Freya On the Run

San Diego Meets NYC

2010-05-17T22:20:00.002-04:00

Friends, that glorious champion of a bagel you're looking at is none other than a homemade San Diego. The San Diego, for those of you who (surely regrettably) don't know what a San Diego is, allow me to elaborate. Well, let's allow the photos to elaborate, shall we? Or maybe my original tribute to the San Diego in sandwich form? (BTW, I think I coerced my friend into letting me win that sandwich contest. Not that it wasn't deserved, of course.) Yes, the spread that needs no introduction has returned to my life -- and, more accurately, my kitchen.

Last month I took a field trip to Ithaca to help convince my little brother to go to Cornell. (It worked!) After about .3 secs of touting the school's academic prowess, I switched gears to a more important task: explaining why he would love every restaurant in the city. This, of course, revved up my appetite for Collegetown Bagels. Not for the bagels, (please, I'm a New Yorker), but for the ~~nectar of the gods~~ raspberry jalapeno spread. I met a friend there for sangria and sandwiches, and when I went to pay, I asked if they might be able to sell me some of the spread to go. Since the joint is run by a bunch of hippies (I say this with deep affection), they don't really have rules. "Sure!" was the response. "How about $7.99 for half a pound?" SOLD! Clearly outrageous for jam, but no matter. It was worth every penny. So, off I went, trekking back to the city with a new Cornell t-shirt and half a pound of razz jalapeno spread.

This was my first attempt to recreate the San Diego, and I would be foolish to pretend that I made it as well as the pros. But now every time I get that itch of nostalgia for my college days, I have a solution on hand. And better bagels, to boot. Love.

I just might have some seriously amazing news soon. Stay tuned.

Green Machine

2010-05-03T15:42:00.004-04:00

Lately I have been craving GREEN. As I suffered through yesterday's premature summer swelter, slightly hungover, lugging my gimpy roommate around Yankee Stadium (all for the sake of the Yankees destroying the White Sox), I contemplated how good a giant salad would make me feel. Cold and crispy and greeeen. I know you're thinking,"What a freak... who eats greens to cure a hangover?" Yours truly, as luck would have it. I could go for a green smoothie right about now too, even though I'm only just now recovering from my veggie overload at lunch. (I discovered Cafe 28, and I think it might mean trouble.) And it's basically torture looking at this picture below, remembering the crunch of ever-so-slightly-boiled-then-chilled broccoli. Drool.

I got this recipe for green soba noodles from Heidi, obviously pulled in by its green magnetism. I really enjoyed this recipe, and for once I actually cheese where she did not. This is rare, seeing as if there are two ingredients on which Heidi never skimps, lemon zest and grated Parmesan they would be. But I really liked my addition, though I imagine it might have been improved upon by actually grating the cheese rather then crumbled it between my fingers into chunks the size of chickpeas. Oh, the things I will do in the name of not washing the cheese grater. My one complaint about the recipe? You try pulling 2 cups' worth of cilantro leaves off the stem and tell me what you think.

Cilantro Noodle Bowl

Adapted from Heidi Swanson's 100cookbooks.com

Ingredients:

8 ounces dried soba noodles
2 - 3 cups baby Romanesco or broccoli florets (would like to try Romanesco at some point because they're pretty!)
zest of one lemon (token Heidi lemon zest)
2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped
2 large cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
scant 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (it pains me to use that much olive oil, and with reason. I used more like 1/3 of a cup and it was just fine.)
Grated (or crumbled) Parmesan/Romano cheese, to taste

Method:

Cook the soba in a big pot of rapidly boiling salted water just until tender - but about 20 seconds before the pasta is done cooking add the broccoli to the pot. You want it to barely cook. Now drain and rinse under cold running water. Sprinkle with lemon zest and set aside.

In the meantime make the dressing by combining the cilantro, garlic, cayenne, salt, and olive oil. Blend in a food processor or chop by hand. Taste, adjust for more salt if needed and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba, broccoli and a couple big splashes of the cilantro dressing. Toss until well combined. Add more dressing and a couple pinches of salt if needed. Turn out onto platter and crown with a couple pinches of cayenne and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Serves about 4 - 6.

What to do with all that leftover Parmesan? My mind immediately went to soup, as it generally does. When I remembered the below tomato soup, I considered making Mark Bittman's grilled cheese croutons, since we all know that tomato soup and grilled cheese is the best combo on earth, but I had a vision of them disappearing, hot out of the oven, before even coming within feet of the soup. Mind you, this is probably the best packaged soup I've had in a really long time. Great ingredients, great nutrition facts, and super creamy.

I decided to nix the carbs and just throw the cheese (yes, I yielded to the cheese grater) straight into the soup. Huge success, if I do say so myself.

Thinking about it, these two dishes would actually go pretty nicely together, if you just wanted a little pasta side dish for your soup. And FYI I think I liked the noodles better cold, and not just because I'm lazy. Ok, fine, at least a little because I'm lazy.

A big announcement! Ok, not really, but I'm psyched. I'm getting a LANDLINE on Wednesday! What?, you say, They still make those? Yes, indeed they do. This way I will be able to work from home instead of coming into the office every time I have a phone meeting, which, as it turns out, is every moment of every day. So I should have more time for cooking/blogging/redefining exactly what it is I am blogging. This should work out well for us all, no?

Hope you're managing on this icky sticky Monday!

I LOVE PB

2010-04-29T14:29:00.001-04:00

I'm pretty sure it's no big secret that I'm a little obsessed with nut butters. And, while I love me a good almond butter, I maintain that there is nothing like the original -- that being peanut butter. And so it should not surprise you that the best restaurant meal I've had in a pretty long while came from this place.

My partners in peanutty crime:

I highly recommend going with a group of people because then you can share! We got 3 different sandwiches, each of which comes with a baby bag of potato chips (to balance out the largely sweet sandwiches), and carrot sticks (so you feel healthy! (ha!)).

#1: The Elvis. As I learned from their menu, Elvis liked PB and banana sandwiches. Who doesn't? Anyway, this was an ode to the King with chunky PB (our choice... we chose chunky for them all, as well as whole wheat), banana, and honey, GRILLED. Awesome. Optional bacon. Next time...

#2: Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Sandwich: Cinna-raisin PB with vanilla cream cheese and green apple slices. The one I was least excited about, and the one I liked the most. I have no words. The vanilla cream cheese was basically icing. It all just worked.

#3: The monthly special! Affectionately dubbed "The Freya" for its extreme likeness to all of my favorite foods. Chunky PB, coconut, and granola.

"Kristen, make sure it looks like we're friends."

I requested that it be unnamed The Freya because it was kind of disappointing. PB&Co, if you're reading this, it was too dry. Needed some raspberry jam, according to my advanced palate.

I came home from the store with a container of Dark Chocolate Dreams PB, and managed to eat half of it in a week. I was disturbed and managed to slow down a bit. It doesn't need to be refrigerated, but I have been keeping it cold so that it comes out in globs or chunks, rather than being spreadable. My version of portion control. Makes it harder to slather the stuff on every edible item in my kitchen. But it does make it ideal for oatmeal! And yes, you can buy it at many grocery stores. But don't say I didn't warn you... you will never want to put your spoon down.

Holy Blogging Backup, Batman!

2010-04-25T22:32:00.000-04:00

I am a bad blogger! Again! It's been weeks! Sorry. You see, I finally started working the hours of a normal person again, and I've been thrown into a state of shock. (You mean, I need to wake up before 8? And I can't take a 3 hour lunch break to go to the gym and cook an elaborate lunch? And I need to put on clothes other than my stretchy black pants? Oh, goodness. For the sake of yoga pants, give me my old schedule back!)

In all honesty, I'm actually totally happy to be working more again. My last project really only kept me busy about 4 hours a day, so I had lots of flexibility to mold my day as I wished. Sometimes I was really productive, and sometimes I was decidedly not. While I guess I miss having the option to be lazy, I am a happier person when I'm kept busy. And I like this new project! It has me working from home full time, so no more weekly travel, and it's a role that's a really good fit for me.

I guess that brings me to a couple of points about the blog overall. I started this with the underlying theme that I (1) run and (2) travel far away for work. Neither of which are really true anymore. As for (1), I have a knee injury, and there's a pretty good chance I'm going to need surgery. BUMMER and a half. The half-marathon I thought I would be training for is this weekend, and I'm a little sad about it. I have a love/hate relationship with running, where I hate actually doing it (unless it's a perfect day outside), but I love love love the way it makes me feel. Sorry, elliptical, but you're pretty lame. I'm nervous to get back into running, and I may just... not. We'll see. Maybe I'll learn to love biking? Or I'll move to California and swim the days away! OK, enough daydreaming about my glamorous life on the west coast. As for (2), I'm working from "home," so I either literally am in my apartment, or I go to the office. (The office where no one knows me. I just go for the land line.) No more airplanes for me! Goodbye, LGA! So long, DFW! Auf wiedersehen, Hilton! ANYWAY, I think my point is that this blog needs a new theme. Any thoughts? It can just be "food I feel like sharing" or it can be more idiosyncratic than that. Just curious what my readers (readers?) think.

So, now you'd like some actual subject matter? Fair enough. I give you: Foodie Events of the Past Two Months! Since I used too many words up above, I'm going to make this part more like a picture book.
TOP CHEF: UPPER EAST SIDE, Season 2! The theme: Every cheftestant was assigned a Manhattan neighborhood to use as inspiration for a dish of their choosing.

Our esteemed judges begin the tastings.

Bonnie prepares her (award-winning) sandwich duos. Neighborhood: TriBeCa. Her inspiration: small plates, gourmet sandwiches, trendy flavor combinations and preparations. The food: mini sandwiches. #1 was Asian-inspired and contained pickled veggies, hard-boiled tea egg, homemade pesto sauce, and watercress. #2 was Roman-themed and contained a homemade tomato spread, prosciutto, some sort of cheese, and now I'm hard-pressed to remember the other ingredients. Help? Both on Ciabatta. Both amazing.

It's hard to see, but the plate toward the very front has Alex's Times Square-inspired frittata. Neighborhood: Times Square. Inspiration: bright, colorful. Veggie and cheese frittatas baked in muffin tins! The other plates toward the center are Katies. Neighborhood: Union Square. Inspiration: the Green Market. All ingredients came straight from the farmers' market! Fresh whole wheat pasta with roasted carrots and parsnips with farm fresh ricotta.

Here's a totally flattering picture of my dish. Neighborhood: Washington Heights. Inspiration: Dominican food. Rice and beans! I used plain old white rice, sofrito (my new favorite ingredient), black beans, tomato paste, peppers, onions, and not a whole lot else! This was the recipe I used. It got a little burned on the bottom, but was otherwise tasty!

Sadly, I did not get close-ups of everything. Here's what I missed:

Amanda -- Neighborhood: Upper West Side. Inspiration: Jewish food! Horseradish crusted salmon, string beans, and mini apple walnut wontons/turnovers. She wins for most components attempted at once.

Diane -- Neighborhood: Chelsea. Inspiration: Chelsea Piers. A MARK BITTMAN scallop gumbo! It was amazing. As expected. Diane and I are totally obsessed with Mr. Bittman, and I can attest to the fact that this was SO easy to make, as we cooked side by side.

Ariel -- Neighborhood: East Village. Inspiration: crunchy hippie foods, variety, Asian fusion. Turkey-stuffed tofu dumplings. So creative!

After the tastings...

Winners were announced! Bonnie won for staying most true to her neighborhood. The judges felt that you could walk into any Tribeca restaurant and find her dish on the menu. She won plastic pizza storage baggies! How funny is that?

Katie used one to take home leftovers. Not just for pizza!

Diane won for best overall. When Bittman's on your side, all is well. I wish I had gotten a pic of her gumbo, but perhaps we will make it again. Her prize was a cute little piggy spatula. I will get a pic of that guy later.

OK, going to breeze through the rest of this, but I will say this: MAX BRENNER. YOU MUST GO. I will admit that I have not been blown away by the food food, but get dessert. It's amazing. I took my little brother for the 2nd time, and we had fun.

He got hot chocolate with marshmallows in the adorable hug mug.

I got iced coffee, a la Alice in Wonderland.

And then... I couldn't resist...

OATMEAL! It had chocolate chips and cinnamon and butterscotch sauce in a beaker and candied pecans. It was out of this world. And so defeated the purpose of oats.

I have one last adventure to recount, but I'm saving it for next time. Just know that it involves what I think may be my favorite food ever. You know, that amazing condiment that I happen to think qualifies as its own food group...

PEANUT BUTTER!

Return of the Oats

2010-04-08T17:00:00.000-04:00

I am singing that title in my head, like, "Return of the Mack," just so you know.

GOODBYE, PESACH! HELLO, OATS!

Oat bran, to be exact. I got so excited that I actually forgot that I have fresh fruit in the house and ended up putting some dried cherries on top, and a spoon of almond butter. Until I remembered my favorite topping.

BITTMAN GRANOLA! Yumyum. Then halfway through I remembered the blackberries that I bought myself as a treat for keeping Passover, and I sprinkled some of those on too. Then I went for a double whammy and added some chocolate PB from Peanut Butter & Co. Has that been photographed yet? I feel like maybe not. I have a few food adventures to post, actually. Coming up soon, for sure. Anyway, my return to carbs was nothing short of heaven.

I'm not going to back to posting all my meals, but I thought this lunch was funny. My first post-Passover lunch, packed to go back to the office:

Why is this funny? Because it's entirely kosher for Passover. Ummmm, what? How? WHY? I asked myself all of these questions, and then answered them by bringing along a baggie of cereal for the yogurt, just out of principle. And a cookie that Allison baked over the weekend. Despite being entertainingly kosher, this salad was actually great. Spinach, roasted beets, carrots, and onions, walnuts, and a splash of balsamic. Could have used some mustard mixed in too.

Moving backward in time now, in the final days of Passover, I reached a point of desperation/boredom. So I got creative. I know it's over and I said I wouldn't "dwell," but I was actually pleased with the outcome of creativity meeting hunger meeting Passover:

Ants on a log, of course! And something I was reluctant to try...

Sweet potato with cottage cheese. Ultimately, my suspicions were correct... that I'm not crazy about the idea of warm yogurt/cottage cheese/milk. Flavor-wise it totally worked, like sour cream on a baked potato, I guess (I added raisins too, so that it would feel more like a dessert... or a kugel?), but unless it's being baked, I want my dairy cold. I may take this back when someone reminds of something I really love, like a cappuccino or something. But I will maintain that it's different.

One of my mom's go-to Passover meals is spaghetti squash with meatballs, so I opted for an easier version of that, since I'm just serving one and I got lazy on the protein front.

I found a baby spaghetti squash at in the Fairway organics section, literally the size of a mini Nerf football. It was adorable. So I nuked it for 4 minutes, scooped out the insides, mixed it with some frozen/thawed tomato sauce, and then melted some reduced fat mozzarella cheese on top in the microwave. Sort of reminded me of something I would have made in college (mostly because the microwave was my main source of heat), but it was delicious, and that's all that matters. How come gooey melty cheese is so ugly?

The foodie events, as promised, coming up next.

Countdown to Carbs

2010-04-07T13:24:00.000-04:00

Note: wrote the below yesterday. Passover is officially OVAH and I came back strong with a huge bowl of oat bran and granola this morning. Will post that later!

Today I looked longingly at a box of Wheat Thins for maybe a minute and a half. But I did not yield to their carby power! Only a few more hours. Not sure why I'm having so much trouble with Passover this year, but I certainly am.

