spicy Thai tofu, Physique 57, salmon nicoise

Spring is thisclose to happening. We’re in mid-to-late-March, and, in my experience, NYC can swing either way this time of year. In 2007 it was probably 25 degrees on St. Patrick’s Day, and I remember flaunting my ghastly white arms in a tank top in 2010 when it was 75. This year we got a sweet little “65 and sunny” for March 17, and the t-shirts were out and proud among the crowds of sloppy, day drunk New Yorkers.

After this weekend, I can safely say that 40 is the new 30. Long gone are the days of the 20s and teens. I think 50 may feel comfortable coming out more now that those guys are spent for the season. Please, 50? You’ll receive the warmest reception you’ve ever experienced. This whole city is so ready for you.

I’m looking forward to reuniting with my track, but it feels a little soon to commit to the outdoors until it’s settled for a comfortable degree range. In the meantime, I’ve been preaching the interval training gospel and practicing as well. I’ve been a gym go-er for the better part of a decade at this point, and I could just vom when I think about how many hours I’ve spent doing the same tedious machines. My first few years were spent sans TVs on each cardio machine, too, and this was years before Jersey Shore existed, never mind existed in marathon form.

Interval training has taught me to vary my pace at such short periods of time that I can hardly focus on a show, much less need it to cut through the painstaking boredom. I’ve been walking at a speed of 4 for one minute and then increasing the speed to at least 7.5 for a minute, and repeating until I’ve run for 10 minutes altogether. If I’m feeling ambitious or just dying to see how dickish Ronnie can manage to be in one episode, I’ll complete another cycle, but I’m generally spent after one. I highly recommend this form of cardio.

On the spicy side, I just made a delicious and healthy Thai meal for dinner. All recipes from this post are courtesy of Epicurious, my old “safety school” of recipes. It called for:

Spicy thai tofu with red bell peppers and peanuts

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
2 red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
3 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and cut in one-inch cubes
3 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
½ to 3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 6-oz bag baby spinach leaves
1/3 c chopped fresh basil
1/3 c lightly salted roasted peanuts

Heat oil in a wok over high heat, and add bell peppers, ginger and garlic. Sautee for two minutes, and then add the green onions and tofu. Toss for two more minutes. Add soy sauce, lime juice and red pepper flakes. Toss to blend for another minute. I went ahead and cooked for a little while longer, because I like my tofu crunchy, but then I added the spinach in 3 batches as told. Once it’s wilted, mix in basil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with peanuts, and devour.

I’ve been a stir-fry aficionado for years now, but I did enjoy following a recipe for once and making something extra spicy and exotic.

Speaking of exotic (worst segue ever), I’ve gotten really into another workout I’d alluded to before. I always have a hard time explaining it, but it’s like a ballet barre work/circuit training/yoga stretch class with fun props. My muscles burn during almost every class, and I’m often caught shaking from the effort. True story. I don’t want to overstate this, but this is the best workout of all time. Seriously. First of all, the teachers are lovely and encouraging. Second, the studio is gorge. Third, the workouts never get easier so my muscles are constantly sore and it’s actually working. Obsessed. I behave as if I’m in a cult, though, because I honestly can’t stop pushing my beliefs on anyone who will give me 10 seconds of uninterrupted airtime. To be fair, my butt is higher than it’s ever been, so people are bound to start asking about it eventually. I’m just beating them to the punch.

I’ve realized that carbs are the equivalent of my boring, vanilla, elliptical-centric workouts of yesteryear. Meaning, they aren’t causing a ton of harm to my life, and they’re fine in moderation, but they aren’t necessary for daily life. I’m not joining the meat eaters anytime soon (much to my carnivorous friends’ chagrin), but I am eating a lot more fish these days. The better to fill me up with, my dear.

I made a Salmon Nicoise salad recently that was the best meal ever. Yes, I’m going to continue to speak in hyperbole, and I have no interest in quitting:

Ingredients:

1 lb salmon fillet with skin
10 pitted Kalamata olives, finely chopped
1 tbsp shallot
1 tsp garlic
2 tbsp basil
¾ lb Yukon Gold potatoes
¾ lb green beans
1 c cherry tomatoes
2 oz baby arugula
4 lemon wedges
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
¼ c olive oil
2 hard-boiled eggs

You start by whisking together the dressing, which is composed of the olives, shallot, garlic, red-wine vinegar, olive oil and basil. It also called for anchovy paste, but I have some juvenile trepidation of fish paste so I left that out.

