Josie’s Restaurant, 20 Mile Run, and Tostadas

The other night, we were meeting some lovely family and friends for a dinner in Murray Hill. Upon much research and restaurant suggestions, a reservation at Josie’s was made. Josie’s focuses on “natural and organic” food and I guess can be called a “healthier” restaurant. They have lots of interesting vegetarian options, but also plenty of choices for the meat eaters. However, just be warned, if you’re expecting a greasy burger and fries…Josie’s will not deliver. But if you’re looking for fresh dishes or just finished a yoga class, then this is the place for you.

Butternut squash soup with vegan pumpkin pesto

To start, Josie’s serves a delicious sweet potato spread instead of the usual butter or olive oil. You also get a choice for three different breads, mutligrain, cornbread or foccacia. I should have known, being a “healthier” restaurant, the cornbread would not be buttery and sweet. And it was just the opposite…crumbly and dry. The foccacia however was quite delicious, topped with fresh rosemary.

Corriander crusted tuna with vegetables, brown rice and topped with miso aioli

I had read many reviews about their butternut squash soup so I had to order it. It was absolutely delicious! Topped with a pumpkin seed (vegan!) pesto, the soup had some curry flavors and was a perfect fall dish. For my main, I went again with recommendations from my foodie friends and chose the veggie plate deluxe and added tofu for some protein. The vegetables were perfectly cooked and Josie’s definitely knows it’s way with the squash. But would I go out of my way and wait in line for this vegetable plate of goodness…probably not. But it was still very satisfying. Adam’s tuna was so-so…It tasted fine but nothing so special.

Veggie Deluxe Plate: Butternut squash, beets, bok choy, carrots, fennel, zucchini with brown rice and tahini sauce

So you want healthy food and don’t feel like cooking…head to Josie’s. There must have been some good energy in Josie’s food because I was able to complete my longest training run yet on Sunday….20 miles!!!! (that’s 32km for you Canadian readers). One more 20ish miler to go before November 6…M-Day (Marathon-Day). I felt pretty good…fueled with non real food based G20 Gatorade (orange flavour rocks!) and some strawberry banana Gu…basically a sticky, carbohydrate filled gel that you suck back while running and don’t have to stop or deal with digestion issues…sounds appetizing right? Well it keeps me going when running over 3 hours!

Some people ask me…”what do you think about when you run for so long?” What I’m going to eat after of course! And what I had planned for dinner that night was a repeat of a favorite in our household…Tilapia Tostadas. What is a Tostada you might ask? This is crispy corn tortilla, used as a vehicle for delicious ingredients…which means you can pile on more than when you eat it in the traditional soft, rolled form. You can buy them pre-made or just follow the instructions in this recipe here as I did. Cooking Light again to the rescue!

Tilapia Tostadas with Roasted Corn Relish

No major changes in this one, except to add tomatoes to the relish, used regular tomato salsa instead of green salsa, and use shredded romaine instead of the cabbage slaw. It definitely hit the spot!

A big SHANA TOVA to everyone!!! I wish everyone a very sweet new year filled with lots of delicious food!

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Soup, Sandwich, and a Burger

We rarely do soup and sandwich night in our house. For some reason, Adam does not like sandwiches for dinner, he thinks they’re more of a lunch thing.  After this dinner, I think I’ve almost changed his mind. I was in the mood for a carrot ginger soup and I have to say, this one was totally my own! Well, ok, so not TOTALLY…I did do some googling for inspiration but totally came up with my own version. Make it the day before so your flavors have a chance to really mingle and get to know each other better.

Carrot-Ginger Soup

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 lb carrots, chopped

1 tbsp ginger, finely minced

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

6 cups chicken or veggie broth

salt and pepper to taste

Heat a big pot over medium-high heat and add a little oil. Saute onion and garlic until softened. Add cumin and cinnamon and saute until you can really smell the spices. Then add carrots and broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until carrots are tender, about 30 minutes. Puree with hand mixer or let cool and pure in blender. Season with salt and pepper.

To go with the Carrot-Ginger soup, I sought advice from my foodie soul mate, Erin. I wanted to do some sort of tuna melt but with a twist. I messaged her my ingredients in the fridge and she gave me some inspiration. I combined a can of tuna with some chopped, blanched broccoli, finely minced onion, greek yogurt and dijon mustard to hold it together. Mounded on some toast and topped with cheddar, these were some pretty good tuna melts.

Proof that soup and sandwich can be a satisfying dinner!

