Category Archives: Uncategorized

Magazines Galore!

Many of you know how much I love a good magazine! Marie Claire, Redbook, HGTV, Food Network, Real Simple, Every Day With Rachael Ray, Good Housekeeping — these are a few of my favorite magazines… And, YES, I subscribe to each and every one of them! I love opening my mailbox to discover that I am now overwhelmed (in a good way) with plenty of reading material. They don’t always come at once (thank goodness!) but this month — I got 4 all in one day! How lovely!

So, as I dive into some of my favorite reads — I want to hear what everyone else flips through every month!? I must also share with you how amazing a simple magazine subscription is for a gift; my Auntie Anne got me a subscription to Every Day With Rachael Ray for Christmas this year and I am in love with the publication’s recipes!

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Finish Your Food, OR ELSE…

I think this is a threat we hear when we are younger from our parents: “Finish your food, young lady, or…” of course it’s followed by something terrifying like “you won’t be able to stay up until 8 p.m” or “you’ll go to bed hungry” or even “you won’t get to watch tv”. As a child, not finishing every grain of rice or every noodle of macaroni on our plates wasn’t that big of a deal. But for some half way around the world, a threat for not finishing their food could cost them some extra cash!

I read this morning on The Huffington Post Small Business page that a restaurant in Japan makes their customers give a donation of money if they don’t finish every grain of rice on a special plate (a large bowl of rice with a massive portion of salmon roe). Why? Well, it all comes down to the salmon on their plate and the fishermen that catch this salmon have such a risky job the restaurant wants to donate money to show their gratitude to those out their catching their dinner.

I’m sure a few sentences ago you were annoyed (like I was when reading The Huffington Post article), but now that you hear that this donation goes to a good cause, it doesn’t sound so bad!

empty plates

After reading the article I started to think: “hmmm… if we had that consequence in America, mayyybeeee….”

Here’s my list of POSITIVE outcomes if we applied this to our sit-down restaurants in the U.S:

  • Finally we’d take after the Europeans and have smaller portions. And don’t forget, smaller portions = self control = less over eating = decline in obesity.
  • Smaller portions means less waste and less waste means a massive saving of money.
  • A saving of money then means, maybe, that people who eat crappy food all the time would be able to afford to eat healthier (that’s just a thought… maybe?)
  • Money could be made through the consequential donation and then used to help feed those that can’t afford healthy food (this would NOT be in the form of food stamps where you can buy nearly whatever you want, it’s for healthy food only).

Obviously I’m not naive — this could never be regulated in the U.S. But it still baffles me why we haven’t had any regulations on portion sizes in restaurants.

I know, I RARELY ever post about a “serious” topic — but I was just so stunned by this article I had to share it with you all. So now what I want to know is what you’re thinking… So tell me either in the comments below or if you don’t want your thoughts published you can click on the Contact Me tab and send me your comment that way!

Homemade Granola

The inspiration behind making my own homemade granola: spotting a $1.99 bag of coconut flakes in Trader Joe’s this weekend. First of all, do you know how delicious coconut flakes are all on their own? The second these were spotted, my friend Stevie told me how they would be perfect in granola. What a brilliant friend I have!
So I bought a bag and was told that Sunny Anderson’s granola was a fantastic recipe to go off of. But, if I’m going to make some homemade granola, I’m going to make it with the ingredients I love most. Inspired by Sunny’s recipe, I took the base of her granola and molded into my own personal Happy Trails granola combo.

homemade granola recipe

Here’s how I made it:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
  2. On the stove, heat up 1/4 cup vegetable oil + 1/2 cup maple syrup (the good stuff, folks. no Aunt Jemima crap) + 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Whisk these 3 ingredients together just until they start to bubble. Remove from stove and let cool
  3. In a mixing bowl, stir together 3 cups rolled oats + 1/4 dark brown sugar + a pinch or two of salt +1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  4. Once cooled, pour the vegetable oil/maple syrup/cinnamon combo over top of the mixing bowl ingredients. Be sure to mix these well.
  5. In a small bowl whisk together 2 egg whites and pour over top of the other ingredients. Mix all ingredients well.
  6. Spread the granola out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
  7. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and flip the oats. Repeat this 4 times. This will take a total of 40 minutes.
  8. Remove granola from the oven and let the ingredients cool.
  9. Once cooled, add 1/2 cup of dried cranberries + 1/4 cup coconut flakes to the mixture.

