Bowlmor

My friends and I are constantly looking for opportunities for fun activities close to home. What better way to spend an evening than with some old school bowling? White Plain Bowl has been replaced with bowling chain Bowlmor, and they are anything but old school.

We got there between 9 and 9:30 on a Saturday evening ( I was late, I swear I have no idea how this stuff happens) and waited until around 9:50. This wasn't great for those who were prompt and got there at 9, but it was better than expected. The staff behind the front desk takes your phone number and texts when a lane is open.  While you are waiting there is a lounge and arcade on the main floor and bars upstairs and down, with plenty of seating.

The bowling itself is exciting, with black lights, neon balls and pins, and huge TV screens at the ends of the lanes.  If you are looking for a night laughing over your gutterballs and jumping up and down at your strikes, all the while bopping about to the (LOUD) music supplied by the DJ ensconced in his booth, this place is great.  If you are somewhat serious about your bowling (as some of my friends can be), you might not appreciate all the distractions.  That coupled with numerous dry spots on the lanes, can make some ten-pinners very aggravated.

Bowlmor serves a full menu with apps, burgers, sandwiches, salads and desserts, as well as, has a full bar.  While I did not eat a meal, I did get the Crab and Artichoke dip and am happy to report it was very scrummy.  My friends split nachos that had a weird aftertaste to them and a Death by Bacon burger, which was so huge, it couldn't be finished.  That plus two pitchers of beer and two pitchers of soda came to a whopping $112. I know bowling alleys tend to hit you up, much like movie theaters, but that was crazy!

Another cool thing about Bowlmor is that when you get your lanes, you are basically starting a tab. They take your credit card to hold the lane and you play as many games as you want.  When you're done, you come back to the desk and can decided to pay using the card, or cash, or separate the check by person.  The only thing that would have made the processes even easier was if our food bill could have been taken care of at the same time. We had to wait for our server to get us the check and then come back with change/credit card recipes. Either he was busy or slow, because it took a while.

Now, the cost.  Bowlmor is definitely higher priced than your average bowling alley.  Two games, plus shoe rentals came to about $26 a person.  That in itself is not so bad but, coupled with the outrageous gouging from food and drinks makes Bowlmor a pretty expensive night.  I can see us returning as a once in the while event, but we simply cannot afford to be regulars.

The Girls

Bowlmor Lanes

47 Tarrytown Rd.

White Plains, NY 10607

(914) 948-2677

www.bowlmor.com/white-plains/

Witching Savannah

Last summer, I went on a family vacation to Savannah, Georgia. We were in Atlanta for my cousin's wedding and couldn't pass up the opportunity!

Savannah is a beautiful city, and while some areas can be a bit dicey - the historic district is safe and beautiful. Plus, it is totally legal to drink on the streets!

Not to mention Riverboat Cruises!

Savannah is a city set up around 24 squares that make for a perfect place to play or relax and add a sense of green tranquility that many other cities just do not have. 

Savannah is extremely rich in history and is often called the most haunted place in America. Souls of Native American Indians, slaves, Confederate soldiers and rum-runners jostle against modern day victims of crime and murder and Average Joes who just couldn't bear to leave.

The aura of the unknown, the magic of Hoodoo and the obsession of the macabre have lent itself to Savannah literature.

The famous novel, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt about the murder of Danny Hansford by Jim Williams and the famous murder trials that occurred thereafter (it reads more like a travelogue than a murder mystery - for the record) is one such example that most people think of to get a feel of the spirit of Savannah.  I have recently found another...

The Witching Savannah series ( The Line, The Source, The Void ) use the otherworldliness of Savannah as an appropriate backdrop to an interesting series about witches that does not follow the usual overdone tropes, thereby creating something fresh.

Mercy Taylor has thought of herself all her life as being the dud of the family, the "disappointment".  Her twin sister has all the magic, all the glory and all the love, especially that of Jackson, the boy Mercy's heart calls out for.  When the matriarch of the witchy family dies, someone must take her place to keep the line between worlds in place; keeping the demons at bay.

I have finished the first novel in the series ( The Line ) and have moved on to next ( The Source ).  If the second in the series has as many unexpected facets as the first, I'm sure I will be on to number three ( The Void ) in no time!

