The Queen of Tarts

Vegan for Three Weeks

It really did not seem that bad when @wired2theworld brought it up… I mean vegan and gluten free for 21 days – 3 wks based off of the Quantum Wellness Diet.  Why would I do this?  Why not.  Oh, and I should tell you there is also no sugar, alcohol, or caffeine allowed either.  I have taken vacations for three weeks, so it was kind of like a little 3-week vacation from my normal routine.  Except that it was not a real getaway to some place warm and tropical with a white sand beach and crystal blue waters.  I thought that it would be easy as my daily routine normally consists of almond or soy milk in my coffee which is  decaf.  Normally, I do not eat a lot of sugar, but instead surrender to my sweet tooth with agave nectar swirled on top of plain yogurt, oatmeal, or flax cereal and pieces of extra dark chocolate late at night.  YUM, I am sure that you are now jumping up and down at the thought of flax cereal, but it is good, really (or at least that is what I keep telling myself).

You see, I enjoy eating well.  I like the process of purchasing my ingredients and coming up with an entire creation from start to finish.  So when I really thought about the 3 weeks of vegan/gluten free/no alcohol I had a few questions for myself… What would I do with my vanilla flavored protein powder?  There is milk in there.  Oh, and I do like to have an occasional glass of red wine.  I suppose that I would have to just stare longingly at the bottles as the dark ruby red color shined back at me and whispered into my ear just how good it was for my heart and that perhaps, just perhaps, I was actually doing my body a disservice by not sipping a glass of Duoro, Baltos, or Cabernet every other night with Hector.  Then there are those moments, when you get home from work and you just want to grab whatever is most convenient.  Often, that tends to be a piece of bread or a cracker or something.  It is about relearning what to grab and thinking about the choices that are really and truly what I want.

But 3 weeks?  I could do 3 weeks.  So here I am rounding out week number 2 and it really has not been that hard.  Perhaps the hardest part is explaining to friends (when they invited us over for brunch) the situation…

Them: So do you want to come over for brunch?

Me: Sure, can we bring anything? [CODE FOR ME TRYING TO GET AROUND THE SITUATION]

Them: How about some wine? [DAMN! I AM STUCK NOW…]

Me: OK, but I am doing this vegan thing for a few weeks just so you know…

Them: OK, will you eat eggs?

Me: Ummm, no, but Hector loves eggs! But I will be fine.

Them: No problem, we have tons of friends who are vegan!

So for the past two weeks my meals have consisted of (not all in one sitting mind you) oatmeal, fruit, flax seeds, several goes at gluten free bread, veggies in every which way, soups, beans, tofu, nuts, and I would be remiss if I left out dark chocolate...

Suddenly the situation is no longer a problem.  So I guess what I am doing is really like a mini vacation.  When I am traveling, I do not eat the same way that I do when I am at home, and truth be told, I rather enjoy it.  What do I miss?  A few ounces of grated parmesan on top of grilled vegetables and an occasional glass of wine.  A piece of rye bread under the broiler with melted jarlesberg and dried chili peppers on top.  However, I do think that it is always a good idea to break from routine and try something different from time to time, and this is exactly what I am doing.  I do not think that I will stay in this zone forever.  There is my wedding to think about, and I know that nothing will keep me from that cake that has eggs, sugar, flour, etc.  And a champagne toast will be in order.  So events will occur and I will partake.  However, what has occurred is a different level of awareness regarding the food that I eat.  Thank you Kristina!

White Bean and Leek Soup

  

Soup is one of those meals that comforts, heals, and relaxes you all at the same time.  In the summer it can be refreshing and cooling.  In the winter a single bowl can warm you up and take the harshest winter chill away.  Of all the people I know, it is my mother who makes the single best soups.  The day I came home from the hospital after my open heart surgery, she made chicken soup.  You might think, yes Lily, everyone's mother makes chicken soup.  But I do not normally like chicken soup.  I only like white meat, it has to be cleaned to perfection, and I am easily turned off by things in my soup that I do not think should be there (however, other people simply call me crazy).  This chicken soup was made with boneless breasts that she grilled with rosemary and olive oil and the broth was a light clear broth that had sweet onions, celery, and carrots.  Very few ingredients, and full of flavor.  The soup was so good that I actually told her I thought that I could return to work the following week (mind you this was hours about returning from the hospital and only 3 days after my surgery).  She looked at me, told me that my body was still full of an insane amount of drugs, and to continue eating my soup.  And for once, I listened to my mother.  My mother is an amazing cook.  

