Nathan and I went to the farmers market in Union Square this afternoon, and I must say......it is on the same level as shoe shopping.....actually, I may have even liked this better! A cornucopia of pure food, full of color and fragrance and energy. Everything was so beautiful to look at and had the most amazing fresh smell! we bought so much- eggs, pasta, cilantro, maple syrup, etc. We would have bought more if we were headed straight home. I would have loved some raw cheese and some fish! We found the most beautiful basket of tiny heirloom tomatoes.....yellow and red and pink and orange, some round, some oval, some tiny, some larger. I popped one in my mouth when we got home, and it tasted like sunshine....all warm and delicious. We also bought some red onions....the most beautiful purple color with their green stems still attached. I put them in a bowl when I unpacked them after our outing and they look like art just sitting there- amazing! So.....here is a salad we are making tonight using these newly acquired treasures....
Ingredients-
Watermelon
Heirloom tomatoes (grape and cherry sized) of varying colors/shapes
Red onion
Cilantro
Lemon
Extra Virgin olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Cut tomatoes in half and put them in a colander, with salt. Mix and let sit. Finely chop onion into very thin half moon shapes, and soak in lemon juice and a little salt. Let both of these sit for about half an hour. Cut the watermelon into bite sized squares and put in a bowl. Chop up cilantro and mix in with watermelon. Add the tomatoes and the onions. Next, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Mix all together, and taste. When you are happy with the seasoning, serve. Delish!
Tip- never EVER put tomatoes in the fridge. It compromises their flavor.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Marvelous Miso Soup
This is by far the best miso soup I've ever had! Once I made this soup, I think I continued making it and eating it for breakfast for months! I always make enough for several servings. I learned this from holistic health counselor, Marian Buck-Murray. Although, it might not be her recipe to a tee. So, not only is it delicious, its really, really healthy! This soup is so good for your immune system, a great thing to incorporate into your diet when cold and flu season comes around, or for any day you want a good, quick, nutritious soup.
Ok, back to the recipe. Here are the ingredients:
Organic sweet or white miso
1 onion
1-2 cloves of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Kombu (seaweed)
Salt
White pepper
Filtered water
Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Heat olive oil in a pot and add onions. Cook until translucent and add the garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for about another minute. Be careful....don't let it burn. After the garlic is cooked, add water until it almost fills the pot. Add a piece of kombu.....don't be afraid. It's just dried seaweed and it is really good for you. I promise you won't even taste it. You can get this at an Asian grocer, or someplace like Whole Foods. Next, cover and let simmer. (You will have to play with the quantities a little bit here. The bigger the pot, the more of each ingredient you need.) After it has simmered for a few minutes, its ready.
To serve, put a spoonful of miso in your soup mug. (You can put more if you want. This is totally to taste.) Pour in a little bit of the soup.....just a little bit. You do this so that you can mix in the miso. Otherwise, you will have unmixed clumps of miso in your soup, and that is so not appetizing. Also, do not put boiling soup on the miso, or you will kill all the good stuff in there. Let it cool down a bit first. After that is well mixed, fill up the rest of your mug, and enjoy.
You can vary this, too. Once, I added leftover brown rice to mug, for a heartier soup. I've also made a more "oniony" soup, by using a ridiculous amount of onion. That one was good! You could add tofu and eat the kombu like they do in Japanese restaurants. Play with it! Have fun!
By the way, if you chose not to eat the kombu, and you have dogs, you can chop it up and add it to their food. It's super healthy for them, too! My dog, Elie, really likes it. Of course, I give them a little miso paste, too.
Ok, back to the recipe. Here are the ingredients:
Organic sweet or white miso
1 onion
1-2 cloves of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Kombu (seaweed)
Salt
White pepper
Filtered water
Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Heat olive oil in a pot and add onions. Cook until translucent and add the garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for about another minute. Be careful....don't let it burn. After the garlic is cooked, add water until it almost fills the pot. Add a piece of kombu.....don't be afraid. It's just dried seaweed and it is really good for you. I promise you won't even taste it. You can get this at an Asian grocer, or someplace like Whole Foods. Next, cover and let simmer. (You will have to play with the quantities a little bit here. The bigger the pot, the more of each ingredient you need.) After it has simmered for a few minutes, its ready.
To serve, put a spoonful of miso in your soup mug. (You can put more if you want. This is totally to taste.) Pour in a little bit of the soup.....just a little bit. You do this so that you can mix in the miso. Otherwise, you will have unmixed clumps of miso in your soup, and that is so not appetizing. Also, do not put boiling soup on the miso, or you will kill all the good stuff in there. Let it cool down a bit first. After that is well mixed, fill up the rest of your mug, and enjoy.
