"You Two Look Drowsy" - A Post NSR1 Feast

MIXX - Allston, MA
http://www.mixxboston.com/

Toppings galore from MIXX

     Racing season was picking up quite quickly, along with the search for healthy treats. Cookies? No. Cakes? No. Froyo? Perhaps. After spending the afternoon watching the Boston Marathon with Joan, I decided to keep walking a bit and hit up MIXX, a frozen yogurt place in Allston that's always packed. I've heard it's one of the best in Boston, so I had to give it a try. All froyo places seem to have the same feel. Simple, bold colors. Modern furniture. Clean. This place was just like Zinga in Kenmore. They had self serve frozen yogurt, so naturally I had to try all of them. Cookies and cream, banana split, original, chocolate, taro, peanut butter... you name it, they probably had it, and I probably tried it. I'm just a lost cause when it comes to the toppings. My treat went from "healthy" to "excessive" within 30 seconds of hitting the toppings bar. All in all, it was delicious. Namely because I topped the thing with at least 2 full mashed reeses cups. But the frozen yogurt was so good. Each flavor was unique and spot on. The taro was really good, and the original was great without an overly powerful zing that you get with some frozen yogurts. I'm not sure how to compare frozen yogurt places, because the concept is simple, but MIXX is definitely worth the extra trip down Comm.

   


Uno Chicago Grill - Princeton, NJ
http://www.unos.com/

   

Avocado Egg Rolls

     Large sums of melted cheese on bread had become a thing of the past as a result of NSR1 weight requirements. I was absolutely determined to get a deep dish pizza for lunch/dinner the day of our last weigh-in in Princeton. Mary and I found an Uno, a restaurant I've been wanting to go to for a long time. There's one in Kenmore in Boston, and it always smells incredible when I go by. That Saturday evening we headed there for dinner. We may have gone a little overboard (naturally), but who cares? As an appetizer, we got these awesome avocado egg rolls. They were basically avocado, onion, cilantro and lime wrapped up in your standard egg roll wrap, deep fried and served with this INCREDIBLE tamarind cashew dipping sauce. What is tamarind? We had no idea, and we attempted to research it with no success. The warm avocado was absolutely delicious, especially with that sauce. I'm not kidding. We saved every bit of that sauce and put it on anything and everything that we could the rest of the meal.

     We spied another table with a plate of breadsticks. Instant panic. Those were not on the menu. I did not see those on the menu. What are those? Waitress, can we get some of those? The salt on these fluffy, warm, toasted cheese topped breadsticks was out of this world. I know that sounds stupid, but try avoiding sodium for a couple weeks, and then we can talk. These breadsticks hit the spot ... especially with that tamarind cashew dipping sauce.

The Chicago Classic

     In an effort to not get in too far over our heads, we decided to split the individual Chicago Classic deep dish pizza and get a side salad with chicken. The grilled chicken with the salad was pretty good, and the salad itself was decent. Nothing too fancy. But this pizza.... oh my. This pizza had crumbled sausage, chunky tomato sauce, mozzarella and romano cheese. We added broccoli and onions as well. Mary mentioned that chunky tomato sauce on pizza was a game-changer for her, so I really wanted to try it. I swear, we must have looked like crazy people. We sat there staring at our slices of pizza in absolute amazement after each bite. The crust was thick and crispy on the outside and was lined with cheese. They must've layered the cheese down on top of the crust first, then added the vegetables and topped it with the tomato sauce. Genius. Maybe this is how Chicago deep dish style pizza works, I don't know. Either way, it was a new and unique way of topping a pizza for me. Mary was right, the chunky tomato sauce was incredible. It was more of a topping as opposed to just a sauce. Make sense? In combination with the broccoli and onions and sausage, it was fabulous.

     We walked out of Uno in an absolute state of euphoria. The waitstaff at the door even said, "Wow, you two look drowsy" as we left. So what?


Hoagie Haven - Princton, NJ
http://www.hoagiehaven.com/

   

      It is virtually impossible to go to Princeton and not have someone, somewhere recommend you go to Hoagie Haven. Well... I now understand why. The Sunday after racing NSR1, Mary and I stuck around to row some double combinations with a few other girls. With no weigh-in in the absolute near future, we wanted lunch. And I mean we wanted LUNCH. Mary dropped me off at the door and I navigated myself through the sea of high school lacrosse players and soccer players and finally made it to the counter, behind which at least 10 workers were sliding around frying meats, pouring sauces, and toasting buns. It was chaos. The place was miniature to begin with. I ordered one "Body Bag," a BLT and a side of fries. I knew as soon as he pulled out the 16 inch hoagie roll (I'm guessing) for the Body Bag that we weren't going to need that BLT or the fries. It was too late. Ready for this?

The Body Bag

     After getting our food, we made our way to a park by the river to sit and enjoy. I'll start off with the easy stuff. Salt and pepper on the fries? Incredible. Why don't more places do a s/p combo? And the BLT was great. Refreshing compared to the other mountain we attempted to climb (see below).

