Our European Kitchen

I haven't spent Easter with my own family in about six years, and it's been two years since we spent the day with Paul's. But even though it was just the two of us in our tiny kitchen, Paul and I did our best to make it seem like that wasn't the case. For lunch we went to Greece, and for supper we prepared a French feast.

Paul was really yesterday's star chef, but I spent a good a bit of the day by the stove -- and the microwave -- as well. I'm a huge fan of couscous, so for lunch I came up with a Greek-inspired dish with spinach, yogurt, feta cheese and olives. It's a one-dish meal that took less than 20 minutes. Mom would be proud.


I'm not a huge fan of ham, so for a couple of weeks Paul and I had been planning a meal that was as un-Easterish as possible. He made a delicious coq au vin, cooking the chicken in a dutch oven filled with wine, pearl onions, carrots, mushroms and other bits of deliciousness.

Instead of mashed potatoes, Paul smashed together cooked turnips and parsnips. It was suprisingly sweet and yummy topped with the leftover wine in which the chicken had been stirring.

So what did I concoct? Paul misses his mom's popovers but agreed to let me attempt them in a muffin tin. They turned out even better than expected. I let Paul choose the dessert I'd be baking, so long as his choice was French and fruity. A blueberry tart fit the bill. Paul raved over it, but in fact it was a little burnt.


Needless to say, we have lots of leftovers and will shortly be eating Easter Dinner Part 2. Or should I say, Part Deux?

More Proof That New York Is Different From Ohio

Twice today I was told to have a good Easter, "if I celebrate."

I'm certainly not offended, but I found the phenomenon quite interesting. In Ohio -- and especially in Defiance -- everyone assumes that you will be celebrating Easter. And 99.9% of the time, they'd be right.

Since moving to New York, I've become a lot more familiar with other religious holidays, and especially Jewish holidays. At the very least, it's good to know when they all are because that usually means a parking holiday-- no need to move the car for street sweeping!

New York MTA: High Prices for Bad Service

Weather has always been a good small talk topic. Now New Yorkers are adding another item to the list: the upcoming MTA fair hikes and service cuts.

As the name implies, the Metropolitan Transit Authority is in charge of public transportation in New York City, including the subway and bus systems. And like so many quasi-government agencies, they aren't doing a very good job.

Right on the heels of fare increases last year come changes even more drastic. First of all, my 30-day unlimited ride Metrocard is increasing from $81 to $103, and the M train that I take part of the way to and from work is being discontinued. Even worse, prices for students and the disabled are skyrocketing-- some by more than 100%.

Needless to say, this has many New Yorkers up in arms. Two of my co-workers, Meghan and Mellisa, are even enlisting locals to Boycott the MTA for 23 days-- or at the very least, on June 1.

They aren't the only angry commuters. Mellisa was interviewed by one of the free local dailies, am New York, for an article Wednesday about fair hike revolts on Facebook.

So what's my take?

I'm annoyed by the increase to the unlimited ride Metrocard, but the price is still no more (and maybe less) than the 60 or so gallons of gas I would guzzle every month in Ohio.

I'm more irritated by the loss of M train service to the stations I use. It's the quickest, most convenient way for me to get to and from work, and I'll miss that.

But what makes me angriest are the draconian fare hikes to people with disabilities-- like it isn't inconvenient enough for them to take public transportation.

Fortunately, there's still time to stall these changes. The state government is supposed to be considering an MTA bailout plan. Unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath.