Vegan Royale

comforts, confessions

2012-01-26T17:41:00.009-05:00

it recently occurred to me that it's been quite some time since i was vegan. my first brush with dairy after nearly 3 years of cheat-free, rather blissful veganism, transpired in the warm, swank dining room of the wondrous Zahav, when I impulsively forked a tiny bite of soft sheep's milk cheese into my mouth. i told myself that it was kind of a special occasion, and didn't feel too guilty or weird.

that was back in 2009, when we still lived in our big, bustling house in west philly. for the next few months, random encounters with animal products followed, though i stuck firmly to the diet i'd chosen on a day-to-day basis. the times when i relented were sometimes wonderful (a dollop of fresh whipped cream on a 4th of july blueberry cobbler will remain in my memory for the rest of my life), and sometimes awkward and regret-filled (day-old mozzarella panini hurriedly consumed in the cramped office of the cafe where i worked at the time). it wasn't until sister Lauren started working the cheese counter at diBruno Brothers that i realized that i was ready to re-enter a state of mind where the occasional egg or wedge of cheese should not make my heart feel like shit. it didn't mean that i didn't care about animals, or the environment, or my own health. as an emerging adult, i felt i could hold onto my beliefs while re-exploring a significant culinary genre that i'd been keeping the lid on. and for the most part, i'm proud to say, i haven't gone totally nuts with the dairy, and still have a big, fuzzy place in my heart for completely vegan snacks and meals.

but, when the world feels harsh, or bed calls from the moment you leave it, or you spend the afternoon at work fighting off loneliness or some unnamed, mild despair, there can be true comfort in the products of animals. last week, i encountered just that sort of day, and found myself walking in the city twilight and right through the doors of diBruno brothers, the mothership of my acquaintance with fine, fine cheeses. there, my sweet friend and smiling cheese monger Rich sold me a small piece of an italian cheese he'd brined in beer and aged in-house. on my way to the counter, i couldn't help but scoop a few olives from their sturdy barrel, and a slim baguette from its low basket. an idea was forming in my head, and i was already breathing a bit easier. i listened to a podcast from the Moth on my walk back to my house, letting the anxiety of the day go, knowing that these newly acquired snacks, little soul bandages of comfort, were jostling around in my bag.

home in the kitchen, i made quick work of plating the cheese, olives and slices of bread. a glass of malbec in a juice glass set up on the dining room table, and i sat down in complete silence to this unfussy cheese plate for one.

i ate slowly, with the true pleasure of knowing that this was all mine. cheese plates are often social affairs: your party hunched over the table with rounded knives drawn, comparing little bits of this or that, goat or cow, cracker or bread, lavender honey or fruited compote. but this was altogether different. this was a solo moment - in fact, a rather grown up moment, as i saw it- where i had been feeling down and knew myself well enough to seek out this simple remedy. the cheese was sweet, soft, rich, and just a little dank; not too challenging but not boring in the least. tallegio-esque, but with a different edge of intensity. as i quietly consumed it, i just started to feel really good. and though the me of four years ago would probably take offense to this statement, i felt it so strongly in that moment: dairy is a comfort. whether due to some biological reasons i know not of, or the more obvious connection to our first meals as humans and the physical bond to our mothers, it soothes in ways that sometimes friendly words or acts of kindness cannot.

sometimes i think this blog needs a new name (man, but i don't want to give up our logo! i love that thing!). lauren and i have bandied about a few ideas, but nothing seems quite right. i'm sure the answer is out there somewhere, but until we stumble across it thanks for putting up with the unarguable contradiction of a "vegan" blog whose authors swoon over water buffalo cheese...

love,
emily

the chills

2012-01-12T10:49:00.028-05:00

a new year, an emerging winter with those telltale harsh blue skies and cruel winds. a year whose number is hard to imagine - 2012 - a clean symmetry to the numeral, a mystery to its contents. just shy of two weeks into this year, and the one we left behind already feels sealed. isn't it strange how our brains allow us to imagine time acting that way? january is a month that follows the last, but it doesn't feel as such - it's not just another chapter, but a new book completely. even the december whirlwind, so socially (and gastronomically) consuming, looks like a vague shadow now, even as our christmas tree still stands, green and proud, in the living room.

a very old ornament that belonged to my great grandmother, Nana Kane

one of the first meals of the year was prepared by dear Ryan: a massive pot of chili that fed us, like some modern miracle, for days and days and days. Ryan is a super good cook, but it didn't always used to be that way. but even back in his early 20's, when a sixer of pbr and a cheese hoagie counted as dinner, chili was one of those things that he somehow just intuitively knew how to make. how charming is it when men have a few solid, no-fail, feed-the-masses dishes in their repertoire? my dad's included pancakes, BLTs, and scrambled eggs. i still love eating eggs for dinner.

anyway, chili is one of those special foods that has a million interpretations, variations, an openness to each cook's trademark. chili is more a concept than an actual dish, one that can change with the seasons or the contents of the pantry. and, best of all, it never turns out quite the same but (barring scorched vegetables or horrendously ill proportioned seasoning), always turns out delicious.

a wide array of seeds and spices, plus beer and chocolate (!) are Ryan's secret flavor weapons in chili

on the day this batch of chili was made, january 2nd, we let it sit for hours on the stove. we even left the house to run errands, the giant simmering mass doing its thing over a low flame (leaving the house with even the smallest flame going makes me nervous, but i manage). when we came back, the spicy stew-y, tomato-y smells had occupied every room. hints of cinnamon in the bedroom, smoked paprika molecules haloing the TV. the rich fragrance of all the ingredients melding seemed to warm the house by a few degrees, and made the process of recovery from the new years extravaganza just a bit easier. and as the weak sun began to set, the chili was finally deemed ready, and we ate bowls of it on the couch, wrapped up in blankets. it was good to feel safe and fed, taking a moment of stillness before rocket launching into this year that lies ahead.

Ryan's Avocado Crema
(super good on chili, spread on a sandwich, or scooped onto a cracker)
~makes about 3/4 cup~
~takes 5 minutes~

ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup of sour cream
juice squeezed from half a fresh lime
dash of frank's (or other hot sauce) to taste
salt & pepper to taste
a few sprigs of fresh cilantro, chopped up

-in a medium sized bowl, mash the avocado with a fork.

- scrape the avo mash into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. add all the other ingredients and pulse to combine. you might need to scrape the bowl down once to make sure everything is mixed in.

- you can also skip the food processor and just mix everything up by hand. this a pretty unscientific process, but yields creamy, tangy, beautiful green crema that is the perfect foil for the deep flavors of the chili.

love,
emily

beer soup for chilled bones

2011-11-22T19:22:00.008-05:00

it feels like a very, very long time ago when i last posted, lamenting but also celebrating the finale of a really rad summer. when i wrote that (eep! over 2 months ago - sorry for the extended radio silence) autumn was just edging up against us, but now we're just full on in it: the late november cold rains and windy days. a mild day here and there helps to keep the spirits up, but soon we will have to accept the dawn of winter, which creeps a little closer with each day.

the only real respite from the hunched-shoulder, soggy boot trudge is a cheery yellow kitchen, with warm counter tops and sharp knives. dairy, dark beer, and vintage bowie are small but important accessories of comfort to usher in the premature evening without complaint. one recent particularly harsh weeknight, i decided to go all out and make a decadent recipe i'd been eying for awhile. this goldenrod soup - haughtier than pub grub but maintaining some working class charm - is a pretty quick dinner and you might already have all the ingredients nestled in your fridge. to our true vegan readers: i'm sorry, my more disciplined brethren, but this recipe is not for you.

a gently sauteed mirepoix creates a base for the vegetable broth, milk (heavy cream if you want to get real cray), and a medium bodied english beer. a literal heap of sharp cheddar cheese melts into something spectacular. the first bite of the finished product, silky and rich, is like a hug from the universe. hyperbole? make it yourself one night, as sharp rain pelts your window panes, and see if you don't agree.

Brawler Bisque extremely loosely adapted from a Gourmet recipe
~ takes about 40 minutes

ingredients:
1/4 stick of unsalted butter
1 medium white or yellow onion
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup flour (all purpose, or any other kind to make it GF)
2 cups milk
2 cups vegetable stock (homemade is best)
1 12 oz bottle of english style ale (go local)
1 teaspoon mustard
4-8 ounces of shredded cheddar, totally depending on how cheese-ified you want the soup to be, plus the odds and ends of any forgotten cheeses in the drawer, also shredded
salt & pepper

- melt the butter in a soup pot over medium-low heat. dice up the onion, carrot, and celery and cook them in butter until tender and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

- add the bay leaf, garlic, salt and pepper. stir everything around in the butter for another minute or two. add the flour to the veg mix and try to coat everything in it. let it cook a bit more until the flour gets a bit golden. this is like making a little roux-on-the-fly.

- add the milk, veg stock, mustard and beer. simmer the pot, whisking from time to time. let the whole thing cook gently until the vegetables are softened and cooked all the way through. if you're using some carrots that have seen better days (like i did), they can be tough and might take a few extra minutes.

- turn off the heat and fish out the bay leaf. whizz up the beer-y soup with an immersion blender. if you need to use a regular blender, carefully transfer the soup in small batches, and may god have mercy on your soul.

- once the vegetables are well pulverized, turn the burner back on to a low flame. stirring all the while, add the shredded cheese one handful at a time. when all the cheese is melted, season with salt and pepper to taste.

pour yourself a glass of malty, strong beer to accompany your beer soup. i went with great lakes' edmund fitzgerald porter, a fine brew that fortifies the soul. the label on the bottle features a great ship battling a raging storm, not unlike us east coast kids battening down the hatches for the long winter ahead. i think if we can cook our way through it, we'll be just fine.

love,
emily

l'été does end

2011-09-08T20:23:00.013-04:00

well, another glorious summer has come to an end. i know the season doesn't officially end until later in september, but it just kinda of feels over, right? little kiddies are going back to school, balmy afternoons are replaced with rainy ones, there is a tiny edge in the air. i even wore a hoodie today! better to embrace change than long for a stasis which can never be, but it's still hard to say goodbye to my favorite three months of the year.

i spent more of june, july and august working than lounging by the pool or the ocean, but i'm kind of okay with that. i spent a lot of my early 20's not working a whole lot, so it feels pretty satisfying (albeit, an exhausted kind of satisfaction) to be hustling while i still have the energy and time. one very small regret of my summer is not spending quite as much time in the kitchen as i would have liked. i do think we made the best of our CSA and farmer's market hauls, as dozens of ears of corn, countless salads, and a bushel of tender tomatoes crossed our cutting board and graced our plates.

one of my favorite salads of the summer was an unexpected combination of raw fennel slices, paper thin radish half moons, a sprinkling of blueberries, and a touch of firm goat cheese. something about the interplay of all the colors and textures came alive together. the fennel and blueberries have a casual vibe, like denim cut offs and a worn out v-neck. but then outta nowhere the sleek radishes are like a swipe of matte red lipstick to give the shorts and tee a glamorous pop. the goat cheese is the sexy lingerie no one knows is under that unassuming, bleached out cotton shirt.

plus, it's based on this recipe from food&wine, created by one of my all time most beloved top chef contestants, stephanie izard. i took some liberties with the ingredients of the original salad, but i made the lovely dressing obediently, and smiled a little more with each bite. at first, i straight up balked at the addition of mayo to the dressing, but its binding powers make the whole thing a dreamy, gingery delight. this smooth operator will certainly elevate any salad or vegetable to a sunny, happy place.

Creamy Ginger Dressing from the recipe linked above
~takes about 5 minutes

ingredients:
2 tablespoons minced, peeled fresh ginger root
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 tablespoon white balsamic or champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon mayo or veganaise
1 and 1/2 teaspoon dijon or spicy brown mustard
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave nectar
1/4 cup grapeseed oil or XVO (maybe a little less if you want to keep it on the lighter side)

- no nonsense: combine all ingredients in a mini food processor. whir on high until well blended. season with salt and pepper. done, kind of like the summer of 2011.

love,
emily

hi ho cherry o

2011-07-07T16:17:00.009-04:00

remember this board game from when we were little kids? it was always one of my favorites. i loved the smooth, spherical plastic cherries and the way they nested so gently in the holes cut out of the cardboard tree. i can't remember much about the rules or logistics of the game but the tactile pleasure of those tiny fake cherries has stayed with me for a long time.

i desperately love real cherries, too. up until a few years ago, i had only ever eaten your standard bing cherries (mostly from the regular grocery store and often lacking pizazz), but through my old job at capogiro, i was exposed to a nice array of local cherry varietals, usually in the form of perfect vegan sorbets. over the past few summers i have allowed myself to splurge on an organic quart or two from the farmer's market, and relish each bite into the taut skin of the fruit, and the adolescent fun of spitting the pit into the garden or out of the window of a moving car.

so what an unpleasant surprise it was when the heaping quart of blushing sour cherries from our CSA proved to be too sour to snack on! i wanted to buck up and make myself enjoy their intense mouth puckering tartness but i just couldn't force it. like in so many other desperate times, i called in for back up: butter and sugar to the rescue!

this cobbler, which is about a million times easier than making a pie, is everything i could have ever asked for out of these crimson beauts. seriously! the bright, piquant sourness of the raw cherries are tamed into a mysterious submission by the other ingredients and hang time in the oven. the topping, which is just the right amount of rich and sweet, keeps the whole thing from being too damn serious.

Sour Cherry Cobbler
adapted from an old ass Gourmet Magazine (RIP)
~takes about 1.5 hours, including baking time

ingredients:
4 cups of sour cherries, rinsed, drained and pitted - save any and all juices from the pitting process!
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour, or any other decent baking flour of your choosing (spelt might be nice!)
1 teaspoon double acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using vegan margarine)
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter or Earth Balance

- preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

- combine the pitted cherries and their juices with the cornstarch, 2/3 cup sugar, orange and lime juices, and almond or vanilla extract. stir well to combine and set aside.

- in a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and the 2 tablespoons sugar. add the butter or margarine by breaking it off into little pieces with your fingers and dropping it into the dry ingredients. using a pastry cutter, a fork, or just your fingers mix it all together until the dough is kind of coarse and sandy.

- add 1/4 cup boiling water to the dough and gently stir until it's just mixed. set aside.

- put the cherry mixture into a pot. bring it to a gently boil over a medium flame. stir to dissolve any remaining sugar and take off the heat.

- pour the warm cherry mixture into a lightly greased oven proof pie plate, an 8-inch cast iron skillet, or any other baking vessel you like. drop the cobbler dough in small, rough pieces on top, covering as much of the cherry filling as possible (see image above).

- bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the crimson insides are bubbling.

- allow it to cool a bit, then dish it up. a tiny scoop of ice cream sends you on a rocket ship to the planet Summertime. good for an indulgent breakfast, too!

love,
emily

flying vie

2011-06-30T15:57:00.003-04:00

cruising down 38th street today after an extremely challenging hour at the gym, a bright green food truck, resplendent with photos of giant fruits, caught my attention. the clean sunlight was bouncing off this thing with such intensity, i had to shield my eyes.

around university city, shitty food trucks are ubiquitous and i usually pay them no mind (except for you, my beautiful magic carpet). so it doesn't quite surprise me that i hadn't ever noticed La Vie, boasting fresh juices and smoothies. i don't often spring for commercially made smoothies - so expensive!! - but my sore muscles immediately started screaming for some fresh carrot ginger juice. i wandered over to the truck to check out its offerings.

to my dismay, there was no evidence on the menu of fresh juices. their online menu lists them as an option but that wasn't clear in person. i suppose i could have asked the guy working, but...i didn't. anyway, what i saw were two menus: one for fruit smoothies (yawwwwn), and one for green smoothies. just when i was about to walk away, i read the "tropical green smoothie" description and was reeled right back in. avocado, broccoli, mango, orange, pineapple and ginger?! i relented. fine! fine. this will make my body feel so good, right? so i got in line, placed my order (extra ginger, please!) and waited. and waited. and waited.

for lack of nothing else to do, i took this photo of the cool orange wheel well of the truck. if you go to la vie, do not expect it to be a quick experience. it was kind of hard to see inside the truck, but i'm pretty sure the dude working in there was cutting everything to order. this is a nice touch that guarantees absolute freshness, but takes forever. also, he let everything whiz around in the blender for a very long time. the results, however, were rather magnificent.

this smoothie was truly blended to perfection, with nary one un-pulverized piece of broccoli or ginger! my request for extra ginger did not fall on deaf ears, either: the smoothie was as spicy as it was fruity. the avocado lent a nice creaminess, but a bit of a weird texture. if the idea of something resembling snot in even the tiniest way makes you uncomfortable, you might want to steer clear of the tropical green. maybe the sweet spinach (banana, blueberry and spinach) or the go green (broccoli, cucumber, pineapple, mango, orange and ginger) would be better choices? i thoroughly enjoyed it though, and had pretty much drank it all by the time i was back at my office. a small green smoothie set me back $3.75, which is too pricey for a daily treat. but, considering how often i shell out at least that much money for beer, ice cream, caffeinated beverages and the like, this is a totally worthy expenditure of four bucks. as hoped, it made me feel wonderful and i've been flying high all afternoon!

love,
emily

best coast // beast coast

2011-06-27T14:01:00.013-04:00

well, by all accounts, the trip to san francisco was a raging success. we ate, we drank, we had extremely fun times with friends. we saw sights, relaxed, wrote postcards, ogled adorable dogs and their often adorable-r owners. the weather was sheer perfection: warm, breezy, humidity free. the kind of weather that just makes you super psyched on life; the kind of weather that allows you to eat a massive breakfast burrito and still feel energized and lusty. every day we woke up, walked outside and saw the cloudless sky, we'd giggle. "hey, look! another gorgeous day!!" no wonder californians generally seem more chilled out than most on the eastern seaboard.

it is also entirely possible that the deeply caffeinated, high quality coffee that these folks start their days with has something to do with all the good vibes, too.

if the caffeine gets on top of you, there's always a cold, hoppy beer just moments away from gently bringing you back down to earth.

can't even get into the breadth and depth of the amazingness of the food we consumed - that's fodder for another lengthy post entirely! you know, it's hard not to make east cost/west coast comparisons sometimes. by many accounts, the bay area is a nearly ideal city. there's just so much goodness there.

yes, it's expensive, and the economy is in major trouble. there are surely myriad social, political and practical problems that i'm not even remotely aware of, not being a resident of that city. but each day as i wandered around the mission taking it all in, i wondered to myself, "why is it again that i live in a gritty, troubled city full of hardened, pissed off people?" still, stumbling out of the philadelphia airport on thursday and taking in that first breath of dank, humid oxgyen, i felt the unspeakable joy of Coming Home. the feeling of home-ness is so hard to define that it's almost mystical. you just know it when you feel it...

love,
emily

vacay, it's ok

2011-06-15T15:16:00.005-04:00

not much to report from the rest of beer week besides sipping on a few cans of this new beautiful canned beer, working my ass off, and trying to find a few hours here and there to take care of business and relax. what can i say? my beer week plans always seem to get away from me. i'm resolved to not care about it, though. there's always next year.

plus, i'm in full on, full swing (pre)vacation mode! ryan and i leave tomorrow for a week in san francisco and santa rosa. we'll put in some seriously necessary face time with brother steve, and BFF john s. i decided to celebrate my last day at work until next friday by spending my precious lunch hour watching a few innings of the phillies game and drinking a nice, crispy wheat beer at a local watering hole.

boulder sweaty betty - so good!

new shades

i hereby resolve to take tons of photos of all the food and drink awaiting me in northern california. expect a mega post upon my return!

love,
emily

beer wk: sunday boozy sunday

2011-06-09T21:46:00.014-04:00

what better way to delay the consequences of a fun saturday night of beers and excessive high fiving, than a boozy brunch with a beautiful broad? that's how i started my sunday - met up with my friend D for the beer week special allagash brunch at the pope. over pancakes, tofu scramble and 2PM beers, we kicked off what would be the first of a multi-hour hang out sesh.

wish every brunch was an allagash brunch

D is a seasoned bartending veteran and a true beverage connoisseur , so i followed her lead when she ordered the allagash vrienden, which turned out to be a stunning ale in the flemish sour tradition. it was, we learned, an allagash collabo with new belgium brewery, brewed with dandelion greens and elderberries (the two breweries even blended their special yeast strains! isn't that cute?). the quiet amber liquid in this glass is the stuff beer week dreams are made of: tart, fruity, strong, and just the right amount of weird. i loved every little sip. i had hoped to catch a bit of the live set by our pals the glotones, but alas, they were breaking their gear down when we arrived.

after our plates were cleaned and cleared, D and i hightailed it over to her place of employ - and the only place in old city i'll regularly patronize - the khyber pass pub. they were in the midst of a supreme beer week jam: saison sunday! ten rare and immensely intriguing saisons on tap. oh dear.

the first of quite a few tulip glasses to grace the bar before us was la moneuse by the belgian brewery blaugies. malty, barn-y, aged to a nice warmth, but still wonderfully effervescent on the tongue, this was a classic saison. literally the perfect beer for a sunday afternoon, though perhaps a brasserie in belgium would have been a slightly more perfect place to be drinking it. no matter: a dim bar in philadelphia with D was a really good place to be, too.

i must confess that i forget which saison was second on my list. the sun was still shining a bit too brightly for the level of tips i was feeling, but our spirits were high, and we were deep in one of those great, rambling conversations. amongst a hundred other things, we talked about men and relationships, food and dietary choices, and going fishing as little kids. the third (and last?) saison i ordered was voodoo brewery's bitchin' camaro. this farmhouse ale is apparently a very new release from the brewery. so new, in fact, that there wasn't really a description for it on the draft list, and in the column listing abv there a mysterious "?." i distinctly remember that the last line of the description read something like, "any beer named after a dead kennedy's song can't be bad." though D wasn't crazy about it, i liked the hefty, malty, boozy kick in the teeth it gave me. if you're already getting loaded on super high quality beers on a sunday afternoon, why not go big?

after dutifully chugging some water, we called it a day, and headed home. woozily walking down walnut at sunset, we hugged on the corner of 6th street. D said she was going home to take a nap, but i was headed off to band practice in east falls. being tipsy on small quantity of good, strong beer is a distinctly light, energizing feeling, with 0% hangover. alright, alright...maybe just a 5% one.

love,
emily

beer wk, day II

2011-06-05T11:55:00.011-04:00

philadelphians, rejoice! beer week is upon us. you may find yourself musing, a bit confusedly, "but isn't every week beer week?" if you partake in regular happy hours, distributor perusals, geek outs with the dudes at hawthorne's, backyard/park bottle top pops, etc. then the short answer is Yes. but capital B Beer Week offers hundreds (almost a thousand, some report) of special events across the city and the region in celebration of suds, the geniuses who craft it, and the nerds who love them. the past few annual Beer Weeks have expired with me consistently feeling like i didn't take advantage of enough of the awesome happenings, and this year i am determined to not let that happen. it's really too bad that i am as yet iPhone-less, because they've even rolled out a beer week app to help keep track of all the madness! seriously. dumb-phone laden as i may be, i won't let this one slip away without sampling at least half my weight in saisons, double IPAs and other such glorious libations.

so, i had to work on friday night, and thus missed the official first day of beer week. however, i did jam a few much needed pints of sixpoint at the abbaye afterward, so maybe that counts for something? last night, post-ballgame, ry and i decided to bike over to fishtown to the 'it's a firkin riot!' event at johnny brendas. the night air was cool enough to require a denim jacket, and the ride across town was just lovely. we rounded girard to frankford ave. to the familiar, fuzzy sight of this fine bar.

inside, our pal herbie was spinning all manner of british tunes, and hoisted above the bar in a purely brilliant set up (whoever built this thing deserves many accolades), was a row of the firkins, tapped and pouring beer like there was no tomorrow. for a quick and painless explanation of what a firkin is - by a badass bearded brewer dude no less - see here. the firkin loft was even outfitted with packs of dry ice (i think) to keep the beers mildly chilled. i can't get over how cool this apparatus was.

the $5, 10 ounce pours allowed for a wide variety of tastes, but i was most impressed by the weyerbacher verboten, a belgian style pale ale with all the crispy, clean, gentle fruity yeasty-ness i could ever ask for. these went down easy peasy. a little too easy...

i also tried the standard pils, a new local collabo beer that was a delightful quaff. as a few sweet friends joined us at the bar, our glasses were emptied and refilled as our tab did grow. herbie kept it solid at the turntables, and the place just got more and more packed out. i hazily realized that one potential down side of these beer week shenanigans is the increased presence of douchey dudes. i almost NEVER get approached by men at bars, but last night i was hit on by not one, but a handful of drunk, drunkie drunk drunk amateurs. i will give a certain red-cheeked young fellow credit for at least using "what beer should i order?" as a pick up line, instead of whatever other hack bullshit the ladies of the world must endure.

the bike ride home was punctuated by a stop at maoz, followed by an impromptu 2am viewing of the film indecent proposal. in a stroke of luck, i don't have to work my usual shift this morning, and so could sleep in, rock some brunch, and prepare for the day's beery activities...long live my liver!

love,
emily

tap that

2011-05-24T22:04:00.006-04:00

it's proof that a place is special when you've been there countless times, and each visit renews your love tenfold. this is how i feel about the south philly taproom. yeah, the service might not always be at 100%, but i'm learning to chill out and slow down in my older age, and not get all annoyed when a server is sort of moseying around instead of hustling toward my table. the rest of sptr (or "spitter," as i sometimes call it) kicks so much ass that i can safely call it one of my favorite bars/restaurants in philadelphia.

the decor and layout of this joint are spot on. during the day with the windows open, the dining room is happy and breezy. at night, rustic vintage light fixtures keep the bar dim and cozy (but not too dark), good tunes float through the speakers (but not too loud), and you and whomever you're with can settle in for a real good time. the draft list consistently reads as a who's who of local craft beermakers with a few midwestern, west coast, and international brew dudes thrown in for good measure. i can always find something i'm stoked to sip on, and they have, like, a majillion bottles to choose from if you're not feeling draft-y.

the food menu is also simply stellar with clearly marked vegetarian options aplenty. vegans, fear not: the spitter has got you covered. there are some decent soups and salads, but their vegan hoagie - packed to the gills with savory tempeh, marinated mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and thinly sliced red onion - is not to be missed:

there is a wonderfully unconscionable amount of vegan mayo on this roll

sandwiches come with a side of thick cut fries, chopped salad, OR pasta salad. hooray for choices! to boot, $3 gets you a dish of bangin house made pickles and, according to the omnivores i know, they also prepare delicious meats. for brunch, the dairy-free inclined can rock a very interesting plate of mushroom studded tofu scramble that comes flanked with a watercress salad and hard-to-describe but FANtastic white rice dumplings.

it really does something for me when an establishment has different kinds of seating for different kinds of moods. the taproom offers lots of options: well worn stools at the long, curved bar, plenty of high top tables, intimate low round tables, and a big booth in the back by the windows, perfect for gathering with ten or so of your BFFs.

best seats in the house

south hicks & mifflin maybe used to seem like a random corner for a great lil pub, but the neighborhood has come a long way, and outside tables provide copious people and cute dog watching. they also frequently host cool events, including a well edited selection for the impending 2011 philly beer week (including a lagunitas "420" event on june 9th featuring stoner snacks - does it get any better?). sptr- what can i say but: i love you!

xo,
emily

non edible delights

2011-04-22T14:11:00.018-04:00

on my way to work on tuesday, i had to stop at blick art supplies to grab some face paint for an upcoming event at the dorm i work in. despite the lingering sleep still in my eyes, i felt a nice buzz riding through downtown, watching the world crank up for the day. after locking my bike up on the corner of sansom and chestnut, i noticed this little sign right next to the door leading down to blick:

in a city as old as philadelphia, you see a lot of historical monument signs outside of buildings and homes, and while it's a cool reminder of how much has happened here, you sort of get used to it. however, this sign (or "tablet" as it refers to itself) gave me a distinct thrill. who on earth is the mystery admirer who placed it on this wall? what did eakin's studio look like in 1885? can anyone just put up a tablet commemorating an artist of historical significance? and calling yourself "an admirer" is so much more romantic than "anonymous," or a real name! maybe it was the lack of coffee in my system, but something about this sight just made me swoon with joy.

with a lingering smile, i bounded down the steps into blick. i forgot how visually overwhelming big art stores can be, and to add to it, this one in particular is lit insanely brightly, so everything just pops. my eyes immediately pulled me in a hundred directions, toward different colors, textures and shapes.

keep in mind that i don't actively make this kind of visual art. despite my years of art classes in middle and high school, i wouldn't really know what to do with a tube of oil paint or tiny plastic trees. the things i felt compelled to photograph don't appeal to me because i want to buy them - they're just weirdly pleasing to my eye.

wandering through the store, i thought about how a real artist might feel in here: aisles and aisles of glossy new materials and tools ready to make anything the heart desires. so much potential energy waiting to be unleashed through eyes and fingers out into the world. then it hit me - this is exactly how i feel upon entering a well-stocked grocery store or farmer's market. different items seem to whisper of what could be, and as i take it all in, ideas start to form in my brain, called into being by some mysterious force of creativity. so many things seem possible as i fill my cart with assorted sundries.

the connection between art and well prepared food shined brightly as i considered all this on the way to blick's kids section. whether it's a white wall, public park, or an empty porcelain plate, filling spaces with form and/or sensation that didn't exist before is what makes life tolerable, even beautiful. it's what makes us feel connected to one another. it's what prompted an admirer to hang a plaque for thomas eakins on a dirty gray wall in center city.

love,
emily

pack a bowl (full of salad greens)

2011-04-07T01:22:00.009-04:00

it's not like dressing a salad with tongs or a wooden fork & spoon is that much of a chore, but something about it just annoys me. precious ingredients always go man overboard or i get balsamic on my white shirt or something. first world problems, i know. but sometimes, it's the little things that separates mundane tasks from being a pain in the ass and being no big deal. this set of bowls - in cheery crayon hues and sturdy as hell - are kitchen tools i find myself using almost every day. it might be funny to think of plain old mixing bowls as "tools," but they really do wonders. the secret is all in the lids!

they make the act of preparing a salad the easiest thing in the world. everything goes in, dressing is drizzled on top, lid is snapped on, and then you shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shake. you get full, even coverage of dressing on the salad, with no sad dry greens hiding at the bottom.

trying to eat more spinach these days

the lid + shake technique is especially good with coleslaw. plus, for leftovers you don't need crappy tupperware - the bowl is its own leftovers container! you don't have to look too far for thrills in my kitchen. my set is by martha stewart (who i've learned to stop hating and start sorta appreciating), but there are surely other good brands if you think m.s. is a zombie lady and are loath to give her any of your money. ooh, here's some nice ones on amazon. a bit pricey, but anything that makes you want to eat more salad is a worthy investment, in my book.

love,
emily

lifesaver

2011-04-04T21:36:00.006-04:00

for some reason or another (could've been my very recent birthday and the extension of the annual shenanigans? or the highly anticipated return of this reason for copious beer consumption?), this weekend was a doozy. without even really trying to, i partied with the gusto of a woman ten years my younger. raucous times with friends, ballgames, quality time with my fella: all were so, super fun, but i felt hella worse for the wear come this morning.

my idea of a "hangover cure" is usually coffee and some steely resolve. however, this morning i realized, while pawing around aimlessly through our fridge, that we had all the makings for one of my favorite breakfasts - and, coincidental nutrition-bombs - of all time.

kale smoothies! i was first introduced to the idea of raw kale pulverized with other, more traditional, smoothie ingredients by the wonderfully weird folks at the satellite cafe in my old stomping grounds of west philadelphia. i can't be sure, but i think their kale smoothie involves pineapple juice, kale, coconut milk and some other stuff. my at-home version was a bit different, but that is the beauty of smoothies, right? you can just throw whatever produce you've got into a blender, give that thing a whirl, and out comes a delicious breakfast beverage!

let's not front: it is the kale that saves your life. without it, you've just got some pulverized fruit and juice, which certainly does a world of good for your aching body as opposed to a jelly donut or whatever. but it's the beta carotein, vitamin and calcium packed green that somehow makes you feel like a million bucks (well, a thousand, maybe) when you woke up feeling like a piece of gum stuck to someone's shoe.

The Lifesaver
~takes 5 minutes
~makes 1 large, or 2 small smoothies

ingredients:
1 cup of kale, tough stems removed and torn into small pieces
1/2 cup plain low fat or soy yogurt
1 ripe banana
1 handful of grapes
3/4 cup orange, mango or pineapple juice
1 tablespoon ground flax seed (optional)

- slice the banana into pieces. put into a blender, or into a tumbler that can handle an immersion blender.

- add the yogurt, kale and grapes.

- pour the juice on top, and blend. add a bit more liquid if needed.

- to really kick your hangover's ass, stir in 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed after blending. but if that's like, too much effort for your weary bones, just chug that smoothie and wait for the rush of well-being to kick in.

the kale smoothie in its natural habitat

so, even though i pick my poison...at least i've got the antidote, right?

love,
emily

grade A upgrade

2011-03-31T23:27:00.007-04:00

perhaps one of the most important kitchen tools, as far as blogs go, is a camera. of course not nearly as important as a sharp knife, a good cast iron skillet, a reliable gas stove, or a kick ass food processor. though some would probably argue this point, preparing and especially EATING the food we make is far more important than blogging about it. documenting and finding clever things to say about our meals is fun and rewarding, but the cooking comes first.

however, since i do find myself in the casual business of publicly sharing the culinary part of my life with all who care to read and view, it's nice to feel like i'm doing it with some style. up until very recently, i felt severely limited in this respect by my pedestrian point-and- shoot digital camera. even the best lighting scenarios i could muster - even just nice daylight by the window sill - never seemed to do the food, or the labor i put into it, justice. what's the fun in reading about food without some visual evidence? i thank you all for bearing with some seriously less than stunning photography.

however, all this is about to change! tuesday was my 29th birthday, and bestowed upon me was an incredibly generous, thoughtful and totally out-of-the-blue gift from ryan and my mom:

hello, beautiful

this slick digi SLR beast is all mine, and it's just killer. i hate to brag, but i'm just so stoked on it and wanted to share with you all! i feel like i just graduated, or something. anyway, from this day forward, expect a serious upgrade from the VR photography. except maybe for photos taken outside of our house - i am still too nervous to bring my new camera out into the harsh world!

love,
emily

the bitter end

2011-03-30T11:48:00.007-04:00

back in the days of collective living in west philly, one of the all-time best housemates, mary maker, bought a bottle of campari for our house bar. perhaps it was for a special cake flavor, as she was wont to experiment with, or a brief flirtation with before-dinner cocktails - the reason isn't as important as the fact that, unlike every other form of alcohol to grace the shelves in our house, this one wasn't sucked down within moments of entering the building. and because i can't bear to throw out perfectly good booze, i've spent the last few years lugging the half full bottle of crimson, syrupy liquer from one rental to another. an ounce or two has been sipped, but for the most part it has stood quietly amongst the other, more popular inhabitants of our liquor cabinets.

campari, like most bitter flavors, is foreign to the average young drinker's palate. the flavor profile isn't one we're introduced to often as children, and when we are, we're generally conditioned to equate these tastes as "medicinal," or just "gross." while i still don't think a glass of straight campari is my tipple of choice, i've come to appreciate a dose of bitterness in my older age. maybe this can be attributed to the fabled every-7-year-taste-buds-changeover (when foods and flavors you used to despise are suddenly tolerable, or even enjoyable). or maybe it was my stint at the 40th street Capogiro, whose italian-centric liquor selection included amaro of many shades and strenghts that i cautiously sampled throughout my time working there. i found that when i really gave these strange new flavors a fighting chance, instead of just assuming i wouldn't like them, some of them were really quite wonderful.

and so lately, the ancient bottle of campari in my possession has been slowly but surely disappearing. finishing the bottle - which at one time seemed like an insurmountable feat - is now immanent, and when the last drop is gone, i just might buy another. the "negroni sodi," as i've dubbed it, is my new favorite apertif of choice: just the right amount of astringent to rev up the old appetite before dinner.

Negroni Sodi - a lovingly bastardized apertif
~makes 1 cocktail

ingredients:
1 ounce good quality gin (or, whatever, you can use crappy gin if you want to)
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
1/2 ounce campari
seltzer
slice of orange (optional)

- fill a rocks glass full of ice cubes.

- pour the gin, then slowly add the vermouth and campari.

- top with cold seltzer water, and stir gently. garnish with an orange wedge if you want to go the extra mile.

- imbibe. but be prepared! this manner of cocktail really does stimulate your appetite, so if dinner isn't for another hour or two, have some little snacks on hand!

for fancier times, the gin/vermouth/campari can be topped with sparking wine - a negroni royale! i've always love the fact that champagne or sparking wine added to almost any beverage makes it a "royale." sound so much classier than "spritzer," don't you think?

love,
emily

evil twin

2011-03-17T11:30:00.001-04:00

on a whim the other week, i brought a nice cache of fresh fennel back from the superfresh (goddamn, i miss the farmer's market). once breaking two lovely bulbs down, i realized it was just too much fennel for one dish. well, it would've been the perfect amount for tomato soup with two fennels, but we were in the midst of a spell of warm weather, and i was feeling kinda souped out.

so in the interest of diversification, i tried two very different approaches to preparing this licorice scented beaut. the first was a crunchy, tangy salad that plays the clean, citrusy flavors of grapefruit off the clean, sharp flavors of the fennel. a handful of thinly sliced red onion added a pungency which popped against a backdrop of tender lettuce leaves. i then dressed this pink and purple melange with a light shower of orange juice, mild honey, red wine vinegar and xvo. this salad brought a fierce brightness to the plate, which is just what a winter salad should do. it would be a great compliment to a rich entree of stew, pasta, or braised protein.

i reserved the other half of the fennel slivers for another night, which, in typical spring fashion, was as cold and rainy as the previous night had been warm and breezy. so, i decided to take a totally opposite direction, with an easy, fuss free recipe from the stellar The Essential NY Times Cookbook by amanda hesser. the fennel is steamed for just under ten minutes, and then sauced with a chile-infused olive oil, and a touch of salt and pepper. i lined the plate with a bed of arugula in a half assed attempt to squeeze some more greens into my diet.

i really love vegetables that are equally good cooked and raw, and fennel really wins in both cases. it's so hard to imagine when eating it in its sweet and crunchy raw state that it can also be transformed into a silky version of itself. these two wildly different treatments of fennel reminds me of that always enthralling narrative theme - the evil twin. like, the raw fennel salad is cheery, sweet and straightforward, while the spicy, steamed fennel is mysterious, rich, almost musky. ok, i'll stop personifying my food and just get on with recipe already.

Steamed Fennel with Spicy Olive Oil
adapted from The Essential New York Times Cookbook by Amanda Hesser
~takes about 15 minutes~

ingredients:
1-2 fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced thinly (i mean, really you can make this with as much or little fennel as you'd like - just adjust the amount of olive oil)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, depending on how much spiciness you enjoy

- place the fennel in a steaming basket over a pot of gently boiling water. steam until tender, 5-7 minutes.

- in the meantime, put the olive oil in a small pot over a very, very low flame. after it is gently warmed, turn the heat off and swirl in the red pepper flakes. set this aside. if you are in the habit of making your own olive oil infusions, this would be a wonderful opportunity to skip this step entirely and use your ready-to-go flavored oil.

- when the fennel is done, plate it as artfully or messily as you care to. gently drizzle the infused olive oil over it, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste.

while you eat it, listen to this song and think about all the awesomely dangerous, selfish and lascivious things you would do if you had an evil twin.

love,
emily

can't trace time

2011-03-09T20:28:00.010-05:00

i'm sitting here in the kitchen, finishing a simple dinner of roasted purple potatoes and oyster mushrooms with sun dried tomato & parsley pesto, and a nice big side salad. the radio is playing softly in the background, but i'm not paying much attention. maybe it was the long, heated discussion i had with my friend carrie earlier today about food and american culture, but i'm feeling a little sentimental tonight.

how things have changed since i swore off meat in 1996. that the words vegetarian, vegan, raw, gluten free, and locavore are even present in the mainstream vernacular is something spectacular. at the dawn of my vegetarianism, the only people publicly meat-free that i knew of were my fellow politicized punks and hardcore kids, hippies, and people motivated by religious doctrines. foods that are now relatively easy to find in regular groceries (tofu, organic produce, ancient grains, carob, etc.) were only available in my hometown's small natural foods co-op, which smelled funny and was certainly not a place for one-stop-shopping. this was before whole foods moved east, before isa had cookbooks for sale on amazon, before farmer's markets were in every public park on saturdays. it's weird to say this, but they really were different times - barely 15 years ago! i'm not sure exactly who to thank (i'm sure an accurate list would include tens of thousands of names), but the foodscape i face now as a vegetarian is a million percent more accommodating then when i first embarked on this personal culinary journey.

this was driven home even more while i was walking around reading terminal market on monday, killing a bit of time before meeting mom and sis at the philadelphia flower show. while cruising the many stalls hawking both edible and non-food wares in this most excellent philadelphia institution, i veered off into a cook book store. while browsing, i came across a sight that made my heart swell:

this was only about 1/2 the shelf, too!

an entire shelf dedicated to vegan cookbooks! the vegetarian and produce-centric books took up almost another two shelves, as well. even in this snapshot, there are vegan tomes for every taste: the calorie conscious (i.e. "skinny bitch"...i want to hate it but must ask - is it better than nothing?), the time-strapped ("fresh & fast vegan"), the conscious parent ("vegan lunch box"), and the post-punk warrior ("veganomicon," i will never tire of thee).

and so while the world is still riddled with problems, and most americans' diets are somehow worse than ever, there is a silver lining. many people who used to have no clue, at least know what veganism means, however vaguely. businesses and stores that specialize in vegan, vegetarian, and natural products are flourishing. it's becoming normalized to spend time thinking and talking about how our diets affect agriculture, animal cruelty, the environment, the economy, and of course, our health. for sure, i could go on about this for many more paragraphs, but i'll just leave it at this: there are so many things about the current state of our world that scare me shitless. thankfully, one thing that bolsters me and helps me feel brave is knowing that, as far as personal diet choices go, i am less alone than ever before.

love,
emily

high dive

2011-02-28T14:47:00.015-05:00

what to do with an endive? i usually encounter them in the grocery store, looking wan and sad in a small pile along side other less popular vegetables. but i've always liked the look of endive - smooth and sleek, like little white torpedoes with elegant green tips.

endive (a member of the daisy family, i just learned), have only really functioned for me heretofore as edible cups for dips and appetizers. and who doesn't love an edible cup? cones (for ice cream), taco shells, wontons - even tomatoes and cucumbers hollowed out can become edible vessels for dips and salads. but is this all the lonely endive is good for? relegated to a life of bland transport?

in the february issue of food & wine magazine, my eye was caught by a simple and genius mode of endive preparation, conceived by tory miller, chef at l'etoile in madison, wisconsin. the article itself was totally adorable, about how as a way to bust the seasonal boredom, chef miller and his restaurant staff play broom hockey and then eat amazing wintry meals together. the meal highlighted in f&w had a "winter white" theme. when i saw the technique for braising endives in gin and orange juice, i wrote right on the magazine page in an excited scrawl "want to try this!" and stalked my neighborhood grocery stores until i found endives that seemed acceptable. perhaps a bit over zealous, i also splurged on high quality, local gin and organic fresh oranges.

there are very few dishes that i ever have, or ever will, refer to as "gorgeous." or "sensuous" or "voluptuous," or any of those over wrought food writer words that seem to convey more the party in your pants than the one in your mouth. and so, i struggle to find a way to describe this vegetable side that doesn't rely on those silly tropes. i will just say, before sharing this gem of a recipe: while eating the finished dish, i sat alone in my kitchen, uncontrollably exclaiming out loud to the universe, "holy shit, this is so GOOD!" it may be one of the best things i've ever made. the caramelized, tender leaves of the endives, dry juniper berry zing of the gin, and tart sugars of the orange juice are fast friends. however, the finishing sauce is what really takes this to a gourmet level, and is a sophisticated, awesome technique i am sure i'll employ a thousand times to come.

Gin & Juice Braised Endives

adapted from the February 2011 issue of Food & Wine magazine

~serves two as a side, or one hungry person who doesn't want to share~

~takes 30 minutes~

ingredients:

1 tblsp extra-virgin olive oil

5 belgian endives, halved lenghtwise

1/4 cup good quality gin

salt & pepper

1/2 cup (maybe a little less) fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

2 tablespoons agave nectar, brown rice syrup, or honey

1 scallion, white and light green parts only, sliced (optional)

1 tablespoon roasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

- heat the oil in a large, non-stick or well seasoned cast iron skillet. add the endive halves, cut side down, and cook over medium heat until nicely browned, about 5 minutes.

- slowly pour the gin over the pan and let cook until reduced by half. flip the endives over, season with salt and pepper (less salt if you plan on using margarine later), and add the OJ.

- lower the heat and cover. cook for about 15 minutes, turning the endives back over one time, about 10 minutes through.

- once the endives are tender, transfer them to a plate using a slotted spoon. add the margarine or butter to the remaining liquid in the plan, then swirl in the agave or honey. bring this radiant sauce to a quick boil, stirring gently with a spatula. when it's nice and syrupy (only about 2 minutes are needed), season with more pepper. this makes your kitchen smell amazing.

- pour the sauce over the endives, and garnish with the scallion and pepitas. i didn't have either of these things on hand, and trust me, it did not matter one bit.

- drizzle the plate with a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar, and serve.

for even further decadence, enjoy this dish with an ice cold gin martini

try to take your time with this heady, wonderful dish. your impulse will be to inhale them all at once in a fit of pleasure, but it's really worth it to savor each small bite, letting all the distinct but harmonious flavors and textures dance through your mind.

love,

emily

pop!

2011-02-16T23:03:00.013-05:00

just a quick little note about a special kind of beverage lauren, alex and i recently encountered. guess what - it's not beer! fooled ya. it's good old fashioned soda pop! which is a genre of drink we rarely tango with. sure, an ice cold diet coke from a gas station in ohio in the middle of a summer road trip is one thing. there too is a time and a place for a big splash of ginger ale to mellow out some whiskey. but when it comes to non-beer bubbles, the sisters kovach almost religiously drink seltzer (add some juice, it's called "so-jay") and not much else. i kind of like to think about seltzer like regular soda with all its make up scrubbed off.

so then why, the other week, did we order 2 bottles of soda pop alongside our slices of succulent vegan pizza at blackbird? well, we're suckers for great packaging and wacky flavors, and that about explains it:

DRY soda, a relatively new small company based in seattle, cranks out beautiful, clear, sparkling beverages in lovely bottles, infused with unconventional and creative flavors. each bottle contains only 45-70 calories, and between 11-19 grams of cane sugar. this is just a fraction of what is in "regular" soda. so despite our normal FU attitude towards pop, i ordered the cucumber, and lauren got lavender, though our other choices included blood orange, rhubarb, vanilla bean, and more. although still a bit sweet for my taste, the flavors harnessed in these sodas were amazing! the cuke was dry and smooth, and the lavender was floral and light, but not in a soapy or overtly fragrance-y ways.

DRY really gives a shit about its shit. even the briefest perusal of their website will prove as much. each soda flavor has its own page describing the flavor profile, food pairing ideas, and cocktail recipes. while i'm still a major proponent of making your own simple syrup or liquor infusions, all the DRY flavors would be out-of-control good in a boozy drink. might not buy this stuff by the case, but for a treat once in awhile, i'll totally go for it.

bonus- a few photos of blackbird's sexy za, best vegan pie in the city:

mushroom & potato

alright, stop drooling! if you haven't been to blackbird yet, the time is now. i think they even deliver...

love,

emily

morning, sunshine

2011-02-07T11:28:00.010-05:00

after nearly an entire year of eating the same thing for breakfast every weekday morning, i'm switching it up! don't worry, i haven't gone all eggs and bacon on you. in fact, to the naked eye, these changes won't seem like much at all. but look little closer, and you'll see that these changes are indeed significant: oatmeal and quinoa porridge replaced the granola, muffins replaced the toast, coffee replaced tea. the old yogurt and granola routine was good, but the deep winter calls for more substantial, fortifying fare.

the porridge is a really rad technique that i learned from the candle cafe cookbook. basically, before you go to bed one night, measure out a cup each of irish steel cut oats and quinoa. put them in a pot and cover with water and add a pinch of salt. let them soak all night while you're dreaming of intergalactic adventures, and in the morning, turn the heat on while you're preparing your lunch for the day. once it comes to a boil, bring it back down to a simmer, stirring occasionally with a spatula. you might need to add some more liquid - stirring in some soy or almond milk instead of water really lends a rich, silky quality to the porridge. coconut milk would be truly luxurious. after about 15 minutes of simmering, it should be ready! scoop some in a bowl, top with yogurt, chopped nuts and fruits, and a drizzle of agave nectar or a little scoop of brown sugar.

i used to think that steel cut oats took, like, an hour to cook, but the overnight soak shaves off well over half the time. it's really worth it to think just a little bit ahead and treat your body to the higher protein experience of steel cut oats. they beat the nutritional pants off their rolled or quick-cooking counterparts. i think they taste a lot better, too. if you do start with a whole cup of each grain, you'll have lots of leftovers, which makes the next few day's worth of breakfasts a snap!

sort of looks like the cat is wearing a big top hat!

the tea-to-coffee upgrade has come courtesy of my favorite new little kitchen gadget: a manual one-cup coffee maker, which is about as awesomely low-technology as it gets. sure, the plastic kind (as shown above) is not as sexy as the porcelain type i've been seeing around, but it cost $2 and gets the job done. some people claim that the one-cup drip method develops the deepest, best flavor, better even than the beloved french press, but i haven't noticed any huge improvement. it's just fast and easy, as all things in the morning should be, takes one second to clean, and always makes me feel like a cool bachelor.

finally, the muffins - which are probably the healthiest thing i've ever baked EVER - come from a vegan cookbook i checked out of the library, ripe from around here, by jae steele. the book, while a tad on the hippie dippy side for my taste, is pretty solid. the author, a cute canadian who also maintains a food/health & wellness blog, is very interested in eating locally and sustainably, tailoring diet toward the season, avoiding refined foods and animal products...you know, all that vegan stuff. she manages to do this mostly without seeming preachy or dogmatic, though she almost lost me in the segment where she suggests giving up bananas because of their politically fraught past and the carbon footprint they create. are you rolling your eyes a little bit, too?

anyway, the cookbook includes some old standards (stir fries, pancakes, etc.) and some more interesting stuff, too (homemade oat milk, creamy kale soup, blueberry lavender ice cream). these muffins really caught my eye because they just looks so insanely healthy and simple. carrots, raisins, dates and seeds make these like a complete meal unto themselves. indeed, every morning when i eat one, i feel the vitamins and minerals coursing through me!

Morning Glory Muffins
adapted from "ripe from around here" by jae steele
~makes 12-18 muffins~
~takes about 50 minutes, including baking time~

ingredients:
2 cups spelt flour (i actually didn't cheat and use all purpose, but it'd be fine if you did)
1/4 rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 & 1/2 cups grated carrots (the grating attachment on the food processor is a real hero, here)
3/4 cups raisins or currants
1/3 cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds
1 cup packed, chopped and pitted dates, soaked in very hot water for at least 20 minutes
1/2 cup safflower oil
1 cup apple cider (or apple or orange juice - or all three!)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

- preheat the oven to 375F and prepare a muffin tin with liners.

- boil water to pour over the dates. let them soak while you're getting everything else together.

- stir together the flour, oats, baking soda and powder, spices and salt in a large bowl. add the carrots, currants and seeds, and stir it up, making sure all the little bits get coated in flour.

- put the softened dates and the water they soaked in in a food processor and blend until smooth. while it's running, slowly pour in the oil, and then the apple cider or orange juice.

- scrape this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. add the vinegar and stir just a bit more to make sure all the flour is absorbed. overmixing can make the muffins too tough!

- pour the batter into the muffin tin. she claims that this makes 12 muffins, but i ended up with enough batter to make 18. maybe i didn't fill the tins up enough? anyway, it all worked out in the end.

- bake for 22-25 minutes, til a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. let them cool for a few minutes in the pans, then move to a cooling rack.

- her recipe says they only keep for 2 days unless refrigerated, but i've been chipping away at the batch i made for at least a week, and after a few minutes in the toaster they're almost good as new.

love,
emily

thanks for the dranks

2011-02-01T11:39:00.017-05:00

even though we've been back from Houston for over 3 weeks now, i can't stop reminiscing about our adventures there. maybe it's because philadelphia has been getting pelted with all manner of frozen precipitation ever since our return, and i long to go back to that sunny patio where we sat and drank iced coffee. maybe it's because seeing our dear mary was a sharp reminder of how intensely she is missed here. or maybe it's that the routine of working, schlepping home on the septa bus, and "being cozy" (that is, staying in to avoid the cold) is making me long for another vacation.

regardless, one facet of the houston trip that has stayed with me is the creative, lovely cocktails that we sipped at a few places across town. at home, i'm rarely drawn to bars that offer the new class of craft or pre-prohibition mixed drinks. the steep price tags and my unyielding love of beer may be to blame. chick's is just a block away from my house, and i've stopped in a few times, but with no real regularity. the wonderful southwark, too, is just a stone's throw away from my abode, but i like to reserve my trips there for special occasions. the thing about vacations is, is that every day is a special occasion! especially when you're cavorting around with three of your best lady friends, it doesn't take much convincing to order a fancy drink once the sun has gone down.

while on the plane en route to texas, lauren and i took turns thumbing through the most recent issue of saveur. in their "top 100" feature, the head chef at dolce vita was quoted about some crazy salad they serve, and we said, almost simultaneously, "we should totally go there!" and so, we did. the food turned out being great, and the drinks fully held up their side of things. we ordered these appertifs before our antipasti arrived, and they primed our palates for the delicious food to come.

vodka cocktail, with lemon and basil

negroni with a big splash of prosecco

anvil, a "bar + refuge" (oh geez), located on a jumping strip of westheimer, was packed out on a friday night, and the skilled fleet of bartenders were moving like soldiers on a mission. and while the bar had some pretty whimsical and weird drinks on its menu, it was what i would consider a serious place. once you placed your order, the bartender would literally fly into action, never needing to so much as glance at a recipe or menu to double check one of the eight obscure ingredients. they poured, stirred, shook, and served with absolute precision.

"the diplomat:" gin, bonal, curacao, maraschino, orange bitters

halimah and i fought our way through the yuppie crowd and both ordered the diplomat, a heady and strong cocktail which i assume earned its namesake from the around-the-world nature of its ingredient: gin (england/the netherlands), bonal (france), curacao (the caribbean), maraschino (italy) and bitters (well, i guess those could be made anywhere). i loved the delicate glasses they were served in, which inspired me to buy a few of my own on a recent thrifting binge:

the cheapest happy hour: a homemade vodka martini

another stand out drink i had was at a funny joint, beavers, which involved lemon and marigold infused vodka, made with flowers right from the restaurant's garden. i didn't get to snap a photo of this drink, but it was a perfect balance of floral (not soapy, just fresh), citrusy, and dry. like summertime in a cup. just thinking about that little glass of joy makes me smile, and helps me to remember that there is a light at the end of this wintry tunnel.

love,

emily

motto: friendship

2011-01-16T13:27:00.020-05:00

lauren, halimah and i recently got back from a westerly sojourn to visit our dearest friend mary in houston,tx where she is studying architecture at rice university. besides little overnight trips here and there, this was my first real experience with a ladies only vacation. and let me tell you - it was amazing! we bonded deeply over serious confessions, embarrassing stories, nonsense jokes and sex talk. we stayed up late, whispered once the lights were out, slept in daily, traded accessories, shooed off male suitors in bars, and drove around listening to oldies.

but, perhaps most importantly, we ate and drank our asses off. from the high brow to the low brow, we left no culinary stone unturned. during a week when most americans are cursing themselves for their holiday indulgences, and swearing to do better this time around, our appetites took houston by storm. we scarfed trashy tex mex at chuy's, gorgeous waffles at baby barnaby's, light-as-a-feather gourmet pizzas at dolce vita, and simply perfect avocado tacos from the truck adjacent to possibly the best dive bar that side of the mississippi, the west alabama ice house.

my favorite meals, though, were the ones we prepared for ourselves in mary's tiny, charming kitchen. except for sunday brunch, we made breakfast each morning, small, balanced little meals, much like the ones i make at home before work. toast, coffee, yogurt, fruit.

there were a few lovely home cooked dinners, as well, usually preceded by a hasty trip to the nearby h-e-b for ingredients and beer. buying a 12-pack of cheap craft beer in a grocery store is such a succinct pleasure for a pennsylvanian. back at home base, we'd share the prep work with jangly tunes from the college radio station as our soundtrack. the fragrance from the simmering pot filled the small apartment, and a voice from the couch would pipe up, "what smells so good?" while i whipped up the salad dressing, mary would spread out her prized vintage place mats, and uncork the wine. finally, we would all sit down together, a tender ritual that recalled the glory days when we all lived under one roof in west philadelphia.

my favorite dinner was on saturday night. at that point, we'd been in houston for a few days and had all fallen into an easy groove with one another. there were still a few days standing between us and our departure, and if i stretched my imagination a bit, i could pretend that we'd never have to say goodbye. earlier that day, we drove out to galveston to rest our eyes on the gulf of mexico and explore the meager town. standing with my bare toes in the sand in early january, the wind whipping through the beleaguered palm trees, felt cinematic and intense.

as we returned to houston, restless from the sluggish highway traffic, we pulled off for late afternoon milkshakes from a charming diner. an hour later, overloaded on sugar and a bit regretful for it, we were all craving something inoffensive and clean for our pummeled palates. mary, who somehow always knows what's right for every occasion, suggested a fennel-studded tomato soup recipe from a homemade life, the beautiful memoir and cookbook from one of our favorite bloggers, molly wizenberg. lauren gifted me this book for christmas and i'd devoured nearly all of it on the plane ride from philly to houston just days before, so it seemed extra fitting. single handedly and with the grace of a true cook, mary put together the most splendid meal i've had in ages.

alongside the tomato fennel soup was a salad of lightly dressed bitter greens with apples and shaved aged provolone, a hunk of 3-seeded bread, and roasted cauliflower with a pungent, citrusy sauce. it was flawless. after the plates were cleared and the dishes done, we played rounds and rounds of our favorite card game, which became increasingly rowdy with each beer we drank. at some hazier point in the night, we popped a bottle of prossecco, and toasted to our love, which is especially appropriate in texas, where the state motto is "friendship."

Tomato Soup with 2 Fennels

from "A Homemade Life," by Molly Wizenberg

~serves 4-6 (generous helpings)~

~takes about 40 minutes~

ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and thinly sliced (save some of the fronds for garnish)

4-5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 28 ounce cans whole or chopped tomatoes

water

3/4 teaspoon salt

sugar, to taste

pepper and vinegar, to taste

- in a dutch oven or soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. add the chopped onions and fennel, and sautee for 5 minutes.

- add the garlic, thyme and fennel seeds. cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5-8 minutes.

- if using whole canned tomatoes, crush them in a food processor, with your hands, or however else you'd like. if using pre-crushed, no need to crush further. in any case, add the tomatoes and their juices to the pot and stir everything together.

- fill one of the now empty tomato cans with water and add to the mixture.

- turn the heat down, and let the soup gently simmer, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes.

- when the fennel is very tender, and the tomatoes have reduced to make the soup taste full-bodied, it's done! add salt and pepper to taste. if the soup is too acidic for you, a pinch of sugar will mellow it out. if you want a little more bite, add a small splash of red wine vinegar.

- ladle into soup bowls, and top with a pinch of fennel fronds, and a dollop of yogurt or sour cream (optional, of course!).

- serve, very hot, preferably to a table of your best friends.

love,

emily

paesono's, eat your heart out

2011-01-13T22:23:00.004-05:00

now it's no surprise that us VR sisters love our sammiches. tempeh, tofu, seitan or just some veggies and hummus will satisfy us for brunch, lunch, dinner or even that late night snack. it's fun to watch the ingredients of a sandwich change over the seasons. summer gives us eggless salad, lettuce and ripe tomatoes in a wrap versus that ooey gooey grilled cheese or seitan steak that fills a winter belly and warms cold bones.

i've been making about a sandwich a week these days, almost exclusively using tempeh in a variety of different forms. gone are the light tempeh chicken salad sammies of spring, replaced by smokey tempeh bacon, red wine glazed tempeh strips or spicy bbq tempeh crumbles.

somehow a sandwich of epic proportion came together last week. i decided to next level some shit and purchased maitake (hen of the woods) mushrooms from work on a whim. next thing i know, onions and italian peppers were being caramelized, tempeh was triple hot sauce-ized and kale was getting a healthy shower of lemon and red pepper flakes. spread some veganaise on a fresh ciabatta and there in front of me was a sandwich so full i could barely close it.

a pickle on the side and a southern tier old man winter ale rounded this meal out nicely. a belly so full i could have gone into hibernation after this, but knowing, instead, i could do it all again tomorrow, if i was ever hungry again.

i was pretty much "winging it" when i made the tempeh, but i do believe it was based on a vague memory of the recipe in Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Veganomicon. Enjoy!

hot sauce glazed tempeh
by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

ingredients
8 ounce package of tempeh
1/2 cup wine (whatever you have in the cupboard, just nothing too sweet)
1/4 cup hot sauce (i used a blend of frank's, crystal and tapatio)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
(i add a a 1/8 teaspoon of pimenton - smoked paprika !!)

directions
- bring a pot of water to boil.

- whisk all marinade ingredients together in a bowl large enough to fit the tempeh slices.

- cut the tempeh into strips. when the water is boiling, add the tempeh, lower the heat and steam for 10 minutes.

- remove the tempeh and then immediately place in the marinade bowl for 1 hour, flipping every now again to cover with the marinade.

- preheat a greased grill pan over medium high heat. to grease it, brush lightly with olive oil. (you can also pan fry,which is what i did, but it won't have those nice grill marks!)

- grill each side for 5 minutes. when the second side is almost done, spoon some of the marinade over the tempeh and let cook for 30 more seconds. (or, saute until golden and crispy!)

screw your rez

2011-01-09T22:53:00.012-05:00

and eat cake for breakfast! i'm only half kidding. on the one hand, i respect that the beginning of each new calendar year is as good a time as any to re-evaluate your habits, priorities and decision-making logic. sometimes we get in routines and ruts without hardly noticing, and a shocking amount of time can go by without pausing to wonder why. maybe jan 1 is an arbitrary time to stop and take stock, but for for some reason - either manufactured or natural - it is cemented in our culture as the time to do just that.

on the other hand, the idea of a clean, refreshed slate is nice, especially after the holiday fetes and feasts that define december. and surely, setting new goals and tidying up one's physical and/or mental state is a healthy practice every now and again. but something about the way we even talk about "resolutions" seems to imply an inevitable tapering off of discipline and eventual failure. i've never been a fan of capital D diets or exercise fads, and the dawning of the new year spawns a nauseating number of both. seeing copious beautiful salad recipes and "7 Days of Juicing!" features gracing mainstream magazine covers is better than the ubiquitous glistening slab of protein, but i wish versions of these articles were written year round, not just during the be-a-better-you season.

thus, i appreciated this dose of sanity from our man mark bittman in the most recent issue of bon appetit, which seems to be a reaction to the extremism that dominates the resolution fervor. basically, he just proposes making small but meaningful changes in your diet and lifestyle, ones that you stick with consistently, and that over time, help you make lasting, sustainable progress. what sensible advice! everybody needs a level headed, Dad-like voice to talk them down from the ledge of carb-free crash diets and sugar-free sadness. mark bittman is The Dude of the food world (albeit, with a less bitchin head of hair), and i really admire him. in my dreams, we'll do a J together one day on a balcony overlooking new york city skyline.

an awesome, healthy diet doesn't have to be synonymous with an ascetic lifestyle that will be tempting to abandon every day. i'm pretty certain that both bittman and the dude would want you to take it easy, man. you can even have cake for breakfast! yeah, it's healthy and vegan, but cake is cake, dammit. and alongside a wedge of citrus and a cup of tea, this will kick the old metabolism into high gear. the gentle carbs and walnuts will keep you full until lunchtime, and the touch of whiskey will warm you for the morning commute through the frozen sludge.

Breakfast Cake with Boozy Currants
adapted from Sinfully Vegan by Lois Dieterly
~makes approx 12 slices of cake~
~takes 90 mins, largely unattended~

ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon (or 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground flax
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice
3/4 cup of currants
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup (maybe a little less) whiskey, bourbon, or dark rum

- put the currants in a small bowl. pour in liquor almost to the top so that mostly all the currants can take a nice booze bath.

- preheat the oven to 350F. lightly coat a bundt pan with canola oil.

- in a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon (and ginger, if using), and salt.

- in another bowl, with an electric mixer, or briskly by hand, combine the oil and sugar until well mixed.

- in a separate bowl, combine the apple cider and flax powder. whisk with a fork until the flax is dissolved. add this mixture to the oil and sugar.

- beat the applesauce into the wet ingredients, and then work in the dry ingredients until just combined.

- fold in the currants with the liquor, and then the walnuts. stir to incorporate but do not overmix!

- pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for about 50 minutes. check the cake about 45 minutes in - gently stick a knife or a toothpick into the center part of the cake. if it comes out clean, it's done, and if there are little bits of batter stuck to it, it needs a few more minutes.

- cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. then, flip the bundt pan over and then gently shake to remove the cake from the pan and let cool more fully on a rack. sprinkle with powdered sugar for extra fancy points!

love,
emily

holiday comedown

2010-12-26T22:14:00.013-05:00

it's been quite the holiday season for the sisters kovach. lauren has been working tirelessly selling umpteen cases of fine booze to the thirsty masses, with nary a day off to call her own. i, on the other hand, have loads of time off from my cushy university job, but, despite my desires to not get caught up in all the holiday-inspired madness, have been running around quite a bit more than i'd like to. this year i was invited to, and happily attended, more holiday parties than ever before. plus, being married means double the family obligations! i love spending time with the fam (a facet of growing up that i never would've anticipated), but all the driving and socializing can wear a body down. good food, wine, gifts and conversation help keep it fun, but it's nice to feel settled back in our cozy home.

today, thanks to christmas being a few days behind us and to the truly epic snow storm that dumped well over a foot of frozen precipitation upon our fair city, today has been a good one for relaxing. ryan and i started the day off with an extended snooze and a hearty breakfast. more practical people would maybe use this forced time inside to take down the holiday decorations, but i don't think either of us are all the way ready yet.

another aspect of holiday trappings that i'm not ready to say goodbye to yet is christmas beer. while i don't always crave the sweet, strong, spicy character that holiday beers boast, i found myself taking solace in their soothing caress this season. one of the best i've sampled was rude elf's reserve (formerly known as rudolph's reserve) made by brew works. i feel like every other day i learn about a new craft brewery in our region. hell yeah!! when the roads are less treacherous, i fully plan on scheduling a mini-road trip to tour the brew works in either allentown or bethlehem, pa.

this special bottle was part of a beautiful gift basket given to us by our dear friend and fellow blogger annabell. anyone named annabell is pretty much destined to give adorable, thoughtful presents and just be an all around sweetheart. just saying. anyway, this belgian style holiday ale pours a thin head that gently gives way to a beautiful dark amber color. a strong gingerbread-y aroma follows. i couldn't stop sticking my face right in the glass and huffing the baked-good fumes.

despite the kind of obnoxious art on the beer's label, the flavor is sophisticated and expensive. pure sweetzel's on the nose with a slow, spice burn on the finish. there is a lingering, but smooth alcohol taste long after swallowing, akin to brandy or scotch. if you took a big bite of fresh gingerbread and washed it down with a shot of maker's, it might taste something like this. the beer's beefy 10.5% APV is good for slow sipping and savoring. so good, in fact, that i, a habitual fast drinker, took nearly 90 minutes to finish my glassful. it was my only beer of the night, but an amazing one. the notes of the beer kind of changed as it warmed up, in an incredibly pleasing way. i always like how strong winter beers claim that they "warm" you. insider's tip: that really just means they pack on a killer buzz!

so happy holidays, and don't feel bad if you're kind of happy that they're over. doesn't mean you have to stop quaffing badass bevs!

love,

emily

here's to two

2010-12-26T20:47:00.006-05:00

happy 2nd birthday to Vegan Royale! things have changed in both our lives, but sister lauren and i are still committed to ever pursuing adventure and comfort in our tiny philadelphia kitchens. thanks to all who read and follow us. can't wait for 2011 and all it holds.

love,

emily & lauren

bob and weave

2010-12-08T12:48:00.019-05:00

where we come from, a lovely little place called delaware, there is a sandwich shop. and this sandwich shop is called capriotti's. to the naked eye, it doesn't look like much. a very no-nonsense interior and a short menu with all the standards: subs (that's what they call hoagies "down south"), salads, chips, et al. throw in some gruff men and ditzy teenagers working behind the counter and you've got your average sub joint.

but look a little closer. is that a vegetarian section on the menu? wait, does that say veggie turkey sub?! veggie burgers and hotdogs, too?!?! if only more mainstream eateries would note the genius of what capriotti's has done here: while they certainly cater to the all-american non-diet, they've stealthily created a cult following of die hard vegetarians fans, who might normally never step foot in their stores. if you make it meatless, they will come (and i ain't talking no cheese hoagie, here). the vegetarian turkey sub is nothing short of amazing, btw - these people really know how to make a quality hoag.

capriotti's has also developed a following around its take on the t-giving leftovers feast: the bobbie. the bobbie (which is trademarked, so don't even THINK about stealing that name), is made with pulled turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo. wowzas. kind of a gross-but-great idea, and if they made a vegetarian version, i'd sure as shit try one. but they don't.

so on sunday, to ward off the ever-creeping cold and vodka hangovas, lauren, ryan and i tried our hands at making a veganized bobbie. or should we say....bauxbie? sorry, just had to.

sissy bought a righteous loaf of bread from claudio (hoagie rolls are hard to find on a sunday afternoon), that we cut into thick, mega rad, texas toast style slices. ryan came back from the whole foods with a delightfully savory hunk of seitan (field roast, WHY do you have to have to be so expensive?), and with the addition of some leftover cranberry sauce & some quick stuffing it was time to get this badass, bastardized sandwich started.

first, the field roast "celebration roast" (which we diced, but would've been amazing sliced, too) and the stuffing went in a 350F oven for about 25 minutes. we added a bit of veggie stock to each pan throughout the baking process, but not too much! don't want it getting all soggy. while these were baking, we made a salad and sipped some brunch-y cocktails.

sadly, tomato juice & vodka was probably the healthiest part of our meal

once all the components were ready, it was time to assemble. capriottis serves the bobbie cold, but we unanimously agreed that this seemed unappealing. so instead of letting the stuffing and wheat meat cool, we toasted up the bread and just went for it. first, a lovely crimson spread of cranberry sauce on one half of the bread. mayo or veganaise on the other slice of bread would be divine. then spread on some stuffing, a generous heap of fake turk, and squish it all together gently...

ladies & gents: the vegan bob

a silence fell over the table as we tackled these sammies. i can only use the words "savory" and "comforting" so many times but damn it if those aren't the exact words to describe the experience of these veeg bobbies. the sage notes of the stuffing, the tartness of the cranberry sauce (we hardly used any sugar while making it), and the complex spices of the field roast melded together into harmonious bliss.

up until eating this, the concept of stuffing on a sandwich seemed odd to me. why add more soggy bread to something already nestled between bread? but i suppose that is the magic of stuffing: it isn't just soggy bread, it is transformed into something so far beyond that. and it is my 2nd new opinion that cranberry sauce should fully graduate to an everyday condiment. it's such a simple, healthy, lovely relish that has the power to complement an array of flavors. toast with almond butter & cranberry sauce, anyone?

Tart Cranberry Sauce w/ Ginger Beer
~makes 2.5 cups~
~take 10 minutes~

ingredients:
1 pound fresh cranberries, rinsed
1/2 cup sugar (this is FAR less than most recipes call for, but it's how we like it)
1/3 - 1/2 cup reed's ginger beer (or water) (or regular beer?!)
1/2 teaspoon allspice (optional)
cinnamon stick (optional)
1 clementine: zest the rind and gently mash up the fruit, keeping the juices (optional)
a few slices of fresh ginger (optional)

- in a medium pot over high heat, combine the cranberries, sugar and ginger beer. stir, and bring to a boil.

- reduce the heat to a simmer, add the fresh ginger, allspice, and cinammon stick if using. add the mashed up clementine, and let the whole thing simmer for 5 to 8 minutes.

- stir in the clementine zest, remove the ginger pieces and the cinnamon stick.

feel the antioxidants flowing through your veins! you'll never go back to canned stuff again, swear.

love,
emily

brisk bisque

2010-12-01T16:25:00.014-05:00

soft scarves, cute slickers, twirling umbrellas and humidity-inspired curls in your hair are great in theory, but sloshing through a torrential downpour at 8:30AM on the way to work is not. today was one of those mornings where it feels like the universe has conspired against you, and you'd give like ANYthing to just stay snuggled under the covers, hitting the snooze button until the numbers read double digits.

alas, when you are a grown up ("semi-grown up?" i never really know how to identify myself) with a full time job, this isn't really an option. you gotta face the rain, the crowds, the stuffy public transportation, and haul yourself to the office. when you get there, maybe you have the luxury of drying your socks off on the radiator:

there, that's a little better. i'll take a leap here and say that the food equivalent of putting toasty socks on cold, damp feet is a winter squash soup. there are many ways to prepare this classic autumn dish, and every last one of them feels nourishing. i always feel an extra sense of accomplishment when i use squash and root vegetables - they're kind of the misunderstood loser vegetables, but they're healthy, in season and unparalleled in the comfort department if prepared properly. and, usually priced at 99 cents per pound or below and complemented nicely by some garlic bread made from a forgotten heel of baguette in the back of the freezer, this is dinner on the cheap!

while these kinds of vegetables are often (wrongly, i say) associated with earthy aka dirt-y, less-than-desirable flavors or textures, the recipe below is smooth, rich and anything but spartan! this soup is like a pair of silk stockings, like an expensive perfume. even the word feels good in your mouth: "bisque." is it the "q" that makes it feel fancy?

Pumpkin/Winter Squash Bisque
~serves 6~
~takes 40 minutes~

ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil, butter, or margarine
2-3 pounds winter squash (cook's choice), peeled, seeded and chopped
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large potato, rutabega, or a few parsnips, peeled and chopped (optional)
2-4 cups of vegetable broth, depending on how thick or thin you want the soup to be
1 can of light coconut milk - make sure you shake it up to mix the cream and the water!
salt & pepper
mixed spices: this is kind of cool - you can steer this soup in any direction. some suggestions are sage + thyme + a bay leaf for a more traditional wintry profile, paprika + cinnamon + red pepper flakes for a spicier, more savory feel, or curry + cumin + garam masala for an indian flavor. start with a teaspoon or two and taste as you go. you can always add but you can't subtract!

- heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. add the onion and garlic, and cook for 3 minutes.

-then add carrots and root vegetables (if using) and saute until it starts to softens up, maybe 6 minutes. sprinkle these vegs with about 1/2 of your spice mixture.

- add the squash. stir it around with the satueed veg mixture and let it cook all together for a minute or two. getting the squash coated in some savory onion juices helps to deepen the flavor.

- add enough vegetable broth to the pot so that it almost covers the squash. raise the heat and bring it all to a boil.

- once it has achieved a boil, lower the heat to a brisk simmer, and cover. stir occasionally and after about 20 minutes, check the squash to see if it's soft. the more tender, the better.

- once the squash is almost falling apart, take the pot off the heat and let it cool down a bit.

- blast that sucker to hell with your immersion blender until smooth. or, puree it in batches in a food processor or blender, being very, very careful not to burn yourself or splatter soup all over your kitchen.

- stir in the can of coconut milk and watch the magic happen. what was just moments ago mere pureed vegetables is now a sexy pot of bisque.

- heat the soup back up. taste it for more spices, salt and pepper. a little hot sauce or lime juice stirred in can add some pop, too!

long neck pumpkin bisque (& a beautiful salad courtesy of Lydia M.)

stay cozy, ya'll.

love,
emily

bistro feasto

2010-11-22T15:43:00.016-05:00

sometimes it's fun to pretend you're making dinner in the french countryside: standing over a steaming stovetop, a jaunty apron around your waist, stirring and whisking, humming a little tune, pausing once in awhile to slow dance with someone you love. it really completes the fantasy to be cooking actual french food. creamy vegetable soups, crunchy endive salads, and homey cassoulets are nice, but the frenchie choices for vegetarians, and vegans especially, can be limited. and maybe a little boring.

one of my favorite bistro-inspired dishes, though, is lentils with (vegan) sausages and spinach. there is something about this dish that i will never get bored with. i've made it over and over, and unlike most of my favorite weeknight dishes, i never seem to throw in variations. it is nearly perfect as it is, and just makes you feel wonderful when you eat it. perhaps this is the best definition of french bistro fare: simple but elegant, a sense of refinement but nothing stuffy. after a hard day of work, lauren and i made this along with a lovely composed salad (butter lettuce, feta, pears, cashews and a drizzle of balsamic), and a special beer, brewed with hops grown in philadelphia!

so even while the dingy sidewalks are slick with chilly rain and fallen leaves, you can fluff a tablecloth over your kitchen table, light a few candles, pour a glass of beaujolais nouveau, and and whisper to yourself, "eh, c'est la vie," before taking a bite of this delicious bistro dish.

Lentils w/ Vegan Sausage & Spinach
~makes 4-6 servings~
~takes 30 minutes~

ingredients:
2 tsp oil (olive oil w/ some body is perfect), butter, or margarine
1/2 a large white onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 pound of brussel sprouts, cleaned and quartered (optional)
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 cup of regular brown or fancier de puy lentils, rinsed
2 cups of water or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 large bunch of spinach or 3 cups of baby spinach
2 vegan sausages, sliced into rounds (if they're homemade, you get a gold star!)

- over a medium flame, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil (or melt the margarine) in a medium pot, throw in the onion and garlic in and sautee til softened, about 5 minutes.

- add the brussels, carrots and celery and sprinkle with salt and pepper. sautee until tender. if the vegetables stick to the bottom of the pot, add a splash of broth (red wine is even better!).

- add the lentils, and stir around with the vegetable mixture for a minute. then add the 2 cups of water/broth, turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil.

- once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and add the thyme and bay leaf. let this simmer briskly until the lentils are cooked all the way through, about 20 minutes.

- in a separate pan, heat the other teaspoon of oil. fry the sausages until browned.

- once the lentils are done, and the sausages are fried up, add the sausages to the pot. stir the spinach in (you can do this in a few batches if your pot is smaller), until it wilts, which only will take thirty seconds or so.

- stir everything together. taste for salt, pepper, or a bit of spice, if you like. serve piping hot.

- eat with gusto and remember to regret nothing.

love,
emily

a new icon

2010-11-15T16:36:00.009-05:00

it's deeply enjoyable to me that because The Cheesesteak is one of philadelphia's edible icons (enough to warrant a televised showdown), the vegetarian/vegan cheesesteak has become another kind of icon for this town. an impressive number of bars, cafes and eateries boast their own version of this copycat sandwich. truly, these seitan beasts are everywhere.

do you know that i've never had a real philly cheesesteak? i have followed a meatless diet for so long, that a pat's, geno's, tony lukes' or whatever else has never touched my lips. this is a fact i'm pretty proud of. however, i have sampled dozens of vegetarian versions. like most popularized food items, some are great, some are bad. most are just okay.

this being said, i feel confident in claiming that blackbird pizza's is some next level shit. ryan and i met for lunch on friday and tucked into these beauties, pausing only to exclaim our delight between massive bites.

the seitan was very thinly sliced, perfectly peppery, and piping hot. there was no skimping on the onions and mushrooms, and vegan cheese was melted (YES - MELTED!) evenly over everything. the roll was crusty and sturdy - a detail so often overlooked in mainstream sandwich construction. i usually like to save half my sandwiches for round 2, but this one was too good and i showed no restraint.

now at $8 and change (and, don't forget to tip the nice vegans!), this sammie ain't exactly cheap - but who can put a price on joy?

love,
emily

nicecap

2010-11-09T22:22:00.011-05:00

this past friday night, we gathered at beloved shot & a beer joint bob and barbara's, for a birthdy throwdown. our bestie Halimah turned 25! so in her honor, we settled in at the city-wide special watering hole for long, solid bar session. you know, one of those nights where you park it at the bar, the hours roll by, the beers keep coming, and before you know it people are talking to strangers, jovially yelling over each other and dancing to the jazz band. maybe a few friends even trade smooches on a drunk lark. the bartenders start to hate you even though you mean to spread love through your tips. i wish i could elucidate this better but it just felt very...philly.

after the majority of the friends had disbanded, ryan, hammy and i stumbled out of the bar and into the clear autumn air. tipsy, but not yet tired, someone proposed a nightcap before turning in for good. we decided to get one more at tattoo mom, mostly out of its convenient location to pizza (eep!) and home. on our bike ride down south street, i proposed a slightly classier option - brauhaus schmitz. much to my surprise, my cohorts heartily agreed to abandon our punk rock destination for the german-themed bar. something about brauhaus has always been tinged with douchiness (is it that boot thing?), or fratiness, or something, but it also has the potential to be really nice. which would it be on that saturday morning at 1:20AM?

blonde, redhead, brunette

thankfully, the meathead contingent had already retired for the evening, and the bar was pretty quiet. yeah, there were still a few questionable looking/acting young men, but we ignored them and ordered our delicious final beers of the night. i can't remember what ry and ham ordered (full disclosure: i think i acheived 2.5 out of 3 sheets to the wind), but i ordered a big, beautiful mug of spaten optimator (the dark beer on the far right in the photo above). yes, 17 ounces of this 7.2%, bottom fermented, rich and roasty malted doppel bock was a bold choice for a night cap. but after a night of mediocre lager, it tasted SO good, and i really took my time sipping. if we'd actually gone to that other bar, i certainly would've ended up gulping yet another crappy beer, and probably would've ordered a second. instead, all three of us lingered, truly enjoying the complex, deep aromas and flavors of our brews. and at $5.50, this heady bev was worth every dime.

ending our night this way felt, well, very adult. adult in the best way - a savvy, relaxing way to spend a little more time together before hitting the sack. perhaps appropriate for a quarter century b-day, eh?

love,
emily

dems the breks

2010-10-18T18:47:00.008-04:00

who can pick what their favorite meal of the day is? i'd bet that for most people it's a toss up between lunch & dinner. oh, the lovely parade of sandwiches (cold & hot), sushi, soups, or steaming plates of grains and veggies and proteins that marches through our minds when we imagine mid-day or sun-down supping.

while i have a very hard time choosing my favorite (depends on the day, my mood, and what's in the fridge, i guess...), breakfast was never really in the running. brunch, yes, but that's really just breakfast for lunch with some soothing boozy beverages thrown in, right?

but lately, breakfast - real and true breakfast - has just been so pleasing to me. there's something quite grounding about a morning routine because, honestly, waking up is very often a major bummer. whether you are fighting to shrug off the dark cloak of a lingering dream or are bright eyed as the sun, the moment you swing your legs over the edge of the bed and go from horizontal to vertical - it just kind of sucks. if you have a cozy bedfellow who gets to sleep in every day, and the hardwood floor is newly cold under your toes, it can be even worse! but the promise of strong coffee, a bowl of cereal, a nice piece of fruit...these small bites ease my pain each morning before i hustle out of the house, work-bound.

unlike most of my habits, i eat almost the same thing for breakfast every day: first, a glass of homebrewed kombucha (best on an empty stomach), a small bowl of plain organic yogurt w/ kashi cereal or granola, and a piece of toast with jam, peanut butter, or both. a pear, banana, or a little bunch of grapes usually rounds this out alongside a cup of coffee or black tea. i don't always enjoy repetition, but for breakfast i find it absolutely necessary.

my dad was in town this weekend (yay!), and we had him over for a little brunch on sunday morning. instead of going the eggs/tofu scramble-potatoes-toast route, i decided to steer it back toward my usual AM fare - but with a few extra flourishes, because weekend mornings (especially a beautifully clear fall sunday morning, when one of your parents is coming to visit) deserve a little more luxury than the monday-to-friday treatment...

quartered muti-grain and cornbread muffins (thanks whole foods...didn't have time to make my own), cranberry bread toast (not pictured), sliced nectarines, apples and bananas, ginger granola, 4-fruit jam and cream cheese, and of course COFFEE!!!! comprised this lovely breks. filling, hearty and healthy it was an excellent way to start our day together. we sat in the backyard and grazed and chatted, and (despite a stubborn little hangover on my part), all was as it should be. that is the power of breakfast!

love,

emily

southerly

2010-10-08T17:08:00.009-04:00

just a quick follow up on the dinner lauren and i made on wednesday. between mouthfuls of this super hearty and excellent southern inspired meal, we cheered on pitching wonderboy roy hallady and the rest of our boys as they soundly beat the saggy pants off the reds.

i'm typing this with my fingers crossed that they can do it again tonight! i'll just be eating leftovers instead of a killer home cooked meal, but there's only so much time in the day...

salt & pepper polenta topped with spicy beans, tempeh bacon & collard greens, and sweet potato fries

Spicy Beans
~makes 2-4 servings~
~takes about 15 minutes~

ingredients:
1 can of beans (almost any kind will do, we used roman beans), drained and rinsed
1-2 cloves of garlic, diced
1-2 hot peppers, chopped finely (we used sweet habaneros, but jalepeno or long hots would be great, too!)
1 tomato, chopped (no need to peel, or de-seed or any of that fancy stuff)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tsp chili powder or cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want it...)
1 tsp oil
hot sauce and/or bbq sauce to taste
salt to taste

- in a small saucepan over medium heat, warm up 1 tsp veggie, olive, safflower, or whatever kind of oil you like.

- add the diced garlic and peppers. sautee gently for about 5 minutes, then dust with the chili powder or cayenne.

- add the beans and bring to a brisk simmer.

- add the veggie stock, and turn the heat down to low.

- simmer until most of the stock has absorbed (1o mins), and the beans are starting to break down. stir in the tomatoes.