If you want more flavor — here are a few other fabulous ingredient ideas: dried banana chips, dried mango (for a summer-time granola), slivered almonds instead of walnuts, sunflower seeds, pistachios, and honey. And if you have a massive sweet tooth — throw in some chocolate chunks!

This granola on top of just regular plain yogurt is to-die-for! But of course it tastes fabulous on raspberry yogurt too!

L’Apicio in the LES

I am a bit embarrassed to admit how behind I am on posting this — but, better late than never! 2012 flew by so fast AND I have a feeling that 2013 is going to be an amazing year in so many ways! So, what was my final dinner of 2012? ITALIAN, of course!

So here we go … my final meal of 2012 was a great one! I headed downtown to the Lower East Side for dinner at L’Apicio — the sister restaurant to L’Artusi. It opened only a couple of months ago and we have been excited to head on down to the LES to get a taste of the menu.

L’Apicio’s menu is set up the same way as L’Artusi’s — reasonable sized plates that you share with those you are dining with. Italian cuisine and tapas style… what could be better than this?

When it comes to tapas, I will admit that I go a bit crazy ordering. It first usually starts out with me and my foodie partner-in-crime looking over the menu, eying down what we have to have then we come together to share our choices, we narrow it down to a handful of plates then we confuse ourselves by asking the server what he/she prefers on the menu. Usually we end up picking a plate or two that the server prefers, then we both pick plates we both want, then we decide on one final dish that looks good.

We started with a delicious cheese plate — my guess is the restaurant changes this cheese menu based on what they are able to order / what is fresh. I would suggest ordering 2-4 different types of cheese to start. They go beautifully with wine as well!

hamachi

Then, we ordered a couple of appetizers — but there is one specific plate I have to rave about. The Hamachi was out of this world! Hamachi is also called yellowtail (click here for more info). This dish was made with apple, jalapeno, and chives. All of these ingredients made each bite full of fresh and vivid flavors. The funny part about ordering the Hamachi is that I was hesitant about eating it — I wasn’t too sure about the description on the menu but boy am I happy I gave it a try! It might be my new raw obsession!

cauliflower ravioli

Another dinner favorite was the Mezzalune — ravioli stuffed with cauliflower and topped with pinenuts and capers. The capers added the perfect amount of salt, the pinenuts made the ravioli texture unique and the cauliflower made me feel like I was eating something healthy! The plate was small and something I wish I could have devoured all on my own. If I went back and had to order only one plate — this would be it! Who would have thought how flavorful a cauliflower ravioli would be!?

beefy gnocchi

Another great order — the Osso Bucco Ragu Gnocchi. Gnocchi is already a very filling food, and paired with hearty meat you are bound for a food-coma. It’s also very easy to screw up cooking gnocchi and the chef at L’Apicio cooked this plate perfectly.

maple squash

And, last but not least, the perfect side dish — the Delicata Squash. The squash was made with hazelnuts, sage and maple. All of these sweet flavors made the vegetable taste like candy. It’s the perfect side dish to order when you are eating such savory main dishes. This is also an inspirational side dish that I would like to recreate at home!

We also ordered polenta but it was not something we enjoyed. I believe the consistency of polenta is either loved or hated — and in a nutshell, it’s something I really don’t like. But, if you do like polenta, the restaurant gives you a few beautiful options to choose from!
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Splitting The Bill

Andddd it’s true… restaurants in New York City will never EVER give everyone at the table separate bills. So, eating out with friends means you face having to split the bill fairly. I never worry about this with my close friends; everyone is honest and if you eat only a salad no one is going to make you pay for part of Timmy’s 10 oz steak. But every once in a while you run into a situation where all you really wish is for someone to step in and divide everything up for you. Who drank wine? Who ate appetizers? Who didn’t eat dessert? This video from Portlandia (sent to me by my dear friend, Chef Stef) is hilarious and truly shows what the end of a Manhattan dinner looks like…

