Feels Like The First Time

Chris and I have a new favorite meal and it comes to us courtesy of my friend Shannon. I know what you're thinking S, it's not the sprouts with ghee but we do love those too!

Like anything else on this blog, this meal has a backstory.....

The very first time I ever had bok choy was after I moved up north. It's not a common sight in Alabama. We were living right outside of Philly and every once in a while we'd go into the city and shop at this amazing grocery store called Essene. Parking on South Street can be nearly impossible and we wouldn't have even bothered if this place wasn't so awesome. It came highly recommended by our friend John. He does these cleansing fasts a few times a year and when he prepares to break it, his first meal is usually this total hippie soup. It's chock full of nutrients and quality ingredients and he buys it all from Essene. He informed us that if you go a while without eating, the first meal that you ingest is going to be deeply absorbed into your system so it better be top notch.

Chris and I never got around to fasting but we did decide to go check this place out for ourselves. We did some shopping and decided to sit down and enjoy a meal from their entirely vegetarian and mostly organic food bar. I thought the bok choy cabbage looked great so I put some on my plate. I don't remember anything else I had but I remember how much I loved those greens. The texture was a cross between crunchy celery (but more mild tasting) and a flat leaf kale. It was very simply seasoned but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I didn't have nearly as much experience with that sort of thing as I do now. I think it's funny that our Turkish friends avoid bok choy because bok is their word for shit. Pardon my French. Or should I say Turkish?

Fast forward through several years of cooking up bok choy in several different and pleasing ways but never really forgetting the greens from Essene. I know, it's a bit ridiculous the way certain things stick with me. A few months ago, my friend Shannon gave me an old grill pan that she was going to Freecycle. I'd been wanting to get my hands on one so I was excited! Our condo doesn't allow grills. Some people have them anyways but we have a nosy neighbor who has the association on speed dial and would probably rat us out!

While we were snowed in last week, we had company. Our friend Vahe is a complete health nut so while we were getting ready to play some Settlers of Catan, I looked into the fridge to see what I could cook up. My bok choy was looking sad so I figured I'd use it or lose it. We were at Whole Foods the day before and I saw some heads cut in half and grilled with a glaze. It looked great so I decided to try something similar with my pan. I cut them up and mixed some tamari, sesame oil and some ginger juice together to brush onto the mix. I cut up a brick of tofu and threw on some shitake mushrooms that also were looking a bit dejected....

Look at those lovely grill marks!!!

This really turned out to be quite tasty! It's definitely the closest I've ever had to the Essene bok choy. I think the slight char is what did it. It made everyone happy and gave me the fuel I needed to lay the smack down in Catan. I made it again for dinner tonight and the family scarfed it up. The best part? The entire meal is very low in calories and quite high in fiber and nutrients so it's very diet friendly. Between the watermelon I had for lunch and the grilled dinner, it almost feels like summer despite the fact there is a foot of snow on the ground!

If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend treating yourself to a meal from Essene. There's never a lack of inspiration for future meals you can cook at home. Bonus: There is a cool tea shop across the street!

Essene Market & Cafe

719 South 4th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19147

215-922-1146

Cool Bean

I know that they're a dying breed but one of my absolute favorite places to go are independent coffee shops. It's always a pleasure to go hit one up that is feverishly supported by the locals who seem to prefer it to Starbucks.

I was hanging out with my ladies, Kate and Laura, a few weeks ago and we hadn't really eaten much in the line of breakfast so Laura said she knew a great place. We got into her car and took a lovely drive over to the small town of Hopewell. It was about 10-12 minutes from her place in Lawrenceville. She parked across the street from our destination, The Boro Bean. She assured us that we were going to love this place as much as she did.

We walked into the renovated old house and passed a cart of books on sale from the local library which is up the street in an adorable building that looks like it should be part of the Christmas Village my inlaws put up every year. The front counter of the Boro Bean is lit up with lights and a colorful menu that offers up a variety of choices for breakfast and lunch. It's also impossible not to notice the large area of counter space to the right of the cash register that is taken up by dozens of muffins. Not just any muffins. These bad boys are roughly the size of a human head. There are displayed right in the pans and they glisten with the hope of being purchased and enjoyed. They usually have at least four different flavors and I've can tell you that the apple, peach and gingerbread varieties are all fantastic. You can wash it down with a coffee. I asked for a dry cappuccino and it practically floated out of my hand. They feature Small World coffee and although the espresso was bitter (as it tends to be in most places), the drink was well crafted.

Another highlight of the Boro Bean is the panini selection. There are at least two or three vegetarian choices and they also offer delicious homemade soups with at least one meatless option. The last time I went, I decided to go with the grilled veggie panini (squash and zucchini) with gorgonzola cheese and an artichoke spread....

