It’s time for the real estate game, where I describe a New York apartment and you guess how much it costs. It’s based on the NYT real estate section. I’ll put the answers in the comment section below.

1. Upper east side studio on 73rd St. No views, not much light. Fireplace, prewar doorman building. Recently renovated windowed kitchen with stainless steel and glass accents. Beamed ceilings and refinished hardwood floors. There’s no square footage disclosed, but the photo of the living room area looks pretty small.

2. Three-bedroom co-op in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn (St. Marks Ave.). There are some nice parts of Prospect Heights but I would say this area is just okay. The apartment is on the second floor of a four-unit building, and has a washer/dryer, deck and a backyard. It has high ceilings and a fireplace. The living room looks pretty narrow.

3. A two-bedroom, two-bath fourth-floor co-op in Hudson Heights, which is WAY up in the north of Manhattan — most of the neighborhood is north of the George Washington Bridge. Art Deco building, no more details given.

Was there something in the water this week? Did the meatloaf lobby inject our lakes and rivers with some sort of serum that induced mindless meatloaf cravings nationwide? On Monday, Jon had a discussion with Dave, a friend of his in Los Angeles, who was bragging about the meatloaf he made. During this discussion, I was at home making a delicious meatloaf of my own. And later in the week, Jon’s mom disclosed that she, too, made a great meatloaf this week.

The reason, I’m guessing, is the weather: when it finally gets cold, you seek comfort food. I was walking to the grocery store on Monday, thinking: “Ground turkey. Cheap. Hmmmm.” Then, it struck me that I should make meatloaf — something I had never made in my life. So I turned, of course, to Mark Bittman, author of How To Cook Everything, which is kind of like the Joy of Cooking, but for cool people. I usually use Bittman’s recipes as a guide for cooking times, but make adjustments as necessary. In this case, I followed the recipe pretty closely, but made a few important adjustments, which are noted below.

I think my most brilliant addition was the celery. If you’re making meatloaf, I would definitely encourage you to include the minced carrots and celery in addition to the onion. The extra vegetables add depth of flavor and keep the meat moist. Also, I would definitely recommend roasting the meatloaf in a large pan, surrounded by vegetables (potatoes, an onion cut into eighths, garlic cloves, brussel sprouts, Jerusalem artichokes), which will absorb the juices.

I would also encourage you to consult Alton Brown’s meatloaf recipe for seasoning ideas. He makes his own seasoned bread crumbs by combining croutons with chili powder and other spices. I just used bland breadcrumbs from the grocery store, but if I were feeling more ambitious I would certainly make my own.

First, here are the ingredients:

1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup milk
2 lbs ground meat (Bittman suggests beef, lamb, veal, and/or pork, and reluctantly adds that you can use turkey or chicken instead. But I used half turkey, half beef, and as I mentioned, the meatloaf was amazingly deliciously great.)
1 egg, lightly beaten
Veggies and herbs: 2-3 minced garlic cloves, 1 small or medium onion, 1 small or medium carrot, 1 stalk celery, parsley (Bittman says 1/4 cup, I probably used 1/2 cup), and some other fresh herb. Bittman suggests Sage, which I’m sure is delicious, but I used rosemary because I had some in the freezer.
Salt (I would estimate two teaspoons but the key is to test your batter before making the loaf)
Pepper

Heat the oven to 35o or 375 degrees. Soak the breadcrumbs in milk for five minutes (this is Bittman’s direction, and I think it really helps keep the batter moist). Mince the carrots, onion, garlic, and celery. I used a mini-prep food processor — you could do it by hand but just make sure you get them really small, so they blend in with the meat. You don’t want to be munching on chunks of carrots. Then combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

Now, here’s the key: once the batter is thoroughly mixed, make a small meatball in a saucepan and taste it. If it’s not flavorful enough, add a bit more salt and pepper. I started with about one teaspoon of salt and then added another teaspoon after my meatball test. Then I tested the batter again. This may seem like an annoying step but it’s totally worth it.

Shape the meat into a free-form loaf, so it gets crispy on three sides instead of just one, and put it in a large pan. Surround it with bite-size potatoes, an onion cut into eighths, brussel sprouts, or any other vegetables you like to roast. Coat them with some olive oil, salt and pepper. I cooked the loaf for 50 minutes at 375 degrees and it was delicious. If you try it, let me know how it works out.

