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Archive for April, 2011


Slow Food Charlotte

In Events on April 30, 2011 at 11:34 pm
Cornmeal cake, strawberry radish compote, asparagus

Tonight Caitlin, Diana and I were invited to attend a Slow Food Charlotte event featuring Tony Coturri (who, it’s worth mentioning, is revered as “the godfather of sustainable organic wines”) at Atherton Mill Market.

The event featured eight chefs showcasing local produce, cheeses and meats that were paired with one of Coturri’s wines.

Slow Food Charlotte

x 3... or 4... or so.

Drank

My first sample was a cornmeal pancake topped with strawberry radish compote and shaved asparagus. I loved it. This was followed by chocolate cake and lavender-infused sipping chocolate.

Skipping straight to dessert...

Lavender-infused chocolate

Truly, I could have had nothing but that lavender chocolate and would have left feeling well pleased with the event. It was insane. In fact, I didn’t want anything else. That is, until we spotted this vegetable-heavy table:

Collard green cole slaw

Local salad

Tomato basil tarts

I definitely need to replicate the slaw and tomato tarts from Beverly’s Gourmet. They were worth losing the lingering taste of lavender chocolate on my tongue…

local.seasonal.sustainable.

Success.

We had to pop in and out of the event pretty quickly to get to Brittney’s birthday par-tay.

Happy birthday, Brittney!

We met up with these lovely ladies for Mellow Mushroom, frozen yogurt and all the girl talk you can stand:

I love it.

My body insisted I order food even though it was full of wine and lavender chocolate. So now this is sitting in my fridge:

Tempeh salad

Parmesan pretzels

But there was room for some frozen yogurt.

Obviously.

This was such a fun night for me and it wasn’t even my birthday. So let’s close with a glorious action shot of the party girl herself:

Go, Brittney. It's your birthday.


Sundae Saturday Breakfast

In Breakfast on April 30, 2011 at 10:01 am

Strawberry oat sundae... parfait? Glob.

There are good students and then there are people who make a 30-page typed study guide only to let it sit idly next to their laptop whilst blogging about food. Can you guess which I am?

Maybe it’s that I think foodservice theories are common sense. Or maybe it’s that the weather has been really, really nice. Or maybe it’s because this final is on a damn Saturday. SATURDAY. Or maybe it’s that I can’t seem to get my personal or financial lives in order and it has thrown all other facets of my life into complete disarray. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s that at some point you have to just give it up and accept the fact that eating breakfast (and taking pictures of it… and writing about it) is more important than all other things.

Yeah, boy.

Tis the season for vegan overnight oats with banana soft serve. No idea what I’m talking about? You can check out Angela’s run down of 12 of her favorite recipes. Never made banana soft serve? What’s wrong with you? Make haste: How to make banana soft serve.

Strawberry banana soft serve parfait

More ideas:

How I Make Cold Oats w/Banana Soft Serve

Two-Ingredient Cherry Soft Serve

Peanut Butter Apple Parfait with Granola

This morning I combined 1 frozen banana and about 5 strawberries to make strawberry banana soft serve. This was then layered with a mix of 1/2 c oats, 1 c almond milk, sprinkle of chia seeds, cinnamon and ground flax. I let the oat mix sit in the fridge about 15 minutes while I made the soft serve and some coffee. This gives it time to soak up the milk. Then layer it and top with nut butter and coconut.

If you haven’t tried this, you’ve lost your mind.


Caturday 4/30/11

In Cats on April 30, 2011 at 9:10 am

HALP!

Welcome to Caturday: Panic Mode Edition. Not only is Weaz stuck in the window again…

HAAAAALP

But I also have to study for and take a comprehensive final covering mmmm 600 pages of material in the next three hours. I haven’t looked at any of the material. That’s good. Since today is going so well already, Waldo has agreed to walk you through Caturday…

Me, Waldo?

Yes, YOU Waldo!

Me, Waldo!

I’m actually so old and oblivious and FARTY that I didn’t even know we had cats until today. What a wonderful surprise… Is it time for breakfast?

This little thing does this when she wants something.

How about now? Breakfast?

This big thing does this when she wants something.

That’s mostly all they do. Is it time for breakfast?

This is the little one getting Furminated.

Gross, Weaz.

You are gross.

I would like breakfast now.

Breakfast?

Thanks, Waldo. That was… terrible. As you well know, it is time for breakfast every single day the exact second I wake up because you jump around like an idiot and I know you’ve been sitting there staring a hole through my soul since 4am. So yes, it’s time for breakfast.

Side note: Do you and your roommate fight over the thermostat? If your roommate was a cat do you think you’d still fight over it? You would. Here’s Weaz being dramatic about our decision to not use air conditioning.


“Where’s My Crown?”

In Events on April 29, 2011 at 8:18 am

Care for a spot of tea?

Let’s be honest, I have not paid a single second of attention to all this royal wedding hullabaloo. I just can’t be bothered. Plus, we don’t even have TV anymore. So it’s a little embarrassing to admit that I was up at 4:30 this morning doing this:

HOLY MOLY A PRINCESS

Practicing our waves (stolen from Caitlin)

Caitlin hosted a Royal Wedding viewing party and despite the beastly project I have to complete, two finals I have to study for, work I have to tend to and a life in shambles that I should at some point put back together, I thought it wise to skip sleep and play fairy tale at 5 o’clock in the morning.

Everybody wants to escape life and live vicariously through a commoner-turned-princess, right? Right.

We had a proper English breakfast complete with scones and tea…

Where are the crumpets? What are crumpets?

Proper.

I wish I could say that even while watching I still wasn’t dragged under by the wave of excitement. But there I sat on the floor… wiener dog hybrid by my side… trying not to cry and squealing out things like, “She looks so pretyyyyyy.” I’m embarrassed.

EEEEEEEE

Stressful

It’s been a recent development, I guess in the last year or so, that I cry about all things wedding-related. (Have you seen Nicole’s engagement video? Weeping.) Nothing I can do about it. I think that prior to being in love, I never quite got the weight of what the ceremony means. Heavy, heavy, heavy.

And so can you imagine on top of that going from commoner to princess? It’s the coolest thing ever. I’m glad I hopped on the bandwagon and watched. History, I suppose. Plus… scones. Duh.


Nopalitos

In What's for Lunch? on April 28, 2011 at 1:02 pm

Cute little nopalitos

Ethnic grocery stores are my playground. I remember even when I was little making a beeline to the “ethnic foods” aisle at our everyday grocery store. I like to see what the rest of the world eats, to learn about new things and (when I’m feeling feisty) to try them. Now, as a dietitian-to-be, I also think it’s imperative that I understand a range of diets beyond my own (including those of omnivores, people with allergies or Celiac disease and people from different parts of the world) so that I can counsel and plan diets in a culturally sensitive way.

I’ve started shopping at one of our local hispanic supermarkets because it’s CHEAP and because it’s awesome. Last time we were in we picked up a little baggy (literally, ziploc baggy) of nopales.

Nopales (or nopalitos when chopped up) are the “meat” from the pads of the prickly pear cactus. Awesome already, right? Even better… Nopales are:

  • Rich in insoluble and soluble fiber
  • A good source of Vitamins C, A, K, B2 and B6
  • Filled with important minerals, including Mg, K, Fe and Cu

And you can eat 'em too.

Nopales are surprisingly high in calcium (24% of your daily recommended value in 1 cup… almost as much as a glass of milk) but it is in the oxalate form of calcium, which is not absorbed in the human body.

Nevertheless, nopales are a great addition to a healthy diet. I sauteed them with green onion, chickpeas and carrots today and served that over quinoa and romaine lettuce. Last week, Stew made perhaps his best hummus to date by adding boiled nopales to his top secret chickpea concoction.

Cactus salad

I can’t wait to use them as a filling for tamales or to toss into soups. The possibilities are endless.


Ehhh Curry Tofu

In What's for Lunch? on April 27, 2011 at 9:52 pm

No good can come of this.

At the ripe old age of 25, I appear to have made zero progress toward deciding what to do with my life. I have, however, compiled a rather extensive list of things I like and things I do not like.

Exhibit A

It is apparent I am well on my way to a successful and fulfilling life as a rap producer/cat trainer who eats a whole damn lot.

What am I talking about? As you can see clearly stated in Exhibit A, I do not like mayonnaise. I do not like it at all. Right before I went vegetarian, I had a nightmare that people were eating people with mayonnaise and kept trying to get me to try it. Not only did I not try human flesh, I do not eat any flesh. I also do not eat mayonnaise but that’s just because it’s gross.

So what made me think that a curried tofu salad made with vegenaise (vegan mayonnaise, son, lookitup) would be in any way appropriate is a mystery.

Nope.

The sad thing about this salad (which I purchased at Common Market and enjoyed on their front bench) is that it was good. It was so good. I was so pleased with myself. I was all: “Way to buy this delicious and affordable vegetarian protein source to put on the sandwich you packed from home, you frugal, responsible and nutritionally sound individual.”

But then… then like an hour later I was minding my business at Amelie’s trying to decide whether or not an old man’s comment to me that it must be freezing in here had anything to do with the fact that it was cold or that I wasn’t wearing a bra when all of the sudden BAM… My body’s like: WHAT IS THIS MAYONNAISE-LIKE SUBSTANCE I DETECT. YOU WILL VOMIT NOW.

