Bush finally facing in the right direction

I don't generally post too much about politics, mostly because I'm sure there are gobs of people out there who know way more than I do on the subject. But, in reading this article it seems like Bush has finally acknowledged that global warming exists and that the US will take steps to reduce emissions. Great news, and kudos from our UN counterparts.

The thing is, we should have been doing our part long ago - all of us. I'm not saying that we should all be granola crunching, vegan eating, non-leather wearing people. We have to live after all. But, we can be a little more cognisant of doing things that aren't wasteful.

Bottom line is I'm not sure where Bush is really going with this plan - is he for real or is it a stunt to bolster the republican party? Whatever the reason, at least we're moving in the right direction.

*k*

Montclair Ethiopian Restaurant

We have been wanting to try this restaurant for quite some time. It's called Mesob, which is a vibrantly colored woven basket upon which food is served. I've never had Ethiopian cuisine before, in fact, when I'm running down the list of food to try, Ethiopian food isn't on there. I chalk that up to the fact that it's not widely publicized and that there aren't that many restaurants of this type around. It's too bad actually, because the food was absolutely delightful.

We looked at the clock and it was about 7:15 pm, on a Saturday night. I immediately thought that we would not be able to get a seat. So we called over there and they said there was a 30 minute wait. I was disappointed but we went anyway. Three minutes later, when we got there, bottle of wine in hand, we were seated immediately. I'm not sure why we were told there would be a 30 minute wait... anyway, all was good. We were greeted with a strong, almost overwhelming, aroma of clove. It did not subside while we were there, but I think I ended up getting used to it.

They have a sampler platter for two on the menu, which seemed perfect because of course there were two of us and we had absolutely no idea what to order. They had a vegetarian sampler platter and a meat sampler platter. Given that I'm a [mostly] vegetarian and Rob isn't, we weren't sure how that was going to work out. They were very accommodating though, we were able to get the meat sampler and substitute some veggie dishes for the meat dishes so we could share most of the meal. Rob's meat dishes were a chicken, beef and lamb. The chicken dish was a little bit spicy and the other two were somewhat mild. On the veggie side, there was a portabella dish and lentil dish, both of which were very spicy; and a collard green dish and a chickpea dish, both of which were somewhat mild. All the veggie dishes were prepared vegan style, a healthful bonus.

As we waited for our order to come out, we talked about what we thought it was going to be like, while we looked around at the other tables, with seemingly experienced Ethiopian food eaters. A few minutes later, they bring out a giant plate with a spongy, pancake looking thing on it and a few other spongy pancake looking things on a plate - then they leave again. So Rob and I are looking at each other and the pancake and wondering what the heck we're supposed to do. Do we eat it now? Are we supposed to be waiting for something else? Was this an appetizer? We each took a small bit of the pancake and noted that it had a little bit of a sour taste and that it was somewhat chewy.

The waitress came back a few minutes later with our main dishes and proceeded to place each of the stew-like food on the big pancake. When she was done, I shyly let her know that we were novices and would like some help understanding the best way to eat the food. She let us know that the pancake was called "injera" and that it was both a utensil and a bread. We were to break a small bit of the injera and use it to scoop up the stew. When we ran out of the pieces of injera that she brought over, we were to eat the injera that was on the plate. Ok, that sounds easy enough, but we got forks just in case. Of course, we ate it all. I want to see if I can figure out how to make the lentil dish or the portabella dish. They were both so good, very spicy and flavorful.

We decided to split a halewa for dessert. This reminded me of Indian burfi. It was a sesame paste molded in the shape of a small slice of cake with pistachios on it. It was also very good, but very rich and sweet. A good dessert to split.

I'm very happy that we stepped outside of our comfort zone and tried this restaurant. I know we will be going back there.

*k*

Milestones

I'm happy to announce that I have reached a few milestones in the past few days. Milestones that I never even imagined when I started on this blogging journey. I can thank my loyal readers, and occasional, but never enough commenters ;) for helping to keep this blog alive and vibrant. Here are the recent milestones:

- over 100 posts
- over 1,000 visitors
- 40 recipes

Thank you and I hope you continue to enjoy the Healthy Foodie!

