quinoa

What is quinoa (keen-wah)? It's a grain-like crop originally from Chile and Peru that was sometimes called the "gold of the Incas." Now it is frequently referred to as a "super food" because it is one of the few non-animal products that supplies complete protein. "Complete protein" just means that it provides us with all the essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) we need, ie that our body cannot manufacture or make enough of. You can also combine a grain and a legume, such as rice and beans or barley and peas, to make a complete protein. In this case the grain provides some essential amino acids, the legume the others.

But back to quinoa...I have found that the health food store has the best prices and sells quinoa that has already been rinsed--a huge plus since otherwise it can be sandy and bitter. Because of it's relatively high fat content, quinoa can become rancid more quickly and should therefore be stored in the refrigerator if you plan to keep it for more than a month. The same goes for brown rice and whole wheat flour. Quinoa is cooked like you would cook rice (a 2:1 water to quinoa ratio) and can be used in salads, for stuffing or as the starch and protein content of a meal. I've stuffed acorn squash halves with a quinoa, almond, onion and honey mix (yum!), have enjoyed it with sauted veggies and have used it as the base for various cold salads. Here's my favorite one:

Quinoa Asparagus Salad
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 bunch asparagus (approx 12)
1 large tomato
1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
salt and pepper to taste
feta cheese to sprinkle on top

Bring water and quinoa to a boil and then simmer covered until the quinoa becomes fluffy and soft. Transfer to large serving bowl. While the quinoa is cooking, remove the hard ends of the asparagus and then steam until it's still a bit crunchy. Cut into one inch pieces. Rinse, core and chop the tomato and the olives. Add asparagus, tomato and olives to the quinoa. Wash the lemon well then grate the very top layer of the peel to make lemon zest. Don't rasp below the top layer--the white pith is bitter! Squeeze out 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and add that along with the zest and the olive oil to the quinoa. Mix well and salt and pepper to taste. Feta can be crumbled on top or can be served on the side.
Notes: I find that this salad has more flavor when it's been allowed to sit (in the refrigerator) for a few hours. Also, I always have a bottle of lemon juice in the fridge in case I don't have a fresh lemon; it doesn't affect the taste much. Feel free to use other vegetables (in the picture above I used tomatoes, broccoli and zucchini) or more than the recipe calls for; I love extra veggies.
Enjoy!

pumpkin!

Orange and versatile, pumpkins can be used for decoration or in various dishes, savory and sweet. I recently discovered a recipe for pumpkin cookies which I then altered to make a bit more healthy. They are delicious, moist and not too sweet.



Pumpkin Cookies
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 ground cloves (optional--I didn't have any)
1 can pumpkin
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (unsalted)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
chocolate chips (however many you wish to add...most would like one bag)
chopped walnuts (optional--I don't like nuts in baked goods so I left them out)

Preheat oven to 375F. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer, add eggs, oil, pumpkin and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix flour, spices, baking soda and baking powder. Slowly add this to the liquid mixture while beating. Add the chocolate chips and optional chopped nuts at the end. Place on a cookie sheet in small mounds and bake until bottoms have browned and a knife comes out clean (time with depend on the size of your cookies).

Next time I may swap apple sauce for the oil to make it even healthier. Also, I made some as mini muffins which were even better. Next time I'll make some as large cupcakes and add a cream cheese filling (mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and a pinch of cinnamon together). Enjoy!

a cuban thanksgiving

I love big family get-togethers. In order for me to celebrate with a large number of family members I must either fly to Germany or make my way to New Jersey where most of my Cuban relatives live. Obviously the latter was the ideal choice for Thanksgiving and it certainly wasn't a let down! The evening was spent conversing with various family members (sometimes in my broken Spanish), admiring their seemingly inborn ability to dance, running after a two year old and of course enjoying Cuban-American Thanksgiving food. What did the latter consist of? We had turkey, stuffing, potatoes and sweet potatoes with marshmallows (no, I didn't make these) known to many Thanksgiving tables. In addition we had the traditional Cuban foods present at most of our family events: black beans with rice, two versions of pork (I didn't even get to try these--sad, I know), tamales and, something I'd never had before, a corn souffle.