You can vary this, too. Once, I added leftover brown rice to mug, for a heartier soup. I've also made a more "oniony" soup, by using a ridiculous amount of onion. That one was good! You could add tofu and eat the kombu like they do in Japanese restaurants. Play with it! Have fun!
By the way, if you chose not to eat the kombu, and you have dogs, you can chop it up and add it to their food. It's super healthy for them, too! My dog, Elie, really likes it. Of course, I give them a little miso paste, too.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Mediterranean Rice and Beans
Here is another concoction inspired by what was left in my kitchen..........
Ingredients-
1 can of organic chi peas/garbanzo beans
1 container of grape tomatoes
1 small container of mixed green and black pitted olives
2 cloves of garlic
1 small red onion or half of a giant one
Extra virgin organic cold pressed olive oil
Real/raw butter
1 cup of brown rice
2 cups of organic chicken or vegetable stock
Oregano
Black pepper
Salt
The rice-
Heat olive oil in a pot, add the rice, season with salt and pepper and stir. Yes, I swear, add just the rice without the stock. This really flavors the rice and makes it taste much more delicious.
Note- if you know ahead of time that you are going to make this, soak your rice in water overnight and drain it before you use it. This will make the rice more nutritious. Of course, I wasn't planning on making this, as this was another one of my "shop from my kitchen" meals, so I didn't do this. Even perfection in moderation.
After a minute or two, add the chicken stock, cover and bring to a boil. You can use water, of course, but it won't have as much flavor. Once it boils, turn the heat down very low and simmer. Do NOT take the lid off! Nope.....don't do it. (A pot with a glass lid is best for this, because you can see what is happening inside the pot without lifting off the lid.) Tunnels will begin to form in the rice and you will see the liquid still bubbling inside those tunnels. When the liquid is gone, turn off the heat and let the rice sit for about ten minutes. No.....don't you take that lid off yet. Let the rice sit for a bit to finish cooking. Otherwise, it is going to come out undercooked, and your jaw will hurt if you try to eat a bowl of it. (Trust me, I know. I've done it!)
The "beans"-
While the rice is cooking, you can tend to the beans. Open the can of chic peas and rinse really well. Of course, it would be optimal to buy these dried in a bag instead of a can, and soak them overnight before attempting to cook them. (Refer to my previous statement regarding the way I shopped for this meal.)
Wash the tomatoes, give them a rough chop and put them in a colander. Salt the tomatoes and mix them up, so the salt is distributed. The salt will pull some of the water from the tomatoes, causing the tomatoes to become more concentrated in flavor. Ok, if this sounds like a pain in the ass, skip it, but I learned this on Jamie Oliver's show and I swear, it really works. The man is a genius!
Note- I don't cook with tomatoes very often, because they are nightshades. Nightshades aren't something you want to eat regularly, if you want to be healthy, but they are less harmful if you cook them. Do you know in ancient times they thought of the tomato as ornamental, like a flower? They didn't eat them. Interesting, huh? Are you going to google that now? (I so would if I were reading this.)
Next, dice your onions and mince your garlic. Heat olive oil and butter in a pan and add the onions. It was a favorite of Julia Child, after all....so pay homage. (By the way, you can't get real/raw butter from the grocery store. To find out how to get it, go to www.realmilk.com.)
When the onions are translucent, add the garlic. Be careful not to burn them. Season with salt, pepper and oregano. About a minute after you add the garlic, add the beans. Cook on low heat for about fifteen minutes, then add your tomatoes and cook for another five and add your rice. Taste and re-season. Last, roughly chop the olives and mix them into the dish. (I like using a mixture of black and green, because it adds more color to the dish.)
Eat.
Ingredients-
1 can of organic chi peas/garbanzo beans
1 container of grape tomatoes
1 small container of mixed green and black pitted olives
2 cloves of garlic
1 small red onion or half of a giant one
Extra virgin organic cold pressed olive oil
Real/raw butter
1 cup of brown rice
2 cups of organic chicken or vegetable stock
Oregano
Black pepper
Salt
The rice-
Heat olive oil in a pot, add the rice, season with salt and pepper and stir. Yes, I swear, add just the rice without the stock. This really flavors the rice and makes it taste much more delicious.
Note- if you know ahead of time that you are going to make this, soak your rice in water overnight and drain it before you use it. This will make the rice more nutritious. Of course, I wasn't planning on making this, as this was another one of my "shop from my kitchen" meals, so I didn't do this. Even perfection in moderation.
