PIE!
Thanks to a gift certificate to Williams Sonoma, I bought adorable little pie molds. So, today I made mini pumpkin pies!!
Cold Rainy Day Eats
One of my favorite ways to warm up AND clean out the fridge, freezer and pantry – vegetarian chilli!!! (And of course, jalapeño corn muffins!)
I love sour cream.
I can eat a LOT of it too (scary).
However, in the pursuit of healthier eating, I have switched to nonfat yogurt as a substitute and it works just fine.
So top your chilli with cool yogurt and enjoy!
Giant Cupcake
Today was nephew Ethan’s 1st Birthday! In celebration, I decided to make a giant cupcake (and use it as an excuse to play with fondant for the first time).
Today’s Dish
To honor Meatless Monday, we decided to create a giant salad to celebrate. In the fridge we had the following:
*Hearts of Romaine
*Mini bells
*Feta cheese
*Kalamata olives
From our organic box we had some great summer crops:
*Peaches
*Red onions
Granted it’s not an original creation per se but the peaches were a nice touch. Chop all ingredients, toss into large bowl. Add in feta and season with kosher salt, pepper and oregano. Throw on some good balsamic vinegar and just a wee of olive oil. (Note: Most vinegrettes have a ridiculous amount of olive oil v. acid ratio like 4:1. I like mine the exact opposite!)
We had a decent unoaked Chardonnay from Clos LaChance from Monterey County to go with it. Was it the best pairing? Who knows but it was damn tasty and refeshing for a hot summer night in Sac.
Quick Chinese dinner out of randomness
We are about to leave on a long weekend to go camping which means it’s time to clean out the fridge!!!
This is what I found:
*1 pkg extra firm tofu
*1 pkg chow mein noodles
*1 zucchini
*1 red onion
*1 bag of string beans
(All of the produce were leftovers of our last week’s CSA box)
From the pantry:
*Straw mushrooms
*Asian condiments: soy sauce, sambal, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce and black bean sauce (although some of these live in the fridge, they are referred as pantry items)
From the garden:
*Scallions/green onions
Out of this I created black bean green beans (”Black & Green Beans”?), vegetable chow mein and fried tofu bites (yum!). Although Meatless Mondays are a good idea, I had to do Meatless Wednesday instead!
Tip: Use extra firm tofu and squeeze/press out as much of the whey as you can. Too much water leads to splatter and pain! Cut into small cubes, coat in cornstarch and shake off excess. Fry in hot veg oil (appox. 375 degrees) until GBD. Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce. Also note that tofu retains a LOT of heat so let them cool for a bit.
Updates Updates Updates
Sorry for the lack of updates – I have become extremely lazy about blogging on a weekly basis. No more! Here on out there will be weekly updates! And if you’re lucky, the featured Daily Dish (that is, if I decide to cook and or take a photo of the dish!). Be on the look out….
Photastic!
Due to the surge of Asian people (and cold weather) in my life, I have been wanting pho everday. Some weeks I eat it three times! What is it about pho that is so addicting?
Let me count the ways:
1) it’s cheap
2) it’s a lot of food
3) it warms you right through on those cold days
4) it’s delicious
5) you can never get bored with it
Lately I have been to Pho Bac on Broadway which is good, but not great. The parking sucks and I will never step into the bathroom. My current fave is the #4 which comes with rare steak, flank, tendon, tripe. Mmmm.
Yes, it sounds gross to some but there is something special about chewy tendon and the right amount of crunch from the tripe that makes every bowl so good.
Then one can customize one’s bowl as one likes. How considerate! I like every condiment that is on the table: hosin, sambal, fish sauce (just a dash!), sriracha, lime, basil, jalapenos, bean sprouts, a little soy and just a pinch of sugar. Whew – a lot of flavors but so good!
It is imperative that the broth be very red to indicate the spice level. Multiple napkins – for your nose and forehead are a must! Sweating is encouraged. How to tell if you are “there” in a relationship – eat spicy pho! It’s not pretty.
Granted, you will leave sweaty and bloated but it is well worth it.
Tamales make everything better
This morning was the CA International Marathon which finished at the Capitol. We had a friend running the marathon so we went to watch him cross the line. He did great, the marathon was cool, etc. However, it was a bitter 43 degrees which is very cold for us Californians. Needless to say, we were hungry and decided to walk aroudn the neighborhood to find a good breakfast location. I wanted pho (since I am on a pho kick but that’s another post) because it was super cold. I have been wanting to try Kim’s Pho on J Street but its closed during the weekends. Bummer.
Onward to Danielle’s Creperie which now had a second location on 8th and K. I had great hopes for this restaurant and hoped that it would help out our lame K Street Mall. From the outside, it looked like a very cozy place to have a great breakfast and eat some crepes. This is what my review said on Yelp:
“”Meh. I’ve experienced better.” is right.
