Tag Archives: foodie

Double Chocolate Mint Holiday Martini

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Nothing says “happy holidays” like peppermint and chocolate. This yummy drink is easy to make and sure to be a guest favorite.

double chocolate mint martiniIngredients*:

  • 1/2 cup half and half
  • 1tsp peppermint syrup
  • 2oz double chocolate vodka
  • 2oz Baileys Irish Cream (Original)
  • 1 piece chocolate

*This recipe is based off the ”Noshing with the Nolands” Chocolate Mint Martini recipe.

Makes: 1 serving

Directions:

Pour the half and half into a glass. Stir in the peppermint syrup. Measure out the 2oz double chocolate vodka and the 2oz Baileys Irish Cream in the shaker.

Martini Ingredients

Step 1 - measure ingredients

Then add the half and half peppermint mixture to the shaker. Fill shaker with ice and shake, shake, shake.

Step 2 - add to shaker with ice

Pour into martini glass. Using a potato peeler, shave chocolate onto the drink for garnish and added flavor.

Time to toast!

double chocolate mint martini

Tip:

  • Use an orange on the rim of the glass and then dip it in the chocolate shavings to cover the rim in chocolate
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Bring on the Unconventional Holidays – A Feast for the Ages

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Anyone else annoyed by the fact that CVS already has Halloween Candy out?! Can we just enjoy this last bit of summer before having to acknowledge that cold weather is around the corner? I guess the positive to summer ending, means that holidays are on their way.

Do you think it was done on purpose? Having a whole bunch of holidays in the winter so the snowiest months don’t seem that bad? If it was, I like it!

…And we all know what the best part of holidays are – the food! But there are some current holidays that get shafted on that – Groundhog Day (Feb. 2, 2013) for example. Groundhog Day FeastI think this day should be a proper holiday and we should have a feast with friends. I’m thinking maybe at a giant farmers table, and have it be a rustic meal with wine and cheese. I think groundhogs would approve. What about Read Across America Day (March 2, 2013)? We should have the day off and spend it reading to acknowledge the importance. It also happens to be Dr. Seuss’s birthday, and so a feast of weird treats the characters in his books would enjoy is necessary. I’m thinking a Willy Wonka spread.

What about Law Day (May 1, 2013)? To acknowledge this day I say we break tons of laws in the morning and then repent in the afternoon. I also think all lawyers should have off that day. As for the food, we would eat a spread of Flag Daythe favorite foods of the Justices of the Supreme Court. What about Flag Day (June 14, 2013)? Everyone must wear a version of red, white, and/or blue; and there must be fireworks at night. You can only eat red, white and blue foods that day. Hello strawberry-blueberry yogurt parfait! Wright Brothers Day (Dec 17, 2012) – we should all get 40% off tickets on US airlines. What you eat that day must be served in those plates with dividers/compartments and if heated can only be done in a microwave, in honor of plane food.

Autumnul EquinoxLastly the holiday that is quickly approaching is the Autumnul Equinox on September 22nd.  It lands on a Saturday this year, but if it landed on a weekday we should all have off to just enjoy a beautiful fall day. We don’t get enough of those.  Of course the food for this holiday would be composed entirely of fall veggies and fruits – squash, pumpkin, apples, cauliflower…nom nom.

This is the year to start celebrating! Be sure to send me photos, recipes, decorations, and ideas for your holiday feasts!

Food Budget Challenge: Month Two Day 20

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The second portion of my food budget challenge has been much easier than expected and perhaps less accurate than I would have hoped for. I’ve been traveling a lot this summer which has lead me primarily dining on the delicious food of friends and family. I’ve also eaten out more than I normally would, as I did not have access to a kitchen. Friends and family have also brought me fresh produce from their local farmers markets when coming to visit. For example: My mother bought me a basket of delicious peaches that I have eaten as breakfast for the last week.

With that said, I definitely plan to do this portion of the challenge again in the Fall when I will be surrounded by less BBQ’s, picnics, and pool parties.

I can tell you that there is nothing better than going to a farmers market, looking at all the fresh veggies, and then coming up with your meal later. This is definitely my new go-to for “what to cook tonight.” See what catches my eye and then search for a recipe later. It’s kind-of a fun game to play!

For the past week I’ve continued to snack on carrots and the yogurt fruit bites. I’ve also primarily had pesto, pasta and broccoli for dinner. Since I’ve been traveling this dinner works great as the pesto freezes wonderfully! As you can see below I’m doing great on my supermarket/farmers market purchase total but my eating out total is nearing the $75 limit. However, with that said, I think a $200 food budget in NYC is way more doable that I would have thought. The real issue is planning, planning, planning. I’m thinking of trying to write down a schedule so I stick to it and remember to pack my lunch every night. Does anyone have an app they recommend I use to do so?

