Lesley Eats

Why he's a vegetarian

2009-07-13T13:17:00.002-05:00

Excellent post. Just excellent.
http://www.herbivoracious.com/2009/07/why-im-a-vegetarian-dammit.html

In a way, I respect people who hunt and fish, who know what goes into the production of their food. Because so many people don't want to think about it. They just want their meat nicely cut and cleaned and in a handy container. Though I am disturbed that people can take the life of an animal for fun, for sport. I simply just don't believe it's right or necessary.

A food memory

2009-07-02T17:19:00.000-05:00

Out of nowhere the other day, I thought about Carnation Breakfast Squares. And for several days now, I have been craving them.

For those who don't know, they were a food of the 70s. Nutritionally, they were maybe a step up from Little Debbie Snack Cakes, perhaps because of marketing magic and a little boost of vitamins. Regardless, they were always stocked at my grandmother's house and I can still sense the taste of a vanilla Breakfast Square on the tongue of my memory. They were small and came two to a pack. I recall being allowed to eat just one for breakfast (though I ate two during visits when my mom dropped me off in Paris for a week or two--gotta love grandmothers). I didn't like the chocolate; just the vanilla. And they were actually a bit dry, but there was a coating of vanilla frosting and a thin smear of vanilla creme in between two layers of cake. I don't recall them actually tasting like vanilla. Or looking much like vanilla, either--the color of the squares was sort of gray.

Breakfast Squares moved along to the big pantry in the sky well before my grandmother did (so long ago that an image can't even be found by the Google). I remember the first time there weren't any Breakfast Squares at my grandmother's house. I was confused and disappointed. I think neither my mother nor my grandmother understood my attachment to those squares. They were genuine comfort food; they tasted like happiness.

I would love to have one now, though I suspect even if they were still around, they would not be as good as I remember. I think they'd only taste that good if I were eating them in my grandmother's kitchen. And thirty years ago.

I will never be able to survive based on my ability to grow food

2009-06-25T17:56:00.000-05:00

Another year and another summer of disappointment out in the yard. At one time, I had quite an impressive yard. Neighbors would stop and comment. I could spend hours admiring my own handiwork. And then I had to leave my lovely yard in Memphis and move to a hill in Nashville. Where almost nothing grows and what little does is hastily devoured by the myriad creatures that inhabit my neighborhood. The raspberries? Stripped bare just before they were ready to harvest. The lavender? Dead (and I have no idea why). The tomatoes' growth has been stunted for weeks as have all but one of the gourds. One lone cucumber is moving right along while the squash and zucchini are not dead but just sit there and do nothing after weeks of fruitless blooms.

Meanwhile, remember the gourd behind the office building? The one planted in mulch that is mixed with sewage to give it a horrid smell and a coal-black color? It's a pumpkin! And the pumpkins are thriving. Actually, that patch of mulch has exploded in growth in the last six weeks. I've also discovered a hosta, petunias, marigolds, acorn squash, cucumber, possibly wantermelon, and some romaine lettuce. All of it thriving. Beautiful. Tantalizing. And toxic.

Have a look:

It's grown quite a bit!

And this guy's already about six inches in diameter. The others are a bit smaller. Even the blossoms are huge--about five or six inches long.

I'm already on my second set of Wave petunias because I missed ONE day of watering and they scorched on my front porch. Meanwhile? These things fluorish in black mulch next to asphalt.

Life is not fair. Thank goodness for McNeil's Produce Stand and Delvin Farms at the farmer's market.

A tale of two enchilada dinners

2009-06-01T13:16:00.008-05:00

When I started this blog, it was really just a way to answer the inevitable question, "what do you eat???" I can just tell people to look it up. I'm amazed that so many people think that being a vegetarian has to be so limiting.

I'm not a great cook, I'm not a great writer, and I'm certainly not a great reviewer, but I do like to share my experiences here. A lot of times, I have fairly negative experiences--inside and outside the house. Sometimes I tell you about them, sometimes I don't.

All that to lead up to tell you that I went to a new place here in Nashville that's not far from my home, The Local Taco. I had high hopes--vegetarian selections! Locally-sourced ingredients! A patio! But I left pretty disappointed. As did the husband and my friends. We went across the street to another restaurant to supplement our dinners.

Tangent: When I first moved to Nashville ten years ago, a friend of mine who'd gone to Vanderbilt said, "You gotta go to SATCO!" (San Antonio Taco Company), so I did. It was terrible--long line to get food, everything was a la carte, so it added up quickly and then it was difficult to get a table. And the food...was just not very good. So I emailed my friend and said, "What the hell were you thinking? SATCO was shit! The food was terrible!" He wrote back, "Oh, you ATE there? No one eats there. You just get beers and sit out on the patio." Oh. Duly noted.

Exhibit A: two enchiladas at The Local Taco

So that's how I feel about The Local Taco. Go there, wait in line to order your beers and have another member of your group vulture around the patio for a table. Maybe get some guacamole, because it's pretty good and comes with a generous portion of chips. But if you're planning to go for dinner? Be prepared to be hungry or broke from it. Two vegetarian enchiladas (tiny and unfulfilling, but reasonably tasty) and one vegetarian taco (major difference? less cheese) plus the husband's meaty 3 tacos, an order of guac and a pitcher of "margaritas" (if there was tequila in that small pitcher, I didn't know it--it tasted like it was nothing but mix) was $44. $44!