I would like to take a moment to thank a Passover savior of this year.

Terra Chips are awesome in general, but especially so when potatoes are pretty much your only source of carbohydrates. I think they make kosher for Passover potato chips, but let's not get into particulars here. I'm not that strict. Potatoes, oil, and salt are the only ingredients, so it's good in my book. Although, I did see many Terra brand chips with active yeast in the ingredient list! Leavened much? So unnecessary.

After days and days of salads, I decided to switch it up by cooking my greens. Do I know how to think outside the box, or what? I had had a very snacky day (oh, working from home, why do you let me snack me so much?!), so I opted for a light dinner of two of my favorite foods.

OK, three if you count the Annie's BBQ sauce that I am more or less in love with. I made baked sweet potato fries with EVOO, paprika, and an overly ambitious dash of cayenne, apparently. Oops. I also bought a nice stiry-fry greens mix that came from Satur Farms, which is a local greens farm out on Long Island. I like Earthbound Farms a lot, and I think they're a responsible company, but I would rather get my food from NY than CA. (Hmmm, after a little research, it seems like maybe they also have Florida farms. Still better than Cali, I think!)

The mix contained bok choy, swiss chard, rapini, kale, kohlrabi, and I think some mustard greens. I just put a little canola oil in a big pot, covered to let the greens wilt down a little, then removed the cover and tossed 'em around a little. Served with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and pine nuts. I was CRAVING greens and that totally did the trick.

I regret to inform you that I am looking at a bunch of other great meals on my camera and wondering how I managed to forget the USB cord. (I came to the "mobile employees" office today for the first time in months.) I will either get to it later, or just let it slide. We'll see how delicious I still think they are later.

Sticking with the theme of favorites, I have a new sorbet! It was on sale at Whole Foods, so I splurged, but take a look at this!

That COLOR! It's like mostly raspberries and has 3g fiber per serving. YAY for at least kind of nutritious dessert! The top is a screw-on, which means I might be rinsing this out and using it for storage of things I buy in bulk, lentils or something. Reduce, reuse, recycle! Nerd alert. Also, in case I wasn't seeming nerdy enough yet, I taught myself how to write a macro in Word yesterday using internet instructions! AND it made my day. Onward to bread!

Passover Continues

2010-04-05T20:41:00.000-04:00

No? Not over yet? Hm. OK, fine, I'm still truckin'.

I've been enjoying some aspects of the holiday, like the way it almost forces you to eat whole foods, but I've been kind of low energy because I can't eat any whole grains! I was running around all of Saturday on a scavenger hunt (yup, a scavenger hunt), and I was BEAT by the end of it. I realized that I had pretty much only eaten protein and fruit all day, which really doesn't cut it for me. I actually had a coke (!) at dinner because I felt like I needed sugar in my system STAT. It helped. And it came in an adorable glass bottle.

Anyway, Passover food. I keep mentally referring to my breakfasts as Fiesta Bowls because they've been so bright and colorful, but I realize that might be the name of a Taco Bell offering or something.

This fiesta is black cherry yogurt, strawberries, 1/2 banana, and a hearty dose of Trader Joe's new trail mix. OMG best trail mix ever! Almonds, cashews, pistachios, dried cherries, and dark chocolate chips. It's like they read my mind! Delish.

And then we have LEFTOVERS! I decided to eat my mom's leftovers for lunch so that I could take a pretty picture for you. Not that brisket ever really finds a flattering lighting situation, but this is world's better than a flash and gives my mama's food its due justice!

And that right there might be the reason I am no longer a vegetarian. I'm not kidding. Brisket really factored in there. FYI my mom still puts marshmallows in the sweet potatoes for me and my brother. It's just not the same without it! I actually should get that recipe. There's some OJ and a touch of butter mashed in, but I'm not sure what else.

Once the leftovers had been gobbled up, I came to the sad realization that I would have to prepare my own meals again. Wah. I did a sort of repeat of a previous lunch one day, but I upped the ante from the last time.

Spinach, avocado, orange bell pepper, salmon salad, walnuts (awesome choice), and a balsamic/grain mustard dressing.

Then I made CHAROSET! This is one of two Passover foods I crave year-round -- the other being matzoh ball soup, of course. ALWAYS good. Anyway, charoset is super healthy, super easy, and really, something you should make, holidays or not.

Traditional Charoset
This is definitely adapted from some classic Jewish holiday cookbook my mom has, but I couldn't tell you what it's called. Will work on it.

Ingredients:
3 large apples, any variety, peeled, cored, and quartered (personally, I think peeling is optional)
1 cup walnuts
1/3 cup sweet red wine
2-3 tsp honey
1 tsp cinnamon

Method:
1. Add apples and walnuts to food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.
2. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until desired consistency.

So, er, voila! Pretty simple. As you can see, I like mine pretty chunky, but some people process the stuff until it's more like a paste or a dip. Just taste as you go.

Mmmmmmatzoh. (Blargh.) It's also pretty awesome by the spoonful. Don't feel like you need a food vehicle to get this to your mouth.

I have a few more Passover treats and meals to share, so maybe I'll even get to a 2nd post tonight. I mean, it ends tomorrow, and I wouldn't want to dwell once it has passed... :)

Happy bread day tomorrow!

A Week Without Fiber

2010-04-01T11:52:00.002-04:00

Fine, maybe I'm being melodramatic with this post title, but Passover started on Monday night, and I'm already feeling that major lack of fiber in my life. For those of you unfamiliar with the holiday, let me just say that matzoh is not known for its digestive benefits. It's more like eating glue in cracker form. Actually, I kind of enjoy the taste, especially egg matzoh and, well, chocolate-covered matzoh, but I've already got a hankering for oatmeal and BREAD. I mean, toast is probably my favorite food.

As many of you know, this blog started with a challenge. I think it would be fair to say that keeping Kosher for Passover is a food challenge in and of itself, so I am returning to my roots to bring you a week(ish) of daily posts about my Passover meals. I hope that this can be some inspiration to those of you keeping Kosher, and a glimpse into the holiday for the rest!

I spent a couple of days at my parents' house for the start of the holiday and our "seder" (I use the term loosely), so I was well-fed and have leftovers that will make an appearance in a later post. Score!

My biggest problem during Passover is usually breakfast. That and protein. Beans and all other legumes are out, which means protein has to come from nuts, dairy, eggs, fish, and meat. You've probably noticed I love me some legumes (peanuts, lentils, and chickpeas, oh my!), and they tend to be the basis of my diet. So I've had to adapt, mostly by way of yogurt, fish, and mooching brisket from my mama!

On day 1 I had lemon yogurt with banana, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries at home. I missed having some crunch, but the variety of flavors helped. I've had some variation of that breakfast for the past 2 days also, just with plain yogurt. Yesterday I added trail mix, and today I added flax seed, which I contemplated for a while, deciding finally that it's probably kosher. I went against my seasonal shopping rules and bought strawberries because they were on sale and I thought I deserved it.

Whilst at home, I also employed my brother to make macaroons with me. These were a cinch, and so delicious! I literally just used the first recipe I found online for almond macaroons, but it was a success. I mean, the recipe is from Gourmet, after all.

Almond Macaroons

from Gourmet magazine

Ingredients:

1 cup blanched whole almonds (I used slivered, since I was grinding them up anyway)

2/3 cup sugar (I used somewhere between 1/2 cup and 2/3)

1 large egg white

1/4 tsp almond extract (we didn't have that, so we used vanilla)

confectioners sugar for dusting

16 whole almonds (to press into the tops... I tried a couple with the slivered almonds but gave up)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. and lightly butter a baking sheet.

2. In a food processor pulse 1 cup almonds with granulated sugar until ground fine. Add egg white, almond extract, and a pinch salt and pulse until combined. Roll mixture into 16 balls, about 1 inch in diameter, and arrange about 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Slightly flatten balls and dust lightly with confectioners' sugar. Gently press 1 almond into each cookie

3. Bake macaroons in middle of oven 10 minutes, or until pale golden (more like 15 mins). Transfer macaroons to a rack and cool completely. Macaroons keep 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

All right, so I'm good with breakfast and dessert. Now on to lunch!

Canned salmon! I was really glad I thought of this one. It's such a fast protein. I mashed it up with some canola oil mayo, dijon mustard, horseradish, diced carrots, celery, red onion, and green bell pepper. Over spinach, with mushrooms, avocado, and a homemade vinaigrette of olive oil, balsamic, and more mustard.

When I was home, my mom and I made chicken salad with mayo, celery, walnuts, and dried cranberries (if you're looking for more ideas!). Will blog some leftovers later!

My Inner Spanish Obsession

2010-03-25T11:59:00.004-04:00

Did I say inner obsession? Meh. I realize it may not be such a secret after all. And, of course, you all know about my feelings toward the Minimalist. Needless to say, when my two not-so-secret obsessions collided, my interest was piqued, to say the least. The day this recipe appeared on Bitten, my roommate Diane and I put it on our calendars to try out ASAP. I give you: Chickpeas and Chorizo!

I wish this picture were a bit less flashed, but hey, we ate late, Spanish-style. It's all about the autenticidad with me. Obviously.

Here's Mr. Bittman's.

Fried Chickpeas With Chorizo and Spinach

adapted from Mark Bittman's The Minimalist column

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, as dry as possible

Salt and black pepper

4 ounces chorizo, diced

1/2 pound spinach, roughly chopped (We used more like 3/4 pound baby spinach and there could have even been more.)

1/4 cup sherry

1 to 2 cups bread crumbs (We used way less than that, like maybe 1/2 cup? No idea what he's talking about there.)

Method:

1. Heat the broiler.

2. Put three tablespoons of the oil in a skillet large enough to hold chickpeas in one layer over medium-high heat. (I recommend heating the dry pan for a minute before adding the oil.) When it’s hot, add chickpeas and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until chickpeas begin to brown, about 10 minutes, then add chorizo. Continue cooking for another 5 to 8 minutes or until chickpeas are crisp; use a slotted spoon to remove chickpeas and chorizo from pan and set aside.

4. Add the remainder of the 1/4 cup of oil to the pan; when it’s hot, add spinach and sherry, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook spinach over medium-low heat until very soft and the liquid has evaporated. Add chickpeas and chorizo back to the pan and toss quickly to combine; top with bread crumbs, drizzle with a bit more oil and run pan under the broiler to lightly brown the top. Serve hot or at room temperature.

This recipe came out pretty much awesome. The chickpeas were really crispy, the spinach offset all the oil, and the chorizo basically flavored the entire thing. It would be an AWESOME dinner party dish.

Now, I'm probably about to lose some street cred with a lot of you, but I highly recommend knowing where your oven's broiler is located before attempting this recipe. Genius tip, I know. I always knew that when you broil, then heat comes from above. So I set the oven to broil, moved the top oven rack to the highest setting and let 'er rip. After many minutes of absolutely no browning, I consulted Diane's friend, a culinary school graduate, who informed me that my broiler was actually below the oven. Pardon? You mean that shelf where I store pots and pans? Turns out I had broiled the hell out of a shallow pot, but our chickpeas were not getting any browner sitting in a warmish oven. PHEW. And now you know.

I can't say that I often have chorizo in the house, so I had to rack my brain a little to come up with a good use for the leftovers. I threw a little bit into a shakshuka, an Israeli dish that Joanna turned me on to in college.

Sorry, more ugly pics. Shakshuka is not an attractive food, but I had leftover canned crushed tomatoes and one egg, and this chorizo, and it all just fell into place. It's DELICIOUS. Sometimes the ugliest foods really are the best, no? I mean, seriously, have you ever looked at a brownie? It's not winning any pageants.

With the rest of the chickpeas and chorizo, I put together an impromptu lunch the other day, drawing on inspiration from another Bittman creation (see "Best Repeat Recipe").

Fried Chickpeas and Chorizo Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cooked or canned chickpeas

2 tsp olive oil

1 small clove garlic

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 oz diced cured chorizo

salt, to taste

veggie salad base (mine was baby spinach, thinly sliced red onion, and chopped red bell pepper)

Method:

1. Heat a small pan for about a minute, then add the oil and heat one more minute.

2. Add the chickpeas and stir around a bit.

3. About 3 minutes in, add the garlic and cumin seeds. (You don't want to do this right at the start otherwise the garlic will just burn.)

4. After another minute or so add the chorizo and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the chickpeas are nicely browned and crispy and the chorizo is heated through. (If it's cured, then it's already safe to eat as is -- it just needs to be warmed.) Add salt to taste.

5. Prepare salad base and top with warm chickpeas and chorizo.

Voila! A Freya creation. So so so satisfying. I really only needed a small portion because the flavors were so rich and there was probably a high fat content. But it kept me full a while. Yay creativity!

WASH YOUR HANDS!

2010-03-17T13:07:00.000-04:00

No, this is not a commentary on hygiene, but I did I learn a lesson, and I will share it with you shortly.

At the suggestion of friends who had made this recipe, I decided to try my hand at chicken posole, or pozole, as my can of hominy spelled it. The recipe was from Real Simple, which always wins me over. And I have been struggling lately to fit protein into my diet now that I've more or less cut out tofu/soy. I know, this is a big deal for the former VP Tofu of my group of friends. My mom mentioned one day that she thinks tofu is kind of hard to digest, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that might be my problem. Lord knows I eat (ate) enough soy... So I've been eliminating it from my diet and I think it might be a good thing. But it does make it hard to find quick vegetarian proteins! Does anyone have suggestions? Lentils may get old fast.

Have I mentioned my meat policy on here yet? I am not a vegetarian by any means, but with my save-the-world-one-cow-at-a-time mentality, I have been trying to eat only socially responsible meats. This obviously goes out the window when I go out to dinner (i.e.: the meat fest that I had at my birthday dinner at Alta, possibly my favorite restaurant... ever?), but I do my best at home, and to be honest rarely cook meat anyway. And that, kids, is how I saved the world. Or not. But I'm trying!

Anyway, I have been dying to try meat from the farmers' market, so I finally got down to it last Saturday, and I bought a whole smoked chicken. I won't tell you how much it cost, but that's because no one will want to save the world anymore after knowing that. But it was pretty damn good and lasted me over a week, so perhaps wasn't so crazy in the end.

Hola, pollo.

I am not a fan of dealing with chicken bones, etc., but I did OK with this guy. The white meat was a little dry, but the dark meat was pretty much perfect. Most of it, however, went into my posole!

I did a lot of modifications on this recipe, and in the end I think it came out pretty well. Always so proud when I do that!

Chicken Posole

adapted from Real Simple

So, I technically followed this recipe, but I think what I ended up making (and what I think my friends were telling me to make) was more like this recipe. So, it's a hybrid. Let's call it Prius Pozole. (Wow, I'm such a nerd.) The original recipe #1 requires making a chicken stock from scratch (hence the onion, celery, parsley, and raw chicken that it calls for). I speeded this up by instead using broth from a box AND a pre-cooked chicken, which, as it turns out, is pretty much what recipe #2 tells you to do. Also, this ended up being pretty spicy. I LOVE spicy, so it was all good, but maybe only use one pepper if you need to tone it down for your taste buds. OOOOOK. Still with me?

Ingredients

1/2 small cooked (smoked, rotisserie, etc.) chicken, pulled (I realize this is a totally unhelpful way of putting it, but I didn't weigh or measure... I would say it was about 2 cups shredded chicken meat?)