YOU.

I didn’t really vomit. But I wanted to very badly. So much so that I went home instead of doing this thing for work that wasn’t required but that I wanted to do and that not doing led to my losing a little staff challenge.

Thanks a lot, mayonnaise!


Summer Plate

In Breakfast on April 27, 2011 at 8:00 am

Fruit fruit fruit

Summertime is fruit time as far as I’m concerned. And while this watermelon came from Mexico and the mango came from God knows where and they both grow there year-round no matter what, Stew did get me these local North Carolina strawberries. Their presence on my plate signals that despite it being April and despite me still taking finals and also despite the fact that I don’t know the actual first day of summer… summer is, in fact, here.

I missed strawberry season last year–what with the quitting my job and going back to school and moving and you know. But this year I am determined to pick my own. My mom used to grow strawberries in her garden and she took us to pick at bigger farms, too. Come to think of it, we had a lot of harvest-centric outings as kids: apples, strawberries, blueberries… CORN. Oh man, nothing is better than making a stop at the corn stand. You know, the kind where no on is there and you just leave your money in a box on the counter. The honor system at its finest.

PS - This is what food looks like under a flash. Pleh.

I didn’t love Illinois while I was there. But once I was in college 850 miles away I realized that what I missed most about my former home was the sky. Some people love mountains. Some people love the coast. I guess most people don’t think the flatlands have all that much to offer in terms of terrain. But what they don’t realize–and what I didn’t until I was gone–is that the beauty of the midwest isn’t about the landscape. It’s about the way the low flat open fields bring the sky right down to you.


I Made a Restaurant

In School on April 26, 2011 at 8:29 am

Blood, sweat, tears

The capstone project for my foodservice class was a semester-long restaurant concept paper in which we had to build a restaurant–quite literally from the ground up, floor plans and all. I did it all… in 24 hours.

I don’t want to give away too much of the idea because if I get really motivated I might just try to open this bad boy one day. Here is the abstract:

“Greenburger is a small fast-casual vegetarian restaurant serving lunch and dinner in the historic arts district of Charlotte’s North Davidson (NoDa) neighborhood. In catering to the area’s dynamic late-night music and youth culture environment, the restaurant will offer extended hours Thursday-Saturday nights.

The restaurant will focus on fast, affordable, accessible vegetarian food with an emphasis on locally sourced, seasonal and organic produce. The atmosphere will be that of a reinvented, more refined burger joint with throwbacks to vintage American diners. A limited menu will feature bean-based veggie burger flavors and a build-your-own option (pick your bean, spices and mix-ins) to be served on a choice of salad greens, whole grain of the day (quinoa, millet, etc.) or a bun. Side options will include baked sweet potato or herbed russet potato fries. A selection of vegan desserts will be made on site. A selection of glass-bottled beverages, brewed iced teas, tap water and kombucha (fermented tea product) on tap will be available along with a limited selection of local beers and wines.

The restaurant will take care to accommodate guests with celiac disease or food allergies by offering gluten-free and allergen-free items.”

I'm an architect now.

I really love foodservice so this was a fun project for me. A little crunched for time and, therefore, stressful. But that’s what pudding pops are for…

Good idea.

So if ever you need a restaurant… you know who to call.


Strawberry Mango Muffins

In Baked Goods on April 26, 2011 at 8:23 am

Strawberry Mango Muffins

What’s better than Shark Week? Nothing! But what is of comparable shmeeee-inducing excitement? Muffin Week!

I didn’t plan it, but back-to-back mornings of baking mean that this has apparently become the week of the muffin. Nobody’s complaining.

This morning’s concoction was the same recipe from yesterday but instead of 2 Tbsp avocado puree, I added about a 1/4 c pureed strawberries and mangoes (this translates to about 4 strawberries and 3 chunks of mango into a small food processor).

Topped with coconut butter

These still need some work since the fruit taste wasn’t strong enough. But they were still good, especially when drizzled with a little coconut butter. Yesterday’s avocado version was definitely better, though. The experiments continue…

Pretty


Avocado Mousse Muffins

In Baked Goods on April 25, 2011 at 9:02 am

Avocado mousse muffin. Hey, baby.

Oh, weekend… where have you gone? I must have missed you somewhere between the 10-page Food Insecurity in Nicaragua paper or the 70-page Foodservice Management Continuum. Or perhaps you slipped by sometime yesterday as my 25-page, semester-long Restaurant Concept paper was crammed into one mere rotation of the earth.

I’m sorry I missed you. I didn’t even get a chance to bake like we do each Saturday. I hope the fact that I’m skirting my responsibilities, my workout and my shower this lovely Monday morning to make you these muffins will be a sufficient apology.

Peace offering?

I promise I’ll catch you next weekend. Until then, some Monday morning avocado mousse muffins that aren’t quite perfectly tweaked will have to do. I hope you understand.

[I used an adaptation of Katie's breakfast pizzert recipe and winged it on the mousse. I can't seem to get it right. If you're a lover and maker of avocado-based sweet thangs, help a girl out.]

Avocado Mousse Muffins

1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 tsp sugar
scant 1/2 c non-dairy milk
2 Tbsp mashed avocado
pinch of salt
sprinkle of cinnamon
mix-ins of choice (I used a cranberry trail mix)

1/2 avocado
1 Tbsp coconut butter
1 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine the flour through option mix-ins in a bowl. Pour batter into four muffin liners and bake on 420 for about 12-14 minutes. In a small food processor, puree the avocado, coconut butter, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth.

Aaaaand... eat.

I’m just not loving the avocado mousse yet. I ate one with and one without. What am I missing here? More sweetener probably… I think the addition of half a banana would round it out nicely.


Is It a Holiday?

In Holidays on April 24, 2011 at 1:56 pm

Smoothie bowl = Easter lunch?

Oh, hello. Is it Easter? I couldn’t tell. We’re pushing 90s degrees down here in the dirty-dirty and I’m pushing the limits of human sanity trying to crank out a semester-long project in one morning so I can get outside and enjoy the insane weather.

Somehow last night’s potato pizza kept me full until 1:30pm–ONE THIRTY–so I didn’t bother with breakfast. We did have coffee though:

Inappropriate.

Even when lunchtime came and went, all I could muster the energy to inhale was a big fat green smoothie. Must be the heat.

I’m off to tear this project a new one so we can go hiking. All together now: I CAN DO ANYTHING GOOD.


Potato Pizza

In Restaurants, Workout on April 24, 2011 at 8:41 am

Potato, rosemary, goat cheese pizza at Revolution

I can’t even move today. I wish I could say it was because I ate so much potato rosemary goat cheese pizza last night that physical activity is completely out of the question today. Alas, I can’t move because I took my first Crossfit class yesterday.

I smile because I don't know what tomorrow will feel like.

Are you familiar with the Crossfit fever that’s sweeping the nation? I hear about it all the time (people that are obsessed with Crossfit are obsessed with Crossfit) but I know it involves THIS:

Yeah.

So suffice it to say I was never terribly interested. But since my new job is the best job in the world and includes lots of involvement in Charlotte’s fitness community, I have opportunities to try new things that kind of terrified me before. Like Crossfit.

There are several Crossfit gyms in Charlotte but I went to S3 Endurance for my butt whoopin’. The owner Brandon is a former hockey player and an awesome trainer. He assured me I wouldn’t die.

If you’ve considered Crossfit before but think it will just be a bunch of meatheads throwing tires around, think again. The group was really diverse in size, age and sex and everyone was friendly and welcoming. The workout was challenging but the encouragement from other participants made it a lot of fun. I admit it, I’m hooked.

Granted, I can’t move my arms, sit on the toilet or get down the stairs… but I’m still hooked.

We celebrated my beat down with pizza last night at Revolution. I was drunk with exhaustion and gave Stew full ordering duty. He went with this baby:

Tater pizza!

I inhaled two pieces, a giant Greek salad and two glasses of sangria before I started passing out in the booth. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open long enough to drive home, throw some M&Ms in my face and face plant into my bed… which is where you’ll find me most of the day… because I can’t move.


Caturday 4/23/11

In Cats on April 23, 2011 at 7:57 am

They absolutely do drink out of a cup.

Happy last-week-of-school Caturday! Ok, so that one was mostly for me but I hope you have something to celebrate on this glorious weekend. A belated Earth Day, perhaps? Oh… Easter! You see I have my priorities.

I celebrated Earth Day by writing 6 of the 10 pages for my paper due Monday and ignoring the fact that I have another 12-pager behind it. But THEN I smuggled Ralph and Weaz into my purse and did this:

RAAR

If you haven’t seen African Cats yet then you’re a big ol’ loser and no longer allowed to read Caturday. It opened, uh, yesterday so… you’ve had plenty of time.

Clearly I didn’t really smuggle Ralph and Weaz in. There was no more room, what with the water bottle, bag of popcorn and industrial-sized sack of peanut butter M&Ms. Next time, guys!

Shmmeeeeeh

It was an awesome movie. Though I fear I was far more enthralled than Stew. I kept finding myself squeezing his hand whispering, “Toooooo stressful” any time there was a chase/fight scene.

I won’t give away any plot details (there’s a plot!) but I will tell you this:

We're going to Africa!

