conversationswithnancy

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delicious!!!! amazing pop of colors and a beautiful blend of crunch (popped rice on the salmon and pickled daikon), texture (creaminess from the avocado), and taste (savory, spicy, sweet). 10/10 would get it again #mealpal #mealpass #sushiteria #nyclunch #spicysalmonricebowl @sushiterianyc

#spicysalmonricebowl #mealpass #mealpal #nyclunch #sushiteria

[conversationswithnancy]

WWW: If you could give five words of advice (or less) to female entrepreneurs what would it be?  MK: No is a full sentence.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen on Their Elizabeth and James Store Opening | WhoWhatWear (via arabellesicardi)

I don’t know much about the Olsen twins but this is a great line... “No is a full sentence.” YES. I need to remember that every day.

#feminism #feminist

[conversationswithnancy]

MealPass Review - Sushi-teria’s Tuna Tataki Rice Bowl

I chose Sushi-teria’s tuna tataki rice bowl for lunch and this was one of the most colorful lunches I have ever seen. The combination of the seared tuna, beautifully presented veggies, and sprinkled seaweed made for a very eye catching lunch. 

Here’s what I picked from the site:

There were additional instructions that this place was inside the Empire State Building; it’s one of the restaurants underneath, on the ground floor, and there is an external entrance/door for Sushi-teria. So you’re not actually entering the Empire State Building. 

The pick up experience - Sushi-teria had signs advertising their poke bowls and also Pokemon Go; if you showed them your app and your team (Team Valor, the red team), they would give you a free salad. I think I’ll use that next time :) 

The front/ordering area had samples of their rice bowls and the chef was making a few tuna bowls when I went to the front of the line. I told the lady that I was picking up my MealPass lunch. Everything was ready to go in a bag and I walked back out into the blazing sun towards my office.

The bag included the tuna rice bowl, chopsticks (and a toothpick in the chopsticks wrapping!), sauce, and a napkin. 

The tuna tataki rice bowl had seared tuna w/ wasabi citrus, avocado, oshinko, red & green peppers, edamame salad, alfalfa sprouts on sushi rice with paprika aioli on the side. [this description was taken from their site and I can confirm that it was all there]  

look at those colors! I was ready to dig in. 

Taste-wise: my first bite of this invovled a bite of the seared tuna and some seaweed and rice. It was good...but not that good. So I looked around to see if I was missing anything - and I was! I took that container of paprika aioli sauce (I just think of it as spicy sauce) and drizzled some around. Took another bite and mmmm...yep that was delicious. So if you try this rice bowl, always make sure to add the sauce! 

Also, this bowl was super filling. There was a lot of rice underneath all those toppings and although this isn’t the best photo, here’s a visual of the rice:

Final Assessment:

Sushi-teria’s Tuna Tataki Rice Bowl: 5/5 [definitely adding this to the MP rotation]

Would I order this again? Yes!

*I looked at Sushi-teria’s ordering site and this same bowl is sold for $12.95! I would call this a major win for ordering through MealPass. 

#mealpass #mealpassnyc #mealpass review #sushi-teria #tuna tataki

[conversationswithnancy]

MealPass Review - Nic & Dora’s Mortadella and Giardiniera

Second MealPass meal!

I know nothing about Italian cold cuts so when picking this sandwich, I had no idea whether “mortadella” or the “giardiniera” meant the meat/protein part of the sandwich. I selected this sandwich based on the photo (I love color in my food) and the fact that I had always wanted to try this sandwich shop. It’s only a few blocks away from work and the Yelp reviews, though limited, were pretty positive. 

I picked up my sandwich at 1:50PM - restaurant had one person eating there, so I went straight up to the bartender/register area and the lady handed me my paper bag with the sandwich. In and out within 30 seconds, pretty cool. 

Here’s the sandwich that was posted on MealPass:

(This is the page that you are immediately brought to after selecting your sandwich)

I opened up my paper bag in the office and pulled out a plastic container that contained:

One sandwich, check. 

Correction: one oily sandwich...check. 

My first impression of the sandwich was “great, can’t wait to try this!” Then when I picked up the sandwich and saw all the oil dripping down to cover the bottom of the plastic container and the bottom of the sandwich, I was less than thrilled. I got this sandwich so that I could eat at my desk and having to wipe my fingers every time I put down my sandwich was ...not the best. I actually ended up wiping down my entire desk when I was finished, because the oil was smearing onto my desk.

Taste-wise - again, let me say that I am not an expert on Italian cold cuts. I did a little research and learned that mortadella was the meat part, and that it was “only made from very finely minced high quality pork and cubes of fat “sprinkled” inside.” That sure sounds classy...unfortunately I thought it tasted like baloney/bologna. (To be fair, wikipedia says that mortadella comes from Bologna, Italy.) The last time I ate bologna was in my high school cafeteria, and it didn’t taste good then either. 