6 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1/2 large onion, chopped

1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 fresh poblano (or any variety, really), seeded and chopped (I think you could also use a whole dried pepper -- just stick it in the pot whole and remove when the soup is done)

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 15-oz can of hominy ("pozole"), drained

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp dried oregano

chopped fresh cilantro, to taste

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

avocado, chopped, optional

tortilla chips, optional

radishes, sliced, optional

Method

1. Add 6 cups of broth to a large Dutch oven or stockpot and bring to a light boil. While the broth heats, shred chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside.

2. Add onion, poblano, jalapeno, and garlic. Return to a boil, and add the chicken, hominy, cumin, chili powder, and oregano. Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for about 20 minutes.

3. Before serving, stir in cilantro and lime juice. Serve warm and top with tortilla chips, chopped avocado, and sliced radishes, if desired.

Serves 4ish.

I served this with avocado, as suggested, a ton of cilantro (totally made the meal), and a beauuutiful salad. I had never used hominy before. They look like giant white corn kernels, but they have the consistency of a soft, chewy potato. I'm not sure I made that sound appealing, but I really like it!

So, what lesson did I learn? Hot pepper oils can stay on your fingers for a LONG TIME. I managed to still have some on my fingers when I took out my contacts that night (after washing my hands at least 5 times), and my eyes stung for days. Don't say I didn't warn you!

A Little Fishy

2010-03-15T13:15:00.000-04:00

I am in love with the Green Market in Union Square. So, it seems, are about 100,000 other people in NYC. And they all like to show up just at the same time I do! Imagine that. Saturday afternoons at the best farmers' market in Manhattan are a mixed bag: local foods! friendly farmers! fresh bread! the mushroom table! And then suddenly I'm like a salmon swimming upstream and people's elbows are bashing into my arms/bags/face/carefully-selected-veggies. Bah. It's so much fun until someone squishes my fishes. (Side note: there are actual results if you google "squish my fish".)

On that note, I bought fish at the market last week! I am trying very hard to be as much of a locavore as possible, so I thought I'd finally check out the fish counter. It was late in the day, so they didn't have a huge selection left, but I decided on a lovely piece of flounder -- enough to serve just one.

A few months ago, I bought this dry rub/seasoning at Whole Foods on a whim. Someone was doing a cooking demo/sampler with it and I decided I could use a little something in my pantry to spice up my usual boring method of baking fish with minimal seasoning. The WF seasoning is called Red and Green Bell Pepper Sprinkle, and it's just a dry seasoning mix of those 2 peppers, onion, parsley, and black pepper. The demo cooker at WF was pan-searing tuna with it, but it also went really well with my flounder, even though I had some doubts.

The process was pretty simple. I rinsed and patted dry my flounder, rubbed a tiny drizzle of olive oil onto both sides of the fillet, and sprinkled a nice coating of the seasoning onto both sides. Ta-da!

I prepared a side of broccoi rabe, which I wilted with a bit of water, then sauteed with garlic, salt and olive oil. For the fish, I heated a bit of oil in a big non-stick pan, just enough so that the seasoning wouldn't just straight up burn, and cooked for about 3 minutes on each side. And that was it! It was SO fast, and so delicious!

You are also witnessing the best roasted veggie mix I've made in a while. This was delicata squash, golden beets, parsnips, red onion, and garlic. I actually just cut 2 garlic cloves in half and tossed them in with the veggies to infuse some flavor. I removed them before eating, although Mrs. Nelson, my 8th grade home ec teacher would remind me that roasted garlic is a true treat. Man, these are the times when I'm glad I don't have a boyfriend. Why do onion and garlic taste SO GOOD? Anyway, I was really pleased with my new additions to the roasting pan. Added a lot of flavor!

I decided I needed a little vino and TV with dinner. A Chardonnay from Argentina! One of the last of my wine of the month club collection. This one was just OK. Good for a Chard, but not my favorite.

This meal may have been a little olive oil heavy, but good fats are, well, good! And flounder isn't a fatty fish, so that kept some of the balance, I think. I guess I could have steamed the broccoli rabe to save some cals?

Next up: more farmers' market experiments. Always. Happy Monday!

My Life Revolves Around Soup

2010-03-10T16:51:00.000-05:00

I don't know why, but soup is pretty much always the first thing I think of whenever the question, "What's for dinner?" comes a-knocking at my door. It's just the perfect little meal. And I tend to make really hearty soups that might actually qualify as "warm bowls of stuff" rather than soup. Brothy little numbers are good for what they are, as a side, as an appetizer, as a preliminary to "OK, so, um, what's for dinner?" (Which, coincidentally, happens to be my dad's comment after finishing any vegetarian meal.) But I just live for the kinds of soups that require nothing but a large hunk of bread and some roasted veggies. Viva the warm bowls of stuff!

Last week I made an awesome soup/stew/warm bowl of stuff that came to me via Heidi, by way of Ileney. Ribollita, according to Heidi, means "reboiled" in Italian. And it's one of those meal in a bowl type of soups that I am obviously all about. And I like any excuse to buy real bread, as opposed to high fiber sliced bread that I use for sandwiches and toast.

I tried using dried Great Northern beans, but I think I overcooked them because they were all falling apart, like so.

Actually, some were overcooked, and some under. I will have to play around a little more because I like the idea of using dried beans.

One of these things isn't like the others... I had one random piece of yellow chard in with my batch of red. Hm.

Ribollita

adapted from Heidi Swanson's 101cookbooks.com

Ingredients

3 tbsp EVOO

4 celery stalks

3 medium cloves garlic, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 14-oz can crushed tomatoes*

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 pound Tuscan kale, stems trimmed off and leaves well chopped (I used red chard and thought it was great, but I would be curious to see what flavor the kale adds, since it's a bit more bitter than chard)

4 cups cooked white beans

1/2 lb crustless loaf of bread

1 1/2+ tsp sea salt

zest of one lemon

lots of well-chopped oily black olives

Method:

In a large thick-bottomed pot over medium hear combine the olive oil, celery, garlic, carrot, and red onion. Cook for 10-15 minutes sweating the vegetables (I finally understand what this means), but avoid any browning. Stir in the tomatoes and red pepper flakes, and simmer for another 10 minutes or so, long enough for the tomatoes to thicken up a bit. Stir in the kale (or chard), 3 cups of the beans, and 8 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the greens are tender, about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, mash or puree the remaining beans with a generous splash of water - until smooth. Tear the bread into bite-sized chunks. Stir both the beans and bread into the soup. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the bread breaks down and the soup thickens, 20 - 30 minutes. Stir in the salt, taste and add more if needed.

Stir in the lemon zest.

Serve immediately, or cool and refrigerate overnight. Serve reheated, or "ribollita" meaning reboiled, the next day ladled into bowls. Finish each serving with a drizzle of olive oil and some chopped olives.

Makes a large pot of soup - enough for 10 servings.

*For the crushed tomatoes, I highly recommend San Marzano brand. I should have known these were the real deal when Deb recommended them. Seriously, I would follow this woman off the edge of any culinary cliff. But no joke, I just started eating the leftovers straight out of the can. Sweetest, freshest canned tomatoes I've ever tasted.

I made about 2/3 of the recipe and it was STILL so much food! Like 8 servings? Also, I wasn't paying attention and left the crust on the bread. I recommend following the directions. I ended up with lots of bread chunks that didn't break down well in the soup like they should have.

Pancakes Continue to Rule

2010-03-04T12:14:00.000-05:00

In other news, I still really like pancakes. And to be honest I can't stop thinking about the ones I had last week at Clinton Street Baking Co. Jenna posted a link to this contest, and I couldn't resist. Why is free food so tempting??? I have never actually won a single contest I have ever entered, but I am determined. Check it out and win yourself some free food!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

2010-03-01T17:34:00.002-05:00

It all started with a little snow.

And then it turned into quite a bit of snow, actually. 17 inches in Central Park! Most snow we've had in the city for a LONG TIME. Happy birthday to me? Unfortunately Thursday was one of the grossest days I've seen in NY maybe ever. Just slushy and wet and slippery. It didn't turn into real snow until Thursday night into Friday.

But that didn't stop me from having a great day! I started out with a little yoga at 7am at my favorite studio (read: the only yoga studio I've been to outside of the gym). It was a great class and totally set the tone for my day. I knew it would :) I made sure to stay relaxed, focused, and balanced all day.

My mom called at 10:30 to see how I was doing. I told her I was having a great day so far. Without missing a beat she said, "So, what does that mean? Coffee and oatmeal?" Ding ding ding! And yoga, I informed her. What I did not tell her was that oatmeal involved a chocolate cookie on top.

Rolled oats in the microwave (I don't like regular oats on the stove) with almond milk, flax, cinnamon, 1/2 banana, dried cranberries, the best almond butter ever, a little sprinkle of my homemade granola, and 1/2 of a crumbled chocolate chocolate chip cookie on top. :-D It's my party and I'll eat what I want to!

Plus my favorite Java Girl Spanish roast in the French press with vanilla soy milk and my Cool Moose mug from Bridgton, ME.

I also used my favorite glass all day.

I heart Collegetown Bagels! Speaking of CTB, I have a little surprise at the end of the post regarding my favorite place in Ithaca...

Right before I went out for my orthopedist appointment (turns out I have some very uncomfortable tendonitis in my knees, and I can't run my half-marathon in April :( ), these came to my door!

Thanks, Mom and Dad!!!! This was SUCH a nice surprise. They're a beautiful arrangement.

After a slippery walk home in my rain boots, I made a giant bowl of more-of-my-favorite-things for lunch.

Arugula, white sharp cheddar, chopped green apples, red onion, alfalfa sprouts, a few walnuts, a drop of olive oil, a drizzle of balsamic, and a drizzle of honey. With a side of my favorite carb:

Spicy sweet potato fries!!! Tossed before cooking with a tbsp of canola oil, and a sprinkling of cumin, chili powder, and paprika. I tried to cut them thin so that they would brown quicker. I always get impatient and take them out before they have a chance to really crisp up, but the thin method worked better.

I nibbled on some broken hamantaschen throughout the afternoon, and then headed out for a quick stop at a Cornell happy hour and then to dinner with my friends at heaven. Oh, sorry, I mean Clinton Street Baking Co. February was Pancake Month, during which they alternated between a few special pancake recipes that they added to their regular menu. Yes, I had pancakes for dinner. And yes, they were AMAZING. I don't even know where to start. I'm talking about light, fluffy, airy, sweet, buttery, crispy pancakes.

NOT the nicest picture, but use your imaginations. Crunchy banana pancakes (bananas in the batter AND fried banana on top) with cinnamon chili chocolate sauce. And maple butter. And powdered sugar. And I think there was a little bit of love in there somewhere. Definitely some love.

I couldn't finish mine, although, to my surprise, they weren't as insanely huge as restaurant pancakes often are. It seemed POSSIBLE to finish, just not desirable. I also had a peach bellini with dinner. Yum! My friends got them to sing happy birthday and the waitress brought out a fudgy minty brownie with a candle in it. At that point, approximately no one needed dessert, but I cut the brownie into eights so everyone could try a piece. Also incredible. Of course.

It was such a wonderful day -- thanks to all who made it that way!

And now, moving on to my big exciting CTB news: I have entered a sandwich design contest. It's like it was MADE for me. I can't really get competitive when it comes to sports, but give me a food challenge and I am in it to win it! It's a Collegetown Bagels/ Cornell Hillel join contest for alumni to make a sandwich in the theme of Tub'shvat, the festival of trees, and it was suggested that we draw inspiration from fruit, nuts, spring, and Israel. This was a toughie, as it seemed like those ingredients would make a better salad than a sandwich, but I put on my thinking cap and came up with the following:

Toasted multigrain bread with a nice shmear of goat cheese, alfalfa sprouts, red onion...

...sliced granny smith apples, fresh baby spinach...

...and the secret ingredient!

Berry hot strawberry jam! SAY WHAT?! CTB uses raspberry jalapeno spread on my favorite bagel sandwich, the San Diego, and, as one of its strongest supporters (long live the razz jalapeno!), I was determined for it to find its way into my sandwich creation. This was the closest substitute I could find (gotta find out where they get theirs and start importing it... seriously), and it worked beautifully. I did a very serious taste test experiment with both my mom and my friend Amanda, and this was deemed the best combination of all my efforts. I'm not gonna lie, I REALLY want to win. And I would be ok with not seeing goat cheese in my life for another few weeks. I think I ate about 10oz of cheese in a matter of 24 hours. Pretty sick. But worth it. Wish me luck!

Mish Mosh Squash.

2010-02-26T18:14:00.001-05:00

In case you haven't noticed yet, Katie is my other half when it comes to eating. We love to cook together, and we have such similar tastes that we can always agree on something to make. Plus we never get sick of each other! Ever. And now that she has a limited capacity kitchen, she comes over all the time to cook with me! It's great.

Last week we did a Mexican burrito dinner similar to what I made in my last post, and we also roasted an acorn squash. Which we ate all of. Eek. Fiberfest.

I think I still prefer delicata, but this was very tasty and nicely browned. Just salt and pepper for seasoning.

Dessert was the real highlight for me. Banana soft serve! This post DID change my life. I now keep a container of frozen bananas in the freezer for when I want to make this. Which is often.

Served with my favorite topping: almond butter and dark chocolate chips melted in the microwave together. A-MAZ-ING. Mine is the one on the right with 5 times as much topping as Katie's. So, yeah, when I said we have very similar tastes, I also should have mentioned that she generally finishes off the veggies and I generally finish off the dessert. Not that I don't love my veggies (goodness, have you been reading this blog at ALL?), but Katie puts even me to shame. Bless her little tummy, she does.

Ehhhh, so I think I'm just going to make the rest of this post a mish-mosh of good things I've made in the last week. Mostly because I'm trying to catch up to myself so I can post about my BIRTHDAY!

Nava Atlas wins me over once again with her Tofu Teriyaki Triangles. I really love making my own sauces these days, and this teriyaki sauce is such a winner. I think that what makes her cookbook so accessible is that it's intended to be kid-friendly. Yeah, yeah, hold your horses: I happen to have a very sophisticated palate, if I do say so myself, but I can't honestly say that I love whipping up culinary masterpieces on whatever Wednesday night it happens to be. Nava's ingredients are usually things I have stocked already, or she makes suggestions as to what can be omitted/substituted. Have I not plugged enough? Go buy it.

Teriyaki Tofu Triangles

adapted from Nava Atlas's The Vegetarian Family Cookbook

For 1 block of tofu:

2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp light olive oil

1 tsp dark sesame oil

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp honey or maple syrup

1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced/grated or a good pinch of ground ginger

2 tsp hoisin sauce, optional

2 tsp grainy spicy mustard (my own addition as an experiment)

1 or scallions, thinly sliced, optional (or parsley)

Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl and stir together.

Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch thick slices. Blot well between clean tea towels (huh?) or several layers of paper towels, then cut each slice through the thickness again to make 1/4 inch thick slices. Blot briefly again. (That's how you get it to CRISP!)

Cut each slice into 2 squares, then cut each square on the diagonal into 2 triangles. Place in a shallow pan and drizzle with the marinade. Gently turn the tofu pieces over so that both sides are coated with marinade.
Let stand for 10 minutes or so.

Heat a wide nonstick skillet. Transfer the tofu and marinade into the skillet. Cook over medium high heat, stirring gently and frequently, until the tofu is nicely browned on most sides. Scatter scallions over the tofu if desired, and serve at once.

I wilted some red chard in a separate pot. Once the tofu was nice and crisp I put it aside on a plate and cooked the chard in the same pan with a drop more oil and some garlic. And salt! I don't know what my deal is these days, but I looove salt on everything.