$2.00 basil
$1.39 whole wheat penne
$5.00 2 things of arugula
$2.00 carrots
$45.54 Current Total

$20 Mexican
$8.50 Breakfast Sammie & Chai Latte
$5.00 Breakfast Sammie
$59 Eating Out Total

July 4th Yogurt Fruit Drops

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I recently came across a delicious and incredibly easy recipe on a fellow bloggers site. The recipe was so easy that I couldn’t believe I had gone all these years without making these tasty treats! They are the solution to my late night sweet tooth, and also to what to do when I purchase too much fruit and July 4th Yogurt Fruit Dropsfear it going bad. This recipe is based off the Fro Yo Berry Bites recipe from the delicious Becca’s Green Kitchen. If you are looking for yummy vegetarian recipes (especially smoothies) I suggest you visit Becca’s blog.

Ingredients:
- 1 container raspberries
- 1 container blackberries or blueberries
- 1 container So Delicious Dairy Free Vanilla or Chocolate Coconut Milk Yogurt
- Parchment paper

Prep Time:
15 Mins		 Cook Time:
30 Mins		 Total Time:
45 Mins

Directions:

Wash your fruit of choice and open the yogurt. Place your parchment paper onto a cookie sheet.

Step 1

Then with a toothpick take each piece of fruit and dip the bottom half of it into the yogurt.

Step 2

Then lie the fruit on it’s side onto the parchment paper. Repeat until done with all of the fruit.

Step 3

Place the plan in the freezer for at least 30mins.

Step 4

You’re done! Once they are frozen you can put them into a freezer safe tupperware and they keep for weeks.

Done

Tupperware

I plan to use vanilla coconut yogurt and serve this patriotic red, white, and blue treat at my July 4th BBQ!

Tip:

  • You can do these with any small fruit. Try cutting up a kiwi to add some pops of green or a banana for yellow.

Food Budget Challenge: Month Two Beginnings

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So this week was the first week of month two of my Food Budget Challenge. As lessons learned from month one, where I stayed under $100 for a month of food, I have decided to add to the budget a stipend for eating out in social settings. My new food budget is $125 for food purchased from supermarkets, farmers markets, and discount stores; and $75 for eating out socially. This whole budget thing is a learning process and I hope after this month I will have a greater grasp of what budget works best for me, while allowing me to occasionally splurge on more decadent fixings.

Farmers MarketI am already at greater ease by adding farmers markets into the mix. I went to the Union Square Farmers Market and really had to control myself from purchasing everything. The yellows, greens, purples, reds of the vegetables shouted out to me – “take me home!” I must have walked up and down the market at least 5x and spent well over an hour there. The #1 thing I have to remember is farmers market produce has a short shelf life and I must either purchase in small quantities, or create dishes to freeze for later.

i heart picklesMy new budget also allowed me to have my guilty pleasure – pickles! I’m not really sure if that can even be considered a guilty pleasure, however they are high in sodium. I love, love, love pickles! My favorite pickle vendor (that now delivers nationwide!), Pickle Me Pete, had a booth at a street fair and I just had to pick up a quart! Yum, yum, yum! I plan to try to grille some of them next week. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

So overall during the first week I had a few splurges – like some huge portobello mushrooms for a summer bbq – but it’s summer and when you have a grille, you just have to use it!

$2.00 kale
$4.50 2 portobello mushrooms
$2.00 6 fresh onions with stems
$7.00 1 container raspberries, 1 container blueberries
$4.00 3 large red peppers
$2.29 broccoli
$1.99 chocolate coconut milk yogurt
$3.99 nynaise
$1.31 1 cup walnuts
$2.39 thai curry sauce
$1.39 whole wheat penne
$2.29 chopped garlic
$35.15 Current Total

$9 1 Quart Pickles & 1 Fried Pickle
$8.50 Veggie Chik’n Vietnamese Sandwich
$8 Sesame Bean Curd
$25.50 Eating Out Total

Walnut Kale Pesto

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A few weeks a go a coworker of mine who has been following my food budget challenge came across a recipe for kale pesto & knew it was a “must create” for me. I’m a huge fan of kale (kale chips – nom nom!) and was curious as to how this would taste. Well to my delight, delicioso!

So you may ask why Kale is all the rage these days and no longer just the garnish we put on platters? Well it’s because it is a the superstar of the vegetables. A cup of kale has 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6, 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. Holy vitamin K! Vitamin K helps reduce the risk of cancer. Kale is also a good source of copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. Kale also lowers cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. So in short, I’m glad Kale is now all the rage and excited for this new way to incorporate this superstar veggie into my diet.