Moving on to the “giardiniera” part - in this case, marinated/pickled veggies such as cauliflower, bell pepper, onion, and celery. Here is the cross-section:

(you can see the oil on the bottom of the bread in this shot)

The veggies were pretty good! Sour, and adding another layer of flavor to the meat and the bread. I would definitely like to try these veggies on their own next time. 

Final Assessment:

Nic & Dora’s Sandwich Shop, Mortadella & Giardiniera: 2/5 [I finished it, but I didn’t like it]

Would I order this again? No

*Overall, I would like to try Nic & Dora’s again, just not this particular sandwich. Looking forward to seeing what other options they will offer on MealPass!

#mealpass #mealpassnyc #nic & dora's sandwich shop #mortadella #giardiniera #mealpass review

[conversationswithnancy]

#mealpass time! #sushiteria tuna tataki rice bowl 😋😋 #lunch

#lunch #mealpass #sushiteria

[conversationswithnancy]

MealPass Review - Van Diemen’s Quinoa Salad

A bit of background here - I first heard about MealPass when it first launched in NYC a few months back, but only started looking into it a week or so ago, when I saw the little “MealPass” sign at one of my daily go-to lunch spots, Luu’s Baguette. Curious after seeing people skip the line and pick up their order from the front, I went online and signed up to get an invite for MP. I mean, if I could get the same meal for $6.53 (not including taxes and fees, and specifically for the 12 meals a month plan), AND they had restaurants that I already went to, then why not? My lunch at Luu’s was always $8.66 and if signing up for MP meant I could save time and a few dollars along the way, then I was game. 

 Fast forward to today, where I picked up my first MealPass lunch at Van Diemen’s. I got their Quinoa Salad, which has grilled chicken, grilled zucchini, tomatoes, quinoa, arugula, cranberries tossed in light lemon vinagrette. 

This is what I selected on the website:

And this is what I got:

Lunch was ready to be picked up - I went straight to the register and told them I had a MealPass order. It was ready to go in a plastic bag.

Lots of arugula and quinoa, with chicken and hidden pieces of grilled zucchini, tomatoes, and cranberries throughout.

I was initially worried that restaurants would pull a bait-and-switch scenario or provide less food for MealPass people but that was not the case here - the lunch looked similar to the photo and the salad was filling and super tasty! Greens were lightly coated with lemon and I did not think the sauce was too heavy. The cranberries added a bit of sweetness to the meal and there were a lot of chicken for protein. 

Final Assessment

Van Diemen’s Quinoa Salad: 4/5 

Would I order this again? Yes 

#mealpass #mealpassnyc #lunch #quinoa salad #Van Diemen's #mealpass review

[conversationswithnancy]

mt beacon reservoir and the little animals in the water! #mtbeacon #hiking

#hiking #mtbeacon

[conversationswithnancy]

jalapeño harvesting time! corking (white lines) shows maturity and spiciness 🌶 more veggies in progress - tomatoes, basil, lettuce, arugula, and spinach! summer is off to a great start 😎thanks #SeedsNow #indoorplants #indoorgarden #diy

#indoorgarden #indoorplants #diy #seedsnow

[conversationswithnancy]

got to see some cute deers right in a NJ backyard! #nature #deers #Bambi

#bambi #deers #nature

[conversationswithnancy]

new design! black bead strands with a tri colored strand in the center #diyjewelry #diynecklace #artsandcrafts #bohochic

#artsandcrafts #diyjewelry #bohochic #diynecklace

[conversationswithnancy]

1 necklace, 3 ways! 

#diy #diyjewelry #Arts and Crafts #diy necklace

[conversationswithnancy]

took apart a broken bracelet and "freshened" the look! Bead twists with a wavy jade bead accent, finished with a flower box clasps. thoughts? #diy #diyjewelry #diybracelet

#diyjewelry #diy #diybracelet

[conversationswithnancy]

getting back into the swing of #diy #diyjewelry making - here's a braided necklace with a cute snap button clasp! #beads #braidednecklace

#braidednecklace #diyjewelry #beads #diy

[conversationswithnancy]

A delicious, filling, and easy-to-make salad!

As the temperature begins to warm up here in Hong Kong, I've been seeing more and more fruit options available at the wet markets and supermarkets. This is great news for me - I'm a fruit foodie (a fruitie?) - and tonight, I got to put apple, mango, and strawberries into my dinner salad! In addition to fruit, I also tossed in some chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) and its nutty texture really added to the flavor profile. Bonus: This salad was enough for two so you can set aside half the fruit toppings to use for tomorrow's breakfast yogurt or lunch salad.

