It is coming up on my one year anniversary living in Brooklyn.  I think I might start posting some of the adventures.  Here is a long post but it is some of the things I have seen and experienced here.

So I am still trying to decide if a "southern bell" fits in up here. The accent helps, they either think it's really cute and want to talk to me or they think I am too stupid to bother with.

 First I would like to start with the "melting pot" theory.  

 From most of my experiences in Brooklyn, It isn't as much of a melting pot as clicks.  There are neighborhoods of specific ethnic background that never mix with other ethnicities, unless they absolutely have too.  Some ethnic groups stay within their own and sometime (should I dare say) are a little xenophobic. Keep in mind  I am making these observations as an outsider.  One of the first questions I am commonly asked is my ethnic background.  The first few times I was like WTF?  Who asks that?  Up here a lot of people.  When I spent time recently in Manhattan, I noticed it wasn't quite like that.  They really do break out of their shell a little more. 

 The train (my favorite place),

 I do a lot of my reading on the train.  Sometimes, I just hop a train and ride it until I get board and hop off.  One thing I noticed is people from the city are not that hypervigilant.  They don't see a lot of shit.  I have been followed in the train station by a homeless man who was masturbating (which had to have taken skill to do it and walk).  The masturbation stuff doesn't stop there, I have seen it on the train, during rush hour, by a man in a business suit, he was looking up a ladies skirt while giving himself a hand.  Another one was in the middle of the day on the train, with no visible props.

 Once I saw a girl, it was about 10:30 in the morning, change clothes.  I mean she changed everything including her undergarments. 

 I was on the train one day when these two guys, pretended not to know each other and one made sexual advances at the other.  He kissed and was mildly feeling up the other guy.  Everyone on the train moved down to the far end of the car (which were all Orthodox Jewish men) and got off at the next stop...except me of course.  I ended up hanging out with them and found out they had known each other since they were kids and had not seen each other in a while and just wanted the train car to themselves.  They were really nice guys.  I don't know what possessed me to stay on the train, I just  believed that what they were doing had a nonsexual motive.  I was right.

 Then one morning I had to catch the train to airport.  My flight was leaving at 7 or 8 am.  So I hopped the train at 4 am.  Sometime around 4:30 am (yep airport is 2 hours from my apt) there are these two guys that got on (keep in mind I am in the conductors car).  One man is in a full suit and the other was in jeans and a shirt.  The man in the suit sat at the far end.  I was sitting in the handicap seats at the other end.  They are basically designed for two.  I had my laptop and suitcase beside me.  The guy in jeans asks me why I have to take up both seats...shit I know this is going to go bad... I hedged my bets that standing up for myself had to be better than backing down.  So I told him the rest of the train was empty pick a seat (not to mention there was another handicap seat right in front of me and we were the only 3 of us on the train).  He gets off and goes to the next car.  He is looking at me through the window.  The guy in the suit moves a little closer to the middle of the car.  Now I got the scam, the first one is supposed to scare me and the well dressed guy "saves me" and then steals my stuff.  I picked up on that right away. So (each stop is roughly 2 minutes apart - not always true) at the next stop the guy gets back on the car I am in, and starts up again, Using his body to intimidate me.  He keeps pushing as to why I have to take up both seats (and a few other statements I can no longer remember).  Once again I stand by my previous statement and said the rest of the car is empty.  At this point I am scared to death.  He gets back off the car and moves to the next one looking at me again through the window and the well dressed guy moves closer to me again.  I was thinking oh shit I am so dead.  So the next stop he gets back on my car and starts up again, his last statement was "What you don't think white people can go to jail" (I'll never forget that statement).  So with my heart in my throat and I can't recall ever being this scared, I walked over to this (roughly) 6' 2" guy and said "Bitch I just got out".  I have never seen a black man turn so white.  Both of them got off at the next station.  I never saw them again.   I am all of 5'1" tall and that might have been one hell of a stupid thing to do, but I got to the airport safely with my stuff.

 On the Road

 So I have endless stories here, but I will just share two.This time (as usual) I am thinking with my heart not my head.  I got off the train and walked the wrong direction (on two counts).  I see a 25ish year old middle eastern man being surrounded and picked on by these two 17ish year old white boys.  He is clearly going to get robbed.  Well I got really scared, but I couldn't just leave him.  So I used my anxiety to my advantage.  I walked over toward the guy and acted very angry at him.  I was yelling at him, why did you stand me up, you were suppose to take me to lunch, who the hell do you think you are.  You promised to take me to lunch.  Then I grabbed him by the arm (still yelling at him) and walked him to the corner near the train.  The two guys didn't do anything.  In turn the middle eastern guy offered to buy me lunch.  I declined.  