Anyways, you cook the potatoes in salted boiling water as such: cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes uncovered.

While those cook away, season the salmon with salt and pepper, and cook on oiled grill (hello there, Panini Press) for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from grill and flake fish into chunks.

Transfer potatoes to a bowl, and cook the green beans in boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Drain and transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking and preserve the color. Halve the potatoes and toss in some dressing.

Toss green beans, tomatoes and arugula with dressing and then toss in potatoes. Serve on a plate with salmon and eggs, sprinkle with basil, and serve with lemons. As someone who prides herself on creating exceptional salads, this one has it all: protein, salt in spades, and the unique sensation of eating green beans on a salad (weird)! Also, my favorite diet-killer, cheese, is nowhere to be found. And I didn’t even miss it. See below:

Salmon Nicoise salad with black olive dressing

Italian food, African dance

To begin, I had to move a few weeks ago, which always sucks. Luckily, I upgraded to my own place (holla) and still get a human-sized kitchen! With counter space, a dishwasher and a refrigerator that’s useful for more than just elves. Nice one, East Village. I knew you had it in you. Moronically, I left behind most all of my kitchen staples, so I’ve temporarily regressed to the meals of my youth (ah, 22. I hardly miss ye).

I’m making stir fries and paninis like whoa. Pre-move and food regression, I made a few meals from Giada’s new cookbook. This orecchiette with greens, garbanzo beans and ricotta salata was one of my first and best looking:

orecchiette with greens, ricotta, etc.

Ingredients:

1 pound orecchiette or other short pasta
1/2 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
12 ounces Swiss chard, stemmed
12 ounces baby spinach leaves
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups small cherry or grape tomatoes
8 ounces ricotta salata cheese, crumbled
2 teaspoons lemon zest
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

You start by cooking the pasta in salted, boiling water for 8-10 minutes. Heat oil in a medium sized skillet, then add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. It will smell amazeballs already, but refrain from eating. Garlic infused olive oil has hardly satisfied as a complete dish. Rather, remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and discard, then add the chard and cook until wilted. Add spinach little by little until that’s wilted too. Add beans and tomatoes, cook for 5, and turn off that heat. You’re almost therrre. Add pasta, half the cheese, and lemon zest, and toss it all together. Move the mix to a bowl, add the remaining cheese, and season with salt and pepper. It’ll look as gorge as it does above, and it’ll taste infinity times better. Guaranteed.

I also made a halibut dish with peas and mint, but like a thousand differently worded Google searches are failing me right now to find the exact recipe. Please excuse my rough ingredients list and poorly memorized instructions for preparation:

peas, red bell pepper, shallots and mint

Ingredients:

2 4-6 oz halibut steaks
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 red bell pepper, sliced
2 shallots, sliced
1/2 cup mint, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Now this is entirely from memory, but I’m pretty sure I grilled the halibut via Panini Press with some aluminum foil for about five minutes, or until it was opaque. Meanwhile, I sauteed the shallots in olive oil until crispy. I then added the peas and bell pepper, and sauteed for a few minutes. Lastly, I added about 3/4 of the chopped mint, and combined all. Similar to other Giada fish recipes, I made a bed of the peas, pepper and mint, and laid the fish atop. I finished it off with chopped mint, and it was all kinds of beautiful. I’m reserving it for bottom blog position, which is the equivalent of business class for those just joining.

Now, let’s talk some sweaty, shall we? I have become sooo disenchanted with the gym. I’m aware that I’ve made prior claims of up and leaving my gym, but I’m too attached to the convenience and reliability of it all. So, how’s about a little breaksie? That was my mode of thinking this past month, at least. I requested a freeze for the month of October, and I decided to see how I could manage without the security of my gym. It’s midway through the month, and I’m a tidbit conflicted. I forced myself to start dancing again, and I briefly thought it could replace cardio. On the one hand, it does make for a more interesting workout, but I was unprepared for the inferiority I’d feel when stepping into any form of dance save hip hop. My technique is – to be kind – shit. At least that’s how I feel when dancing alongside such skilled tweens. I found a studio where the teachers manage not to make me feel like a jackass for trying an intermediate level class, and yet I do. I have dipped my toes into African dance, though, and I’m pretty impressed. Thrashy, yes. Ab work, tons. But I’m still feeling it.