The coloring isn't great here (WHAT do food bloggers do after dark?!), but it's one of my favorite things about red chard. Beautiful!

Next up: 25th!!

Don't Get Saucy with Me

2010-02-25T15:58:00.002-05:00

I am truly smitten with Smitten Kitchen. Deb is my writing hero, a talented chef, and totally reminds me of my family in that she's witty and culturally Jewish and such a New Yorker. In a good way. AND she posts pictures of her utterly edible baby. Too much.

Anyway, Deb tends to bake a lot, which makes for great food porn, but also would make me fat if I followed suit. I love baking, but I avoid it because then I'd have to eat it. Don't get me wrong, I'm a splurger. I splurge all the time. Probably to the point where it's not really a splurge anymore, and more like an indulgent lifestyle. But whatever. I am 80% very healthy eater and 20% sweet toothed fanatic. I like dessert and that's fine. There's just a difference between happily accepting a homemade cookie from a friend and happily accepting the entire pan of brownies that just came out of the oven. Hence, I don't bake much.

So, of course, when Deb posted this recipe for tomato sauce, I was kvelling. Easy, savory, and Deb-approved? Count me in. She says it all so well, so I won't repeat, but in case you didn't follow the link, the only ingredients are canned tomatoes (perfect for the winter time "no-tomatoes-anywhere" blues), onion, butter, salt (optional). And pasta of course. I ended up at Trader Joe's the day I bought ingredients for this dish, which meant little variety in the canned tomato arena. Trader Joe's is wonderful, but comprehensive it is not. I ended up with pre-salted canned tomatoes with basil. It didn't taste way too salty or anything, and I just didn't add any extra to the sauce, but I would have liked a more pure tomato base for such a purist sauce.

I served this with steamed broccoli and some happy delicata squash, which happens to be my new favorite variety.

I have also been on a Mexican kick as of late. I can't stop thinking about my veggie burrito from SF, and I was determined to replicate it on a much less football sized scale. And so we have...

Mexican spiced pot of veggies! Here is my sorta-recipe:

One Pot Veggie Burritos

1 tbsp olive or canola oil

2 small carrots, sliced into rounds (I used yellow and purple carrots from the Farmer's market)

1 cup (or more) sliced crimini mushrooms (about 10 mushrooms)

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3-4 cups spinach

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 tsp Mexican seasoning (I have a pre-fab sample from a Mexican restaurant, but if you need to mix your own, use some combo of cumin, paprika, and chili powder)

Tortillas of choice

yogurt and salsa for topping

Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan. Add onions and garlic and sautee for 2-3 minutes. Add carrots and sautee for another 4-5 minutes. Add mushrooms and sautee for about another 3 minutes, or until everything seems almost done but not quite. At this point add the spinach, a splash of water to help steam the spinach a little, stir everything together, cover the pot and allow to simmer for about 3 minutes. Stir everything again to help the spinach wilt evenly. Add the beans and seasoning. You don't need to cook them long -- just enough to heat through, about another 4 minutes, covered. Voila! I topped mine with plain yogurt and salsa verde, but obviously anything goes. I bought some cheddar cheese and avocado for the leftovers, which definitely stepped it up a notch, although was significantly more calorie dense.

I have some news to get to in a bit, but that will be a separate post. Today is kind of a special day... it's my 25th birthday! Yikes! Entering the quarter century club... my, oh my. It's a beautiful day here in NY (totally lying, it's nasty out), and I have big plans for the evening. Will obviously update later. Adios!

Snow Day = QT in the Kitchen

2010-02-23T23:57:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, a snow day descended upon Manhattan. I say "snow day" as opposed to "snow storm" because quite frankly it was a lame storm. It snowed, but it wasn't nearly as much as was predicted, and the city's response was totally exaggerated. Stores were closed, schools were closed, and plenty of offices asked their employees to work from home for the day. This didn't really affect me much, since I work from home most days anyway (and to be honest I felt kind of gypped), but it did mean that I had a work from home buddy to play with! Katie came over mid-morning and literally stayed through the entire day. So, what else would we do but cook?!

For lunch we made a "throw it all in a pan" pasta dish.

This is not recipe worthy, because I didn't measure a thing, but I actually really recommend it as a quick weeknight dinner or a way to use up veggies in your fridge. We cooked up some whole wheat pasta and then in a separate pan sauteed red pepper, spinach, crimini mushrooms, and garlic. There may have been onions, but I don't remember. I added a dash of sherry vinegar at the end and topped with feta cheese, although I can't say it would be my first cheese choice. Just what I had.

Katie looooves it!

The "blizzard":

Maybe I'm jaded after 4 years in Ithaca, but really? I scoff at you, blizzard.

Katie and I spent the afternoon working/napping (me/her), and then reconvened to cook dinner! Well, first we went to Gourmet Garage to pick up some ingredients and for me to get some fresh air. Gotta love how I can make it until 7pm without leaving the house. And by love it I mean hate it. I had been harboring a hankering (Harboring a hankering? Does that even make sense?) for this butternut squash soup from The Barefoot Contessa for weeks (maybe months?), so I convinced K to make it with me.

In true Katie/Freya fashion, we made a boatload of veggies to eat with our soup (roasted brussels sprouts and golden and red beets, canola oil, salt and pepper, pretty standard). We also bought a quarter loaf of Brooklyn Brewery stout bread. I have no idea what that means (it was a rye, I think?), but it was SO GOOD. Gourmet Garage is an awesome grocery store, but not very well-stocked with the basics. Just awesome little strange things. Not to mention it's HELLA expensive. But it's a block away, and I love it.

I am providing the full recipe for the soup, but note that we halved it (well, half + a little). I say buy a squash and then proportion the other ingredients according to the weight of the squash. It was so satisfying and healthy and truly easy to make, if a bit time consuming, even considering the food processor involvement. We each had a big bowl, and then I think I had 2 more servings leftover. Also, you're supposed to peel the apples, but we forgot (oops) and didn't notice a thing. Yay extra fiber! (?)

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Adapted from Barefoot Conetessa Parties! (haha love the title of this cookbook...)
Makes 3 1/2 quarts

2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp good olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)
2 tbsp mild curry powder
1 tsp Garam Masala -- we added it because Allison makes a great butternut squash soup with the spice, and we said, why not?
5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh (4 apples) -- I used Gala
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups good apple juice or cider

Warm the butter and olive oil in a large stockpot over low heat. Add the onions and curry powder and cook, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.
Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples (or not). Cut into chunks.
Add the squash, apples salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
Pour the soup back into the pot. Add the apple juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like (we added no water); it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.

More Office Follies

2010-02-16T15:00:00.002-05:00

As if I hadn't just been slighted by the vending machine yesterday, today the microwave turned on me too. I had the brilliant idea to bring oats to work with me to cook in the microwave here. I wanted to make sure I wasn't late, and somehow eating breakfast at home takes me a long time. I think it has something to do with those chatty Kathys I spend my meal with (ahem: Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira AND/OR Kiran Chetry and John Roberts).

(bittenandbound.com)

(reportercaps.com)

Showdown?

I brought this huge tupperware with me, because my oats always puff up to the top of the bowl, and I didn't want any overflow. Annnnnd: fail. I turned my head for one minute to glower at the vending machine, and then all of a sudden I was faced with an oatmeal explosion. BAH. I scooped up about half of my bfast with paper towels. Bummer. Not only was it messy and embarrassing, but obviously I was going to be hungry. And I was. Especially since I had to forgo my usual array of toppings (spoonful of PB doesn't travel well). I started picking at lunch at 11:20. I'm all about eating when I feel hungry, but on work days I know it's usually just the boredom talking when I'm hungry at 11. Not today, of course. This was actual hunger. So I ate half my sandwich with one hand while holding the phone with the other, wondering when the never-ending conference call might relent.

I also brought some carrots and homemade hummus with me today!

This hummus was insanely easy and delicious.

White Bean Hummus

Adapted from Nava Atlas's The Vegetarian Family Cookbook

2 cans white beans (I used a mix of navy and cannellini)
2 tbsp tahini
2-3 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 small lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Paprika to sprinkle on top
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
Put everything in the food processor (except for paprika) and blend. BAM, you're done. Ok, fine, sprinkle paprika on top to make it look pretty. NOW you're done. This makes a lot of hummus. I guess if you're making it for yourself and not for a party (I brought this to our Super Bowl party), then 1 can of beans would be more than enough.

While we're talking about easy legumes (jeez, Skinny Bitch has been in my head lately...), I give you a new favorite, care of (who else) Mark Bittman.

Spiced Red Lentil Dal
Adapted from Mark Bittman's The Minimalist

2 tablespoons peanut oil (I used canola)
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup dried red lentils, washed and picked over
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger (I had to add in some from a jar, but I recommend the real deal)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 cloves
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Salt
2 tablespoons cold butter (optional) (I used butter but only about 1 tbsp)
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish (My roomie happened to have some, and it actually added a lot, but is definitely optional. Don't go buy it if you don't have it already.)

1. Put oil in a skillet over medium high heat; when it is hot, add onion and cook until soft, about 10 minutes; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients except the salt, butter and cilantro in a saucepan. Add water to cover by about 1 inch, and bring to a boil. Adjust heat so mixture bubbles gently, and cook, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary, until lentils are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and more pepper and keep cooking to desired tenderness. Lentils should be saucy but not soupy.
3. Remove cloves from pan and add reserved sautéed onion. Stir in butter if you are using it. Taste and adjust seasoning, then garnish with cilantro and serve.

SO good! Like brothless lentil soup. I made the full recipe so I would have leftovers, and I decided to get creative with them. I ended up with this yummy, if a little odd, wrap.

Whole wheat wrap, spinach, red onion, avocado, feta, lentils, and almonds(?). The almonds were a little weird.

I think that this is an "investment dish" of sorts. I had to go buy mustard seed and cloves, and I had to make sure I had fresh ginger in the house. But I want to make it for forever on, so I know I will use the stuff. I also like buying new spices and finding recipes that call for them. It's how you expand your palate!

And, just in case this post was feeling too healthy, feast your eyes on these mamas:

These were in honor of Amanda's/Joanna's 25th bdays last weekend! Mmmm, Crumbs is the most magical bakery on earth. :)

Vegelicious and Yogirrific

2010-02-15T17:56:00.001-05:00

Accidental candy bars and Chinese takeout aside--it was Valentine's Day and I'm single: Chinese food has no calories on such occasions--I have been trying to cook up lots of healthy foods. Because if I cook it, then I'll eat it. I know it sounds simple, but, for example, if I roast tons of veggies and keep them in a container in the fridge, I'll reach for that as a quick snack, rather than tortilla chips or, um, spoonfuls of peanut butter from the jar. Hence, the cook-it-and-eat-it-strategy.

Exhibit A:

Roasted parsnips and sweet potato! Why isn't the sweet potato orange? Because it's from Georgia! I don't know if that's a real answer, but it was a sweet potato variety from Georgia with white flesh. It was just ok. Drier and milder than a ~~normal~~ orange sweet potato. (I mean, who am I to say what's normal for a potato?) I recommend sticking to orange sweets.

Lately I've been veering back toward my former love of veggie burgers. I think I stopped eating them because so many were so processed, but I have found a good solution: Sunshine Burger!

They're not terribly low-cal because the first ingredient is sunflower seeds, but they are made of whole ingredients and they are deeeelish. This one is the falafel type, with avocado, red onion, jalapeno, and spicy honey mustard. Perfect work from home lunch!

I also have to share a new veggie-friendly restaurant find! I'm kind of already planning my next trip back there. I have Ariel and Alex to thank for knowing me well enough to take me to Westville East. FREYA HEAVEN. I tried taking pics, but, alas, the lighting wasn't cooperating, so they're either blurry or flashed.

Veggie quartet:

Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, both in a dijon mustard sauce, sauteed mushrooms, and grilled fennel. The sprouts and fennel were my faves, but it was all amazing, as evidenced below.

For dinner I went with their homemade patty of awesomeness.

AKA veggie burger. It came with a delicious, huge salad on the side, but the burger was definitely the show stopper.

For a moment of zen, I would like to share some messages from my Yogi tea. Some of them are so ridiculous and overly zen, but I like having a little note with my tea.

All right, corny Yogi time is over. I do recommend their spicy cinnamon tea, though. And, because I like mugs, I leave you with one more, in the post-Valentine's Day spirit.

"I'm single"...

'Nuff said. Peace out, bloggies!

Naked Pay Day

2010-02-15T16:59:00.002-05:00

Well, that got your attention, didn't it?

Today, I had a VENDING MACHINE DISASTER. I know what you're thinking: Did she get lost on the way to the fruit basket and stumble into a vending machine instead? No, not quite. I was in a snack crisis situation. I usually do a good job avoiding those situations by keeping Larabars on me at all times, but I totally underestimated my appetite today. When I pack my meals for the day, I usually pack morning snack (fruit) or breakfast, depending on the day; lunch; and 2 light snacks or 1 big snack (like a yogurt with cereal and nuts). In the morning I always feel like I'm packing enough food for a family of four to picnic with, but somehow I inevitably pack it all in to this bottomless pit of mine. Today I brought a yogurt/cereal/fruit breakfast, leftover Chinese takeout from V-Day Girls' Night :), and an orange. And then at 4pm, my stomach said: "Girlfriend, I am HUNGRY." I thought the huge container of Chinese would hold me all afternoon. Incorrect. I had to act fast. I was on a conference call so I couldn't leave the building to go to the fruit stand or Starbucks or anything... my only option was... shudder... the big black box o' processed foods. I'm exaggerating. It's not THAT bad, but I felt like my only good, filling option was a Nature Valley granola bar. D10. So I pressed D, then 1, then as I realized there was no 0 button on the keypad, a large PayDay clunked to the bottom of the machine. Oops. Yeah, there's a 10 button. You don't type in 1 + 0. You press the 10. ARGH. (Slash um, duh, what planet am I from? It's a vending machine, not calculus (which, ironically, I was much better at).)

Here we have my unwanted snack:

I was prepared to just buy a granola bar and give the candy bar to someone else, but, of course, I only had a $20 bill left, and I was not about to walk away with 19 Sacajawea coins jingling in my pocket. And so, D1, the PayDay, is what I was going to have to eat.

I don't think I'd ever had a PayDay. Or if I had, it was Halloween sized. This thing was BIG. Ugh, couldn't I have at least gotten something with chocolate??? I ate almost half before I had the brilliant idea to just take off all the peanuts!!!

Before:

After:

Ergo: Naked PayDay! Sorry for the BBerry pix, but I was not prepared for photography today. Who knew it would be such a momentous occasion!

So, now I feel pretty good about healthfully managing this sticky situation (har har), but I really wish I had had a granola bar. The caramel stuff was soooo sweet! Ick. Too much.

Anyway, let this be a lesson to all you health nuts: do not let the vending machine fool you!

SNOW DAY

2010-02-09T17:12:00.000-05:00

weather.com, please do not fail me...

Baking might be in my future if it really does snow this much!

People Make Me Laugh

2010-02-09T13:57:00.000-05:00

It would be wrong of me not to share some of the bizarre foodie sites I have stumbled upon in the past couple of days.

It started with this one. Serious Eats never fails me! I actually went to a lecture at the 92Y last week, featuring Dan Barber, Tom Colicchio, Jacque Torres, and Andre Soltner. Perhaps I should start sketching my own tattoo?

eonline.com

And, if you're brave, I highly recommend this one. It's both hilarious AND appalling. Gotta love it!