The precious insides of the Body Bag

 We unwrapped the Body Bag, and it was still piping hot. This behemoth was lined with a layer of hash browns and ketchup first. Next was your standard Italian hoagie. In this case salami, capicola and ham I'm guessing. Other inclusions: provolone cheese, cheese steak, 4 fried eggs and sliced onions. Overkill? Absolutely. The grease was running down my arm, and all was right in the world. The meat, the salt, the bread. All good things. All things that don't go well with a weigh in. It was like stepping into heaven. Let me just say, maneuvering our long boats through downtown Princeton was worth it.




Beet Hummus - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

     In my pinterest stumblings one day, I came across a recipe on The Inventive Vegetarian for Beet Tahini that looked very similar to a recipe that my boss' wife, Meredith, had made one day for me. It was so delicious when she made it, so I wanted to try to recreate it. When Meredith served hers, she served it on a greek yogurt covered piece of whole grain toast with a piece of mint. Hmmm... maybe it wasn't mint. I can't remember. Either way, I'd totally recommend taking a piece of toast, spreading a little greek yogurt on it for the zing, and topping it this beet hummus. It's so simple and satisfying. Another winning combo: toast, regular hummus and this beet hummus. I don't think I'm an enormous fan of tahini, so partially out of fear, I only used 2 tbs of tahini instead of the half cup this recipe called for. Feel free to experiment. Warning: if you try to make this, you will make an enormous mess. Guaranteed.

Beet Hummus

Beet Hummus on toast with Greek yogurt

2 beets

Juice of 2 lemons

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup tahini (I used 2 tbs)

Salt, to taste

1) Preheat oven to 400F

2) Wash and trim, but don’t peel, the beets, then wrap each one in tin foil and toss it in the oven for 45-60 minutes, until a knife can easily pierce each beet.  Once the beets have cooled enough to handle, rub them with your thumbs and the skins should come off easily.

3) Roughly chop the beets and the garlic and put both in the bowl of a food processor.  Give them a quick pulse to start breaking down the beets.

4) Add the tahini and lemon juice and puree until smooth.  Taste and adjust salt as desired.  Serve cold or room temperature with crackers or raw vegetables.

Middle Eastern Chic Pea & Sweet Potato Soup - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

   

Middle Eastern Chic Pea and Sweet Potato Soup

      I think this may just be THE BEST soup I have ever made. No joke. My excitement to eat it everyday for lunch was just stupid. I found this recipe off of Eating Well's website, and decided to tweak only one thing (this is unusual for me). This recipe called for basmati rice, but I used red quinoa instead for the protein. I'm sure rice would be good too. The key ingredients in this recipe, I think, are the orange juice, sweet potato and cumin. Yes, I said orange juice. It gave the broth a refreshing and citrus-y sweetness. I was totally surprised by how much flavor the cumin added as well. Normally I wouldn't see cumin as being critical to a recipe, but it really complimented the flavors of this soup. This soup was a little bit sweeter than most (perhaps the reason I liked it so much), and I believe it to be because of the OJ and sweet potato. The longer the soup sat in my fridge, the better it got. I think the sugars from the sweet potato started to break down and began sweetening the broth. But the soup didn't have a dessert-y sweet taste. It was more a savory sweet taste. The combination of the chic peas, the sweet potato and the flavors infused into the broth made this such a unique treat. Definitely give it a try. 

Middle Eastern Chic Pea and Sweet Potato Soup

1 tbs olive oil

3 medium onions, sliced

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1 cup orange juice

4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 can chickpeas

3 cups sweet potato, diced

1/4 cup quinoa

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped 

1) Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; add onions and cook, stirring often, until tender and well browned, 10 to 12 minutes. 

2) Add cumin and coriander and stir for about 15 seconds. Add orange juice and broth. Stir in chickpeas, sweet potato, rice and salt. Bring to a boil.

3) Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and the sweet potatoes are breaking down to thicken the liquid, about 45 minutes. Season with pepper and add chopped cilantro. The soup will be thick and will thicken further upon standing.

Will You _____ My Fish Taco?

Homemade Larabars - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA 

    Sometimes I go through these phases were I realize how much money I'm spending on things out of convenience, and it bothers me. So I do something about it. Bars are easy calories and taste delicious, but they're so crazy expensive. After realizing at 1-2 bars a day, I'm spending 35-50 dollars a month on bars, I decided to start experimenting. I'm really into the idea of simple foods. Simple raw foods to be specific. I stumbled upon this blog called Rawified that has recipes for every single kind of Larabar. If you're unfamiliar, Larabars are made of very simple ingredients. Generally they contain dates, maybe another kind of dried fruit, and raw nuts. End of story. With easily absorbed sugars and healthy fats, I figured these would be great for before a workout. While J-money was here a few weeks ago, we decided to give the Blueberry Muffin Larabar a try. The most important lesson we learned from this process? Don't just throw all the ingredients together and expect your food processor to blend it evenly. Most recipes recommend just throwing it into a food processor and ... boom... done. Now I'm not sure if my processor is just not up to speed (ha... pun) or if I did something wrong, but throwing all the sticky fruits and nuts together was just too much for it to handle.
     Regardless of the non-uniform texture of all of our ingredients, our Blueberry muffin "bars" were delicious! They tasted just like the Larabars! The only difference was that I had to add a little water in order to get the ingredients to mix, thus resulting in the inability to form them into bars. They then became Blueberry Muffin balls. I forgot to take a picture and we destroyed them before I finally remembered.
     Per Jake's recommendation, I decided to give the Key Lime Pie Larabars a try and process each ingredient separately. This worked like a charm! I got a much more uniform consistency for the entire mix, not to mention they were phenomenal! Once again, tasted just like the Larabars themselves. A simple blend of raw nuts, sweet coconut and dates and the bite of the lime juice.
     It cost me around $4.87 to make the whole batch of 14 bars, at 140 calories a piece (70% of the calories of a normal Larabar). From a dollar per calorie perspective, that's 60 cents per 200 calorie homemade bar versus the $1.30 Larabar you buy in the store. Yes... I really did figure all that out. Don't ask how. You'll think I'm crazy. On second thought, it's probably all ready to late for that. Let's just say it involves heavy research and excel skills.