Exhibit B: three enchiladas plus at Los Rosales

In contrast, three enchiladas verdes served with rice and steamed vegetables plus complimentary chips, salsa, pico and refried beans, plus the husband's chicken something or other with bacon, two bowls of complimentary cactus soup (I thought I didn't like nopales--no, I just don't like overcooked cactus; I like well-prepared cactus) AND two big ol' glasses of sangria at Los Rosales was just $39. And we were both satisfied and stuffed. And I love the enchiladas verdes. The spinach is not overcooked, so it doesn't make me gag. And the avocado sauce is divine. And I really can't say enough good about that cactus soup. I liked it so much that I'm considering veering from my favorite in order to try one of the cactus salads next time.

Bonus: cactus soup (yum!) at Los Rosales

Oh, cruel world, why can't Los Rosales be in The Local Taco's location? I could ride my bike there and sip sangria on the patio. Though in all fairness, The Local Taco is new. Mayhaps they just have some bugs to work out. But I'd love for them to know that Soysage and various gourds aren't the only ingredients one can use to make vegetarian enchiladas. Vegetarian food does not have to be limiting. Sweet potatoes and black beans make excellent and hearty enchilada fillers, for example. It'd also be nice if they were a little bigger for the price. It hardly seems fair to pay the same price for a vegetarian version of a taco or enchilada that's significantly smaller and less filling than a non-veg version.

In the meantime, I've learned my lesson and won't soon cheat on Los Rosales again.

this 'n' that & omg pasta

2009-05-22T10:55:00.003-05:00

Because my mind is going numb from some office work, I decided to pop over here and look at referrals. And lo, I discovered another local food blog, omg Pasta. Funny because I have gained a renewed interest in pasta since getting the pasta roller attachments for the mixer. And because last night, Claudia of cook eat FRET was telling me about a recent article she read comparing major brands of dried pasta. Don't mean to spoil it for you, but the winner was Trader Joe's. Like, over those fancy-pants brands. But the were comparing spaghetti, and frankly, I can't remember the last time I had plain ol' spaghetti. I usually opt for whole wheat or Jerusalem artichoke flour spaghetti because I want my pasta to fight with me as I eat it (it gives me the primal satisfaction that omnivores must derive from eating critters). Anyhoo.

So this weekend, I'm going to try some more pasta. The last attempt (with all whole wheat flour) has yielded a dough that I will reserve for lasagna noodles. I am now armed with King Arthur all-purpose flour and plan to get wild with it. We're talking flavored linguines and some mezzalunas filled with whatever I can find that's interesting.

While I was going through my referrals, I noticed one from the Whole Foods blog. Turns out, they're having a contest for Bonnaroo tickets among those who comment with their favorite festival foods. And Chris Houchens, marketing expert, marketing blogger and all-around nice guy gave me a shout-out for my review of festival food last year. I said I wasn't going to go back to Bonnaroo this year unless the dead Beatles were resurrected and re-formed to perform only Paul McCartney and Wings songs, but the second best thing, The Beastie Boys will be there and so will I. From the looks of the Whole Foods blog, there will be even more vegetarian/healthy eating options, so that makes me happy. Will I still have five or more arepas? You betcha. Despite the fact that the boss gave me special cornmeal needed to make arepas. It sits, well-preserved and unopen at the back of the fridge. Because apparently, preparation requires special instructions. Perhaps I need to search the YouTube for that.

And an update on the gourd outside the office--it's getting a bit rounder and a few of the ladies around here say that mulch in question was relocated from a spot where they believe a pumpkin was discarded after Halloween last year. Hrm. I hope that means we'll have a harvest of jack-o-lanterns instead of toxic zucchinis!

Volunteers

2009-05-18T14:16:00.004-05:00

I've got a post about asparagus that's been simmering in the brain for a few weeks, but it will have to wait a bit. Because this is just too funny. Or tragic. I haven't decided yet.

Okay, so after a year of rest, I have decided to plant a garden again. I put out four tomatoes, zucchinis, squash and cucumbers. As with every other year I've planted, I expect to yield nothing thanks to critters and drought or whatever nature will throw at me. But I will try. And spend shit-tons of money doing so. Anyway.

So a couple of weeks ago, I'm walking the perimeter of the office building, trying to soak in a rare moment of dry weather (this is the rainiest May I have ever experienced, I believe). The caretakers of the building had put out some of that fine, dark mulch a while ago at the very back of the warehouse parking lot...why, I'm not sure. I think to stop some erosion. So I'm walking next to it and see some rather attractive volunteer plants growing from it. Attractive and familiar. Um, I think to myself, I think those are gourds of some sort!

So I'm out again today and I'm looking at these plants again. They're gorgeous. Huge leaves, growing like crazy. And big, beautiful yellow blossoms on some of them. On others? The beginnings of what looks like a zucchini on the business end of that spent bloom. Holy cow! All over Tennessee--on farms and in home gardens, plants are rotting from all the rain and suffering from the lack of sun, but here at the back of our warehouse in a neglected strip of land by a pretty nasty creek is a small collection (about seven plants) of gorgeous vegetables--flowering and fruiting early!