Back in Business

2010-02-09T13:45:00.001-05:00

(Edited to include recipe!)

Mission: Accomplish Things is going well this week. Isn't it amazing that when you have all the time in the world, nothing seems to get done? That's how I am, at least -- which is why the fact that I get to work from home a lot is both a blessing and a curse. In theory I save time because I don't need to get dolled up or travel back and forth to/from the office, but in reality I watch a lot of TV and make intricate meals. I am at the office for day 2 in a row, and get a load of yesterday's activities: I blogged, caught up on blogs I read, tore through a good chunk of my awesome spreadsheet (<3 Excel <3 <3 <3), went to a pilates class downtown, accidentally worked out in the morning too because I forgot I had signed up for said pilates class at night, and cooked a new dish (that I am not actually posting today). BAM! Being in a place where other people can see my computer screen keeps me from spending all day looking at restaurant menus and foodie articles. Because I don't want to get carried away here (whew! all this productivity is just wild!), I will be working from home tomorrow. Actually I'm enjoying getting things done, but I just have midday appointments, and it's supposed to SNOW! Fingers crossed for a foot. Inclement weather = exactly the reason "working from home" was invented. I'll take it.

Alas, food. I finally left my friends at Strive NYC for a bigger, better, hotter gym, Crunch. I'm loving it so far. The one near me even has a hot yoga studio, so I decided I would give it a shot. My last hot yoga experience was Bikram (Crunch has Vinyasa), and I hated it. I felt nauseous for the majority of the class and couldn't stand for a while after. Fun, right? Understandably, I stayed far, far away for many, many months. But this time around, I hydrated, avoided eating less than 2 hours before class, and I did it! I've actually gone twice now, and I find a little coconut water midday helps a lot. Last time I followed class with a GREEN MONSTER, Jenna style, and it was perrrfect. I didn't use protein powder this time, like she does, but I've tried it before and it works that way too. I just get weirded out by protein additives.

Green Monster Smoothie!

1 frozen banana

a few ice cubes

heaping tbsp almond butter

huge handful spinach

squirt of agave

1 cup almond milk

If it sounds gross to you, don't worry, I'm with you. It sounds like a very, very bad idea. But it is not. Pinky swear! Plus, I like any excuse to drink from a straw, and I love my CTB glass, which, um, I'm pretty sure someone stole for me at homecoming. Ahhh, I miss Collegetown. Note: I do not condone thievery! (Usually.)

And now I give you last week's real masterpiece, which (don't hate me) I can't give the recipe for because it's in a cookbook on my bookshelf and I'm at the office. (See? Blessing and curse. Told ya.) But I'll post it later.

Coconut Curried Vegetable Stew

adapted from Nava Atlas's The Vegetarian Family Cookbook

(post edited to include recipe now!)

1 1/2 tbsp light olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

4 medium potatoes, any firm variety, peeled and diced (I like sweet potatoes with this flavor profile)

4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2 medium head cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces

2 cups frozen cut green beans, thawed (or fresh!)

1-2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or to taste (LOVE fresh ginger!)

2-3 teaspoons good-quality curry powder or to taste

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

One 15-oz can light coconut milk (leftover from my flatbread debacle)

Salt to taste

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed (or more!)

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the nion and garlic and saute over medium heat until golden. Add the potatoes, carrots, and 2 cups of water, and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently until potatoes are about half tender, 10-15 minutes. (Check on them earlier! Mine got tender very quickly.)

2. Add the cauliflower, green beans, ginger, curry powder, and turmeric. Cover and continue to simmer very gently until the vegetables are tender, about 20 mins.

3. Mash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon to thicken the base. Stir in the coconut milk and season with salt. If time allows, let the stew stand for 1 hour or so before serving.

4. Just before serving, heat the stew and taste to correct the seasonings. Stir in the peas and cook just until the peas are heated through, then serve in shallow bowls.

Serves 6-8. (I halved it and it still made me about 4 light meals)

It comes together quite easily, and if you use frozen stuff, even faster. I went with mostly fresh, other than the peas. Peas are so underrated! I love 'em. In high school I used to "defrost" them by running them under hot water, then cold water (I swear they taste better cold). Anyway, the coloring seems a little off here, because in real life it's definitely got that bright yellow curry glow. I actually added a little chipotle powder at the end because it needed more kick, but in retrospect, I might have gone with black pepper and some more curry powder. This is one of my old favorites because it's a one pot wonder and it freezes pretty well for easy weeknight dinners later on. Nava (we're on a first name basis) suggests serving it with a grain, but I honestly think it's self sufficient. If you're a protein nut, then you may need a little oomph added in (maybe a protein grain like quinoa), but I tend to eat light at dinner anyway.

And now, it's back to business. Think snow!

Restaurant Week: Take Two

2010-02-08T14:59:00.002-05:00

NOTE: I started this post a week ago. Last week was just... one of those weeks where nothing gets accomplished in any area of life. Ever have those weeks? I'm going to leave what I wrote originally and comment as needed. And make this week's goal: productivity.

Tonight my friends and I are going out for another Restaurant Week dinner, which will undoubtedly be better than the last one because, well, how could it not be? We are going here, and I am SO excited. It sounds right up my alley. They change the entire restaurant for every season, including menu, decor, etc. I always study menus ahead of time, but I honestly can't even pick what I want! This will have to be a game time decision.

Results: SO MUCH BETTER THAN BUTTER! It was a great meal. They started us with croissant-like rolls and walnut bread, plus some parmesan poppers. I'd never had fried parmesan before, but the way it holds together is really nice -- not melty/stringy like mozzarella. I ended up unintentionally doing a complete cross-comparison of the two restaurants by ordering the Park Ave Winter version of everything I ate at Butter: butternut squash soup, salmon, and banana dessert. So much for variety, eh. I thought the soups were almost too different to compare. The one at Butter was brighter and bolder, but Park Ave's had a really elegant sophistication to it. I'm talking truffle oil and roasted squash seeds. Really beautiful and light. The salmon was cooked perfectly at Park Ave (and no one asked me how I wanted it cooked...), and I loved the citrus glaze and kale. It was a MONDO portion, too! Dessert was amaaaaazing. It was banana ice cream with whipped cream, chocolate crunchies (like a Carvel cake!) and butterscotch sauce. I ate all of mine and some of Allison's. :)

Yikes! So much text. I will spare you my rambling restaurant reviews and get to the cooking. Yeah, yeah, I hear those sighs of relief.

In my own kitchen, I had a few new things on the menu. Last week I tried to make this recipe for Curried Cauliflower Flatbread, and I kinda failed. Had I not, it might have looked something like this:

(photo credit nytimes.com)

My own was so unappetizing in appearance that I will not burden you with a photo. It was uggo. Just leave it at that. However, I learned a few things: 1. I like roasted cauliflower, 2. light coconut milk is AWESOME, and 3. aesthetics matter a lot when it comes to food. The flavors of this bread were right on, and the texture was, well, almost right on, but it was visually unappealing, which really took away from the eating experience. This is more my fault than Mr. Bittman's, as I didn't use the right type of pan, but it's incredible how big a role our eyes play in eating, huh? Anyway, I recommend the recipe if you have the right cookware.

I did, however, succeed with a 101cookbooks.com recipe. It was called Ten Minute Tasty Asparagus and Brown Rice. 10 minutes? Maybe in Heidi-land, but in Freya-land, this was more like Thirty Minute Tasty Asparagus and Brown Rice. Granted she used frozen rice, which sped things up. However, that wasn't my issue: I let the rice cook while I showered, so no biggie there. I found the sauce to be a little time consuming. Measuring is a pain in the butt. I think I'm over it. (Hence why Mark Bittman is my cooking hero.)

Hello, asparagus! I know it's not in season, but until the stores stop tempting me with veggies from South America, I can't totally let go...

Here's what I ended up with.

Obviously served in my super mature Shrek bowl that I ordered from a cereal box. It's a bowl with ogre antennas! Seriously? How could you not love that?

Ten (or Forty) Minute Tasty Asparagus and Brown Rice
Adapted from Heidi Swanson's 101cookbooks.com

3 tbsp EVOO
1 or 2 cans chickpeas (I used one), drained
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch segments
3 cups pre-cooked brown rice
1 cup almond slivers, toasted (I used a mix and almond and cashew pieces)
fine grain sea salt

Tahini Dressing:
1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped
1/4 cup tahini
zest of 1 lemon (this might have been the most time consuming piece, made infinitely worse by the fact that we don't have a zester)
scant 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp hot water
scant 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt

Make the dressing by whisking together the garlic, tahini, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil. Add the hot water to thin a bit and then the salt. Set aside. Add a couple glugs of olive oil (roughly 3 tablespoons) to a big skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl the oil around to coat the pan, then add the chickpeas and sprinkling of salt. Let the beans saute there for a couple minutes (I like to try to get some crusty color on them). Be careful, they seem to hiss and pop more then other beans over high heat. Add the garlic and onions. Stir for a minute. Stir in the asparagus with another pinch or two of salt, cover with a lid for a minute or two to steam - just until the asparagus brightens and softens up just a bit. Uncover and stir in the rice and almond slivers, reserving a few almonds for garnish. Taste and add more salt if needed (likely). Serve family-style in a big bowl drizzled with a few tablespoons of the tahini dressing, let each person add more dressing to their tastes.

I think my favorite thing about a recipe like this is that now that I have a "formula", I can more or less do whatever I want with it. Like switching up some veggies (bok choy? chard?) or a grain, and just winging it on the sauce. If you don't have a zester, don't worry. I didn't think it added that much. Even a bit too lemony for me. Overall, loved the recipe. Great weeknight dinner.

I had leftover rice and dressing, so I put that aside in a container and it made an appearance in lunch the next day!

Hm, apparently hiding, but in there. The yogurty blob on top is from my eggplant recipe a few posts ago. I love using yogurt sauces as salad dressing!

More recipes a-coming. Happy Monday (BLECH)!

OIKOS ALERT!

2010-01-29T10:50:00.002-05:00

http://edibleperspective.com/?p=4348

Check this out. CHOCOLATE and CARAMEL baby Oikos?!?!?! When when when will these be on the market?! I'm kvelling.

Tastes Like Buttah

2010-01-28T15:49:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday night my friends and I went to dinner at Butter, a well-known, trendy restaurant. It is Restaurant Week in NY, which means that participating restaurants offer a prix-fixe 3-course meal for $35. It's a great deal, and we always try to do at least one outing every time. I did not take any pictures, but I did spend all of the next morning writing a review of our experience. Please see below.

An Evening at Butter

Scavenger Hunt

2010-01-28T13:45:00.003-05:00

If there is one product that I hear about more than any other on the food blogs it's BARNEY BUTTER: almond butter that is supposedly better than all the others? Everyone raves about it, but it's nowhere to be found in NYC. Not even at my go-to stores, Whole Foods and Fairway. This stuff is officially foreign to NY. But on one of our many trips to Whole Foods at Franklin and California in SF, Alex and I finally spotted the elusive nut butter!!!

I felt like I had won a scavenger hunt. So obviously we each bought an $8 container to lug back across the country. I have to say (and I hope the blog gods don't strike me with lightning), I wasn't impressed. It's certainly good, but let's be real, what almond butter is bad? None, in my book. It's the consistency of Skippy, which is maybe what people like about it? I actually prefer the grainy consistency of natural nut butters. Especially in oatmeal. It just holds up better. This stuff kinda melts. But I do like it to eat with a banana or apple or anything not hot. So, a little disappointing, but at least I feel in the loop now :)

I have been cooking up a storm this week! I get so ambitious when I'm home for the week (2 weeks, actually!), and I went a little nuts with groceries and meal planning. But I love it.

My first new recipe attempt was an ode to Bitten/The Minimalist/my hero Mark Bittman. Andddd... veggies! I'm trying to eat vegetarian as often as possible, just because I want to be more serious about socially-responsible eating. It's just as easy and satisfying (and cheaper!) to eat vegetarian when I cook for myself. Every once in a while I buy a responsibly farmed/wild-caught fish or organic chicken. I have yet to buy beef, but maybe if I find a good recipe. My formerly vegetarian stomach is still a bit of a snob and refuses to digest an entire meal-size portion of beef. Believe me, that's all the information you need.

Numero uno: Quick-Cooked Bok Choy (scroll down for this recipe), courtesy of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian:

Ingredients

1 head bok choy, about 1 1/2 pounds

3 tbsp peanut or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn (Canola was lovely)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Cut the leaves from the stems of the bok choy. Trim the stems as necessary, then cut them into roughly 1-inch pieces; rinse everything well. Put the oil in a large skillet over medium-high hear. When hot, add the stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until they just lose their crunch, about 3 minutes. Add the greens and about 1/2 cup water (or vegetable stock, if you prefer).

2. Cook, stirring occasionally until the liquid evaporates and the stems become very tender, about 10 minutes more; add a little more water if necessary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

I know bok choy is a random ingredient, but I saw a girl carrying a bundle of it at Fairway, and suddenly I needed bok choy in my life. This was incredibly easy and satisfying. Bok choy (mine was baby bok choy, actually) becomes really creamy when it's cooked, so this felt rich and hearty.

I served this with numero dos, another Bittman credit: Grilled Eggplant Salad with Yogurt, or in my case, Broiled Eggplant Salad with Yogurt Sauce.

Ingredients

1 pound eggplants, preferably small light purple ones (a big eggplant is fine but will need to cook almost twice as long)
1 medium onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups plain whole milk yogurt (or fat free Greek yogurt)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pinch cayenne or Aleppo pepper or other mild ground chili powder
1/4 cup chopped parsley or mint (totally optional in my opinion)

Method

1. Start a charcoal or wood fire or preheat a gas grill or broiler; rack should be no more than 4 inches from heat source. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise up to stem, but do not cut through. Spread about 2/3 of the onion and garlic between the eggplant halves and press the two sides back together. (This was the trickiest part. Once stuffed, my eggplant kept falling over, so I made it a little aluminum foil bed, which helped.)
2. Grill eggplants, turning once or twice, until they are blackened and collapsed, 10 to 15 minutes, 25 or so for a big eggplant. Do not worry if the skin burns a bit. Meanwhile, mix remaining garlic and onion with yogurt; season to taste with salt, pepper and a little cayenne.
3. When cooked, let eggplants cool a bit, then peel off skins and let cool further. Roughly chop eggplants, then mix with yogurt dressing. Serve at room temperature or chill if you like, in either case, garnish with parsley or mint.

Recipe notes: I didn't bother with the herbs. The eggplant took longer to cook (about 25 mins) because I used a big one, but everything else was great. If nothing else, I highly recommend this yogurt sauce. I used fat free Greek yogurt (Oikos, of course!) instead of full fat regular to make it a little healthier, and I used it as a salad dressing the next day. I know it sounds simple, but the flavor was outrageous.

This was a small dinner because I had eaten lunch at like 4.

The leftovers made an appearance the next day at lunch with a side of my new "wish-I-didn't-know-how-good-these-are-because-I-may-never-stop-eating-them" find. Food Should Taste Good Buffalo chips. DROOL.

I adore this brand for their name and their message. And their chips, of course. My faves are these and the Multigrain variety.

I also found an adorable new yogurt at Food Emporium.

Baby Oikos! Awww. Mama and baby yogurt. They're 4 ounces each and I got a 4-pack on sale for $4.99. Score! I can't believe Stonyfield didn't first run it by me, their most loyal customer on the planet! That hurts, Gary.