Yes, Ralph and Weaz want to roam the land of their ancestors. Who am I to deprive them of that adventure? It will look something like this:

Perfect.

I do think Ralph looks like a mini lion and Weaz looks more like a cheetah. Speaking of cheetahs… COOL. The slow motion shots of that animal in an all out sprint are insane. I was like a giddy child the whole time. I caught myself beaming in the opening credits.

Oh, we were two of the, like, 6 people in there. What better things do people have to do at 10pm on a Friday? Losers.

Yeah.

I'm a lion.

I can’t wait to get a lion. How many do you want?


Out of Control Sauce

In What's for Lunch? on April 22, 2011 at 12:48 pm

Skip the food. Shoot the sauce.

I have some “my mind has just been blown” phrases that I use time and time again when food is so damn good that I just don’t know what else to say. “Stupid good” is what I say when I really want to say “This is retarded” as in “This is so good it doesn’t even make sense” but I know better. Sometimes I let the R word slip and Stew gives me a funny look. I know, I know. Seriously. This is why I don’t say it.

I also respond to first tastes of incredible food with things like:

  • This is insane.
  • Shut up.
  • Shut your mouth.
  • Are you KIDDING ME.

There’s usually a lot of swearing going on too but since my mom is acting as my personal censorship board, I’ll keep it to myself. What can I say? Good food never ceases to incite a colorful response from me. Another standby–and what I would use to describe today’s lunch topper–is: OUT OF CONTROL. I do my best to never say “on point” because that’s this guy’s tag line.

In case you haven’t heard, Mama Pea of Peas and Thank You fame (have you pre-ordered her book yet??) is completely out of control. She makes insane food (hello, remember dough balls?). She’s hilarious. She’s intelligent. And she is an incredible mother who, despite her self-deprecating sense of humor, truly has superwoman parenting skills the likes of which I can only hope to mimic one day.

Most recently she recreated Vita Cafe’s Yum Sauce and I am now forever indebted to her. I feel like I owe her my first borne for this damn sauce. Seriously.

Mmmmhmm

It’s a strange mix of almonds, chickpeas, nooch, curry powder, oregano, etc. that, upon first taste, Stew declared “tastes like Asheville.” I’m not sure if Mama Pea has ever been to Asheville but she should consider that a compliment of the highest regard.

It’s true. The sauce does taste like Asheville. And rainbows and unicorns and glitter. It’s perfect. I had it over sauteed veggies, tofu and quinoa but I have big plans to use it as:

  • Pasta sauce
  • Pizza sauce
  • Shots
  • Dip
  • Shots
  • Etc.

I also had Ashley’s 3-ingredient corn cake as a side vessel for transporting copious amounts of sauce into my face.

Make this. Just do it.


Quinoa Oat Cakes

In Breakfast on April 21, 2011 at 8:21 am

Quinoa oat cakes with sunflower butter & honey

This morning I decided I wanted pancakes. I tweeted out for a pancake recipe for one and gave the world all of about 0.2 seconds to respond before making my own. They’re not perfect but I thought they were so.damn.good. They’re thin and dense so I predict pancake purists who seek fat, fluffy white cakes would be appalled by my little creation. If you’re a bit more open-minded in the pancake department, you might like these. They’re made with two powerhouse whole grains–quinoa and oats–which are ground into flour using a coffee grinder. Don’t have one? Try the food processor.

Quinoa Oat Cakes

1/4 c quinoa flour
1/4 c oat flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp water
1/2 banana, mashed
1/2 c almond milk
1 tsp olive oil

Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together flax egg, milk, banana and oil. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Spray a skillet and pour out 1/4 c sized servings for each pancake. Cook about 5 minutes on each side, flipping regularly to check doneness.

Dress it up

Top with nut butter, honey, dried coconut or other toppings of choice.

Inhale.

These were so so good. But during the cooking process I started to get a little antsy and thought they would fail so I took half the batter and divided it among 5 muffin liners to bake. So the four pancakes you see on my plate are only about half the batter. You could make a lot more.

One of my goals for this summer is to get my recipes organized into a centralized location complete with nutrition facts for those who want them. So in moving towards that goal, I give you this:

Quinoa Oat Cakes

I’d say that’s a pretty nice hearty breakfast but it would’ve required eating the entire bowl of batter so you could definitely serve two. I had half and am off to a second breakfast at our farewell party at my campus job. I’ll try not to tell people I’d rather be eating these.


Coconut!

In Snack on April 20, 2011 at 7:24 am

Hey little guy

I wish someone had told me that our Mexican grocery store in town is far superior to (and CHEAPER than) all other grocery stores. Their produce section is insane and filled with delightful treats I don’t see elsewhere for any sort of reasonable price. Like $0.69 mangoes and these little coconut juice “boxes.”

Cocoloco coconuts come complete with a straw and a convenient little punch hole for easy access.

I wish I could remember if they were cheaper than the packaged coconut water drinks I buy. Because if so, you may see me like this at my next hot yoga class:

Awe.some.

Tips for drinking coconuts:

  • Put them in the fridge to chill before drinking
  • Save the nut for the meat
  • To get to the meat, place coconut in a bag and slam it on the ground (or with a hammer)


Cold Oats & Mango Sorbet

In Breakfast on April 20, 2011 at 7:18 am

Tis the season

Dare I say it but (to the tune of Snookie in the opening credits of Jersey Shore)… SUMMER’S HEEEEEERE.

I realize that four tests, three papers and two presentations still stand between me and 90 days of blissful nothingness but do you realize that it’s 85 degrees and sunny and awesome in South Carolina right now? How can I be expected to focus on anything but:

  • When the pool at our complex will open, and
  • How soon I can shove vegan overnight oats into my face

Mangoes were on sale at the Mexican grocery store for 69 cents (SIXTY NINE CENTS??) so I nabbed a couple and made mango banana soft serve to go with my oats. The oats themselves involve simply soaking 1/2 c of oats in enough almond milk to cover it along with any spices you want (I just use ground flax, mesquite and cinnamon) and placing it in the fridge overnight. If you don’t think to do it the night before, rest assured the same can be attained in about 30 minutes soak time in the morning. Just don’t tell anyone who insists on calling these overnight oats.

Cold Oats & Mango Sorbet

1/2 frozen banana
1/2 mango, chopped
1/2 c oats
about 1 c almond milk
1 Tbsp ground flax
2 Tsp mesquite (optional, or use cinnamon)

Combine your oats, almond milk and any spices you want. Set in the fridge to soak overnight or at least 30 minutes in the morning. Puree frozen banana and mango in a small food processor until smooth like sorbet. Top the oats with the sorbet and EAT.

If you do nothing more with this than make mango sorbet, then my work here is done. It is so insanely good and just two ingredients. You will love it. But don’t cheat yourself out of cold oats. I know they sound ridiculous but… they’re amazing.

Amazing, I tell you!


Benefits of Zookeeping

In What's for Lunch? on April 19, 2011 at 1:46 pm

Slow salad monster

Sometimes I’ll look at one of the cats strolling through the middle of the kitchen and I’m like, “Why do you exist?” Not in a malicious, fed up sort of way. More just a puzzled sense of awe. As in, what on earth are all of these creatures doing in my house?

Do you ever do that? Just look at one of your (three) pets–especially if it’s a massive dog–and wonder, “What.in.the.hell?” Pets are strange things. We humans are strange things for putting them in our houses. I wouldn’t have it any other way. But I definitely feel like a zookeeper.

Since Stew’s been gallivanting about Austin all week, I’m on full-time zookeeper duty. The number one perk of zookeeping? Leaving work to let Waldo out at lunch. So far I’ve had no unpleasant surprises (read: indoor dog bowel movements) in the Waldo department. Here’s hoping that continues. He’s also easy as hell to “walk” because he’s too old and slow to go anywhere.

It's true.

The cats, you know, they’re just cats. Weaz got locked in a closet last night and just sat there in the dark while I ran around frantically trying to find her. “WHY DIDN’T YOU MEOW?!” I yelled when I found her. Then later that night I had a lengthy discussion with both cats about how they are my best friends. Every morning when I wake up, Waldo is standing in the hall staring a hole through my soul, Weaz is pretty much on top of my face in the bed and Ralph strategically places herself exactly where my feet go to get out of the bed.

Good thing Stew gets back tomorrow. I need some human interaction.

Until then, I’ll enjoy taking lunch breaks that involve massive salads and decaf chai lattes with almond milk.

I WANT IT AGAIN

Yeah boy.


Mexican Chocolate Bake

In Breakfast on April 19, 2011 at 8:23 am

Chocolate buckwheat bake, avocado mousse, toasted coconut

I probably shouldn’t have run over a mile this morning but, then again, I probably shouldn’t be eating chocolate for breakfast. But then again I feel awesome and had no pain in my knee. And then AGAIN, the chocolate was this:

Try to stop me.

I remade Ashley’s buckwheat bake by adding cocoa powder (cocoa + cinnamon = Mexican hot chocolate, right?) and then I topped it with a chocolate avocado mousse. Yes, really.

Tips on Buckwheat Bakes: Definitely follow Ashley’s recipe for this but you may find that it takes forever (longer than 25 minutes) to bake fully. I counter this by reducing the milk from 4 Tbsp to 3 and still increasing baking time to about 30-35 minutes.