See below for my halibut:

grilled halibut with peas, red bell pepper and mint

salmon and peas.

I’m going through some changes right now. It’s almost, like, pubescent or something. It all started with this lamb chop fascination, and the next thing I know I find myself in line at a Giada book signing (jealy?) thinking that I will eat the pasta apps they’re handing out regardless of any potential pancetta. Who am I? After minutes of introspection, I’ve decided to eventually ditch vegetarianism. Jesus, what a weight off my shoulders. This isn’t something happening today, tomorrow, or even a month from now, but I know it’s in my future. Just knowing it’s out there is kind of reassuring, though, because I often question my love of food seeing as how I cut out 95% of my options at all times. Now I’m just waiting for that moment like the one that made me a vegetarian in the first place. I was at my cousin’s wedding eating appetizers, and some chicken roll-up or something showed its face (figuratively). I thought, “And I’m done,” and haven’t touched chicken or turkey since. I guess I’m waiting for the inverse to happen or something. An “And I’m ready” moment, whatever that may be. Hold tight.

This whole meaty-future promise has me thinking protein, and so my meals have been pretty protein focused these days. And get this — I’ve totally started to eat fewer calories. I’ve realized that the reason I snack is because I’m rarely full, and that’s where protein is oh-so-reliable. And so, I turn to my girl Giada for inspiration. I made this amazeballs salmon last week. Not only is is lovely when assembled, but it’s also like the easiest dish I’ve ever made:

pea pesto

Lemon Brodetto:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, diced

2 lemons, juiced

1 lemon, zested

2 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves

4 (4-6 oz) pieces of salmon

Pea Puree:

lemon

10 oz frozen peas, thawed

1/4 c fresh mint

1 clove garlic

1/2 c olive oil

1/2 c Parmesan

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

To make the Lemon Brodetto, warm the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute for about 7 minutes. Add lemon juice, zest, and broth, and simmer. And that part is good to go.

Meanwhile, combine the peas, mint, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor and puree. I lurve this part, because the food processor has become my default appliance these days. Add the olive oil while everything is mixing, then move to a bowl and stir in the Parm. Aaaand we’re done with that part.

To make the Salmon, season with salt and pepper and cook in olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sear about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. And that part is done as well.

To assemble, add the tablespoon chopped mint to the Lemon Brodetto and pour into a shallow bowl. Place a large spoonful of Pea Puree into the center of the bowl as a sweet little salmon bed, and then lay that salmon on top. Easiest meal EVA and oh so easy on the eyes. See below for the final dish:

salmon in lemon brodetto with pea puree

linguine with clams, veggie sandwich.

I just reached a major culinary milestone. In a lady-balls-to-the-wall moment, I approached the seafood counter at Whole Foods with nothing but bivales on the brain. After probing the seafood man for his expertise (Clams or Cockles? Jersey clams or Maine clams? Boxers or briefs?), I walked away with two pounds of Littleneck clams and a totally unnecessary and premature sense of accomplishment.

I’ve had no experience with clams save for a few encounters with clam chowder, so I was pretty glued to the recipe I found on Epicurious. It was meant for cockles, but the Whole Foods man said he favored clams (they’re sweeter and less briny, apparently) and steered me in that direction. It called for:

linguine with clams

Ingredients:

12 oz linguine (I used whole wheat)

2 tbsp butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup dry white wine

2 tbsp tarragon

1/4 tsp saffron

2 pounds cockles ( I used clams)

It also requested I add whipping cream, which I excluded because I can. I love exerting my power over dairy. You start by cooking the linguine as the box instructs, and melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and sautee for a couple of minutes, and then add the wine, half the tarragon and the saffron. Bring to boil, add the clams, and cover the skillet. They took about 8 minutes to cook, and suddenly all the clams pop open and, like, all but unhinge! It looked just like the Reach toothbrush cartoon, but an edible version. Side bar: what happened to Reach? Anyways, you toss the cooked linguine in with the sauce, season with salt and pepper, and then top with the clams. I added some crushed red pepper flakes for some spice, but the tarragon and saffron did a pretty good job of seasoning. I really enjoyed the whole clam experience.