So when I said “burger” in the title, what I actually meant was lentil barley burgers with fiery salsa. Isn’t that what you were thinking too?? A delicious vegetarian main course, the recipe comes from Cooking Light Magazine.
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lentil-barley-burgers-with-fiery-fruit-salsa-10000001964003/
  I actually only changed one thing. I came home from the grocery store after purchasing all the necessary ingredients for this recipe when I realized….I didn’t have any eggs! What’s a lentil barley burger craving girl to do? Consulting one of my favorite blogs (see the newly posted blogroll to your right), I used a flax egg instead. Just combine 1 tbsp ground flax seed with 3 tbsp water and let stand for about 5 minutes. It worked like a charm! The only problem is you have to have flax seed in your fridge and my guess is most people are more likely to have eggs and not flax seed but just in case…

Two burgers plated with salsa.

The burgers are a bit delicate so wouldn’t fare well on buns. The flavor was great though…just trust me and try it!

In some blog news, I added a list of restaurants I’ve enjoyed since moving to the Big Apple. I will constantly be updating it in hopes it helps you enjoy some delicious eats!

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It’s Shabbos Again!

Another week, another Shabbat dinner. And I decided to stick with the chicken theme of Shabbat and make another chicken dish. No, this one did not come from my favorite cooking lady Bonnie. This chicken recipe came from another cookbook I use quite frequently that I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet on this blog…Bite Me. This is a funny and quirky cookbook with some really great recipes. This herbed breaded chicken was new to me but I can tell you, I would definitely make this again. I think it would be a great thing to make a giant batch of chicken breasts and freeze them…good for a quick dinner or in Adam’s case, a delicious sandwich lunch!

Made by Adam!

Herb Chicken (Adapted from Bite Me!)

1 egg white

1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used panko…they make it extra crispy!)

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 chicken breasts, remove chicken tenders and bread separately

Place egg whites in a dish and whisk with a fork. On a large plate/bowl, combine breadcrumbs, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in egg white and then coat in breadcrumb mixture. Place on cooling rack over an aluminum foil lined baking sheet (this helps make the chicken crispy without frying it). Bake in 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

Sauce

1 tsp oil

1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp dried thyme

2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

3 cups chicken broth

4 tbsp tomato paste

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add oil. Add green onions, oregano, garlic, thyme, and parsley and saute for 1 minute. Add vinegar and cook for about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and tomato paste and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. The sauce won’t thicken that much but it is delicious poured over the chicken.

What to serve with this herby crispy chicken? Well, I went to the fridge to see what I had. Beets, onion, patty pan squash (that yellow squash that’s shaped kind of like an acorn), barley, swiss chard…beet barley risotto stuffed in a squash it was (I was feeling very creative this Friday)

I used this recipe from cooking light,
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/beet-risotto-with-greens-goat-cheese-walnuts-10000000397879/
but with a couple changes. Barley instead of rice, dried rosemary instead of fresh, no goat cheese (but we did add goat cheese for a leftover lunch the next day and it is exactly what you’re thinking…way better with the cheese!). Then I let my creative side run wild and stuffed it in these cute squash and baked it in the oven and voila! Another successful Shabbat dinner.

In other food  news, we tried another place featured on The Best Thing I Ever Ate…I’m doing a pretty good job trying to make it to every place in NY featured on this show! This time it was ice cream (surprise, surprise) at The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. It was 3:30pm and there was a line out the door. But we waited the 20-30 minutes or so and their strawberry ice cream did not disappoint. Creamy, not too sweet, and full of fresh strawberries.

We also tried the Waffle and Dinge food truck that was featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay…no picture but if you see this truck, definitely get the Belgium waffle with butter and a delicious caramel spread…what could possibly be bad about that!

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Adventures in Meatballs and Ice Cream

Sounds like a fun adventure no? Since I first heard about The Meatball Shop on the Lower East Side, I’ve been dying to try it! I’ve heard of their fun atmosphere, delicious sides, and of course, tasty and juicy balls! I’d also heard wait times for this tiny restaurant could be up to 90 minutes. Now, I’ve been known to wait a good 2 hours for pizza in Toronto, but was I prepared to do the same for some plain old meatballs? Well luckily, I didn’t have to worry about this as my dining partner and I arrived shortly after 6 and were seated right away. But let me tell you, after eating there…I would definitely wait for these balls!

Ordering at The Meatball Shop is part of the fun! You get a dry erase, laminated menu and a big black marker and you make your dinner selections by checking off what you’d like. They always have beef, pork, chicken, and vegetarian meatballs and a rotating special ball and a variety of different sauces to go with them. You can choose to have your balls plain (or “naked” as they put it), on a bun, as sliders, on a salad, and you can choose a variety of sides to go under or…on the side. I wanted to really taste the meatballs so I went with the naked chicken balls with classic tomato sauce. My partner in meatball heaven went with the sliders so she could try a variety of the balls. For our sides, we went with broccoli, the market salad, and the most delicious, creamiest, cheesiest polenta I’ve ever had….it was so good it almost stole the show from the balls.

