Merry Christmas!

I feel so blessed this morning as I enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee with some eggnog swirled in ... a bright, clear, crisp sky, and soon we'll pick Kev up from the airport and the family will be together! (Shan and Octavio you're there in spirit!!!) I did a short yoga session in my living room, meditating on how fortunate I am and what a blessing it is this Christmas to reflect on life and being present. Happy Christmas Everyone!!

extra apples? try this unusual snack

yum. i just made an impromptu snack of 2 of my favorites: sauteed apples and greek yogurt. oh, and a 3rd thing tossed in there because it's the holidays: disaranno. yes, the liquor. oh my gosh -- what followed from this combination was a light, delicious, slightly almond-scented treat. it's perfect for breakfast, after lunch, or as an evening snack. you only need a drizzle of disaranno but it creates such a fragrant, warming combination with the spiced apples and tart yogurt.

ingredients:

-sauteed sliced apples (i had a container full after cooking a bunch of them a few days ago in some butter, cinnamon, brown sugar and a pinch of salt)

-full fat greek yogurt

-disaronno

to do:

-in a saucepan, heat the apples to warm and pour over a 'healthy holidayish amount' of the disaronno liquor. let it lightly bubble in the pan for 3 min. or so, stirring ocassionally

-put the apples with juices in a bowl and top with a hefty spoonful of greek yogurt

HEAVEN!

kouign amann

On Sunday I made a recipe I'd been wanting to try ever since I read about it on David Lebovitz' site - Breton Butter Cake. It surpassed all ideas I had and was so delicious that we had it for dessert and the rest went directly into the freezer to have sometime later!

It's a butter cake, made with yeast, that takes a little while to make (between risings and restings) but is really worth it. It's a caramelized, buttery, sugary roll/cake that just tastes like the holidays. There are no added spices, but since I used European butter, Plugra (haven't used that since my days at L'Academie but man is it amazing), the real taste of the butter came through. Add lots of sugar and some crunchy salt and it really tastes like you're in Brittany sampling one of their finest creations.

I started it early afternoon, and after dinner and cooling for about 30 min. it was ready to eat. The only frustration was that our smoke detector went off every 3 min. since the cake bubbled over a bit in the 425 degree oven!

I highly recommend this one! Here's the original recipe:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2005/08/long_live_the_k.html

things lately

I am craving some Pinkberry fro-yo so I think this afternoon I'm going to make a stop there. It's like 68 degrees in NYC today believe it or not! Last time I had it was in LA visiting Shan and Octavio. Yum.

Some snacks that have been sitting in the freezer have proven to be welcome additions to the day. I always know I'll love having things onhand during the week when I don't feel like cooking but DO feel like eating. Some of the latest are:

-banana nut bread

-soft gingerbread

-chocolate-chip bars (aka congo bars - from David Lebovitz' Chocolate book.)
[Incidentally these were delicious to snack on while watching Glee last night!]

coconut tapioca

I thought I'd share my version of tapioca - I often use 2 egg yolks but lately add only 1 and it's just as good. Plain tapioca is the perfect comfort dessert or snack-similar to rice pudding but with a more interesting 'poppy' and 'toothsome' texture thats very appealing. You can use lowfat or whole milk. This coconut version is really good, but you can also do it without the coconut milk and just use 3 c. of milk.

coconut tapioca - awesome for breakfast, or an 11-am snack, or after dinner. good cold, room-temp or warm. makes about 4 servings.

ingredients:

• 1/3 c. tapioca (small pearl)
• 1/3 c. sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3 c. milk (1 c. coconut milk)
• big handful of flaked coconut, toasted til light brown
• 1 egg yolk (or 2 if you want it extra creamy)
• 1/2 t. vanilla, coffee, or liquor of choice (optional) or 1/2 lemon zested - i like using a combination of zest and rum (if i don't have vanilla)

method:

• put tapioca in a pot with 3/4 c. milk and let it sit for an hour
• whisk in sugar, pinch of salt, rest of milk (1 c. coconut milk + 1 1/4 c. milk)
• on very low heat bring to barely a boil (this should take 15 min. or so) - stir constantly
• turn heat down to small simmer and stir until tapioca beads become clear. it will take about 20. min and become thicker. stir frequently or it may scorch.
• take off heat and stir in lemon zest and/or vanilla, coffee, liquor
• let it sit for 5 min or so and serve with toasted coconut on top

concord grapes

IPM Concord Grapes - easily my new favorite fruit

These grapes showed themselves in last weekend's CSA box and visitors Kristy and Nate got to enjoy them too. I had never had them before-with a few seeds (which I'm saving to hopefully plant one day) these globes of fruit popped in your mouth and tasted like candy - a piece of heaven! You could imagine drinking a glass of concord grape juice. It's been such a treat eating these little guys all week.

"IPM (Integrated Pest Management) is grounded in ecological ideals, and aims to significantly reduce or completely eliminate the use of pesticides, but also allows the farmer the freedom to determine the pest control strategies that work best for his farm. Since IPM is less recognizable and less easily explainable than the familiar organic label, the ability to talk directly with customers about it is crucial." http://www.daveskitchen.com/

A snack we had last week: raw baby turnips and roasted red potatoes with garlic aioli. It was good. :) Using the mortar and pestle was a great way to make aioli - actually easier than the food processor believe it or not because you could add the oil quickly since it emulsified nicely.

Currently roasting pumpkin seeds with a mixture of olive oil, salt, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice (from Kalustyan's). They're making the whole apartment smell good!