On weekends, I like to play a game with Jon involving the New York Times real estate section. The game could be called, “Why on earth would anyone ever buy NYC real estate?” I describe an apartment or house, and he guesses how much it costs. Here is an excerpt from today’s game — I’ll leave the answers in the comments section.

1. One bedroom, 1.5-bath coop on 26th St. and Third Avenue. Working fireplace, pre-war elevator building, odd layout (it’s on two floors, or maybe even three — unclear based on the text). Based on the photos, seems to be a decent size, with enough space for a full dining room table and a separate living room.

2. Two bedroom, 1.5-bath coop on 50th St. between 2nd and 3rd avenues. “The living room has stunning casement windows that face north and west and bring in ample light. The master bedroom is very big and also has two exposures,” says the NYT. The kitchen is recently renovated but the full bath needs work.

3. Two bedroom, 2-bath condo in Boerum Hill in Brooklyn. For any non-New Yorkers, I would call this a nice but still somewhat up-and-coming neighborhood. It’s got great subway access and a busy commercial area, but it’s no Park Slope. The apartment has new interiors and its own elevator, and it’s on the second floor.

Let me know how you did!

In a New York City kitchen, smaller is always better. We have lived without a toaster oven because we simply couldn’t find one small enough. And we’ve avoided getting things like a Kitchenaid mixer, a rice cooker, or a crock pot because they’re all too big.

That’s why I was thrilled to receive these two gifts from a friend moving back to India. (I wasn’t thrilled that she was leaving, though; that made me sad.) She brought these from India when she came here five years ago. One is a pressure cooker that I just used to cook dry black beans in about 30 minutes. It would be a perfect size for one person but it works for two as well. (As a side note, I’ve been collecting jars so I can store dry beans if I don’t want to cook a full pound.)

The other is a lovely, small mortar and pestle. I’ve taken a photo of it next to a mug so you can see what a convenient size it is. Perfect for a New York City cabinet!

When I bought my iPhone, I also spent $50 on a heavy duty case. If that seems excessive, you should know that I have a habit of dropping phones. Here’s a photo–and please, don’t be jealous just because my iPhone is tougher than yours.

Well, we did it. We got iPhones. I did it first, but once I made the move it was only a matter of time before Jon became too jealous and went out and got one for himself.

My contract with T-mobile ran out in May, and I was planning to make the switch as soon as the new iPhone came out in June. But financially, I just couldn’t commit. The price of the device didn’t bother me—it was the price of the monthly service. Both of us had bare-bones phones before, and we were paying about $50 a month apiece. The cheapest iPhone plan comes to about $93 a month with taxes and fees. Overall, we’ve added about $80 to our monthly expenses. Plus, with the warranty and the case, my device came to about $350. Jon got a cheaper case, so his was a little less.

We didn’t even get the family plan, because it would have saved only $13 per month and Jon would have had to change his phone number.

We were left with only one choice: rationalize, rationalize, rationalize. So far, we’ve found three ways to rationalize our decision.

• We calculated that we’ve saved HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS by not being early adopters. After all, if we’d bought iPhones two years ago, we would have spent an additional $1,920 on monthly fees ($80/month * 24 months), plus $700 buying the phones, which we would have upgraded once the 3G S came out.
• A few days ago, I was over at a friend-of-a-friend’s house, and Jon was driving back into the city. I told him to come by, and he used the iPhone to look up directions. If it weren’t for the iPhone, he wouldn’t have come. Instead, he would have gone home and bought takeout, because we didn’t have any food in the fridge. Savings: $20!
• Jon’s using an app called iXpenselt to track his spending, which always helps him spend less.

Have you drained your kid’s college fund for an iPhone? If so, have you found any creative ways to rationalize it?

Jon made an amazing chicken and pasta dish last night, almost exclusively with food we always keep on hand. It was truly, truly fantastic. As I’ve mentioned before, Jon doesn’t really do the whole “recipe” thing so I’ll do my best to describe his methods.

Put water on to boil the pasta (we used penne).

Dust some chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and paprika. Then pan fry them, about four minutes on each side. We used about a pound, but even one breast will do because you’re really trying to get the drippings. Thighs would also work if you’re trying to save money. Set the chicken aside once it’s cooked.

