If I had my way, I would eat a bagel and cream cheese every single day of my life. However, excessive bread consumption isn’t exactly logical past the age of 18, and your body will definitely remind you of this in case you chose to be in denial. That said, one key to easily transitioning to your adult figure, that sneaky interloper that shows up uninvited after your body starts losing its superpowers, is to incorporate healthy whole grains into your diet.
I can’t tell if they’re a new popular menu item or I’ve been seriously craving them lately, but beets seem to be appearing everywhere.
While I can stand up to the best of them, there is something oddly intimidating about high school kids. Their overwhelming capacity for emotion makes them very cut and dry when it comes to opinions - it’s all love or all hate, with very little room for ambivalence. So when I offered to guest-lead the after-school Culinary Club at Broome Street Academy, I, having catered parties for very discerning adult palates in the past, was more than a little nervous.
“Ew. I don’t eat spinach,” is the first comment I hear after introducing myself. “Yo, I hate garlic. Or is it ginger? Anyway, are we using a lot of it?” was the second.
Awesome. We’re off to a great start.
Tacos generally contain some blend of sour cream, cheese, meat and guac, but a big bag of bean sprouts at our local Japanese market gave me some fun fusion ideas. This blend of Mexican spices and Asian ingredients make these quick and easy snacks a bit more interesting than your standard California-style tacos.
Having subsisted on pasta for some time now, I felt one of those nagging needs for a rich, yet healthy salad. It just so happens that, for the past week or two, the calamari displayed in the seafood section of my supermarket has been calling my name. As chowing on cream and refined flour really takes a toll on the intestines, I then set out to find a great combination of digestion-friendly ingredients to supplement this light and tasty mollusk.
After a long brunch about a year ago, the gang all came back to my place, where I let bottomless mimosas take the wheel and freehand whipped up a berry crumble. Despite not measuring anything, it came out fantastic. My dear, dear friend Christian “casually” mentioned it from thereon out, and as his 31st birthday loomed last week, I decided to fulfill his wishes. And by his wishes, I mean his pestering. This is love. Happy birthday, Tron!
As the 16th anniversary of the loss of The Notorious B.I.G. approaches (March 9, to be exact), my friend Shayna reminded me of the time my roommates and I had a steak, cheese eggs and Welch’s Grape meal to celebrate Biggie’s life in food-song. (Typing this makes me seriously miss the luxury of time I was fortunate enough to spend on ridiculous things during college.)
I once saw an episode of Barefoot Contessa where Ina Garten shared her recipe for the roast chicken she makes for her husband Jeffrey every Friday. I thought, Who can seriously eat the same roast chicken every Friday? And then I met the BF, a man who can eat an entire roast chicken for dinner at least three times a week, given the opportunity. Go figure.
With a pretty steady diet of quinoa, the BF and I tend to forget that there are plenty of amazing, healthy grains out there that don’t get enough love. So on my most recent trip to the store, I ended up overdoing it a little - my pantry is now stocked with pounds of barley, farro and brown rice.
I tend to get a little overzealous…
As much as I love to make big, elaborate meals for friends and family, I only have two real days to myself every week, and those are spent running around like a crazy person, fulfilling every errand I can think of fulfilling in such a short amount of time. That said, sometimes it’s nice to have an arsenal of twenty-minute recipes that will make my life feel just a little less hectic.
