Marc... her story thus far!

Late afternoon on May 26th, 2006, Ralf gave birth to a tiny (a wopping 75 pounds) filly. I didn't know what to expect with this foal; it was my first. I don't even think Ralf knew what to expect.

When I saw her for the first time, I thought, "she's brown". Her mother, a beautiful gray, and her father a gray as well. How could this be? My second thought "she's crazy skinny".

When our vet came out to check her later that day he told my father in private that she was an at risk foal. If she could get through her first 72 hours she would make it, but he didn't think her chances where all that great.

We noticed that one of her back ankles wouldn't flex properly when she would try to stand. She was not moving any bowls, Ralf wasn't letting her nurse right away and the vet saw that one eye had a cloudiness to it. This little girl was not entering the world with her best foot forward. 

I vividly remember telling my dad that if she didn't make it, I would NEVER breed again!

After lots of prayer and constant surveillance, Marc saw her third day! When the vet came back, he couldn't see anything unique about her eye and her ankle had full movement. She was a scrawny thing, but she was going to make it.

 

Marc got her name from the scripture Mark 5:41. Talitha Cumi (her registered name), were the words that Jesus said to a twelve year old girl who was thought to be dead by her parents. And yet, after He told her to arise, she got up and walked. 

Marc despised storms, or rain for that matter. She was small enough that she could use her mother as an umbrella. 

Four years and a few months later, Marc is 15 hands (last we checked) and doing superbly under saddle. She is in training with a wonderful trainer in Georga, Dale Brown. He has an enormous amount of patience for Marc and myself, which is a huge blessing.

All in all, my "at risk foal" has proved quite a few people wrong :-)

I'm not sure what's in store for Marc and myself, but, I do know that with the challenges that we have overcome and the legacy that we both carry of Ralf, it doesn't really matter what we do. Ralf will be proud as long as we are staying true to who we are and enjoying every day that we are blessed with.

Sunday Bagel

It's always great to start your day with a huge carb high! These bad boys came from H & H Bagel. Blueberry (left) is eating Cinnamon Raisin (right). Scot and I were fortunate enough to find a shaded bench to sit and nosh our bagels and orange juice. These bagels are heavenly; soft and doughy on the inside and slightly tough on the outside. Perfect! I will put this on my "go to again" list. 

Right across from H & H Bagel is the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. 

When you're a tourist in New York City, you have to do the touristy things like look out over the city as if you were King Kong. Scot and I chose the Rockefeller Center (also called "Top of the Rock) to view the city from a measly 850 feet above the streets. I say measly because if you visit the  Empire State Building you will be standing 1,224 feet above the city. But, we wanted to look out over Central Park and also see the Empire State Building from up high. 

You can buy vouchers online and receive tickets once you get there. This puts you at the front of the line, sorta wish we had done that. We got shot to the top in an elevator with eleven others and stepped out to see this. I believe it's worth standing in line.

The Empire State Building & the beautiful Statue of Liberty that you can barely see

I never realized the size of Central Park until Scot and I rode bikes through less than a 1/4 of it. Scot finagled the price of renting two bicycles for one hour down to $10 each. I must say he was quite proud of himself! This was an adventure... Central Park is pretty busy on a sunny weekend with runners, walkers, bicyclists, parents with their children and dogs with their owners. Our bicycles were not top notch! I say that with a smile on my face, but seriously, my brakes wouldn't work and, oh, did I mention, it was a kids bike. I know I'm vertically challenged, but still, a little boys bike that doesn't stop is a tad scary. All in all it was fun and we will explore all of Central Park next time we are in the city. We'll have a better set of wheels the next go around. 

Sunny Saturday in NYC

Brunch is wonderful in the city, but Scot and I wanted to get out and about much earlier than brunch. Today, we did breakfast at Balthazar. As soon as I saw the red awning on the corner of Spring and Crosby I thought "French bistro." When you step inside you see small wooden tables speckling the floor. Some are nudged up to leather padded benches that wrap around the restaurant. Huge mirrors hang on the walls making the large dining room (very large for NYC standards) seem even more expansive.
Scot ordered an iced cappuccino and a roasted pepper and caramelized onion quiche. I stuck with the tried and true steel cut oatmeal with raisins.