Back to work, and then more recipes to come soon.

Holy Guacamole

2010-01-26T13:11:00.000-05:00

My blogging mojo disappeared last week because I hit a mental wall. I started a new project for work last week, which happens to still be in Dallas and with the same client. It's a totally different type of assignment, though, and I think more in line with what I actually like about my job! And mostly working from home!!! So that's always good. What's not good was my insanely delayed flight from SF to Dallas last Monday! >:\ That, on top of the jetlag, totally screwed me up for the week. I was permanently tired. And then when I finally got home on Friday, I slept in until 10am! Who am I??? Lucky I have a very flexible work schedule.

Anyway, I'm finally back on track with sleep and exercise (I had to take off almost an entire WEEK because my legs were so sore from running those SF hills!), and I'm ready to blog 'n' roll. I'm working from home this week and next, so I stocked up on groceries and got back in the kitchen. I may or may not have neurotically planned out every meal for the next week... I found too many good recipes! I got excited :)

But first, I shall finish SF...

There's my lovely hostess as we ride the little gondola up to the Sterling winery in NAPA VALLEY! EEEEK! It was so beautiful and kind of like a fantasy. The wines at Sterling were AWESOME. Really unique flavors and high quality. I ended up buying a dessert wine -- Port Zinfandel (so weird for me to buy a dessert wine!) and a bottle of Pinot Noir to drink with my mom. I didn't buy it, but I was SO impressed with their '02 Chardonnay. It was so buttery and not oaky!

I adore California topography. Get a load of this background!

Then we moved on to a boutiquey little winery that Sarah belongs to, where we tasted a whole slew of things. Oddly enough, I liked the whites more than the reds. Almost never happens with me.

We broke for lunch at the Rutherford Grill, where I had a pretty incredible veggie burger. I was only able to eat half! It had all kinds of veggies, including beets, and I had it with a side of spaghetti squash with pesto. Mmmmm... We also split the skillet cornbread, which was outrageous.

Lastly, we stopped at Frog's Leap (just in time too... they were about to close), which is a farmy, organic winery. The grounds were beautiful, and we tasted out on the wraparound porch. It was so serene. I probably could have stayed there for the rest of my life. Wine country in general! I did not want to leave. At Frog's Leap I bought the most unusual Cabernet I have ever tasted. It was a little pricey, but so unique. I need to find the right occasion to drink it!

That was all Saturday... then on Sunday we went to Supper Club for dinner, which was super funky and playful. You sit on beds that surround the perimeter of the restaurant, and there are performances in the middle. Rated PG-13.

The lights kept changing colors...

The lighting was obviously not conducive to food photography, but we had a mozzarella bruschetta and some SUPER tender chicken. I almost never order chicken in restaurants, but maybe I should start?

Monday was, sadly, my day of departure (or should I say evening? AARRGGHHHH RAIN DELAY!), so we went for the one thing I still hadn't gotten my fill of: Whole Foods. JK, I totally had my fill of Whole Foods. I think I went to Whole Foods 4 times in 5 days. What I actually wanted was Mexican! We went for a driving tour of the city, and then for burritos in the Mission!

The burrito stands alone. Literally. It was so big it could sit on its end.

SO GOOD. I can't believe I ate almost the whole thing. But I had been for a run earlier and was famished. I got a veggie burrito (grilled carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms) with black beans, rice, salsa, cheese, and guac in a WW tortilla. Holy guacamole, was this incredible. I think it would have been overboard with meat, so I'm glad I didn't go there. I'm also trying to be socially responsible about the way I eat meat, and something told me this place wasn't serving organic, grass-fed beef. Just a guess.

I LOVED SF so much. Not that I'm going anywhere anytime soon, but I could see myself living there for sure. It's so pretty and laid back and close to wineries... wink wink.

Will be back later with my many recipes for this week! Get hungry.

Tourist Time!

2010-01-20T00:26:00.001-05:00

Friday morning Alex and I went for a much shorter run, about 2.5 miles, just to get ourselves up and moving. Instead of going back to the Marina, we just ran through Pacific Heights and looked at the beautiful architecture. And actively avoided steep hills. We did pretty well!

We got ready for the day, ate our Whole Foods-bought oatmeal (budget conscious AND healthy vacationing!), then headed out to Pier 33 to go to Alcatraz. I took some pics of houses and buildings on our 2 mile walk over there.

Looking out toward the bay.

Palm trees!

The view from the ferry.

It was such a cool tour! I often can't pay attention to audio guides (or any tour guide), but this was so well done. It held my interest the whole time. I liked how demanding it was! It told you exactly which way to walk and when and where... haha.

Cells at Alcatraz! Eeek!

It was such a foggy day.

Look what's on the menu at Alcatraz!

We decided to go slightly more gourmet and stopped in at a sandwich/salad place for a light lunch. I was starting to turn into hungry grumpy Freya so it was a good thing we ate. I didn't take a pic, but I had a cup of veggie soup and half of a turkey and provolone foccacia sandwich.

Then we began our hike up to Telegraph Hill! It was such an exhausting climb, and I only got a little bit nervous about being so high up. It was really just a path of stairs that ran through this funky little neighborhood all up on a huge hill. I couldn't figure out how people accessed their homes! There was definitely no street access, so I guess they do a lot of stairs? Wild!

Almost there...

We made it to the top!!! And saw a pretty, foggy view of the city and the Bay Bridge.

Then it was time for a caffeine break. This was a seriously active day, and jet lag was creeping up on me. We climbed more hills (were there any left to climb?) and eventually found ourselves on Polk St. near Sarah's apt and found a great coffee shop with big cozy chairs and a skim mocha. Aaaahhh :)

For dinner, Sarah and I went to Catch, and I can't believe I didn't take a picture. IT WAS SO GOOD. We thought it was going to be a restaurant week special, but it wasn't, which was fine because ordered really well. I had a Manhattan to start (special weekends calls for special cocktails!), and then we split a HUGE tuna tartare appetizer with lots of warm bread/toast. I ordered sea bass with asparagus, shaved brussels sprouts, and a cherry olive salsa. I wish I had a picture. Or the ability to link to a taste. So unusual, and SO YUMMY. I ate every last bite! I was so full that I couldn't even READ the dessert menu. It was a great meal, followed by a couple of Anchor Steam beers at a bar in Pac Heights.

So much SF love! Next up is my day in Napa... so excited to blog it :)

The Other City

2010-01-18T21:46:00.000-05:00

One of the first things Sarah said to me when she met me at the airport in San Francisco was that in the Bay area, SF is "the city." I think she knows me and my NYC-centric nature a little too well! I got over being a New Yorker and actually did manage to refer to SF as "the city" once or twice. (Don't worry, New York, you're still THE city in my eyes! <3)

But I had the most wonderful time in SF this weekend and absolutely cannot wait to come back. Sarah was trying oh-so-hard to recruit me to move there, and I can't say that I'm not thinking about it. I LOVED SF and think it's actually a great match for me. We'll see... ;)

I know I'm skipping over a bunch of things I said I'd write about... like the cruise and a fabulous dinner party, but I'm still excited about San Francisco, so I want to get to it!

Starting with... Brenda's Soul Food! It was recommended by two separate people, so I figured it had to be tried. Alex and I braved the notoriously sketchy Tenderloin district for our first SF meal. (Fine, our 2nd SF meal... we went to Whole Foods for dinner and snacks when we arrived on Thursday night, of course!) It.was.AMAZING. Everything was like buttah! Would totally make Paula Deen proud.

Alex and I had gone for a nice hilly run in the morning (complete with a double Ghirardelli tasting), so I had worked up a pretty serious appetite. It felt so good to run! The weather was mild, and the marina was so pretty. We did about 4 miles plus some hill-walking, and no knee aches! Some shin splints from the hills, but nothing too bad. Yay!

I ordered the goat cheese and shrimp omelet with grits and a biscuit.

And then I spent the rest of the day weekend talking about it. The omelettey outside is hiding the good stuff, but there were shrimp, caramelized onions, and a ton of goat cheese inside, and it was covered with this bacon tomato relish amazingness. The grits were SO creamy and rich, and the biscuit was, according to Alex, a southern girl at heart, the best biscuit she'd ever had. The way it flaked! Oh, SF was off to a good foodie start.

At every table there was a different type of homemade jam. Ours was apricot or peach. Not sure. But it was incredible. Juicy and fresh and chunks of real fruit.

I was told I had to get the chocolate beignets, but there was no way I could eat another bite. So I got them to go! I nuked one later that night for dessert. Chocolate heaven. Didn't get a pic because they were not as attractive a few hours later, but still so so tasty. This place is a must-go.

After our amazing brunch/lunch, we headed over to the National rental car station and picked up a car for our adventure up to Sonoma County to meet the one and only Jenna! The smell of beignets filled the car, which was both amazing and such a tease, but we made it up to Healdsburg with the help of Ursula, our bossy little GPS. We met Jenna for some awesome fro yo in the adorable little town of Healdsburg. I was taken back to my dreams of being a Murphy Goode employee... sigh.

Anyway, we had so much fun chatting with Jenna about boys, food, blogs, and life in Cali. Thanks so much for meeting us, Jenna!

I thought I could use a little caffeine for the drive back, so we stopped in at the Flying Goat afterward for a lowfat latte. SO strong, and SO good! And so much prettier before I delved in.

It had been like a little fern or something. Did the trick and kept me awake for the drive! Phew.

After returning Ursula and the car, we headed over to another Jenna-rec: La Mediterranee.

Alex and I were so ready for some veggies. We split a salmon kebab with amazing rice and a truly unique chicken lemon soup, and the Salad Mediterranee, which I am modeling for you.

Does it look like a giant mess of veggie salads and legumes? Good, because it was. And it was awesome. We passed on dessert and then went home (Sarah's apt) for some tea and microwaved beignets. Mmmmm...

In the interest of not having killer long posts, I'm going to split up the weekend into a few posts. Check in soon!

Loving San Fran!

2010-01-15T20:09:00.000-05:00

Alex and I are having so much fun in San Francisco and pretending we live at my friend Sarah's apartment! We may or may not be eating our way through the city, but, hey, what else do you expect from me? I won't be able to get pics up until later this weekend, but I did want to share our bit of fame care of Jenna... It's only a matter of time before people start recognizing us on the streets, right? I'm headed to Napa tomorrow with Sarah and her friends, so I'm looking forward to some beautiful scenery and awesome wine. Can't wait! Have a great weekend!

Ketchup Parte Tres

2010-01-06T22:04:00.003-05:00

Every once in a while I get a hankering for Spanish food. I'm a teensy bit obsessed with Spain and Spanish culture after having studied abroad there in the spring of my junior year, and there are times when I just wish I could be back in my host mom Mayte's kitchen. I was actually sort of appalled with Spanish food when I first got there, and it took me a while to get into it. There's a ton of oil, enough bread to knock out an army of Atkins dieters, and NO BIG SALADS! I got past this pretty quickly because, well, it's all incredibly delicious, and guess what? I didn't gain a pound while I was there. So, viva la comida espanola!

Here is Mayte, her husband Fernando, my roommate Kate, and me, before we left.

We bought them chef hats :)

Anyway, one of my favorites was tortilla sandwich, also known as carbfest. Tortilla espanola is basically a potato omelet, and usually they leave the eggs a little runny inside. Obviously it's totally unnecessary to put something like potato and egg on bread, but it's kind of like heaven, and it was my favorite bagged lunch.

I was actually looking up soup recipes on Smitten Kitchen when I stumbled upon Deb's Spanish food section. And immediately soup was out of the picture. I was reading through her recipe for tortilla, when I realized that it was from a cookbook that I own! And, as a matter of fact, WORKED ON! I had a publishing internship one summer, and this was a book that I read and copy-edited a little. It is the one and only, the beautiful and stunning... The New Spanish Table, by Anya von Bremzen. I worked on the book while applying to my study abroad program, and I was totally jazzed about the whole thing. And then kind of forgot about it?! But it's great, and now that I'm a little chef, I will be pulling it off the shelf more often.

My tortilla skills are still a work in progress, but overall it went well.

Potatoes and onions and just a touch (HA!) of olive oil. More like 1/4 of a cup.

Adding the eggs...

MIRACULOUSLY post-flip...

And plated!

Does that look like a little potato heart in the middle to anyone else? It was a little overcooked, and I think my pan was too big because it didn't come out as thick as it should be, but this was a very successful first attempt. It will be done again and mastered! Maybe a little less photography and a little more focus on cooking would help...

Deb's recipe is here (and I wish I had read her comments before trying it on my own), and she did a good job typing it up, so why re-invent the wheel? I made half of the recipe (so 3 eggs and most of a potato), and I ate it as 2 meals with veggie sides. If you actually want to make a tortilla, I will gladly offer assistance. And a hungry tummy.

Next up: CRUISING!

OH! And Allison's cake recipe.

Ketchup 2

2010-01-06T14:00:00.001-05:00

Central Park snow day... sigh. The park was beautiful the day after Latke Party. Isn't it funny how everything is so different in the light? Getting home the night before had been difficult, and cold, and frustrating. Kind of fun and funny, too, but mostly frustrating. But the next morning, the sun was out, and the park was bustling with people! And runners! Crazy people. I was too afraid I'd fall. Side note: I haven't mentioned running in a while, because I've been on a little hiatus. After messing up my knee in the half marathon last May, it hasn't been the same since, and I've been taking a break from running regularly. I am going to focus on strength training to reduce risk of injury, and subsequently start training (SLOWLY) for another half marathon in the spring. If it keeps bugging me, I may have to go to a sports doctor or something. :(

Anyway, winter wonderland. Joanna and I decided to go for a snow walk and visit the market at Columbus Circle. We ran into Katie and had a mini snowball fight!

Joanna bought a hat at the market, and I got 2 new rings to replace the one I lost on my way to the airport one week. Sad. I still miss it. We shopped, walked, stopped at Aroma cafe on the Upper West Side for some soup, and then made our way to Brooklyn for the... COOKIE TAKEDOWN! We met up with Joanna's friend Rachelle for a light sushi dinner in Park Slope in preparation for our cookie feast. Look at how pretty it is! Tuna avocado roll with brown rice.

We then headed to the cookie takedown (a baking competition), where Rachelle's roommate was competing with her Aunt Helen's Ginger Snaps!

I ended up taking about 6 of these puppies home because there was so much leftover.

So, what does one do at a cookie takedown? One tastes 23 different cookies, of course! It was a little daunting, but most people were wise enough to only give out a bite-size sample. I mostly just took a nibble unless I loved it.

Round 1:

My favorite from Round 1 was the one in the muffin wrapper. It was a cakey chocolate cookie with a cream cheese filling, and it was out of this world. It ended up winning first place in my book and also first place with the judges! I was impressed with my obviously discerning palate. Oh, and there was free spiked egg nog!

Round 2:

Round 2 had some more creative concepts (bacon chocolate chip, "nacho"cookies with orange creme filling, and marshmallow/pretzel/peanut nonsense), but they were (for the most part) decidedly less tasty than Round 1.

I asked Joanna to represent our general sentiment by the end of the night, which was "Oopsy, I ate too many cookies."

:) It was actually a tolerable amount of food after eating lightly all day in preparation, and being diligent about only eating the cookies that I felt were worth the calories. And we walked a whole lot that day! I'm convinced walking is a secret weapon.

The cookie takedown was part of a larger takedown series, so I'm hoping we can make it to another one! Maybe I would even... participate??? Perhaps...

