Today during our Sunday chat, Corin surprised us all with his new trick. He started clapping on his own, and then with some prompting and encouragement from Mommy, Daddy and Auntie Jen (live, from New York!), he kept doing it! I had planned to teach him during the holidays, but he wasn’t feeling it then. Today, however, he’s quite proud of himself. Hopefully he’ll be able to perform for everyone when he’s at Tai Pau Pau’s this afternoon for his first Chinese New Year celebration! Yaaayyy!

As much as I love to try new restaurants and new cuisines (I live in NYC, after all!), I actually do love to eat at home. I shop at the farmers market for fresh, seasonal, local produce, and I supplement with other stuff from grocery stores. I find it difficult to create single serving portions, so there’s usually enough to last a few meals, which are good for weekday lunches at work. Most New Yorkers just pick up the phone and order delivery, but it’s quicker (and certainly much cheaper) to throw something together, even if it’s not something I’d necessarily serve friends or family.

So what do I eat when I’m home alone? Well, my simplest meals might be a bowl of tofu in broth, or soba, maybe tuna or sardine salad on crackers, a bowl of steamed or roasted veggies, or if  I’m feeling decadent, some cheese, crackers, and a glass of wine. But usually, I like to make a real meal. I’m talking soups, stews, or hearty salads. Most of the things I make are vegetarian. I’m currently reading Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, which inspired me to start this new blog series: Dinner for One. Here’s what I made for dinner tonight:

Spicy roasted butternut squash over quinoa, chickpeas and kale, with a dollop of fat-free Greek yogurt

And here are some other meals I’ve enjoyed recently. Winter means limited options if you try to eat mostly local and seasonal, though sometimes I cheat. I’ve been eating lots of root veggies, butternut squash, and beans and grains.

Smoked trout and green bean salad with mustard vinaigrette and a hard boiled egg

Winter veggie stew

Veggie tagine (cooked in the terra cotta tagine I picked up in Morocco!)

Fried egg over roasted green beans, topped with grated parmesan

Roasted butternut squash and black bean tacos, with homemade guacamole and fat-free Greek yogurt

My version of Maialino’s Uova al Contadino (roasted brussel sprouts, fried egg and grated parmesan)

Making dinner for yourself doesn’t have to be boring. Life’s short, treat yourself right and eat good food!

Corin called to wish me a Happy Chinese New Year and a Happy Valentine’s Day. This grin just melts my heart… he’s my favorite Valentine!

San nin fai lok! Gung Hay Fat Choi! This year, Chinese New Year fell on Valentine’s Day. The parade is typically held a week or so later, but on the first day of the new year, Chinatown is packed with revelers. On this gorgeous sunny day, my friend Paige and I ventured downtown to find colorful confetti, children throwing down poppers (traditional firecrackers are illegal in most cities now, due to fire hazard), shops decorated with tigers and lanterns, and lion dancers and drummers scaring off evil spirits in front of every shop to ensure a prosperous new year. It was quite festive! 

Lion dancing in front of the police precinct on Elizabeth St.

Many streets were absolutely packed with people.

Some of the confetti poppers contained little pink parachutes with red banners. I’m guessing the banners said something about good luck. Everyone was trying to catch them as they floated down from the sky.

Year of the Tiger

The streets were so colorful!

These used to scare me when I was a little kid.

We followed these lions down the street for a while and felt like we were part of a parade!

Corin’s first Super Bowl! He called to show me how he’s going to scream and yell at the TV, like the big boys do. Aaaaah!