Chicken meatballs in tomato sauce topped with grated parm and foccacia bead

Beef with parm cream sauce, pork with tomato, and the special ball...buffalo/blue cheese chicken with blue cheese sauce

The chicken was made of ground chicken thighs and was perfectly seasoned. The balls had such a nice texture to them and went very well with that creamy polenta you see peeking out the side of my pics. The broccoli was also cooked very well…not mushy like some broccoli can be. The salad was also nice….but the stars of the show were definitely the balls and creamy white corny goodness polenta. Also…a very reasonable dinner. You can get four big balls and a side $12. A steal in NY!

After the big balls (okay, enough with the ball talk!) we were craving something sweet. Or I should say I had already mapped out the route to an ice cream shop I’ve been dying to try and gave my dining partner no choice but to join me. Don’t worry…after we stepped into The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop (yes, that is the actual name), she did not regret accompanying me.

The Shop

This shop started as an ice cream truck, but became so popular they had to open a store. I’ve seen them on Eat St. and The Best Thing I Ever Ate and have been biding my time until I could get a taste…and tonight was FINALLY the night! I already knew what I was ordering…their signature cone…The Salty Pimp. This was no easy decision…their ice cream toppings range from blood orange balsamic vinegar, to wasabi peas, to olive oil and sea salt (don’t worry…I got a frequent visitor card so I will definitely be back!) But I’ve heard so much about this salty, sweet cone, I felt I had no choice. First of all, their soft serve ice cream is, and this is a bold statement, the best I’ve ever had. My cone was coated with caramel sauce, topped with sea salt, and then dipped in chocolate. The best surprise was as I got down to the cone, the cone was also coated with caramel sauce and sea salt. I can definitely see why this cone was on the best thing I ever ate.

You can see how happy I was with my choice!

My meatball (and now ice cream!) loving dinner date went with The Gobbler, a cup of their vanilla soft serve ice cream, topped with pumpkin butter, maple syrup, pie pieces and other delicious flavors that remind you of pumpkin pie. It was also quite good but very sweet. Next time I’m there, I really want to try their fig balsamic and olive oil sea salt combo, or their bea arthur, a cone topped with caramel sauce and nilla wafer cookies, or their vanilla cone topped with pretzels and dipped in chocolate and then smothered in chocolate chips….I guess I’ll be back a few more times!

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Bonnie Does It Again, Veggie Eats and a Food Truck Feast!

Bonnie Stern that is! I think I’ve already mentioned her a good couple of times on the blog and she’s yet to fail me! This past Friday night dinner was no exception. This time I used the other cookbook of hers I have, Friday Night Dinner (seeing as how it was Friday night, it seemed an appropriate choice). Also an excellent cookbook and one I definitely need to use more, I went with two recipes I’ve been meaning to try for a while. Chicken Tagine with Honeyed Tomatoes and Grilled Eggplant with Tahina and Tomato Lime Salsa. Now I did modify the recipes slightly, but I do need to give Bonnie the credit. The two went together as well as sushi and soy sauce (unless you’re my sister and you don’t use soy on your sushi for some strange reason!)

Chicken Tagine with Honeyed Tomatoes (Adapted from Bonnie Stern’s Friday Night Dinners)

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tbsp paprika

1/2 tbsp cumin

2 bone in, skinless chicken breasts

Combine salt, paprika, and cumin in a bowl and sprinkle on chicken

1 tbsp oil

1 onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tbsp ginger, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp ground cinmamon

1/4 tsp ground cayenne

pinch of tumeric

1 14 oz can plum tomatoes with juice, crushed

Chicken in honeyed tomato sauce

1 cup chicken stock

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tbp sesame seeds, toasted

2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat and add chicken and cook about 5-8 minutes per side, or until browned. Remove from pan. Add onions, garlic, and ginger and reduce heat and cook for about 10 minutes, scraping juices from bottom of pan. Add cumin, cinnamon, cayenne and cook for about 30 seconds. Add tumeric, tomatoes, and stock and bring to a boil and reduce heat and cook for about 20 minutes or until thickened. Stir in honey, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken back to dutch oven and cover with sauce. Place in 350 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cilantro.

Grilled Eggplant with Tahina and Tomato Lime (or lemon) Salsa (Adapted from Friday Night Dinners)

1 large eggplant

olive oil, salt and pepper

Cut eggplant lengthwise into long slices. Brush with oil and season with salt and pepper and grill over medium high heat about 3-4 minutes per side. Arrange overlapping on a platter

Tahina Sauce

1/4 cup tahina

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp lemon juice

The finished eggplant. Isn't it beautiful!