Hawaiian Breakfast

You hear the saying all the time — breakfast, it’s the most important meal of the day. And to us, it truly is! We. Do. Not. Mess. With. Breakfast. Or, at least we didn’t while we were in Hawaii. Every day was a buffet-style breakfast and the first morning I was there I was a bit overwhelmed with what to pick. I had been on the longest travel day of my life (seriously, I was traveling for about 23 hours and only was eating snack foods the entire trip) so I naturally wanted something that would fill me up quickly… So, I went for the banana pancakes with coconut syrup. Yes, they are just as amazing as they sound. This coconut syrup is brilliant and I am playing around with recipes at home right now so I can eventually share with you a concoction you can enjoy at home.

coconut syrup

passion fruit

But, as the days went on I had the opportunity to scout everything out at the buffet — french toast, breakfast burritos, every type of fruit you can imagine, Hawaiian made granola. You name it — it was there! So, the best technique for breakfast came down to this: get the food that you absolutely have to have, share it with anyone at the table, and eat off of other people’s plates so you get to taste a little bit of everything. Don’t worry, I’m not that crazy, I wasn’t eating off of a stranger’s plate (I just plate fork war with my boyfriend over the Nutella stuffed french toast).

best crispy hashbrowns

Something we discovered that wasn’t at the buffet was an unbelievable crispy hashbrown that the kitchen was happy to whip together for us. I swear, whenever I eat a great hashbrown the rest of my breakfast is fantastic — whenever I eat a crappy hashbrown (or home fries) the rest of my meal goes down the drain. So there you have it — the way I judge a breakfast. Don’t hate me.

strawberry smoothies

One of the treats that the Four Seasons in Wailea had for us was every morning the breakfast buffet had some sort of smoothie sampling. One day the smoothie was made with kale, another day oranges, and another day strawberries and bananas. Some I preferred more than others, but it has inspired me to whip out my juicer at home to help me blend together some homemade smoothies made with only the freshest ingredients!

Hot Granola

This past weekend I posted about a breakfast dish I had — Hot Granola. I’m telling ya, folks, if you want to see the food I’m eating way before I blog about it — follow me on Instagram! A few of my Instagram followers saw this picture and couldn’t help but ask, “how on earth does someone recreate this dish?” And I’m over here blogging this post wondering the exact same thing.

For the past several months I have been baking and cooking with rolled oats. But I have never had hot granola before. So, I’m opening up a forum of discussion to talk about the best way to recreate a hot granola dish that I’m dying to make at home. Feel free to venture to the “Contact Me” tab if you aren’t wanting to share any recipes with other bloggers, or simply comment on today’s post.

hot granola

This specific hot granola that I ate for breakfast last weekend was filled with hearty flavors — raisins and almond slivers also added some extra texture to the dish. The consistency was filling but didn’t weigh me down… I’m thinking it would be the perfect breakfast to consume before heading out for some wintery activities. 1. It will warm you up before you bolt out into the cold and 2. It gives you the perfect amount of energy to stay active for hours before having to eat again. Oh — and did I mention that it’s healthy? Full of whole grains and just a little bit of spices to give it that bold flavor — it’s a guilty-free start to your day!

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Mele Kalikimaka

This Christmas holiday was filled with just pure excitement — great food, amazing friends, and loving families. After spending a spectacular holiday with my family, I was surprised with a last minute trip to Hawaii. Or, I should say, Hawai’i.

Long story short, every year for the past 15 years my boyfriend’s family goes to Hawaii for the holiday but for the past 5 years my boyfriend hasn’t joined them because it’s a crazy time of year for him at work. But this year he pulled a huge surprise for his family and for me — we flew to the South Pacific for some fun in the sun and quality family time.

Over the next week I’m going to post a few times about our trip to Hawaii — it was a short 3-day trip because we both needed to get back (for him he needed to get back for work, for me I wanted to get back to my family). I hope you enjoy the posts — be sure to keep a look-out for an exciting recipe that will tell you how to make my new favorite mojito! I promise you, you won’t be disappointed!

four seasons wailea

Above you’ll see a view of our hotel’s beach in Wailea. The side of the Maui island we were on had calm waves — the perfect water for snorkeling, paddle boarding, and other water sports.

hawaiian green turtle

We learned some rowing techniques on a traditional Hawaiian canoe called The Canoe of the Red Sea. Rowing with 2 other locals, we were able to learn some interesting history of the island as well as see some gorgeous wild life. Above, you’ll see a photo I took of a Hawaiian Green Turtle. I was able to capture this picture at a spot the locals call “The Cleaning Station” — it’s where the turtles swim to to have their shells cleaned by the fish. If their shells don’t get cleaned, the algae acts similar to mold and will destroy their shell by making it too soft.