Blueberry Muffin Larabar

Key Lime Pie Larabars

1 cup pitted dates
1 cup almonds
2 tbs shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/2 tbs pumpkin pie spice (I just mixed cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice)

Key Lime Pie Larabar

1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup almonds
1 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup shredded coconut
splash of lime juice 


Curry Coconut Lime Soup - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

Curry Coconut Lime Soup

     Another interesting soup experiment of mine turned into a great success. I had some leftover coconut milk from a curry dish I made and decided to somehow get it into a soup. I had about three recipes that sounded great, but couldn't decide which to use, so I just combined parts of each, took out others and came up with some crazy Thai-like soup. I say it's Thai-like because it has that typical coconut curry flavor to it. One recipe called for a Thai chili paste, so I attempted to create this with a bunch of random ingredients like garlic, ginger, ketchup and a variety of spices. This is a really light tasting soup, but it's totally satisfying... not to mention you'll feel kind of fancy eating it. Like you're some kind  of culturally experienced chef. Now, I added a little shredded chicken to this for some protein, but it's totally not necessary if you wanted to make this vegetarian. Not to mention, the chicken breast I put in this recipe was about the size of a deck of cards. I'd maybe get a hunk or two per serving. Almost pointless. Here's me attempting to recreate this masterpiece.

Curry Coconut Lime Soup

1 1/4 cup coconut milk
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup chopped fresh pea pods
1 chopped orange pepper
2 large carrots, sliced
1 chicken breast
2 oz. angle hair pasta
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup lime juice
1 cup fresh spinach
1 tbs minced fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow hot pepper, chopped (or one chili pepper)
1 tbs ketchup
1/2 tsp white pepper
A few shakes of red pepper flakes
1 tbs curry
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1) In a small bowl, prepare your Thai-chili paste by combining the ginger, garlic, minced hot pepper, ketchup , white pepper, red pepper flakes, and cumin. Mix until thoroughly combined.

2) In a large soup pot on medium heat, bring the coconut milk, vegetables, chili paste and all of the other spices to a simmer. Let these simmer for a good 20 minutes. The whole mix will start to thicken. That's ok. 

3) Add in your shredded chicken, stock, lime juice and angel hair pasta that has been broken up into small pieces. Stir to mix evenly and let simmer another 20 minutes. Add in the spinach (optional) 10 minutes before serving. 

Border Cafe - Cambridge, MA
http://www.bordercafe.com/

     Well, let me just go right out and say I've found my new favorite Mexican place in Boston. Border Cafe

Mesquite Grilled Salmon Salad

in Harvard Square was the destination of choice for Meagan's short visit to Boston. As soon as I walked in to meet Meagan, Karl, Jimmy and Dave, I was overwhelmed with the congestion, but it was the good kind of congestion. The place was packed and the wait staff was scurrying around like crazy. Every wall was decorated and music that made me want to break out my not-so-great salsa skills poured out the speakers. They took the Mexican feel to a whole new level.
    The only downside? I'm in serious weight loss mode, so I had to stick to a salad and, at first, I was bummed about it. More on that later. The first thing to our table was a piping hot basket of chips and salsa. I don't just mean warm. I meant HOT. As in, you were bound to burn your fingers on the first chip you reached for. These chips were absolutely incredible. They are EXACTLY what I've been looking to find in Boston. Not kidding. They were thin, crispy, homemade and hot. In total, we had three baskets (maybe four) delivered to the table and each basket was hotter than the previous one. Worry not, I was good and only had a few from each basket. You know... had to try some from each basket... make sure they were safe.
      So this salad I ordered sounded good, but I was not expecting it to be as delicious as it was. It was their Mesquite Grilled Salmon salad. I figured it was a good pre-pieces option, full of greens, protein and healthy fats. This was by far the best salmon I have ever had. There was this delicious sweetness on the outside because it had  been slightly crisped up from the lime-soy glaze. What really took it to the next level was how the filet was marbled and the grilled taste. Normally I can't tell the difference when something has been grilled a certain way, but the wood fired flavor in this fish was so present. It arrived at the absolute perfect temperature and just melted in my mouth. The salmon sat on a corn and bean salsa with a bed of greens that had been tossed in a citrus vinagrette that I would pay large sums of money to get the recipe. It was incredible. It was lightly sweet with a little bite and went perfectly with the flavors in the salmon.
     Naturally, I had a few bites of Meldrim's swordfish tacos, which were stuffed with really unique vegetables and mangos. Their menu was so unique and full of really interesting flavor combinations. I've got to go back a) when I can destroy 4 baskets of those heavenly chips myself and b) to experience another one of their awesome creations. Everyone was super satisfied, cleaned their plates (Jimmy and I helped Meldrim), and once again, the waiter was impressed.