- taste it. how spicy is it? how much spicier do you want to make it? that will determine how much bbq sauce or hot sauce you want to add. if you're not sure, add slowly, tasting in between. that's basically it!

you can customize this recipe by adding other veggies in step 2 (carrots, bell peppers, onions, etc), by tailoring the spices to your likes (some chipolte is nice), or by stirring in some grated cheese instead of bbq/hot sauce at the end. then go ahead and put these frijoles all up in some tacos, on a sandwich w/ avocado, or atop some fluffy grains like we did. bang!

love,
emily

i can't fight this feeling

2010-10-06T14:43:00.006-04:00

tonight is the first game of the NLDS, our beloved Phillies vs. the Reds. sissy and i are meeting up after work to make dinner (she's been texting me with some talk of collards, tempeh bacon and polenta - perfect early october meal!), catch up, and watch the game together. i expect there to be lots of of cheering, hugging and occasional cursing at the TV.

while we're not the sportiest gals, lauren and i have both really gotten into the Phillies over the past few years. could it have something to do with the joint crush we've both developed on lil Carlos Ruiz? who in their right mind wouldn't want to go on a dream date with this babe?

daaaaamn, chooch

seriously though, i think i'm beginning to truly grasp how people become unconditionally devoted to their home team, and even how a win or loss can affect their mood for the next day or two. what can i say? the Phillies are a kick ass team with a lot of balls and a lot of heart, and it has been a real pleasure to support them throughout the season. on a different level, it's also pretty cool to feel connected to other Philadelphians through our mutual love of this team. why, just last night i was having a few pints in a cozy neighborhood spo t, when i laid eyes on this incredible homemade gigantic cap adorning the fridge:

when i spotted this sublime creation, i felt the embodiment of the expression "oh, hell yeah." i love banding together with strangers! so go Phils, and remember ya'll, yelling at umpires while simultaneously high-fiving your bros and jamming beers doesn't necessarily make you a jock.

love,
emily

pupusas - my new favorite thing to eat

2010-10-05T19:45:00.004-04:00

how have i not had these before? how can i not find these ANYWHERE in philly? new york, why do you have to be so awesome all the time? (down with the yankees, btw)

pupusas are an el salvadorian delicacy consisting of a thick hand-made corn tortilla (think a tortilla with a pancake thickness) with cheese, beans, veggies or meat mixed into the batter. wikipedia says: pupusas are typically served with curtido (lightly fermented cabbage slaw with red chilies and vinegar) and a watery tomato salsa. add some weird sort of thin sour cream and jalapenos and I'M SO IN. i got one with beans and cheese and one with loroco and cheese. loroco is sort of like a spinachy green but is actually unopened flower buds. i have to find this stuff in philly.

we went to the red hook mercado, a little hole in the fence joint, fashioned after latin american open air markets. a lovely garden away from it all vibe, picnic tables, lush greenery and all - pair it with insanely good mexican food stands and a cupcake merchant, what more do you need on a saturday afternoon?

well if you throw in a pie at steve's key lime, and a ferry ride out to governor's island to see an art show in the old naval barracks, i guess that would certainly round it out.

oh, we don't "do" slices

outdoor art installation

view from governor's island

weird/creepy/cool art

i watched this little animatronic skeleton move around
for about 5 minutes straight

then we put our bikes on the ferry and it was back to the city!

more pics soon of: farmer's market! the tiniest waffles! roller derby!

xoxo,
lauren

mind your b's and q's

2010-09-27T16:57:00.001-04:00

we don't need to extol the joys and virtues of outdoor grilling to you all - you probably rocked the coals all summer long! well, to celebrate our recent move as well as the summer's end (oh, and what a summer it was), ryan and i threw a little bbq in our new backyard last weekend! our new place is small, so we couldn't host the rager of years past, but i still think it turned out pretty grand.

the best part? a few hours before the bbq was slated to start, a handful of friends (lauren, michael, halimah and stina) presented us with a wedding/housewarming gift that made our jaws drop: a brand new gas grill! what a generous, thoughtful and rad gift that truly will keep on giving. ryan and michael set it up right then and there, and we proceeded to use it all though the night! it was such a luxury to be able to fire it up for the 2nd and 3rd waves of guests, or when people wanted midnight snacks. that kind of spontaneity just isn't possible with the charcoal grill.

as for the food, we wisely kept it pretty simple: some chips, a few salads (green salad, pasta salad and a guest vegan potato salad from our brother steven!), and grillables. chicken and steak for the meat eaters, and homemade vegan sausages and bbq'd tofu for the vegetarians, featuring BBQ sauce that ryan whipped up from scratch. when that dude's southern roots shine through, they really shine! the sauce was killer, the beers were cold, the mood was high. we ate, drank, told jokes, watched baseball, played cards, and no doubt kept our neighbors up until saturday turned into sunday and we all fell into our beds.

dang, just look at those sexy grill marks! anyway, it really is time to let the summer go, isn't it? the autumn is here, so let's embrace it! unpack your leggings and sweaters, and expect some cozy recipes to come....

love,
emily

a luscious lush

2010-09-23T09:25:00.011-04:00

i'm not sure when it happened, but i've gotten really into drinks lately. now, hold off on assumptions, judgements or looking down your noses for just a minute. "drink" doesn't always imply alcohol, although those kinds are certainly included in the ones i've been enjoying recently.

iced coffee, cucumber/grapefruit cocktail, jack d

working in a wine/beer/liquor store, i mean, drinking is kind of like research, right? but other recent sippables include homemade kombucha, cucumbers&seltzer, homebrewed iced coffee, watermelon/cucumber juice, half&half (although i recently saw it has high fructose corn syrup, boo) and of course, peppermint tea.

i've always been one to check out food&wine or gourmet (RIP) but i received a free copy of a magazine i had never heard of at this spring's brewer's plate. after reading the entire magazine, cover to cover, and thoroughly enjoying every article, i paid a paltry $20 for a year's worth.

while this is NOT a paid advertisement for imbibe, i do have to go ahead and gush about how great this magazine is. a wide range of articles on all things imbibable. this month's issue contained features on: bitters, bike tours in wine country, the blossoming d.c. cocktail scene, diy tea blending, the 50 best seasonal beers and more!

talking to a beer rep at work who just got back from the great american beer festival has gotten me really in the mood for brew tours. a fun, educational and boozy experience (just like college!). plans to check out yards, PBC, victory, brooklyn, flying fish, riverhorse, yuengling and more are abuzz in my head. also already planning on checking out the beer festival in denver, co, next year!

i'll be updating more often with tall tales of sips, swigs, chugs, brews, blends, nips, snifters, tipples, cocktails and more!!

cheers,

Lauren

99 bottles

2010-09-08T11:01:00.005-04:00

dear beer,

don't ever change.

love,
VR

from the gnarly 6-packs of swill i bought for $3.99 from CVS in my college days to luscious belgian brews in cozy philly pubs, i love me some beers. there is a beer for all budgets, for all seasons, for all occasions. there are beers that taste like a hug, and beers that taste like a punch in the face. there are beers in pretty cans, and unassuming growlers. so much to explore!

while local beer nerd-dom has risen steadily (see here, here, here and here), i've been happy to just keep on sampling and sipping. i don't keep a little notebook handy to track my tasting notes, i don't actively seek out "cult" brews on tap, and i sure as shit won't frown at a frosty coor's light from time to time. as i've mentioned in the past, this level of commitment and, well, zeal, just ain't my style. i like what i like (which honestly, is most things i try), and i don't like snobbery.

however, i did check out this epic tome from the library recently, and i must say - it's been enlightening.

garrett oliver is the brewmaster of the beloved brooklyn brewery, a world traveler and a serious beer expert. this book is part auto-biography, part beer style-by-style history lesson, and part beer and food pairing guide. i read a chapter every morning while i eat breakfast, and i'm learning some fun stuff. overall, the text is pretty well written, and it's cool to see how beer has played a role throughout all of history (think about it...from egyptian pharaohs' tombs to the 2008 election), and how different world events have effected how and what kinds of beers are brewed. most of the beer and food pairings revolve around meat, which is disappointing, but maybe i should come to expect this by now.

two less expected outcomes of reading this book: a serious urge to travel internationally, and a burgeoning curiosity about homebrewing. maybe a new hobby to pass the winter months? and hell, if the homebrew is good, i could save some cash at the bar for my travel fund! in olde england, as the book explains, most women were expected to know how to homebrew as part of the domestic arts. sometimes, men even referred to their wives as "alewives." perhaps i can be an alewife for the new millennium...

anyway, a more attainable goal for the time being is to sample the oktoberfests that most quality breweries are rolling out in the coming weeks. brooklyn brewery's especially - go get 'em, garrett!

love,
emily

a la campagne

2010-08-28T23:57:00.021-04:00

summer fact:

every girl needs to get out of the city once in awhile. i'm not normally a big complainer, but the humidity, the crowds, the noise, the bummer air quality - you know, they can really get to ya. every foray out of the house is cause for a change of t-shirt. a quick game of tennis and you need to drink a gallon and a half of water. august rolls around and it's time to scoot. even a few days can provide weeks of relief.

so a few fridays ago, lauren, halimah and i packed up the car with groceries, beers, bathing suits (and stripe-y, cotton-y vacay clothes) and all trekked out to our aunt and uncle's charming cabin in rhinebeck, new york. the drive was lovely, winding through verdant back roads and past farmland and rickety general stores that sell pizza and ice cream. a lovelier feeling can not be found than cruising across state lines on a sunny friday afternoon (not at work!), windows down, easy conversation and the laughter of your friends wafting on the breeze. we arrived around 3PM, settled in, and took a quick dip in the lake. the city grime just melted away.

friday night we cooked a light but hearty meal of pasta w/ sauteed veggies and a generous handful of fresh mozzarella, fresh corn, and a big, green salad. a dozen beers and a raucous game of "would you rather?" it was time for bed. to the tune of crickets and nothing else, we all drifted off to sleep.

on saturday, we drove into the town of rhinebeck, an adorable (too adorable, maybe?) town with all the things you'd expect from a little enclave where new yorker city folk frolic throughout the weekends and summers. these types of environments can be a bit saccharine sometimes, especially in contrast with from whence you came. but our moods were light in the crystalline sunshine, and we set off in search of interesting finds. first we spent a good solid hour in an antique store, where amongst amazing but way expensive furniture, random objects and framed art i found and bought this kick ass jacket with puffy sleeves and metallic plaid:

nestled amongst one overpriced boutique and lame gallery after another, one other really awesome store in rhinebeck was a small market called grand cru. this store carried literally 4 kinds of things: craft beers, artisinal cheeses, random sweets and pickles - what else do you need? i think the store is relatively new, and seemed a little empty, but otherwise it was pretty damn cute.

they carried Monk's Beer. woot!

the sweet country air and our shopping ventures worked up our appetites. the ladies and i lunched (it's ok to use silly verbs like "lunched" when on vacation) at the gorgeous and well respected terrapin. halimah ordered a fried cod sandwich, and sissy and i went halvsies on a farmer's market salad, a cup of corn soup and a plate of nachos.

sweet corn, fingerling potatoes, peas, pattypan squash, heirloom tomatoes, and ricotta

chilled corn soup (coconutty and clean) w/ simple nachos

on the way back to the car, we stopped for ice cream cones, and the results were too decadent to photograph. not really, but we did have to walk it off for a few minutes before the sugar buzzed car ride home. more rowboating and swimming and languishing in the hazy afternoon.

a mixed veggie grill was served up for dinner, and then we headed outside to build a fire. with halimah's direction, we built actually quite a nice fire, and talked around it for awhile. we even sang. we sang! a sure sign that it's about time to head back to the city.

a quick sunday morning breakfast was followed by a vigorous cleaning session. magazines were placed back into neat stacks, records returned to smooth sleeves. we set out on the road around noon, headed toward new jersey. we had one more stop to make before settling back at home - 3rd annual making time pool party! a batty idea to throw that ruckus on our relaxing weekend, perhaps (and the day was gray and drizzly), but we had an awesome time nonetheless. my camera was out of batteries by then, and i got chatty and distracted anyway, so i didn't take any photos.

i slept so hard that night and woke on monday morning, a little tanner, somehow a little tired-er, and yet still refreshed. the edges of the city were softer, and i felt ready for the weeks, and the months ahead.

love,

emily

meet the red wiggler

2010-08-23T12:00:00.012-04:00

in light of my last post and the serious multitude of conversations i've had recently regarding the subject of composting, i thought i'd share my whereabouts for this thursday, august 26:

Worm Composting Class- Thursday!! The Greensgrow's Sustainability Series continues with a course on worm composting Thursday, August 26th. Worm composting is a great alternative for people who do not have a yard or space for a traditional compost pile. This introductory class will explain how to make a worm bin, what to compost and worms most will likely be available at
the class. The class begins at 6 pm, usually about an hour and a half, is free, and you may walk away with your own pet worms. All are welcome. Please RSVP to Leah at Leah@greensgrow.org.

Also, i freaking LOVE that the worms are called "reg wigglers". i mean, how cute is that? i will be sure to take notes, pictures and heed of advice to share with all of you who cannot make it.

on another note, i've been battling with verizon for ONE FULL MONTH on getting internet at my new house. therefore i've had to sneak a blogpost here and there at work. please pardon the lack of exciting pictures. i have so many saved up on my camera for when i'm finally "on the grid".

-lauren

salad sponge

2010-08-06T11:52:00.006-04:00

i know it's not very original to be all "i only want to eat salads in the summertime," but it's just the straight up truth. when the humidity settles over philadelphia, it kind of feels like slightly damp pantyhose has been pulled over your face. not appetizing.

while i've heavily considered adopting a temporary diet of ice cream and beer, my summertime fitness regimen (tennis! swimming! yoga!) demands at least some vegetable consumption. plus, vegetables are just freakin gorgeous right now, and denying them would truly be a crime. so...salads. there are thousands of varieties, and i like every last one of them. especially salads with a little something extra - grains, nuts, avocados. after all, salads aren't the most filling dinner dish (that's what makes them appealing in the heat in the first place), which is fine and everything until about 10PM when your belly starts harassing you for a late night snack.

that's why i'm a big fan of panzanella - bread salad! just that little extra carbiness can really round out the salad and fill up your tum. it's also the perfect way to use the heel of the baguette that always seems to get stale before you can use it up. old bread is actually preferable in this recipe, a la croutons and french toast. plus, you know how when you make a killer salad dressing, you mop the remainder off your plate with a piece of bread, because you can't bear to waste even a tiny drop of the stuff? panzanella is the salad and the salad sponge all in one! it's hard to explain, but even though soggy bread sounds weird, in this salad it is supremely enjoyable.

Panzanella (Bread Salad)
adapted from "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen" by Donna Klein
~ makes a nice big bowl ~
~ takes about 20 minutes ~

ingredients:
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt, and a little more to taste
1/4 - 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (orig recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but that seems like A LOT)
2 tablespoons veggie broth or red wine
2 tablespoons red wine or champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
black pepper, to taste
6 cups cubed, stale french baguette or italian bread
2-3 cups chopped tomatoes, or halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup each chopped fresh basil and parsley (optional)
1/2 cup good olives, pitted and chopped (optional)
1 cup cooked chickpeas (optional, but adds some good protein)

- whisk the first 7 ingredients together in a big salad bowl. throw in some mustard if you're feeling adventurous!

- remove two tablespoons of the dressing and put aside for later.

- add the bread cubes to the dressing and toss well. let the bread sit for about 15 minutes to soak up all the flavors. while it's marinating, you can prep the rest of the salad stuffs.

-after 15 (and up to 30) minutes, add the rest of the ingredients, add the reserved 2 tablespoons of dressing, and toss well to combine. you can serve over salad greens, or just eat as is!

with the tomatoes (i have red and green here), cucumber, and red onion, check out the super pleasing rainbow action going on here! get into it.

love,
emily

saving the world! one banana peel, plastic cup and TV at a time

2010-08-05T10:12:00.019-04:00

i recently came across a new composting endeavor while picking up my greensgrow CSA share. bennett composting is run by Tim Bennett, a rochester native and temple alumni. according to the website, while working for temple's small business development center bennett had an epiphany over dinner with friends and his business was born.

service is a mere $15 a month, which isn't much when you think about how much you might spend at the bar in one single night(!). throw your compostable materials into the lidded bucket (free with sign-up!) and once a week, the compost fairy will come pick the stuff up from outside your home, leaving you a clean bucket to start with in the morning! just like the trash men, only more environmentally friendly.

another option, for the slightly less lazy and more frugal composter wanna-be is this philadelphia compost map. click the link for an interactive map of shared community sites. i contacted a few people on this list and found a site only 15 blocks from my house where i can bring my compostable goods every week!

as an avid cook and user of produce, the prospect of cutting the amount of my garbage that ends up in a landfill is pretty crucial. as a home-renter with a small backyard, not having to deal with attempting to make my own compost is equally as crucial.

ALSO! Philadelphia now recycles plastics #1 - #7. That's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, AND 7.

STARTING AUGUST 1: Recycle All Plastic Containers!

