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)!