Saloon - Cambridge, MA
http://www.saloondavis.com/

     Ok so I'm going to make this quick, because I intend to return to Saloon to fully experience it at some point, and I'd love to write more about it. Long story short, Bluetrain finally closed our round of funding, and I met up with a bunch of coworkers at Saloon in Davis Square. The place is absolutely gorgeous! It's underground, and there is no real sign outside. It's like walking through a trap door into a beautiful parlour. The bar and all the furnishings were made of dark wood and brassy metals. The lights were dim, and the place gave off a real classy/swanky/seductive vibe. This place was topping the charts for unique design. I felt like I was stepping into an underground bar from the roaring twenties.
     Back to the food. I ran there, and didn't intend to eat while there, but I should've known there would be appetizers. My coworkers ordered some of the best fries I've had in Boston, Beer Battered Pickled Feta Cheese Stuffed Peppers, and a platter of thinly sliced meats, pâté, pickled veggies, stone ground mustard and a small loaf of bread. Oh and Devils on Horseback. They were these incredible feta cheese stuffed and bacon wrapped figs. The sugars from the figs and the fats from the bacon perfectly caramelized on the outside and it was just delectable. The presentation was five star, and so was the taste. Going back asap.

"I Don't Want You to Think I'm a Gluten"

Boston Burger Company - Boston, MA
http://www.bostonburgerco.com/

The Green Monstuh

       Some people eat food for the nourishment, some for the energy, some because it tastes good, and some become they're in a emotionally committed relationship with it. I eat for all of the above. It's not everyday that a you get a visitor that shares the same affinity for such substance. Jake arrived on Saturday and immediately we were planning dinner. There were so many options. To celebrate his arrival, we headed over to Boston Burger Company on Boylston Street to meet up with some of his friends. There is a Boston Burger Company location right in Davis Square, but I'd never been (and now that I think about it, I don't understand why my coworkers don't go there, because this was an incredible experience). It seemed like a relatively classy-casual burger joint with a hosting staff (which isn't standard I'd say) and the beautiful aromas of freshly pressed beef patties. BEEF. It's what was for dinner.

Cajun Fries

          There reached a point after we both sat down where we both had to set the menu down and come up for air. There were so many types of burgers, all very different, and it was nearly impossible to decide. I was real tempted to try out their conch burger, but I was so scared. Maybe next time. Finally I settled on the "Green Monstah" with their homemade guacamole, pico de gallo, and "cheddah jack cheese." Woah buddy. This thing so plump and juicy and was loaded with the guac. The combo of the guac and the pico de gallo gave it this awesome southwest flavor with a little heat from the cheese. It was incredible. At first I told myself I wouldn't eat the whole thing... but I was just being dumb. The burger also came with their homemade potato chips that were also the bomb. Super simple and lightly browned, like the chips they probably throw away at most potato chip factories because they're "burnt." Well... those are my favorite... and these were my favorite.
     We made the right choice when it came to ordering only one side of fries. These fries weren't normal fries. Oh no. These were deee-lux fries. Choosing between the Greek Fries, Pizza Fries, Nacho Fries, Cajun Fries, and Buffalo Cheese Fries was no easy feat. Finally we decided on the cajun, and man oh man was it a pure stroke of genius. They weren't your standard french fries with cajun seasoning though. They were more like potato wedges sunked in this mildly spicy cajun sauce with sauteed onions and peppers. It was absolutely incredible. They were the best ones on the table.

Raising Cane's - Boston, MA 
http://raisingcanes.com/

Smash Box Boss

     I know I'll probably get some lightweight hate for these couple of posts, but I don't care. Life is a celebration! And when you rage your face off at a concert, I'm sure you burn a few cals. So Jake and I stopped in at Raising Cane's after the show. He was ecstatic that there was a Boston location, and I was ecstatic that I was finally going to try it after being tortured by the Raisin Cane's smell billions of people would bring into City Sports. Raisin Cane's seems to me like a pretty standard fried chicken "fast food" joint but up a notch or two. The smash box was apparently the best. Needless to say, we smashed it. It came to the table piping hot and consisted of something like 4 or 6 chicken strips, coleslaw, fries, texas toast, 2 tubs of special sauce and a large drink. Why is it that every "special sauce" ever created is impossible to figure out? What in the world makes it so tasty? And why is it so delicious when paired with super hot fried chicken? The chicken was just the best and the breading was nice and light and not too greasy. This really hit the spot... especially for a Tuesday night. I felt like a rebel.