You’ve been recycling plastic containers marked:

#1: Soda, water bottles

#2: Milk jugs, detergents, shampoo bottles

Now you can add:

#3: Rigid plastic containers and juice bottles

#4: Plastic tubs and lids from butter, margarine or similar products

#5: Yogurt containers and deli trays

#6: Plastic cups, plates and to-go containers

#7: Many mixed plastic containers and plastic products

AND i found out that best buy will recycle old electronics! tvs, computer monitors, vacuums, fans, dvd players and more, mostly for free or only $10. no more cell phones in the garbage, please!

so, let's try to keep some of that stuff out of the landfill, will you!

xoxo,

Lauren

the other summer beverage

2010-06-23T08:09:00.002-04:00

hello hello. greetings. ahoy-hoy. hola. a million ways to say hi for the million weeks it seems like i've been missing. blame it on a new job. blame it on being busy looking for an apartment (found one!). blame it on a certain co-blogger's wedding. blame it on cain?

but blame it on booze? -gasp- NEVER! i recently started working in a wine/spirits/beer store, and although lacking the perk of a discount, the relatively low prices and insane convenience of grabbing a bottle after work is usually too good to pass up. i've been expanding my beer knowledge (sorry, PBR) and testing some new juice (that's what we call wine sometimes) all before my new early bedtime.

a recent favorite and perfect for summer: Casal Garcia Vinho Verde - a white from portugal, it is just slightly effervescent, the name literally translates to "green wine", referring to it's "youthful freshness" not it's color, although it does have a slightly greenish hue. super light, crisp, refreshing, low alcohol content and pretty damn refreshing at that. and at 5.69, i'm fairly positive you can't really beat it.

let me know, i'll pick you up a bottle!

xo,

Lauren

hubba hubba

2010-06-22T09:06:00.009-04:00

june is the time for swimming, jean shorts, weddings (!!) and iced coffee. i'm no wimp about the heat - i actually love it - but after an uphill bike ride to work, i can't really deal with a steaming cup of hot coffee. now some people (crazy people) don't like cold coffee, but for the rest of us, it's heaven. remember when you were a little kid, and thought real coffee was bitter and gross but were really stoked about coffee flavored ice cream? even 7 year old you knew what was up.

i still love the iced coffee at capogiro (my former place of employment) the best. it's just cold brewed la colombe, but for some reason it's superior to any iced coffee i've tried this side of the schuylkill. however, the capo at 40th & walnut street is a little too far away from my office for a quick coffee run, so lately, when i need chilled caffeine, i've been rocking it at hub bub.

hub bub is a beautiful, cherry red coffee truck located on 38th street between spruce and walnut. they serve stumptown coffee, some west coast shit that's sure to get your brain buzzing, which is precisely what i'm after on these humid mornings. their iced coffee is super good: strong brew, deep taste, and pleasing acidity, perfectly tempered with a splash of soy milk.

bonus: a skinny straw!! have you been noticing the trend of cold to-go beverages coming with bulky oversized straws? that really bugs me. a "little" size of this iced coffee is $2.50, pretty standard price in these parts. they also offer a "big" size for $3, but i fear any more than 16 ounces of this stuff might give me heart palpitations. the small size gets me just wired enough to focus my mind and knock out a bunch of emails, copies, and memos all before noontime.

here's to the sunshine and the summertime,
emily

CSA aka Consuming Squash All Summer Long

2010-06-01T16:10:00.010-04:00

when i was younger, just a few years past teenager-hood, i often wondered if i could ever get my shit together enough to meet some of the small goals i'd been mentally compiling. you know, all those things that we think and hope will help us along the road to self improvement. it's interesting to look back from time to time and see which of those have come to fruition, and which still reside on the "well, maybe one day" list.

a small sampling:
stop biting my nails - maybe one day.
take yoga classes - check.
learn to drive stick - nope.
bake bread from scratch - yup.
crochet sweaters and blankets - not so much.
have a photography show - check!
become a master gardener - ...no.
start a food blog - double check!!

you see how it goes? and i try not to get down on myself for those goals not yet actualized; i know there is lots and lots of time to learn new skills and try stuff out. one of the goals that i'd been totally slacking on since my time living in philly is subscribing to a CSA. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and it's a way for farmers to get their crops to larger groups of paying customers. People buy "shares" from the farmers, and then receive weekly or bi-monthly boxes of fresh, seasonal produce all throughout the summer and fall! brilliant, right? in cities (or in philadelphia, at least), this often done by drop offs of boxes of produce at farmer's markets. it's such an undeniably awesome program, i can't really say why i've dragged my feet about it over the past few years.

so this year, finally, the VR team signed up for a CSA, through greensgrow farms, a super rad urban garden in kensington (how cute is the banner on their website with the tiny bottles of beer and watermelons?). this past saturday was our first pick up, and it was a thrill! i drove over there around 10, and the farm was bustling! it was a lovely summer morning, and all kinds of adorable people and their children were shopping for produce, flowers, and plants. a cuter scene, i've never seen. i walked away with a big smile, and a bag full of beautiful produce:

just a few items from our first CSA crop!

aren't those radishes gorgeous? my favorite new little snack is bread with a generous layer of earth balance (or butter), thinly sliced radishes and a tiny pinch of salt. very frenchie.
can't wait to see what our CSA shares for the rest of the summer hold in store!

love,
emily

all the small things

2010-05-17T13:52:00.003-04:00

even though i certainly enjoy my fair share of chocolate, i'm not a self-indentified "chocolate person." i like it, i occasionally eat it, but i don't need it. i appreciate high quality craftsmanship and beautiful packaging, but i also love a standard chocolate milkshake from a diner. my point is - i am a fan, not an expert.

i was beyond delighted, however, when lauren gave me this chocolate bar after a recent trip to nyc. yeah, sure, it was delicious, but more importantly, it was tiny - the perfect few bites for after lunch. god, i never tire of small things. this small thing is dubbed "the itty bar," by small-batch chocolatiers Askinosie out of springfield, MO. also, in a way that was hard to tell when it was in the wrapper, there were 2 chocolate bars in there! that realization made me so happy.

with thumbtack, for scale

i don't mean to sell short the really fine taste and quality of the chocolate itself, or all the work that went into it. the folks at askinosie seem pretty dang serious about their chocolate - from farm to wrapper - and they want you to be informed too. see: Chocolate University. it was really, really good. honestly, i don't really have the vocabulary in place to wax poetic about the different notes of the chocolate, but i can tell you that i sort of alternated between little bites of chocolate, and little bites of an almond and indeed, it was divine.

unwrapped, with almond

you know what would be super cute? to tape one of these on a birthday present as a bonus mini present!

love,
emily

stocked & stoked

2010-04-30T19:47:00.006-04:00

i don't know about ya'll, but to me, it is one of the best feelings there is to have a fully stocked kitchen, ready and waiting for whatever mood strikes. tacos? go for it! soup? we got soup stuff! a sandwich, perhaps?! SANDWICH YOUR FACE OFF!

i suspect it harkens back to some deep, pre-civilzed animal instincts - to hoard, to have, to feed ourselves and others, to feel safe knowing that at least one basic need is met. a first world privilege to be sure, but one whose pleasure i just can't deny.

last night, after way too long, i revved up the old band van and swung over to the shop rite on snyder ave. i love this place! maybe it's in my blood (my mom is a shop rite lifer), but i just have never enjoyed shopping more in a big grocery store. the sales, people - THE SALES! and so for about money as i could've spent buying a new springtime frock, i filled up the cart with edibles.

brought my haul home and unloaded by myself. i know some people hate the ritual of grocery shopping, but i deeply enjoy it. after schlepping all my bags inside, i turned a record up loud, cracked a beer, and put everything away. then, i stepped back, and took a good hard look at what i'd accomplished. ahhh...satisfaction.

what am i going to make for dinner tonight? the sky's the limit...but honestly, i'm kind of just in the mood for a salad. ooh, and maybe some crackers with roasted garlic. and maybe i'll start a batch of no-knead bread dough for tomorrow...

love,

emily

garces - 2 for 2

2010-03-23T16:50:00.002-04:00

you may remember our first GLOWING review of chef jose garces' mexican themed restaurant distrito from last summer. we talk about this dining experience a lot in our normal, non-internet lives as the perfect situation one could hope for when requesting special dishes due to dietary restrictions (whether they be voluntary or involuntary, mind you!). my second go round with garces was at the new garces trading co. on 11th and locust and, let's just say the dietary restrictions are a little more lax this go round.

i was acquainted with only the shell of the soon to be bistro, as i attended an open call for new employees back in january. offered a job on the spot, i ended up turning it down as brighter prospects were on the horizon. i promised chef greg (sweetest little chef dude i ever met!) i'd come back and see him when they opened. and let me say, i'm glad i did.

take the "tour" on the website, and you'll see the welcoming open room, lined with a cheese and charcuterie counter, coffee and housemade cookies and pastries, a PLCB wine store (where you purchase a bottle and then BYO to the restaurant) and a lovely little flower shop in the foyer. as well as bottle your own olive oil station and an assortment of housemade jams, jellies and sauces.

we nabbed a table during a busy lunchtime rush but were still graced with good service. a friend of ours working the line sent us a few treats which ended up sending us into the realm of LOTS OF FOOD. however, we happily ate everything knowing that a sunny walk home would calm our bellies. the meal:

the "chef's mix" of olives

baby artichokes with preserved lemon, olive oil and date walnut cake

Kunik - a soft ripened triple cream cow and goat's milk cheese
from Nettle Meadow Farm in New York, with white sangria honey
ordered as an app, eaten for first dessert.
yes, that's right, i said FIRST dessert.

eggplant antipasti with roasted red peppers, cherry tomatoes confit
aged balsamic and microgreens
my dining partner had a pretty insane duck salad
opposite me for this course that i neglected to photograph
it was pretty beautifully presented, i must say

funghi pizza with maitakes, royal trumpets, taleggio and black truffles;
this is one of my favorite pizzas i've had in the city since eating cheese.

i have no idea how we ate all this food, although i suppose i requested a small box for the last piece of pizza. after a meal that took over an hour, we relaxed and ordered coffee. i strolled up to check out the coffee bar when i discovered ::gasp:: cute little pastries! so tiny, so delicate, only two or three bites each, how could i say no? a small tart goes superbly hand in hand (fork in mouth?) with a cup of good coffee.

the marjolaine - almond daquoise, chocolate ganache, coffee buttercream

and so we ventured back into the sunshine. wallet a bit lighter, bellies a bit more distended. one hell of a lunch behind us, and no foreseeable need to eat again for the next 24 to 48 hours...

go go romesco

2010-03-20T20:25:00.009-04:00

i'm starting to think all dressings, sauces, purees and dang near anything else that will eventually "dress" another food, should have nuts included. we've recently come into a good quantity of almonds (thanks costco!) and raw cashews (thanks even more, tffac!), and using them up has been glorious. i don't know about you guys, but nuts in this house are a major commodity - expensive, nutritious, and sure to enhance everything they touch.

lauren brought home some lovely little new potatoes from the italian market yesterday, the kind that are smaller than eggs and perfect for roasting. even though the weather has been warmer lately (praise be!), we're still a few months away from the sweltering summer when turning the oven on is nothing short of masochistic.

so we cut the cute taters in half, prepped some zucchini, onions and carrots, and tossed the whole mess with olive oil, paprika, s&p. slid the pan into a 350F oven for 20 minutes. it should always be this easy.

but naked veggies (even ones gently roasted to perfection, thank you a-very much) are for especially lazy days, and we were both feeling more motivated last night. after thumbing through a few cookbooks, inspiration struck: romesco sauce! this almond, hazelnut, and/or pine nut-based sauce is thick and robust, and a super classy alternative to ketchup to accompany potatoes. and best of all, it's so easy. don't let the fancy name or european roots of this dude mislead you; it is not one bit harder than making hummus or bean dip. romesco is a cousin of pesto and tapenade in that it wears many food hats: it can be thinned out and tossed with pasta, spread as a sandwich condiment, spooned onto crackers or extra spicy as a dip for vegetables.

or just eat it straight out of the bowl!

if you have the ingredients in your pantry (and i'd bet you do), consider making an extra large batch - some for tonight's dinner, and some to have on hand for the coming week. believe me, it will give you many happy returns when you're standing at the open fridge pondering "what little snacks await me?"

Salsa Romesco

adapted from "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen" by Donna Klein

~makes about 1.5 cups~

~takes 10 minutes~

ingredients:

1/2 cup nuts - any combo of almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, or pine nuts

2-4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 small dried chili pepper or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

2 medium tomatoes, fresh or canned (she says to seed them, but i don't think it's necessary)

1 tsp paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin, or not)

1-1.5 tbsp red vine vinegar (i bet red wine + a squeeze of lemon juice would be good, too)

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (fully optional)

-in the toaster oven (or real oven at 350F, if you must), toast the nuts. take care not to burn them! i used to always burn nuts when i meant to toast them. it sucks. let them cool a bit.

- put the nuts, garlic, chili and salt in a food processor and pulse til ground.

- add everything else and let the processor run until you've got a nice, red, nutty sauce. you might need to scrape down the sides a few times to make sure it's well combined.

- if you have the time, let the romesco cool, so the flavors can meld. or if you don't have time, don't worry!

- added bonus: i'm reasonably sure that a small scoop of romesco sauce atop half a roasted new potato counts as "tapas," and would be an awesome addition to an at-home happy hour!

love,

emily

tales of a brave band

2010-03-18T09:54:00.002-04:00

non-food post ahoy!

sometimes, while riding my bike to work in the morning, the most random things will enter my brain. i suppose it's just a process the mind goes through - discovering forgotten pockets of memory while clearing out the cobwebs of sleep and shaking off the echoes of strange dreams.

anyway, i find myself considering people i haven't seen in years, moments from childhood vacations, a funny little joke from a movie, a headline from last week's new york times. sometimes it's a song - maybe even just a refrain or a few notes - rising up from the dregs of my unconscious.

today, i kept thinking about Ida, a band that was one of my high school favorites. i still really like them, but have less of a place in my life for pretty, heartfelt emo. that kind of music is really good for driving around on clear afternoons (which i don't do much of anymore); it is also good for singing to yourself on your bicycle on a new spring day. now, comfy at my desk, i've been listening to them all morning and am a bit surprised how fully these songs still tug on my heart strings.

go here and listen to the song "dream date" and you'll see what i mean.

i do have their newest album "lovers prayer" (artwork above) that occasionally finds its way to the turntable while i'm in the kitchen. chill music is best while baking, i find. the record is lovely, as is the band: a married couple and their friends, who've been doing their thing (they call it an "idiosyncratic style of minimalist folk rock music") since the early 90's.

when i was 17, i went with my friend blair to see Ida perform at the terrace club on princeton's campus. i didn't ask permission to drive the car that far and didn't get back til probably 4AM, when i got so, thoroughly busted. but you know what? i don't remember how sucky it was to get in trouble, or even what my punishment was. what i do remember, clear as a bell, is the dark, creaky wood floors of the club (a very cool space to see a show, btw), the softness of the lamplight, the band's quiet intimacy and impossible grace. i remember how enchanted i was, how giddy, how deep and stoned and intense it made me feel even though i was completely sober. i went up to them after the show to thank them, my hands shaking, and then fled down the stone steps and ran out across a big field of wet grass. everything was woozy and surreal under the clear university sky.

saturday night's alright for snackin'

2010-03-13T23:54:00.006-05:00

this is snacks, a cat i've grown to love in the past few months. it's sort of food related, i mean his name is snacks!! just catsitting folks, not (yet) a pet owner...

tomorrow, emily and i are volunteering at the brewer's plate, a fundraiser for fair food. we work for 3.5 hours and then get to attend the event for free, including the vip experience. (nothing like supporting a good cause with good old fashioned muscle and elbow grease). a report will surely be in order!

hibernation - baking & breaking bread

2010-03-09T11:35:00.001-05:00

what is it about winter that just makes us want to stuff our cheeks with food and curl up in bed for a few weeks? particularly the stuff our cheeks part. fortunately, hopefully, the end is nigh (of winter that is).

during the crazy february snowstorm, some friends and i went on a baking frenzy and made a bunch of different breads and pizzas from jim lahey's bread book "my bread". you may remember lahey from when he was featured on mark bittman's blog some years back, where he sort of messed with everyone's past notions of breadmaking (mine, for sure).

lahey says, let the bread do the work, not the breadmaker. his innovative no-knead method uses just a bit of yeast and no-kneading (obviously), letting the bread sit 12-16 (up to 18!) hours overnight, then a quick shaping and another few hours to rest, an hour in the oven and voila. best loaf of bread EVER. some of you may be saying, "but i don't have time to make bread and wait for it to rise, boo hoo". the beauty of this method is that you're asleep for the majority of the "work". and sleeping while working, well don't we all sneak naps at our desk jobs anyway?

after a few trials of the standard "no-knead bread" (recipe here) using a variety of different flour combinations and resting times, we went for a nice alternative. OLIVE LOAF!!! who doesn't love a goodwarm crispy chewy olive studded loaf of bread, fresh out of the oven?

at first glance, this recipe might look LONG and complicated. it's actually just 6 easy steps, the author is just a bit verbose, but that's to ensure that your loaf comes out looking (and tasting) stellar. so don't shy away! throw this together before bed tonight and you'll be glad you did.

Pane all'Olive (Olive Bread)

Yield: One 10-inch round loaf; 1 1/2 pounds

Equipment: A 4 1/2- to 5 1/2-quart heavy pot

Ingredients:

3 cups bread flour

about 1 and 1/2 cups roughly chopped pitted olives

3/4 teaspoon instant active dry yeast

1 and 1/2 cups cool (55 to 65 degrees F) water

wheat bran or additional flour for dusting

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, olives and yeast. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 12 to 18 hours.

2. When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Using lightly floured hands, lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.

3. Place a tea towel on your work surface and generously dust it with wheat bran or (we used) flour. Gently place the dough on the towel, seam side down. If the dough is tacky, dust the top lightly with wheat bran or flour. Fold the ends of the tea towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

4. Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F, with a rack in the lower third, and place a covered 4 1/2- to 5 1/2-quart heavy pot in the center of the rack. (Make sure your lid is oven safe!)

5. Using pot holders, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the tea towel and quickly but gently invert the dough into the pot, seam side up. (Use caution! the pot will be very hot.) Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep chestnut color but not burnt, 15 to 30 minutes. Use a heatproof spatula or pot holders to gently lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly.

3 for the week

2010-02-23T23:09:00.011-05:00

whoa! hey guys...where have i been? it's been nearly 2 months since my last post, a wee statistic i'm not so proud of. but i have a few good reasons for my absence, as listed below:

1. laziness and inertia. these factors simply cannot be discounted, for they are powerful and can creep in without you hardly noticing.

2. like sissy lauren, i too have been enjoying some dairy products in my diet. and so i've been asking myself, "what to do about this vegan food blog?" while it has been fun to experiment with new ingredients, a lot of the food coming out of our kitchen is still totally vegan. nevertheless, i have been second guessing myself about writing here. like - do i disclose? and if so, how? and should we rename the blog, or just keep on keepin on? i can sometimes overthink things. anyway, looks like i just came out, so at least that part is out of the way. as for what to do with/call this blog, well that is still under discussion. i will just assert that the mindful addition of milk, eggs, and cheese to my diet has really been fun and exciting, and the lil pangs of guilt i felt at first are long gone.