Tamales (pictured above) are basically cornmeal, spices and in our case pork, cooked together and then steamed in a corn husk or plantain leaf. Lupe made them for this event and they were sensational. I sometimes don't like the taste, but these were mmm mmmm good! My favorite dish of the evening, however, was this new corn souffle. It was light, creamy and a little sweet from the corn. What a wonderful new dish!

A note about Cuban food: many people think Cuban food is spicy. It's actually much milder and sweeter than Mexican. So, if you like the taste of Mexican food, but prefer a little less fire, give Cuban cuisine a try, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

chocolate peppermint cake

My dad likes After Eights or York Peppermint Patties so I decided to make him a chocolate cake (his favorite) infused with mint--an After Eight cake! I placed a few stems of it in the melted chocolate and butter, the base of the cake mixture, allowing it to sit for at least ten minutes before removing the mint, then added the rest of the mint to 2 cups water 2 cups sugar, brought it to a boil and then let it sit, making a mint syrup. This syrup can be stored for a while without spoiling (sugar is a preservative) and can be added to hot or iced beverages or to dessert (it tastes fantastic over ice cream!). After taking the cake out of the oven I poured syrup over the top, spreading it around and allowing it to seep into the cake. To add some kitsch and deliciousness I chopped up a few York Peppermint Patties and distributed them on top. It wasn't the most beautiful cake, but it was quite delicious!

(my sister, dad and the cake!)

Tip of the day: focus on being active rather than working out. If you can't get to the gym or don't have time for a run, take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk part of all of the way home, or complete some exercises whenever commercials interrupt your favorite show.

pre-thanksgiving thanksgiving

Senior year my suitemates and I decided to have our own Thanksgiving celebration (and feast) prior to the actual holiday for which we would be with family in various areas of the country. Everyone contributed in some way, whether by cooking a certain dish or by bringing wine. I decided on a sweet potato recipe complete with cinnamon, nutmeg and maple syrup, topped with marshmallows. Yes, it's quite sweet and probably one of the least healthy versions of a sweet potato, but it really is amazing! This pre-Thanksgiving celebration has become a tradition. Last Saturday we celebrated our fourth, and while it was wonderful to see some of my dearest friends and enjoy everyone's delicious dishes, only six of the original 14 suitemates were present. Those who couldn't make it were missed! I am thankful that I was able to spend time with a few close friends and able to partake in this tradition which I cherish once again this year.

food cravings

I'm sure we have all craved various foods or tastes at one time or another. Why? I think it depends; maybe it's emotional, maybe your body is lacking a particular nutrient, maybe you've just had much of one particular taste and are now craving the opposite (sweet vs. salty) or maybe you just imbibed a good amount of alcohol. One particular instance of food craving comes to mind when I think back to my year in Germany. The other grantees and I had been there for over a month and were each coping with the difficulties and excitement of living and teaching in a new place. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon those of us residing within an hour train ride of Dusseldorf met downtown near the Rhine promenade for lunch. We passed various ethnic and German restaurants but finally decided on 'Louisiana.' Yes, we chose the one American restaurant and yes, ordered burgers and beer...I'm not even a big burger eater! Were we craving these American classics because we were lacking iron? Probably not. While we were enjoying living abroad, we did miss the American culture. Eating these burgers gave us a little piece of home and filled some of that which we were missing.
Sometimes we also confuse hunger or food craving for thirst. Last night, for example, I went out with friends and no, did not crave pizza, bagels or fried food when I got home. Instead, all I wanted was the leftover salad with tomatoes and balsamic mustard dressing sitting in my fridge. I don't think I craved the sour taste of balsamic vinegar (although, I love my home-made salad dressing); I just wanted something juicy because, in the end, I wasn't hungry, I was thirsty. Our bodies generally do a good job telling us what we need; we just need to be better listeners.