I made a few minor adjustments to the original recipe from The Full Plate Blog as I wanted a touch of acid and heat in mine. And for the best part…this recipe is fool proof and ready in a snap!Walnut Kale Pesto

Ingredients:
- 3 tsp chopped garlic (4-5 cloves garlic)
- 1 lime or lemon squeezed
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 lb kale (1 large bundle)
- 1/2 cup walnuts

Makes: 1 serving

Prep Time:
5 Mins		 Cook Time:
3 Mins		 Total Time:
8 Mins

Directions:

Remove the leafy part of the kale from the stem. The stem is too tough to eat.

Remove leaf from Stems

Squeeze out the juice from the lime or lemon into a food processor. Add the oil, garlic, salt, walnuts, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 of the kale. Blend. Then add the rest of the kale. You are done!

Walnut Kale Pesto

I served it over whole wheat pasta with broccoli.

Pesto Pasta

Tip:

  • If your a big fan of basil pesto, you can add about 5 leaves of basil to this
  • Mix is up for a BBQ. Make a Caprisi platter (mozzarella and tomato) and drizzle this pesto on top.

Baked Chickpeas

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Add some crunch to your salad with these baked chickpeas. These chickpeas will give you the protein you need and also add a bit of heat to any salad. This is a Claire Robinson Food Network recipe.

Chickpeas BakedIngredients:
- 1 cup dried chickpeas (2 cups cooked)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp smoked or spicy paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- kosher salt

Makes: 5 servings

Prep Time:
2 Mins		 Cook Time:
40 Mins		 Total Time:
42 Mins

Directions:

**If using dried chickpeas see my post on how to cook them. The dried chickpeas must be soaked and boiled before completing this recipe.

Combine the oil and spices in a large bowl.

spices in bowl

Then add chickpeas and toss until evenly coated.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the chickpeas out in an even layer. Bake until crispy at 400 degrees, about 40 minutes. I used a spatula to toss the chickpeas around at the 20min point. Remove the baking sheet from the oven.

Chickpeas Baked

Serve over salad.

Chickpeas over salad.

Tip:

  • Another great way to serve these is over warm hummus. Warm the hummus in the over, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika. Then put a 1/2 cup of these chickpeas (warm as well) in the center. Serve with pita.

Vegan Tuna

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The deli downstairs from my apartment makes amazing vegan tuna sandwiches. So I decided if they can do it, I can. The first time I tried this I wasn’t sure how it was going to work, but several months later – this is my go-to lunch or light dinner! I’m really big on textures and the texture of this is amazingly like the real thing.

Ingredients:
serve over salad- 1 chick’n cutlet (i like  quorn naked chik’n cutlet or MorningStar Farms grillers chik’n veggie patty)
- 1 tbsp diced yellow onion
- 2 baby carrots, diced
- 1 tbsp diced fresh celery (optional)
- 1 1/2 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp vegan mayo
- garlic salt

Makes: 1 serving

Prep Time:
5 Mins		 Cook Time:
10 Mins + 30 Mins		 Total Time:
45 Mins

Directions:

Put a small amount of olive oil in a frying pan and heat the pan. Then cook the chick’n cutlet on each side until it has good grille marks. You want the patty to be dry not full of moisture. While that is cooking dice the onion, carrots and celery. The celery is optional depending on your taste. I dice the entire onion and then save it for salad or stir fries.

Once the cutlet is done let it cool for at least 30mins. Once it is cooled cut it into several slices and then put it in the food processor/magic bullet. In the magic bullet I grind it for all of 5 seconds. It is instantly into a Tuna consistency.

Put cutlet in processor

Then add the mayo, mustard, veggies, and a shake or two of garlic salt. Mix well with fork. You’re done!

Mix all items

Serve over a salad or in a sandwich. If you make a salad I highly recommend using red wine vinegar.

serve over salad

Tip:

  • If using the MorningStar Farms cutlet I like to squeeze bit of lime juice on each side and put a tsp of fajita seasoning on each side. This really brings out the flavors.

Vegan Black Bean Soup

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I had black beans left over from my black bean burger recipe, and was looking for a light but filling soup to make during these hot almost summer days. I know many say hot soup in the summer, how can you eat that?! But I actually find it cools me off. So I was looking for a recipe for black bean soup and with some common ingredients I already had, I made a tasty, filling soup!

Ingredients:
Vegan Black Bean Soup- 2 cups cooked dried black beans or 2 14oz canned black beans (note 1 cup dry beans is 3 cups cooked beans)
- 2 small yellow onions or 1 large, diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp chili powder (optional)
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1-1.5 cups frozen or canned corn

*Note: You must soak the beans for 8 hours prior to this recipe. I put the beans in a Tupperware with water covered while at work or overnight.