1/2 tsp kosher salt

sprinkle red pepper flakes

3 tbsp water

Mix all ingredients together until thin and pourable (add more water if needed)

Tomato Lemon Salsa

1 tomato, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Mix all ingredients together. Drizzle tahina sauce over eggplant and sprinkle with salsa

The flavors from both dishes really complimented each other nicely. The sauce from the chicken was so delicious…we actually had leftover sauce which was then used over simple baked tilapia. It could also be served with chickpeas over rice or just take some pita and go to town! To make sure we had all the food groups on our plate, I also made some roasted sweet potatoes. Just chop 2 sweet potatoes and season with olive oil, maple syrup, salt, pepper, cumin, and cinnamon and bake at 400 for about 30 minutes. These tasted like candy (and when is that ever a bad thing!)

The rest of the weekend was filled with delicious eats out of the house. With guests visiting from Toronto (the running coach Jody, her husband and adorable son), we went out for a vegetarian dinner at Candle Cafe. Please don’t be turned off by the VEGAN in the description of this restaurant. It was actually quite delicious. We started with a couple of shared apps:

Seitan grilled on skewers with chimichurri sauce

The seitan chimichurri was the surprising hit of the night. Seitan is made of wheat gluten and is a meat alternative that actually has a very meaty texture. It was smokey and really went well with the very green and herbal chimichurri  sauce.

Good Food Plate

For my main, I went with the good food plate upon recommendation from one of Jody’s friends who was dining with us (who is now my vegetarian restaurant dining companion…we vowed to try one new veggie restaurant a month…let me know if you want to join in this adventure!). You get to pick 4 side dishes from a very long list of sides and also get two sauces or dressings on the side. I loved the variety of this and also the ability to try lots of different things. I went with the grilled tempeh, black rice pilaf, and steamed veg and green of the day. All of this was perfectly cooked and really really good! But what really made it was the carrot ginger sauce. Everyone at the table was blown away by this bright orange sauce and I continued to douse my whole plate in it!

The one disappointment of the table was Adam’s dish. It sounded so good…grilled seitan in a smoky black bean sauce on top of quinoa pilaf, sauteed greens and guacamole. But what he got was very burnt seitan accompanied by an overly smoky black bean sauce. The quinoa was fine but nothing to write home about. So moral of the story, got to candle cafe, order the good food plate with a giant side of carrot ginger sauce.

I know this is getting to be a long post but I HAVE to tell you about Sunday eats at the Food Truck Rally in Prospect Park. After running almost 3 hours, I was ready for some good eats and thankfully, we had heard of this amazing event.

I ran (or walked as fast as my tired legs could take me) to the Red Hook Lobster Truck. A very nice friend offered to share the two different types of lobster rolls with me and neither disappointed. The Maine roll was fresh lobster mixed with homemade mayo, served cold,  and the Connecticut version was butter poached lobster served warm. Both were STUFFED with huge chunks of fresh lobster and these were some of the best buns I’ve ever had! Honestly, I liked both…If I were to go again I would need someone to split it with me again!

Maine on the left and Connecticut on the right

After seeing Cool Haus on Eat St. my heart was set on an ice cream cookie sandwich for dessert. The problem was the choices were overwhelming (I guess this really isn’t a problem). So, to make sure I could taste the most cookies and ice cream possible, I did half and half on everything! Potato chip/skor cookie on top, oatmeal raisin on the bottom, and half peanut butter ice cream and half nutella ice cream. Peanut butter ice cream mixed with nutella ice cream…enough said!

The sandwich comes with an edible wrapper made of potato/soy. I wasn't a fan of that.

Tired legs and full belly, the rest of my day was spent relaxing on the couch, catching up on my favorite food network show, The Best Thing I Ever

Ate. I hope you all enjoyed some good eats this weekend too!

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Italian and French Eats and a Big Announcement!

So I know I left you in suspense in my last post so I won’t keep you waiting any longer….I’m running the New York Marathon!!!! Maybe not the announcement you were expecting but equally exciting, no? I’ve been focusing this blog on my first love and passion (no, not Adam!) but Food! But running has also become a very large and important part of my life.

After completing my first half marathon

I began running during my second year of university and have grown to love it! Over the past couple years I have run a handful of 10k races, two half marathons, and now have the opportunity to run the 2011 NYC ING Marathon, while representing a fantastic charity, REACH Grenada. REACH Grenada aims to improve the health and well being of orphans in Grenada’s Queen Elizabeth Home for abused and abandoned children through a variety of programs, such as caregiver training and support, yoga, meditation, and mentoring. To learn more about REACH Grenada and their programs follow this link.
http://www.reachgrenada.org/howwehelp.php

As many of you know, Adam spent two years in Grenada and saw first hand the difficulties these children face. I will be running in support of this wonderful charity in an effort to help improve the lives of these children in Grenada. To support my fundraising efforts, please follow this link:
http://www.reachgrenada.org/fundraiser.php?id=94

Thank you for your support!!!!

