Happy 2010!

Going down to SoCal for New Years Eve. Seeya all next year...Peace!!

Truckee xmas 2009

As it happens, I left a snowy winter wonderland only to find myself immediately placed in another, 3000 miles away. As we did last year, my mom, dad, sister and I packed up our VW and made the trek out HWY 80 to Truckee, a little snowy village just Northwest of Tahoe and Southwest of Reno. This xmas trip came and went with lots of home cooked food and tv movies, just like every other year - but not without any casualties. Unfortunately my sister lost her phone on the slopes, I lost a pair of ski goggles, my dad busted his knee and I my shoulder.


Looks like my mom was right to stay at home with the dog and the tv.

Tuthilltown Distillery/Hudson Valley Whiskey

The torrential downpour Saturday night left some of the clearest, bluest skies I've yet to see in New York on Sunday morning.

What better day to take a trip upstate to see Fall foliage and, while we're at it, have a whiskey tour/tasting?

(View of the city from the Wburg bridge)

Tuthilltown (pronounced "Tuttle-town") Distilleries is about 90 miles out and up from New York City, with the nearest "big" town being New Paltz. It has some of the most gorgeous mountain ranges and is particularly known for their outdoor activities, most especially as a climbing mecca with some of the best climbers coming in from all over New York.

The Distillery, occupying a much smaller plot of land than expected (think small farm operation), was founded a mere six years ago by an entrepreneurial climber (Ralph) as more of an enthusiastic business idea rather than any sort of passed-down brewer's secret craft. What struck me the most was their dedication and particularity about their product, as well as their enthusiasm for the industry as a whole. Tuthilltown became the first whiskey distillers in the state of New York to produce in-house since prohibition. Respectably, they are also vehement in their efforts and largely responsible for passing bills allowing distilleries to have tasting rooms and sell on-location, as well as pushing for the DEA to recognize their industry as farms, rather than industrial plants.

My favorite part of Tuthilltown was seeing the bottling process. Although their production has doubled in the last two years (they aim to one day produce 30,000 gallons of whiskey a year), the distillery still makes it a point to hand-craft their product from start to finish. They purchase their grain and corn from a neighboring farm, make the whiskey in-house in old-fashioned looking distilling machines, store the moonshine in varying sizes of oak barrels depending on the batch, bottle each individual bottle by hand (including the wax seal, the label, and an individual HAND-WRITTEN number for each bottle that goes out) and distribute from the distillery.

Check out their 4-Grain Whiskey. It's by newest love.

Nashville

So many little weekend trips in my (extended) summer vacation...I'm having a hard time keeping up! A few pics from my road trip from Detroit-->Nashville:

A striking building in empty, lonely, downtown Detroit. Love the colored windows.

Aren't water towers just some of the most beautiful things? This bulbous artificial sustaining form amidst so much green.

Something you'd expect to see at a truck stop in the middle of Indiana, no?

Clouds, clouds, so many clouds! And no mountains in sight.

Just a groovy little shoppe in Nashville. The End.

labor day weekend

Time well spent with good people and good food. Another DC trip in the books.

Amazing photoshop job courtesy of Fergustuff

back home

I got home to NY this afternoon. good ole muggy smoggy cloudy crowded NY. After being away for a week in Nashville, I found myself so relieved to be back. As much as I appreciate the friendliness and spaciousness (and cheapness) of the rest of America, I'm so happy to be coastal again.

Anyway I am pooped. Was feeling super groggy but then came home to a bounty of veggies from our CSA this week. Hooray tomatoes!

I'm thinking ratatouille, via this great recipe from Bon Appetit last month. Is that weird? Ratatouille in the middle of a sweltering hot summer?

Nashville

I'm in Nashville for the next week with my sister who has just made a move down here. We drove 600 miles from Ann Arbor, MI down through Indiana and Kentucky. Saw about 500 miles worth of corn fields, and it totally blew my mind. Also ate some big-ass plates of food. Heavy starchy eggy buttery cheesy food. Ahhhh good ole Middle America, how I am fascinated with thee.

Anyway stay tuned for lots of fun pictures of corn fields and sunsets. Will probably title it "What I did this summer, by Jessie Chien". It's been a busy month, will be even busier come Sept.

Peace from definitely not the Middle East.

Indian Ashram

Time to wind down from a busy, too-much-stimulation week(end).

Click here for a great article from National Geographic about Ashrams, or yoga retreats. I promise it's not a super hippie cultish article. If you liked Eat Pray Love, you'll enjoy this.

Off to yoga!