I don't get it. Out on another side, there are beautiful wild roses growing. In my yard, my tea rose has been decimated by aphids. There are also tons of wild blackberries blooming right now. And I harvested some delicious wild plums from the other side of the creek last summer (and plan to again). What's going on out here? Why can't I grow anything after pouring blood, sweat, and tears into my yard, but these things grow with reckless abandon? It's not fair. By the way, I am not hyperbolizing on the blood, sweat and tears. I have lost a lot of each in my yard over the years.

Anyway, so here's my question--do I harvest these things? Is office park mulch and the runoff from a warehouse parking lot any more toxic than what gets sprayed on your average supermarket vegetable? I wonder.

The one with all the beverages

2009-05-14T13:24:00.007-05:00

I've been meaning to report here for a while now that the wonderful people at, um Pom Wonderful sent me a heaping case of pomegranate juice to enjoy. I'd had some before and liked it a lot, so I jumped at the chance to get some free. They also threw in some information on the juice's antioxidant properties as I requested because the SO-now-husband has blood that collects things in it that are bad for his heart.

As I mentioned, I'd had it before, but only bought it when it was on sale. It's crazy yummy, but a bit expensive in comparison to other juice. But now that I need to be more cognizant of what goes into Husband's body, I need to re-think that a bit. He needs the antioxidants. And ya know what? It's cheaper and easier to get than red wine. And doesn't have any of those pesky liver damage side effects. It's all about context, y'all. [FTR, you can't buy wine in the grocery here in Tennessee. Yeah, I know.]

Next on my list of beverages that are worth the extra money are Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback. I'd heard how good they were and trekked all over hell's half acre until I found them yesterday. Okay, that meant Kroger (where they were sold out) and then Super Target. But still, it was after work and I was tired and pissed that I had to go to a second store. But they're only available for a "limited time," which means I bit on the marketing bait and felt I needed to get them before they were gone. Verdict: worth it. Totally worth it. I started my day with the Pepsi today and the sun shone and coworkers were nicer and traffic was not as congested and I saw a unicorn farting rainbows by the side of the road as I drove to work. As for the Mountain Dew, well I've only had a couple of sips because if I'd consumed a can in it's entirety, I would not have slept last night (when Hubs had his) and I may even be divorced by now. I really can't believe I used to start every day of my college career with a Mountain Dew and a Pop Tart and remain focused. I can't take all that sugar (*cough*HFCS*cough*) and caffeine now. But let me tell you, that drink was good. Better than I remember from college. Probably because of the real sugar. Anyhoo.

And to continue my theme of tasty, sugary drinks, let me tell you about shower punch. I hosted a baby shower for a bunch of yankees (anyone not from the south) recently and none of them had ever had shower punch. You can google that, but you'll find a bunch of slightly more unnecessarily complicated recipes than the one I'm going to share with you. Don't bother with the fancy stuff. You don't need to add fruit or wine or Jell-O (!?!) or whatever. Here goes (pay attention!):

Good Old-Fashioned Southern Shower Punch
for baby showers, wedding showers, and wedding receptions held in Fellowship Hall

1 half gallon sherbet (I like lime the best, but any work except maybe rainbow)
1 two-liter bottle of ginger ale (not refrigerated)

Dislodge the block of sherbet from its container and drop into a punch bowl. Pour the bottle of ginger ale over the sherbet. Stir. Serve when cold.

See? Simple. Delicious. Though it used to be a lot simpler back in the old days when a block of sherbet came in a box that could be peeled apart. Now you gotta get your spatula out, which kind of sucks. Anyhoo, I had nine guests at the shower...plenty of leftover hummus and crackers and sandwiches, but barely a sip of that punch. Even though I served it in those tiny cups that come with punch bowls. They liked it. It's just not a celebratory event in the south without this stuff.

Just Married

2009-05-05T05:23:00.003-05:00

I've been on a short hiatus here, but for good reason--I got married! It's kind of a big deal, particularly since neither one of us had ever planned on getting married and waited a really, really long time to do so.

There are a few things I've always said I'd reward myself with if I ever got married. A honeymoon in Greece (on hold; we went to Cancun back in February). A Dyson (because men love these things and I hate vacuuming). And a KitchenAid stand mixer.

I got some really good advice from a friend who said I should just go all out and get as big a mixer as possible. So I did. The day after our wedding, I orderd the Pro Line KL26M8XOB. Six quarts. Bowl lift design. Twenty-five pounds of all metal gears and parts. God willing, I expect to have this mixer until I am a very old lady insistent on taking it with me to my nursing home room.

I bought it from the KitchenAid online store, which was conveniently offering free shipping and an offer for a free ice cream maker attachment. It was the ice cream maker that sealed the deal for the Significant Omnivore-now Husband. Though some of the recipes I've seen look a bit scary. Perhaps it will also make sorbet.

Vegan for Earth Day

2009-04-22T11:53:00.003-05:00

I don't proselytize too much, but on this day, Earth Day, it's a good idea to think about how your diet affects our environment. Among environmentalists, some debates can get pretty heated between those who eat meat and consume animal products and those who don't. "You're not a real environmentalist if you're not a vegetarian" is a typical assertion and though I feel that any reduction in meat and animal product consumption is a good step, I do agree with that statement. It would take many years of riding your bike to work to make up for the environmental damage caused by the meat a typical American consumes in just a month. The damage comes from all the water they consume (including the water used to irrigate the crops of the food they eat), energy used to grow their food, emissions and waste from the farms, energy used from transportation and storage...the list is long. And really, it's kind of silly to feed tons (literally) of food to grow less food. The grains fed to farm animals could feed many more people.