After a minute or two, add the chicken stock, cover and bring to a boil. You can use water, of course, but it won't have as much flavor. Once it boils, turn the heat down very low and simmer. Do NOT take the lid off! Nope.....don't do it. (A pot with a glass lid is best for this, because you can see what is happening inside the pot without lifting off the lid.) Tunnels will begin to form in the rice and you will see the liquid still bubbling inside those tunnels. When the liquid is gone, turn off the heat and let the rice sit for about ten minutes. No.....don't you take that lid off yet. Let the rice sit for a bit to finish cooking. Otherwise, it is going to come out undercooked, and your jaw will hurt if you try to eat a bowl of it. (Trust me, I know. I've done it!)
The "beans"-
While the rice is cooking, you can tend to the beans. Open the can of chic peas and rinse really well. Of course, it would be optimal to buy these dried in a bag instead of a can, and soak them overnight before attempting to cook them. (Refer to my previous statement regarding the way I shopped for this meal.)
Wash the tomatoes, give them a rough chop and put them in a colander. Salt the tomatoes and mix them up, so the salt is distributed. The salt will pull some of the water from the tomatoes, causing the tomatoes to become more concentrated in flavor. Ok, if this sounds like a pain in the ass, skip it, but I learned this on Jamie Oliver's show and I swear, it really works. The man is a genius!
Note- I don't cook with tomatoes very often, because they are nightshades. Nightshades aren't something you want to eat regularly, if you want to be healthy, but they are less harmful if you cook them. Do you know in ancient times they thought of the tomato as ornamental, like a flower? They didn't eat them. Interesting, huh? Are you going to google that now? (I so would if I were reading this.)
Next, dice your onions and mince your garlic. Heat olive oil and butter in a pan and add the onions. It was a favorite of Julia Child, after all....so pay homage. (By the way, you can't get real/raw butter from the grocery store. To find out how to get it, go to www.realmilk.com.)
When the onions are translucent, add the garlic. Be careful not to burn them. Season with salt, pepper and oregano. About a minute after you add the garlic, add the beans. Cook on low heat for about fifteen minutes, then add your tomatoes and cook for another five and add your rice. Taste and re-season. Last, roughly chop the olives and mix them into the dish. (I like using a mixture of black and green, because it adds more color to the dish.)
Eat.
Best Bean Soup Ever!
Ok, I know what you're thinking....bean soup....how boring. I promise you, this was anything but boring. Nathan and I just got back from spending a few days in a hotel and eating out the whole time, which was not very healthy to say the least, and I just felt like poo. Food really has a huge effect on how you feel! I wanted to cook something, so I could control the ingredients, and control how I felt. However, I wasn't feeling very motivated to make the trek down the six flights of stairs it takes to leave the apartment.
What does that mean? Well, I went shopping in my kitchen! I found some beans, an onion, garlic, chicken stock....why not try to make bean soup? No, as simple and easy as this sounds, I have never made bean soup before. That wasn't going to stop me. Did I look up a recipe? Nah! Here is what I came up with:
Ingredients-
1 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 can of organic butter beans
Half of a 1 quart box of organic chicken or vegetable stock
organic extra virgin olive oil- first cold pressed
Oregano
Black pepper
Salt- Eden or any kind of good real sea salt
First a note about the ingredients. Good ingredients are essential for good food- period. Don't get the cheap stuff, just because its cheap. It will have less flavor and contain less nutrients. Get the highest quality ingredients you can find. If you can do local food from the farmers market, or better yet, fresh from your garden, that is fantastic! Do organic if you can. Buy real salt. I mean the salt that looks like real salt. I like Eden's Sea Salt, but there are a lot of others....just not the one with the girl in the raincoat on the container, please. Buy the pepper that you have to freshly crack. Make your own chicken stock, and freeze it for later. You see what I'm saying? I cannot stress this enough. Now, having said this, my beans were from a can, but they were organic. I bought my garlic and onions from the grocery store, and I didn't make my own organic chicken stock. So....we can't be perfect all of the time.
Ok....now for the cooking part. This was so easy that I did it in the morning when my eyes were barely open! First, open the can of beans and rinse them very, very well. See all of that foam? That will give you gas, so rinse away! Next, dice the onion. I had a giant red onion, so I only used half of it. Now, heat the olive oil in a pot, and throw the onion in. While the onion is cooking, mince the garlic. If you see any green stem-like things in the middle of your garlic, take it out and throw the "stem" away. When the onion is translucent, throw the garlic in and cook for about a minute. Pay attention, because if you burn the onion or the garlic, you will have to throw it all away and start over again, and that will suck. Next, put the beans and stir everything together. Add salt, pepper and oregano to taste. ALWAYS TASTE!