Jacob Wirth - Boston, MA
http://www.jacobwirth.com/index.html

     The night had finally arrived. We had been waiting months, but it felt like years. After being a total moron and showing up late, Jake and I dove head first into this beast of a menu at Jacob Wirth. This restaurant is a German restaurant downtown nestled around Chinatown and the theater district.downtown. I had a groupon that was good for one appetizer, two entrées, and a dessert. As a "True Boston Classic," Jacob Wirth looks just like what I would picture a big German bar to look like, where people would be dancing in traditional German garb. The ceilings were super high and there were simple white christmas lights hung from the ceiling. It was perfect.

     After obliterating 2 baskets of cornbread, the appetizer we went with was Jake's Nibbler which included samplings of grilled knockwurst and brats, served over saurkraut, red cabbage, and german potato salad with a side of bittersweet red beer sauce. The knockwurst and brats were incredible. They were so juicy and had a distinct smoky flavor. Some people may think it's gross, but I absolutely loved the way the casing snapped when you bit into it. That's the real stuff for sure. The red beer sauce didn't have much of a beer flavor, but brought a coolness (like that of salsa) to the brat/saurkraut combo. The saurkraut was unlike any other saurkraut I've ever had. It seemed bubbly. I'm guessing the way they ferment the saurkraut made it still seem a little zing-y, or like if you made it into a drink it's be fizzy like soda. Weird description, I know. It was delicious.

     For my entrée I went with the Jaeger Schnitzel, which was two breaded fresh veal tenderloins served over mushroom and sweet pea handmade spaetzel with a Jagermeister sauce. I might as well stop with my description here because I have no idea how to explain how amazing this was. I don't eat veal often, but I wanted to try it again. The tenderloin seemed so delicate and was perfectly fried to a crisp only on the outside. Inside the meat was juicy and so tender. The spaetzel (tiny German dumplings) it was served over was all savory flavors with the mushrooms and peas in addition to the sauce it was resting in. I was a little nervous about the Jagermeister sauce tasting a lot like Jager, but I truthfully couldn't find the Jager flavor at all (I really wasn't that upset because whatever they did to give it flavor was spot on). Filing a fork with a piece of the veal, a mushroom, the spaetzel and a little sauce was as if you had personally aligned all of the planets. All was right in the world.
     There's no way we could've decided on one dessert... so we naturally got two. The first one was a German Chocolate Whoopie pie with a pecan coconut icing in between the two cakes. Unbelievable. The cakes were slightly warm and light, and the pecan coconut icing was so sweet but was hands down the best frosting I've ever had with a German chocolate cake. The second dessert were these two warm apple pastries served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. They were like mini apple pies in a light crisp pastry dough.  On top of the pastries and the ice cream these drizzled this delicious dark cherry sauce. It brought a totally different flavor to each bite when you'd get a little of the sauce. It was like adding peppermint to a chocolate shake. Completely different.

Carrot Cake Granola - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

     When you know you probably shouldn't actually be eating real carrot cake, you have to make some sacrifices and make incredibly delicious carrot cake granola instead. I was on the hunt for granola recipes without oils or added sugar and found this one, which ended up being only about 75 cals per 1/4 cup. That's pretty good for granola. I was extremely impressed. It really does taste like carrot cake and is super easy. I found this recipe on a blog called iheartwellness and modified the nuts and fruits quantities to make it better (I think). However, I do think that this granola is deceptive. It doesn't seem crunchy at all when you pull it out of the oven, but it'll harden up if you let it cool out in the open air. However, if you put it in a sealed jar, I think the moisture of the banana softens it up a little bit. If I was looking for the crunchy granola in yogurt idea, I'd just pop it in the toaster for a minute or two to toast it up and let it cool again before using it. Either way, it's delicious crunchy or not.

Carrot Cake Granola

2 cups oats
1 medium carrot, grated
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbs shredded coconut
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 raw walnuts, chopped
1/4 raw almonds
1/4 cup raisins
1 banana mashed
2 tbs honey
1 tbs agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla

1) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. 

2) Mix together the dry ingredients (except the raisins) in a large mixing bowl along with the shredded carrot. 

3) In a separate mixing bowl, mash the banana and stir in the remaining liquid. Add the dry incredients.

4) On a parchment lined cookie sheet spread the mixture out evenly and bake for 30 minutes or so. Rotate and stir every 10 minutes or so. 

5) Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Add the raisins. 

(Pan)Cakes On Cakes On Cakes

Pecan Chocolate Granola - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

Picture made complete with greek yogurt, berries, apples,
granola and grandma's homemade caramel sauce of course

     One of the many benefits of coaching high school kids, is at the end of the season you get gifts! Now, I truthfully hadn't even thought about this until our banquet approached last year. From one of the moms, I got a jar of THE BEST granola I have ever eaten. I am not kidding. I sat in the grass outside the school and nearly ate the entire jar. I had to get the recipe. I have made granola 2 times before and it is NOT easy, but I will perfect this... someday. In my third attempt, I still think I cooked it a little too long. I did it ask long as the recipe called for, but next time I think I'll do a little less. My granola also wasn't as good as hers because I modified the recipe to use 1/2 of the required oil and replaced the other 1/2 with applesauce. Anyway, it still turned out really delicious. The toasted pecans are just the best. 