If you like the supernatural (especially in polite southern society) I would definitely pick this one up.  It will tide you over until you can take that trip to Savannah!

Say Cheese!

Easy Cheese Soufflé!

I am always looking for delicious recipes to try that are low in carbs and sugar, big on flavor and not a pain in the butt to make, so when I got it into my pretty little head to try a soufflé, I was already bracing myself to go above my usual effort.

Searching Pinterest, I found many soufflé recipes, but all of them were either not carb free, I didn’t have the ingredients, or way too hard. So, I decided to mash a few recipes together and hope for the best. I fully expected a disaster. When it actually came out amazing, I knew I had to share it with the world! I give you: The Easiest Soufflé Ever*!

*according to me

Now, we all know from Audrey Hepburn’s Sabrina, that if you are sad, so too will be your soufflé, so make sure there is some pep in your step and light in your life*

*good food, exercise and a healthy amount of wine is a winning formula!

Baring that, there are some vital tips that can help your soufflé stay afloat:

1. Make sure your oven is full preheated before cooking. I give it 20 minutes before I even begin prepping my soufflé.

2. Once that bad boy is in the oven, DO NOT open the oven door for 20 minutes.

3.Make sure everything is SUPER clean before using.

4. Above all, be gentle.  Most of your soufflé will depend on the air pockets from the eggs whites.  Don’t pop them!

INGREDIENTS:

2Tbsp of butter (plus some to coat the ramekin) - I use KerryGold

1/4 c. parmesan (plus some to dust the ramekin)

4 thin slices of Swiss cheese

1 Tbsp of a soft cows’ milk cheese (you can also use goat cheese or cream cheese)

2 eggs separated

1/2 c. heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Any herbs you love - I used chives.

PROCEDURE:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 20 minutes.
2. Coat ramekin in butter and dust with parmesan cheese (my ramekin is about 5inches in diameter.)
   
3. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan.
   
4. Add cream and whisk together. Let the mixture come to a boil for about a minute (watch, it can overflow quickly). Then, remove from heat.
5. Add your cheese a small amount at a time, whisking until it is fully melted. In addition to Swiss and Parmesan, I used this awesome soft cows' cheese from Betty Acres Farms. Check them out!
6. Once the cheese is melted, add in the egg yolks one at a time, whisking in between each. Add in your pepper and herbs. Set aside.
   
7. In a SUPER clean bowl, blend egg whites and 1/8tsp salt until soft peaks form. Make sure no liquid is hiding beneath the foam.
   
   
   
8. Take a scoop of the egg whites and mix it into the yolk/cheese mixture.
9. Add 1/2 the yolk mixture back into the egg whites and fold GENTLY to combine before adding the rest and GENTLY folding again.  Do not over mix
10. Bake for at least 20 minutes and DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT open that oven door until 20 minutes have passed. Just walk away!
    
11. Serve warm and enjoy!

Remember: Food (even something as finicky as soufflé) is not an exact science and taste is KING. Add the amount and variety of cheese and spices/herbs that appeal best to you. I basically used what I had in the house - so that works too.

Please let me know how you like the recipe and drop me a comment (or picture!) telling me about your results!

Wobble Cafe

I know, I know! Bad blogger! I haven't posted in almost a month, with no real good excuse besides the fact that life has been busy and I have been hibernating! Frigid temperatures in New York make it difficult for anyone to muster any motivation.

I have also started a new diet: The Ketogenic Diet.  It is a low carb, high fat diet in which your body enters Ketosis (not to be confused with Ketoacidosis - which is bad) and burns fat instead of calories. If you are intrigued I would suggest reading up on it here: A Beginners Guide to the Keto Diet. As such, I will be posting some awesome recipes for you all to try soon!

Now that I have given my excuses, I can get on with the intended restaurant review! The Wobble Cafe in Ossining, NY is a well know cute little spot. When my friend and her 18 month daughter wanted to meet up for lunch, we agreed on the super child friendly Wobble Cafe.

T and I are both teachers and we, luckily, had this week off, but she is an overachiever (!) and went in to do some test prep, so we met up at around 3pm for a late lunch.

