I know for some this will be controversial, but that makes zero difference to me.
As a child I remember a school trip, where we walked up all the stairs to the top. For a while it was almost impossible to even stand next to her. Now you can make plans to visit her.
I tell people the reason New Yorkers can see her so well is because she is on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. Of course, my friend Chela knows the technical details of the Supreme Court decision establishing jurisdiction, something about underwater or dry land was involved in there.
Where do you stand? Is she a Jersey girl, a New York landmark or (fill in the blank)?
This past Saturday, I spent the day with Ruby of Growing Up Blackxican. It was a mommys-only outing, and we giggled about all kinds of things. We walked and talked, spotting people and things that are so very “only in New York”, such as an extravagantly dressed man in the subway (we raised our eyebrows) and a truck full of antiques (we got photos).
What got my biggest laugh was this psychic’s signs – because “reader and advisor” are fancy words even before the font change. So I got this photo for Wordless Wednesday. How many mis-spellings can you find, aside from the one I copied?
You may not be a “free hound”, maybe that’s just me searching for deals. I can admit without hesitation that if something is no charge, gratis, zero dollars, I always want to try.
I have had the strawberry lemonade, even paid for it, and there is no bad time to have one. On a hot day .. it cools me down. On a cold day, it reminds me of warm tropical weather.
Today only, McDonald’s restaurants of the New York /New Jersey /Connecticut tri-state area issued a coupon for a free drink on Twitter. Print it here, and enjoy! I think it will go nicely with a Southwest salad.
A few weeks ago, McDonald’s of the New York /New Jersey /Connecticut tri-state area issued a coupon for a free drink on Twitter. Today they posted another one.
Print it here, and enjoy! Might I suggest an Asian salad with that?
Recently I spotted this window on the side of a certain building. Unfortunately, at the time I was sitting on a bus heading to New York. I told Lesli about it and kept annoying her, until we traveled there together.
We were walking the neighborhood, looking for the building, until I spotted it. Then came the dangerous part. I had to step off the curb, backwards, almost into traffic, while Lesli did the lookout thing and kept one hand on me. Next time we do this kind of thing, I plan to get video footage.
I keep imagining the other side of this window. Sometimes I look closer, and see reality. Other times I just fantasize. Sometimes we need to fantasize on Wordless Wednesday.
When Lesli and I were walking around West New York after our feast at Ranchito Victoria, we walked slowly. Mostly me walking slowly, because I needed to ease back into movement.
I can’t remember which house it was, that had this sign. I laughed and then took a photo before any pets could come out to prove whether the sign was accurate. Wouldn’t you? In any case, I want to share this for Wordless Wednesday.
A few weeks ago we attended the McDonald’s First Taste event in New York City. I picked up Lesli from school. When we first got to the restaurant Lesli and I sat in a quiet spot to eat an Asian Salad with grilled chicken (available for a limited time this summer), but pretty soon we caught on to where the action was happening: the Nugget Corner on the second floor.
This section of the restaurant had everything: comfy lounge chairs, sunlight, and quick access to the steps. When Lesli and I came over, the ladies were laughing and relaxing. Melanie’s baby sat quietly in his car seat, while she chatted with Jennifer, Johanna, Ruby and me. Lesli stayed nearby, and occasionally made fun faces at Ruby’s gorgeous daughter. I mean, really, have you seen this cutie?
We passed each other Mango Pineapple Smoothies, Premium Chicken Sandwiches and Chicken McNuggets with all the new sauces: Chipotle Barbecue (smoky with a kick), Creamy Ranch, Hot Mustard, Spicy Buffalo and Sweet Chili (jelly with flecks of spicy chili pepper) while waiting to interview the speakers. Chef Dan Coudreaut, Julia Braun and Sylvia Meléndez-Klinger were available to answer questions about these tasty new dishes. Chef Dan even did a cooking demonstration while he offered suggestions (use less oil) and answered questions for the entire group.
I sat with Sylvia Meléndez-Klinger, registered dietitian, to discuss the new menu items. This video starts right after I asked “what has been your involvement?” We go from there to talk about McDonald’s, nutrition and food, even our comments about the dreaded “D word” for Latinas and Latinos.
Now to the giveaway. Since Sylvia shared so much about how to balance calories, taste and eating out, I am asking you to go to McDonald’s website and Bag a McMeal. Then come back here, leave a comment detailing your meal. Was it breakfast, lunch or dinner? How many calories did you end up? Keep in mind U.S. Government guidelines recommend about 2000 calories per day for adults over age 18.
Five (5) winners will be selected at random, to win a goodie bag from McDonald’s. This black bag, with two pockets on the outside for “mobile” (cell phone) and “H2O” (water), comes packed with:
Tips and recipes from Chef Dan
A lavender scented satin eye mask
A pineapple scented soy candle
A mango scented soy candle
A bamboo and green pen
A green and black spiral notebook and pen set
A black balance bracelet
A $10 $25 (updated 5/25) Arch card (McDonald’s gift card)
Entries will be accepted until 11:59 Friday, June 17 and I will announce the winners by June 21.
Your mandatory entry, is a comment detailing your McMeal. For extra entries leave a comment after you:
follow @SKlingerRD (Sylvia Meléndez-Klinger) on Twitter
or subscribe to my e-mail newsletter (top left corner of this screen).
One comment counts as one entry. One bag per winner.
DISCLOSURE: The compensation level for this post is CL 10. Products or services were provided to OfeliaNJ to give away in a contest, and to keep for use or review.