So think about cutting back on your consumption of meat and animal products along with using CFLs and re-usable shopping bags. It's really not that hard. I'm not completely vegan myself, but in honor of Earth Day, I am eating vegan all day. Banana for breakfast, almonds for a snack, a salad of baby romaine with roasted walnut oil and fleur de sel for lunch, grapes for an afternoon snack, and Sesame Ginger Tofu Noodle Salad for dinner. With locally-made FarmSoy tofu! Which, I hope will make me feel less guilty about eating fruit from South America and lettuce from California.

Christmas Lima Beans Three Ways

2009-04-16T14:07:00.005-05:00

Though I'm still working through a pile o' beans from the last time I ordered from Rancho Gordo, I ordered more earlier this week. I mean, who can resist an "Indian Yellow Woman Bean"? And I ordered more of a bean I cooked up over the weekend: the Christmas Lima Bean. Because it was that good.

I'm not sure why it's called a Christmas Lima because it doesn't seem to be all that festive-looking. Mayhaps it's because people associate chestnuts with Christmas and this bean is said to have a chestnut flavor. I choose my words carefully because I don't know what a chestnut tastes like. I'm sure I've had one--maybe even one that's been roasted on an open fire, but the taste memory didn't stick with me.

Anyhoo, these beans? They taste good. Mostly. Once in a while, a bean will taste a bit too "earthy" for my preference, but overall, they're yummy. Also, they're HUGE. I didn't realize that when I dumped the whole bag in a bowl to soak and within an hour they'd doubled in size. Oops. That's why the title of this post is "Christmas Lima Beans Three Ways"--three ways in five days for me but just three ways in three days for the SO.

Day #1: The beans spent all day in the crockpot with nothing but water and salt. By dinner time, they were ready for our first meal. I prepared some of the Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend in some vegetable broth, spooned a generous portion of beans on top and served it with some sauteed asparagus. The taste of the beans stands up pretty well on its own, so this was a good meal.

Day #2: I decided to get a little more adventurous. I wasn't ready to puree them into a hummus just yet, though. So I got out some goat cheese, fluffed it up with some hot water, added some herbs de Provence and toasted some small baguette wedges served with some bruschetta topping. The beans worked really well with the Italian-inspired flavors. With some of the toast, we spread the goat cheese and topped it with beans and with others, it was just the bruschetta topping with the beans. Delicious.

Day #3: For reasons no cares about, I'd still not gone to the grocery, so I had to make do with whatever I could find around the house. And, actually, this one was my favorite. I pan fried some polenta, set pieces of it on a bed of arugula, piled on some chunky tomato sauce (with a little more oil and balsamic vinegar so it could serve as a salad dressing) and then topped it all with some sauteed beans. And, okay, a little bit of parmigiano on top and a couple of pinches of fleur de sel. Very tasty!

After three dinners, I STILL had beans. So I had some beans with the leftover harvest grain mix for lunch one day this week and well, I just don't know exactly what I will do with that one last serving of beans in the fridge. They will be eaten somehow, some way, though. They're too good to compost. But next time? I'll just soak and cook a third of the package.

Vegetarians merely tolerate food?

2009-04-06T16:23:00.003-05:00

Last night, I tried to make a nice thai ginger stir-fry. Unfortunately, I thought I could do this from memory. All I wanted was the sauce! But, the heat was too high and I ended up with little, sticky ginger balls in my oil. Lesson learned: low heat, not medium heat. The stirfry was still pretty good. Saved by some pre-packaged Thai dumplings from Trader Joe's. Which, I might add, I cooked perfectly...according to the instructions. Anyhoo, no photos of the debacle. Instead, I give you "Do a pig a favour! Ban vegetarianism now!" for you to laugh.

Vegetarians never love food. They merely tolerate it.

Ha! I think we all know that is not true!

Books and books and more books

2009-04-03T16:34:00.003-05:00

During the course of my work day, I come across the titles of a lot of books from the past, present and the future. Frankly, most of them don't particularly interest me (curse of working on the internet all day: my attention span is narrow and my desire to read after I leave work is low). But today, I came across news of a book, An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage and was intrigued.

One of my frequents quips about being a vegetarian is that it's no longer the Ice Age, so I don't have to eat what's dumber or slower than me...so I'm curious to read about the history behind so much of what we eat. And I'm curious about how vegetarianism is addressed. Unfortunately, the book won't be released until next month! So my insider advantage is non-existent on this one. SOL. However, I'm thinking about another of the author's books, A History of the World in 6 Glasses. Hmm.

And it just so happens I got an email today about a book, Cooking Green: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint in the Kitchen--The New Green Basics Way. Unfortunately (I've had a day of misfortune today), the email included a greeting and a few .jpgs and nothing else. I should probably reply to the sender. With hopes of being sent a review copy. That would be nice. Though they may be preaching to the choir.

Mmm...fresh artichoke

2009-03-30T07:43:00.003-05:00

I read this post over at the Nashville Scene's Bites blog with quite a bit of interest. Back when the SO and I visited Seattle, we ordered an artichoke appetizer for dinner one night. It was my first ever whole artichoke and I didn't have the faintest idea of what to do with it. I know I ate as much of the leaves as I could, but I don't recall ever making it to the heart. What a tragedy.