*k*

Pancakes and Eggs with a little flair

Sometimes we get in a rut and end up staying with the basics. With a little modification, you can turn a basic breakfast into something unique, and some may even call a little gourmet.

Pancakes and Eggs Recipe (with a little flair) - makes 1 serving

Enough of your favorite pancake mix + liquid to make one serving

1 tbsp. wheat germ

2 tbsp. rolled oats (also called old fashioned oats)

4 fresh figs

1 tsp. white sugar

cooking spray

1 tbsp. raspberry preserves (or jam / preserves of your choice)

2 eggs

1 tsp. herbs de provence

1 heaping tsp. white flour

pinch of salt

1 tbsp. milk (or soy milk)

1. Turn on your broiler to high. Put a griddle or a large saute pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium. Let it stand, dry, over the heat to pre-heat the pan.

2. Mix up the pancake mix as usual. Add the wheat germ and rolled oats and add a little more liquid, as needed to make a thick batter. Let stand for about 5 minutes.

3. Cut off the stem of each fig, and then cut an X in the top of each one. Do not cut all the way through. Place the figs, X side up, on a cookie sheet or other baking dish. Spray lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle a little bit of sugar atop each one. Put in the broiler and keep a watch on it. As the figs cook, they will open up like a flower. Make sure the sugar doesn't burn. It should be about 7 minutes.

4. Now start making your pancakes. Your pan should be hot and the batter should be a little bit thicker. Pour pancake batter onto your hot surface (pan or griddle), and once bubbles appear on the top, flip the pancakes. I like mine to be a little darker than traditional. If you like that too, then don't flip the pancakes until a minute or so after the bubbles appear. Continue cooking until you have used all of your pancake batter. If you are making a large batch and want to keep the pancakes warm, put them in some aluminum foil and put them on the bottom rack of your oven.

5. Next, in a small bowl, mix 2 eggs, herbs, milk, flour and salt and whisk until smooth. Using a medium non-stick saute pan (I use the same pan I did the pancakes in), take the pan off the heat, holding the pan in one hand and using the other hand gently pour about half of the mixture into the pan. It is extremely important to use a non-stick pan. Swirl the pan around to form a thin coat around the entire bottom of the pan and set back on the heat. Let the egg mixture cook for a minute until it is easily removed from the bottom of the pan and then flip it. Let it cook on the other side. Then remove from the pan and roll up. Do the same with the other half of the mixture.

6. By this time, I hope you took the figs out of the oven, otherwise they will be charred. Arrange the pancakes on a plate, put the rolled up eggs/crepes next to them, top the pancakes with the figs and raspberry preserves.

Serve hot and enjoy.

A few things to note about this recipe -

- I was lucky enough to find a high-protein, low calorie pancake mix in the Whole Foods. If you can locate something like that, you'll be better off in terms of a healthy choice. I added the wheat germ and rolled oats to add some more fiber to this dish. You could also sub oat bran, or other higher fiber grains and put a little bit in the pancake mix.

- Limit the white sugar, and rasperry preserves. Just use a bit to carmelize the top of the figs.

- If you use a non-stick pan, there's no need for any butter or oil. Another way to keep this healthier.

- Use fresh ingredients, substitute egg beaters if you like, you can also use soy milk in place of milk, etc. Feel free to substitute similar ingredients in order to suit your needs. Have fun with it!

*healthy foodie*

Gridiron Grub Week 4: The Chewy

There are a few readers out there who I know are lucky enough to be part of Rob's weekly cookie exploitation, I'm one of them. While I often engage in the cookie festivities, in the past couple of weeks, I have been remiss in my baking duties and have been relegated to licking the the spatula (my favorite part!). I have been trying to avoid taking a dive face first into the cookie jar, so I haven't been championing the cookie baking lately. The cookie baking went from one day a year to a weekly ritual during football season.

This past weekend, Rob was at it again. The fortunate few indulged grandly on Sunday night, leaving nothing but scraps. So for those of you waiting for the Monday afternoon cookies, well it will have to be next week. In the meantime, here's a chance to see behind the scenes.

One of my favorites, the Chewy:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 c. bread flour (all purpose works fine, you'll have a chewier crumb if you use bread flour)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. (the microwave works too)

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl and add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed.

Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.

Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips. Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet.

Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes.

Eat immediately. :)

*k*

AAA

And I don't mean triple A car service... This is kind of our forgotten place in Hoboken, Three A's Restaurant and Bar. We don't go there that often. I seem to remember that the last time I was there, I was not all that enamored with the selection on the menu. But when I wanted to get a big salad, we didn't know where to go, so we went here. You may ask, how do you go out to dinner and just get a big salad. Read on... I didn't get the big salad ;) Either they changed the menu since I was there, years ago now, or maybe they added a few things. Either way, there were lots of options.

Three A's changed hands a few times several years ago (ok, about a decade now... boy do I feel old) but has been Three A's for quite a while now. They have a bar area that is fairly wide open and caters to the martini crowd on weekends. The restaurant area is a cozy, romantic area with dim lighting, set in the back of the restaurant. I began with a Pinot Noir and paired it with a house salad and a dinner special - grilled tilapia with scallops and shrimp. I was waffling between that and the scallop rigatoni. My dish was fantastic!! And somehow, even after I ordered it, I wondered if I should have gotten the scallop rigatoni. The scallops were cooked to perfection in my dish but it only came with one and left me wanting more. I joked that I would have traded one of the filets for another scallop ;) Rob ordered a special too, the lobster ravioli, which was also very good. It was served in a clear sauce that had notes of citrus.

While the dessert menu looked decadent, we decided against it - trying to stay fit.

Another winner! Check it out.

flavorful rice

This post ties in a few of the previous posts quite nicely - I used my pressure cooker, got rid of some of my rice, and continued my adventures with Indian cuisine. I can't get enough of it actually. I made vegetable biryani using a recipe reprinted from Recipe Delights. If you have been reading for any amount of time, you'll know that I had to make some tweaks to this recipe. Here's what I did:

Vegetable Biryani Recipe (makes about 10-12 servings)
2 c. Basmati rice or other medium grain white rice
3 small red potatoes
2 c. mixed vegetable (I used a frozen vegetable mix w/broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, squash)
1/2 c. french beans
1 c. green peas
1 medium vidalia onion, diced
2 serrano chili, diced
Salt to taste
1 tsp. Red chilli powder
2 tsp. Cinnamon
2 tsp. Caraway seeds
1/2 tsp. clove
1/2 tsp. Black pepper powder
1/2 c. plain fat free yogurt
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
3 tbsp. Dried fruit and nut mix (I mixed cashew pieces, raisins and dates)

Dice and cook the potatoes in a pressure cooker. Set aside.

Wash rice well before cooking. Then take rice with 3-3/4 cup water and a little salt added to it and 2 tbsp of dry fruits. Cook it in pressure cooker (wait for one whistle and then switch off the gas). You can also cook it in a pan or do microwave cooking just the same way as you cook ordinary rice.

Cut all the vegetables, except potatoes, into bite sized pieces and saute in a little bit of olive oil. When done, set aside.

Then fry mustard seeds, green chilli, cinnamon and caraway seeds powder, cloves, black pepper powder for about half minute and then add onions. Fry till the color of onion changes to pink.

Add salt and red chilli powder and stir it properly.

Next add yogurt and stir well.Heat it for about 10 seconds.

Add all the vegetables, including potatoes.

Lastly add the cooked rice and mix well with very light hands so that the rice grain doesn't break. Cook for about 3 minutes.

May be covered and kept in fridge for about 5 days.

I did a few things to refine the recipe to my tastes. First, I just about doubled the amount of vegetables in the recipe. I did this so that I would fill up more on the vegetables than on the rice. I also used plain fat free yogurt instead of full fat yogurt. No need to add extra calories. Last, I used less oil. Especially when you're sauting frozen vegetables, there is usually enough liquid in them so that you don't need to add much, if any, oil. You definitely need to add oil to cook the mustard seeds and chili and onions or else they will stick to the pan and get messy.

This is a great dish with a lot of nutrients and balanced food groups - cinnamon, chili pepper, black pepper, cloves, and mustard seeds show up on the healthiest foods list, as do many of the veggies like squash, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, onions, potatoes, broccoli, raisins, and even the yogurt.