A couple of weekends ago, as Lesli and I were walking and wandering the streets of West New York, New Jersey. As we made our way to Ranchito Victoria, we had to stop and stare at some unusual things. The transmission in the back of a truck caught Lesli’s eye. Then I pointed out, the truck was parked in front of a garage so it might be a potential replacement. Every so often we found another surprise.
One of the things that made me stop, stare and bring out the camera was this box. Don’t go thinking it’s a mailbox. Notice although the shape is exactly the same as mailboxes everywhere, the writing on this one tells you “NO MAIL”. And that’s why it’s my ww – Wordless Wednesday photo.
It was an unusually nice evening in April – clear skies, no rain or snow – when I met Sal at the Latism tweetup in New York. He wasn’t the only person I met (there was Angry Latino {who smiles}, and Corazon Tierra {who blogs and tweets about healthy bodies and self-esteem}, and so many others that escape my memory right now). But Sal told me his family owns a Mexican /Salvadoran restaurant and bakery. You may have guessed by now, it doesn’t take much convincing for me to try a new food, or food combination. The idea of a multi-Latino meal was enough to get my interest.
When Mothers Day weekend rolled around it was time to make this a reality. Lesli and I left home on a sunny Saturday and made the trip to West New York, New Jersey. Yes, that’s really the name of the city. We walked along quiet one-way streets, and found Sal at the door of Ranchito Victoria. He had expected us earlier, but there were some wardrobe issues (mine, not Lesli).
Sal greeted us with a smile, let us pick a table and asked us some questions. I like spice, Lesli likes chicken. Sal knew the latest batch of jalapeño peppers had been hotter than usual, and he asked our waitress Araceli to bring over Mexican tamales in a range of spice levels. My plate had three tamales: tamales de rajas, salsa verde, comino. I unwrapped the corn husks from my tamal de rajas (jalapeño wedges surrounded by firm corn masa), ate about half and looked up for hot sauce. Sal got me the fresh-made salsa from the cooler. Made fresh that morning, just as the breads had been baked and everything else for that day was prepped. Lesli was busy with her tamales – mole and comino if memory serves. We didn’t talk much but made yummy noises while we sipped our champurrados – hot chocolate, just sweet enough to take the edge off the spices.
Sal sat with us, asked more questions and guided us toward Salvadoran pupusas. I don’t have pictures of the pupusas because it got messy. Once I grabbed my pupusa revuelta, my hands were full. The pork and cheese inside the pupusa were warm and gooey, then I added curtido and salsa de tomate. To a non-Latino they might be called slaw and ketchup, but if you taste them you can tell this is no ordinary slaw or ketchup. The slaw was crispy, crunchy, sweet and tangy. The salsa de tomate was smooth and creamy. The perfect bite was a mix of contrasts in flavors and colors. Once I got started I just reached for my fork to get more curtido and eat my pupusa. Incredibly, as we sat and chatted afterward Sal asked if we wanted to try one more dish.
Lesli and I had no clue what to ask for. Somehow the idea of eggs for lunch floated over the table. Lesli decided on a Salvadoran desayuno tipico – typical breakfast. Eggs, beans, cream and cheese. She swiped beans and cream onto her fork before scooping up the scrambled eggs. Picked up the maduros to dip into cream or beans. The salty bits of cheese were a bit tangy for her but that was the only item on her dish not made on the premises, so it barely even counts.
My dish was chilaquiles. Tortillas cut into sections, then served with spicy salsa verde, beans, rice, avocado wedges, radishes and eggs sunny-side-up. I kept switching – avocado, beans, rice. Radishes, salsa verde, beans, rice. Fried egg and beans. Finally with about half of my dish staring at me I surrendered. We had the dish wrapped up, and Sal threw in an assortment of their fresh baked breads. There was a swirled cinnamon thing, that was delicious as part of Mothers Day breakfast. I need to go back and find out what it’s called. Who wants to come with me?
NOTE: If you ever visit the area, stop in. For the locals, Ranchito Victoria does deliver. I would only do delivery (or pickup) for date night in front of the TV. Otherwise, come as you are, sit at a table, and watch the world go by while yummy smells drift over from the kitchen.
RanchitoVictoria
If you made it this far, you might be wondering about the recipe for this week. Well, I don’t actually have a a recipe for you. I have several mouth-watering links though. Tracy of Latinaish shared videos on her blog about how to make them, and how to eat them. When you see her adventure eating pupusas with her son, you’ll understand why I didn’t get pictures of my pupusa. On Tracy’s blog you can read how to make curtido for your pupusas.
How to make pupusas by Tracy of Latinaish
NOTE: If you ever visit the area, stop in. For the locals, Ranchito Victoria does deliver. I would only do that for date night in front of the TV. Otherwise, come as you are, sit at a table, and watch the world go by while yummy smells drift over from the kitchen.
Tracy’s recipe for curtido is after her video at this post
How to eat a pupusa by Tracy of Latinaish (dialogue is in Spanish – who would believe she is Latina by marriage?)
I hope you enjoyed this Sabroso Saturday post. MsLatina started this at her site so we could share recipes. Go check who else is sharing a favorite recipe or even a story about their favorite food.
DISCLOSURE: Sal did not tell me when he mentioned his family’s restaurant, but he surprised us by picking up the tab for our feast. I left a tip for Araceli, because she was amazingly patient, gracious and knowledgeable about the food. My next visit I plan to pay for the meal, and maybe video the whole thing to better jog my memory.
