Scavenger Hunt

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.