strawberries in a champagne mustard viniagrette

My darling cousin, Jima, has recently started blogging at sugaRush.  I think she is mainly going to be focusing on salads and smoothies.... Yummmmmm! I am really looking forward to all her recipes!  Please do visit her.

In honor of her blog, I made this strawberry salad the other day for lunch.   No recipe, just tear up some mache and romaine in a bowl, add some nuts and crumbled feta if you like and some light dressing and you are ready to devour.

The dressing I used to top this luscious lunch is your basic viniagrette.  Just mix everything in a bottle and shake to eumulsify:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1-2 tbspns champagne vinegar
• 1 tbspn dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• whatever herbs you have on hand (mint and oregano are lovely)
• salt & black pepper

Quick sprouted bean stirfry

I was at my local market browsing through the salad area and found a small package of sprouted beans - adzuki, lentil and peas.  Wow, when did they start selling these?  All that protein in a ready made pack.   I brought them home and the poor things sat and sat in the veggie bin for over a week.  Finally one night, thinking they may not survive any longer, I decided to give them a go. 

I wanted to keep the nutrients intact as much as possible, so I decided to give them a quick stirfry.  This is what I did, it took about 15 minutes to get it on the table.  I would serve this as is, or for a more filling meal, serve it as the star course with some crusty naan, yogurt or rice.

• Heat up some olive oil in a saute pan on medium
• Do a tarka of mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafeotida, let sizzle and pop
• Throw in some curry leaves and the package of sprouts... You can also add a tomato if you want at this point
• Add salt and spices:  turmeric powder, black pepper, cumin powder, coriander powder and some red chili powder
• Add a cup of water and stir and let cook on medium for 10 minutes
• Garnish with chopped coriander and a squeeze of lime

The results were absolutely superb!  This came out just amazing.  It was light and nutty, but at the same time kept me filled for a long time.  I will be looking for these all the time now!

10 minute pulao

Seems lately that I'm always in a rush.  Got a million things on my mind and anxious to hurry and do them all, lest I forget one.  I'm so forgetful!   So what's the easiest and most delectable thing to make in a few minutes that requires no attention or fumbling with a ton of chopping or ingredients?  

For me, this almost always involves my wondrous pressure cooker and rice. 

This amazing and easy pulao will feed 2 hungry people with some leftover for lunch the next day...
In your pressure cooker, heat some oil and:

• throw in a couple of cloves, whole black pepper and a cinnamon stick (this step is optional) 
• do a tarka (seasoning) by adding half a teaspoon of mustard and cumin seeds and a pinch of asafeotida... let the seeds pop and sizzle
• add 1 1/2 cups rice and saute for a few minutes on low-medium.  Add half a teaspoon of garam masala and saute again for 2 minutes
• add an optional diced potato and a handful of thawed peas and if you're like me - a huge chopped green chilli
• add salt and 2.5 cups of water and secure the pressure cooker lid
• let cook on medium for 2 whistles or 10 minutes

Mez in Charlotte

I went to Charlotte last weekend and for some reason thought that the city wasn't really going to have anything going on, but I was wrong!   Downtown is so much fun and pedestrian friendly.  Lots of places to eat and shop.  I even saw a Dean & Deluca, so I was happy!  To start off with some drinks and appetizers, we first went to this lounge-restaurant called Mez.  This place was very nice and hip.  There was a nice mix of mostly a younger crowd and 30-somethings.  Their drink menu was spectacular, I had the French Pear which was made from Absolut Pear and St.Germaine and even had a poached pear on the bottom.  It was a lovely, light libation served perfectly in a well chilled martini glass.  From the small plates menu, I ordered the gnocchi & creamy tomato sauce.  It was excellent and the portion was very generous.  So much so that I could only finish half of it.  They had really unique chandeliers... like little lights just dangling from wooden strings and the wall art right behind it looked like tiny sparkles popping out from tree branches.  The chandelier looks upside down doesn't it?

restaurant review of The Irregardless Cafe

I was driving all over downtown Raleigh one Saturday looking for something to eat and turned on a little street and passed this cottage-turned-into-a-restaurant, The Irregardless Cafe.  When you enter, you will be welcomed with warm honey wood floors and a quiet, gallery like atmosphere.  The huge paintings on the wall are by famous local artist, Kyle Highsmith.  His paintings are vibrant and tropical, many featuring boats and wooden docks and reminiscent of lazy beach days.  I got there pretty late when the kitchen was about to close so they could only offer the small plates menu.  I immediately noticed that the prices are on the higher end.  That however, that could be justified in that they use organic produce and hormone and antibiotic free meats, as well as purchasing many of their products locally, and from organic markets when possible. 

I was completely bowled over when I saw an ENTIRE page of vegetarian and vegan items.  They were innovative yet seemed unpretentious and satisfying.  Because I had to order from the small plates menu, I got the bruschetta.  I wanted it to love it.  I wanted it to burst with flavor from the sweet tomatoes and peppers, but it was awful.  Horrible is more of an accurate term.  The mozzarella was bland and the whole dish was under seasoned and lacking in any real flavor.  The bread was soggy.  The basil had turned black.  I wanted my money back. 

Luckily for the jazz band playing and couples dancing, it turned into a really fun night.  Watching the couples dance was the most enjoyable part of the entire dinner.  I especially am endeared to places where I see older people and younger people enjoying themselves and the food.  The music was playing softly and a couple even did the tango... just like you see in the movies!

 

Music Voyager

Television has come a long way, but not in any good sense IMHO.  All those reality shows just dumbifying our younger population and targeting them with more nonsense advertising.  To think there is a generation of Snookies right behind us!  Good laaaaaaaawd, help us all.   Although I should come out and just be honest - at that age, I would've died for an opportunity to be famous for just partying. Thank goodness for PBS, Nat Geo and ID (Investigation Discovery). 

I love love love PBS programming and I just found this new show called Music Voyager.  The host, Jacob Edgar travels all the world in search of new sounds.  I caught two episodes, first, where he went to Rajasthan and the second, where he went to Old Delhi and spoke to the trio band East India Company.  Sitting in front of an absolutely gorgeous red wall on the dirt street singing their rustic version of the famous song, 'Dum Mast Qalander' was INCREDIBLE.  The show is beautifully shot and very easy to watch with a laid back host ready to try anything.  In an odd way, he reminds me a little of Under the Sun host, Nathan Leroy whom I just love.  Oooooh, that accent!!! 

Top of the Hill and He's Not Here

We were just walking along Franklin Street looking for a place to grab something to eat in time to watch the Patriots game when I was directed to this little spot... too too funny, don't you think?   There were some benches outside in what seemed to be some sort of an ice-house but it was too cold to sit outside.  The name of the place just made me LOL!

So instead, we grabbed a drink and ate at this impressive little rooftop bar called Top of the Hill.  Their lunch menus are so adorable; they're little black & white, sephia-tinted postcards and their dinner menus are like landscape photos.  I was surpised to find the prices were very reasonable given the upscale ambience.  I ordered a lager on tap and a 'Courtney's Cheese Pizza' which was basically a white pizza topped with a basil-cashew pesto and Monterey Jack cheese.  My companion ordered the 'Thumbs & Toes' which were chicken tenders covered in a Thai chile sauce.  The pizza was a little disappointing with a flimsy, soggy crust that tasted like it was made hours earlier, but the view was incredible, so surprisingly, I wasn't bothered a bit by lunch.  Here are a few snaps during game time.