To Make the Mexican Hot Chocolate Version: Add 1-2 tsp cocoa powder (and some chili powder if you’re feeling feisty).

To Make Avocado Mousse: In a small food processor combine 1/2 an avocado, 1/2 banana, 1-2 tsp cocoa powder, sprinkle of cinnamon, tiny pinch of salt and sweetener to taste (optional).

I approve.

Top the buckwheat bake with avocado mousse, sprinkle on toasted coconut and then celebrate the fact that you are perhaps-maybe-but-don’t-wanna-jinx-it in the clear to run the Falafel 5K next month.

FALAFEL

Surely you knew that was the only reason I was running again, right? To participate in the Falafel 5K?

Obviously.


Green Garden Soup

In Garden on April 18, 2011 at 5:08 am

Light summer soup with veggies from the garden

After my triple dessert binge at yesterday’s CLT Food Blogger potluck, I was in serious need of some green. I made a run to the Rock Hill Community Educational Garden and nabbed some goods from our plot:

Onions

Spinach

Broccoli

BROCCOLI!

I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted a broth-y Asian-inspired soup with rice noodles, tofu, baby carrots and water chestnuts. Done and done. In hindsight, soup would have been a wiser choice if we used air conditioning but even drenched in sweat, I don’t regret it.

Green Garden Soup

3 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
approx 1-2 c broccoli florets
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 carton vegetable stock
1 big handful of spinach, chiffonaded
pinch of chili flakes
black pepper to taste
1 block of tofu, cubed
rice noodles
limes

Saute the onion and garlic in the sesame oil on medium heat. Add your broccoli and continue heating about 4-5 minutes. Pour in the stock and then add spinach, tofu, chili flakes and black pepper. Reduce heat and let simmer. In another pot prepare rice noodles according to package (usually add to boiling water and cook 2-3 minutes). Once noodles are ready, add them to the soup pot. Serve with lime wedges and liquid aminos (or soy sauce).

Hey baby

I’m still so floored by the garden. I think it’s the coolest thing in the world that we dug a hole, put seeds in it and they grew into food. I realize I know this is how all of my food begins, but there is something very different about doing it yourself. Aside from childhood, this is my first hands-on experience with a garden. I think it’s the coolest.

My mom sent me these pictures of my brother, sister and I in her garden when we were kids.

It says: "Proof that Tater has always liked vegetables..."

"... and that Ben once touched a green bean."

See, they really do call me Tater.


CLT Food Bloggers

In CLT Food Bloggers on April 17, 2011 at 3:55 pm

Julie's banana cupcake chicks

What a glorious day it has been. It started with yoga followed by the Charlotte Clean Green Festival followed by the first meeting of the Charlotte Food Bloggers. Julie and Taylor (two bloggers who receive sufficient stalking from me on a daily basis) put the event together and I was damn near giddy to get an invite. I love food, you see.

We met up at Park Road Park for a little nerdy blog talk and a lot of food.

Feast.

Bliggidy bloggers

If you are a friend/spouse/parent/boyfriend/etc. of a food blogger and can’t figure out why we constantly want to hang out with other food bloggers, consider this: You know how people with kids start hanging out exclusively with other people with kids? It’s because that’s all they talk about. There’s nothing wrong with that. After all, they face the same challenges. They can pool their knowledge together. They learn from each other. They challenge each other. And they can talk about poop.

It’s almost the same with food bloggers (minus the poop… sometimes?) because our blogs are our babies. You see? We want to help them thrive, make them the best they can be and (sometimes) brag about them too. So the next time your eyes glaze over as that special food blogger in your life rambles on about lighting and aperture and salt varieties, buy them a ticket to the nearest food conference. You’ll be glad you did.

You know how we do.

As is to be expected, the food was insane. As was not to be expected (down here in the dirty South and all), a lot of the food was vegetarian/vegan. Win!

Oh happy day.

I’m pretty sure that: Brooke made the pizza bread, Julia made the vegan quiches, Diana made the quinoa salad… but who made the panzanella?? It was awesome.

In addition, I ate a chocolate cookie from Lindsay, my own chocolate banana sunflower butter blondies (don’t judge me) and (AND) a little chick cupcake from Julie.

It doesn’t end there. The Southern Cake Queen cupcake truck was there.

Cupcake truck!

Apparently everyone else already knew this existed or something because I was the only one who flew off the picnic table like a kid chasing down the icecream man. Oops.

I love today.


Chocolate Banana Blondies

In Baked Goods on April 17, 2011 at 8:25 am

Chocolate banana sunflower butter blondies.

Hold on to your butts! The blondies have been reinvented. They’re not as good as Stew’s original (obviously) but they’re a comparable twist on the classic and it all happened because I was low on the necessary ingredients. Isn’t that always the case?

The only time it's appropriate to say "moist."

The original recipe comes from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar but I’ve jacked theirs up so much that I’m going to call this one mine but “inspired by…”

I’m taking these puppies to the inaugural meeting of the Charlotte Food Bloggers and I’m a little bit nervous because the bloggers are no joke. They’re real food photographers and bakers and the like and their blogs are like grown up professional versions of what I’d like Sweet Tater to be one day. Here’s hoping they like blondies…

Maybe I don't want to share.

Chocolate Banana Sunflower Butter Blondies

3/4 c sunflower butter
1/3 c melted butter
3/4 c sugar + 1 Tbsp molasses, combined
1/4 c nondairy milk
1 mashed (very) ripe banana
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a pan. I use an 8×8.

Mix together your sunflower butter, butter and sugar.

Stir in milk, banana and vanilla.

Add flour, salt and baking powder.

Fold in the chocolate chips and pour batter into pan.

Bake 28 – 30 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting. I know you don’t want to. Just do it.

 

Blondies have more fun.


El Caribe

In Restaurants on April 16, 2011 at 10:34 am

Fish tacos, no fish.

Last night Stew and I ventured out to explore another Rock Hill restaurant that’s new to us. El Caribe is a cute little place in a refurbished house over by the university.

El Carib, Rock Hill SC

Tequila. Water. Lime.

The experience is rounded out with table-side musical entertainment and even a caricaturist (what? yes).

Started with a shot of peach Schnapps

This happened.

The caricaturist was awesome. What he drew was not so much a caricature as a cartoon version of us. I love it.

The menu was pretty low on vegetarian options so I went with the fish tacos and asked them to sub out the fish for beans or veggies or whatever they have. I was pretty happy with it but it was greeeeasy as hell.

Mofongo!

Stew got this awesome mofongo dish… fried plantains mashed with garlic and butter and pressed together with fried cheese. Hello. Great presentation.

I was really full afterwards but not full enough to not throw down a handful of chocolate eggs. You know.


Caturday 4/16/11

In Cats on April 16, 2011 at 10:17 am

Hey Weaz

Happy Caturday: Tax Edition! If you waited until the last minute to file (or filed a million years ago and waited until the last day to actually pay, like I did), then Weaz would like to extend to you an offer of her accounting services.

Spreadsheets. Meetings. Jargon.

She charges 100 cans of Friskies turkey shreds with cheese but don’t worry, she’ll just pull it out of your return. How convenient!

x 100

In other news, we had a very, very exciting visitor re-enter our lives this week. I know what you’re thinking: Richard? Slice? John Kerry the Winning Cat? None of the above! Unfortunately, Ralph and Weaz haven’t made as many friends as they had in Greenville (and, uh, Stew and I haven’t either).

But Ralph does have one tried and true friendship that was put to the test back in October when I, uh, lost him…

Federico!

Stew bought Federico for Ralph sometime last year, I guess. She and Weaz never take interest in toys (unless they’re bathed in catnip) but for some reason Ralph took a liking to Feddy the ferret. She fell into a depression and wouldn’t eat when he went missing last year but he came back pretty quickly. Then, about six months ago he mysteriously disappeared again. The horror!

You know where he’s been for six months? In a lululemon bag. In my closet. What? I can only assume Weaz put him in there. She’s the one who gets in bags. At any rate…

Reunited

And it feels so good

Weaz is only mildly interested in Federico.

Mmmeh

Because she was too busy doing this:

Eehhhhhgg


Green Tea Cocktail

In Weird on April 15, 2011 at 5:58 pm

Sweet green tea vodka with water and lemon

I’ve learned over the past year that there is an overcommitment threshold beyond which I can no longer function like a sane human being. Today that threshold was breached. It’s not the first time. There’s that time I forgot to bring pants to yoga, that time I forgot what day it was, that time karma kicked my ass and that time I sought a personal assistant because I can’t keep my life in order. Today, my friends, was a doozy.

It started around midnight last night when I got the sinking feeling that the presentation I was planning to do next Friday might, by chance, be due today. I checked my syllabus and, of course, I was scheduled to speak today. Joy!

So I threw on my classiest sweatsuit (so I’d fit in) and made a beeline for the nearest 24-hour Walmart. I was out of printer ink, paper (ohhhh but I didn’t know that at this point) and my mind. It was a sad sight.

I made it out with two ink cartridges, a bag of Reese’s Pieces eggs, a bunch of grapes and some cutout letters for my poster board. It took me three damn hours from Walmart to “welp, this is good enough.” I woke up four hours later, threw down an iced coffee, got hopped up like a damn ferret and rushed to class.