So when I saw some fresh artichokes at Trader Joe's (like another reader did), I picked them up and brought them home. After a little research, I settled on this method of cooking and popped two of them in for a simmered bath in water, lemon juice, sea salt and a touch of olive oil. They stayed in for about 40 minutes--to the point where a leaf came off easily with tongs.

The link describes how to eat the artichoke as well as how to cook one, which is extremely helpful. Though my bottom teeth look like a busted piano due to an aversion to wearing my retainers as a teenager, so I had to tear each leaf in half to get all the "meat" off it.

The flavor of lemon and salt (and olive oil) was really good on its own, but I made a couple of dips to accompany the artichoke. The first was a little mayonnaise (note to self: get some Vegenaise) mixed with a bit of balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and a sprinkle of sea salt. The second--which I really, really liked--was a bit of mayonnaise mixed with lemon juice and pesto. I've got some concentrated pesto in a tube and it was perfect for this dip.

The raves for the fresh artichoke are certainly deserved. Delicious! Though next time, I'll just prepare one artichoke for the two of us. One per person is a bit much; not in that too much of a good thing way, but in that up at 3am with intestinal distress way. Though I think I may have consumed a little too much of the woody bits, which would have exaggerated this effect. So if you see some fresh artichokes for sale, don't be intimidated. They're extremely easy to prepare and a lot of fun to eat.

A tale of two fake meats

2009-03-19T05:18:00.004-05:00

Last night, the SO and I were catching up on Tuesday night's Colbert Report that included a segment on lab-created meat ("shmeat"--a combination of two unappetizing words created to describe this...substance). The SO asked me if I'd eat shmeat. Er, no. There's still a fair dose of animal cruelty involved and, frankly, it sounds more disgusting than Quorn (which I do eat). Shmeat? Do they really think people will eat this? People do eat some rather objectionable shtuff.

That said, I'm generally not a fan of fake meat. I do eat the occasional Quorn item (since I live with an omnivore and I try to keep him happy), but I generally get by on vegetables and grains and such. But the other day, I picked up some Gardenburger Riblets. Last night, it was time to try them out (this was before we watched the bit on "shmeat"). The package recommends 3:45-4:00 for cooking in the microwave, but 3:45 proved to be a bit too long. Even with slightly dried out ends, the Riblets were really good. The sauce is tasty with just a bit of tang and the ribs themselves had a nice taste. I served them with some tater tots (really, what goes with Riblets?) and some steamed broccoli and it turned out to be a quick, easy and yummy meal. It was also cheap (about $4 worth of food), low calorie (less than 700 calories for a very filling meal) and vegan!

Chachah

2009-03-13T12:24:00.009-05:00

For the Significant Omnivore's birthday, I decided to surprise him by going to a new restaurant. Chachah hadn't been open very long, but was already getting a lot of good comments. And since I'm a fan of its sister restaurant, PM, I knew it would be good.

The menu is tapas style, which isn't new around here, but the eclectic collection of options is very different from what other restaurants are serving. Certainly, some of the dishes have an Asian influence, but there's Moroccan, South American and many other influences as well.

We started out with a combination of three dips--the white bean and fennel (good but not great), artichoke and parmesan tapenade (very good), and Spanish olive pimiento and cheese (my favorite). The dips come with a selection of breads (you'll run out, but they will graciously bring more).

The tapas and raciones menu is huge, though there's only one vegetarian option in the "raciones." But one could make a meal off the dips and tapas only (or a salad, which was tempting). But I knew the SO would order a large plate and I'd be on my own with the tapas, so I tried out the Perserved Lemon-Artichoke Barigoule. It's a mixture of vegetables and wild mushrooms over a black- lentil rice cake. It's similar to a tagine (and is served in a dish reminiscent of a tagine) and the addition of the cake makes it very hearty. I'd forgotten the exact name of the dish and was pleasantly surprised by the lemon flavor that seemed to punctuate every second or third bite. Surprised in a good way--the flavor of this barigoule is delicious. And though the portion looks small, it's very filling.

Forgoing tapas and just having dips and raciones meant we had room for dessert. It was his birthday, so we ordered three desserts! Unfortunately, desserts aren't listed on the website, so I will try my best to remember what they were.

First up was a poached pear dish. I believe it was poached in a red wine or sherry. It had a great flavor, but I think the crumble crust was unnecessary. Kind of Cracker-Barelly. Not that I don't love Cracker Barrell (I do), but I expected something a little more demure, I think.

Next up was an orange cardamom cake, I think? I liked it a lot, but the SO did not care for the candied orange bits. They do get stuck in your teeth and sort of create a not-so-great last impression. The flavor was excellent, though.

The third dessert was a coconut flan...and some other flavor that I'm kicking myself for not remembering because this dessert was far and away our favorite. Our favorite taste of the night, really. It's an excellent way to end a meal at Chachah, so I definitely recommend saving room for it if you go.

There have been some criticisms of Chachah for its expense. For some of us, it's not going to be an everyday place. But for those of us who don't go out very often and enjoy fine food when we do, it's nice to know it's an option. Frankly, I don't have an "everyday" place. Unless you count my kitchen. It's always a special occasion when we go out to eat.