I just got back from this place (which I was very excited about opening) and I have to say that I was very disappointed in the overall experience.
The waitstaff was incredibly friendly and the service was great – unfortunately what makes me give this place two stars is the product. I was easily sold by the thought of the “Spicy Avocado Crepe” which promised a spicy, cumin flavored cornmeal batter. My bf ordered the “Danielle’s Omelette Crepe Special” which came with chorizo. We also had ordered coffee since it was a bitter 43 degrees outside. The coffee arrived in two clear glass mugs with saucers however the color of the coffee looked like tea. In fact, it tasted like a coffee/tea hybrid – it was very weak. Nevertheless, we drank it because it was hot.
As I was waiting for my food to arrive, I checked out the other Yelp reviews of this place via phone and my expectations dropped considerably. When the crepes arrived they looked lonely (as you only get a crepe – no sides) but good. Mine had a nice GBD look while the other crepe looked slightly underdone. Granted the batters were different which may have helped with the coloring.
The flavor of the exterior of my crepe was good with subtle hints of cumin but it was no where near spicy as it promised. The inside however was relatively cold which was probably due to the fact that it was filled with sliced tomatoes and avocado. But don’t put shredded cheese into an crepe and NOT melt it down. It was served with a large dollop of sour cream which was fine, however it would have been more needed if it was spicier. To make my crepe better, it was then doused with green jalapeno hot sauce.
My bf’s crepe was considerably better – the flavors were there and it was hot. The chorizo had a good flavor and the eggs were light.
We sat for a while longer while reading the paper and trying to make our dismal breakfast experience better. Our coffees were always refilled and our server still pleasant.
In the end, it was not really worth the price point and quality of food. I do like the fact that they have some interesting and different crepes on their menu however after my experience, I highly doubt I will go back.”
After our lame experience, we went towards the mall on the way home. And then, I saw it….”TAMALES”. Sweet mother of God, there is a tamale stand outside of the mall by the ice rink. I love California. Since were somewhat “full” from our breakfast, I ordered one pork tamale each (oh why would you eat any other kind is beyond me) and a container of their salsa. These tamales were super hot (I burned my tongue), fresh and AMAZING. Foodgasm.
I asked the girl if they were only there on the weekends and she replied, “We are here every day”. Where the hell have I been? Obviously I have been missing out. I was in a fairly foul mood thanks to a bad breakfast, but tamales make everything better. 
Its 4:30AM and I’m starving
Holy – its been quite some time since I have posted in here. Granted, I keep on eating at the same places so I feel that there’s nothing new to update upon.
Favorite haunts lately:
-Azul (oh god, they have great chips….)
-Taki Sushi
-The Bread Store (veggie chili….yum!)
But beyond that, I woke up today at 3ish AM and I was starving. Tossed and turned, trying to go back to sleep because there’s no point in eating in the middle of the night. Who does that?!?! Ultimately, the stomach won.
I wanted Chinese food – very saucy, Chinese food. More specifically, I really wanted Ma Jong’s spicy eggplant (which btw, you have to specify “extra spicy” three times before it gets remotely hot. The girl behind the counter said, “its American hot”. Har har) But instead of trying to make anything remotely close to that, laziness insued and I just ate a frozen meal instead. Sigh.
Still not satisfied.
I notice that I get on kicks – I’m currently on a Chinese food kick. This whole week, all I want to eat is hot sauce and Chinese food. I put on a pound of sambal (which btw, I hate that name) on my shrimp linguini frozen dinner to make it taste more Chinese.
The week before, it was all about Mexican food and salsa.
What will next week be?
Me so hungry…indeed
Terribly sorry for not updating in a LONG time – I’ve been busy! Busy eating, busy not trying to eat…the endless struggle.
Having a job that puts you in the center of Midtown with all of these restaurants around PLUS going out to lunch happens quite a bit, equals some poundage. Gone are the days of college and college drinking, but hello bigger sizes? Somehow, this does not compute. One would think that not drinking 4 nights out of the week with a pitstop at Woody’s at 2am would make you LOSE weight. In fact, its quite the opposite. Although I have a great gym membership and having been going fairly often, sitting on your butt for about 6 to 8 hours a day really does not help in the “Battle of the Bulge”.
Going out to eat has died down considerably which means that the reviews have gone down quite a bit also. We still have the CSA box although I think its wearing off its novelty considering that week after week after week we get the same things. We have long seasons in California! Its great that we have local and organic produce, but its become routine.
Since this is supposed to be all things food, I felt that bringing up the bulge issue is a must. I’m venting and writing in a non-sensical form right now…
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