In sweaty news, I’ve been going at this whole workout thing with a new perspective. Harder, faster, stronger, if you will. I used to be all “treadmill for 20 min a day? Done.” Now I’m all, “Treadmill for 20, Cybex for 30, Stair master for 15? Done,” or some variation of that. It’s swimsuit season much too soon, so it’s go time. I will never stop wishing there were pools in the city, though, because I loooove to swim. I also enjoy that whole “fetus in the womb” feeling of floating around and doing somersaults and whatever. Also, it’s sweatless exercise. Something to think about, NYC.

While looking through my repertoire of recent eats, I realized that my most photogenic recipe was another from Epicurious. Is there such a thing as a recipe app addiction? If so, I suffer from it.

I want

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 cup thinly sliced red onion

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise

1 teaspoon finely chopped canned chipotle chile with sauce

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

8 slices whole-grain bread

2⁄3 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta

1 medium avocado, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tomato, cut into 8 slices

You start by boiling 1 cup water with vinegar in a small saucepan. Add onion; turn off heat; let sit 30 minutes; drain. I love red onions more than life itself, and this was a delicious way to prepare them. They’re almost pickled. Epi then wants you to puree beans and cumin in a blender. Mix mayonnaise, chipotle (I used a jalapeno) and lime juice in a bowl, and spread on 4 slices of bread, which I toasted. I’m normally not a mayo fan, but I figured it was alright to include as long as lime and jalapeno were involved. Top remaining slices with bean puree, onion, cheese (I used goat cheese due to the overwhelming absense of feta in Whole Foods that week), avocado, cilantro and tomato. I’ve made my fair share of well documented veggie paninis in the past, but this was by far the most hearty. It’s also arguably the prettiest, and I’m showing it here in all its openfaced glory. See below:

black bean and veggie sandwich with pickled red onions and jalapeno mayo

veggie pizza with truffle oil and parmesan.

The weather has been all kinds of Bipolar lately. One minute it’s all “Aren’t I gorgeous? Check out my bright blue skies. How’s about some Sun? Done. Mild temps? You got it, baby,” and the next moment it turns all, “You want cold? I’ll give you cold. I’ll give you freezing, bitch. How’s 17 degrees? Wait, wait, I’m not done. How’s about two feet of snow? Want flurries for days?” And you’re left with cracked and bleeding knuckles and what can only be described as mild irritation.

Last weekend was one of the highs. I got to the point where I left the coat at home and wore loafers without socks to shop a little. Admittedly, I jumped the gun just a little on the lack of coverage, but damn was it a nice preview of what’s to come. I’ve started to feel like a hamster on a wheel at the gym every day, so it was fucking delightful to run outside. On Saturday, I went back to my track and ran two miles, and then I ran another couple of miles alongside FDR. Running alongside traffic is really underrated. I did the same thing on Sunday, except this time I did the track, the path along FDR, and then ran through the streets. I mean, danger? Never heard of it.

I just watched “Into the Wild” last night, and it actually changed my life. Like, I’m obsessed with this Emile Hirsch and (most) everything his character stands for, but that movie is also such a love letter to nature. Emile spends 3/4 of the movie looking all athletic and tanned and doing all kinds of risky outdoorsy activities, and I think that’s when I connected with him most. Of course, he gets all miserably Jesus on the Cross-like once he gets to Alaska. That’s not really of interest to me. Anyways, I was so ready to start running, hiking, paddling, etc.  As if on cue, the weather hit one of her lows yesterday.  We got like two feet of snow overnight and shitloads of snow ALL damn day. Who, me? Bitter? Never.

On the spicy side, I made the most delicious veggie pizza earlier this week. My friend introduced me to Chelsea Market, which I’m almost ashamed to say I had never checked out in my three years in NYC. It’s MECCA. The place is filled with fresh food markets, Italian specialty stores, delicious bakeries, etc. Also, it’s dirt cheap. I bought an entire week’s worth of groceries for $18.95! Suck it, Whole Foods. Anyways, my pizza was made of:

Ingredients:

Veggie pizza

whole wheat pizza dough

1 small Japanese eggplant, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

tomatoes on the vine, sliced

cremini mushrooms, sliced

mozzarella, sliced

fresh basil

fresh thyme

olive oil

truffle oil

I started with some store bought dough, which you can get at Trader Joe’s for $0.99. You have to let it sit at room temp for about 20 minutes, so in that time I sliced up all my veggies and preheated the oven to 425 degrees. I rolled out my dough and put it in my little pizza pan sans oil. Risky, I know. I then laid all my veggies atop each other and sprinkled the whole thing with thyme. I drizzled both oils on top, and put it in the oven for about 20 minutes. I added the basil at the last 5 minutes so it wouldn’t wilt, and it came out all kinds of delicious.