Chachah's proximity to Music Row and trendy neighborhoods means that, well, there are going to be Music Row and trendy types eating there. Even though it was a Thursday night when we visited, the place was packed by the time we left around 8pm and it was full of people who were dressed by and/or inspired by stylists (did they notice my Gap pants? I hope not). And there were lots of people who knew each other well enough to great one another with double cheek kisses. We sat on the patio but it was too cold to have the doors open, so with all that metal, glass and concrete (and trendy Music Row types well lubricated with specialty libations), it can get pretty loud. This is not the place for a romantic or intimate meal.

The other thing to say is that the service was really good. The server knew the menu very well, though I'm not sure he was the best person to recommend a seafood dish. He didn't seem to be a fan and I think the SO would have been happier with the salmon instead of the scallops. But he was very knowledgeable and attentive and we never waited long for anything we needed. I'll definitely be back this spring and summer when they open up the doors on the patio. I love dining al fresco.

Chachah
2013 Belmont Blvd
Closed Tuesdays!

Loquatious

2009-02-22T07:30:00.003-06:00

No, that's not a typo or a misspelling.

Last week, the coworkers and I headed to the Japanese restaurant in Smyrna to celebrate the addition of a new coworker. As far as I know, none of us had been there since my first day at work last April. My impression wasn't that great last year, but some things have changed (including their lunch boxes and much of the menu, it appears...or maybe my memory is bad).

Anyhoo, it's one of those hibachi restaurants. I don't really care for hibachi. For one thing, I don't love plain ol' vegetable stirfry but the main reason is that it's not a great set-up for conversation. So we chose a table and four of us got the lunch specials and two of us ordered from the menu. Guess what I did...yeah, you know it. I got miso (of course), an avocado salad and tempura sweet potatoes.

The salad? Was like the typical salad but covered in sliced avocado after a decent helping of ginger dressing. Avocado and ginger dressing. Yum. And the tempura...usually when I order tempura, I suffer through the broccoli and completely ignore the onion and savor as much of the sweet potato as I can. But this serving had just what I love...and enough to share. A++++ would buy again.

After we were finished eating and just chatting, I noticed that the people who ordered the lunch special all had these three yellow-orange orbs on their trays. None of them had ventured to try the dessert. So I stabbed my fork into the closest one and sucked it in. Hmm. What was this? An apricot? Noooo. It looked like an apricot--it was the right size and the middle was hollow where a stone should be. So the boss tried one and being a woman of the world said she thought it was akin to what they call in Spain a nispero. Unfortunately, all the propietor could tell us was that it was a Japanese fruit he bought canned because you could not buy it fresh here and he did not know an English word for it.

I could think of an English word for it...tasty. The boss and I proceeded to slurp down (between the two of us, but it was mostly me) upwards of ten of these fruits. She has an excuse (she's pregnant). Me, not so much. It didn't hurt until I tried to get up. That's a lot of fruit.

So back at the office, I whip out the Google and type in Japanese canned fruit yellow and within a minute or so, I discover that we were eating loquats. Which are, indeed, the same as nisperos. The boss, she is smart. And my new favorite word? Loquat.

Friday night, the SO and I went to the newly-remodled Miss Saigon on Charlotte Pike (very nice, though the vegetarian food is no longer segregated on the menu, which is a wee annoying and they also haven't replaced the vermicelli dish that had tofu that went away when they no longer got the shredded tofu). So you know I had to go into the K&S International Market to see if I could find loquats. And, dear readers, I braved the smell of dying-but-not-yet-dead sea critters and came out victorious. One can of loquats in syrup and one can of fruit salad made with other exotic fruits as well. Yummers. They await the appropriate occasion to serve them.

And while I'm being loquacious here, let me point out two new blogs I've added to the blogroll in the last week:
--Cooking School Confidential: The Almost Vegetarian goes to culinary school and gives us all the gory details!
--Tofu and Cupcakes: Even better than it sounds and photography that makes me ashamed to own a camera.

Check them out.

Cancun

2009-02-18T17:25:00.009-06:00

I'm way overdue for a post here. The end of January was a bit crazy and February has just been busy. The short story is that we ended postponing the wedding but went on the honeymoon anyway. That's one less thing we have to worry about when we actually do get married.

We spent the first week of January in Cancun at an all-inclusive resort called Sun Palace. It's in the southernmost section of the hotel zone, which is quieter than other parts and the hotel itself is smaller than some of the mega resorts. It's also couples- and adults-only. All that combined makes for the perfect honeymoon spot.

One might think that an all-inclusive resort might not have the best quality food, but this one is on the upper end of the scale and they really try hard to provide a good variety. But the authentic Mexican food is some of my favorite. Though I was pleasantly surprised by a noodle dish and spring rolls in their Asian restaurant.

So, what did I enjoy? Mmmm...empanadas and torrejas* and fresh guava and mango and mounds of the best and freshest guacamole** ever and fresh tortillas and goat's milk yogurt and soy milk smoothies and Pepsi with actual sugar and watermelon goat cheese salad and spring rolls and avocado and banana sushi rolls and quesadillas and squash blossom soup and flan made from a fruit I can't remember and sangria. Lots and lots of sangria. And red wine. Lots and lots of red wine.

As you can imagine, we ate ourselves silly. Here's a little proof:

I want to go back. Right now. Coming back home after a week there was a shock. Having to actually prepare and wait for food to prepare when you're hungry is a real bummer when you've had it at your fingertips 24 hours a day. And I'm pretty sure the SO misses having bacon for breakfast every morning. And fresh paella for lunch. Hrm, maybe we should wait to get married long enough to earn another honeymoon...