A year or so later, feeling considerably better, I found myself eating soup again in my mother's kitchen. This time it was a white bean and leek soup.  I kept asking her for the ingredients over and over again, because I did not believe her the first time.  The soup was rich and creamy, full of flavor, and unlike the chicken soup, this version happened to be vegetarian.  I was convinced that she added cream or butter, but no.  The flavors were enhanced by the freshness of the quality ingredients, and of course the fact that my mother had put the meal together...  Unfortunately, I still think that her version of trumps my recreation, but I felt satisfaction knowing that I came somewhat close to her level of greatness.  Enjoy!

White Bean and Leek Soup - serves 6

30 oz cooked white beans (or 2 cans of white beans - I used cannellini)

1 leek stalk

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tsp Sea Salt

2 C. Vegetable Broth

Rinse and slice the leeks.

 

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pan and add the leeks and the salt.  Cook the leeks for about 15 minutes until they begin to brown.  

Once the leeks are cooked, at the leeks, the white beans, and the vegetable broth to a blender and put on high until all of the ingredients are mixed into a smooth puree. Pour the mixture into a large saucepan to warm.  Serve immediately.  For added flavor top with fresh grated  pepper, a side of whole wheat bread, and chopped scallions on top.

Holiday Cheer

For the past five years Hector and I have held a holiday party.  It started with a simple little idea - why don't we just have a few friends over?  And from then, the parties have become quite an event.  Each year there is a core group of friends who come and are able to compare one party to the next, and then we find new friends who we bring into our close circle.  It is an amazing evening and one that takes weeks of preparation.  It starts with the invitations, the menu, and then I begin to work my magic.  I turn into the Sugar Plum Fairy and see what delights I can create to dazzle our friends.  I think that this year, despite not feeling 100% and the party falling on the 3rd anniversary of my open-heart surgery, was our best yet.

Dozens of frosted sugar cookies set the holiday tone. 

Salted caramel chocolates were one of the high points.

Molasses cookies covered in dark chocolate added some spice.

Sugar Cookies with toblerone layered in the middle added a nice surprise.

Macaroons layered with various fillings including chocolate amaretto ganache, rum coconut buttercream, and salted caramel were the hit of the party.

Yes, I would say that Holiday Party #5 was a great success - so much so that before the last guest left I was already planning our next event.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Rosemary Goat Cheese Lamb Chops

Truth be told, I am not much of a meat eater.  Following my open heart surgery, I moved away from meat, and filled my diet with legumes, tofu, fish, and the like.  However, the same does not hold for the King of Hearts, my better half, Hector.  So during one miserable "fall-like" night this past July, I thought that I should break out of my norm and find a tasty recipe for him.  I settled on lamb chops.  I figured that they would be relatively easy to make, I knew he loved lamb, and I would challenge myself as I had never made lamb before.  I searched through several recipes and came across one from Whole Foods, which I adapted.  Hector loved it, and he knows what he is talking about when it comes to food!  The rosemary goat cheese sauce is fantastic, and could accompany so much more than lamb.  In fact, I was happy just eating it off the spoon.  Now that we are settling into fall, I might have to make this recipe again as it is comforting and filling, but not too heavy.  Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 teaspoon salt
4 lean lamb chops, each about 1-inch thick (I asked the butcher to cut them for me so they were smaller - similar to lollipops)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 sprigs of rosemary
3 ounces goat cheese

Preheat oven to broil.

Place an oven-proof skillet on the stove on high heat and add the salt. When you flick a little drop of water in the skillet and it sizzles it's ready for the chops. Sear the chops on the first side until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes, then flip the chops, sprinkle them with pepper and sear the other side for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle chopped rosemary all over chops.

Transfer skillet to oven and broil for about 3 minutes per side, or longer, if desired. Remove chops from the skillet and keep warm in a covered casserole dish. Return skillet to stovetop and heat over medium high heat. (Be careful not to touch the handle of the skillet since it will still be very hot!)

Add wine to deglaze the skillet, scraping the browned bits off of the bottom. Add broth and 1 sprig rosemary and simmer at a low boil and add the goat cheese.  Allow to cook for about 6-10 minutes. Remove and discard rosemary sprig.

Place the chops on a plate and drizzle sauce over the top. Top with remaining rosemary sprig and serve immediately.  I served mine with rosemary roaster potatoes.

And then...

there was lunch (or dinner, or a snack!).

Garbanzo Beans - 1 C
Matchstick Zucchini - 2 C
Quinoa- 1/2 C
Raisins - 1/2 C
Roasted Garlic - 5 cloves
Crumbled Feta - 1/2 C

Toss and serve... add some olive oil if desired and salt and pepper, cumin for a lovely Moroccan-inspired taste.