 Now I am not a bad ass, and never go looking for trouble, but I do believe that what you do always comes back to you. Here is an example.

 There was a guy (in his 50's) that asked me for my phone number.  I said no (I was very polite about it, I might add).  A few hours had past and I went to a store that happens to have a pizza place in it.  The guy saw me.  He starts yelling that bitch thinks she is too good for me.... you get the point.  These two Russian guys look at me and ask me if I know him.  I said no and explained what happened earlier.  One of the Russian guys looks at me and tells me to go home, and he's not going to follow me.  I never had a problem like that again.

 I could go on and on for days with these types of stories, but these were the easiest stories to tell (the rest were more interesting if you were there).  I make a lot of stupid decisions because I can't leave people in trouble.  I would rather be in the hospital recovering with 10 broken bones sleeping with a morphine drip than to be at home not sleeping worried what happened to the person I turned my back on.   Which is the main problem with New Yorkers.  They grew up here and they either don't notice the shit going on around them, or they just can't be bothered.  For the most part New Yorkers are actually really nice and I don't have any problems, but they are always those few no matter where you go.  Up here they are just easier to spot since we are living on top of each other.

 I am glad I am here and I am enjoying each adventure (even if isn't the best of situations).  I think these adventures will help me when i finish grad school and start my career as a psychotherapist.

 I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but hanging out with me is more interesting than any Picasso. 

Skinny Cappuccino without a machine.  Total WW points : 1.5 per serving

I used a large mug 

Make coffee as usual, I generally make it stronger for a cappuccino

Take 4 oz of skim milk and place in a bowl.  (skim and 1% milk is not only lower WW points, but it makes it easier to foam up)

Put lid on and shake vigorously.  Shake until content doubles in size (takes one min or less).  You will notice that top is all foam.

Put bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds (watch closely so it doesn't get to hot or burn).

Pour coffee in a cup and add splendia.

Use a spoon to hold the foam back as you pour it in the cup.  Spoon foam on top.

Coffee - ww points 0.5

Milk - ww points 1 (4 oz)

Splendia ww points - 0

Ok, this is NOT my recipe.  I just thought it was a must share.  I found this on a website myrecipies.com.  Originally it came from Cooking Light magazine.  If you are not familiar with this magazine I recommend giving it a try.  The recipie is 7 WW pts.
 

Mediterranean Chicken with Potatoes
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=336518
 

Yield 
8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)
 

Ingredients
• 4  teaspoons  minced garlic, divided
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 1/4  teaspoon  dried thyme
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper, divided
• 12  small red potatoes, halved (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• Cooking spray
• 2  pounds  skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1  cup  vertically sliced red onion
• 3/4  cup  dry white wine
• 3/4  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2  cup  chopped pepperoncini peppers
• 1/4  cup  pitted kalamata olives, halved
• 2  cups  chopped plum tomato
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh basil
• 1  (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• Thyme sprigs (optional)
 

Preparation
 

Preheat oven to 400°.
 

Combine 2 teaspoons garlic, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and potatoes on a jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until tender.

Heat a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add half of chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until browned. Remove chicken from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken; remove from pan.

Add onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring wine to a boil; cook until reduced to 1/3 cup (about 2 minutes). Add potatoes, chicken, broth, pepperoncini, and olives; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 2 teaspoons garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, tomato, basil, and artichokes; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with cheese. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Calories:  331 (20% from fat)
Fat: 7.3g (sat 2.1g,mono 3.7g,poly 0.9g)
Fiber:3.6g
WW pts: 7

So my summer session just ended (at Brooklyn College (BC)).  A few days later, like Tuesday, I received a few emails from my instructors telling us the required material for class and the be ready with them for classes next week.  Ok as I just graduated from University at Buffalo (UB), this seems to be a normal request.  The information added was homework assignments due next week (chapter readings) and one instructor gave us 6 journal articles to read.  

I know I shouldn't bitch, but I really wanted this week to just screw off.  Wednesday was orientation, and was pretty calm and honestly didn't sound so bad, just that the next two years of my life are not my own and belong to BC.  The chairman comes in (a really nice guy, that I was fortunate enough to meet earlier this summer) said that the two year program was giving us the tools we need to get us ready to learn a how to become, hopefully, good psychotherapist or mental health counselors.  It made me a little sad to think I will only be a half-ass psychotherapist for the next 5 years (school plus the 3000 clinical hours).

So far I like BC better than UB -- which when I stop being quite as irate I will write a post about that experience as to save another person from the pain the informatics program.  