*Holy cow, torrejas are slices of bread (a baguette), dipped in batter that is milk, eggs, and honey and then deep fried. Oh wow. Deep fried French toast. Yes, please. Recipe here.

**I ate guacamole on French fries every day and I miss it terribly. Don't knock it till you try it.

oops!

2009-01-14T14:47:00.003-06:00

Not only have I not posted anything this year, I haven't been reading much this year. And...I haven't really been cooking. Well, kind of. I'd been pretty blase about Trader Joe's coming to town...blah blah convenience food blah. And I've been spending $60-80 a week there for the last month and a half! The frozen dinners have been perfect for the SO's lunch. And the little tubes of already-made polenta and jars of already-made tapenades and the frozen naan and the envelopes of Indian food...well, I've become TJ-dependent.

Last night, though I actually made lasagna. And we didn't get to eat until 8pm! It felt like it took forever. Unlike opening a can of TJ's vegetarian chili, adding a few more beans to it and serving it with some tortilla chips--that takes less than five minutes!

But I need to get back into actual cooking. Joy's got this great recipe for pizza dough on her site and I intend to make a pizza soon. After I've eaten the TJ's pizza that's in the refrigerator right now...

After Christmas Bargains at World Market

2008-12-30T18:57:00.003-06:00

I do have a post to write about this very delicious cranberry orange walnut bread that I need to get up here, but instead, I just want to quickly let everyone know that if there's a World Market nearby, you need to scoot on over and take advantage of their 75% off sale. All the packaged food gifts, cookies, cocoa mixes...you name it. All on sale for ridiculous prices. I got a gift set of La Tourangelle oils for $4.99 and some awesome gingerbread cookies for $.99 per bag. And a gift set of flavored syrups for $2.24. And I know there was more. Though I completely avoided all the chocolate; I've already had way too much this season and I've got to be picture-ready in a month! There's a ton more. Get over there before it's all gone. I might make a second trip to the one in Nashville West.

What's in the well-stocked kitchen?

2008-12-16T10:41:00.003-06:00

Yikes, it's been over two weeks since I've posted. In that time, we've had several unremarkable meals and several pizzas made with Trader Joe's wheat pizza dough. I keep thinking it's going to be good this time and it keeps not being good. I need to make my own dough. I know.

The SO recently asked me to marry him, I'm happy to report. We have decided to have a very small and private affair in order to avoid all those complications that make shows like "Whose Wedding is it Anyway?" and "My Big Redneck Wedding" so fun to watch. No showers, no parties. Just a "do you and do you?" followed by a nice dinner. And a kick-ass honeymoon (which has yet to be booked).

Regardless of the fact that we're not having a big to-do, it was requested that we have a gift registry. What started at one registry has become now four registries because no single store has all the items (and there are not many, believe me) that I want. Williams-Sonoma has the box grater and KitchenAid mixer I want, but their flour sifter is definitely not what I want. And Macy's has the Dyson I want, but not the mixer I want. And Target has a lot of basic stuff we could use, but nothing we really need. Sadly, you can't register for Feline Pine cat litter and Gain which is what I buy the most of from Target.

And then there's Bed Bath & Beyond. We generally have no trouble spending an hour or more in the store (usually in a massage chair), but I've wasted a lot of hours creating my registry online. Though there are very few items because I've been talking myself out of many of them. Because as much as I love gadgets, I know that I have no room for them in my tiny kitchen. So I have to say no to those dessert plates (I already have some!) and to the bamboo steamer (I have a steamer basket!), sushi set (I never make sushi!), and all the other countless gadgets and gizmos making my head spin. I'd have to rent a storage unit for all the stuff I've been salivating over.

And though I've got a reasonably well-stocked kitchen, I'm curious to know what others think. What should I register for? What's the essential kitchen item you think I may not already have?

Cats don't know it's not butter

2008-12-01T13:04:00.002-06:00

One of the small number of reasons I have not gone vegan is that I love butter. Good, creamy European butter most of all. But I am getting old and my metabolism is slowing, so it's time to wean myself from the butter.

And my cat. The cat loves butter, too. Just like his mom, he loves butter and cheese. He also like caramel cake. I know all of this because for some reason, I have always found it amusing to give Eddie first refusal on everything I eat. Dog owners can't relate because dogs will eat anything, but it can be fun to see what a cat will and will not eat. Unless it's 14 years later, you're no longer single and you'd like to get through a meal without your cat begging for a sniff of what you're eating.

But this was about butter. And my need to remove it from my life. So I was eating some toast the other day and put some Earth Balance on it. It's been years since I've eaten margarine, but the EB is fairly palatable. I still enjoyed my toast. And as usual, the cat wanted to sniff out what I was eating. So I wiped up some EB onto my fingertip and held it down for him, expecting him to turn away in disgust. But he didn't. He ate it! Earth Balance is apparently so butter-like that it fooled my butter-loving cat. I'm still very surprised.

So I've been using it more. For Thursday's Thanksgiving dinner at the SO's grandmother's house, I whipped up some sweet potato casserole. I baked the potatoes in the skins, scooped them out and added brown sugar and orange juice and stirred. I topped them with something akin to a praline crust--I dumped out some brown sugar, whole wheat flour and cinnamon and cut in chunks of Earth Balance and chopped pecans. Then I sprinkled it over the sweet potatoes and stuck the dish back in the oven until the topping melted together. Vegan sweet potato casserole! It turned out to be a pretty big hit (or a bunch of people lied to me--you never know). I didn't bother to mention it was vegan...no reason to give anyone an excuse not to like it!