Keep your portion sizes measured and enjoy this fulfilling and satisfying autumn dish.

*healthy foodie*

Gridiron Grub Week #3: Seven Places in Hoboken to Watch the Game

Looking for a place to watch the game? Here are pros and cons of 7 places in Hoboken (in no particular order):


1. Hobsons - The best thing about this place is that it's located across the street from the PATH station, so if you come in on the train there is no walking halfway across town to get settled in to watch the games. There are TONS of TVs and NFL Sunday Ticket, so no matter where you sit, you'll be able to see every game. With the clearly marked signs on each TV way in advance of the games' start time, you'll be able to position yourself in front of the game you want to see. Get there crazy early if you want a seat though (before noon), Hobson's gets very crowded early on. The food menu is very limited before 3:30, so unless you want an omelet or a burger, eat before you get there.

2. Black Bear - Located on Washington Street, this bar is a short walk from the PATH train and close to a few parking decks. They have a full menu, a three giant projector screen TVs and a festive atmosphere. There is a lot of room with a downstairs bar area and separate restaurant area and an upstairs bar area. If you're lucky enough to be a woman and upstairs, you don't need to walk downstairs to use the bathroom like the guys do (yay - a plus for us!). The only problem is that there is an annoying DJ who is super loud during commercial breaks.

3. Liberty - On the plus side, the Liberty opens early and has a large circular bar with lots of room to sit around the bar as well as table seating and lots of TVs. The Liberty has a great menu, probably one of the best places for food on this list. I had the shrimp po' boy wrap one time and it was fantastic!! The down side is that if you're coming in on the PATH or live downtown, you either need to take a cab or make it a really long walk.

4. Shannon Lounge: Located on the halfway between Bloomfield and Washington on 1st, this bar is well within walking distance from the PATH. They have a great back room that is giant and has all the games. The only downside is that they don't open until after noon (around 12:30 maybe?) and you have to reserve a table ahead of time.

5. Texas Arizona: If you're a Steelers fan, this is the bar for you. 'nuff said.

6. Scotland Yard: If you're an Eagle's you MUST go here. Why? Because the more Eagles fans that go here, the less there will be clogging up the rest of the bars ;)

7. The Mystery Bar: You heard me, I'm not giving up the name of this bar. I'm afraid that if I do, it will be too crowded and lose its appeal. It has about 12 flat screen TVs, a great menu, cheerful wait staff, and a festive atmosphere that doesn't get too crowded. Sound perfect? Almost, which is why I'm keeping this one to myself.

*k*

zucchini bread I

Zucchini bread is one of my all time favorite cake breads. I have a number of recipes and I constantly try new ones and tweak those to suit. This one is adapted from a Paula Deen recipe (I love Paula, but damn if she doesn't make the most caloric dishes there could be). I'll call this one Zucchini Bread I because I suspect that I'll be posting some other recipes.

Zucchini Bread I Recipe
3 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. brown sugar
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 c. apple sauce
1/2 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 c. water
2 c. grated zucchini
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 c. toasted pine nuts (because that is what I had, use walnuts or pecans)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, apple sauce, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

Using some apple sauce in place of the oil helps to reduce the fat. I don't recommend a complete substitution for the fat though because then the muffins will be dry. Also, the original recipe called for 3 cups of granulated sugar. So if you like it a little sweeter, you can add in the extra sugar. I was trying to go light on the sugar though.

*healthy foodie*

faux-mosas

Rob coined this name and I really like it actually. We made samosas the other weekend, except we tried to cut a few corners in order to speed up the time to prepare. The result - our American version of this famous Indian snack - fauxmosas :)

Samosa Recipe (makes about 6 to 10 depending on size)
3 medium roasting potatoes
1 1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
puff pastry thawed

Preheat the oven to 375.

Cut the potatoes into 1" chunks and boil them or cook them in a pressure cooker to speed up the cooking time. Once they are cooked, drain them, keeping some of the liquid so that they aren't too dry.

