With the never-ending winter we've been having here, I've been yearning for a little warm weather fun so last weekend Michael and I headed down to Cartagena, Colombia for just that.
When we were trying to figure out where to go, we were surprised to find that Jet Blue now has direct flights to Cartagena from NYC. Michael is Colombian and this was our first trip there together, and my first time to Colombia, so when we figured out that we could easily get there, there was no question. Yes. Take me there.
The old town in Cartagena is one of the most colorful and vibrant cities I have ever experienced. Being surrounded by bright beautiful colors and humidity makes me happy. We had such a great time wandering the streets, eating, drinking out of coconuts and taking tons of photos. I loved being there with Michael, hearing him reminisce about certain foods that he would eat when he lived there and experiences he had as a kid.
Since Cartagena is located on the Caribbean sea, there is no lack of fresh fish and light, tropical meals. Ceviche is big there, and we made sure we tried our fair share. So fresh, so good.
While we were eating and trying all kinds of seafood ceviche, I thought to myself, why haven't I seen a vegetable ceviche on any menu? You know what happened next.
When we got home the first thing I made was a vegetable ceviche with radishes, apples, and a lot of other tasty ingredients like avocado, red onion and lemon juice that make a typical seafood ceviche taste so good. The zesty radish flavor pairs so well with the sweetness of the apple. It's such a fun and colorful snack or appetizer. The only thing that was missing was the 80º weather.
I feel like my recipes have been a bit of a celebration of vegetables recently …. and I like it that way.
Part of my passion behind this blog is showing that vegetables can be the star, instead of just a side. This recipe is the perfect example, it take the cauliflower and makes it a big bright superstar.
I mentioned a couple of recipes ago that I get a lot of inspiration from eating out, and our meal at the Fat Radish totally inspired this dish. We had a whole roasted cauliflower as an appetizer, and I just loved how they served it whole instead of chopped up into florets. It was so much more exciting. I thought with just a few added extras, this would make an impressive entree.
Michael and I shared this for lunch last week. I served it over some millet and tossed some currants on top. Each with fork in hand we tore into this cauliflower, and finished it in about 7 minutes. We both agreed, it was an awesome meal that was fun to share and full of flavor.
I have something to admit. For someone who is obsessed with kale, I had been a bit skeptical of kale pesto. I thought, how can kale pesto taste good? Kale on it’s own is nothing special and it needs some love and a good bit of massaging to taste great. It does not have an exciting scent or taste like basil or mint, so how is it going to flavor a pesto? Well … after making one batch I now have a whole new level of respect for kale. I’m not quite sure what it is, but kale pesto is crazzzy good.
I’m warning you now, you’ll probably be seeing a few more recipes with kale pesto in the coming weeks, but for now, if you've been skeptical like me and haven't tried it, well, you must. And then you must smear it on this roasted cauliflower and eat this for a meatless Monday or Tuesday ... or any day of the week. I'm certain you will be smitten.
Spending time with friends who have known you more than half your life is good for the soul. This past weekend Michael and I hung out with two of my oldest and greatest friends from high school and their families. As expected, it was like no time has past. We had such a great time.
Last night Michael told me his favorite part of the weekend (besides all of the excellent food, drink, and company ... of course) was when we whipped out our yearbooks and laughed about our chubby cheeks and high school crushes. Some memories had us laughing so hard tears were running down our face.
I also leaned that I apparently have the memory of an elephant ... which can be good or bad, depending on what embarrassing story pops into my head.
We were staying at my friend Sarah's mom's house which meant we were able to cook lots over the weekend. One of my favorite thing to do is cook a big meal with good friends.
The first night we got home pretty late so we decided to make a one pot concoction that included some of my favorite ingredients: brussles sprouts, quinoa, and avocado. We also ate the leftovers for breakfast one morning. Yep. And it was just as delicious.
The second night when Michael, Laura, and her family arrived, we made a big dinner for everyone. Michael surprised everyone by taking over as head chef in the kitchen. I love it when he cooks. We made a few different things, one being this sweet potato and red onion recipe. That recipe has become a go-to of mine because of how easy, fool-proof, and tasty it is.
Dinner was delicious and so much fun. A great new memory for my elephant brain.
We did not make this beet tartare recipe, however, Sarah totally made my day when she told me how many recipes she has tried from my blog, and I am hoping that she will be trying this one too soon :)
I've been getting asked a lot recently how I come up with new recipes and where I get ideas from. Well, first things first, I think about food. A lot. Constantly. Probably more than the average person (but probably not much more than you, if you're taking the time to read this blog about food). Constantly thinking about food is a necessary starting point, but there are many outside influences, some obvious and others not so much.