A side note, I would not have been able to get to this level of training without the support and (sometimes very vocal!) coaching of my good friend Jody Yoken. Jody is an awesome motivator and personal trainer and she also happens to be a fabulous physiotherapist. If you are looking for a PT I highly suggest you contact her at  jodyyoken@gmail.com. Jody was also visiting me in New York this past weekend and took me on the most amazing run from the top to bottom of Manhattan and over the Brooklyn Bridge…18.5 miles…a new PR for me!

Now back to the food! I’ve enjoyed several good meals this past week but I wanted to highlight two of them for you…and judging from my blog title I guess you can figure they were Italian and French meals. First lovely meal was lunch at Eataly. Eataly is a high end Italian market that sells incredible cheeses, meats, fresh pasta, seafood, and other Italian products. It also has different food stalls/restaurants focused solely on one food group…there’s a vegetable resto, a fish resto, a meat resto, pizza/pasta, sandwich…etc. Owned by Mario Batali, it is absolutely incredible. I was in sensory overload! After walking around the market, my dining partner and I decided to go with the fish restaurant. This was one of the hardest decisions of my life. Every place looked absolutely amazing! And the food lived up to the hype!

Upon being seated, we were given two slices of deliciously fresh crusty Italian bread and olive oil. Per recommendation from our server, I went with the grilled octopus…this was so tender, simply seasoned, and a very nice portion.  My partner in Italian dining went with the scallop special.

While it looked beautiful and she said it tasted delicious, it was quite a small portion. Luckily, we were also sharing two sides which I totally forgot to take pictures of (I was way to engrossed in my octopus dish!) We had a side of swiss chard which was simply sauteed with garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes and mashed potatoes. I have to say, we were not huge fans of the potatoes. They were studded with capers which I found quite overwhelming. All in all, if you are a food lover in the slightest, go to Eataly!

My French experience this week was not as fancy shmancy but still surprisingly delicious. I went for lunch to this very small French restaurant called Le Gamin in Brooklyn. After much research into reviews prior to dining (i tend to do that often as to not miss out on any food experience), I decided I needed to order a crepe. I went with the caramelized onion, goat cheese, tomato crepe and chose to also add sauteed mushrooms. This was all wrapped up in a buckwheat crepe and served with a really good and simple salad…the dressing was out of this world!

Another good week of eats…and runs! How was your eating week? Have you every run a marathon…any tips for a novice marathoner as I try to break the big 2-0 miler?

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Baked Caprese and Vegetarian Curry

All in a week’s work right? Well let’s start at the beginning shall we? As the weather starts to turn cooler, I tend to crave more comforting and warm dinners. I saw this recipe on another food blog I follow and immediately rushed out to buy a ball of fresh mozzarella cheese. The high price (I don’t even want to tell you!) of this cheese from my local gourmet and very upscale food market was definitely worth it. I also was able to use some of that left over whole wheat challah….another “keeper” according to Adam.

Baked Panzanella Caprese (Adapted from Giada DiLaurentis)

2 tomatoes, sliced

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup basil leaves, chopped

2 tsp olive oil

2-4 slices good crusty bread, cut into cubes

salt and pepper to taste

Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray and layer tomatoes. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Layer on mozzarella and sprinkle with garlic and basil and drizzle with 1 tsp oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread bread cubes on top and drizzle with 1 tsp oil. Baked in 375 degree oven for about 25 minutes until gooey.

Look at that cheesy goodness!

First of all…the aroma coming from your kitchen will be unbearably good and the flavor of the garlic and basil…my mouth is watering now just thinking of it!

Second fallish recipe of the week was a vegetarian curry, inspired by my Canadian Living Vegetarian Cookbook. I really love this cookbook. I’ve made a couple of recipes now and if you’re a vegetarian (and even if you’re not) I would highly recommend this book. We had some leftover butternut squash to use up from Friday night’s Israeli Couscous so I adapted a curry recipe and it turned out fantastic! It also fed us lunch and dinners throughout the week and the flavors got even better as they all had time to mingle and get to know each other a little better.

Vegetable Curry (Adapted from Canadian Living’s The Vegetarian Collection)

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 cup green beans, cut into pieces

1 cup carrots, diced

2 zucchini, diced

1 bar firm/extra firm tofu, cubed

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup vegetable broth

2 onions, finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp tumeric

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Heat a large dutch oven (or large pot) over medium heat and add a little oil. Saute onions until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes and cook until you can smell them. Add coriander, cumin, garam masala and turmeric and cook until mixture sticks to pan. Add 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil and stir to scrape up those yummy brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add tomatoes, salt, and 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced, about 15 minutes. Add cilantro and the rest of the ingredients and cook until vegetables are tender (covered) about 15 minutes.