Keep them in a large saute pan over medium heat and add the cumin, garam masala and chili powder, salt and pepper. Using a potato masher, roughly mash the potatoes so that it forms a thick and chunky mashed potato consistency. Add the frozen peas and allow them to thaw in the mixture. This is now your filling. At this point, give it a little taste and add more of the spices if necessary to give it a flavor that you like.

Unwrap and unroll the thawed puff pastry dough and roll it out slightly to thin it out a little. Cut the puff pastry dough into about 3" x 6" rectangles. Place about 1 to 2 tbsp. of the filling (depending on the size of your square) and fold up the pastry dough around the filling into a square. Press the edges down firmly (you can wet your fingers slightly to help the dough stick) so that they will not separate when you cook them.

Place the samosas into the oven and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the pastry has puffed and is golden brown.

Serve with green chutney.

Green Chutney Recipe
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 cup fresh mint
1 garlic clove
1 serrano chili pepper (less if you don't want it to be so spicy)
juice from 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree on high for several minutes until mixture is essentially liquefied. Chill for about an hour to let the flavors combine.

This is healthier than the traditional fried samosa because it's baked. So you can easily make these at home and save yourself a lot of calories and fat. Also, you can make this recipe a little more healthy by not using the puff pastry. While it works just fine in a pinch, it is a processed food and has quite a bit of fat in it due to all the butter. To make your own dough, use 1 cup of whole wheat flour (Chapati flour), 1/2 tbsp olive oil, and about 1/2 cup of water. Add the water a little bit at a time and mix until the dough forms a ball. Knead it out for a few minutes and then let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to let the gluten form. After at least 30 minutes, knead the dough for about 3 more minutes. Then roll it out into 1/8" thick, fill with the samosa filling and bake at 375 until golden brown.

*healthy foodie*

Venturing out

Normally when I'm out and about town going out to eat or meeting up with friends, I stick with my familiar Essex and Hudson counties. So when a friend suggested a place up in Paramus, I was quick to accept, get out of my old routine and check out a different place. We went to Biagio's on Paramus Road not far from Garden State Plaza. I passed this restaurant a few weeks ago when we were playing golf at the Paramus Country Club (a great place to play by the way, very nicely kept course and wide fairways).

The bartenders at Biagio's were great, very friendly, joking and sparking up conversation with everyone at the bar. All of the TVs were set to sports, they had both the Yankee game and Met game in easy viewing distance. We ordered the pizza, which my friend said was fabulous, she didn't lie! I rarely take home leftovers from any restaurant and this morning that cold pizza is calling my name :) We also had the Caprese salad and it all tasted so fresh.

While this place is a little off my beaten path, I wouldn't hesitate to stop here after a round of golf or if I was doing my "jersey girl" thing at the mall.

*healthy foodie*

o-hi-o

I was traipsing around Ohio earlier this week, well traipsing really isn't the right word. I flew in and flew out within a 24-hr period. Gotta love work. Anyhow, I was in Dayton for one night and in search of a suitable restaurant to meet our client's per diem and a fun place to get to relax a little bit, we headed out of the hotel in search of a restaurant.

Staying in downtown Dayton, we headed out of the hotel toward Dayton's historic Oregon District (yep, we're still in Ohio, haven't passed the Mississippi and into the Pacific Northwest). The Oregon District is a quaint little area a few blocks long that has lots of shops, restaurants, bars, and even a comedy club. We bypassed all of the, wooed by the lure of every traveler's staple - an Irish bar. Really, how could one go wrong with an Irish bar.

We stopped in the Dublin Pub, which I later found out is affectionately referred to as the DubPub. We walked in, and the 10 of us were seated quickly at a combination of round tables to fit all of us. While the seating arrangements weren't ideal, there was plenty of room and the waitress was quick to fill our pints. They have a large selection of beer, of course mostly Irish beer and the menu even explains the black and tan, the half and half, etc.

Then we got the menus that would be our novellas for the night. I'm not kidding. I wasn't sure where to start. I opened the menu and there was a paragraph for each appetizer, salad and entree. I guess if you have the time to read it all, sure. Despite the rather long menu, there were lots of options and things were easily substituted (cole slaw or salad for fries, etc.) and the food was simple and delicious. If you're ever in the sleep city of Dayton, give this one a try.