I’m not sure how attractive it came out, but see below for the first piece I ate…which was followed by two more pieces. I served it with a little Parmesan cheese on top and doused it in red pepper flakes. So good! See below:

Veggie pizza with truffle oil and parmesan

black bean and pumpkin burger and cumin fries.

I’m getting into a phase in which I’m, like, herb-obsessed. For a while I strayed away from all things stemmy, mostly because I was born sans-green thumb and they make me feel morally inferior. I know “morally” is a stretch, because I can’t recall the last time I saw basil give back to the community, and I don’t think that’s even expected of the greater herb population. In any event, it took me years to discover salt and pepper, and so naturally basil, thyme and rosemary took longer to pique my interest.

Though I can get away with the casual purchase of fresh basil or cilantro, I scare too easily to step out of that comfort zone. In the name of penny pinching and unspoiled herbs, I’ve decided to start small with the dried herbs at my disposal.

I bought these adorable mini pumpkins at TJ’s to break the seal:

baby pumpkins

Cue the six month obsession. For my first pumpkin-fueled recipe of the season, I decided to make black bean and pumpkin burgers with oven baked fries. Though I looked up a few recipes for inspiration, the end result was original(ish).

It started easy, with a can of black beans which I rinsed and drained and tossed in a food processor. DONE. Then came the pumpkin cutting, which, though I was armed with a super sharp knife (I have battle scars), was pretty damn unpleasant. Pumpkins, like, don’t want you inside. Luckily I’m stubborn, so I stuck with it until I separated all the innards (minus the seedy parts) from both mini-pumpkins. After that 20 minute ordeal, I added the pumpkins to the processor as well. I diced a red pepper for the mix, and then added about a teaspoon of chili powder, maybe 1/4 tsp of cinnamon, salt, pepper, one egg and a couple cups of bread crumbs. I blended until they were sculpt-worthy, and got to pan frying.

I heated a few tbsp of vegetable oil in a pan over medium-high heat and formed my mix into patties. Each patty took about 4-5 minutes on each side until they got black-ish, so on the side I started on my fries.

I had a few fingerlings left from my reduction, so I cut them into fry-like spears and tossed them in olive oil. I added some salt, pepper, and some cumin, which rarely gets any action from me. I haven’t been able to figure out why, though, because it’s no stranger to Indian and Mexican cuisines, and I enjoy both very much. I tossed them all in the toaster oven at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes. If I had foresight, I would have made them during my pumpkin gutting. Foresight is not my forte.

I toasted a kaiser roll and served one patty on it, not realizing how the monstrous roll would dwarf my hard work and make it look insignificant. I added some amazing deli mustard to the top along with a handful of arugula, and served it all alongside my fries. It was SO good, and for once I have proof. My roommate had one and backed up my claim! And it was pretty, too. See below:

black bean and veggie burger, cumin spiced fries

stuffed tomatoes and breakfast tacos.

So I’ve been a little MIA as of late, and it’s not because I’ve been eating bland food and staying dry. Actually, I’ve been spicing it up daily and sweating profusely, but my computer decided to have un-resolvable issues and has prevented me from documenting my life away. I’ll try and condense anything notable from the past few weeks, but I’m kind of a talker so it’s a feat. Bear with me, por favor.

To begin with, I’ve fallen for the farmer’s market in my hood. Honestly, I think about it during the week and find any excuse to bring it up in daily conversation. It all started with these beautiful Beefsteak tomatoes I found a couple of weeks back:

beefsteaks

I mean, that’s hot. I love TJ’s and all, but they never have tomatoes of this caliber. I’ve been wanting to make stuffed tomatoes since they were popular, so I started gathering some ingredients. Actually, I don’t think they’ve peaked quite yet. Their time will come.  

I started with basmati rice, which smells amaaazing while it cooks. I’m thinking of bottling and selling it as perfume, or maybe a home fragrance because that seems more socially acceptable for some reason. While that simmered, I pan fried a little diced eggplant in olive oil, cumin and curry powder.