Playing Ketchup Part 1

2010-01-04T00:46:00.002-05:00

(Post title in honor of my roommate Allison, who will put ketchup on anything and everything.)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, BLOGGIES!!! I have a good feeling about 2010. I have yet to come up with resolutions, but I'm pretty sure I need to establish at least a few. I think I'm on the verge of a major life change or two, and I could use some sort of blueprint to work with, aka new year's resolutions. Will post them when I come up with them.

As you may have guessed, I am back from the family cruise vacation, and while I have lots of stuff to share from the trip, I also seem to still have leftovers from December. Since I have been very diligent about photographing but much less diligent about blogging, I have found myself with a backlog of photos that I want to post. So I'm going to go back in time with a few food highlights from the past few weeks. I've been mostly working from home and/or not working at all (yay bench time!), so I've had time to get back in the kitchen, and I totally overlooked the holiday season. How grinchy of me! Once I catch up from 2009, I will start fresh with a cruise post and then try to keep up with myself. As a matter of fact, Freya's Official Resolution #1: Blog at least 2-3 times a week, depending on availability of material. I want to say I will blog every day (that's the real goal), but I'll stick with a more attainable goal for now and reassess later. Midyear Resolutions?

And so, I give you: LIGHTNING ROUND 1: The Holidays!

Latkes! My friends and I had our 2nd Annual Chanukah Latke Party a few weeks ago, and it was a huge success. We learned from our mistakes, so this year included less latke (read: less deep-fried food), more veggies, a Secret Santa, and... a snowstorm! I guess we didn't plan that last part, but it was a nice touch. Thanks, mother nature.

I kind of invented my own latke, inspired by a whole slew of recipes that I read for research. I used 1 large Yukon Gold potato, 1 carrot, 1 parsnip, and 1 baby zucchini + 1 normal zucchini. I ended up adding 3 eggs in the end and probably about 1/4 cup matzo meal, if not more. Breadcrumbs or flour work too, but matzo meal felt more traditional to me.

It's a pretty simple process: grate, mix, fry your little heart out, blot blot blot. Yumzo. And I didn't even lose any knuckles this year on the grater.

Tada! All fried up and gorrrrgeous if I do say so myself. You need to make the oil super hot and be generous with it. I only eat latkes (or whatever potato pancake variety this may be) once or twice a year, so what the heck. Live a little. And use Canola oil. :)

I thought they were delicious if I do say so myself. Parsnip was a lovely addition. My other contribution to the party was homemade applesauce, which is absurdly easy but a billion times more satisfying than the jar stuff. All you do is peel, core, slice (I like to slice each apple in eighths and then cut each slice in half crosswise), cinnamon and sugar up those puppies, and nuke, mash, nuke, mash.

I use a lot of cinnamon because I love the stuff (1 tsp?) and probably about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar for this batch of 4 apples. Depends on how sweet your apples are to begin with. We devoured this. Buying more apples and getting back at it tomorrow. I love eating this stuff warm as a snack. I'm thinking granola would taste good on top. Will report back on that one.

My friends are wonderful chefs too, so when we get together we eat cook a lot. Ariel made zucchini latkes, and Amanda made traditional ones (potato).

Shield your eyes from the grease, por favor.

Katie made a sweet potato and apple bake from my previously mentioned bible, Nava Atlas's The Vegetarian Family Cookbook -- I can post the recipe if requested. And then we (and by we I think I mean Alex, Katie, and I) shared this ginormous bowl of roasted brussels sprouts a la Rachel.

And then there was obviously vino. I drank white for a change because I brought over one of my wine of the month wines! It was a Sicilian Fiano, a new white wine varietal for me, and I really liked it. A lot of complexity in flavor for a white, and still able to stand on its own without food. A winner! It won a lot of affordability and value awards.

My poorly lit plate, clockwise from bottom left: brussels sprouts, apple/sweet potato, perfect baked chicken, apple sauce, one of each latke plus a little sour cream (ok, and one more of my own ;)), and grilled onions!

Allison broke out her apron and prepared this AMAZING cake from Cooking Light. Allison, can you give me the recipe? PLEASE? It was apple-y and cinnamon-y and sooo moist. I insisted that she take home all the leftovers to her apt (aka my apt). It was delicious the next day. And the day after. She also claims it's 120 calories per slice?!

After the food comas set in, we lit the candles...

... then did our first annual $10 maximum Secret Santa gift exchange! Amanda showed off her new Snuggie. Look how she can hold a glass AND stay warm at the same time!

And I showed off the seal Amanda gave me!!!

We now may or may not have a collection of wind-up toys in front lined up in front of our TV. They may or may not be named Seymour, Tupac, and Xavier.

After all was said and done, we looked out the window and noticed that it was kind of, well, blizzardy. We postponed the journey back uptown from Rachel and Ariel's place by watching Sex and the City, but eventually it was time to go. Katie, Joanna, and I ventured to the bus stop...

...then to the subway...

"EEEEKKKK A SUBWAY RAT!"

"We're distressed and cold!"

...and then finally a snowy walk home from the subway station.

Mmmm, New York in the winter time. Beautiful.

I Love Fake Vacation

2009-12-27T09:22:00.000-05:00

I have been on a fake vacation the past week. In consultant language, it's called being "on the bench." Without a project. My project in Dallas ended last week, and now I have to wait to be re-assigned. Until then... I hang out. It gets old pretty fast, but a paid vacation, planned or otherwise, is always good. So, of course, I've been cooking! I don't have much time (will get to the reason in a minute), but I wanted to do a quickie post because this recipe is perfect for being stuck inside.

Ilene really loves Heidi, but I hadn't yet tried anything of hers. Sometimes there are a lot of ingredients, and sometimes I think that maybe our flavor profiles just don't quite match up. But regardless, I knew I had seen a lentil soup on her site recently, so I hunted it down and ended up with this beauty!

Oh, how I wish I had better lighting for photos! Anyway, I made her lentil soups as directed, and it was AWESOME. So hearty. Katie came over and we ate it with some amazing multi grain baguette and it filled me for hours. What's on top my yellow mountain of fiber, you ask? Chopped black oil cured olives (Gourmet Garage called them Moroccan olives), and the tzatziki style sauce from this recipe. That's right, I merged Heidis.

So, the reason I am off and away is because we are going on a family CRUISE today! Cape Canaveral and then the Bahamas. We are running around like lunatics, as per usual. What would a family vacation be without a little threat of being incredibly late? No internet, no blog, no cooking, but good god, I can only imagine way too much food. It will be photographed. Off I go! See ya in a week.

The Breakfast Post

2009-12-22T01:40:00.001-05:00

In looking through my photos from the past couple of weeks, I have noticed an overwhelming trend. That's right, friends -- the most important meal of the day is also the most important feature of my photo collection. I'm not sure if it's the beautiful lighting I get in the morning that I can't get other times of day, but my breakfast photos are the best.

And so, instead of keeping with any sort of chronology or consistency, I give you: BREAKFAST.

Numero uno is a glimpse into the life of my alter-ego: Starbucks oatmeal eater.

I am simply not a fan of Starbucks oatmeal because it's essentially oaty mush, but I have deemed it my best option while traveling. And if you've been reading all along, you know I got down and dirty in the trenches to research this topic. In order to make this oatmeal tolerable, however, I have to go beyond their offered toppings. Step aside, brown sugar, dried fruit, and nuts! Enter blueberries, spiced fig granola, and ok, fine, I used their nuts. I started buying little containers of whatever berries are on sale at Whole Foods, washing them all at once, and taking them back and forth with me during the week to add to my oatmeal. I really find that adding a good amount of fresh fruit (or frozen) goes a LOT farther in keeping me full than the dried stuff. And more calorie friendly, too.

Believe it or not, I do sometimes get sick of oats. It happens oh so rarely, but I'd be remiss not to include an oat-free breakfast.

Stonyfield plain FF yogurt, strawberries (leftover from a fruit plate from Diane's holiday party -- jackpot!), banana, and Kashi Heart to Heart! I LOVE Kashi cereals, but especially Heart to Heart. It happens to be healthy and delicious, but mostly the hearts make me smile. And good god is that a feat in the mornings.

Somewhere along the way, Chaunkah happened, and I got the best present a girl could ask for: a French press!!!! My parents got me a food processor/blender for my birthday this year, which was a tough act to follow, but the French press was perfect. I'm a big coffee drinker (big in spirit, not in quantity), so I was delighted to have a new foodie toy. Here she is, hard at work.

Cool moose, dude. I'm still playing around with proportions, but so far I'm loving the new coffee maker. I feel expert and elitist all at once. Thanks, Mom and Dad! I've also been drinking a Spanish roast from my favorite little coffee shop, Java Girl. It's so yummy. Although maybe it's just my inner longing to be back in Spain?

This bowl of oats was an ode to my overflowing kitchen cabinet. Steel cut oats cooked with banana, then topped with dried cranberries, leftover trail mix (I literally had about a tbsp left in a baggie... and now I have 1/2 tbsp. I'm a hoarder), and a sprinkle of Fiona's cinnamon almond granola. Wheat and soy free and loaded with sesame seeds! A new fave.

In said cabinet you will find no less than 10 varieties of nuts/seeds. Overkill? I think not. But my cabinet begs to differ. Every time I open it, I am met with a nutty avalanche. For your viewing pleasure:

By my count, we have pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, raw whole almonds, slivered almonds, roasted cashew pieces, raw cashews, spicy and tangy roasted almonds (a TJ's buy... a little weird), pecans, about 4 salty peanuts, and the almond/peanut/berry mix I got from TJ's. I also have walnuts in the fridge and several bags of trail mix I've collected from Whole Foods and Central Market in Dallas. Did I mention my new favorite grocery store yet? I think I did. But I'm not over it yet. Central Market is AMAZING. Stew Leonards meets Wegmans meets Whole Foods. Man, it's like grocery porn.

Lastly, a proud concoction. I have been making apple cinnamon oats for a while, and it's amazing. Steel cut oats, apple chunks added halfway through, lotsa cinnamon,TJ's almond butter (the best kind?!), and a sprinkle of Fiona's for texture.

Ahhh, oatmeal. Thank you for making mornings tolerable.

I would also like to give a shout out to Maggie and Natalia, whose birthdays were yesterday! Happy birthday, dear friends! Mag, I wish I could have been in China to celebrate with you, but I did dedicate the above oatmeal to you on Sunday, and you know that's an honor in my book. You are dearly missed on this side of the globe! xoxo

Photographically Challenged Eating

2009-12-16T17:59:00.000-05:00

I have very few photos to share, because I keep forgetting I have a blog! Unless I'm cooking, I often forget my camera. But I can't let two amazing meals from this past weekend go unmentioned. That would just be wrong.

Friday night: Moustache Pitza. Katie and I went on an adventure to the West Village on a very, very cold night to check out this restaurant and then to go to a friend's birthday party in the neighborhood. Let me just say that we had a legume FEAST, which expanded in my stomach later and rendered me incapable of finishing even a single beer. A Blue Moon, at that. Pathetic. Anyway, dinner was worth it. Amazing. Check out the menu -- we ordered hummus, a spinach and chickpea salad, the chicken kebab plate (with the most incredible lentil puree), and a seafood pitza. Sound like way too much food for 2 people? It probably was. I kid you not, my coworker asked, "So were you there with a big group? Like 10 people?" Er, yeah... But we had no problem polishing off every last morsel. SO GOOD. I think my favorites were the spinach and chickpea salad (ah, memories of Espana) and the pitza, plus the lentil puree!

Saturday night: Foodie event at Buttermilk Channel!

[photos from www.buttermilkchannelnyc.com]

Alex and I have a laundry list of foodie restaurants to visit, so we've started trying to do one every weekend. I loved everything about Buttermilk Channel from the space to the decor to the popovers. It was such a lovely dining experience. Maybe I could live without the wait and the sketchy subway station. They focus on fresh and seasonal ingredients, which always makes me happy. Alex, Joanna, Katie, and I all ordered different things, which is so rare for us! We shared baby turnips and brussels sprouts with mustard and bacon as an appetizer (with popovers! drool!), and I had a perfect Kelso Honey Nut Brown beer. I love sweet dark beers. For my entree, I had the duck meatloaf, which is just totally out of character. But I've gotten into the habit of asking for waiter/waitress recommendations, especially if a restaurant is well known for a certain dish. This was a much appreciated recommendation. The jus (Joanna's word of the night) was outrageous. My friends ordered the scallops (my runner up), the lamb salad, and a soup/salad combo. We're good sharers, so I had a bite of everything. Delicious! We decided to go nuts and ordered dessert too! Bread pudding, pecan pie sundae (GAH!), and 4 spoons. And not a drop left behind. Alex, do you have my duck photo? [As a side note, I adore ducks. Not sure why, but they're just the best animal. I felt a little sad eating one. But not that sad.]

Two of the things we ordered were featured in the website gallery! My duck on the left (except replace the green stuff with parsnip puree and a darker jus), and the pecan pie sundae on the right.

After dinner we waddled back to my apt, where my roommate was having people over for a holiday party. We continued to eat (oops), although in our defense we only attacked the fresh fruit. Sooo, I ate a lot this weekend. It was amazing.

Sunday I continued the foodfest at my parents' house, where we celebrated Chanukah with brisket and latkes! Brisket is not a photogenic dish, but here is my dad manning the latke pan.

Blackberry photo. Blech. But awesome latkes! These were classics: potato, onion, matzo meal, and a horrifying amount of canola oil. Mmmm tastes like Chanukah.

This weekend may include a visit to Locanda Verde as the foodie adventure of the week. CANNOT WAIT! It's Robert DeNiro's newest and Alex and I are pumped. Hopefully it will fit into the plans!

My Weekend in the Metroplex

2009-12-09T18:40:00.002-05:00

Dallas and Fort Worth are referred to as "The Metroplex," which I think is a great word, although I don't actually know what it means. Wait, Wikipedia to the rescue: "A metroplex is large metropolitan area containing several cities and their suburbs. It is also sometimes used as an alternative to metropolis or megalopolis, which is a chain of continuous metropolitan areas. The term was coined for, and is still commonly used to describe, the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex." Well, look at that! It's named for this metroplex! Cool. Dallas and Fort Worth are actually kind of far apart. It took me a solid 45 minutes to get from the center of one to the other.

Yes, it's true: this past weekend I was forced to stay in the metroplex for a weekend! I was not looking forward to it at all, but I ended up having a really great time. No cooking, of course, but I did enjoy expensing a weekend's worth of meals! It was nice not to be trucking myself back and forth across the country every weekend, but I'm SO ready to be going home tomorrow after a full 10 days here. Here's an overview of how I spent my time here...

Friday: Joanna can be officially named as the person that saved me from eternal boredom in Dallas, as she introduced me to her friend David, who has been far more generous to me than any person should be. I think he's just gregarious by nature, but I really appreciated having someone as fun as he is to hang out with. He invited me to Friday night services, which were held in possibly the most beautiful sanctuary I have ever seen. Truly, it was gorgeous. Then there was a young adult chili dinner afterward! (You know you're in Texas when...) Everyone I met was incredibly friendly, and people kept asking me when I'd be back. After a while I couldn't break it to people that I didn't actually live in Dallas.