I eat out a decent amount. It's hard not to living in NYC. I love to eat out just as much as I love to cook. It might be my biggest source of inspiration, and it's nice to have someone else do the cooking (and the dishes). Every new restaurant experience from the most casual to the most fancy has a way of getting the ideas flowing.
Even just wandering around the streets, walking by a restaurant and checking out their menu in the window will get me inspired. This city loves food, and sure does it well. I'm constantly being bombarded with awesome ideas.
It also helps that most of the people I know love food and love to talk about food, and if they have a good idea or a recipe or a restaurant to try they are always willing and excited to share it with me. These conversations are my favorite sources of inspiration.
Last week we had dinner with friends at the Fat Raddish in the lower east side (yum). I got a lot of inspiration that night, not only from the food from that restaurant but also from our friends. They're very into food, Andy is by far the most talented home cook I know, but they work late hours so home cooked meals on the week nights usually consist of something that can easily be throw together. Julie told me that she made stuffed baked sweet potatoes the other night, and it sounded so awesome ... I warned her I might be stealing her idea.
I couldn't stop thinking about baked potatoes. I love how easy it is to just throw one in the oven, but also how you can load it with all sort of healthy and delicious toppings. It quickly becomes an easy, tasty, complete meal.
I'm sure you've heard the expression "eat the rainbow", and that's easy to do when you're starting with a bright orange potato. Greens were of course my next color of choice to add. You can use any green you like, but I really like the taste of mustard greens. They're hearty and have a bit of an edge to them. White beans round out the protein and add another element of color. Lastly, I wanted an awesome sauce to finish this off, and cilantro has a way of balancing everything out.
I'll be making this many of the nights that I am not eating out. Thanks for the inspiration Julie.
About once a week, we order take-out from a little Japanese place around the corner. I always order the same few things, my favorite thing being the spicy, crunchy avocado roll. Spicy ... crunchy ... yes.
I am a huge fan of recreating things that I would normally be tempted to order in or eat out, like dumplings, and sushi. I just feel better knowing what types of ingredients I am using and that there is nothing fake or artificial hiding that I might not know about. And, this way I can add some extra yummy things like crunchy shallots (god only knows what those "crunchy" bits my take-out sushi are made from).
This version of a nori roll does not require any fancy sushi rolling, in case you're intimidated to roll your own sushi. Although, if you do feel comfortable and you want to roll this bad boy up, by all means go for it. If you're like me and you want to take the less ambitious route for this one, you can just pick this up and eat it like a taco. A yummy Japanese taco.
Nori is incredibly good for you and is such a great thing to incorporate into your diet on a regular basis. It contains a long list of vitamins, but most notably a high amount of B12, which is great for those who eat a mostly plant based diet. Another great benefit for plant based people (or anyone, really) is that nori contains a high amount of protein and amino acids. And when you make your own nori wraps, you know you are getting a good quality nori. It is easy to find in the grocery store since it is the most widely used seaweed, it's usually in the Asian food or Japanese section.
Once you make this and see how easy it is, I am sure that you are going to keep a pack of nori around for when want to have this for lunch or for a snack. You can mix up combinations based on what you have in the fridge, any raw vegetable combination would work and would probably take less time than waiting for one to be delivered.
I know I've been harping on the weather a bit lately, but ... I'm optimistic this will be my last real wintry recipe. I am so ready for artichokes, spring peas, and ramps, but until it gets a little warmer outside I'm braising. Lentils.
Braising is one of my favorite words in the culinary vocabulary. I love everything about it. I love what it stands for, I love to braise foods, and I love to eat braised foods. It's one of the laziest methods of cooking, and yet produces some of the most flavorful results.
When you hear the word braise, the first thing that might come to mind is meat. But not here, not today. Today we're braising lentils. Because braised lentils are delicious. They get the same amount of love and red wine that anything else that is braised would get. With a slightly healthier result.
I was inspired to braise lentils after reading Melissa's Clark recipe for braised beans in dining section of the New York Times. It sounded like such a warm, hearty, good wintry dish, and when I made her braised beans and they definitely hit all of those notes. Then I tried a version with black lentils that were just as satisfying, and a little easier to prepare in a pinch since black lentils do not need to be soaked.
To make this a complete meal that would satisfy the gamut from vegans to carnivores, they needed a little something more. A dense pieces of grilled polenta to soak up all the delicious braising juices does the trick. Some kale or spinach as the base adds some bite and some green. I cannot think of a more satisfying and complete dinner for a chilly evening.
Bayley, our sweet crazy mutt dog, turned three last week (that's 21 in dog years). His birthday is March 1st. He's adopted, which means we do not know what his exact birthday is, so we gave him a made up birthday when we got him. I make sure to give him a few extra hugs on his birthday (he's a big time hugger, he loves getting hugs).