I wish there had been cameras in the lab when I–dressed up with a blazer and all–walked in to find that, no, there would be no presentations today. Nope. Not at all. Today was another food lab and taste test.

So I dropped a couple F bombs, promptly turned on my heel and took a two-hour walk and a 1-mile run. Now I’m drinking vodka.

Unhealthy coping mechanism, y'all.

How was your Friday?


Productive, I am Not

In Restaurants on April 14, 2011 at 7:59 am

Raspberry bar

I’m drowning (truly, head.under.water) in final projects, papers and tests for the next two weeks. So on Tuesday I decided to put myself in an environment conducive to both working and raspberry bar-eating. This seemed like the optimum plan for productivity.

FABO cafe

It wasn’t, really. I just blogged and ate a raspberry bar that tastes like a grown up, more sophisticated version of a Nutrigrain bar (if Nutrigrain bars were remotely good) only times a million.

I was happy to finally stop in FABO cafe, though. They have local food, art, coffee, wine… what’s not to like?


Guess Who Ran?

In Running on April 14, 2011 at 7:53 am

That's me!

I’ve had a rocky relationship with running the past few years. It pretty much went like this:

Never ran. Ran. Got obsessed. Ran a lot. Never stretched. Never bought new shoes. Injured. Never ran.

The injury knocked me out of running (but thankfully into yoga!) three years ago. Three years. I don’t know anyone who stays away from running for three years due to an injury but I just haven’t been able to get back into it without pain because:

I don’t know why I’m suddenly feeling fine. Maybe it’s all the yoga. Maybe enough time has passed. Or maybe my body is just telling me it’s finally ready. At any rate, I have run (very) short distances twice this week and I feel good. I’m not making any assumptions about what this means or putting any unreasonable expectations on my running capacity. For now, I’ll take what I can get and, uh, run with it?

In other news… I got at job at:

lululemon!

I love it. I’m obsessed. I can’t wait for the store to open. I can’t believe I work for a company that: sells a product I believe in, fosters a culture I want to be a part of and supports a lifestyle I practice. It’s just the coolest place. But y’all already know that.

I’m wearing the run dash tight in black and run swiftly tech in tango red. They make the best clothes on the planet. Period. I only own one other piece… the pullover Stew bought me after I tried it on at a blogger party. Their clothes are expensive but they’re no joke, I tell you. I’ll rant about that some other time. For now I’m off to stretch so I don’t end up just hurting myself again. WINNING


Lemon Spaghetti Squash Salad

In Dinner on April 13, 2011 at 6:12 am

Lemon spaghetti squash salad w/ chickpeas and mint

I’ve been neglecting my dear sweet friend the spaghetti squash all winter (because they don’t sell it at Trader Joe’s) and now 90-degree weather has fallen on South Carolina and I still want to eat it. Solution? A light, cool, summery twist on what I consider a wintery vegetable.

I roasted a HUGE spaghetti squash for about 45min-1hr on 400 degrees with a little sunflower oil, salt and pepper. Then I mixed it up with lemon juice, chopped fresh mint, chickpeas and chopped chilled asparagus and served it over a bed of arugula.

“Eating a little light tonight?” Stew questioned. True. I usually eat a lot more food than this.

But it was because I was saving up room to inhale some of this. Duh.


Common Market

In Restaurants on April 12, 2011 at 4:11 pm

Tofu, avocado, tomato, sprouts, lettuce, mustard

I’m having a rather splendid little Tuesday. I’m training for my new job, which kicked off with hot yoga at Charlotte Yoga (my first visit to that studio) and included lunch at the Common Market (been dying to eat there). Not complaining.

Common Market, Plaza Midwood, Charlotte

If I lived in Charlotte, Plaza Midwood would be my home. It’s definitely the coolest neighborhood in the city. But the hipsters don’t want me to tell you that because then it will be overrun by suburban housemoms. Seriously. I heard someone say that while we were at lunch…

Aaaanyway, I got the California sandwich pretty much because it included avocado. It’s generally a turkey sandwich but I subbed tofu, which you can do for any of their sandwiches. I was freaked out when I saw that the tofu actually resembled turkey. Thankfully, it wasn’t. And didn’t taste like it. Big win.

If you’re in the Charlotte area and are in search of a pet, please please please adopt this one:

Sweet Tater!

Her name is Ladybug but they call her (are you ready??) SWEET TATER. Seriously. If someone doesn’t take this cat I will have to do it and then I’ll have three, which would put me at an average of a cat per year since the age of 23. Don’t let it happen.


Fratelli’s Pizza

In Restaurants on April 12, 2011 at 9:55 am

Expensive... but awesome

Stew and I are pretty sure we ate the best pizza we’ve ever had in South Carolina on Saturday night. He said it might be the best he’s had… ever. He asked me where I’d had better and I smugly declared: “Italy.”

Since we’ve committed (we think?) to staying where we are for another year, we want to explore and enjoy this place we call home rather than whine about it all the time. What better way to enjoy anything than to top it with pizza? Exactly.

Fratelli’s isn’t technically in our town but it’s right up the road and still south of the Carolina border so we’re calling it a local find.

The meal started with warm crusty bread. Our waiter–who moonlights as an opera singer (no joke, he was singing in between bussing tables–informed us that the dough for all the breads and crusts is made daily by a guy that stops by at 4am to get it going.

Mmmm bread

I didn’t eat much bread because we had an extra large pizza coming our way. Why do we do that to ourselves? No one knows. I also had a salad:

Eat your vegetables

We had high hopes for the pizza because it was expensive as hell. The base price was $17 and then each “traditional” ingredient was another $1.85. It doesn’t end there… the “gourmet” toppings were an extra $2.25. Two.twen.ty.five. Robbery. For a person who likes a little pizza with her vegetables rather than a little vegetables with her pizza, this was devastating. We ended up going with onion, pepper, broccoli and artichoke.

You’d think for an extra $9 worth of toppings (NINE DOLLARS), we’d have gotten $9 dollars worth of toppings. Or hell, an extra pizza for that. Not so. We got this…

Sparse.

They’re so lucky this pizza is incredible because the topping situation was a huge let down. We decided next time we’ll just go with cheese and call it a day.

I’d like to proudly report that we consumed all but two pieces of that extra large pizza. And no, Stew didn’t do all the damage. I met him piece for piece–three each.


Breakfast Soup

In Breakfast on April 12, 2011 at 5:49 am

I swear it's good

Before I went to bed Saturday night, I saw Kath tweet about something she calls a Dough Boy Smoothie. That was all it took for me to know exactly what I’d be having to breakfast Sunday.

Kath’s original Dough Boy was a simple mix of oats, milk, banana, cinnamon, vanilla and a pinch of salt. I followed her lead but also added buckwheat groats and frozen spinach to turn it a lovely shade of light green.

I SWEAR it's good.

My mom’s friend Lynn says I eat weird food. I guess I agree but… it’s also good food. Nevertheless, this is likely not helping my case.

I know no one will believe me until they try for themselves but you absolutely cannot taste spinach when it’s pureed into smoothies. I promise. This bowl tastes like… cookie dough soup? Yep.

I topped it with sunflower butter and coconut and will definitely make it again.


Luna’s Living Kitchen

In Restaurants on April 11, 2011 at 5:16 am

Sprouted quinoa-kamut burger

We were on a roll Saturday hitting up Charlotte spots we’ve been meaning to visit for the last year. In that manner of good fortune when a spontaneous Saturday magically ends up perfectly planned, Luna’s Living Kitchen happens to be adjacent to Atherton Mill Market.

Luna’s is one of few dedicated vegan restaurants in Charlotte and, as far as I know, the only raw one. The only thing that’s kept us from their food are the hours. Somehow we only ever realize we want Luna’s after 7pm, which doesn’t fly. But now that we’ve had the food, we have motivation to get our butts up there on time.

Eat here.

So when we finally got a chance to try Luna’s, imagine my disappointment stepping in there knowing I’d already eaten lunch like an hour prior. Sigh. I probably definitely could have handled another meal but I gave way to sanity and just watched Stew eat this:

Beautiful

This is one of the few cooked items on their menu and, based on the lone bite I had of it, it’s incredible. It’s topped with local greens, a sunflower seed “hummus,” and (the real star) some kind of avocado puree. It was insane.

He also had a ginger ale, which (gasp) tasted like ginger and wasn’t really all that sweet. The first sip kicks you in the face but then it’s really refreshing.

Ginger ale

You better believe I’ll be back here next weekend shoveling raw lasagna into my face.


Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

In Baked Goods on April 10, 2011 at 7:24 pm

Vegan strawberry rhubarb pie with streusel topping

“You’re a real baker now!” Stew proclaimed as he inhaled his first piece of my very first pie.

There are many reasons I’ve never made a pie until now, not the least of which is the fact that I don’t really even like pie. Unless you count French silk pie but we all know that’s pretty much just pudding and whipped cream, right? Right.

Right!

So when it comes to pie I guess you could say I’ve never really been interested. When presented with, say, a brownie sundae or a gloopy gloppy pile of gelatinous fruit, I’m going with the brownie.

But this all changed last summer when I was introduced to Brittney’s blueberry pie at my Welcome to Charlotte brunch. You see, that pie is, simply put, perfect. The crust, the filling, the… everything. It opened up a whole new world to me.  A world of pies.