*healthy foodie*

Gridiron Grub Week #2: Mediterranean Munchies

Sometimes you just get tired of the same old salsa and chips. You can mix it up and still have great munchies. Here are a few recipes and tips for setting out a Mediterranean themed brunch.

Hummus Recipe (chickpea dip)
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp tahini paste (available in most grocery stores)
1/4 c. of lemon juice (juice from about 2 lemons)
about 1/4 c. of water (more or less to make a good consistency for dipping)
salt and white pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend for several minutes until completely pureed. Chill for at least 1/2 hour before serving.

Baba Ganouj Recipe (eggplant dip)
1 medium eggplant
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tbsp tahini paste
3 tablespoons fat free yogurt or ff sour cream
4 garlic cloves
½ tsp. chili pepper
1 tsp. tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut eggplant lengthwise and brush cut side lightly with 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Place cut side down on a baking dish or baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. At the same time, put 4 garlic cloves in 1 tbsp. of oil in a covered baking cup. Roast garlic in the same oven as the eggplant for 45 minutes. Scoop out eggplant from the skin and put in food processor along with the roasted garlic and olive oil, yogurt, chili pepper, tarragon, salt and pepper. Process until smooth. Chill for 90 minutes.

By taking it easy on the tahini in these two recipes, you end up keeping the nice mediterranean flavor but without the extra calories and fat. If you eliminate it all together, you won't get the same flavor, but I do it sometimes and it is still good.

Items to assemble to complete your Mediterranean Platter
Pita bread or flat bread cut into bite sized dipping pieces

veggies for dipping like baby carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, julienned squash, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets

kalamata olives

other fun items to serve - sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese crumbles, stuffed grape leaves

*k*

Gridiron Grub Week #1: A trio of salsa

When you're watching the game, munchies are key. But over-do it and your pants don't fit on Monday. Each week I'll post one or a few [healthier] recipes good for lounging around watching the game. Since the first game is on Thursday, I figured that I better get moving - don't forget your picks!

This week's line up is a Tex-Mex theme with a trio of salsa recipes that you can serve with pita chips or baked tortilla chips. Try and make these at least an hour before game time so that the flavors have time to combine. All of these make a medium bowl full - make all three and you'll have enough for about 15 people.

Traditional Salsa Recipe
6 plum tomatoes
1 small onion, diced
about 1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped (more or less to taste)
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped (more or less to taste, use fresh, not jarred)
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice from one lime
hot sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut and remove the seeds from the tomatoes (the seeds will make this bitter). Dice the tomatoes and put them in a bowl, reserving about 1/2 cup of them. With a potato masher, mash up the tomatoes in the bowl for about 2 minutes. Place the rest of the tomatoes in the bowl.

2. Add the onion, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno and lime juice and stir.

3. At this point, take a taste of the salsa and adjust it with salt, pepper and Tabasco (or another hot sauce) to taste. Chill for at least an hour. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Variation: This will give you a rustic and chunky type of salsa. If you want it a little bit smoother, then you'll have to break out the food processor. You can do everything pretty much the same, except put all of the ingredients in the food processor and use it in pulse mode to obtain your desired consistency.

Smokey Chipotle Salsa Recipe
6 plum tomatoes
1 small onion, diced
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (they come in a can, the small can has a few peppers in there, use more if you can take the heat), sauce drained
dash ground cumin (optional)
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
adobo sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut and remove the seeds from the tomatoes (the seeds will make this bitter). Dice the tomatoes and put them in a bowl, reserving about 1/2 cup of them. With a potato masher, mash up the tomatoes in the bowl for about 2 minutes. Place the rest of the tomatoes in the bowl.

2. Add the onion, chipotle, cumin, and cilantro.

3. Take a taste of the salsa and adjust it with salt, pepper, more adobo if needed, to taste. Chill for at least an hour. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

This next one might seem like it would be too sweet, but we have made this a few times and the combination of sweet and hot makes it hard to resist. Since plums won't be in season much longer, you'll have to make this one soon.