birthday dinners

While my birthday fell on a Sunday I managed to celebrate with various friends and family for over a week. My mom and I brunched at Cafe D'Alsace, a wonderful French Bistro on 88 and 2nd Ave, where I enjoyed a delicious Croque Monsiour and a cappuccino with foam in the shape of a heart. Mom had the omelet with mushrooms and comte, my usual--yum! My dad and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Atlantic Grill, a restaurant I have wanted to try for some time. He had the Mahi Mahi, which was amazing, and I had the Halibut which was quite good. Naturally I enjoyed a glass of Riesling (favorite wine...go figure) for the occasion. Two great friends took me to Josie's West, a fantastic organic restaurant where I had the vegetarian meatloaf which was surprisingly spicy and absolutely delicious! We finished by sharing a piece of cake at Cafe Lalo (where You've Got Mail was filmed). Finally, another wonderful friend and mentor treated me to an amazing dinner at Il Buco. This restaurant uses only local ingredients for their menu, which for this reason changes according to what's in season in this area of the country. We shared various appetizers and a soup, each very different and flavorful. I then had the black kale salad (so so good!) and she ordered the rabbit. I tried a bite of the latter and Oh wow was it unbelievable. I haven't had something with such a beautiful flavor in a while. Yes, you guessed it, I enjoyed a glass of Riesling (not too sweet or too dry) with this meal as well.
Another friend baked me a delicious vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, which wasn't too sweet, making me love it even more. I also must add that a friend introduced me to a wonderful Mexican restaurant, Agave, which has rather unique additions and spins to traditional Mexican dishes. We shared fish tacos which were light and summery and the blue corn enchiladas with chicken, which had an amazing sauce. Fabulous.
Thank you everyone for a wonderful culinary birthday experience!

split pea & barley soup

After making a delicious split pea and barley soup in my food science lab last Wednesday, I decided to recreate it at home, doubling the recipe so we could have some leftovers to reheat for a quick meal. The soup takes about 2 hours total to make, but most of the work is accomplished in the first half hour. Dicing carrots, celery, an onion, part of a red pepper and mincing garlic are time consuming. Here's a paraphrase of the recipe (you can't really go wrong, so experiment and enjoy your own version):

heat veggie oil in a large pot until shiny, add the veggies, onion and garlic at medium heat until the onions become "glassy" (about 10 min). Then add split peas and barley (ratio of 2:1), salt and about six times the amount of water as split peas (so one cup split peas means 1/2 cups barley, 6 cups water, 1.5 tsp salt). Bring this to a boil then cover and simmer for at least one hr. I recommend waiting until the split peas have essentially disintegrated. If you want a thicker soup, remove the lid and continue cooking; the water will evaporate. Add salt, pepper and other herbs to taste (I liked adding rosemary from the plant I then managed to kill--not enough water...oops!) and...Enjoy! It's perefct for the cold weather that has now arrived.

(I apologize for the lousy picture; I forgot to photograph the soup before storing the leftovers)

almond or rice milk?

A couple of weeks ago I purchased both almond and rice milk to determine which, if any, I preferred to cows milk. At first, I wasn't a huge fan of the almond milk, but after adding it to my oatmeal, decided I liked it and would happily drink it as a milk substitute. Rice milk, on the other hand, still has a very strange flavor and aftertaste; one I remember from my childhood when I drank it due to a milk allergy. This latter milk-substitute is not one I will choose to imbibe, but I will recommend it to those who cannot or do not wish to drink cows-milk and cannot drink almond milk. There are other substitutes to consider as well, such as oat-milk. Experiment, see what you prefer, and don't forget to glance at the label to ensure that you're also getting your necessary (i.e. essential) nutrients such as calcium.

beets and their leaves

On my way home I decided to purchase a bunch of beets from the union square farmer's market. I love their sweet taste. Once I had them cooking away in boiling water (skins on to prevent excess nutrient and pigment loss) I realized that I had never used the leaves of beets. Not wanting to dispose of these somewhat bitter-tasting green leaves with purple stems and roots, I searched the internet for beet-leaf recipes. I came across one that reminded me of a simple recipe we used for kale, spinach and other leafy greens in my Food Science Lab (ie cooking class): olive oil and garlic. This online recipe recommended, among others, some red chili flakes and onions, which I decided to incorporate. I sauteed the little onion pieces I had, added chili flakes, and because I was out of garlic cloves, added onion and garlic powder. I then added some water, the bite-sized beet leaves (no stems) and a lid. After a few minutes of steaming they were finished. The sweet beets and the spicy, garlicky beet leaves were quite a contrast and delicious!