fish tacos

Nothing is more satisfying for lunch than some fish tacos! The flavors came together beautifully — especially once we squeezed the lime juice over top of the fish!

hawaiian sunset

I can’t wait to get back for more Hawaiian sunsets! Everything about the island was so magical — it truly is paradise!

ahi tuna tacos

These Ahi Tuna Tacos almost look fake — don’t they? The fish was so fresh — I don’t think any of us ever saw such exquisite seafood! The taste on these tacos was fresh and savory — look closely and you can see the sesame seeds on top and the drizzle of a special sauce that added the perfect kick to the tuna.

Be sure to check back next week for more Hawaii posts and that mojito recipe I told you all about!

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‘Grace’ on Broadway

For a few weeks now I have been wanting to share with you the details of a play I recently saw. I have been thinking about it for weeks — to say the least. I’m afraid that writing about it will only bring out controversial topics — and my light-hearted food/lifestyle blog is anything but controversial. But, I’m going to take a chance with it and tell you about this play — because it is one worth seeing, actually it is probably my favorite play on Broadway I have seen so far.

grace

Going to a Broadway show isn’t something that even the locals do all that often; tickets are very expensive and it’s just not something that is done on a weekly basis like happy hour or a night out with friends. The last play I went to was in the late winter of 2012 (maybe February or March?) to see “Death of a Salesman”. This play was long — brutally long — and brought back lots of High School memories from when I read it the first time. At least my boyfriend loved it. I, on the other hand, admired the acting but my attention span led me to doze in and out. The highlight of my night might have been when I stood in line for the bathroom and spent a few minutes chatting with Kate Burton (formerly known as Ellis Grey from Grey’s Anatomy — now, she plays Vice President Sally Langston on ABC’s hit show, Scandal).

But I’m not here to tell you about “Death of a Salesman” — I want to tell you all about “Grace”. Instead of using my own words to jump-start my thoughts on the play, I am going to share with you what the website says:

“Grace examines those elusive paradoxes: Believing vs. Knowing, Love vs. Loyalty, Coincidence vs. Fate.”

These words hit home on exactly what “Grace” is all about. Starring Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon, Ed Asner, and Kate Arrington — the play has a cast of actors that truly found their characters in the most intense and impressive ways! Without getting too into the controversial topics of the play — I wanted everyone to know the basis of the play. It’s about a husband and wife who move from Minnesota to the sunny state of Florida where they are hoping to open a chain of Christian motels. Their lives collide with their rocket scientist neighbor who just went through a devastating loss in his own life. Knowing you have small-town Christian couple interacting with a depressed scientist who questions almost everything in life, you can imagine the many ways believing vs. knowing, love vs. loyalty and coincidence vs. fate all come into play throughout “Grace”.

Through the acting you could feel the different types of pain every character was experiencing, you could feel their passion for what they believed in and you could feel their eagerness to live a happy life (and for each character a “happy life” was defined differently).

My thoughts keep going back to Paul Rudd’s character — he’s a hard-core Christian, a bit creepy, and on a constant Christian sort-of high — in a nutshell, he lives in an alternate reality. The word “brainwashed” is a quick and easy description for his character as well. After all, the play opens up to a murder and suicide scene — so you realize instantly, within the first 2 minutes of the play, that you’ll be watching a play with a character who has very twisted thoughts.

Ultimately, “Grace” was a play that kept me thinking for weeks after I saw the play. Overall, I owe a major Bravo to the actors and the writer who did a phenomenal job executing this Broadway play.

I encourage you to browse the play’s website and read a few reviews on “Grace”. If anything, it should intrigue you to question some of the topics listed above in your own life.

How Are You Celebrating?

So, Hanukkah ended this weekend. I loved hearing all of my friends talk about how they were spending their holiday and what they are going to do the rest of the holiday season. Some celebrate with friends, and others with their family. To me — a mix of both sounds perfect. So, for those who celebrated Hanukkah and those that are about to celebrate Christmas — how are you spending your holidays? And, most importantly… what are you planning on cooking?
hanukkah

For more holiday inspiration — be sure to follow on Pinterest for some yummy recipes and fabulous decorating ideas! (Thanks to all of my fellow Pinners for some fantastic ideas I can wait to try out this season!)

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