3. i got a new job! a really good job, one far away from cappuccinos and customer service. a 9 to 5er, in fact! my livelihood is now earned behind a small desk in a tiny, cozy office that's mine all mine. i keep the heat cranked to 70 F, drink french press coffee, do my work, listen to music and stare at a computer all the live long day. so when i come home, often the last thing i want to do is look at another screen. i'm sure many of you can identify. the day-job has led to other wonderful quality-of-life improvements, including evenings and weekends full of freedom. from this stable schedule, healthy things have arisen - namely going to the gym more and cooking way more than i used to.

in fact, one of my new favorite traditions is using sunday night as my alone time/recovery from the weekend revelries, preparing things to eat throughout the week. see, i made this pact with myself that i would only buy lunch out once or less a week. and for the past 8 weeks, i've totally stuck with it! going out for lunch just adds up too quickly, you know what i'm saying? it's also an easy way to eat all kinds of crap that you don't even want.

so while ryan is at work, adam is at band practice, and lauren is out potluck-ing, i pad around in my pajamas (even at 8PM! what a funny old lady i'm becoming), thumb through cookbooks and make food until i am simply too tired to continue.

for the past few sundays, i've made three things for the week: granola, a soup, and an entree. usually i eat some of the entree for dinner on sunday too. there's nothing like instant gratification, especially when good smells have been circling around you for a few hours.

this process is so meditative for me. i listen to a succession of records that i pull from the shelf without even looking - everything sounds good when you're alone and cooking. if i'm feeling jaunty (and not too hungover), i'll nurse a glass of wine or vodka soda. with any luck, i have my ingredients out and a plan at least half formulated in my head. if not, i figure it out as i go.

this past sunday, i started with a "braised tofu" recipe by mark bittman. i use the quotes to highlight my skepticism - ok, i don't even really know what braising is, but i don't think it is the right bit of vocabulary for this recipe. i'd just skip the pretense and call it a coconut tofu curry, since that sound great to me (i crave something with coconut milk in it at least weekly). regardless, the recipe starts with a cool technique that i've never used before to start a curry: you puree canned tomatoes with onion segments until it's all, you know, pureed up. this mixture the base for what i came to think of as indian gravy.

then you heat it over a medium flame and stir in a touch of olive oil, S&P, and 2 tablespoons of curry powder (i used 1 tblsp of garam masala and 1 of "bawa spice," a homemade curry made by our dearest halimah). i put some jasmine rice on at this point, since to me a curry without rice just seems naked. you know how to make rice, right? cool.

let the curry gravy briskly simmer for 15 minutes. then add 3 cups of chopped vegetables (in this case blanched cauliflower, broccoli and peas) and 1 pound of cubed tofu. cook longer, 7 more minutes?

the final and best step is adding in the can of coconut milk. it's so extravagant pouring the silky, rich cream all through the pan. my cast iron was almost overflowing! i had to resist the urge to sip right from the side of the cast iron.

lunch & dinner for the week! next time, i might add some red pepper flakes for a little more kick, but it's alright. big red aka sriracha peppered this batch right up.

as that was finishing up, i started a tomato soup, also from bittman. full disclosure: 99% of the recipes i've been making since christmas are from mark bittman's "how to cook everything vegetarian." it is so, so good, and extensive, and clear, and he's got this funny dad sense of humor that i find touching. so the tomato soup was from there, and pretty basic, and i will choose not rehash every step of the process here. but, come to think of it, it turned out super well, so i'll just copy the recipe below...anyway, what makes a better lunch that tomato soup? there is nothing better.

so as discussed in the past, the granola part is easy; i don't even use a recipe anymore. i just dump some oats in a bowl and stir in a drop of vanilla extract, a splash of veggie oil, a bigger splash of maple syrup, the tiniest pinch of salt, and whatever else we have around (this week it was hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pepitas and golden flax seeds). spread the mixture out on a pan, and toast at 350F for 20 minutes, stirring every once in awhile. these twenty minutes provide a good time to have a small dish of the curry and/or soup.

when it's all done, i admire the lovely simplicity of the fresh granola. screw a $5 box of cereal.

at this point, maybe 9 or 9:30, i'm usually on the last round of dishes. even though we have a dishwasher in this house, i kind of look forward to doing the dishes, as the act brings some closure on my kitchen session. everything is packed nicely in tupperwarees in the fridge, and i feel accomplished. the food in those containers is a gift that the me of sunday is giving to the me of all week. and, there is a certain feeling of safety that comes with knowing that there is a stash of well made food in your possession that is ready to go when you are. it makes the dawning of another monday not something to dread, but something to anticipate. well, anticipate lunch time, at least.

Tomato Soup by Mark Bittman, from "How To Cook Everything Vegetarian"

ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, or (more likely) a big pinch of dried thyme leaves
S&P
3 cups of diced canned tomatoes
2-3 cups of veg stock or water
soy/rice milk, creamer, cow milk, heavy cream, or sour cream (optional)

- heat the olive oil gently, and add the tomato paste. stir it around for a minute or two.

- add the onions, carrots, and turn the heat to medium. stir and heat this mixture up for a few minutes. add the thyme, and S&P.

- pour in the tomatoes, juice and all, and bring the mixture up to a low boil. lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. the tomatoes should start to break apart.

- add the stock or water and let it get hot again. try it. are the carrots and onions tender? if so, the soup is done. if you like creamy soup (and how i do), put your immersion blend to work. then if even creamier is your goal, slowly add a vegan or non vegan creaming agent until you acheive your desired shade of light red. i added in two very small dollops of sour cream, which helped to smooth out the flavor in a subtle way.

- obviously, if the veggies aren't tender yet, keep cooking it til they are. and if you're in the middle of other stuff, or have the time to develop a deeper flavor, you can keep this soup on a very low simmer for as long as you want. i let this batch go for 20 or so extra minutes.

it sounds too simple to be true, but this soup is tomatoe-y perfection...best comfort food!

love,
emily

zahav - a must hav

2010-02-16T15:07:00.000-05:00

now, i know i throw around the word "best" quite a bit, but this time i'm not the one slinging the word. i recently ate at zahav in old city and, post-meal, discovered i had eaten one of the "best restaurant dishes of 2008" as declared by food and wine. that's a serious title if you ask me!

always one for a bargain, i decided to check out the slightly-above-my-price-limit restaurant during restaurant week, where a price fixed lunch menu was only $20. i really enjoyed the bright and airy quality of the dining room - where 2 out of the 4 walls sport floor to ceiling windows - as a departure from my usual dark and cozy night time haunts.

feeling cheery in the bright light of day, i ordered a "saz-arak" cocktail which had basil-hayden bourbon, st. germain, lemon, orange bitters and an arak rinse. i don't know what most of this means, i copied it off the website, but i can't say i much care because it was SO GOOD. fresh and fruity, but at $11 i had to sip slowly!

the price fix menu started off with salatim (4 small salads) and hummus with laffa, a softer than pita flat bread. the salatim was tiny little portions of smokey tomato okra, roasted spiced carrots, twice baked eggplant and fennel salad. the hummus was amazing smooth. it didn't blow my mind but that's kind of expected, as hummus isn't really a mindblowing dip. it's just creamy, smooth and goes great on pita. zahav has it down, for sure! the salatim were super cute and a couple bites of each went perfectly the the hummus and laffa as an appetizer.

our mezze dishes then arrived shortly after the salatim and we chowed down on fried cauliflower with a dill, mint and garlic yogurt sauce. the cauliflower was insaaanely good, crispy on the outside but still juicy and semi-firm on the inside. definitely my favorite dish of the meal! the other mezze plate was beets with a mustard green tzatziki and crispy shallots. i thought the mustard green tzatziki was really interesting twist on the usual version, but my lunch companion didn't like the leafy texture of the greens in the sauce. (it still got eaten, trust me!)

our "al-haesh" dishes, which means grilled over coals were really good but i was pretty full by this point in the meal. it seemed kind of crazy as every dish was on the smaller side. somehow we soldiered on and were able to eat the Galil: baby eggplant, pomegranate, pistachio, tahini, and a seafood dish that i, of course, took no part in. the baby eggplant was really soft and smokey from being cooked over the coals and the pomegranate was a reduced syrup that really worked with the tahini and pistachios. again - delicious!

(ok, so this isn't the most appetizing picture,
eggplant doesn't photograph too well, but trust me it was banging)

i didn't think i'd even be able to take one little bite of dessert, but again, i had no trouble once it got to the table. I MEAN LOOK AT IT!

i really wanted to go for the baklava, but once we found out about what the "konafi" was, the decision had been made for us. our waiter described it as "the closest you'll ever get to eating a cloud". konafi is basically really finely shredded puff pastry topped with ricotta cheese and fried in a frying pan, then topped with rose water and pistachios. HE WAS RIGHT! it was like taking a bite out of a cumulonimbus. the chocolate semifreddo was like a sort of melted gelato, really soft and creamy, atop a chocolate hazelnut crunchy wafer and candied cumquats (pictured above).

this is the texture of the finely shredded puff pastry

doesn't that sound like an insane amount of food for just $40? it was. it really was. i'll be back, zahav...maybe not until next restaurant week, but i'll be back.

love,
lauren

p.s. the waiter told that all of the kitchen staff and some of the waitstaff was flown to israel to taste and see how the food of israeli culture is made. um...it worked.

we got the beets

2010-01-29T14:11:00.012-05:00

my last night in chicago was spent like every other night whilst there, a whirlwind of eating, drinking and friends. we started out the evening walking a dog and enjoying some hot toddies. did you know that half a honey stick is the perfect amount of honey for a mug of hot toddy? finding ourselves lacking two essential ingredients - lemon and honey - we hit up a local produce stand/co-op for the goods. a jar of honey cost a whopping $4.29 but i knew i only needed a smidge. as i checked out i noticed a little jar of honey sticks - 25 cents each! i quickly put the overpriced honey jar back and spent a measley 50 cents on two sticks. the perfect amount of honey for four hot toddies (two double toddies each, that is). just a friendly heads up for your winter drinking pleasure!

once warm and toasty, we headed over to lula cafe in logan square. this place is basically the perfect restaurant, in my book. warm and cozy, but not TOO small, dark and ambient but with enough light for some decent picture taking, a price point that makes you feel slightly fancy without breaking the bank and a menu offering an amazing array of diverse options. and a seasonal menu at that, not to mention a charming wait staff and lovely decor. we started things off with a round of sangria and shortly thereafter we were surprised with a complementary amuse-bouche. i've never been to a place that served amuse-bouche and it was so tiny and special, how i like most everything.

you can thank the sangria for all my shoddy pictures
amuse-bouche of pomegranate salad

we then inquired with our waitress about the mushroom rilette. we were informed that a rillette is usually a dish similar to a pate with a layer of fat on top to seal in flavor......(eww). however, lula's rillette was made with four different mushrooms and a layer of house-cultured butter on top. ok, the butter was a bit much, but this was obviously way more my speed than cubed salted fatted pork. the rillette was served with a whole grain mustard, caperberries, a mixed green salad and toast. we TORE THIS UP so fast we had to ask for more toast. the mushroom rillette was coarsely chopped and full of mushroomy goodness. one of my favorites of the night.

my vegetarian dining companion and i decided to go halfsies on two very different dishes. i ordered (with strong support from the rest of the table) the beet bruschetta featuring olive oil marinated beets with goat cheese atop a toasty baguette and an arugula and red onion salad drizzled with roasted garlic vinaigrette. served with a side of crispy roasted fingerling potatoes. although this seemed like more of an appetizer, it was pretty huge and really filling. so simple. so delicious. my co-diner ordered the pasta yiayia which was bucatini (crazy pasta kind of shaped like a drinking straw with a hollow middle) with moroccan cinnamon, garlic, feta and brown butter. whoever thought of mixing cinnamon, feta and pasta can now take my hand in marriage.

finally, stuffed as we were, we somehow, some way, made room for dessert. when i was strictly vegan, dessert was something in which i didn't often partake. and usually i was way too stuffed anyway, so it didn't even matter. but being a bit more lax with my restrictions these days has opened up a whole new possibility for CRAZY FULLNESS. so i've been keeping myself in check in the dessert realm. this night, however, was an exception, especially after seeing the dessert menu. between the four of us we split two things: a brandied conserve crepe with toasted walnut ice cream, creme fraiche ice cream and clotted cream AND a rosemary creme caramel (think firmer than flan consistency) with pear and peppercorn brittle. dudes, this stuff was amazing. unabashedly freaking insanely good. no regrets. the crepe was maybe one of the best desserts i've had in my entire life. plus we had digestifs which is just adorable.

so there you have it. this trip to chicago was so successful in so many ways. good friends, good laughs, food, drink, coffee, animals, 'getting away from it all' and even some cultural activities thrown in for good measure! we're not just killing those brain cells, we're enhancing them first before they go. oh, and feeding them, REALLY well.

xoxo
lauren

my royale bender

2010-01-26T16:59:00.015-05:00

oh to be home, home again. unemployment v2.0 has been treating me rather well as i've decided to take a bit more advantage of this go round. trips to nyc, delaware and chicago these last few weeks have brought about good times, awesome food and friends. man, friends for days.

the amount of food and drinks i have imbibed in the last 21 days of unencumbered responsibility-free bliss is enough to kill a small animal. fortunately paired with [occasional, i'll admit] trips to the gym, i haven't suffered many consequences of such vague lushery.

CHICAGO!!!!!!!
a much needed, long overdue trip to visit friends in chi-town had me sampling the finest coffees, pastries, pizzas, beer/liquor and desserts of the windy city. it was pretty windy, so was my butt after eating all that dairy. oops. chicago didn't seem to be the most vegan friendly place, so i just ate whatever the hell i wanted. it was worth it, no regrets, no regrets. my chicago buddy has worked in quite a few service industry jobs, particularly coffee shops, so we drank coffee for free mostly everywhere we went. intelligentsia is a local coffee roaster with a bit of an attitude and a lot of coffee knowledge to back it. their "single origin espresso" made from an ethiopian bean was maybe the best shot of espresso i ever had!

lovely bakeshop and bakin' and eggs are two darling cafes/restaurants owned by a trifecta of awesome culinary minded people. i had coffee and pastries and a late lunch at lovely and breakfast at bakin' and eggs. not to mention took home some PRETTY killer pastries for the housies. i want to be these people when i grow up.

i stayed in a super adorable condo in hyde park, right near lake michigan. i guess most of chicago is right by lake michigan. we took a chilly walk my first day there and it looked like this:

i also spent the night with a pretty handsome chap while in town. i'm not usually wont to one night stands but i just couldn't pass this cutie up:

alright that's enough divulging into my life for one post. chicago part two features A TRIP TO THE ZOO and ONE OF THE BEST MEALS OF MY LIFE. see you then, kids.

xoxo,
lauren

royalety in chi-town

2010-01-21T11:43:00.006-05:00

ahoy hoy from the midwest! i'm currently in chicago visiting some friends and getting the royale treatment. a friend is house sitting for his boss which mean staying in a SUPER cute condo in hyde park with two kitties and a sweet but whiny black lab. highlights so far have included: intelligentsia coffee and blueberry almondine at lovely bakeshop, buying tiny special things at renegade craft shop, new haven style pizza and microbrews at piece in wicker park, indian lunch at rajun cajun and midnight burritos after an awesome jazz show at the hideout.

my camera doesn't plug into this fancy macintosh computer, so you'll have to wait till i'm eastbound to see my pictures. but here is a picture from lovely website of some baked goodies and one of gable, chillest cat ever. see you on the other side!

chilly x's and o's,
lauren

back in the blog-ssr

2010-01-11T13:07:00.010-05:00

forgive me dear blog readers, it's been nearly two months since my last post. i had a job and a social life and i was kind of owning philadelphia, and in my whirlwind painting some areas of this damn town red, i forgot my camera and neglected to snap pictures and ate out a lot and just kind of dropped the ball in general. but....I'M BACK! and i'm going to do my best to stay on top of this here food journal. i hope you too will stay on top of reading it, because i have a lot to say.

COMING CLEAN
as some of you may remember, i was unemployed for a bit back in october. oh, glorious [f]unemployment. but right around november, i started working at a new job.....in a cheese shop. this new position required me to try every product as part of my training. some vegans may have turned this job down instantly, but as a foodie at heart, and a girl trying to establish herself and move up in the food industry, i sucked it up and accepted the position. and i got to say, cheese is pretty yummy. i'm still in the process of figuring some things out about my diet and my relationship with it. i still cook and eat vegan A LOT and i still love veganism and vegan food and my vegan friends and restaurants. i just eat cheese sometimes. i hope that's ok with you. it's taken me a little while, but it's ok with me.

BACK TO BLOGGING
last weekend i took a much needed trip to NYC to visit some friends that were supremely missed. i visited high line park in chelsea, the chelsea market, the MOMA (my first time visit! check out the tim burton exhibit, it's rad) franny's in brooklyn, the whitney museum of american art, and finally, the vegan gourmet candle cafe, on the upper east side.

one of my favorite images from tim burton exhibit,
romeo and juliet

view from high line park,
photo courtesy of michael

(i cheated and stole this from high line park flickr page)

coff-skey at candle cafe
(whiskey spiked coffee)

speltberry salad with lentils, roasted cauliflower and butt-nut squash
over mixed green with a creamy shallot dressing

cajun seitan sandwich with steamed kale, carmelized onions,
avocado and ancho chili aoili on toasted focaccia

garlic-shallot-potato mash

besties, enjoying their grub

man, new york is freaking fun!! overall, candle cafe was pretty awesome. we have the candle cafe cookbook here at home and i've cooked out of it many a time, and eating at the restaurant was kind of just like that. not to frou-frou or fancy, a bit on the pricier side, but it's nyc so what can you do? one thing that stood out to all of us was the sauces and dressings. each sauce elevated the dish to the next level. kind of a weird observation, but we all agreed.

so, that's all for now. i hope you'll have me back, dear readers.

love,
lauren

VR birthday!

2009-12-26T23:31:00.004-05:00

amongst all of the wondrous holiday bustle, we just want to take a moment to wish the blog a happy birthday!

our very first post was on december 25 of 2008, 1 year and 1 day ago...since then we've written nearly 140 posts about our culinary adventures and our daily lives.

so we hope to continue into this new decade! writing for the blog has given us a new sense of purpose and mindfulness about the steps we take while we're food shopping/menu planning/cooking, and has really just been a lot of fun.

thanks so much to our followers and commenters, and to our family and friends who are so supportive and encouraging.

more to come!

love,

emily & lauren