Calling All Pawsengers

Can you believe there's an airline that only caters to animals? It's Pet Airways, designed to fly your furry four-legged friends across the country in style and comfort. Launched this week, the airline consists of what are essentially private chartered jets with seats gutted out and replaced by kennels. You drop your pet off at the designated airports (in the pet lounge, swanky ooh lala), and trained pet attendants supervise your pet all the way from the time you drop them off until you pick them up at their destination. The animal never travels in cargo or under the seat, rather each animal has his/her own kennel space. Attendants check on the animals every fifteen minutes (supposedly) and during layovers will take them on short walks or litter breaks. Because the animals travel like human passengers, the company has made it possible for pets to travel at any time of the year. Previously, there were tons of restrictions on specific dates and times allowing animals to travel, due to the extreme and uncontrollable temperatures

Prices are virtually equivalent to, well, a human-priced ticket. But let me tell you, I know plenty of people who would pay double the price to make sure lil Sparky gets home safe. I would, for sure.

As much as I think this is a silly idea and an even sillier image in my head (mental picture: yorkshire terrier in the cockpit with a poodle as his co-captain), I've gotta hand it to the CEO for creating a business that will probably do extremely well.

Now Barnabas can come visit! He'd love the big city smells and big city dawgs, I think.

Happy Weekend!

I'm off to Maine to celebrate the 4th of July! Going to take a funcation with fun friends. Destination: Damariscotta; home to an annual rubber ducky race. How much more small-town-wholesome can it get?!

Keep your fingers crossed for sunny skies....

random picture found via kecute

DF

Went to dinner at Petite Abeille last night with Tanya and David, who are living in the city for the summer! Triple yay for excellent company, moules frites, and Chimay Red Ale. Yumyumyum!

You must be awfully confused right now. that picture above is OBVIOUSLY not of mussels nor fries nor any cute Belgian restaurant in NYC. What it is is a delicious-looking Taco stand in Mexico City. We started talking about Mexico City since that's where David grew up. Tanya and David have traveled there several times (but let's be real, where have they NOT traveled?), and mentioned that I would really love it there. After that, I did nothing short of invite myself to David's family's next Christmas get-together. Ooops, better dust off some of those high school Spanish textbooks. I've never been to Mexico City but have heard nothing but excellent things about the place- from it's native citizens as well as tourists who pass through. Everyone raves about how vibrant, how cultural, how bustling, how CHEAP! the city is...(Tanya really sold me on the $2 ceviches and guacamole)

It really got me thinking about my future travels, where I will go next and how long I will want to go for. That, and how I will fund the means to do so. Well flights to Mexico City are no more than $300 during off-peak season, so maybe you will see me there after the summer! A couple months in Mexico City to pass the cold NYC winter blues? I mean, porque no?

Image via Oishii Eats, one of my favorite LA foodie blogs!!

oh hi

I'm back in NY!

The month of May was a little crazy for me, I had my sister's graduation in Michigan, went home to San Jose & LA for 12 days, and then went to Toronto this past weekend for a Memorial Day getaway. I've been in New York for a total of about six days this month. Most of the time spent away from New York was also spent away from the computer, so my email and google reader are bulging at their unread seams, which drives me a little nuts-o. I also have two HUGE piles of laundry to do and a ton of mail to go through (ahem, a ton of magazines to read...) However because I am so so insanely tired and thankfully, unemployed, I am going to watch Da Vinci code right now, take a nap, and post some pics from my trips later this evening.

Oh, in the meantime here's a recipe for a delicious smoothie that I'm drinking right now:

3/4 cup carrot juice

3/4 cup vanilla soy milk

1/4 cup frozen peaches

1/4 cup frozen cherries or blueberries

Directions: Combine & blend, duh. This seriously makes the best-tasting homemade smoothie I'

ve ever had. The carrot juice makes it perfectly sweet, and the vanilla soy milk makes it slightly creamy. I think peaches and cherries/blueberries are the best combinations, but if you want to be gross and add bananas I won't judge you.

I use this nifty Cuisinart Smart Stick hand blender, it's one of my favorite appliances! Ahh, how I love versatility in a kitchen tool. (But, let's face it, every kitchen appliance is my favorite appliance...)

Street Signs

Made a trip out to Ann Arbor this past weekend for my sister's graduation. More about my crazy bout of nostalgia later. In the meantime...here is a sign I saw several times driving along the main roads of the city. You think it means you'll be fined $7,500 and receive 15 years in the slammer, or does the sign mean you may owe $7,500 or higher over 15 years, or maybe does it mean you pay $7,500 and more over the course of a 15 year period? I'm just sayin', if they bothered to put the sign up at all they really should clarify.

congrats V!!!!!!