Pecan Chocolate Granola

5 cups rolled oats (I used my multigrain oat mix including oats, barley, wheat and rye)
2 cups nuts and seeds of choice

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tbs cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup canola oil
1 or 2 tbs vanilla
1 cup dried fruits
1/2 cup Ghirardelli chocolate chips

1) Take 5 cups rolled oats, 2 cups nuts and seeds of choice (I used pecans), 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes and tablespoon cinnamon (more or less) and mix altogether .


2) In separate bowl mix 1/3 cup of both brown sugar and pure maple syrup, 1/2 cup canola oil high quality, 1 or 2 tablespoons of vanilla and then pour over oat mixture until completely coated.

3)  Pour out on a baking sheet with wax paper on it and flatten down firmly with a spatula. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes then rotatable in oven and bake 20 more minutes (I would suggest a total of 30/35 minutes, rotating after 15 minutes).

4) Take out and let cool on rack for one hour. Then add dried fruits and chocolate chips (I recommend dried cranberries and ghirardelli chocolate chips).


Banana Oat Pancakes - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

Pancakes seem to be popping up a lot in my life recently. I'm not upset. It's been fun because I'm trying to experiment with healthy varieties because it's easy for pancakes to be easy empty calories. Joan and I decided to have a pancake night and try this recipe for Banana Oat Pancakes I found on a blog called Cookie and Kate. I was too excited to try these babies that I forgot to take a picture, so look at her picture because it's beautiful. One thing that was interesting about these pancakes was that there was no flour in it...well your standard flour I mean. Instead I used oat flour, which is basically just oats that I beat to oblivion in a food processor. Genius! You get the nutritional benefit of oats but get to eat it in pancake form! One tweak I made to this recipe was using my multigrain oat mix instead of strictly oats. As mentioned before, this blend includes oats, barley, wheat and rye. And even though I forgot the lemon juice and honey, these pancakes were so good! They were a little more dense than normal pancakes and broke apart a little bit. Joan and I both agreed they could use a little bit more banana for some extra flavor. Or I think you could just use bananas that are really ripe (mine weren't quite there yet). Also note that these seem to burn a little bit quicker than standard pancakes, so be careful. I'm sure these would be good if you added some peanut butter or chocolate chips to the batter... ooo idea!

Banana Oat Pancakes

3 small bananas, mashed
2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, melted
1 tablespoon lemon juice (about 1 small lemon, juiced)
1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
2 eggs
1 cup oat flour (To make oat flour out of old-fashioned oats, simply pour one cup of oats into a food processor and process until it is ground well)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1) Stir together the mashed bananas, coconut oil (or butter), lemon juice and honey (or maple syrup).

2) Beat in the eggs. 

3) In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking soda, salt and spices and add in all wet ingredients. Let the batter sit 10 minutes. Cook as if you would normal pancakes!


I Dream Of Falafel - Chicago, IL
http://www.idreamoffalafel.com/index.php

Such a pretty loaded pocket

     Well... long story short, I've never been so happy to miss a bus in my life. My trip home for my grandma's funeral included flying to Chicago from Boston, and bussing it Chicago to Detroit. However, when your flight gets delayed, catching that bus is hard to do. In which case, you're one lucky gal who gets to find something delicious for dinner! Upon realizing catching this bus wasn't going to happen, I began researching places to eat a cheap meal. I happened on I Dream Of Falafel and it just clicked. It was destiny. I swear I looked like a giddy school girl when I walked in and kind of weird-ed out the workers behind the counter. I ordered their freshly baked laffa bread (which was incredible) stuffed to the gills with the lamb kebab, roasted red pepper hummus, red cabbage slaw, a shredded carrot slaw, cucumbers, and tomatoes topped with their raita sauce, which is apparently a yogurt, cucumber and jalepeno sauce. After packaging it all together, they pressed it in a panini press. I've never ran so quickly to catch a bus so I could sit down and eat. Pinch me. I absolutely could not believe how delicious this little sack of heaven was. The lamb kabab was freshly grilled lamb and beef cooked just for me. It was so hot and was incredible in combination with the raita sauce and the cool veggies
     While I was waiting for them to grill the lamb, the man behind the counter offered me one of their sweet potato falafel balls. It was awesome. Basically tasted like mashed sweet potatoes fried in the shape of a ball. So I had to order two normal falafel balls because... well... you can't go to I Dream Of Falafel and not get falafel. That's like going to The Cheesecake Factory and not ordering a piece of cheesecake for dessert. No... I don't care how full you are. Unacceptable. The falafel balls were just spot on too. They also offered me a half a bowl of their lentil soup with a little squeeze of lemon. I felt like a queen. What service. What customer appreciation! My standard of Mediterranean food has thus been raised.

 World Peace Cookies - Grandma's Kitchen, Clarkston, MI

I prefer to call them hidden chocolate lava cookies

     Grandma asks me to make cookies, I make cookies. There is no arguing. Plus, why would I ever argue that request? I wanted to make these chocolate chocolate chip cookies my roommate makes all the time, and I figured they were another Smitten Kitchen recipe, but as I found out later, it is not. However, at the time, I thought it was and ended up making one of her chocolate cookie recipes called World Peace/Korova Cookies. One thing I found peculiar about this recipe was that it didn't include any eggs. At first I was concerned about how they'd turn out, but let me just say that the crowd went wild. I didn't measure out any of the chocolate but used a mix of semi-sweet morsels and chopped bittersweet chocolate. I was also nervous about the bittersweet chocolate being too bitter but I was so amazed at what it did for the cookie. It brought this rich, elemental chocolate flavor without making the cookie overly sweet.
      These were all gone within 24 hours. HIGHLY recommend it for chocolate lovers out there :]

World Peace Cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup + 3 tbs unsalted butter, at room temp
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped 

1) Mix together the flour, cocoa and baking soda.