In the pan, add some butter and olive oil and scrape up the drippings with a metal spatula to mix it all up. Add one or all of the following: garlic, finely chopped onion if you have it, scallions, shallots. Simmer, watching to make sure the oil & butter don’t burn. When the pasta is almost done, add a bit of the pasta water to the sauce –  try about a half cup, but add more if the sauce seems too dry. The pasta water will add substance to the sauce. You could also add a bit of chicken broth, but make sure the sauce doesn’t get too watery. It should really just coat the pasta lightly.

Add the chicken breasts back to the pan to heat them up. Then turn off the heat, drain the pasta and add it to the sauce as well. Add the juice of half a lemon and some chopped parsley. Yum.

I’ve been using the library to save money, but recently all the books I want have been out! Even if there are 27 copies, someone has checked out them all!

So does that mean everyone has the same brilliant money-saving ideas as I do?

Last February, I quit the gym in order to save money, and started running instead. But I haven’t saved any money; in fact, I’ve spent more. I used to spend $86 a month on my gym membership, but my insurance and my employer both reimbursed me for part of that expense; all in all, I spent $400 a year. Here’s what I’ve spent on the marathon:

• $189: registration fee. Even though I’m running to raise money for charity, I still had to pay this fee. 
• $100: donation to Team Continuum, the charity I’m running for
• $85: running shoes
• $15: running shorts. I’ll have to buy a better pair closer to the race
• $40: running shirt
• $50: very time I go for a long run, I spend about $10 on Gatorade, Clif Bars, water, snacks, etc. 
• $40: cheap MP3 player to use while running
• $10: headband
• $125: my insurance cut me off from my physical therapist, but since this is my first marathon, I felt it was important to meet with him anyway.  

TOTAL SO FAR: $689

WEEKS LEFT OF TRAINING: 11

Is the Food Network to blame for the decline in home cooking? Michael Pollan thinks so, and he shared his thoughts in a story in last week’s New York Times magazine. Shows like “The Next Food Network Star” and “Iron Chef,” he says, turn cooking into a sport, while hosts like Rachael Ray encourage cooks to use lots of premade ingredients. Following a Rachael Ray recipe, he implies, should barely even be called cooking. Since I frequently use the Food Network (both the TV station and the website) as inspiration for my own home cooking, I thought I should weigh in in its defense. 

Here are three basic problems with Pollan’s story.

1. He presents no evidence. He seems viscerally opposed to cooking shows like Iron Chef, and he wants to blame them for something. But he offers no actual evidence that the rise of food shows has contributed to the rise of eating out. Instead, he presents a series of anecdotes that merely serve to illuminate his own snobbery. I guess Michael Pollan has reached a level of celebrity that liberates him from the burden of backing up his assertions. 

Food shows have become more popular in recent years; so has eating out. That doesn’t mean that one caused the other. Personally, I think home cooking might have declined even further if not for shows like “Top Chef” and “30 Minute Meals.”

2. He doesn’t understand Food Network viewers. Shows like Iron Chef, Pollan says, encourage people to eat out because their message is: “Don’t Try This At Home.” But give me a break, Michael: few people can afford to eat at Bobby Flay and Mario Batali restaurants. Sure, watching Iron Chef makes me want a gourmet, $200 meal. That doesn’t mean I’m going to go out and buy one. And I’m not going to go to the mediocre restaurant down the street because Flay makes a delicious-looking artichoke ice cream. The show simply makes me excited about the many amazing things it’s possible to do with food. 

3. He ignores half the Food Network’s programming.  ”No one cooking on television today gives the impression that they enjoy the actual work quite as much as Julia Child did,” Pollan writes. Really? What about the Barefoot Contessa? What about Tyler Florence? Jamie Oliver? Sure, Rachael Ray and several other Food Network hosts are all about getting stuff done fast, sometimes using premade ingredients. But there are plenty of shows on the network featuring chefs who take great pleasure in cooking slow meals out of fresh food.

My husband is an amazing cook, dedicated to making things from scratch using fresh ingredients. He has taught me to make homemade stock and marinara sauce, for example, and inspired me to experiment in the kitchen without using recipes. How did he learn to cook? Where did he get his inspiration? The Food Network.

What do you think? Do you watch the Food Network? Does it inspire you to cook, or inspire you to eat out?