Chickpea and Edamame Hummus

From time to time, I like to make my own hummus when I have enough of the ingredients sitting around. Home made hummus is the best! I picked up some mini pita breads and carrot sticks during my usual weekend run at TJ, the makings for a quick, perfect snack! 

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

I accidentally ate burgers for dinner all weekend. Stand 4 and 5 Napkin Burger. In my opinion, Stand 4 was out of this world. 5 Napkin...just okay. See. I have no control around medium rare burgers and blue cheese. Or milkshakes. No control around those either. After playing some tennis over the weekend, I decided that I wanted something more hearty than salad leaves, but still hom nommy for my weekday meal. 

Back in the day when I was trying to lose my Freshman 15 25, I remembered I made a recipe with stuffed peppers that included turkey, instead of beef (leaner meat/fewer calories?). I remember this dish always kept me full, but didn't make me bored as salads sometimes do when I eat enough of them during the week. Since I had a few ingredients around my pantry to whip these up, I decided to get some peppers and turkey and try free handing a recipe. 

Quinoa, Leafy Greens, and Bean Salad

The never-ending question I have is, "how do I cram as many nutrients into one meal to maximize my healthy stuff intake?". Very technical, I know. I'm still no expert at it, but I've read a lot about how quinoa is high in protein (which keeps you full for longer, supposedly), and we know that beans are high in protein too, so this started as just a quinoa and bean salad. I wanted to add something leafy to the mix, as my morning kale smoothies are not enough. Ok, so quinoa, leafy greens, and bean salad! 

What I Ate This Week

With friends in town and reconnecting with friends after the new year, I've been out and about all week. I was just lamenting last night that I can't recall the last time I made ice cream! Anyways, I had some time to cook over the weekend so I will be sharing that later this week. As for the home made ice cream...ugh. I miss it!

Backforty West

Vijay was in town for the weekend, so I made a reservation here for all 8 of us. For large groups, you get a set menu and you get several different plates of food. I think we had 2-3 starters, 2 salads, 2 main dishes, and 2 desserts. Of all the items the salads were my least favorite. Looking at the pictures of dessert, I wish I had more room to fit the brownie and pie in my tummy. Stupid tummy. Stupid things in tummy that sent messages to my brain that I was full.

I was the first to arrive, so I settled in with Doctor's Orders, a bourbon based drink. I never thought I'd drink bourbon till I tried a drink that was fig jam mixed with bourbon and cointreau.

{Scallops with coconut milk, lime, and cilantro} 

{Roasted baby carrots, blue cheese, and marcona almond salad}

{Grilled Kale & Escarole Salad. Yes, those are anchovies}

{Beloved brussels sprouts} 

 {Trout with a kalamata olive puree}

{The winner of the night - country pork chop} 

{Brownie. BROWNIE!}

{Apple pie, also #winning. The desserts here were excellent. 

I wish I had skipped the salads to save room.} 

Acme

Brunch. I love brunch! There is cozy feeling about brunch. Maybe it is because you start the meal slightly hungover, but at a leisurely pace, and get to catch up with friends while still having the rest of the day to lounge around. As in, it is perfectly acceptable to be eating breakfast food at 2pm with huge sunglasses on. 

I ordered the eggs benedict, with tomato hollandaise. I believe it was served on a bed of chard (or kale?). 

Madison Square Garden

A friend had some nice seats to the Knicks vs. Celtics, (courtesy of work) that were extended to me as well. Naturally, I was more excited for the food in the suites than the actual game. Until I saw Chandler's wife's Hermes bag, and then I was a bit more interested in my surroundings than my food.

There was a sushi bar, ice cream, all kinds of things...but I had some chicken fingers, garlicky fries, a noodle salad, a bite of a turkey BLT, and about a dozen cookies.

 The House

I forgot to take pictures! But a standout item here was the mac and cheese. It really was perfection - the meltiness of the cheese, the noodles, the bowling sized bowl it came in. Probably one of the better mac and cheeses I've had.

L'Apicio

I love this place. I mean, LOVE. First off, the hostess is super welcoming and friendly. The bartender gave me a perfect glass of red wine. The gnocchi! Gnocchi + meaty ragu = the hommiest nom nom I've ever had. And I want Gabe Thompson to teach me how to make pillowy perfect gnocchi.

{Gnocchi loaded with shaved cheese. Yum. Ragu.}

{Orecchiette} 

 {Brussels sprouts again!}

Pulqueria

Monica came into town, and we went to Pulqueria because 1) The music is Monica's favorite kind of music on Friday nights and 2) Lauren works here. I loved the guac and the short rib tacos. Pulqueria also has an extensive cocktail menu, including a drink with carrot juice in it (!). I ordered the guava suave. It sort of reminded me of being back in South America (we all know how I love fresh juice in South America).

And, we have a real treat now. Sanjay flew first on Thai Airways to Bangkok, from Rome. He sent me an email to let me know he was drinking dom in first class, and that he has basically achieved his sole goal in life (we are only partially kidding). I quickly responded asking him to send pictures, before the rest of my inbox loaded with his other messages. Lo and behold, he had already sent photos! Dawwww, look at how well my friends know me! We all remember how I fell in love with airplane menus on my very first flight on Singapore Airlines flying to Myanmar.

{Attention to detail - look at the beans wrapped in smoked salmon!}

{I like the china and silverware on Thai Airways}

{Why didn't Sanjay ask for both desserts?}

{A cheese course. I wonder how this compared to our
cheese course at Le Louis XV?}

Thanks, Sanjay, for sharing these food shots! Now if only I were eating catfish with you in Vietnam right now...

Next time you guys fly somewhere, send me your menus! And also send me pictures so I can see what your champagne looks like on your flights. I'm curious to compare flutes across various airlines.

More Tom Douglas!

I was not in Seattle for too long this holiday season, given that we went up to Whistler for the new year. With what little time I did have in Seattle, I did try out a few new places, hom nom nom.

From Sea to Sky

Happy New Year! I rang in the new year at Whistler in Canada, with a lot of skiing and of course, apres skiing. The drive from our house is about 5-6 hours, including a long wait at the border. If you aren't driving, you can fly into Vancouver airport (YVR) and there is a bus that shuttles people from the airport directly to Whistler. In any case, your journey will take you from Vancouver to Whistler on the sea to sky highway, which is probably one of the most beautiful drives I have ever seen.