2) In the bowl of a stand mixer (if you have one) beat the butter until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla and beat 2 more minutes. 

3) Pour in the flour mixture and beat until mixed. For best results, avoid working the dough too much. Don't worry if the dough looks crumbly. 

4) Add in the chocolate pieces and mix. 

5) Turn the dough onto a work surface, split in 2, roll into 2 logs that are 1 1/2 inches diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours (or freeze for a shorter period of time). 

6) Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Slice the dough logs into rounds that are 1/2 inch thick. It's best to cut up the cookies in one quick motion with a really sharp knife. If you try to cut each cookie slowly, it may start to crumble. If it does, just push the pieces back together. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and bake the cookies for 12 minutes (add one or two minutes if you've just pulled the cookies out of the freezer). They won't look done, nor will they be firm. Just transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool until just barely warm. 

Quinoa Stuffed Cubano Peppers - Mom's Kitchen, White Lake, MI

Heavenly stuffed peppers

     I like making Mom tasty healthy things when I go home. This time I chose quinoa stuffed cubano peppers. Stuffed with what? Just a little quinoa, black beans, sweet corn, onions, tomatoes, cilantro and feta cheese. These were just deadly! However, the recipe I pulled from a blog called Once Upon A Cutting Board called for goat cheese. Since I seemed to forget that at the store, I opted for feta. I think the goat cheese would've given a more prominent flavor than the feta did. I was kind of bummed about that, but still the whole dish was delishious and super filling! I wanted to experiment with multiple peppers, so I first roasted 3 cubano peppers (even though the recipe called for pablano peppers), a green pepper and a yellow pepper. Then in order to make a sauce to cook them in I roasted a red pepper and a jalapeno and threw it in a blender with a little water, garlic, salt and pepper. It created this really delicious thin sauce that provided a quick burst of heat that quickly vanished. It was odd and unlike anything I can say I've ever tasted before. Try it out!

Quinoa Stuffed Cubano Peppers

5 medium sized peppers (I used cubano peppers and bell peppers)

2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup dry quinoa, rinsed

1/3 cup vegetable stock (optional)

1 jalapeno

3 garlic cloves

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish

1 small yellow onion

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 roma tomatoes, diced

4 ounces goat cheese or 1/2 cup feta cheese

1) Preheat oven to 475°F.  Rub peppers with two teaspoons of olive oil and place directly on the oven rack.  Roast in the preheated oven until soft and slightly blackened in spots, about 15-20 minutes, flipping once.  Let cool.

2) Meanwhile, bring 1/3 cup water and 1/3 cup vegetable stock to a boil in a medium saucepan (If you don’t have any open vegetable stock, you can use 2/3 cup water instead).  Add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low to simmer.  Cook until tender, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes, then remove lid and fluff with a fork.

3) In a blender, combine the roasted red pepper, roasted jalapeno, garlic, 3/4 cup water, and a dash each of salt and pepper in the blender and blend until smooth.  Add 1/2 cup cilantro and pulse a few times to combine.  Set aside.

4) In a large saucepan or deep skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add corn, black beans, tomato, and cooked quinoa and stir until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Add 2 ounces goat cheese and stir until it's melted and completely mixed in.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5) Make a small slit down the length of one side of each pepper, being careful not to cut through to the other side.  Carefully remove seeds, leaving stem end intact.  Spoon quinoa mixture into each pepper to fill them.

6) Pour chipotle sauce into a 9x13-inch baking dish.  Transfer stuffed peppers to the dish, and dot with remaining 2 ounces goat cheese.  Bake until cheese is golden, 15 to 20 minutes.  Cool in pan 10 minutes and serve warm, sprinkled with additional chopped cilantro if desired.

Red Fox - Royal Oak, MI

http://www.redfoxenglishpub.com/

Seriously... look how big that burg is. 

     While I was home for Grandma Dini's funeral, I was very fortunate to get dinner with some of the coolest cats around. After the viewing I met Meagan, Megan and Marc and we headed to Red Fox for dinner. Red Fox is this really chill English Pub above where Memphis Smoke used to be in downtown Royal Oak. It was kind of weird to be there again. Their menu was really unique and full of delicious English sounding things. I was torn between taking advantage of Meatloaf Monday or getting the burger I was craving. I went with the Lord Fox Burger since Marc was getting the open faced meatloaf sandwich that I could try. HO-LE-COW. This burger was the definition of plump. Lord have mercy. A hungry hungry hippo would have difficulty wrapping his jaw around this hunk of hamburger. The burg came topped with lettuce, tomatoes, caramelized onions, gruyere cheese and garlic aioli. Those onion, the cheese, and the garlic aioli were so good. I just learned what garlic aioli is (mayo jazzed up with some garlic and lemon juice) and it's no wonder I liked it so much. I <3 mayo. Either way it had an incredibly unique flavor that took the burger to a whole other level. I wonder if it's an English thing. The lettuce mixed in with the aioli, and boy did I like that. I'm weird. The burger came with this awesome shoe string fries. Win. So perfect.