The cafe was completely dead when we went in and it seemed like they were doing some sort of set up or remodeling towards the front, so we took a seat in the back next to the handy children's play area. Little L played while we got in some gossip and ordered our food.

Since I am doing my low - carb diet, and had already eaten an omelet that morning, I was somewhat sad looking at all the delicious sandwiches and paninis on the lunch menu. When I shared my dieting dilemma to the waitress, she pretty much told me they would make me whatever I wanted! That is amazing! That is what makes this place awesome, the fact that they feel like a local cafe where everything has a personal touch. They were also incredibly understanding when Little L's lunch ended up all over the table!

All this was only $8!

I ordered the turkey and brie panini, minus the bread and they even offered to put it over greens for me! Perfect! The brie was yummy, the turkey, while sliced like deli meat, didn't have that artificial taste of deli meat, and the greens were a perfect mix of different leaves, onions, radishes and tomatoes (with one large cucumber slice to boot!). In fact, there was so much salad on the plate, I wasn't able to finish it.

Orange finger paint. Right?

On the menu, they have a "Kids' and Small Bites" menu, which T and I thought was nice. Often times adults don't want a whole meal, but the kids' menu is off limits.  This allows us to get a PB&J every once in a while! T ordered Little L the cheese fondue! Sounds fancy, and to some degree, for a child, it was! The waitress brought out a bowl of nacho-esque cheese over a little candle (not lit) and a variety of dippers including: chicken fingers, pretzel sticks, french fries and veggies.

Little L went nuts for it! She starting out dipping in quite a refined matter before giving in to the cheese's spell and sticking her whole hand into the cheese, licking it off finger by finger! When she was full, she proceeded to let out her inner artist and finger paint the table top with the gooey orange stuff. The waitress, without even having to be asked, brought us over some wipes to clean Little L up and never once gave the slightest stink eye to the mess (which we did clean up!).

All in all, I would highly recommend Wobble Cafe (something locals would definitely agree with me on), especially, if you have children.  It was dead when we got there, but I can image the wonderful chaos of a Saturday morning, with parents sipping coffee as kids make new friends in the play area. Sounds perfect.

The Wobble Cafe
21 Campwoods Road, Ossining, NY 10562
(914) 762-3459

Wobble Website

Little Pub

This past week I contacted some of my friends to do a little lunch meet up.  Tammy was coming from Stamford, so we decided to meet halfway somewhere around Greenwich.  Tammy, being the well informed woman of the world that she is suggested Little Pub in Cos Cob, CT. 
"It will change your life," I was assured.  I left (late), hoping she was right.

I arrived in snow flurries to the mandatory valet.  The lot is small and it is probably best that they have some people in charge of maneuvering all those fancy Greenwich cars, but I have to admit I was a bit embarrassed at the state of the inside of my car.

The pub is part bar, part dining room. When you walk in you are greeted by a warm double sided fire separating the front entrance and dining room. We were there for lunch on a Monday, but school was out, so the place was packed with friends, couples and cute little families.

As I mentioned, I was late and Tammy and Melissa had already ordered and been served some Santa Fe Egg Rolls. Lucky for me, they are good friends and saved me one!

The egg rolls were crunchy with a spicy chicken that slightly sneaks up on you. I especially loved the mild heat of the cilantro-chipotle dip that was served along side it.

Next to come out was the Crispy Eggplant Frites.  For me, these were the life changers I was promised! They had the tasty crisp of French fries, dusted with Parmesan cheese, but were so light that I could have happily eaten a whole plate to myself and bathed in the garlic aioli accompaniment! These frites took away all the heavy guilt that often comes with French fries. Healthy and light! Win-win.

I asked the waitress to help me choose between the Ahi Tuna tacos or the Food Truck fish tacos. She pointed out that the Food Truck fish tacos would be more filling, and I went for those. The fish tacos were standard fare, good pieces of fried cod with a cilantro-green onion slaw for crunch and a picante chipotle aioli. I, personally, am a huge fan of cabbage, and would have liked the extra crunch it added.

Tammy got the sliders, which looked a little lonely on their plate, but since I was not there when she ordered, I'm not sure if she requested it that way. Melissa, being the health conscious gal that she is, ordered a chopped Cobb salad with grilled chicken. It was a really nice size salad and she was very pleased with it.