Domestic Saturday Morning Pancakes

"Well aren't you acting all domesticated this morning..." Hector said to me after I offered to make him pancakes for breakfast.  It was not the first time I made pancakes, and certainly not the last.  But it is certainly not something that I do every week.  But for some reason I wanted to make pancakes yesterday - probably due to the fact that did not wake up until shortly after 9am... most mornings I am up between 5-6:30, but yesterday, I slept in late.  Very, very late.  Perhaps that is what inspired me to make the pancakes.  I have made chocolate chip pancakes before, plain pancakes, but for some reason pancakes with thin, fresh slices of banana seemed like the right thing to make.  The Joy of Cooking recipe is one of the best I have found, and I go to it time and again.  It allows for variation and substitution.  The recipe as is makes for the perfect pancake:  light, fluffy, and satisfying.  Feel free to add, take away, and have fun with this classic that will make your weekends seem a little bit longer...

Adapted from 1997 Joy of Cooking
1 C all purpose flour
1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 C milk
3 tbsp melted butter
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp banana
1 medium banana thinly sliced

Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Add in the eggs, milk, and butter.  Stir until all the ingredients are mixed together, do not worry if you have some lumps, you do not want the batter over mixed.  Add in the banana.

Heat a non-stick pan or skillet.  I use cooking spray, but you can use butter as well. (Some pans do not need any kind of spray etc.)  Use about 1/3 C for each pancake and pour onto the skillet/pan.  Cook until bubbles rise top of the pancake and begin to pop open.  Flip the pancakes and cook in the other side for several minutes until they are golden brown.  You can keep the pancakes warm underneath a kitchen towel, or in the oven at 200F.  NOTE: pancakes freeze well!  Once the pancakes are cooled, put uneaten ones (as if you will really have this problem...) into a freezer bag. 

Two for Tuesday

More and more I love Twitter.  I really do.  Finding a group of like minded people with whom you can share ideas, thoughts, and brainstorm about all things related to food and cooking rocks.  I have found a whole new world (not to quote a Disney Song or anything) but seriously, it is great!  So it makes it pretty fun to focus on a few fab bloggers every few weeks on Tuesdays.  This week it is Jennifer Perillo and Zoe Francais - both avid in the Twittersphere!  So let's get to it!

I am pairing Jennie up with Zoe... for some reason, these two work together for me.  They are coming up with new recipes almost hourly, and manage to balance this with a full family life.

Jennifer...I want to hang out in Jennie's kitchen.  I think that her butter would spread beautifully on top of a stack of her buttermilk pancakes.  I might end the meal with some cinnamon rolls, and then wait around checking out her herbs and help her decide what meal we should all have next.  While sorting out that major decision, I would insist on drinking down a pitcher of her sangria.  In fact, I might even ask for a pitcher all for myself and place a straw in pitcher.  You should also go into Jennie's kitchen, although, I must warn you, you might have some problems getting yourself out!  It is so refreshing to see someone show how to properly cook plantains (one of my favorite things ever!)  She also writes for the Cuisinart Stand Mixer Blog.  Recipes fill the pages.  Is there anything Jennifer doesn't cover in her many blogs???

Zoe...You have got to check out the images on her site - you will really want to pick up your phone and think about dialing Zoe.  I mean she might be able to ship her cakes and pastries to you, it can never hurt to ask, right???? Gorgeous and divine is how they look.  She went as far as to bake TWO birthday cake for her son's birthday this year.  Zoe also has a cook book on baking artisan bread in five minutes... seriously?  I mean I have baked artisan bread, but it took a few days!  If you live in Minnesota, check out one of Zoe's classes - you can learn some of her fabulous baking secrets.  Zoe's most recent post is Coffee Ice Cream with Rosemary Shortbread... is it summer yet? Well, for this recipe it really does not matter what time of year it is because it just looks so fabulous, you would probably be willing to eat it in the dead of winter in the middle of a blizzard!

So do not waste anymore time... Go and visit Zoe and Jennifer (after clicking through this site of course!).

Two for Tuesday #5

Helen and Bea both live on the East Coast and spend a great deal of their time in their kitchens.  They slave over their stove tops and every so often step back, pull out the camera, and make sure that whatever it is they are cooking up comes out picture perfect.  The pictures might have macaroons stacked one on top of the next in a pretty flower cup or a perfect picnic on a New England beach.  Whatever images they happen to post, you will find yourself wondering: 1. how could food possibly look that beautiful, and 2. perhaps you could extend and invitation to Helen and Bea and they will come over and teach you their secrets. (However, make sure the invitation is hand written, from the looks of things, I think that they would appreciate it...)

And they have a lot more in common than their picture-perfect food.  They are both ex-pats from France who have Irish American husbands.  I thought that these two would be perfect to pair up in this week's Two for Tuesday! So here we go...

