Arepas! And Other Joyful Distractions

Looking back over the last few months I see that it was not all dinner parties and laughter, I got a bit down from time to time, there was just no one there to mirror it. (I think the tree falling in the woods fable applies to bad moods as well!) I suppose the only thing to do is talk something happy.

My recipe inspiration this week is the sweet corn arepa. You can't even say arepa without rolling your tongue and shaking your shoulders! ARRRREPA! Now that is a happy dish. The recipes are as easy as they are foreign, using methods I am not familiar with. I am eager to try this happy meal from South America and pair it with one of my best ever fusion dishes, the Thai chili green pea soup. Talk about an upgrade of the grilled cheese and tomato broth!

The sweet corn cakes with melted mozzarella playing of the delicate spiciness of the chili infused soup should be a symphony! Hopefully my nausea will not detract from the experience too much. Stress plays some evil games with me.

Masarepa or cooked corn flour is not as easy to come by as you might think. Even in New York it takes some investigation. I scanned the blogs and found out that a Gristedes in Chelsea sells the masarepa, so that is where I am headed after work. I think I will go from there down to Trader Joe's, finally looping back up to my little home in Murray Hill. A good walk through my city usually does wonders for my state of mind.

So tonight I will cook with global inspiration and then study global information. I need to get on my FSO preparation, the test is Thursday! Attitude is everything, and maybe half of attitude is happy distractions. Fuck it! What ever works right? My drill sergeants always said that if you fake a good attitude long enough it actually might start to stick. Maybe with the helpful distractions of ArrrepA!, and Thai chili and bun and perhaps one too many vino's, it will.

If at First You Don't Succeed; Try, Try Again

This week has not been my most successful. DeShon and I had a nice dinner last Monday with the EWI group at Yerba Buena. I met a strange and amusing man who owns and operates a ceviche bar and DeShon seemed to enjoy himself. After that things flat-lined a bit.

Our Sunday cooking event was cancelled, I tried to organize a wine tasting but no one, that's right, no one rsvp'd. I did not go to NJ with DeShon, I did not have drinks with any of my friends from work, I ate like crap and didn't even make a new recipe. Oh, and the apartment hunting was cut short by a bitchy broker who told us that there was nothing out there in our price range, despite their ads to the contrary.

But all was not lost. I discovered a new food at the Brooklyn Atlantic Ave street festival (a boring mess fyi) Arepas! I bought a hat at the vintage flea market, learned how to style my hair 40's style and I finished my law and food applications.

Still, it was not a great week. By Sunday I was feeling a bit depressed and psycho. Unfortunately, I took it out on D because he was there, poor bastard. What can I say? If I am unhappy it is much better for me to be alone. It feels odd being unhappy though, I had gotten to such a bright, positive place and the darkness doesn't suit me. It is hard having him home because it reminds me of the dark place I was in before and I am so afraid of going back.

Shine it on! Resilience is my longest running asset, so I best make use of it now. This week I am going to start it off with a bang! I am going to make Arepas and Spicy Green Pea Soup tonight! I am going to try to have drinks with Gus or MB, I need to study for FSO on Thursday, The Aunt is coming on Friday evening for dinner, the big 3 year anniversary is Saturday so we will be having a New York experience with either a Broadway or Burlesque Show, and there is an EWI cooking event on Sunday night.

Soooo, If all goes well, I will be cooking anew tonight, going for drinks on Tues or Wednes and studying, Going to dinner with Aunt on Friday, hitting the town with D. on Saturday and meeting up with my Foodie Friends on Sunday. Only 2-3 days out of 7 in the house. Not bad. Let's hope it goes well, because I don't think I can handle another bout of cabin fever!

This week I also need to really examine what makes me happy or at least content. I don't want to run from sadness, I want to avoid it all together. Just when you think you have it all figured out... Oh well, It is only week one of the new duo experiment, this is going to be a great week.