Purple Dragon Deliciousness

Happy Thursday :) Above are the photos from Purple Dragon & our first farm share-we picked it up last Saturday and the next one is in a week. It was so fun to come up with ideas based on what I had, what was in season, and what looked good. The food tasted so fresh and frankly I just had the best time organizing everything, putting it away, and then cooking it during the week - it really made the whole cooking experience pretty inspiring. Aside from all the cleanup. Looking forward to our next one in a week!

greenmarket friday

Its time again for my (hold excitement please!) weekly friday trip to the union square greenmarket! I can't wait. This time I'm going for the sole purpose of refilling my bottles from Milk Thisle, and replentishing my supply of milk and yogurt. They're only there Fridays and Saturdays, and I made due, regretably, without both for the past few days since I ran out mid-week. I'm telling you it's a treat and a half.

Anyway, I'm making split pea soup for dinner so I'll try and pick up some collards and bread to go with it. I also joined a local CSA farm share and we pick up our first box tomorrow - its like Christmas in November!!!!

I'm sure I'll run into plenty of early trick or treaters! Which reminds me of my old foolish pasttime of knocking on people's doors a few days before Halloween and asking (begging) for candy. Who does that!? Shan, Kev, Lauren. You know who you are. Happy Halloween!

Yum. This is a good mash-up.

Yes! I put together 2 things we recently had for dinner to make this delicious mash-up for lunch today: carrot soup + israeli cous-cous with roasted tomatoes, olives, mint and parsley. MMM! I used the carrots I got from the greenmarket to make carrot soup. Just plain carrot soup. No ginger, no cilantro, no cumin. I wanted the true flavor of the carrots to come through. I didn't even peel them, just washed and scrubbed them a little. Sauteed some shallots in a little olive oil and butter, and added the thinly-sliced carrots. Then covered with veggie stock and simmered for about 20-25 minutes. Then I pureed the mixture w/my handy hand blender. No moving the whole thing into a blender-a definite time-saver. Anyway, I thinned it out w/some water and then seasoned it. Served with a swirl of yogurt from Milk Thistle - Oh yum.

Last night I made the cous-cous (thanks Theres!) with lots of parsley, mint, chopped olives, and again veggie broth. I also added slow-roasted cherry tomatoes and 3 garlic cloves (250 f. for 1 hour) that I pureed in the blender with lemon zest, a hit of sherry vinegar, some warm water, and olive oil. Then I tossed it all together and seasoned it. So healthy and fresh.

And today - mash-up of the two heated in a pan! The flavors go so nicely and its great for this gross rainy day. :)

Goodies

Yesterday was an awesome day. The weather couldn't have been nicer, lunch was outstanding, and I spent the next few hours walking around NY: Little Italy, Chinatown, and then to the World Trade Center to come back home. It always amazes me how much great wine there is in Italy and how each bottle looks (and probably tastes) equally as good. I got some wine, grana padano (like a milder parmesan), pancetta, pears, and shallots. YUM!

I made lemon curd a week ago and it's hard to resist, frankly. I have to limit myself to a spoonful or two a day. We had it on scones over the weekend - scrumptious. It's so creamy and just the right mix of tangy, zingy, fresh, and creamy. The perfect pick-me-up any time of day!

Lately, making almond milk has been an almost-weekly pleasure. It is so good homemade (I've never tried the other stuff) and so satisfying to use. I'm going to use the leftover almond pulp as a facial this morning :) It's delicious warmed with a little cinnamon, and sweetened with honey or sugar.
Traditionally I know it's also only made with hot water, but I've made it with half water and half milk - both are rich and delicious. The water-variety is better for you in the long run, and stirred into coffee it almost gives it an almond essence scent. Truly a pleasure.

Oh coffee how i heart thee

Yes indeedy, a warm cup of coffee in the a.m. is just what the doctor ordered and just gets the day off to the nicest start, don't you think? mmm, especially when it's made with fresh milk from ronnybrook dairy. i also just read an article about how you can get milk delivered every 2 weeks from someone who brings milk IN glass bottles IN a carton, right to your door. wow. something tells me i should've lived in the 50's. or was it 40's? either way, a tempting offer.

i am so excited because today i am going into the city to have lunch with my mom, aunt susie, and aunt susie's cousin nancy. we're going to db moderne on 44th street and i'm SO looking forward to it! (our dessert: meyer lemon tart with pomegranate sorbet - yummmm.)


i also realized it's been over a month since i started this blog, but i guess moving to a new city (jersey city) and unpacking and settling in kind of got in the way. oh well. anyway, it's finally not so cold here and i am enjoying the occassional runs along the river (we live by a river again, i love that!) i also am seeking out farmers markets nearby. supposedly there are 3 during the week. we'll see how they are. that's all for now!

Mint is so good

I love mint tea. A colleague in London first got me hooked when he used to come by mid-morning or afternoon asking if anyone wanted mint tea. Of course I always say yes, and ever since I've been drinking it all times of day and serving it when people come over. It is the best with lots of mint in a big mug, almost boiling water poured over and a big spoon of sugar - yum.

Yesterday I decided to use the oversized ice-cream machine my brother got me for Christmas 2 years ago. It was the 2nd time. The first time I made peach fro-yo with the abundant supply of peaches we had. Yesterday I made vanilla mint chip gelato. It was a 2-day process as we ran out of ice. It's one of those machines that you can crank OR plug in-which option did I choose? Right! I finished it up today though and boy is it scrumptious -- a nice snack to have around in 90 degree August heat!

Some points: I steeped the milk in fresh mint my mom had growing out back, then added peppermint extract once it had cooled. The 14 egg yolks were fun to add - I don't think I've ever used that many yolks at once! It almost has a whipped-cream consistency without a heavy taste. Dessert tonight!