Helen (Tartelette)...What do you think about Cardamom and Saffron Ice Cream or Strawberry Charlottes?  How about Mango and Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Panna Cottas or Algerian Almond Tarts... Yes, I know. They all sound delicious, and as if they came from the pages of the greats:  Julia Child, Maida Heatter, you know.  The list goes on.  Well, this is just as wonderful.  Helen, is a French ex-pat living in the States where she is both baking and photography to no end.  The more she does it, the happier we will all be!  Not only is she talented in the kitchen and the dark room, but Helen also has a PhD in History.  This woman is SMART.  She knows what to write about and how to draw her readers in.  Check out her site Tartelette and you will see exactly what I am talking about!

Bea  (La Tartine Gourmand)...Her blog was hijacked yesterday (lovingly) by her husband to wish her happy birthday.  Anyone who has a husband who goes to such measures to convey such a message... Well, I have to write about it!  From savory Herb and Red Peppercorn Goat Cheese to Pears Poached in Red Wine to Hachis Parmentier (which is gluten free...) Bea really covers all bases on her site.  Added bonus - she lives in Boston!  Maybe I will be able to track her down through her pics... oh wait, that is kind of paparazzi-ish.  Forget it.  I will just look from afar and admire her images and posts, and just be content that I am in the same city with such talent!

Check out these blogs - they will not disappoint!

Passez une bonne journee!  A bientot!

Two for Tuesday #4

I become very nostalgic when it comes to a previous life that I used to have.  You see, years ago I worked for Club Med.  "Oh how fantastic!"  Is often the first reaction that comes out of people's mouth.  Well, yes in a lot of ways it was really fantastic.  It was also the hardest job I have ever had.  16-18 hr day, 7 days a week, 6 months at a time.  I got half a day off the day before I left for a week off before my next club.  (I heard that people working for the Club now get a day off a week... so not the same Club Med!)  In any event, when I stumble upon anything that brings me back to that life, I feel instantly connected to it.  After following David Lebovitz for a while, I read that he was packing for a trip.  And yes, you guessed it, to Club Med for a trip with a bunch of food bloggers and that is how I stumbled upon two other fantastic bloggers that I simply cannot get enough of:  SteamyKitchen and WhiteonRice.

Jaden Hair, (SteamyKitchen) focuses on Asian recipes, has some video bits (which is great, because it really personalizes everything) and even some podcasts.  She also has recently started some fantastic giveaways.  Her recipes range from Appetizers/Little Bites to Fast Asian Recipes to Favorite Asian Recipes to Healthy Asian Recipes to Photography/Blog Tips.  You see, not only is the site colorful and full of fabulous food, but it is helpful.  So check it out, you WILL NOT be dissapointed.

OK, can you imagine living, playing, working, and BLOGGING with your spouse?  Well that is exactly what the White on Rice Couple does.  Todd and Diane are based out of LA, and they cook, photograph, and teach all things food.  Their food and site is art for the eyes combining her Vietnamese background and his American.  From their Victory Garden to cocktails to an entire section on noodles, this site rocks.  Visually, it is beautiful, and will keep you clicking on page after page.

Dining in D.C.

I missed my "Two for Tuesday" yesterday while sitting in the airport delayed for hours during a thunder storm.  When I finally got back to Boston it was close to midnight, and I would never have made the deadline.  Something just did not feel right about trying to do a Tuesday post early Wednesday morning.  While I wrote 1/4 of the post Monday evening, you will have to wait for NEXT Tuesday to read the rest!

So until then, an update on the tasty treats we consumed while in D.C. for the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association Lobby Day.

Eating is really our thing, and it started at Zaytinya, one of Jose Andres' restaurants.  Middle Eastern-style mezze was a perfect way to begin the weekend.  We started with pomegranate infused olive oil...
several mezze later led us tzatziki...
  and then after plates of eggplant, fattoush, grilled lamb, and copious amounts of bread, turkish coffee was definitely in order...

After our meal at Zatinya, we anxiously waited to dine at Oyamel, Andres' Mexican-inspired establishment.  We sat at the bar and drank margaritas, at two-bite tacos with home-made corn tortillas, quickly spooned red-snapper ceviche into our mouths, and munched on the perfectly seasoned chips with the smokey chipotle salsa. 

Monday night came, and we were loathe to go and sit at a banquet dinner.  Our friend Laura recommended Oprah's former Chef Art Smith's restaurant Art & Soul, which was located right across the street from our hotel in Capitol Hill.  While I tend to be skeptical of restaurants in hotels, this one is not to be missed.  It has atmosphere, charm, and lots of soul!

So between the ribs (for Hector...)and the seared tuna, with corn fritter (for me) the two us were very happy as we took in the Art and the Soul at Art Smith's restaurant and all the better for it that he left Oprah and came to D.C...