Makes: 4 servings

Prep Time:
5 Mins		 Cook Time:
3 1/2 Hrs		 Total Time:
3 Hrs 35 Mins

Directions:
Heat up a stock pot with olive oil. Dice the onions and saute until browned. Add the garlic and cumin. (I use Dorot frozen garlic cubes) Cook for another minute. Then add the beans.

Bean Mixture

Then add the vegetable stock. Cook until stock boils, then reduce heat and cook for 3 hours on low heat. (If you are using canned beans you can cook it for 20mins instead of 3hrs.) After 3hrs taste and add chili powder if you wish. This recipe is just as good without it. I like the extra spice.

Beans after 3 hours

Shut the flame. Then use your handheld blender and blend the beans about 1/2 way through. You want to blend it so you have about half mashed beans and half whole beans. This adds thickness to the soup but still texture.

In a separate pot heat up the corn. Once serving place the beans in bowl and then garnish with a heavy portion of the corn.

Vegan Black Bean Soup

Tips:

  • Place rice or quinoa on the bottom of the bowl before pouring the soup over it

Food Budget Challenge: Half Way There

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“Oooo we’re half way there, ooooo living on a prayer!” Sorry but I had to. C’mon you know you love Bon Jovi.

So it’s only been 16 days but I feel like this challenge has been going on forever! I have all udon soupof these cravings for the food I like most. The deli below my apartment makes vegetarian chicken salad on a whole wheat everything bagel – yum! My favorite Thai restaurant makes Pad See Ew with Mock Dock – nom nom! My favorite lunch spot makes vegetarian udon soup with veggie dumplings – a must have! O and don’t get me started on bar food as I continue to shed a tear for my guilty pleasure mr. nachos. Just the other day I was at Professor Thoms that has won awards for their nachos and I could not purchase them. What I think I need to do to this budget is possibly reduce the monthly budget a bit and then add a budget for eating out. In a city like NY, you really just can’t help it and are definitely limiting your taste buds. I think if I had a budget, I wouldn’t go crazy like eating all of those meals I stated above in one week, but maybe scatter them out like treat myself every other week. This also allows you to “pick your meals,” i.e have dinner out one night or do brunch with friends one weekend.

Initially when I did this budget we said alcohol was not included because we did not want it to impinge on social activities, and in the summer there is nothing like going to a beer garden and catching up with great people while enjoying the sun. (see yummy Michelada recipe) However, after this Memorial Weekend I have learned that food really does have an important role in socializing. I had a friend stay over this weekend and we wanted to do stuff, and then I had to say, “I can’t.” Two words I really think should be banned from everyone’s vocabularies. Then said friend ended up treating me to dinner and brunch over the weekend, as it was something they wanted to do, and me too, but my budget was preventing me from participating in these leisurely activities. And the ironic thing is, now that I’m on the food budget, I do have more money to spend on said leisurely activities. Now, I do need to save as my rent is only getting higher (thank you landlord), but I think some wiggle room in the budget for eating out per month would be well spent. I’m thinking next month I will add to the challenge the new dining out, but I’m not sure how much. I guess that’ll be determined by where my budget stands at the end of this month. How much do you think is an acceptable dining out budget?

But while we are on that subject, of a wiggle room budget, what about parties or social events that require you to bring food? I was invited to a Memorial Day picnic and there is Seven Layer Dipnothing, nothing worse than showing up empty handed. In the end I wasn’t able to attend, but if I had I would have had to show up with nothing for the group. So I would go there and eat their food, and give nothing in return. However, if I had brought something – say a dip…it would eat up a good chunk of my budget. For example, 7-layer dip would end up being $17.91 (1 can Amy’s refried beans $2.50, avocados for guacamole 2 for $5, 16oz sour cream $2.49, salsa $2.99, 1 bag mexican cheese mix $2.04, olives $1.49, sliced jalapenos 7oz can $1.39, 1 bag Tostitos $2.99)

So here is my new solution to this, try to go halfsies on things like that in the future. If a friend and I split the ingredients it would be much more manageable. And the other pro, as much as we both want food that represents us, next time the other person can make their signature item. You could be sounding “cheap” by asking someone to split it with you, but I think more often than not someone would be happy to save the money and spend it elsewhere. Events always have leftover food as well, and this way there will be less thrown out afterwards.

Now with all that said, I am happy I have done this challenge. I continue to learn a lot about my own eating habits and spending. I truly think everyone should try this challenge, as I think it’ll really put your impulse buying into perspective. It will also teach you portion control and prevent you from munching on that late night snack as you have nothing to reach for.

Previous Balance: $61.02
Current Balance: $61.02