Mango Plum Salsa Recipe
4 plums pitted and chopped (try and find firm plums)
1 mango, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup scallions, sliced
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and chill for at least an hour. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

If you want to round out your menu, you might consider grilling some portobellos with large slices of onions and peppers (could also do steak and chicken) and serve with some tortilla roll-ups. Have some fixings on the side like diced tomatoes, lettuce, and salsa (ahem, above!). You can lay it out on a buffet and have people make their own.

Go Giants!

*k*

under pressure

My hypothesis is that manufacturers are constantly trying to figure out what we don't have and then get us to buy it. In the past two or three years, I have begun to hear my friends talking about a few gadgets of old - pressure cookers and slow cookers. Today is the day I'm going to buy a pressure cooker. It drastically speeds up cooking time for things like beans, potatoes, other vegetables. It even works for meat, if you're into that sort of thing. ;)

The pressure cooker is essentially a physics experiment in action - if you ever wanted to prove Boyle's Law, here it is. Temperatures increase with increased pressure, volumes decrease. In the pressure cooker, as pressure increases, the liquid inside wil boil at a higher temperature thereby reducing cooking time to a few minutes for vegetables.

The pressure cooker also uses less energy to cook most foods (one point for green), is apparently more hygienic, and better retains the nutrients of your veggies - another plus. I'm not sure yet what my first meal in the pressure cooker will be, but rest assured, you'll be one of the first to know.

*healthy foodie*

bees and their honey

I have been obsessed with reading about CCD - colony collapse disorder - since I first heard about the masses of bee populations dying off for reasons that are befuddling most scientists. I saw this article today on CNN Money, which is probably one of the most informative articles on this subject that I've found in a while.

First of all, to get everyone up to speed, Rob told me about this bee thing a few months ago. He mentioned that bees are dying off at unprecedented rates and that if they all go away, humans would have four years left on this planet. I immediately started researching this all over the web (because we all know if it's on the web it must be true....), and decided that I better start stockpiling. My friends all thought I was crazy when I went out and purchased a 20 lb. bag of rice. Maybe I was and it's definitely going to take me about 10 years to eat it all (even though I make a lot of rice, I don't always post the recipe. Maybe I should and you'll see how much rice I actually have!). Upon further research, I realized that just like Albert Einstein who hypothesized that man would have 4 years left, I was probably taking an alarmist attitude by stockpiling canned goods and sustenance food.

While my worries about humans becoming extinct in my lifetime have subsided, this article solidifies my worry about the fate of our fruit and vegetable crop. Hence, one of the reasons I started my own vegetable garden this year. This article brought to light a few things:

- I had no idea that bee colonies are transported from coast to coast seasonally to assist with the growing seasons of various crops. This seems utterly ridiculous to me. In fact, it's almost as ludicrous as buying an apple that has been hauled from New Zealand. It seems like there would be local beekeepers, but I guess because of the trouble in keeping hives vibrant, many local beekeepers have retired.

- I worry about the crops most at risk, like cherries, oranges, carrots, broccoli, blueberries, onions, garlic, soybeans, apples and almonds. Even if the population of bees diminishes significantly, the price for these staples will become cost prohibitive for many of us to afford. No more blueberry pancakes? *sniff*

- One theory is that the pesticides used on staple crops, like corn and soybeans, may be a cause of the bee die-off. Even if it's not, I suspect that many other things suffer from our over zealous use of pesticides (including our water supply, a post for another day).

- Lastly, I understand that the world has lots of problems, but we continue to subsidize corn and soybean harvesters (whose prime use, by the way, is to feed cattle, not humans), and do not provide any funds to determine what is killing the bees. Sure, we'll have high fructose corn syrup, twinkies and rice, but what about all the other nutritional sources required for our dietary needs.

I'm quite certain that I won't be solving the world's problems with this post, and I'm not even sure what I can do about it. I'm not worried that the bees will become extinct any time soon. I'm also not worried that humans will disappear four years after bees do. But I do worry about the affordability of nutrition, and the not so subtle side effects, like heart disease and diabetes, that will occur from opting for cheaper and, most certainly, less nutrient rich foods.

I'm off to eat a [locally grown] apple.