I am a bit of a crazy dog lady. I'm that person who has to stop every dog on the street just to give them a scratch and say hello. I love the dog culture and the conversations you have with other dog owners.
"This is Spot, don't mind him, he's a bit ant-social."
"Oh, Roofus loves to play, can he pay with your dog."
"Jack gets really excited when he sees big dogs, he thinks he's bigger than he really is."
It's amazing how much a dog's personality reflects their owner's. I like to think that Bayley got his happy and loving attitude from us.
The other day I was walking him around our neighborhood and a random guy stopped us on the street and asked if he could pet Bayley. This guy spent a good couple of minutes scratching him, hugging him, telling him how beautiful he was. Bayley was eating it up. Then he told me he just lost his dog and that it felt good just to pet another dog. My heart sank, but I totally knew what he meant. It just feels good to get some love from a dog.
I walked away with a giant smile on my face knowing that my dog made that random guy on the street so happy and brightened his day.
Owning a dog is not 100% love 100% of the time. There are definitely moments when I think to myself, why on earth am I taking care of this pain the butt animal. When he jumps on my friends when they come over to our apartment, or when he whines to me during the day because he would rather be outside playing. There are many moments of frustration.
But all of those moments added up do not even come close to negating the fact that animals bring so much happiness into a home.
My all-time favorite thing that someone said to Bayley on one of our walks: "That dog sure does love life."
Yes ..... yes, he does.
So for Bayley's birthday this year, he got hugs + I got a bowl of soba noodles with a ginger tahini dressing with lots of greens. Because I was more in the mood to celebrate with a bowl of soba noodles than a piece of cake.
I could eat this every day of my life and be happy. There is something about the creaminess of the tahini that gets me excited. Since I stopped eating dairy, it's the healthiest way for me to get a creamy fix.
It's no secret that I love a big bowl of noodles or a big bowl of greens, so combining the two is just double happiness for me.
The great thing about this dish is you can add any type of green or vegetable that you like, it goes with just about anything. Collards, swiss chard, carrots, cucumbers + tomatoes when the summer comes back around. Same thing goes with pairing this dish. You can add soba and tahini to so many meals as a side dish, or you can just eat it alone for lunch. Yum.
I think I am going to make this every year for Bayley's birthday, and for many of the days in-between.
My morning routine goes a little like this:
I wake up, usually early, before Michael leaves for work. I make myself a warm water with lemon, and then I make us a green smoothie.
I take Bayley for a walk, the same route every morning. Two blocks north, four blocks west, two blocks south, then four blocks east back home. I pick up the New York Times from our front door step and go back upstairs and plan my day.
Recently, I added a new step to this routine. I go out mid-morning and I get a cup of coffee. I quit drinking coffee for about a year because I thought it was healthier to not have that habit, however I found that I was really missing that part of my routine. I was not necessarily missing the coffee or the caffeine, I was missing the ritual of going out to get a cup of coffee.
In my neighborhood, there is no shortage of really good coffee places. I have about three that I frequent depending on my mood and the weather (how far I am willing to walk in the cold) and how strong of a cup of coffee I want (or need).
I love being a part of the morning hustle and bustle. I love watching other people take part in their morning routine. I love seeing the regulars sneer at the tourists who don’t know how to order efficiently. I love seeing what people are wearing and I listen to what they are ordering. I love to watch a good barista at work.
It’s part of my routine, but I feel like it is a break from my routine. It breaks up my morning.
You might not have guessed it from reading this blog, but I get into a routine with recipes that I make for us at home. I will get stuck eating the same thing over and over, for breakfast especially. It is usually a green smoothie or eggs (made by Michael over the weekend). I’ve been trying to break it up by doing something different one or two days out of the week.
Recently I decided I was going to make some chia seed pudding and keep it around, for breakfast, for a snack, or maybe even for a little dessert. It's super easy to make, it's a set it and forget it type of recipe, so I figured it was an easy way to switch up my routine.
I decided to take it one step further and change up my chia seed pudding recipe a bit. Watch out, things are getting crazy over here. When we were in Switzerland a few weeks ago, a lot of the desserts we had were flavored with vanilla + cardamom. I decided that when I got home I needed to incorporate those ingredients, and chia seed pudding seemed like the perfect candidate.
I have never seen or made a fancy chia seed pudding, so I thought, why not. There is no reason chia seed pudding cannot get fancy.
This fancy chia seed pudding helped break up my morning recipe routine, and then some. Because it is good to break up the routine once in a while.