The other reason I haven’t made a pie is because pies are scary. Pastry is scary. Making the filling set is scary. Making anything that you can’t sample until your first guest cuts into it is scary. So, you see, pies are scary.

But today I conquered my fears and am happy to report a major pie success. I made a strawberry rhubarb pie with coconut crust and streusel topping. You heard me. Sounds completely ridiculous, I know. But believe you me, it works.

YES

I used this vegan strawberry pie recipe but played with it a bit.

  • I added one chopped stalk of rhubarb to the sugar/cornstarch/strawberry puree.
  • I rebaked the pie once the filling was added rather than just letting it chill in the fridge.
  • I topped it with cinnamon streusel because I felt like it felt uncomfortable being so naked.

The crust is awesome. Pie purists might not like it since it’s not flaky. But what it lacks in flakiness it packs in dense, buttery, coconutty, shortbread-esque goodness. The filling is nothing like the nauseatingly sweet, sticky gloopy mess you find in diners. Nope. It’s sweet with a light tang from the rhubarb and the strawberries held their shape without turning into mushy unrecognizable blobs. I am so pleased.

And it really wasn’t that hard! I’m a believer now. Pies are within my reach. What’s next? Croissants? Donuts? Croquembouche? The possibilities are endless, for I have tasted victory. I have made my very first pie.

Sweet victory pie


Atherton Mill Market

In Products on April 10, 2011 at 7:11 am

Wee little carrots

Yesterday Stew and I spent a lovely little Saturday up in Charlotte. We explored the market, the neighborhoods, the houses for rent and the notion that maybe, just maybe, it makes absolutely no sense to move up there next year. As soon as I said, “I know the mature responsible adult thing to do would be to stay where we are now,” it was all over. It’s not that I want to do the mature responsible adult thing. Ever. It’s just that I don’t want to can’t pay movers, a security deposit, the first two months rent and the good people of TJMaxx who receive a large portion of my funds every summer when I move as I try to make the new place feel like home.

So here we are.

It’ll be kind of amazing to spend more than one year in the same house. I haven’t done that since… before I left home at 18. I’ll continue hiking it up to yoga almost daily and we’ll most certainly be making regular weekend appearances at our latest site of exploration: Atherton Mill Market.

Cloister Honey

Cute little cupcakes

This market is awesome. It lacks the down home grit and grime of most small town outdoor farmers’ markets I’ve visited and replaces that with a sleek, clean, appropriately urban feel.

We spent a good deal of time at the Cloister Honey table sampling every single flavor they had, including: cinnamon, whipped, vanilla, chili pepper, Tupelo, wildflower and sourwood. Man, oh man. Incredible.

They’re a local operation with hives all over the city, including atop the Ritz-Carlton downtown Charlotte. They got their start when, all out of ideas for what to buy her husband, a wife purchased a bee hive as a birthday gift. Five years later the rest, as they say, is history. They’ve been selling the honey commercially for two years and are gaining momentum. Even if you’re not local, you can buy the honey online, which I recommend doing. We came home with a jar of sourwood (smoothest honey you’ll ever eat) and he threw in a free sample of the whipped honey, too.

We sampled our weight in local treats from sweet potato crackers to salsa, hummus, watercress and wine. Oh, and let’s not forget the pickle guy…

The Pickle Guy

This guy worked us, shoveling pickle after pickle into our faces and then calling us out with a “You’re not even gonna buy any??” when we tried to slink away. Perhaps we should have admitted to arriving at a market without cash before allowing the vendors to pump us full of samples. Rookie mistake! We’ll be back with cash in tow next time…

Because there will be a next time. Even if we live down the interstate rather than down the street, we can continue enjoying Charlotte and exploring our own little neck of the woods, which, as it turns out, isn’t that bad.


Caturday 4/9/11

In Cats on April 9, 2011 at 10:38 am

Ralph!

Happy gorgeous Caturday. Let’s make this quick so I spend every second of the day outside…

Look who it is! A Ralph! It’s rare that I “feature” Ralph on the “cover” of Caturday (who would buy this if it were in print?? EVERYONE) because it’s near impossible to capture a decent photo of her. She’s always doing this:

Oh HEY. You're taking a picture? PET ME

This one is pretty glorious:

The majestic Ralph moved delicately across the floor.

Finally a winner:

Ralphiiiie

Weaz, as we all know, is a much easier photo target. She’s always… everywhere. Staring blankly.

Here I am. I pooped in yer toilet.

Me again. Just watchin you sleep.

Want a cuddle?

Found yer weights!

She’s not always this easy to find though. And when I can’t find her… watch out. It’s panic mode times a billion. Like, the kind of panic mode where I frantically dig through the dryer to make sure she’s not in there.

But usually it just ends like this:

Oh dear sweet Jesus WHERE IS WEAZ

Oh.


National Empanada Day

In Dinner on April 8, 2011 at 9:14 pm

Veggie empanadas

I need some kind of alert system for these “national” food “holidays” so that I’ll be adequately prepared to celebrate. Thanks to Taylor, I was informed around 4pm that today–this today–is National Empanada Day. Why wouldn’t something like that be on all calendars? Seriously. The government’s on the verge of a shutdown and we’ve got a national holiday to tend to over here. For shame.

I rallied the troops and we got to work on this important part of American (Mexican?) tradition. Ready guys??

FUCK YEAH EMPANADAS

BEANS!

I used this vegan empanada recipe for the dough only (and then I topped it with cheese, it’s fine) and we decided to wing it on the fillings.

Fillings include (but are not limited to)...

We went with:

  • Onion
  • Pinto beans
  • Zucchini
  • Garlic
  • Spinach
  • Roasted corn
  • Jalapeno

I started out making the dough because it had to chill for an hour. You can eat Stew’s amazing salsa while you wait.

Stew's salsaaa

While that was in the fridge, I sauteed the veggie medley. When everything’s ready to go, you roll your dough out into 6-inch rounds (about a 1/4 inch thick) and fill with 2 Tbsp of filling. Crimp it shut and, if you’re not really vegan, smother with cheese. Manchego preferred.

Best ever.

I know people are going to stop believing me if I say this too often but this was hands down without a doubt 100% absolutely the best thing I have ever made… to date. And so we’re straight, going forward I’ll be keeping a check on such sweeping statements and will only use them if the item in question is, in fact, better than the reigning best thing ever. If you’d like to know where we stand:

What’s the best thing Katie has ever made?

Stew says: Tomato pie.

Katie says: I hate that tomato pie and am embarrassed it exists. I pick these empanadas. No contest.

What’s the best thing Stew has ever made?

Stew says: Dhansak.

Katie says: Scarpetta’s tomato and basil spaghetti.

We’ll keep you posted when a “best” gets booted…


Periwinkle Cafe & Bakery

In Restaurants on April 8, 2011 at 4:15 pm

Greek salad

After lab today–which involved sampling chocolate pound cake, corn bread, ice cream, pancakes and cookies–I met up with Stew for lunch (because somehow I was still hungry) at the grand opening of Periwinkle Cafe. It’s a cute little place named after the Periwinkle Tea Room that used to be there back in the 40s.

Bakeryyy

We were really excited to see a number of vegetarian options on the menu. Rare in these parts, I tell you. I got the Greek salad and Stew had the marinated portobell0 sandwich. (Am I the only one who can never remember how to spell portobello? I always add A’s everywhere because of the “baby bella” variety. Throws off my game.)

 

Greens, tomatoes, artichokes, onion, feta, red peppers

Portobello sandwich

I was really happy with the salad. It had all kinds of toppings, which made it substantial. Not always the case with entree salads, sadly. OH… but I also found a ROGUE BACON in there.

Heebie-jeebies.

I didn’t try Stew’s sandwich because, as you may know, mushrooms frighten me. Next time I’m getting the veggie wrap…

Please believe our meal didn’t end there. As if I hadn’t already had enough pound cake today…

This happened.

Stew was really excited about his creme puff (MAKE FUN OF HIM), but then this happened:

Let the sex jokes fly!

We shared a treasure cookie, which was awesome, especially when dipped in quite possibly the very best iced coffee I’ve ever had in my life.

Oh hey.

Crowders Coffee

The coffee is all fair trade, shade-grown and roasted at Crowders Creek Coffee Company right here South Carolina.

I like this place. All they need is Wi-Fi and late-night hours and I’m never leaving.


Banana Buckwheat Bake

In Breakfast on April 8, 2011 at 8:50 am

Ashley's banana buckwheat bake

I was inspired by Kath (I wonder how many times a day she hears that?) to make Ashley’s baked buckwheat. I’m such a fan of the baked oatmeal I’ve been inhaling that I figured this little guy would be a comparable substitute. Plus, I love buckwheat forever and ever, amen.

I’ve had a jar of buckwheat groats on hand for about a year now. I sprinkle them in muesli, into baked goods and on top of oatmeal. They add a nice crunch and all kinds of nutrients–like manganese, tryptophan, magnesium and fiber.

They look like this...

To turn them into flour, you simply grind them up. I used the coffee grinder to turn them into a flour for this breakfast. See Ashley’s post for the full recipe.

Cute little guy

This makes a pretty substantial serving and since I was on my way to hot yoga and didn’t have plans to vomit in front of a crowd on this particular day, I cut it in half and shoved that in my face on the way out the door.