grocery shopping, products and prices

After a conversation with a vegan friend about almond milk, I decided to peruse three various health food stores in my neighborhood for (cow) milk alternatives with the exception of soy (I'm allergic). An interesting observation I made, not for the first time, was the difference in price of identical products in various supermarkets and health food stores. Something to note before I continue: most supermarkets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan are ridiculously expensive. A box of Tazo Tea which can be purchased for about $5 at Starbucks (yes, Starbucks) goes for about $8 at the Gristedes up here. It's ridiculous! Health food stores generally have a reputation for being very expensive, and many of their products are quite pricey, but certain items are actually much less costly. Quinoa, for example, was at least half the cost and sunflower seeds were about one third. I was happy to notice that one health food store carried four brands of rice milk, three brands of almond milk and one each of oat milk and hazelnut milk. And, guess what, the prices were either equivalent to or cheaper than the (cow's) milk at the supermarket.

Something to remember: if you have time, explore various grocery and healthfood stores and compare prices; you'll be surprised at how much you can save by purchasing certain items at different places!

let's go back in time - part II

Tartine

Tartine, a popular bakery in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco (also where the Bi-Rite Creamery is located), has been written up in numerous magazines - even a German one! The bread pudding was recommended to me so I decided to try a cup of it accompanied with a cappuccino.

Tartine seeks to use all organic products and receives their dairy and meat from a nearby farm. The bread pudding is made with whatever fruit is currently in-season, which while I visited was banana. The sweet taste of banana was offset by that of egg, and the texture and taste of the sweet syrup-soaked bread set a nice base to the dish. While I like the taste of eggs - huge omelet fan - I realized that I don't like to experience it in a sweet dish such as this. I'm not sure, but I think I'm just not a bread pudding fan. Maybe if I was, I would have found the dish delicious. And you're wondering how the cappuccino was...eh it was just o.k. Some places might be more of a trend, some, like Bi-Rite, live up to the hype, some don't. I must say though, the more savory options such as quiche or croque monsieur looked tasty, so if you do find yourself in the Mission area of San Fran, stop by Tartine for a savory lunch and then finish it off with some unique-flavored ice cream from the Bi-Rite Creamery.

let's go back in time - part I

I'd been thinking about starting a blog for a while, and with the encouragement of two wonderful friends on separate occasions I finally decided to start. Naturally when I made the decision I was across the country visiting Marta in San Francisco and didn't have a computer. Thankfully good old pen and paper did the trick and I wrote my "first" blogs so to say, in various cafes throughout beautiful San Fran. Here they are, posted one at a time:


Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop

The line was out the door and around the corner. Marta and I waited in line for the popular ice cream because how often am I in San Fran after all? Time in line passed quickly as we had plenty of catching up to do and delicious recipes to exchange. When I saw the list of flavors (see picture), I was a bit overwhelmed but finally decided on ricanela (canela is cinnamon in Spanish), which is essentially cinnamon ice cream with snickerdoodle cookie dough, and brown sugar with ginger-caramel swirl. Yum! The white chocolate with raspberry and the salty caramel also sounded delicious. The brown sugar with ginger-caramel swirl was one of the most delicious ice cream flavors I had ever tried (and I am a huge ice cream fan). So, if you're ever in San Francisco, be sure to visit the Bi-Rite Creamery.

the remaining zucchini

After using one zucchini to make the last zucchini bread, I realized that I still had to create something with the three others I had left. I decided to make a zucchini, spinach quiche with feta. Now, no one recipe was used; instead, I read various recipes online and tried to remember how my mom always made the quiche we had growing up (it was mostly spinach). Unfortunately, due to excessive time in the oven (oops!) it was a bit dry. The zucchini and chopped spinach mixed well, however, as did the 1/4 onion, salt pepper and garlic. At first only two eggs were used, but right before placing it in the oven, I decided another egg would be a good addition. Instead of mixing in the egg, I beat it with a fork and poured it on top. I love to experiment, but sometimes the outcome isn't ideal. The final egg is a great example. It only lead to a rather rubbery texture on the top of the quiche. Ah well, if you ignored the interesting top, the taste was pretty good, if a little dry. Not a terrible experiment.