Do you see that steam coming off of it? Well…I was so excited because this smelled like the best Indian restaurant you’ve ever been to, that I dove into my bowl lip first and was left with a huge burn across my bottom lip. Not very attractive and no, I did not take a picture of that! So after I let it cool so I could actually enjoy it without suffering third degree burns, we topped it with some Greek yogurt and it was very very good! Perfect dinner for the cooler nights and very healthy and filling!

I’ve enjoyed a couple delicious meals in Manhattan that I will be back to share and also have a very big non-food (Shocking I know!) related announcement!!! Stay tuned!

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Shabbat Shalom!

First Shabbos dinner in Brooklyn and I was ready to welcome it in with open arms! Friday night dinners are very big in my family and are usually filled with lots of food, family, noise and lots of food! (written twice for emphasis). So I felt I had to make up for the lack of family and noise in our quite apartment with even more food. I decided to go all out for this dinner and surprise my husband with one of his favorite shabbos foods…Challah. But not just any old challah, homemade, whole wheat challah.

It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. A traditional recipe by none other than Bonnie Stern with yeast, eggs, flour, oil and topped with the necessary egg wash and sesame seeds but with my healthful twist of using part whole wheat flour. Braided and all it definitely gave our shabbas table that festive feel.

Traditional first course at a shabbos dinner is matzah ball soup. Well there was no way I was cooking a pot of hot soup in the heat we were having on that day. Our small window unit air conditioner can only work so hard! I went with a chilled cold soup from one of my other favorite cookbook author, Lucy Waverman.  This chilled pea soup with mint was really delicious and easy to make.

Chilled Pea Soup with Mint (From Lucy Waverman’s A Year in Lucy’s Kitchen)

2 cups frozen green peas

2 cups shredded romaine lettuce

1/2 cup packed fresh mint

4 green onions, chopped

3 cups chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

Combine peas, lettuce, mint, green onions, and stock in a pot and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until peas are tender. Puree soup until smooth and season with salt and pepper.

Easy Peasy right? Challah dipped in pea soup…delish! Next up on a shabbat menu, the salad course. I made one of my favorite salads…

Spinach Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing (Adapted from Cooking Light)

Dressing

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 garlic clove minced

Mix all ingredients together. Toss in a bowl with spinach, chopped apple (1 or 2), sliced mushrooms, dried cranberries, toasted chopped almonds, and red onions

Main course is always some sort of meat, veg, and grain (actually it’s usually 2 kinds of meats, 4 kinds of starch, and at least 5 different vegetable offerings…but i was only cooking for two!)

This chicken recipe from Canadian Living is easy and impressive…I actually just sent it to a close friend to cook for a special birthday dinner and it received rave reviews so trust me..try it!

The starch….I went with Bonnie Stern again (that Bonnie has never let me down!) I found some whole wheat Israeli couscous which is a kind of similar to barley but it’s unique ball shape is quite delicious. I like the texture much better than regular couscous so if you haven’t tried it yet…what are you waiting for?

Israeli Couscous with Squash and Peppers (Adapted from Bonnie Stern’s Best of Heart Smart)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 cups whole wheat (or regular) Israeli couscous

2 red peppers, diced

1 butternut squash, diced

3 cups chicken broth

1/3 cup chopped cilantro or parsley

Heat oil in non stick saucepan on medium heat and add onion and garlic and cook for about 8 minutes or until golden. Add cumin and couscous and cook until the couscous is toasted. add red pepper, squash and mix together. Add chicken broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until couscous is tender and stock is absorbed. Season with salt and pepper and add cilantro or parsley

I really liked this side dish…maybe next time I would add a bit more seasoning to punch up the flavor…any suggestions? To round out the meal, I made some simple roasted asparagus, just seasoned with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. So first shabbas meal = success!

Brunch at Rosewater

Saturday’s at my house normally revolve (surprisingly) around the Shabbos lunch. Another huge meal of either leftovers from the previous nights dinner (shockingly we always seem to have a lot leftover), a big pot of chulent, or a Greek salad with tuna and egg if we are all meated out. Well my first Shabbos lunch was actually a delicious Shabbos brunch at Rosewater restaurant. Rosewater’s menu changes with the seasons and they try to use as much local product as possible. Everything on the brunch menu sounded amazing! Thankfully, my dining companion was also a food lover and when she suggested we share one savory and one sweet item, I knew we were a good team! We shared the peach pancakes and the special of the day and both were utterly scrumptious.