*healthy foodie*

the mysterious souffle

I saw an Alton Brown show recently that focused on souffles. I usually only make eggs on weekends, and having just saw this show, I thought it would be appropriate to try my hand at the mysterious dish. After creating a whirlwind through the kitchen, this is what I ended up with.

Bruschetta Souffle Recipe

a basic souffle recipe

1/2 cup havarti habenaro cheese

leftover brushetta, drained

To the roux, I added cheese and brushetta. Fold the roux into the egg whiles and bake according to the basic recipe.

I had some trouble with the folding technique. It seems easy enough, and I've done it before with cake mix, muffins, etc. For some reason it felt like the egg whites were much much lighter than the roux and I was having a hard time getting them to combine. Well, this came out pretty good but I definitely need some practice.

*k*

bundt cake madness

I told you that there would be photos of bundt cakes in the near future. Here it is. I have made 3 bundt cakes in as many days. Two for friends who needed comfort food (hence the other comfort food post) and one for an anniversary party. These things aren't too healthy, but they make great gifts. I have modified this recipe to make a chocolate, pistachio and strawberry bundt. Here they are:

Bundt Cake using boxed Cake Mix Recipe - Chocolate
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 package chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chocolate chips

Frosting - optional
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl, except for the chocolate chips. Beat on low until just combined. Then switch speeds to high and beat on high for about 3 to 4 minutes, until smooth. Pour batter into bundt cake pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until wooden skewer comes out smooth.

Frosting: Wait until cake is cooled. Melt butter and chocolate chips together. While still liquid, brush over the bundt cake.

Pistachio Cake Recipe
Replace chocolate cake mix with yellow or white cake mix
Replace chocolate pudding with pistachio pudding
eliminate chocolate chips, add pistachios (optional)

Strawberry Cake Recipe
Replace chocolate cake mix with strawberry cake mix
Replace chocolate pudding with vanilla pudding
eliminate chocolate chips, add chopped strawberries (optional)
2 cups chopped strawberries
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp white sugar

Place strawberries, vinegar and sugar in a bowl and toss together. Let the mixture chill for at least 2 hours. Spoon over cake.

To make this slightly more healthy:
Use low fat or fat free sour cream
Use sugar free pudding
substitute apple juice for the oil (but cake won't be as light)

Have fun with it - use lemon cake with lemon pudding, or vanilla cake with chocolate chips. There are so many variations of this.

crepes and courts

I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the US Open yesterday. If I have not already, I'm quickly turning into a sports fanatic. I like to play and to watch and it almost doesn't matter which sport it is, if I'm watching it in person, I'm into it. Yesterday was a great day to be at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Long Island. It was a little overcast, not too hot, and there were lots of juicy matches. Granted, I'm not completely familiar with many of the entrants, but the competition, endurance and determination is contagious. The highlight match of my day was watching first time US Open entrant, France's Alize Cornet (96) give Serbia's Jelena Jankovic (3) a run for her money. Of course, with a number 3 ranked athlete playing a number 96 ranked athlete, I thought this match was going to be a no brainer. Maybe Jelena did too. Alize quickly won the fans over with her smile and sheer determination. At one point, she looked to be feeling burned out and the crowd exploded into an uplifting cheer. Alize pumped her fists, gave a quick smile and looked to say to herself "yes, I can do this." However determined Alize was, it wasn't enough to get past the number 3 seed. After 3 sets of trading wins, Jelena pulled out the win.

Even though I ate before I went, it was a long day (we were there from 11 until 7!). I definitely got hungry sometime around the middle of the afternoon. We walked through the food court and I must say there were a TON of options. Many more than I would have imagined. They had the traditional ball park fare like hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken fingers. They had Italian specialties like pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, and pasta primavera. They had Japanese fare like soba noodles and sushi. They had sweet and savory crepes wrapped smartly in a carrying container for toting around the park. This list goes on. I opted for an 8-piece California roll and a giant bottle of water - the total came to $14.25. Sure, it's expensive but it's on par with NYC stadium food prices. In the food court, if you're smart about picking your seat, you can get a great view of any one of several giant screen TVs airing the matches from Louis Armstrong Stadium or Arthur Ashe stadium on the parks grounds.

We had a great day, and we'll be back on Sunday for a center court match - that should be fun!

*k*