Remember when you read any recipe, that it's hard to say how much of something you will need. It always varies. You could have a large onion or a small onion, fresh or dried oregano, the taste of your produce can be great and flavorful, or not.....always taste and use a recipe in cooking as a suggestion. Of course, I guess, this doesn't apply to baking, but that's why I don't bake. It's too precise and unforgiving for me. I like to improvise along the way.....feels more creative and fun.
Back to the soup.....add the chicken stock, taste and re-season, cover and simmer on the lowest of low heat for three hours. You may not have to do this for three hours, but I'm sure any amount of simmering will help improve the taste of the soup.
That's it! I made this in the middle of a heat wave in July, which is not the most appropriate thing to do. I bet this would taste even better on a cold winter day.
What does that mean? Well, I went shopping in my kitchen! I found some beans, an onion, garlic, chicken stock....why not try to make bean soup? No, as simple and easy as this sounds, I have never made bean soup before. That wasn't going to stop me. Did I look up a recipe? Nah! Here is what I came up with:
Ingredients-
1 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 can of organic butter beans
Half of a 1 quart box of organic chicken or vegetable stock
organic extra virgin olive oil- first cold pressed
Oregano
Black pepper
Salt- Eden or any kind of good real sea salt
First a note about the ingredients. Good ingredients are essential for good food- period. Don't get the cheap stuff, just because its cheap. It will have less flavor and contain less nutrients. Get the highest quality ingredients you can find. If you can do local food from the farmers market, or better yet, fresh from your garden, that is fantastic! Do organic if you can. Buy real salt. I mean the salt that looks like real salt. I like Eden's Sea Salt, but there are a lot of others....just not the one with the girl in the raincoat on the container, please. Buy the pepper that you have to freshly crack. Make your own chicken stock, and freeze it for later. You see what I'm saying? I cannot stress this enough. Now, having said this, my beans were from a can, but they were organic. I bought my garlic and onions from the grocery store, and I didn't make my own organic chicken stock. So....we can't be perfect all of the time.
Ok....now for the cooking part. This was so easy that I did it in the morning when my eyes were barely open! First, open the can of beans and rinse them very, very well. See all of that foam? That will give you gas, so rinse away! Next, dice the onion. I had a giant red onion, so I only used half of it. Now, heat the olive oil in a pot, and throw the onion in. While the onion is cooking, mince the garlic. If you see any green stem-like things in the middle of your garlic, take it out and throw the "stem" away. When the onion is translucent, throw the garlic in and cook for about a minute. Pay attention, because if you burn the onion or the garlic, you will have to throw it all away and start over again, and that will suck. Next, put the beans and stir everything together. Add salt, pepper and oregano to taste. ALWAYS TASTE!
Remember when you read any recipe, that it's hard to say how much of something you will need. It always varies. You could have a large onion or a small onion, fresh or dried oregano, the taste of your produce can be great and flavorful, or not.....always taste and use a recipe in cooking as a suggestion. Of course, I guess, this doesn't apply to baking, but that's why I don't bake. It's too precise and unforgiving for me. I like to improvise along the way.....feels more creative and fun.
Back to the soup.....add the chicken stock, taste and re-season, cover and simmer on the lowest of low heat for three hours. You may not have to do this for three hours, but I'm sure any amount of simmering will help improve the taste of the soup.
That's it! I made this in the middle of a heat wave in July, which is not the most appropriate thing to do. I bet this would taste even better on a cold winter day.
New Focus!
Ok, I know this whole blog was originally devoted to its previous subtitle, "Mostly Manhattan Restaurant Reviews", but why limit myself? I've recently been re-obsessed with cooking food, not just eating it.....and cooking healthy, delicious food most of the time, so why not share that as well? I recently finished school, and am now a certified holistic health practitioner. I've been eating, and living healthier this last year, and it has changed my world. I stopped getting sick, I have more energy, and I went down two dress sizes. As I evolve, so does my blog. I want to share recipes and health tips, as well as give suggestions for great places to eat. I've renamed the subtitle, "Eat, Drink and Be Merry", because quite frankly, if you added shopping in there, that would be my ideal life. I make no apologies for this. Someone has to do it. Why shouldn't that someone be me? Enjoy!
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