She had much better luck with the white chocolate.

I felt bad just watching so I got up and decided to do dishes.

Lesson #3: When a glass has a slight crack in it, stop being a cheap ass and just throw it out!

I sliced my finger open on the glass and ended up under the sink for the next half hour gushing blood. I am such a romantic date.

I decided to stick with the only thing I am good at…taste testing and drinking. The strawberries came out delicious once I stayed far, far away.

They were very happy that I left them alone!

I am done trying to bake things in the kitchen! It is just not meant to be.

Final lesson of the night: NEVER MAKE CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES ON A FIRST DATE!

Chocolate Loveeee

MissyMaintains — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:10:02 +0000

Hello lovers! It is almost Valentine’s Day! You may or may not be fans of this holiday but I’m sure the majority of you are fans of chocolate (or at least I hope so)! The folks over at Pure Dark recently sent me an early Valentine’s Day package filled with their Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries and 70% Dark Chocolate Slab. I am already liking Valentine’s Day this year!

About Pure Dark Chocolate SLABS:

70% dark chocolate - Beans are selected directly from the regions of West Africa and the Dominican Republic for their balanced flavor profile.

The selected beans are minimally processed, ensuring that each batch of Pure Dark chocolate gives you a subtle bitterness and acidity for a smooth chocolate flavor.

I am a chocoholic so I enjoyed every bite of the Dark Chocolate Slab! It did not taste too bitter like some other dark chocolate brands. I really love that it is made from all natural ingredients.

The Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries were my favorite of the two samples!

About:

Pure Dark Fruits and Nuts are nature’s finest, picked at the height of the season and dipped in Pure Dark Chocolate. Our Cherries are infused with their own natural juices.

I love combining fruit and chocolate after my meals so I was a huge fan of the chocolate cherries!

Pure Dark also offers unique and delicious gift ideas such as Raspberry Acai Rounds and Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds and Blueberries, as well as a limited edition Valentine’s Day gift package full of hand-picked variety of our dark chocolate barks, slabs and rounds . A full online store is available at www.puredark.com and product ships nationwide.

How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day this year?

Join me for Valentine’s Day Sati!
Monday, November 14
Simple Studios- 6 to 7pm
$5.00 drop-in fee
Special Valentine’s Day gift bags!

I Am Thankful For….

MissyMaintains — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 15:56:41 +0000

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

A few things I am thankful for:

1) IntenSati: I am so grateful that I discovered this amazing workout and spiritual practice. The Leader Training last weekend was the best 4 days of my life. I met so many beautiful people that showed me a ton of support and love.

The weekend totally shifted my way of thinking. I learned how to focus on the positive and appreciate all the things I do have instead of focusing on what I don’t have. I also faced one of my biggest fears; I got up and spoke in front of everyone. I can’t wait to get out there and start teaching!!!!

2) The blog community: I’ve made so many awesome friends from blogging and love all of my readers. I still get a burst of excitement each and every time I receive a new blog comment. Thank you for reading!!

3) Daisy!!!

4) My new job: I know I haven’t blogged much since I started the new position but I still love it as much as the first time I talked about it!! It is really fun, I work with great people, and I am able to get really cool things done to my hair all of the time!

5) On that note, I am thankful for my hair!

6) Spending Thanksgiving with the family! This year should be interesting. My mom will be Zumba dancing, my dad will be playing his guitar, and I will be practicing my intenSati moves!

7) My friends: Love you all!

My espresso machine: I make 2 shots with some almond milk and Stevia before my morning workouts. It works wonders!! (By the way, I have no idea why the number 8 is a happy face but no complaints here!)

9) My body: I spend too much time criticizing my body. I have strong legs and arms that get me through hour-long intense workouts and 8-mile hikes. I have pretty blue eyes and a nice sized…chest! That felt good.

10) Chocolate: You make me happy.

11) Martinis: You make me even happier.

12) House music: Every time I hear this music, I just want to get up and dance.

07 In the Air (feat. Rudy) [Axwell Remix]

Just blast that song and bust out your craziest dance moves. I promise it will lift your mood.

What are you thankful for this year?

I am heading to Philly in a couple of hours for my family dinner. I am bringing Daisy on the train with me. Can’t wait!! I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving! Please spend time appreciating your company and the food on your plate instead of wasting your negative energy worrying about eating too much. Enjoy that extra slice of pumpkin pie! Love you all!

I Can Cook but Just Don’t Want To!

MissyMaintains — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:10:50 +0000

Yesterday I was sitting at work thinking about how I would love to cook up a delicious dinner and post about it today! I have not cooked in ages and thought you guys would be so proud of me. I was thinking about all of the dinners I used to make:

Mexican Salads

Whole Wheat Pasta with Veggies

Homemade Pizza

Panko Breaded Chicken

Spiralized Zucchini Pasta

I guess I am pretty capable of cooking decent dinners! So…what happened between now and then? Laziness! Sometimes it just seems worth the extra couple of dollars to pick up dinner from somewhere else! I also find it hard to grocery shop and buy all of the ingredients because who knows what I will be in the mood for that particular night. Sometimes I end up spending more when I grocery shop because I don’t use half of the veggies I bought. I know the solution to this is to meal plan but I just don’t want to do that. Sometimes I get home from work and feel like going out to happy hour! I don’t want the stress of knowing I was supposed to cook that night! I’m sorry but I’m not sorry.

Instead of cooking my fancy meal last night, I got home and had Cheerios.

It was the best lazy dinner ever. I got home from the gym at 8:30 so the last thing I felt like doing was cooking! I also was not very hungry because I had a big lunch.

I got a turkey wrap from the Westside Market that ended up being big enough for 2 people. I ate the whole thing anyway just because it was good! I was secretly happy when they messed up and used mayo instead of mustard. I never use mayo for obvious reasons but I do love it every now and then! I was stuffed after my wrap but the Westside Market is across the street from The Lite Choice so I was forced to stare at the store while I was eating. I could not resist!

Sometimes I feel guilty for having TLC after lunch even when I am already stuffed. Then I realize it is only 80 calories which is less than a glass of wine! Bring on the soft serve!

The only meal I really “cooked” this week was breakfast!

And it was heavenly! I cooked 1/2 cup oats with a white nectarine and Tropical Traditions Coconut Peanut Butter. See…I am a good cook!

One more reason I cook less than last year- there is a Whole Foods next door to both gyms I take intenSati at! It is very hard to leave Equinox, look at Whole Foods, hear my belly grumble after an intense workout, and not walk in! This occurs 3 nights a week. I made a promise to myself I would only walk in there once a week to save the dough. I gave in on Monday. I made a giant salad and attempted to bring it home on the subway. I probably ate 1/4 of it while wandering Whole Foods but still ended up with this:

I bought some delicious new salad dressing while shopping around WF:

Nice, short ingredient list and only 14 calories!

I totally brought my salad home instead of eating it all at Whole Foods just so I could enjoy a glass of wine (or two) with dinner!

Much more enjoyable on a plate instead of in a cardboard box! The new salad dressing and wine helped too. I feel like it is worth the $8.00 to get to choose from 50 salad bar ingredients and create an awesome dinner in 5 minutes or less. Maybe once it gets colder out I will start to cook more but for now, I will enjoy my take-out and prepared food!

Do you tend to cook more when it is colder outside?

Do you prefer to spend a few more dollars for convenience or do you enjoy taking the time to cook?

Don’t forget to enter my Live the Live You Love Ticket Giveaway!