Corn Chowder and Black Bean Burgers

We had more delicious sweet corn to use last week and decided to whip up a batch of the corn chowder I saw on Erin's blog. This stuff was super tasty!

Just a note, I followed the recipe pretty closely, with the exception of switching green for red peppers, however, I kept my slice of bacon in, because really, who takes bacon out of anything?? That's just silliness.


Simmering with the corn cobs, I never though of cooking with the cobs before.



We also decided we could use some burger with our chowder, though we had no beef in the house. I have been wanting to find a new veggie burger recipe but was busy cooking the soup. Alex googled this one, and was in charge of making these from start to finish. They were quite good, and a million times better then the ones I made previously. We topped them off with some fresh heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers sauteed in garlic and olive oil.



A tasty meal all around!

Hiking in the Highlands!

This past Labor Day Alex and I decided we needed to get out and get some fresh air. Alex didn't have the chance to go hiking last time I went, so we decided it was high time he got out of the city too. We were going to go back to Harriman, but then decided climbing a mountain with views would be much more fun. I'd heard about the town of Cold Spring from my boss, did some googling, and found out it would be the perfect hike for us. My friend Louisa who took me hiking before had told us where to buy maps, so we grabbed one before we left and we were ready to go!

We took Metro North out of Grand Central and headed up early Monday morning. I love this train ride, it goes right along the Hudson and the scenery is just beautiful. The train ride was a little over an hour to the station at Cold Spring, not bad at all. From the station, it's about a 15 minute walk to the trail head. Cold Spring itself is an adorable little town with a surprising number of cute little restaurants, shops, and B&B's. We decided we'll certainly be coming back when we need a weekend away.



Old time gas pump in town.



The first trail we followed.



Hoping we're not lost 5 minutes in...



It was a cloudy day, but no rain, and much cooler then the days previous, so much better hiking weather for us.



So much green! As far as the eye can see!



It's much easier to tell this path leads in a circle when you're looking down from above... shoot.



Old man rock.





The group of buildings at the curve in the river is West Pointe Military Academy.



The first colors of autumn.



I'm so excited to come back in a few weeks for more foliage photos!





Precariously crossing the river... the imaginary river that is.



I couldn't decide, color or black and white?





Where we stopped for our picnic lunch.







I thought these were the coolest looking vines.



We had a great time, though a little strenuous at first, this hike ended easily and provided beautiful views of the river valley. I'm super excited to go back, hopefully soon!

A Bit of Brooklyn

Alex and I spent yesterday afternoon wandering through Brooklyn. Here are a few views from our walk, mostly in the area around DUMBO, Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. It's still amazing to me how many new areas we can always constantly explore in the city! Alex mentioned today that "we can probably say we almost know some parts of the city kind of well." And that's after a full year! We still have a long way to go.

Governors Island!

Before Alex heads back to school, we are trying to get in as many fun New York things as we can. One item we've been trying to check off our list for quite some time is taking the ferry to Governors Island. Alex and I tried going back in May, but didn't make it, then Emily and I tried multiple times, but were eluded by too many people and full ferry boats, and then we just never made it.

Luckily, last Sunday things worked out perfectly! The weather was gorgeous, and there were hardly any crowds! Hurray! Governors Island used to be a military base of some sort, then was closed and out of use, and then a few years ago was opened up to the public as a summer recreation spot. It's a fantastic place to hang out on a Sunday afternoon. No cars are allowed and there are acres of green space. Alex described it as "Central Park without all the people." It was lovely to relax with a picnic and a good book! And, best of all, it's free!

A few pictures from our adventure:



The ferry dock, Manhattan side.




Someday, we will own a sailboat...



View of Manhattan from the island.



Manhattan and Jersey.







Pretty walking paths.



Huge wind chimes.





A somewhat unfair trade...



Shells outside a house.



There were art exhibits in a number of the old houses, this one was full of interesting sculptures.







Hurray for green grass in New York City!



Goats and sheep?