If you order a sandwich, they offer you the choice of chips or bean salad. The salad was great but avoid it if you don't enjoy cilantro. I read something recently that said people either love it or hate it. That there really aren't any shades of grey when it comes to enjoying the flavor of that particular herb. Maybe this is true because I really like it and my brother-in-law cannot stand it.

The Boro Bean is right on the main strip of Hopewell. After you have your fill of goodness, you should definitely take the time to walk off your meal in this charming little town. There's some good antiquing to be found as well a laid back pace that almost feels southern.

Boro Bean

9 East Broad Street

Hopewell, NJ 08525

609-466-6681

A Night Like This

I know it's been a while. I actually had a beautiful macaron post typed up and it somehow got eaten up by the internetz. I was pretty bummed out and I'll try to rehash it sometime next month.

I've decided that I am going to trim down my monthly posts from 9 to 5. I can do more but I want to do at least 5. Today is the last day of January and it's my 5th post of the month...how convenient! It just seems less daunting plus, I don't want to start sounding tired.

It has been so darn cold these past few days. We had a wave of warm in the middle of the month (the temps were in the 40's) but for the past few days, it hasn't gone above freezing. I was looking back at some of my pictures from our last trip to Germany and came across the Gleuhwein shots. This stuff was all over Vienna as well. Every place we tried it was a little bit different.

It's a seasonal beverage in the German speaking countries and it's made with mulled wine. My friend Andrew used to live in Germany and he made it a point to tell us that we should definitely try some. The way it's pronounced, I thought he was saying blue wine and the mental image was not pleasant. What was in the wine to make it blue!? How could it possibly taste good!?

When I saw the tent, I felt silly. Gleuhwein! It's served up nice and warm in a commemorative cup. You pay a deposit fee of about 2-3 euros for the mug and the beverage itself is about 2. If you want to keep the cup, you've already paid for it so you're more than welcome to do so. We kept the pretty cup we shared in Vienna. It had a nice picture of the Rathaus which is a huge and gorgeous building. The picture below was the drink we shared in Germany.

As you can see by the pink froth, it isn't blue. :-) It's served up nice and hot but not scalding so you can drink it right away. I didn't expect to like it nearly as much as I did. Even if I did hear it correctly and didn't imagine it to be the wrong color, mulled wine just sounded strange to me! I managed not to write it off and I'm glad I gave it a try. While we were walking around and taking in the sights, this stuff did an excellent job of taking the edge off of the cold weather. It smells really strong but it's quite smooth! Not too sweet with just a hint of spice. Sehr gut!

With the weather being as miserable these past few days, my heart ached when I saw these pictures. I'd give anything right now to warm my hands and kick back with a nice mug of Gluewein! I should try to see if I can dig up a recipe. I did get a lovely German cookbook for Christmas.....

Tastes Like Chicken

A while back, I promised a follow up for dinner at Kaya's Kitchen to accompany the brunch post from a few months ago. Last weekend, Chris and I finally got around to it. We don't live very close to Kaya's which is both fortunate and unfortunate. I'd probably have even more weight to lose than I am already dealing with if we weren't an hour away!

We basically save it for special occasions. Chris' parents live close by so sometimes we head over if we are visiting them and my mother-in-law doesn't plan on cooking one of her fabulous meals. There are a lot of great choices on their menu. My favorite thing to order would have to be the fake chicken legs! I have to say that it's one of the most convincing off all of the faux meats I've ever had. The texture is almost scary! Honestly, I do not remember chicken ever tasting this good. This is moist and full of flavor. You have a choice of either BBQ grilled or fried. The meal comes with four legs so I usually do two of each. They're both awesome so it's difficult to say which is the best. Texture wise, I love crunching into the fried but the flavor of the BBQ is tough to beat. The meal came with a veggie medley but I always get the kale here. It's fantastic. Kaya's loves their gravy and I am having great difficulty coming up with a sight that is more delightful than that of a boat. In fact, this blog was almost The Gravy Boat. True fact!

I've had a few of the appetizers. The "ribs" stand out as a favorite. Of course, you can blame my southern upbringing for my strong love of anything with barbeque sauce on it! The soups are always good too. I can't remember going there when Chris hasn't ordered the burrito for dinner. He's a man who knows what he likes. (That's why he married me) The dessert menu usually changes around depending on what they have. They're homemade and delicious but I rarely have room for it! Almost their entire menu is vegan but if you order something with cheese (like the burrito), you have a choice of dairy.

Kaya's Kitchen uses the finest quality organic ingredients so don't allow the relaxed atmosphere fool you. It isn't cheap. I am pretty sure the chicken leg meal was $16 but it was worth every penny. I've never had a meal at Kaya's that didn't result in a deep down soul satisfaction.