Inhale

I don’t know if it was this superhero breakfast, the light weight lifting I’ve added to my routine, my increased walking, the weather or an act of God but I felt like an animal in yoga today.

I was all: Hell yes I can do this series and breathe right and stop thinking.

The funny thing about yoga, though, is that some days it’ll feel like today and other days it’ll feel like:

Yeah.

And that’s why I love it so much.


Beet & Celery Root Salad

In Salad on April 7, 2011 at 8:59 pm

Beet and celery root salad over arugula

Stew made the best salad! Since the weather has changed, I’ve been a vegetable fiend. More so than usual. This is best displayed by today’s post-work, pre-class snack of asparagus, tomatoes and gigantes (giant beans) from the Earth Fare salad bar. Usually I’d eat a bar or a sweet potato or something but today I wanted… that.

And tonight… tonight I got this insanely delicious and beautiful salad that Stew made from Speed Vegan.

Make this.

This is the second successful dish we’ve made from that cookbook and I don’t think it’s a gamble to call it a winner this early in the game. This salad was insane, I tell you.

It contains:

  • Beets
  • Celery root
  • Apple
  • Onion

And is doused in a marinade of: roasted garlic puree (whaaaat), mustard, agave and other good things.

EAT

It is so right on its own (believe me, we were shoving it in our faces straight from the serving bowl with a fork post-dinner) but we fancied it up with a bed of arugula, sprinkling of soynuts and an Earth Fair almond burger.

I’m already looking forward to lunch tomorrow… if the leftovers make it that long.


Between Forks and Folks

In News on April 6, 2011 at 8:43 am

Between Forks and Folks - pilot project

Some friends of mine from college are working on a project near and dear to my heart: a television pilot for a show that will “document the stories of the men and women who brew, grow, roast and cook the artisan foods of North America.”

They’re hoping to start filming their pilot, which will be pitched to the likes of PBS, HBO, Showtime, etc., on May 14. Check out their video: Between Forks and Folks.

“Discover America’s culinary passion and pay tribute to the chefs, farmers, brewers and foragers of this battleful land.”

I’d watch the hell out of that show.


Toast Topper Swapper

In Breakfast on April 6, 2011 at 5:28 am

Buuuuuhnana.

Aaahaha, I want to punch me so hard for that title. I’m sorry… I’m not sorry.

Since I’m going easy on the added sugar these days (ignore last night’s cake… who says no to a sweet little Vietnamese lady who made German chocolate cake? NO ONE), one easy swap for me has been the nut butter toast I shove in my face as I’m driving to yoga in the wee hours of the morning (so wee the picture sucks that bad).

Usually I top that with jelly (ain’t nothing wrong with that) but so long as I’m laying off the (refined) sweet stuff, why not just mash up a banana instead?

Exactly. So that’s what I did. It’s especially good with cinnamon.


And Then Some

In Restaurants on April 5, 2011 at 8:25 pm

Steamed tofu bowl

As my time here in Rock Hill comes to a close (I think?*), I’m trying really hard to climb my ass down the high horse I rode in on and appreciate the town for what it is. What it is, truth be told, is not much, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its charms. I used to be able to find the good in anything, especially new places. I haven’t given this city that chance. And so, as is customary in my life, I’ll not realize what I had until it’s gone. So here is one of my favorite things about Rock Hill: Thi’s on Main.

This is one of the first places I ate when I first got here and it gave me hope that I’d enjoy my new home. Sadly, school and schedules got the best of me and I haven’t been back as often as I’d like. And that’s a shame because dining at Thi’s is one of those uniquely local experiences you can’t get anywhere else. Thi is a gracious host and she treats her customers like family. She’ll say things like, “I’m so proud of you kids,” after we polish off a plate of lemongrass tofu that she brought by (on the house) just because she thought we’d like it.

As I tend to do, I got the steamed tofu bowl with rice noodles, carrots, daikon, sprouts and a vinegar sauce. “That’s a healthy meal you ordered, missy!”

Stew got the veggie fried rice and vegetable dumplings.

Veggie fried rice

Vegetable dumplings

I’m pretty sure that was the first dumpling I’ve ever had and I’d like to report that dumplings are:

SO DAMN GOOD

She says people don’t believe her that the dumplings don’t have meat in them because they taste so good.

And that was the extent of our order. But, as she tends to do, Thi started hauling out more food for us. “No charge!” she’ll yell as she bustles back to the kitchen to grab something else.

So we had our orders…

... and then some lemongrass tofu...

... and then some homemade cake...

... and then some tea.

It was twice the amount of food we’d usually order for half the price.

And that, my friends, is not so bad.

*So wait… are we moving to Charlotte? Short answer: I don’t know. Long answer… too long.


Our Garden Grows!

In Garden on April 5, 2011 at 5:24 am

Onions!

This is a big damn deal, y’all.

I held a seed. I put it in the ground. It made food.

Victory!

I realize my only role in this little endeavor was to show up on planting day, put in four hours of hard labor, disappear for a month and a half and come back to find a bountiful harvest. But please do keep in mind that the last time I tried to plant something, this happened. It’s a wonder these little vegetables even saw the light of day after they came into contact with me.

Monster spinach

The little carrots that could

Broccoli, y'all.

I am so very excited about this little project. I even invited Stew and Waldo to come check it out since I got out of class early last night…

And then he ate an onion.

He did.

Our group is planning to donate our harvest to a local shelter (as of yet unidentified) but since the onions and spinach needed some thinning… I confiscated a handful to add to last night’s dinner.

Somebody had to taste test! And not just Waldo...

Local spinach, homemade bean burger with local onions and cheese, steamed asparagus with lemon and pepper and steamed baby carrots. Yes, please.


Cilantro Jalapeño Hummus

In Snack, Stew on April 4, 2011 at 11:47 am

Goods... bads?

I’m reading Little Bee, an enthralling albeit soul-crushing story by Chris Cleave that I will tell you absolutely nothing about because the back of the book tells me I can’t. I will say, however, that the little boy in the story likes to play Batman and likes to try to defeat the “baddies.” He asks everyone he meets, “Is you a goodie or a baddie?” I love him.

My reason for mentioning that makes no sense at all except that in my mind I would usually list the ingredients for a recipe as “the goods” but since I hate the main components of this recipe (the baddies) and instead only appreciate them as the collective final hummus (the goodie), that is what went through my head.

The real goods

Stew’s hummus habit is a real win for me. He’s gotten crazy good at it and as a result I eat a lot of crazy good hummus. But yesterday when he announced he’d be replicating Whole Foods’ cilantro jalapeno hummus, I felt a bit dejected. I hate both those baddies.

Somehow though, the hummus itself is neither cilantro-y nor jalapeno-y. It’s just perfectly light and fresh with just a slight kick of spice. (And it’s way better than Whole Foods’ version.)

I know errbody wants these hummus recipes I keep raving about but I’m pretty convinced I’ve got a potential small business on my (er, Stew’s?) hands here so I’m not saying a word. Plus, I have no idea what he does.

Look for it on store shelves one day. Just wait…


Simplified Smoothie Bowl

In Breakfast on April 4, 2011 at 5:41 am

So pretty.

Since I’ve decided to clean up my life a bit this month, I’m making small, simple adjustments to the meals I already like to keep them in line with where I’m going.

What this meant for my go-to gorgeous bowl of smoothieness was the exclusion of chocolate granola (ain’t nothin wrong with that) and the addition of some plain toasted buckwheat and oats. Gives it that characteristic crunch without having to pop open a bag of (minimally) processed food.

The rest of the mix:

  • 1 frozen banana
  • rice milk
  • maca powder
  • cocoa powder
  • ground flax
  • frozen spinach

Toppings: sunflower butter and coconut butter.

I was not a believer in smoothie bowls until I ate one. I know it seems illogical to think it could be that much better than drinking it out of a glass. But believe you me, it’s that much better. It was a glorious morning indeed.


Clean Up

In Health on April 3, 2011 at 9:56 am

Hello, vegetables.

I told Stew yesterday that I needed to get my life in check. Over the past four months I’ve really let life get the best of me and, in return, have let some things slip that are really important to keeping me sane, among them:

  • My yoga practice
  • My food ethics
  • My schoolwork

My excuse for yoga is time. My excuse for food is money. My excuse for school is motivation. But I’ve found that when I take these shortcuts to make my life “easier,” it just turns out to be more stressful and uncomfortable in the end because I’m not happy that way.

Cauliflower monster (Weaz hair included)

And I’d be lying if I didn’t also confess that this trio of crap–little physical activity, little regard for what I’m eating and lots of stress–has also resulted in a little weight gain. (I also blame these.) It’s nothing worth writing home about (do you really want to hear another person who doesn’t need to lose weight whine about how much weight they need to lose?) but is enough to make me notice.

An additional thing I’ve noticed about this slight weight gain, however, is how I reacted to it. In the past (say, three years ago before I started this journey), I would have torn myself to pieces, told myself I was worthless, starved myself, exercised like an idiot and been utterly miserable. Not so this time around.

This time, for the first time ever, I looked at my body, thought, “You look fine but this doesn’t feel fine,” acknowledged that I wanted to make a minor change to a vanity issue that does not equate my self worth, accepted that there’s nothing wrong with that and moved on with my life. That was an amazing moment.