After breakfast, we wondered around the SoHo area slowly making our way south. I love New York City for the fact that if you meander down streets, you will most definently find a gem of a store or restaurant. I found Tierra, an adorable store with wooden doors that are open to the street. Walking in, you step up onto a wooden floor and are greeted by the most friendly ladies who offer you a complimentary hand made flower. The store is very narrow, but holds a huge assortment of hand made jewelry, hair accessories, leather items and other nic-nacs. I ended up with a bracelet and a ring. Scot on the other hand went to the other end of the spectrum and got a little magnetic rooster (he's calling it a cock).  

On our way south, we walked by a police station! How cute is he?

Scot noticed a bike shop and wanted to check it out. I don't think many people opt for a unicycle in the city. Notice the man with the gaping mouth behind Scot? The guy at the bike shop also said that there are just a few unicyclists that ride around the city. 

On the first trip to NYC, we walked by the World Trade Center. During this visit, we took the time to walk through the church that was directly opposite of the Towers, Trinity Wall Street. It was the refuge for the men and women who worked tirelessly during the tragedy of 9/11. From it's beginning in 1696, this adorable stone church has witnessed an enormous amount of history.

Living in Nashville, TN during the September attach on the US was like living a world away. I heard stories and saw pictures and videos on TV, but nothing struck me quite as hard as walking around the church. Seeing photos such as these and reading the timeline of the horrific event pricked my heart in a way that is hard to describe.

I must say, Americans are resilient! I believe it comes from being a nation that is formed from immigrants that have had to triumph over difficult obstacles. 

Scot and I forged south to Battery Park. We wanted to take the tour of the Statue of Liberty, but the line was obscenely LONG! I was being a complete pansy about the heat and getting on Scot's last nerve, so we hailed a cab up to Union Square.

The wildlife that is wondering around Battery Park.

Stopping off at Whole Foods for dinner has become a ritual with us. We ate some healthy fare and headed home.

Fiesta & Poached Eggs

Chef Barbara (I enjoyed her demos the most) presented a vegetarian fiesta meal... black bean enchilada, guacamole and a green salad with jicama.

I've never been a fan of Mexican cuisine (ironic since it's in my ancestry). But what I love about this cooking class is that it's causing me to be much more open minded with food. I have eaten and enjoyed so many different foods that I have always been afraid to try. 

I say that, and then comes the part where I tell you I made a beautiful poached egg (Julia Child would be so proud) but I couldn't bring myself to eat it.

I'll keep eating my eggs scrambled with onions and sprinkled with chives. 

Tonight, Scot and I had dinner at Tartine. It's a small French bistro located on an adorable corner in the West Village. 

We chose to sit outside because the temperature was gorgeous once the sun set.

We ordered their spicy chicken and puff pastry cream chicken. 

Of course, we had to get dessert. Dark and white mouse chocolate for Scot and tarte tatin a la mode for me.

Leisurely walking through the West Village on our way home was so wonderful. There are moments here in New York that I wish would last forever. But, soon after, we walk by a mound of trash bags on the edge of the sidewalk and it totally killed the mood!

Goodnight.

Sushi

I'm weird when it comes to food texture. The thought of eating sushi has always given me the creeps. But, today was sushi day and I made my own roll. This was a vegetarian roll: tempeh, green beans, carrots and avocado.

I lightly drizzled tamari sauce and shoved it in my mouth... 

Chew, chew, chew. My first thought was that the nora maki was a bit rubbery. Chew, chew, chew. Second thought. I really should have cut these into smaller pieces. Insane chipmunk cheeks. Chew, chew. Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Chew, chew, chew - gulp. 

I'll be making vegetarian rolls when I get home!

Vegan Pesto, Anyone?

Today I had breakfast with a friend from class. She had lived in New York before moving to Qatar with her husband. We found a deli close to school where we sat and chatted for a while.