Peach pancakes topped with lemon hazelnut butter

My previous best pancake experience was with the famous blueberry pancakes at Mildred’s Temple Kitchen…dare I say these were better! Light and fluffy with a background flavor of lemon zest and so moist (might have been that heaping spoonful of lemon hazelnut butter on top!).

Corn and basil pancakes topped with poached eggs, roasted tomato salsa and sauted mushrooms and greens

I think this was my favorite of the two…the special of the day. That roasted tomato sauce was killer and the corn pancakes were so different from the sweet variety. I should have taken a picture of the perfectly cooked yolk…all runny and gooey like a well cooked egg should be.

So first Shabbat in Brooklyn…definitely a good one. I’m sure there are many more to come!

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Three Dinners: Vegetarian, Fish, Meat

As you can see…the first week of cooking has been filled with a variety of recipes. I love to experiment with new recipes but also love the old faithful. We also really like interesting and different flavours…No plane jane food here! For our first home cooked meal in our new digs, we decided to go with a favourite of both of ours. Tofu almond butter curry with coconut rice and roasted brussels sprouts. I can almost hear you meat and potato eaters out there groaning in disgust, but trust me, this meal is delicious. If you think you don’t like tofu…you’ve never had it stir-fried until crisp and doused in a rich and flavourful almond butter curry sauce. This recipe came to me courtesy of a very good friend, who also happens to lean more towards being vegetarian. She got the recipe from The Big Carrot, an organic grocery store on The Danforth in Toronto.  The coconut brown rice and roasted brussels sprouts really compliment this main well so I encourage you to try all three together.

Tofu Almond Butter Curry (Adapted from The Big Carrot)

Sauce

1/4 cup almond butter

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp curry powder

Mix all sauce ingredients together

Stir Fry

1 bock extra-firm tofu, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 red onion, sliced thin

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 carrot, grated

1 head broccoli, finely chopped

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 small head kale, shredded

Heat wok over medium/high heat and add a little oil. Stir fry tofu until nice and brown on all sides (you need some patience for this) and then add to bowl with sauce and toss gently to coat.

Add onion, garlic, and rosemary to wok and stir fry until starting to brown. Then add red pepper, carrot, broccoli, soy sauce, and 2 tbsp water and mix together. Cover and let cook about 5 minutes or until soft. Add kale and 1/4 cup of water and cook until kale is softened. Add sauce with tofu and mix to combine.

For the rice, I just take brown rice and cook it in coconut milk with a little salt in a ratio of 2:1, liquid: rice. Basically one can of coconut milk topped off with a little water is enough for 1 cup of rice. If you shudder when you hear the word “brussels sprouts,” you must be remembering your moms plain, steamed, and overcooked sprouts (my apologies if your mom did not serve you these). Mine are roasted until they are caramalized and salty and delicious. Just cut your sprouts in half and toss with a little oil, salt, and pepper and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes until nice and brown. Is this not the perfect plate or what???

The next night we were in the mood for fish. Found some really good looking salmon and made another classic recipe from my favourite cooking magazine, Cooking Light. This miso marinated salmon is really delicious. If you haven’t cooked with miso before, it’s kind of the texture of peanut butter, with  a salty/savoury flavour. It really adds a nice dimension to your sauces/marinades. Here’s what it looked like in my grocery store.

Miso Paste

This recipe would also be  delicious on trout, chicken, and now that you are all tofu lovers…tofu!

Miso Marinated Salmon (Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine)

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp miso paste

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp water

4 pieces of salmon

Mix all ingredients together and pour over salmon. Broil for about 10 minutes until cooked through and nice and brown on top.

To serve with the salmon, we had leftover coconut rice. So, I morphed it into a coconut fried rice by sauteing some onion, carrots, and mushrooms and mixing it with the rice, some soy and hoisin sauce. For a “no recipe” dish, I was pretty proud of myself. It turned out quite nice and went really well with the salmon. So cook extra grains…you can always turn them into a new dish the next day.

So, we’ve satisfied the vegetarian and fish cravings, but we also do like our meat now and again in this household. I’d say we generally eat meat 1-2 days/week which is a lot less than I used to. But for some reason, we were both craving not just any meat, but RED meat. We had a beautiful piece of lean shoulder steak in our fridge.

I decided to not use an old-reliable but branch out to a new recipe…And Anna Olson came to the rescue again (in case you forget, she gave me the vegetable tart recipe…read the blog!)

While Adam was eating it he proclaimed “this is a keeper!” And I concur!
http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Main/Beans/recipe.html?dishID=10901
The only change I made was to use black beans instead of adzuki beans (because I’ve really never seen those in my grocery store before!)