The rice was done in about 30 minutes, so I mixed in the eggplant. I cut off the tops of my beefsteaks, and then gutted them completely. I filled both tomatoes with the rice and eggplant mix, and then topped them with breadcrumbs and some Manchego cheese.  

The original plan was to throw them both in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until they got all soft and…wanton? I’ve been looking for any excuse to use that word since Jude Law said it in “Hamlet” this past weekend, but you’d be surprised in how few conversations it makes sense. Therefore, the tomatoes were wanton, or they would have been if my oven was working. It wasn’t, so I turned to plan B: toaster oven. My beefsteaks proved too large for the mini-oven, so I last resort grilled them on the panini press. Weird but delicious. Behold the final result:

stuffed tomatoes with basmati rice & curried eggplant, topped with bread crumbs and Manchego cheese

As far as the sweaty stuff goes, I got a free personal training session last week at my gym, which was kind of awesome/painful. My main lesson learned was that I loathe squat thrusts, although the name alone tells my quads they’re not interested. I told the trainer I pretty much do 20 minutes of cardio each time I gym it, and he suggested I up it to 30-45 at least twice a week. I get bored when doing one activity for such a long period of time, so I’m forced to distract myself. I did the elliptical for 45 minutes today while watching the Food Network. Typical.

Post-trainer time, I returned to my farmer’s market to reward myself. I have a lady hard-on for tomatoes these days (ha, gross), so I picked up a few non-traditional varieties including one orange and one green. I don’t know names. I then went through the hot pepper section and bought at least one of every variety, save the habaneros because I once had a habanero-to-the-eyes incident that I still haven’t fully recovered from. Anyways, my tomato and pepper situation looked like this:

local tomatoes and peppers

I decided to make black bean and tomato tacos to begin with. I started with a can of black beans, which I drained and rinsed, and then tossed in a pan to warm. I toasted habanero-lime tortillas into taco shapes, and threw a little hot jack cheese up in there. I cut half an orange and half a green tomato, and half a serrano chile pepper. I mixed them all together as a makeshift salsa with some lime juice, salt and pepper. 

I threw the beans in with the toasted tacos, and then topped each with the salsa. They were delicious and fed me for three meals last week, but I much preferred the looks of the breakfast taco I created on Saturday with the remnants.

The preparation was completely the same, although I didn’t use any cheese and scrambled an egg with a little butter. To recap, it was a habanero lime tortilla filled with scrambled egg, black beans, and green and orange tomato salsa. SO amazing. See below:

 

breakfast taco with scrambled egg, black beans, and mixed tomato salsa with serrano chile pepper

weekend brunches.

If there’s one aspect of life in which I fall, like, embarrassingly short, it’s my food ordering ability. There, I said it. It’s out there. I’ve almost developed ordering anxiety, because without fail I always pick the least amazing thing on the menu. It’s pretty much a talent.

I studied abroad in Rome, and the first thing I ordered when I got off the plane was a tropical salad. I think it was iceberg lettuce, mango was involved, and I’m pretty sure it had corn also. How could that NOT be incredible [subtle sarcasm]? I wondered the same thing, but it really wasn’t. To make matters worse, there’s no “honey lime” dressings in Italy (I asked), so I had to eat it with olive oil. It was really not great.

Considering my history, I didn’t expect to choose the most delicious thing on the menu at Lil’ Frankie’s this weekend, but guess what happened? I did. I don’t like to feature other people’s food up in here, but I have to make an exception for this insaaaane brunch. I ordered the portabella and polenta breakfast, which was two slices of polenta topped with poached eggs, arugula with shaved Parmesan cheese, a hash brown, roasted tomato, and grilled portabella mushroom. Check it out:

best brunch EVER

My brunch companions were SO damn jealous. I was noticeably smug, but damnit I deserve to win for once. I ate it in like four bites, and spent the remainder of brunch apologizing for putting them to such shame with their mediocre choices.

So that was Saturday. Today, I mentally prepared myself for an inferior brunch. I started the day with oatmeal, and then went to the gym for the Shortest Workout Known to Man. Meaning, I did one mile and like two leg machines, and then declared myself fit. I really need to mix up my routine.