We learned knife skills in class. Chef Demar (my first chef at Sullivan University, where I did the baking and pastry program) would have been so proud of me. I kept bear claw the whole time and had such symmetrical cuts.

Our menu for lunch consisted of cannellini-escarole soup, toasted baguette with pesto, tricolore salad with lemon shallot dressing and strawberries with balsamic vinegar. I'm not the biggest fan of soup, so I wasn't that impressed with ours, but the baguette and pesto were absolutely divine. I will certainly be making this recipe when I get home.

The vegan pesto was so good that I couldn't get a before picture. Everyone at the table dove in right away!

For dessert, we had fresh strawberries with reduced balsamic vinegar.

Scot and I had already planned on doing a spin class, so around 6 o'clock, we headed down the street to the gym. I didn't enjoy this spin class as much as I remember liking them at the YMCA. There is a gym in New York that specializes in cycling called "Soul Cycle". I would love to try a class there sometime. What makes a spin class fun and such a great workout is the vibe you get from the instructor and the energy from the other riders in the class.

Crawling into bed listening to sirens outside, how NYC is that?

Natural Gourmet Institute

There is such diversity among the twenty students taking the summer intensive class at The Natural Gourmet Institute. From a local that lives on the upper east side of Manhattan, to a previous New Yorker who is now living in Qatar. New Zealand, Brazil, Spain, West Africa, Jersey, Miami and a few from Westchester, NY sum up the rest.

I've noticed that the majority of us (all women, the Chef said that it's never been only women before) are here for our own personal benefit. Second, to see if this is an area of interest for a career.

Meet Chef Judith Friedman

Our menu consisted of spiced chickpea-tomato stew with spinach, brown basmati rice, romaine salad with tahini dressing and, to end with a sugar buzz, a peach blueberry crisp.

                                      

Today was rice and bean day. I've learned a few useful tips (you don't learn this stuff in a baking and pastry program) when it comes to cooking these two staples.

Tip 1.  Soak beans in cold water overnight. The next morning drain and rinse with fresh cold water. You may begin cooking the beans in a pot of fresh cold water. I always knew this was important, but never understood the health reasons behind it. Once the phytic acid is released and drained from the soaking, your body can absorb the vitamins and minerals much better.

Tip 2.  You can quick soak, if you don't have 8 hours to soak the beans. Place your beans in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Let boil for about two minutes, then turn the heat off and cover with a lid. Leave the beans covered for an hour. Drain and restore beans with cold water. You are then ready to start cooking the beans in cold water.

Tip 3.  Dry toasting your rice before cooking it in hot water will give you nice fluffy rice, and who doesn't love good fluffed rice?

Tip 4.  Another way to help get fluffy rice is to add the hot rice (from the dry roasting) to the simmering water.


There is an hour break after lunch, and since our apartment is only a few blocks away, I walked back to check on Scot. He was having a rough day to say the least. I made him lunch and headed back to class.


The East Village is NYU college town. It's home to pubs, bars and small restaurants. It's not exactly my favorite part of town, but I wanted to take Scot to Crif Dogs. Scot ordered a chihuahua and a spicy red neck.

A chihuahua is a bacon wrapped dog with avocado and a smear of sour cream. And the spicy red neck is another bacon rapped dog with chili, cole slaw and jalapenos.

I opted for the tsunami dog, a bacon wrapped dog (do you see the trend?) with teriyaki, pineapple and green onion. It was so good!

Must have the after shot.

Just a few buildings down from Crif Dogs is a bakery that I wanted to check out. Whole Earth Bakery is owned by a husband and wife. It's a vegan bakery and a vegetarian kitchen. When Scot and I walked in the door, the owner (a cute elderly gentlemen with a hearing aid) was there to greet us with a smile, ready to answer any of our questions. After talking for a bit, I ordered a chocolate chip cookie and the fruit cobbler. Scot got a mango smoothie.

The cobbler was amazing, and Scot's smoothie was delicious. We walked our 2 miles back to our place and called it a night.