Mini Mood Modifiers

I leave my driveway at 9:53 to get to work by 10. I can go to the gym, shower, blow dry my hair and make myself an elaborate breakfast all in the same time it takes my father to sit on the LIRR and commute to his job in Manhattan. Part of me is dying to work in New York--to immerse myself in the atmosphere, to have delis, gyms, salons, and Forever 21 at my fingertips, to become saturated in that perpetual commotion. On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoy the extra $400 I save in commute and being able to hit my snooze button 25 times without waking up in a panic that I missed my train.

However, on occasion, I have to join the daily grind and trek my way into Manhattan for work. I go in to wait for deliveries, I make sure electricians come and paint over outlets and hang thousand dollar photographs, I bring in Egyptian bed sheets and bring home trinkets and glass side tables. 

I typically don't mind the drive, rush hour never actually killed anyone although some may beg to differ, but Tuesday morning "bumper-to-bumper traffic"obtained an entirely new meaning for me. One of my friends graciously accompanied me on my journey so we could access the Almighty HOV lane but due to the torrential downpour that relinquished all drivers' capabilities to control a car it took us 3 hours to get to the Mid Town Tunnel. A trip that usually takes me, alone, in regular morning traffic, about an hour and a half. I still remember the license plate number of the car in front of us because I stared at it unwavering for 45 minutes while we were at a stand still. 

Frustrated and severely disgruntled I dropped my friend off at work and sped to a magnificent townhouse on the upper east side. The only things inside this five story Manhattan mansion was wallpaper and kitchen appliances yet I still had to drag my jaw up the stairs. After dropping off about $1,000 worth of pillow fillers and mattress pads, I booked it down to the West Village to another apartment I would never be able to afford. 

Finally at 3:30, I scooped up my dad and joined the rest of civilization as we all tried to fit onto one not so Long Island. Needless to say when I got home I was cranky, tired and hungry. Instead of sticking my head into the ziplock bag filled with leftover Easter candy or finishing the contents of a recently opened Skippy jar (the extra large version), I whipped up a quick fix I found on Hungry-girl.com to relieve my throbbing sweet tooth without having to go to the gym twice the next day. 

Personally, I think peanut butter and chocolate is one of the most ingenious concoctions ever created. It's like the Sunny and Cher of the dessert world. With only three ingredients this low-fat yet flavorful snack is a quick satisfying treat to perk up anyone's bad day.

I always thought 100 calorie packs were such a tease. Either they tasted like the a bland copycat of the real version or they have the flavor element but you eat them all before you even completely open the tiny package. Alone, I though the Nabisco Oreo thin crisps were a solid representation of the former group- they tasted like chocolate flavored mini-frisbees. But if you add a dollop of chunky peanut butter and low fat cool whip- it magically turns those insipid impersonators into a mouthwatering dessert. 

Disregard the jar of Hellman's Mayo in the background- that is not part of this recipe, it was part of my father's dinner.

When your miniature masterpieces are assembled, place them in the freezer for a few hours and enjoy. And no need to fight the inherent feeling of guilt if you devour the entire plate, according to Hungry Girl you can savor ALL ten of them for only 188 calories. Since when do you get to have your dessert and eat it too!

Let Me Tell Ya About Nutella

I have an unhealthy obsession with healthy food.

I know its a sick thing to admit but I actually enjoy eating vegetables. When I walk through the aisles at the supermarket I get sucked into the products that contain "whole grains" or are "made with skim milk." I buy things just because they say "less fat than the leading brand." I often need to be yanked from the organic section because I would spend my entire life savings on Cascadian Farms cereal and Food Should Taste Good sweet potato chips. If there is a God up there, he will soon have pity on my soul and put a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods within a 15 mile radius of my house.

Now don't get me wrong, I am a girl that loves her well done french fries and juicy cheeseburgers with the works, but I am on a constant search for healthy alternatives to my favorite fatty foods but still taste like the real deal. I don't want to torture my taste buds with chips that taste like cardboard. Stripping food of its flavor takes the fun out of eating and I don't believe that you should sacrifice pleasing your palate just to appease your waistline.

If you ask anyone that truly knows me, they know that I love food. My boyfriend asks me everyday what I ate for lunch. I know he actually doesn't care but he knows I get some strange joy out of explaining the components of my salad or my new concoction of jicama and guacamole 100 calorie packs. I may not remember to feed the dog or take the garbage out but I do remember the amazing Gemelli pasta dish with capers, grilled calamari, and kalamata olives in a red sauce that I had in the city with my mom three weeks ago.

Since I seem to have every weekend spilling into July booked out of the Hamptons and off Long Island I didn't want my blog to feel neglected. So I am taking my deep affection for healthy food, mixing it with my mediocre cooking skills, and adding another layer to my blog.

Once a week I will try to update my readers on any new recipes I find or ideas that pop into my head and my hilarious attempt to create it. I am no Rachel Ray or Giada De Laurentiis. I may have the same love for the Food Network that a Spanish grandmother has for her telenovelas but the extent of my culinary prowess doesn't go much further than pushing the start button on the microwave. I will give myself credit in the sense that I am pretty good at putting things together. I am rather world renowned for my creative salads and I can make a delectable sandwich, but once you actually have to turn the stove on and get ingredients to blend, I surrender my oven mitts.

Therefore, this should be interesting.

The first appearance to this new foodie side to myself is my attempt to recreate a dessert my family and I had at Edgewater Restaurant in Hampton Bays. My former place of summer employment, as well as my father's, this authentic Italian hot spot overlooking the Shinnecock canal is where we tend to end up for every birthday, celebration, and plain old Saturday night meal. With a line out the door every night of the week, you always leave with a smile on your face as well as lunch for the next day. Last weekend we celebrated my dad's birthday and the owner so graciously sent over just about every dessert on the menu. As I kissed my diet goodbye over tiramisu, tartufo and peanut butter pie our waitress dropped a new delicious concoction in the middle of our table. Focaccia wedges with nutella and berries. So simple, yet so mouth watering.

It was so scrumptious that my mother and I tried to re-produce it for a Mother's Day dessert (p.s. Happy belated Mother's Day to all the mommies out there). We found a simple recipe online for focaccia bread, but added cinnamon to the mix. When the dough had risen we cut it into three pieces, flattened it out and threw them on the grill. (This is where I learned that while igniting a grill the dials must be on low and the lid must be open otherwise there is a strong possibility it will explode. You learn something new everyday). We let them grill until crispy (or relatively burnt)- about 10 minutes on each side.

Post-grilling we let them cool and stuck two of them in the freezer to revisit at another time. Once they were room temperature, we smothered them in nutella, low fat cool whip, and blackberries and raspberries. Another concoction we thought of for future desserts would be marscapone cheese, strawberries and agave nectar or even greek yogurt and caramelized bananas. 

The end result wasn't too bad! It definitely wasn't restaurant quality, the focaccia wasn't nearly as crispy as it should be but anything covered in nutella isn't worth complaining over. If you have once small piece I would consider this a pretty healthy alternative to a slice of Oreo cheesecake or an ice cream sundae, I mean come on it has fruit on it, but of course we devoured the entire thing. Maybe that's why today when I shook my salad container to distribute my dressing my gut jiggled just as much as the contents of my tupperware.