Can't get much better than soft pretzels and cheese. 

     Oh and I almost forgot! We also got these BOMB soft pretzels with warmed fondue cheese to dip in. I love pretzels. These couldn't have been any better. They had that crisp outside shell and were super fluffy inside. And you can never go wrong with pretzel salt. My favorite.
     Marc's meatloaf sandwich was loaded with potatoes covered in this delicious gravy. The best part though was their balsamic roasted brussel sprouts. Those things were roasted nearly to a crisp and all the little layers toasted up so nicely. They were delicious.





BenjYehuda - Chicago, IL
http://www.benjyehuda.com/

My falafel ball is green inside?

Everything but the kitchen sink

     Once again, I had some spare time on my way back through Chicago, and I got to meet up with the lovely Mary Keegin for lunch! We hopped on over to BenjYehuda for more Mediterranean food. This place was awesome. It's considered an "urban street food" restaurant and gave off a super rugged feel the moment you walked in. A lot of metal, and a lot of worn wood. Well... there was Ball Sac on the menu, so naturally we had to get that. Ball Sac = 6 falafel balls that were far different than any falafel I've ever had. The outside of the ball looked like something rolled in bird seed. And the flavor inside was totally different and I can't pinpoint why. However it was green inside. I'm guessing maybe they used a decent amount of some herb to give it the different flavor and color. Basil perhaps. The outside was deliciously crisp and the inside was cooked to perfection. Really interesting.
     I ordered the chicken shawarma in a pita pocket stuffed with hummus, corn salad, tomato, carrot salad and cabbage salad. Woah buddy those spices that they used on the chicken were something else. They were decent sized hunks of chicken meat with a little sauce/spices. I'm guessing maybe a little curry. No, that wouldn't make sense. I have no idea. It had a little kick to it though. The coolness of all the other veggies balanced it out beautifully.

Roasted Sweet Potato Blood Orange Tacos - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

     This was just one of those things I thought about while staring into space at work. I do that a lot. I thought, what could I do with blood oranges? I bet it'd be good with quinoa. I need to use up my sweet potato as pre-pieces fuel for tomorrow. Oh wait... it's perfect. So I took some sweet potato and sliced it up into really skinny strips, coated it in a little oil and roasted it with my homemade taco seasoning on it. Meanwhile I prepared some garbonzo beans and quinoa, sliced up a blood orange and threw it on a flax seed wrap with feta cheese, spinach and my roasted sweet potato. Man oh man. What a combo! I felt like a culinary genius. The sweetness and spice of the taco seasoned sweet potato was such a great compliment to the sweet citrusy and cool blood orange. I must say, however, I think the whole package needs some sort of sauce. Maybe blend some of the orange with honey and lemon juice? I'm not sure. I'll have to experiment. Also maybe a different kind of cheese. I don't think I added enough feta. At least not enough to get a good sense of its presence.

Cornbread Pancakes - Hayley's Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

     Another pancake adventure. Don't hate. Iowa Girl Eats is a great blog. I like her style. She had this genius idea to make cornbread pancakes so I had to test it out at a post Saturday practice breakfast with the HPdivas. Well, first of all I used water instead of milk (so that dairy sensitive people could eat them) and I think maybe that took away a little flavor. I also didn't really measure anything. Kind of just threw it all together but holy cow were they good. Especially with a little melted butter and honey. Surprise surprise. They were, however, bricks. REAL dense. Maybe I should've measured things out. If you're a fan of cornbread, try it out. But let's get real... who isn't a fan of cornbread?








Man Pleasing Chicken - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

     I won't lie. I'm impressed with how many Pinterest recipes I'm actually making. I found this one from a blog called Witty in the City. I had quite the successful dinner. Wait... who am I kidding. This chicken was mind blowing. Real simple. Mix together dijon mustard, maple syrup and rice vinegar. Slice up an onion (I added this step to the recipe) and mix it in with the sauce in a shallow baking dish. Plop in the chicken and bake. WOAH. I liked every scrape out of that bowl that I could. The mustard lost some of its bite and the maple syrup wasn't overly sweet at all. It all got thicker the longer the chicken baked and the onions caramelized beautifully within the sauce.  I threw it in some lettuce leaves and had some wraps. Now if only I had a man here to please with it.

Man Pleasing Chicken 

(serving for 1) 
1 large chicken breast
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 tbs maple syrup
1 medium onion
1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
rosemary
salt and pepper

1) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

2) Mix the maple syrup, mustard, sliced onion and rice vinegar together in a shallow baking dish. 

3) Toss in your chicken breast and coat with the sauce completely. Salt and pepper the entire mix. Top with fresh or dried rosemary. 

4) Bake for 40 minutes, basting the chicken halfway through. 

5) Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes. Slice chicken and place in lettuce leaves. Top with onions and sauce. Presto!