Flexitarian?

2008-11-26T13:12:00.003-06:00

While I applaud anyone trying to move toward a more plant-based diet, there is simply no such thing as a "vegetarian who occasionally eats meat." Flexitarian is not and should not be a word. There's already a word for people who eat plants and animals: omnivore.

Note:
Vegetarians: don't eat meat
Vegans: don't consume any animal-derived products (for food, clothing, etc).

I happen to be a vegetarian who not only eschews meat, but I also do not internally consume products that contain meat derivatives (stock, gelatin, fish oil, etc). Regardless, I don't have a special name for myself. I'm just a vegetarian.

Pumpkin Muffins

2008-11-22T12:40:00.003-06:00

I bought what they call a "pie pumpkin" not too long ago. I'd intended on doing this with it but the pumpkin had other ideas. Okay, so the pumpkin didn't have any ideas, but when I attempted to move it the other day by the stem, it separated and fell to the floor. And cracked. So I had to cook it right away.

So I just roasted it as I would any other gourd and stuck the meat in the fridge until I could figure out what to do. I drained and re-drained it, but it was still very wet, so there were a few things I knew would be out of the question.

But this morning I decided to look for a recipe for pumpkin muffins that would easily accommodate my wet pumpkin. I found this lovely vegan pumpkin muffin recipe and got going.

I made a few changes, though. First, I opted out of the yogurt and soymilk and instead used a single egg. In retrospect, I don't think that was necessary given the amount of oil. Or I could have added some ground flax seed. So this wasn't vegan, which is a bit of a disappointment (particularly since it could have been). I also left out the allspice; I'm not a huge fan of it. And I, of course, used whole wheat flour.

As I was preparing the mix, I noticed it was really dry and dense. So I took out some of the pumpkin juice I'd saved and added it in until it reached a consistency I was pleased with. I also grated a little crystallized ginger and mixed it with some (unrefined) sugar and sprinkled it on top. Nice touch, if I do say so myself.

The verdict? These muffins are quite tasty! I'm sure that following the original recipe would produce an almost identical tasting muffin and I'll probably do that next time (with canned pumpkin), but I do recommend adding the ginger sugar on top. It looks pretty and tastes great.

Los Rosales closed until January 12

2008-11-18T08:29:00.003-06:00

Sunday evening, the SO and I convinced our friends to make the haul down to Antioch from Inglewood to go to the city's best Mexican restaurant. But when we got there, a sign on the door said that Los Rosales will be closed for maintenance and remodling until January 12. Two months! Two months without Los Rosales! I am beyond disappointed. I am distraught. Bereft.

So this means I won't be having any Mexican food outside my house for the next two months. Guess it's time to figure out how to make Carlos's avocado sauce for my burritoes...

Pumpkin Risotto

2008-11-14T13:17:00.006-06:00

Until recently, I'd never made risotto. I love it, but the thought of standing over a pot and constantly stirring it for half an hour just seemed daunting. But I finally felt like I had the time and energy and gave it a shot.

I've had pumpkin risotto before. Unfortunately, I only had a bite before I discovered there was bacon in it (at a restaurant). I've been thinking about making it ever since. So I pulled up a stool, got out my wooden spoon and went to work.

So yeah, you gotta start off with some diced onion in olive oil. Then you fry up the rice for a bit in that oil before you start adding the broth...slowly. As in, oh my gosh this is so tedious, so I'll spare you the play-by-play. Anyway, here's the recipe:

Vegetarian Pumpkin Risotto
Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 or 2 (to taste) cloves of garlic, chopped (note: I added this to the recipe)
2 cups arborio (risotto) rice
1 cup dry white wine (I used diluted apple cider vinegar--half vinegar, half water)
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup canned pumpkin (I used the whole can and I am not ashamed I did not use my own roasted pumpkin puree)
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated or minced (optional)
1 tsp nutmeg (optional--not really recommended)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil (option: garnish with fresh thyme instead)

Preparation:
Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for three to five minutes, or until the onion is soft. Add the rice and brown while stirring for a minute or two. Slowly add the wine (or vinegar).

Add the vegetable broth, 1/2 cup at a time. Allow the moisture to cook off before adding the next 1/2 cup. Stir frequently.

Add remaining ingredients, stirring well, and cook for just a few minutes, until heated through.

Many apologies for all the parentheses. I had to make some changes to the original recipe. It wasn't quite savory enough for my taste, but if you add the garlic and be sure to used an entire onion, it's much better. It's also much better to garnish it with some fresh thyme instead of basil (as pictured) and a little grated parmigiano adds a nice punch. If cooked to the original recipe with the nutmeg and the ginger and no garlic, it's just a little too sweet. Of course, that could have been because I spaced out and used the entire can of pumpkin (almost twice what the recipe calls for). But when I added sauteed garlic, more onion and topped it with some parmigiano and thyme, I was really happy with it. The texture (despite all that extra pumpkin) was really good and the taste was savory and yummy.

We ate it as a main dish with a side of green stuff for balance and we still had enough leftover for two more dinners and an afternoon snach. Two cups of rice yields a helluva lotta risotto.