Kaya's Kitchen

817 Belmar Plaza

Belmar, NJ 07719

732-280-1141

A Lunch Date

Last week Chris and I had a whole week off together! My daughter was visiting her dad so we had a lot of time to ourselves. Earlier in the month, I made him promise me to take me to Makeda! This is one of the few, if not the only Ethiopian restaurant in New Jersey. It is an absolutely amazing and delicious experience and I cannot implore you all enough to go!

The best time to hit it up is for lunch. Dinner can get kinda pricey. You can have your choice of four different dishes if you chose the vegetarian sampler and it will only set you back $9. This comes with injera so you can dine in traditional Ethiopian fashion...

...with your hands!

Injera is a crepe like fermented flatbread made from teff. It has a slightly sour taste that envelopes the complex flavors of the meal perfectly. Ethiopian food is usually served in a stew form called wat. The menu at Makeda is full of them which are made from many different sources and combined with a variety of seasonings. I've tried several from the lunch menu I definitely have my favorites. I usually always order the same four.

Starting clockwise from the left: Gomen Wat which is made from collard greens. Mesir Wat is at the top and it is made from lentils. Atakild Wat is probably the most popular. It is a stewed combination of potatoes, green beans, cabbage and carrots. Last but not least is the Shiro Wat made from split peas. All of these are seasoned traditionally with garlic, ginger and a magical blend of spices. I've been told by members of the wait staff that the cooks are quite guarded when it comes to their methods.

Treat yourself to an adventure. Call in sick and go to Makeda for lunch. It's rarely crowded. The atmosphere is relaxed while still accomplishing a sense of eloquence. You can enjoy the view of the art gallery through the windows that divide it from the restaurant. Don't go if you are in a hurry. Even if you are one of only two or three tables, the pace is quite slow. Let yourself relax with a cup of spiced tea (a favorite!) or a glass of Tej which is an Ethiopian wine made from honey. Drop me a comment to rub it in my face a little bit if you do decide to go and even if I don't reply, know that I'll be jealous!

Makeda

338 George Street

New Brunswick, NJ 08901

732-545-5115

A Southern Tradition

Where I grew up, every year had to start out with some black eyed peas if you want it to be a good one! I decided to get a solid leg up on my beans by soaking them last Tuesday and then slow cooking them over the next three days in my crock pot. I seasoned them up the way I do all of my beans: an onion (the color doesn't really matter), at least four cloves of bruised garlic, 3-4 small bay leaves and some sea salt. This never fails to yield a satisfying pot of grub.

The black eyed peas are traditionally accompanied by greens. Some say collards but I don't really know for sure if your choice is limited. Since I did such a good job with my peas, I let Trader Joe's give me a hand with the rest. They sell a bag of chopped mix greens so all I had to do was dump them in boiling water and let them simmer. My bases were covered because it was a mixture of collards, mustard and turnip greens. They turned out absolutely fantastic and I will definitely be buying those guys again!

The cornbread....not so much. I made it from a TJ mix that only called for an egg, milk and oil. I let my pan preheat in the oven with some ghee and then added the batter once it was nice and hot. This was total yankee cornbread. Way too sweet for me. This is a common problem up in these parts. McCaffrey's also has incredibly sweet cornbread. It tastes like it should have chocolate icing on top. The best place I've found to buy cornbread, so far, has been Wegmans.

There is an important detail in the second picture that must be discussed: pepper sauce. As hard as it is to find cornbread up here, it was even harder to find pepper sauce. I think we scored some at Shop Rite but it's difficult to remember because we bought it a long time ago. I just refill it with white vinegar. It tastes absolutely awesome on greens. You don't need pork fat to knock those guys right out of the park.

The peas are supposed to bring good luck and the greens are for money. Here's hoping for a healthy and prosperous 2010 for all of us!

The Journey (Part 4)

The end is the beginning!

First of all, this post is a bit late and I'm sorry. I'll follow my apology with a Happy 2010 to you few but faithful readers. The holiday season was a bit busy for me so I didn't meet my mark for last month but I have so many inspirations for posts that January should be hopping!

My fruitcakes were ready on 12/21 and I gave a few of them away. Two of Molly's teachers got one and I brought the bigger cake that I made to work to share with coworkers and knitters. There is a little bit of that one left and I've been nibbling on it at home. It tastes better and better as time passes. I have one more to share with my Tuesday knitters who are eagerly looking forward to it and then I have decided to lock the rest away! Someone told me that there are actually those who bake fruitcakes and let them sit for an entire year. One of the reasons it was developed was the shelf life so it makes perfect sense. I can testify to the fact that it truly does taste better when it sits for as long of a period as possible. After I deliver on my promise to share, I will still have two small cakes and one large one. I am going to try to let them sit until the holidays come back around this year. I'll occasionally baste them so they keep moist while trying my best not to eat them! I've had one after it sat for a month and it was amazing so a year should really be out of this world. You and I both know that despite the fact that the new year is still so fresh, Christmas will be here before we know it.