Saturday: I got up early on Saturday for a lovely (free) breakfast at the hotel of steel cut oats and fresh berries with mascarpone. I had trouble deciding between that and the buffet, but I made the right choice. Then I met David at his gym for Turbo Kick, which, quite frankly, kicked my butt. My glutes were sore for DAYS! But it felt good. After a much-needed shower, I headed off to Fort Worth in search of The Lonesome Dove. I saw Chef Tim Love on Top Chef Masters, so when I realized he had a restaurant in Fort Worth, I made it my number one priority for places to eat in the D/FW area. I've been talking about it for months, so it felt like the culmination of something special when I finally walked in the door, barely making the 2:30 lunch cutoff (I had a whole sob story planned about how I had come all the way from NYC, wah wah wah, if they didn't want to seat me). IT.WAS.AMAZING. I didn't take photos because it was really dark and I was already a little self conscious about eating at a nice restaurant alone, so I didn't want the extra attention. But I went all out. I had an iced tea, the most incredible summer squash soup with shaved gruyere and the perfect amount of fresh black pepper, and a shaved tenderloin sandwich with horseradish cream, caramelized onions, and sweet potato fries. I knew I needed to eat some steak before I left Texas, even if it's not my favorite food group, and I was determined to get it at The Lonesome Dove because Chef Love uses local beef. I thought it was grass-fed too, but now I can't find confirmation of that online. The beef was so delicious and fresh and buttery (as was the potato bread roll), but the highlight of the meal was really the soup. The fries were literally like shoestrings, which looked pretty but were unpleasant to eat. Overall, wonderful meal that lived up to the hype. Side note: Tim Love opened a burger place around the corner called Love Shack. Too cute!

I walked around historic Fort Worth for a little while and saw some longhorns.

And some other farm animals.

I also saw lots of fun signs that reminded me I was definitely in Texas.

(Can you see the blue sign that says Rodeo Plaza? I got such a kick out of that.)

After I strolled around here for a while, I drove over to the itty bitty, but very lovely, Kimbell Art Museum. They have a couple of Picassos and a couple of Matisses, and a Miro that I really liked. Also some stuff by Piet Mondrian, who I don't think I've ever heard of. It was very blocky and geometric but pleasing to the eye.

I really had a lovely day by myself in Fort Worth and didn't get lost once! OK, once I thought I was lost, but it turned out I was right in front of the museum. I will continue the weekend recap in a later post. Getting a little hefty here! Off to go brave the crazy Dallas weather... it's colder here than at home! And I am totally unprepared! BRRRRRRR.

Thanksgiving Lives On

2009-12-08T15:34:00.001-05:00

I love Thanksgiving so much that I decided it wasn't over yet. Or that I at least wasn't going to let it slip by unnoticed, since I did make my dad stop carving so I could take pictures of the turkey. Above is Mr. Turkey, all golden brown and fresh from the oven. I was surprised by my squeamishness, but I really had some issues with my parents discussing the handling of various turkey parts and, er, fluids. Turkeys look a lot more like birds than chickens do, and I did not like that one bit. I really believe that if you're going to eat meat, you should be aware of what it goes through to get to your plate. I don't know that it means I need to go hunting like Michael Pollan, but it does feel a little hypocritical that I was so uncomfortable with turkey parts.

I hung around the kitchen taking pictures anyway. Here's daddy-o, starting to carve away, and my mom handling turkey juices. Ick.

Here is Mr. Turkey-Barracuda, post carving.

Can you tell why I named him Turkey-Barracuda? Do you see the crazy barracuda face, open jaw, and pointy fin? It's like a Magic Eye poster... you probably either see it or you don't.

On to less gruesome pictures, my mom and I made our annual cheesecake! It came out a little more jiggly than usual, but still delicious. Mom managed to lose a chunk from the top in a Saran wrap incident.

Maybe I can get the recipe from her? We've been using the same one for years and it never fails us! I'll see if she'll read it to me over the phone. Seriously, cheesecake is pretty easy to make. You'd never think so, but it is. Well, maybe not this cheesecake. (HOLY DESSERT, BATMAN!)

I have many favorite things about being at home, including meals being made for me, a bedroom that stays really dark in the morning so I can sleep late, and hanging out with the fam. But one of the BEST things about being in Larchmont is the luxurious Trader Joe's shopping experience! It's such a pain in the butt to go to the one on 14th Street because of the crowds and then my long commute back uptown, so I don't do it as much as I'd like. But going to the store at home is GREAT. It's never that crowded (except right around 3pm when Central School lets out), and I can actually browse without being swept along by the masses. The only problem is that I sometimes go overboard and end up with tons of food to drag home with me on the train, which is never fun. But usually worth it. :) This time, while searching for my favorite banana bonanza trek mix (obviously discontinued, like so many of my TJ's favorites to come before it), I stumbled upon this crazy looking bag of nuts!

It's made with peanuts, almonds, brown sugar, freeze dried fruits, and berry juices. It sounded a lot better than it was, but I still enjoyed it. I put a sprinkling in my oatmeal the morning after Thanksgiving. I was trying to keep it light...

Look at how dark and cloudy it was! The kitchen at my parents' house gets so much sunlight (my number one priority in a home), so shadowy morning pictures are really unusual.

I think that closes the book on Thanksgiving. I was so sad that we didn't get to take back any leftovers (except for the cheesecake). Leftovers are the best part of the holiday! It's ok. My waistline is grateful.

Get excited for a recap of my weekend in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex!

Awards, part deux

2009-12-04T17:22:00.003-05:00

Best Brussels Sprouts (and yes, I've made them a lot): Brussels Sprouts with Pecans and Cranberries

As promised, Allison makes her online debut with... BRUSSELS SPROUTS.

I even got her to taste some when it was done! I promised her that I had used enough butter that she wouldn't even notice there were veggies involved. I was inspired by this recipe, care of Alton Brown:

Ingredients

1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts, rinsed and trimmed
3 ounces coarsely chopped pecans
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 ounces coarsely chopped dried cranberries

Directions

Slice the Brussels sprouts using the thinnest slicing disk of a food processor. If you do not have a food processor, you may slice thinly with a knife or a mandoline.

Set a 10-inch straight-sided saute pan over medium-high heat and add the pecans. Cook, stirring continually, until the pecans darken in color and begin to give off a toasted aroma, approximately 2 minutes. Add the butter to the pan and stir to combine. Once the butter has melted, add the Brussels sprouts, salt and pepper and cook, stirring continually, until the color brightens and the sprouts are just tender, approximately 6 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the cranberries, toss and serve.

I was oh-so pleased that I was able to employ my new brussels sprout slicing technique that I learned from cooking guru Rebecca when Alex and I went to a cooking class (highly recommended!). I used fresh cranberries instead of dried because I wanted to use them up, and it made the whole thing a little fruit-juicier than it otherwise might have been. I was also too lazy to chop the pecans, which resulted in a little burning, but they didn't taste charred once mixed in with all that buttah and co. This was so seasonal and lovely! Shaved brussels sprouts resemble a bowl of, well, grass, but I thought that the butter really helped make it rich and not grassy. Note: I almost never use butter in cooking, but I'm always happy when I do.

Best Repeat Recipe: Chickpea and Arugula Salad
This, of course, is another Mark Bittman specialty from How to Cook Everything. I made it a couple months ago when I had a big dinner party at my apartment, and it was just as delicious this time.

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. minced, peeled fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 c. cooked or drained, canned chickpeas
1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. honey
4 c. arugula leaves, chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced

Put the olive oil in a deep skillet over med. heat. When hot, add the ginger, garlic, and cumin seeds and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and the ginger and garlic are soft, 1-2 min. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then stir in the chickpeas until hot and coated in the oil and seasonings, about 3 min. Remove from heat. With a fork, stir in the vinegar, honey, and 1 Tbsp. water. Mash a few of the chickpeas as you stir to add texture to the dressing. Put the arugula and onion in a large bowl and toss with the warm chickpea dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately, warm.

I had never used cumin seeds before, but they are sooo fragrant and have a really unique flavor. This recipe is such a winner. Do it.

Best Comfort Food: Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili

This one is now a classic for me. I make a huge pot of it and freeze most of it to have throughout the winter. The recipe is from Nava Atlas's The Vegetarian Family Cookbook, which was kind of my bible in college.

2 medium-large sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons light or extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 to 3 garlic cloves
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 can (32 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 or 2 small fresh hot chilies, minced
OR
1 can (4 ounces) chopped mild green chilies
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt to taste

1. Bake or microwave the sweet potatoes on high until just firm, about 3 to 4 minutes per potato. When cool enough to handle, peel and cut into 3/4-inch dice. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and garlic and sauté over medium heat until golden. Add the bell pepper, beans, tomatoes, chilies, cumin, and oregano. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and continue tosimmer until the vegetables are tender -- about 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Season lightly with salt. If time allows, let stand off the heat for 1 or 2 hours, then heat through as needed.

Embellish it: Pass a bowl of chopped fresh cilantro for sprinkling over the top of individual portions.

Make it a Meal: For an easy meal, serve this with purchased cornbread or other hearty whole-grain bread and a bountiful tossed salad.

A couple of notes on this: I accidentally bought only half of the beans that it called for, but I actually thought the proportion was right on. So, if you wanted to go light in the beans (let's say you have a social situation to attend later?), you would be just fine. Also, I tried it a couple days later topped with pecan chunks, and it brought it to a whole new level. WHY have pecans not been on my radar until now??? Nuts, nuts, nuts!

Best Dessert Derived from Laziness: Frozen Banana with Melted Chocolate and Almond Butter

I've been totally into banana soft serve lately, but food processors are maybe the least fun thing to wash EVER. Not mention my incredible clumsiness. So I dug into my stash of frozen bananas and went the lazy route.

I kind of wished I had a popsicle stick or something for the bananas because my hands got cold holding them to dip, but OMG this was way too delicious. I know it's totally weird to just eat plain old frozen bananas, but don't judge. Try it for the sake of warm AB and dark chocolate, at the very least!
And now, your lightning round is complete! Will try really hard to get back on a post-a-day schedule (with fewer than 5 recipes...) soon!
Happy Friday! I'm spending the weekend in Dallas, so social life should be minimal and posting will be maximal.

The Twilight Zone

2009-12-03T17:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday it was 53 and sunny in New York City and it was snowing in Dallas. I may have 24 years of snow experience under my belt, but I was as giddy as a little kid (or a teenager, in Joanna's case) seeing snow for the first time. Just a hoot and a holler, this state of Texas is!

Today it's sunny and in the 40s, which is a little more normal, although still colder than NYC? Craziness.

As promised, here is my lightning round of cooking adventures, in award show format, in honor of the awesome Beyonce and Taylor Swift, who are leading the Grammy nominations.

Best New Snack: "Baked" Apples and AB

A while ago, my mom told me how she had made her own applesauce by peeling, coring, and slicing apples and then microwaving them for 2 minutes. I was really into it for a while, until I decided I didn't like washing the vegetable peeler. So I figured I'd give it a shot without the peeling, and... AWESOME! I just did a minute since I wanted the apple chunks to keep their form, and then I dug in with some TJ's almond butter on a spoon. Perfect for the fall/winter apple season! And even though my roommates say that our apartment is sweltering, I still (always) need to be warmed up.

Best New Oatmeal Variation: Pumpkin Oats

Hey, hey, pumpkin! Pumpkin has been making appearances in breakfasts all over the blogosphere (here, here, and here, for example), so I thought I'd give it a shot. I just had to wait for a week when I was working from home so that I had any chance of finishing a can of pumpkin. And so, I began experimenting with pumpkin oats!

Rule #1: Canned pumpkin on its own is way too vegetably to just stir in. I find that I need to sweeten a little. So this has raisins, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and brown sugar in addition to the pumpkin. Kath uses 1/3 cup of pumpkin in her mix, but I use a lot less. It gets kinda gloppy otherwise. But it smells outrageous!

Biggest Small Accomplishment: The Fried Egg Sandwich

Yes, I've been cooking eggs since I was 10, but for whatever reason, only my dad was allowed to make me fried egg sandwiches. It's his thing. He does eggs well. And it's a good way to trick him into making me lunch, since he enjoys it so much. So this kind of became my comfort food as a kid. I'm kind of bad at cracking eggs, so imagine my surprise when this beauty began bubbling away on the pan.

But don't tell my dad I know how. It's better when he makes it. :)

Best Dinner Made From a Recipe: It's a tie! Stuffed Acorn Squash and Cranberry Polenta Squares
Oh, Mark Bittman, you never fail me! Check out this list if you haven't yet. Both of these dishes came from the list, tweaked slightly.

27. Cranberry Polenta Cakes: Make polenta with half milk, half water; stir in chopped fresh or dried cranberries. When thick, pour onto a sheet tray and let cool. Cut into squares and sauté or broil until slightly crisp. Drizzle with honey. -- I don't keep regular milk in the house, and soy sounded like a less than appealing substitution, so I just used all water for the polenta and threw in a tbsp of butter instead.

And below, browned in a nonstick pan. I tried this a few ways... cooked in olive oil, in Pam, and just straight on the pan. The last one worked the best. Also I'm just reading now that I was supposed to chop the cranberries. I did not. Might have helped keep things more topographically even.

49. Halve and seed acorn, butternut or delicata squash and roast until squash begins to soften. Meanwhile, cook bulgur, drain and toss with coarsely chopped pine nuts and currants. Add a bit of the stuffing to each squash half and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake until squash is tender. -- I used an acorn squash, and brown rice instead of bulgur. Perfectly fine substitution. I didn't have currants so I used dried cranberries, which I think worked well too. A single half was SUPER filling.

Ok, post is getting long, so I'll have to finish my dorky awards ceremony a little later.

Stay tuned... Allison will be presenting the award for best green!

Veggie Burger Breakup?

2009-12-02T16:10:00.002-05:00

So, I love veggie burgers. They're so fast and so easy and always in the freezer, and they're just plain GREAT. Then I read the ingredients.

There's nothing too terrible in there, except for some weird acids and soy lecithin at the end, but that's a LOT of ingredients. I generally try to avid foods with that many ingredients. But do I need to break up with my reliable, loyal veggie burger?

This is Gardenburger brand... maybe I just need to try a different type? Does anyone have a solid veggie burger recommendation? I guess I could also make my own, but that's not going to be a quick and easy solution. I think Mark Bittman had a Minimalist article about making your own veggie burgers, and we all know I'd trust anything that came from his kitchen, but let's prepare for a lazy day.

Please leave some frozen, supermarket veggie burger suggestions in the comments!

Also, look at what I pulled out of the freezer a few weeks ago.

At first I thought it was moldy, but then as the realization sunk in that frozen things don't get moldy, I looked closer and saw that it was a giant glob of dried herbs. Taking over a solid quarter of my burger. Um, EW. I tossed this guy pretty quickly.

Next up: a lightning round of my most exciting cooking adventures from the past 2 weeks. There are some really good ones too!

Car Review #2: Toyota Camry

2009-12-02T14:49:00.000-05:00

I really do have fond association with the Camry. Every day, junior and senior years of HS, Katie would pick me up in her wonderful grey Camry and drive me to school. School, of course, was about a 6 minute walk from my house, and it took no less than 10 minutes to find a parking spot that was kind of sort of close to school, so you do the math. But it wasn't about getting to school efficiently; it was about being seen in the lot. And seen we were.

The Camry served us well back in the day, but I regretfully admit that I did not enjoy driving my rented Camry two weeks ago. Everything felt fluffy... the steering, the way you don't feel bumps in the road... my dad has trained me to dislike these qualities. Also, it skidded in a barely-there puddle. Pathetic! It looks pretty nice, at least. But certainly no Buick.

Lovely

2009-12-02T01:32:00.002-05:00

http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/back-to-the-land/

Let's grow plants and eat them and cook eggs on spoons in fires.