My New Favorite Snack

I've discovered the greatest snack ever. Padma Lakshmi, in her Easy Exotic, calls it "Chickpeas and Spinach Tapas." I call it healthy yum.

Nuke a 10oz package of chopped frozen spinach. While it's cooking, dice a red bell pepper and rinse a 19oz can of chickpeas. In a large bowl, mix all of the above with 1tbsp fresh chives, the juice of 1-2 lemons, 1/4c to 1/3c olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Food!

What I love best is that it's so healthy! Lots of vitamin A, a disproportionate amount of calcium and iron, fiber and protein. I could eat this all day long and not think twice about it and keeping the ingredients on hand is so easy.

I love that, with the exception of the fresh chives, it's a pantry dish. When I made it last week, I didn't have chives, so I substituted dill. The lemon juice and olive oil are essentially a salad dressing, but without any of that whisking nonsense. I used 1/4c of olive oil, but that turned out to be slightly too much of a good thing; I'll try freehanding it next time, now that I know it's a dressing. Read More......

So this is nesting, hm?

I'm skipping my run this morning to update. Well, and because the weatherpeople said it would be freezing when I left the house. I own the clothes to go running in those conditions, but not the mental strength. Not today anyway. I don't know why this change of seasons is bothering me so much more than usual; I've lived in the northeast all my life, it shouldn't be a shock.

Lately, I've been having the urge to cook, to make soup. I found myself flipping through cookbooks and being attracted to soup and stews. I have an undeniable craving for chhole. I find myself wanting to punt all my activities so I can come home and cook healthy, hearty meals. I'm even thinking of buying cast iron (even though every time I go to the store and lift a 8" skillet, I have to use two hands).

For now, I have banana and berry oatmeal. Read More......

Steak and Cakes

It's funny how the simplest foods can be elevated to cult status. Take the Philly cheesesteak: about three years ago, I noticed several storefronts open that sold only cheesesteaks. Despite my love of a good fast food burger, I'm not really a Philly cheesesteak fan. Not sure why - I grew up eating an unspeakable amount of Steak-Umm and even named a stuffed animal (a cow of course) Steak-Umm - but even at Jim's in Philly, it was just a sandwich.

I hadn't had a cheesesteak in seven years, but I was hungry and needed a little grease to go with my martinis last Thurs. I'd foolishly had falafel for lunch, so I couldn't go to Mamoun's, aka the best falafel you will ever have outside of Israel, but I passed BB Sandwich Bar on my way to the West 4th St. subway. It's a nice sandwich - they only make it one way, with beef on a kaiser roll with onions and relish and white American cheese - just the thing when you've been drinking.

And then there's the whole gourmet cupcake craze that Sex and the City started. The same storefront that houses BB Sandwich Bar sells Tonni's Minis. After ODing on Magnolia's a few years ago, I thought I didn't like cupcakes: they are too dry and the frosting is too sweet. I'm didn't like the ones from Buttercup Bakery either. The ones at Tonni's are making me reconsider. They come in a variety of flavors - my first was white cake with a red velvet layer, bc they were out of carrot - and the cake is moist like cake should be. I like the frosting very much: it tastes like it has cream cheese in it and at the very least, it has more fat than Magnolia's, which makes the sugar less jarring. Fortunately, they come in two sizes, the smaller of which is just the right size for a dose of yumminess. Judging by the way my co-workers gobbled them up the next day, they thought so too. Read More......