Without further ado, here are the ingredients from tonight's

Quick Toss Apple Mango Strawberry and Chickpeas Salad:

Serves 1

The base

- 30 g of salad mix (I used a combination of mizuna, spinach, tatsoi, and radicchio)

The toppings (technically, this is a two-person portion so I set aside half to use for later)

- 1 medium-sized apple, cubed

- 1 medium-sized mango, cubed

- a handful of strawberries (I used 5 small & medium-sized ones), sliced

- 1/2 can of chickpeas, drained

Optional

- 1/4 cup of muesli (this will help absorb the fruit juices and dressing, plus up your fiber intake for the day)

- raw sunflower seeds/ raw almonds 

The dressing

- 1/2 lemon

- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

- salt, to taste (I didn't put any in, but it's up to you)

Method (approx. 20 mins: 15 mins of prep, 5 mins to combine ingredients)

1. Combine the cubed apple, mango, and strawberries in a medium bowl. Squeeze in the lemon juice, using your fingers to catch any seeds/pips. 

2. Cover the bowl and shake lightly. If only serving for 1, set aside half the fruit to use for yogurt or another salad. Drizzle some more lemon juice on whatever you will refrigerate so that it will stay fresh and not brown.

3. Toss in the chickpeas, salad mix and extra virgin olive oil. Also add in the muesli and nuts in this step.

4. Cover the bowl again and shake well. 

5. Voila! Now you can plate your lovely dinner salad or eat straight from the bowl. 

the vibrancy of the fruits and salad greens was a feast for the eyes!

* If you are interested in learning more about the varieties of salad greens, here is a visual guide to salad greens.

#health #diy #salad #fruit salad #mango #apple #strawberry #dinner #lunch #quick and easy #fitness

[conversationswithnancy]

Today's Jewelry Making Session - double the fun!

Made this for a friend of mine - turquoise stone with triple braided wood beads and a flower box clasp

And this one is a tri-colored bead setting with a parallel black bead stretch bracelet design

i really like the way the beads are catching the light!

Materials used:

- turquoise stone, wood beads, black beads, white beads, shiny beads

- .55mm wire

- .8 crystal plastic wire

- flower box clasp

- jump rings

- clamshell clasp

- side cutter, flat nosed and round nose pliers

Always looking forward to comments/suggestions!

#diy #diy jewelry #jewelry #bracelets #arts and crafts #beads

[conversationswithnancy]

Belated updating of my SE Asia adventures - Day 1

December 15th:

 The first day of this trip started off with a sprint to and throughout the airport - I barely made my 1045am flight to Bangkok because security at the departure gate could not read the QR flight code on my cellphone. I ran from Terminal 1 to the AirAsia counters in Terminal 2, and the support staff there said: "Well, we can't guarantee that you'll make your flight, but GOOD LUCK!" Thanks guys, thanks. -_-

 From there, I quickly went through immigration, which was a breeze because having a HKID allows you to go through an automatic checkpoint that takes 2 seconds. Yay! Then it was off to the shuttle train that brought me (back) to T1, and then a freaking shuttle bus to the actual departure gate because of course the AirAsia gate was in the middle of nowhere. Finally, finally, finally made it to the actual gate and the final boarding call is still flashing. Whew. Turns out I wasn't the only straggler and a few people were still running in after me. And amazingly, all of this occurred within a time span of 20 minutes.

 And of course, my first day of adventures does not end there. Rain is pouring down outside the plane so once I finally get myself situated (middle seat, of course), it's 1040 and the plane is supposed to leave in 5 mins. But it turns out we don't take off till 1125. Which honestly, I'm okay with because I'm just thanking my lucky stars that I managed to make it on the plane. But the best part? Turns out this will be the noisiest plane ride of all time. Is it because it's an AirAsia flight or an old plane, you ask? Nope! My seat is pretty darn comfortable and the plane itself doesn't look too shabby. Where is the noise coming from then? Why, it's the two children who just so happened to be sitting one row behind me. Non-stop chatter from Hong Kong to Bangkok - and the bonus was that if they ever so briefly stopped giggling or speaking in loud, loud, LOUD voices, the mainland Chinese couple two rows behind me would start their talking. Hence the noisiest plane ride of my life.

 Stay tuned for the next set of adventures from this two week trip!

#travel #asia #southeast asia

[conversationswithnancy]

handmade statement necklace inspired by Pixar's UP, with a slight twist. very fun to make, but it took much longer than i anticipated!

#diy #jewelry #necklace #up #pixar #diy jewelry #arts and crafts