While the quiche was baking, I decided to grate the last two zucchinis to make another zucchini bread. I used the same recipe as the last time, but made some "healthy" changes. Instead of one cup of veggie oil and 1 3/4 c sugar, I used 1/2 veggie oil, 1 cup apple sauce, and only 1c sugar. I also used about double the shredded zucchini. The outcome was a bit more dense, but plenty sweet, less oily and much much tastier. Success! My fellow gardeners at the Rooftop Farm loved the bread as well. It's great to have taste testers every Sunday.

zucchini!

After a long day of classes, volunteering, and too many crowded subways, I decided to try making zucchini bread from a recipe I found on http://www.recipezaar.com/. I had a bit too much batter for my pan, so I made some mini-muffins in an old muffin pan I found stored in the oven (yes, we lack space and therefore store baking pans etc in the oven). The mini-muffins were done no more than 15 minutes and weren't bad. The recipe called for what seemed a good amount of oil. Indeed, I was correct; the zucchini bread (more of a cake really, just like banana bread) is a bit greasy for me. Some would call it moist. Next time I'll use less oil, more whole wheat flower and maybe some applesauce. There are still four zucchinis, so I can try a few more recipes in the next couple of days...will let you know the outcome.

volunteering and free produce

After a somewhat crazy day filled with confusing information regarding a course requirement and misinformation, I volunteered at the Lenape Edible Estates opening with Growing Chefs. Basically this event was to show what the Lenape people, otherwise known as Lenapehoking or Delaware Native Americans, grew in our local area. We served three sister succotash and corn cakes with berries. Our three sister succotash consisted of fresh, local and raw sweet corn, steamed local zucchini, and cooked Lima and black beans. It's essentially a bean salad and is absolutely delicious. The corn cakes with berries were small pancakes made with cornmeal, corn kernels, raspberries and blackberries, served with either NY maple syrup or honey. All ingredients except the flour, Lima beans and black beans were local.
At the end of the event Annie gave me leftover steamed zucchini, four whole zucchinis, a gallon of organic local milk, and a dozen beautiful eggs from heirloom South American chickens (born and raised in NY state) which come in three colors: blue, brown and white. The eggs are quite small because the chickens are still young, and the yolks are more orange than those we're used to. These chickens roam around, picking bugs and worms to eat in addition to their feed. A chicken's diet definitely affects the color of the yolk. These eggs remind me of those my grandparents in Germany always had; eggs purchased from the "Eiermann" or egg man who used to bring fresh eggs from his small farm to clients in the city. The eggs with their deep orange yolks were delivered once a week right to their door and were delicious!
I'll post pictures of the beautiful eggs and whatever I decide to bake (zucchini bread?) from the excessive amount of produce that now finds itself in my fridge.

the beginning of grad school!

Last Tuesday grad school finally started and, oh wow, I love it! It felt amazing to hear my professors tell me that I would have to read about why certain recipes work and some don't, that we would be discussing food allergies, eating disorders, cultural differences as illustrated by various cuisines, diseases due to poor nutrition and so much more. I made the right decision to return to school for a masters in nutrition and dietetics; phew! I'll admit, I love reading most of my textbooks (chemistry being the exception). Wednesday is my first food science lab i.e. cooking class and I couldn't be more excited. What will we cook first...?
So welcome to my blog where I hope to post recipes and interesting foods and dishes I am exposed to (I love to learn about cultures through their kitchens), as well as thoughts on nutrition. Thanks for reading!