Mish Mosh Squash.

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

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

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

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)

VS

  

(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

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

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

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

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

People Make Me Laugh

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

(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

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)!