Beantown!

Yay, Boston! It is always fun to visit the town where I spent my fond college years. My college friend, Ky, was getting married, so it was going to be a mini college reunion. My cousin currently attends my alma mater, and one of my old colleagues was back from her stint abroad in London, so yet another impossibly huge reunion was in store for me.

I arrived at Logan with an ear to ear grin on my face - I couldn't recall the last time I flew into Boston, as usually I take the train. I know it had to be senior year, because my friend had just accepted a position at the company we now both work for, and I recall smiling proudly when I saw said company's advertisement in one of the terminals. Well, that advertisement was still there, in a slightly different format, so I couldn't help but crack a smile.

My Kind of Brownie

I have been reading about something named a "Slutty Brownie" for quite some time, but haven't really felt the need to bake it. Sanjay, I know what you are thinking already.

I started reading a fun blog named The Londoner, and she had a post about said brownies. Since this is my last weekend in New York until Halloween (weddings, engagement parties, Oktoberfest, a few west coast visits, etc etc), I decided to bake these indulgent treats and lounge on my couch all night.

Caprese Salad

I had basically a whole package of basil left over from my Aubergines & Quinoa dish, and I wanted a quick way to get finish it up. I knew I would be going to the farmer's market on Saturday, and would find some tomatoes, and some kind of artisinal mozzarella cheese or the other. My mind was basically made with what to make - CAPRESE SALAD! Done.

Aubergines and Quinoa

I have a few more weeks left of my 2012 CSA, and I haven't really experimented with eggplant yet. I found a great grilled eggplant recipe on Sprouted Kitchen, so I figured this would be a perfect attempt for me to try something healthy and get a variety of veggies into my regular diet (apart from my beloved kale chips). I actually dislike eating vegetables and I am on a quest to find easy and/or fun recipes in which I can cram in as many different types of veggies as possible without cringing. If I had my way, I would likely have the black label burger from Minetta Tavern (medium rare, of course) every night of the week.

P.S. I think that eggplant may actually be classified as a fruit.
P.P.S. Doesn't the word aubergine remind you of that yellow box of 64 count crayola crayons you got every year as school started again?

I love arepas!

I'm addicted. After a weekend in Venezuela, I can't stop thinking about them. In fact, I almost asked my cabbie to make a pit stop at Caracas Arepas Bar in the east village on my way home from the airport...but I realized that might be a bit unreasonable.

Prior to departing, I dragged Pallavi to Guayoyo in east village for a primer in Venezuelan food. We shared yuca fries and a cachapa, which is a dish that looks similar to an Indian dosa, but thicker and made with corn and stuffed with meat, vegetables and or cheese.

I was now more than ever excited for my next food adventure in Venezuela!

Uhuru and tiger prawns

I went on a trip with my sister to Kenya, Tanzania and a very quick layover in Johannesburg. We spent a week hiking Mount Kilimanjaro, and the rest of the time stalking lions in the Masai Mara or dolphins in Zanzibar.

The last time I was in Africa, I visited South Africa, I had delicious tiger prawns from Mozambique. So, I was looking forward to gorging on tiger prawns and other sea food. Maybe a prawn pizza or two?

For the record, uhuru means freedom in Swahili. The top of Kilimanjaro is named Uhuru Peak - or freedom peak - named after Tanzania received independence in 1961 (from the Brits).

A Visit to Charm City!

Charm city is a cute name for Baltimore. It also reminds me of Charm City Cakes (and we know how much I love cake). I went down to visit my sister for a weekend. As much as I wanted to eat dorm food (ha), my sister had bookmarked a few restaurants she wanted to try. If you are hungry or on a diet, you probably shouldn't look at the rest of the blog. I'm still in a food coma, a week later.