So just like the first time I lost weight, this time will not involve calorie counting or diets or rules or excessive exercise. I’m just going back to what worked for me:

  • Practicing yoga as often as I can without setting requirements for when that will be
  • Eating whole, unprocessed, plant-based foods

This little readjustment period coincides nicely with some other initiatives I’ve taken on this month:

Commit 30: No TV

Winthrop Pedometer Challenge

7-minute Plank: Personal Everest

No TV: lululemon Charlotte kicked off a Commit 30 challenge this month in which you’re encouraged to select one thing you can commit to until May (and hopefully afterwards, too). For me, “no TV” was a no brainer. This is my last month of school and I have a million big projects and presentations to work on. I have no right to claim that I’m “too busy” to do those things and keep up my yoga practice if the “busy” part of my day involves watching The Bachelor for two hours. Just doesn’t compute, you see?

Step Challenge: My university is sponsoring a walking challenge throughout April and my office decided to participate as a team. Each person is given a pedometer. You’re supposed to wear it for the first three days of April, record your steps and then average that total. You then tack on an extra 2,000 to your first 3-day average and that is supposed to be your daily goal for the remainder of the month. I’m averaging around 5,000 in my first two days (lame!) and am looking forward to upping that.

7-Minute Plank: So this is another lululemon inspiration… Every once in a while the store encourages people to come in and hold plank as long as they can. Whoever has the longest time wins a tank–Plank for a Tank, get it? I didn’t stop by to give it a try but I did keep up with it on their Facebook page and learned that the guy who took home the tank held his plank for seven freaking minutes. Are you kidding me?? That is awesome. I want to do that. So I’m trying… My first hold was 2 minutes 17 seconds. And last night I held it 2:30. Not bad!

As for food, tis the season of farmers’ markets and local produce. I’m looking forward to eating as close to home as possible and straying from my Trader Joe’s habit for a bit. (No matter how affordable it may be, the food is still coming from California, Mexico, etc. and that bothers me.)

I don’t really have any rules about any of this. I’m just trying to live a life I’m proud of.

So last night’s dinner: roasted cauliflower with dill, homemade black bean burgers, guacamole, carrots with Stew’s cilantro jalapeno hummus, greens and lemon water. Indeed.


Baked Pickles

In Snack on April 2, 2011 at 7:27 pm

Baked, not fried

Fried pickles, along with most foods of the fried sort, are a big damn deal in the south. Perhaps people elsewhere eat them too but I assure you southerners get way more excited about doing so.

In fact, in a late-night drunken rampage, Stew and I had a basket of all kinds of fried things–among them cauliflower, jalapenos and, of course, pickles.

Not too long ago, Caitlin baked some pickles and I’ve been meaning to give that method a try. Since the most I’ve done today was take a two-hour nap, I figured it might be a good time to make some baked pickles, too.

Baked pickllllles

Caitlin used an egg to dredge hers but since we never have any, I just used rice milk.

Rice milk –> bread crumbs –> oven

I seasoned the bread crumbs with dill, salt and pepper.

Look what I can do!

They’re totally good and can give the fried ones a run for their money any day. Truth.


Toasted

In Breakfast on April 2, 2011 at 10:39 am

Not hashbrowns.

I woke up around 7 this morning trying very hard not to vomit everywhere. Somewhere between the margarita the size of my head and four brownies, someone should have probably put a leash on me. Or at least one of those chic alcohol tracking ankle bracelets like Lindsay Lohan is always wearing.

Alcohol detected.

Seriously though. Not cool. When I could function without fear of a full on upheaval of my gastrointestinal system, I made Stew take part in my misery by telling him precisely how miserable I was.

“I want hashbrowns.”

Hashbrowns I did not get. But I did make this hangover toast that did the trick: mashed chickpeas with olive oil, salt and pepper on spelt bread.

I’m gonna go lay down now…


Caturday 4/2/11

In Cats on April 2, 2011 at 10:32 am

I hope you didn't want this to never have hair on it...

It’s hangover central at Caturday headquarters. Weaz had one too many tequilas and things got a little out of hand…

Craaaaaazy bag time.

She was jealous of Stew’s tattoo…

I want one.

So she got a Stew-too of her own.

Also this.

Always the voice of reason, Ralph tried to get her alcoholic kitten under control.

And stay in there.

Don't come in. Weaz is puking.

And she was. She puked right into the sink…

Pleh.

Sigh.

Today she feels like this:

I need hashbrowns.

And has this to say:

 

I should be ashamed.

You know who’s never ashamed of anything?

This guy.

Shmeeeeeee

But you know who is very ashamed of everything? This hilarious guilty dog. If you haven’t seen that video, WATCH IT MOM.

Preview.

If you’d like to support Weaz’s drunken ways, you can get one of these:

Viva la Weeeeeaz

Except you can’t really because they don’t exist. But they might if the people demand it.


Brownie Baking Experiment

In School on April 1, 2011 at 2:29 pm

Plant-based fat replacers in vegan brownies

This morning I completed my food science lab final (don’t worry, we still have a month of school left; I was in the first group) and had a glorious time doing so. I’ve learned something about myself and that is that my self does not like to sit at a desk. Ever, really. If I am standing and moving, I can work all day. And it doesn’t hurt if I’m standing and moving in a kitchen.

I got to lab bright and early at 8:15am to get my four trials rolling along. I designed my experiment to test the acceptability of plant-based fat replacers in vegan brownies. I used this same recipe from VegNews:

VegNews vegan brownies

Basic ingredients

The basic ingredients above were combined with one of four different fats/fat replacers.

Fat options

My trials included:

  1. Safflower oil (control) – monounsaturated fat
  2. Apple sauce – fat-free but extra sugar from the fruit
  3. Pumpkin puree – fat-free, no extra sugar
  4. Coconut oil – saturated fat

Because the control oil was monounsaturated fat, I wanted to include a saturated plant fat (coconut) as well as two fat-free options, one with extra natural sugar (apple sauce) and one without (pumpkin) to see how these varying characteristics affected the final product.

I set up a sort of assembly line to put together all four trials at the same time. I thought this would be the most efficient use of time and space.

Brownie assembly line. I like.

I also totally played culinary school in my head by carefully mise en place-ing all my ingredients and taking care to keep my station neat and tidy at all times. (Sommmebody missed her calling…)

Clockwise from top left: safflower, apple, pumpkin, coconut

Finished products

When they were done and cooled, I cut each pan into 1.5×1.5-inch squares for sampling. I asked participants to evaluate the:

  • Moisture
  • Intensity of chocolate flavor
  • Tenderness
  • Texture
  • Overall acceptability

Samples were presented with random 3-integer identifiers and the “fats” were hidden away to keep people from making assumptions about the products.

Care for a brownie or four?

Of the 15 evaluations collected:

7 people ranked the coconut oil trial as their favorite

5 people ranked the safflower oil control as their favorite

2 people ranked the pumpkin puree trial as their favorite

1 person ranked the apple sauce trial as their favorite

Moisture

The apple sauce trial received the highest moisture score, which signals to me that the participants misread the scale and ranked it backwards, as these were by far the driest brownies.

Intensity of Chocolate Flavor

The safflower oil control received the best chocolate intensity score.

Tenderness

Based on a tenderness scale of “very tender” to “very tough,” the coconut trial was selected, on average, as the most tender.

Texture

Based on a texture scale of “soft/crumbly” to “dense/fudgy,” the apple sauce trial was selected, on average, as the densest. I found the apple sauce brownies to be one of the lightest, crumbliest trials and, therefore, think this may also be an error in recording on the data sheet. However, objective measure of the weight of a 1.5×1.5-inch sample did show that the apple sauce samples were the heaviest and, therefore by definition, densest.

You want my ranking? (#1 – best, #5 – worst)

  1. Coconut, by far
  2. Safflower oil
  3. Apple sauce
  4. Pumpkin

I thought they were all acceptable; it just depends on your personal preference and what you happen to be in the mood for that very second. Me? I’m always in the mood for coconut…

Other experiments today included:

Chocolate chip muffins with flour variations

Cooking variations for soybeans

The effect of added fiber on biscuits

Flour variations in traditional pasta preparation

Now that I’m done, I get to kick back and sample the remaining experiments for the rest of the year. I like this class.


Carrot Cake Oatmeal Bake

In Breakfast on April 1, 2011 at 6:04 am

Carrot cake baked oatmeal

As promised, I’ve eaten my fair share of baked oatmeal since discovering Katie’s recipe last week. A few days ago I put a twist on it and my banana mousse to make a carrot cake bake with “cream” “cheese” “frosting.”

The cake is Katie’s basic recipe plus two small shredded carrots and a pinch of nutmeg. The cream cheese frosting that is neither cream nor cheese nor frosting is:

“Cream” “Cheese” “Frosting”

1 ripe banana
1 tsp coconut butter
1/2 Tbsp nut butter
juice of 1/2 lemon
couple drops of vanilla
tiny pinch of salt

These little nuggets bring me great joy in the wee hours of the morning or in the not-so-wee hours when I’m inhaling them as I run out the door. Either way, they are the perfect breakfast–one method just slightly more enjoyable than the other.

Good morning, sunshine.