Grilled Shoulder Steak. Medium Rare

This recipe again features miso so if you were thinking what the heck you would do with a whole package of miso? Well, now you have two recipes to use it with.

Well, I’ve been doing all the talking lately. Tell me, what have you cooked this week??? I’d love to hear!

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Brooklyn Fish Camp, Spice, Jane, and Ted and Honey

Upon arrival to Brooklyn, the obvious first thing to do was to go for dinner! The parents, the husband, and myself decided we felt like fresh fish and what better place to get it then a restaurant with the word fish in it’s name…enter Brooklyn Fish Camp. After the long drive from T.O. (and Adam’s long day of cleaning the apartment in preparation for my arrival), we were starved! Right away I loved this place…the atmosphere was fantastic. Open kitchen, casual vibe with specials and drinks written on chalk boards, and a garden in the back where they had outdoor seating and also a large movie screen. I always like to look around the tables and scope out what everyone is eating…right away you could see the popular items were the whole fish and french fries…And that is exactly what I ordered.

My mom and I both opted for the sea bream and lucky for us, we scored the last two fish! They were perfectly grilled, stuffed with fresh rosemary and served with grilled veg. But the fries…these were the star of the table. Perfectly crispy and seasoned with some kind of deliciously salty seasoning spice…dare I say they should be featured on an episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate. We also shared an order of grilled asparagus with anchovy butter. Perfectly grilled and the salty butter gave it a nice finishing flavour.

Whole grilled sea bream

Fries

The men at the table decided to share the fish tacos and tuna sliders. Fish tacos…they were okay. But the tuna sliders were fantastic. I would definitely order these to share as an app next time I go to this resto…and there definitely will be a next time!

Fish Tacos

Tuna Sliders

After a day of walking probably the equivalent of a half marathon…we felt like something casual and quick. Spice Thai restaurant fit the bill. I’m going to make this a quickie because I think that’s what the restaurant deserves. Take a look at the pics.

Cashew Chicken

Grilled Salmon with Three Flavour Sauce (AKA. sweet chili sauce). This fish was soooo overcooked!

Papaya Salad

Steamed seabass in mushroom sauce. This was probably the best dish. Very flavourful!

Would I go back…probably not. But would I order delivery from one of their many chain outlets…probably. So overall…it was okay…but don’t be sad, my dinner the next night more than made up for this!

Jane restaurant gets amazing reviews for their brunch so I was excited to try it out for dinner (being a VERY early riser, brunch usually doesn’t fit into my schedule…I’m trying to change that!) Not only was the food delicious, but the service was just as good. They happened to be out of a lot of items that our table wanted due to the busy long weekend and the manager came over to us and apologized profusely and offered to bring over some complimentary appetizers. Very nice touch! Now I’m so sorry but I was a bad food blogger and forgot to take pictures of a lot of the food as I was just so excited reading the menu…I wanted everything! So I will tell you that the free goat cheese flat bread and burrata cheese appetizers sent over were both amazing. I also had a very fresh watermelon, tomato and goat cheese salad and a gazpacho soup that were perfect for the humid weather.

I did get pictures of the mains the husband and I ordered. Their toasted ricotta gnocchi is a house specialty…it comes in a truffle cream sauce and while it was really really really good…it was also really really really rich. So rich in fact that my husband couldn’t finish it…and if you know us, that rarely happens! I however dominated my main of a pot of mussels cooked in a tomato and wine sauce…there was not a mussel left in this giant pot when I was through with it! I highly recommend you check out Jane…and if you go for brunch please let me know if it’s worth adjusting my sleep schedule for.

Toasted Ricotta Gnocchi

Big Pot! Really nice presentation

So with all these big dinners you’re probably thinking we weren’t hungry for lunch….how wrong you are! We found this cute cafe, Ted and Honey while walking around the city. The line up inside was definitely a good sign and we were in the mood for a good sandwich which they seemed to have lots of. Another nice touch, while waiting in line they handed out samples of their gluten free peanut butter cookie. I love me some gluten, but this cookie was delicious! Let’s focus on the main event shall we…This was definitely in the top 3 sandwiches I’ve ever had (others on this list include the fish sandwich from the Fish Shop in Toronto and this mango and chicken sandwich I had at some restaurant in Old Montreal and it’s killing me I can’t remember the name).

THE Sandwich

This vegetable panini featured grilled eggplant, house-made pesto and caponata, parmegian, and HOUSE MADE mozzarella…all grilled on wonderful multigrain bread. Words can’t describe…that’s why I took a picture!

Very happy with my choice!

So good weekend of eating eh? (that’s the Canadian in me). Since then, some good home cooking as been happening in this household…so brace yourself for some more recipes sure to please the meat eaters, veg eaters and fish eaters….variety is the key to life after all!

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