I might as well get this out of the way and tell you that I am not a huge fan of winter. I don't particularly like cold weather. I would much rather be spending my time on a beach rather than on the ski mountain.
I like winter in the beginning. I get excited for the brisk air, warm fireplaces, hot chocolate, and big, comfy sweaters. The first snow is magical, and I get to bring out my favorite pear of knee-high boots and dust off a new wardrobe for a few months.
But it is right about this time of winter that the allure had faded. I have had enough of putting on a coat to go outside and walk the dog, and I had just about worn out my favorite pairs of boots. I'd like to go for a walk and not have to wear a hat.
I'm ready to put on a sundress and some open-toed shoes and walk the streets of NYC aimlessly. NYC is such a happy place when it's warm and sunny. Is it spring yet?
Enough about the weather ... let's talk about potato salad.
Potato salad reminds me of summer. It's a staple dish at our beach bbqs. Since I am itching for warm weather, this winter version of my potato salad is the compromise.
I made this to remind me that spring is around the corner, and summer will be here before we know it.
Potato salad is a hearty side dish that goes with just about anything. The winter greens add a pop of color, and the quinoa adds a little extra hearty touch. You don't nescessarily have to eat this with something, you can also eat this alone. I had a big bowl for lunch. I added some extra greens + pesto and it was so good. I also may have closed my eyes and pictured it was summer. Okay, I did. And I was happy.
I usually start thinking about my next meal before I've finished the current meal in front of me. Sometimes I start day dreaming about meals days or weeks ahead of time. If you're reading this, I am guessing you do the same.
This past weekend I visited one of my closest friends from college, Michal, in Switzerland. Michal and I both think about food and talk about food a lot. I knew this trip would involve some pretty great meals. And don't let those mountains in the background fool you, there was no physical activity happening on this trip ...... we didn't want anything to get in the way of our eating.
Before my trip, I was already thinking about the food I would eat while I was there, and what I would bring with me to eat on the plane. As you might remember, I have been trying to make food for my flights, especially the longer ones. Since I don't really enjoy flying, I like to make food that will make me happy. Looking forward to a good meal is one way to take my mind off of take-offs and bumpy rides.
Dumplings make me happy. I just love a good dumpling. I get excited when I see a dumpling, and even more excited when I eat a dumpling.
Before I made my first dumpling, I have to admit, I was intimidated (and maybe just a little lazy) to take on the task. Leave it to the experts, I thought. But let me tell you, once you start making your own dumplings, you'll never stop. It is so much easier that you would think, and this way you can come up with crazy concoctions that you would not be able to order from take out.
I bet you wouldn't find swiss chard dumplings at your local chinese food delivery place.
I love the idea of stuffing what is fresh and seasonal into a dumpling. Last fall I made some pumpkin dumplings, maybe this spring I will do some sort of pea dumpling. Right now there has been some stunning swiss chard in the markets, so I thought a fantastic dumpling combination would be swiss chard and roasted garlic, because swiss chard and roasted garlic go so well together.
The walnut miso was inspired by my favorite cookbook of the moment: Japanese Farm Foods. That book is such an awesome source of inspiration, I am sure you will be seeing more recipes + influences from that book here.
If we're anything alike, you probably pretend that you don't care all that much about Valentine's Day, but deep down you love it and you're secretly hoping for a surprise delivery of big, beautiful bouquet of flowers.
When I was single, sometimes I would hope that some really hot guy like ..... say ..... Bradley Cooper would send an enormous lovely bouquet of flowers to my work. You know, because stuff like that happens on Valentine's Day all the time.
Now that I am happily married, I still pretend like I don't care all that much, and I still secretly hope that Michael will surprise me with flowers, or a food-related thing. And he does. He always does well.
{and ... sorry Brad, you can hold the flowers, Michael beat you to the chase.}
I love Valentine's Day. It's a holiday about love. It's another reason to show the person/people in your life that you love them. It does not have to be a romantic type of love, it can be a friendship love, a parental love, an animal love. Celebrating love is a wonderful thing.
I think one of the best ways to show someone you love them it to make something for them. And when that something is raw, vegan and loaded with super healthy vitamins and antioxidants, well then you are spreading extra special love all around.
Nothing says "I love you" like homemade chocolate truffle rolled in a powerful aphrodisiac. Yes you heard me correctly. Goji berries are known in Asian herbalism not only for their high antioxidant content, but also for their aphrodisiac qualities.
Every single ingredient in this truffle is a super ingredient with superpowers. Cacao, cinnamon, coconut oil, and hazelnuts are all great for us, especially when consumed raw.
I cannot think of a better gift than a homemade truffle that is as chocolatey and tasty as it is good for you.
Happy Valentine's Day! XO