I got home and made an egg white omelette with avocadoes, tomatoes, and hot jack cheese. How original, right? I’m so innovative I can’t TAKE it [subtle sarcasm]. I think my omelette sensed its inferiority in my eyes, because it quaked under the pressure to succeed and fell apart. I salvaged it by folding it into itself, and then I served it alongside a corn tortilla, chipotle salsa, and salsa verde. Lil’ Frankie’s it was not, but I enjoyed it very much so. See below:

egg white omelette with tomatoes, avocado, and hot jack cheese

Insalada.

I went to a Mexican themed dinner party a few months ago, and I had every intent to make something complicated and impossible to transport. Because, you know, that’s how I like to live my life. Inconveniently. I had a hard time deciding which dish would be the most difficult to execute AND most cumbersome to lug to the gym, to work, and finally to my friend’s house. The day of, I had nothing to show for my efforts. I choked. Come 7 p.m., I stopped by a bodega and picked up two avocados and two mangoes. Once I got to my friend’s house, we all started throwing out ideas of what the hell to make of that.

We talked fruity tacos, fruity burritos, or fruity quesadillas, but all the scrunched faces told me that adding cheese could be a problem. When all was said and done, my friend and I made a fruity salsa out of the mangoes and avocados, lime juice, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper. My friend showed me how to dice the mango the right way, which she learned when the adorable Dave Lieberman, stopped by her work. You cut into the mango like a checkerboard, and then you invert the skin so it looks like this:

mango

It was a HIT. Really. The people could not get enough!

With that in mind, I picked up some avocados and mangoes at TJ’s last week. Also, Giada made this amazing looking salad a few weeks ago, and it calls for black and garbanzo beans, roasted corn, and a basil-lime vinaigrette. I bought all that, along with some roma tomatoes.

I started by grilling the corn on the panini press, which takes like 10 minutes for each side to get grill marks. Meanwhile, I diced the mango, one avocado, and one tomato. I rinsed and drained one can of black and one can of garbanzo beans, and tossed all those in with the diced others.

The vinagrette is, like, insanely easy to make. You juice three limes, add in about a third cup of olive oil, and salt and pepper all that. Then, you grab a handful of fresh basil, chop it all up, and toss it in the mix. I mixed it by hand, but I probably would have choked on less basil if I warmed up to the food processor. After having lived two years without, I’m kinda terrified of the machine. I think we’ll learn to love, eventually, but I’m taking my sweet time getting to know it.

Once the corn was all done, I took it off the Press, and cut it off the cobs like Giada does. I looked like such a PRO. It’s times like these that I wished I was an exhibitionist and had a web cam in the kitchen. Maybe in another life. Anyways, I tossed it all together, and ate approx half in one sitting. See below:

insalada Mexicana

lettuce wraps.

Okay, so I kind of let myself go. I let more than a week go without a blog of any sort. WHAT OF IT?!?!

Overreaction? Maybe.  To be fair to me, I was cooking and sweating like usual all last week. At times, I even sweat WHILE I cooked. I’m a pretty great multitasker.

Early last week, I decided to make use of my ceviche-reject shrimp with some delicious lettuce wraps. I wanted sweet and spicy (imagine that), so I decided to be heavy-handed with the brown sugar and cayenne pepper. I started by cooking the shrimp in a little olive oil with some sliced portabella mushrooms, shallots, and cashews. I have to have my sauce, so on the side I dissolved brown sugar in about a quarter cup of rice wine vinegar. I brought the mix to a boil, and then turned it off to let it thicken upon standing. Meanwhile, I added a fair amount of cayenne pepper to my shrimp mixture. It looked like this:

sweet and sour shrimp

Aren’t they lovely and not all “cockroach of the sea”-like? I think so. Then again, I’m a little biased. I swathed my shrimps in romaine lettuce beds, and then poured my sauce allllll over that shiz. See below for the final picture.

Last week’s sweaty side was pretty vanilla, honestly. I relied pretty heavily on my treadmill to keep things interesting, and it really only has incline and speed to offer me. I did my thing where I continually increase speed and intervals to kick up intensity, though. I was mostly out of commission in the quad department come Thursday, so I was doing something right. Right? I’m still nowhere near being able to wear shiny satin short shorts without shame, and that’s the ultimate goal. Obviously.

It’s important to have goals.

Anyways, see below for my lettuce wraps! I ate them in the open, because what do they have to hide?:

shrimp lettuce wraps