We stayed and chatted for a bit after our food was finished and never felt rushed, despite the fact that the dining room was full.  I appreciated this. No one likes a restaurant that is all business and none of the homey comfort of a meal with friends or family, and I am happy to report that Little Pub was a very welcoming and filling lunch.

Little Pub Greenwich
531 East Putnam Ave.
Cos Cob, CT 06807
(203) 717.1147

The Girl of Fire and Thorns

It's OK to love YA, and believe me, I do. While I also read a lot of adult fiction, young adult novels hold a special place in my heart. Maybe it's because I am a teacher of young adults, maybe it's because I never truly grew up, but either way the themes of rebellion and finding your own way just appeal to me.

My past two days (work days, I might add!) have been spent fully immersed in the world of Rae Carson's The Girl of Fire and Thorns. Now I'm an avid reader, but 423 pages in two days is not a feat I have accomplished recently, and this is a true testament to the riveting nature of this novel. I am late to the game as this novel came out in 2012.

Elisa is a relatable protagonist and reluctant heroine in this fantasy novel of God's blessing, sorcery and warfare. She bears the Godstone embedded in her navel (my one complaint about this story - I couldn't get Troll dolls out of my head!) as a sign that she is the one chosen once in a century for a service for God.  Don't be put off by the religious aspects of this book. While religion is a strong presence in the novel, it never becomes preachy; a difficult accomplishment.

There is a lot of back and forth of her finding her way to what she can identify as her personal service.  All along the way every group she encounters believe that the service they require is the one destined by God. This can be seen as an eerie parallel to some groups around the world today.
Elisa is a dynamic character who elicits a sad sort of pity from the reader before her transformative journey, causing the reader to transition along with her, finally resting with a warm glow in their center at novel's end. She is definitely a strong female character that will rate up there with some the reader's favorites.

Just found out this novel has a sequel! I'll be back eventually...

Eggs in Purgatory

A new year means a renewed attempt to be good; or as good as I'm going to get! For me, this means a renewed attempt to save money and improve my health (you know, just like everyone else)! No worries as to the fate of the blog, being good is only for week days!

One week day night, emboldened and a little tired from my recent trip to the supermarket, I thought I would indulge my love of all things eggy and bready and make the perennial favorite: Eggs in Purgatory!

My grandmother once told me that my this was my grandfather's favorite breakfast. Since he passed before I was born, it's good to know we have something in common.

Don't know how to make this easy dish? Keep on reading'!

Here is what you need. Remember cooking (especially Mediterranean) is not always an exact science. Ingredient quantities are all to taste:

Eggs - Can of finely diced tomatoes - Garlic (minced) - Butter - Olive oil (not pictured) - Parmesean Cheese (not pictured) - Red Pepper Flakes (or if you're me Good Grinder Mix) - Your favorite bread

Start with a good glug of olive oil in a hot pan. Add in a teaspoon full of minced garlic. Cook for about a minute, moving the garlic around as you do. 

Here you should also add the red pepper flakes, but I seriously love The All 'Round Good Grinder Blend from The Salt Table in Savannah, Georgia.  This stuff is seriously the whole spice cabinet in one grinder, but balanced in a way that makes it good on EVERYTHING. It contains Pink Himalayan Salt, three kinds of peppercorns and MANY other spices. I love it especially on eggs and potatoes.

Don't worry if you burn the garlic a little ( I did!); it still tastes awesome. Quickly add the can of diced tomatoes. I like my tomatoes a little chunky, but if you prefer you can use crushed or pureed.

Once it is good and bubbly, crack your eggs right into the tomato sauce. sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the eggs and cover to cook the whites.  I used an oversized pot lid so that it vented and the condensation didn't drip down into the tomatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes or until your eggs are how you like them.

Once done, to make your life easier, serve by placing the whole pan on some trivets in the center of the table. If you're sharing, everyone can spoon some onto their plates or if you're not, just get stuck in with some yummy buttered bread!

There it is! An easy breakfast (or in my case dinner), full of protein, lycopene and vitamins. The whole pan is only about 400 calories total (with three eggs and sauce) before bread.

Yum!