I can offically say, I am excited to enter BC's death camp

I decided to try making a few mini pies, my first attempt is an egg custard.  I put a bit to much vanilla extract in it, but come to find out I like it better.  This is 4 weight watcher points of goodness. So for a more traditional egg custard you might want to use less vanilla extract.

Vanilla Egg Custard:

Custard: 1pt

1/2 cup Splenda

3 eggs

1 Tablespoon margarine

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups Skim milk

Nutmeg

12 tart pie shells ( I used store bought shells, they were 110 calories, 7 fat, and 0 D Fiber = 3 points each)

Directions:

Preheat to 350 degrees

Mix eggs, splenda, margarine, vanilla and milk.; then pour into the tart shells

Put a dash of nutmeg on each tart

Bake for 45 minutes (make sure the knife comes out clean)

For less points either make a shell or don't use a shell, custard would be great alone.

Shell = 3 ww pts

Custard = 1 ww pt

Total = 4 ww pts

 New pill dispenser is really cool but over the top

  So I will be the first to admit I suck at taking my medication.  If I am on my normal schedule, I remember it; but if I go somewhere for a few weeks or so I forget constantly.  So here is pillbox made by Zelco that reminds you take the medication, holds the pills and has the WATER.

 So I look through different weight watcher recipe sites when I get the chance.  I thought I would put a list of them up, just in case anyone wants to visit them.

 I recommend 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet  -- A few weeks ago I had a question about one of the recipe and I sent an email.  They responded really quickly and were super nice.

Dotti's Weight Loss Zone is full of terrific recipes. 

Carol's Weight Watchers Guide is new to me, I just found it tonight. 

Ginia's Weight Watchers Recipes is another site I found tonight, but it has a few dishes I am looking forward to trying. 

I use to have a few more but I don't remember what the sites were -- I didn't save them when I replaced my hard drive.   So if anyone has other sites they find useful please post them!

 Tuscan Pork Roast Tenderloin

Serves 8

WW: 4

Ingredients:

2 Pork Tenderloins, (1 pound each)

1 Tablespoon crushed fresh garlic

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1 ½ teaspoon of Dried Sage

1 ½ teaspoon Dried Sage

1 ½ Dried Rosemary

½ teaspoon Coarsely Ground Black Pepper

¼ teaspoon Salt

Sauce:

¾ Cup Dry White Wine

1 ½ Cups Chicken Broth, divided

2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Unbleached Flour

1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar

1.       Trim the tenderloins of any visible fat and membranes. Rinse with cool water, and pat dry with paper towels.

2.       Place the garlic, mustard, sage, rosemary, pepper, and salt in a small bowl, and stir together to form a paste.  Spread the paste over the entire surface of the tenderloins.

3.       Coat a 9X13 pan with nonstick cooking spray, and place the tenderloins in the pan, spacing them at least 2 inches apart.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the tenderloins reach 160 degrees and meat is no longer pink inside.

4.       Remove the pan for the oven, transfer the tenderloins to a cutting board and cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.

5.       To make the sauce, pour the wine into the roasting pan, and, using a spatula, scrape up the glaze and the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Pour the mixture into a 1 ½ quart pot, and cook over medium heat.  Frequently stir for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is reduced by half.

6.       While the wine mixture is reducing, combine ¼ cup of the broth and the flour in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.  Shake until smooth, and set aside.  When the wine mixture is reduced by half.  Add the remaining 1 ¼ cups of broth to the pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Whisk in the flour mixture and cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened and bubbly.  Whisk in the mustard and vinegar, and remove the pot from the heat.

7.       To serve, slice the tenderloins thinly at an angle and arrange on a serving platter.  Serve hot, accompanied by the sauce.

WW - 4 points

Nutrition information:

Calories: 159

Carbohydrates 2.3 grams

Cholesterol: 67 mg

Fat 4.2 grams

Fiber: 0.1grams

Protein 24.3 grams

Sodium: 275 mg

 Talk to me ....

I am not sure where I got this recipe, but I was cleaning up my file this week and ran across it.  I calculated the points and made this dish tonight; it is one of my new favorites.

 Stuffed Italian Peppers

Weight watchers 3 points per serving

8 servings

8 Bell Peppers

1/2 cup parmesan cheese - grated (reduce fat)

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Garlic Clove, chopped

1/4 cup black olives

2 Cup bread crumbs ( I used 12 slices of wheat weight watcher bread, toasted and crumbled)

Olive oil

1. Clean and seed peppers and pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

2. Mix all ingredients and add just enough olive oil to just moisten

3. Coat baking dish with Pam cooking spray and place in pan

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes

5. You can add small amount of speghetti sauce over pepers (I didn't and it was still great -calulate for the points