Monthly Archives: July 2011

Celebrating in New York Part 2

Posted on by

8

First off, I have to say WOW! The Great Fundraising Act raised over $26,000 thanks to everyone’s contributions and help. Witnessing so much compassion amongst people revived my outlook on people. Sometimes in this day and age where people seem to not care, I saw that there are so many people that do!

Reading your answers on dreams also got me thinking. I think dreams sometimes tap into ideas or thoughts that have been going through our minds, but not in a straightforward way. There have been times where I’ve woken up and contacted a friend that I’ve lost touch with because they appeared in my dream. Our dreams can be highly elaborate and sometimes seem nonsensical–sounds like creative inspiration to me! I’ve heard that even what we eat can affect our dreams. Well, if that’s the case then I must’ve had sweet dreams when I was in New York.

Since hearing so many rave reviews about ABC Kitchen, it was on my list of go-to places.

This place actually won the 2011 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. You have to make dinner reservations a month in advance to get a table!

They décor reminded me of Anthropologie, so this would be their cafeteria if they had one (like how Ikea does).

I wouldn’t have been surprised if the menus were actually handwritten, but they still had a DIY look.

My lovely lunch date!

Erica and I have “known” each other for quite some time. I’ve always admired her beautiful photography, and we are alike in so many ways. This time around we finally got to meet each other in person. If I move to New York, she’s one of my reasons!

They gave us bread to start, which we weren’t that into but it was useful for scooping up the dish right below.

To start we both ordered roasted beets with their housemade yogurt.

Oh my! I thought I was the only one who combined yogurt and beets, and theirs was truly delicious. The yogurt was creamy and tangy with a generous amount of olive oil and balsamic. This is something I definitely want to recreate at home.

For her entree she ordered the Roasted Summer Squash & Heirloom Tomato Sandwich.

I got the Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad with Crunchy Seeds, Sour Cream and Citrus Dressing.

I love roasted carrots, and have been especially loving nuts and seeds lately. The croutons were bits of bread that seemed to have been soaked in olive oil and toasted. Crunchy, flavorful bites all around!

Time for dessert

First up: the cookie platter

On this dainty plate came two linzer lemon drops, a dark chocolate chip cookie, a  chocolate chip pecan bar, a big raspberry linzer cookie (our favorite), and some sort of cherry bar I believe.

I’m going to be real here… the star of the whole show was the salted caramel ice cream sundae!!!

Just looking at this picture makes me want to rewind (or fast forward!) to New York and get that perfect spoonful of the salted caramel ice cream, whipped cream, caramelized peanuts and popcorn, and scoop up some of that delicious chocolate sauce! Gosh, how much could I fit into one spoon? This was something I could write a whole post about alone. I’d even make a video trying to convey this experience. For those who are also keen on textures when eating, this dessert is for you! For those are keen on taste (I’d say everyone) this is for you!

Another day I was walking around the West Village and came across this little treasure, complete with a hunky Brit.

This store had everything a lover of British food can imagine. One of the many things I love about New York is that no matter even if you hail from England, you can feel at home when you come across places like this. There’s something for everybody. So it was rightfully named “Tea & Sympathy“. Despite the hot weather I ordered a cup of lavender chamomile tea. You see I love tea no matter what.

I’m sure the Queen does too.

Finally, I made it to my intended destination.

Victory Garden NYC is this neat little shop started up by Sophia Brittan that serves fresh goat milk soft serve made with local ingredients. “Following Middle Eastern tradition, the dessert often incorporates floral essences that are meant to please the palate and elevate one’s state of mind.” They also have toppings like cocoa nibs, fresh sugar plums, and Liddabit honeycomb candies.

On that particular day they had Victory Garden’s herbal blend, orange blossom vanilla, salted caramel, and chocolate soft-serve, but their list of flavors is ever-changing as the seasons and kitchen-experiments change.

They were so nice and let me try whatever flavors I wanted–curly q!

It was seriously hard to choose because it was a hot day and everything tasted so refreshing and delicious!

I ended up choosing the Salted Caramel flavor… just realized that was the flavor of the ice cream over at ABC Kitchen as well!

I’ve heard great things about their chocolate, and this time I wasn’t making the mistake of leaving New York without trying it.

My friend once told me that Mast Brothers’ ‘Almond & Sea Salt’ chocolate bar is her favorite, so you know that got my attention. Next time I’m going to check out their chocolate factory in Brooklyn to see how they actually make their chocolate.

The ingredients were wonderfully bold!

I still have some more New York City adventures to share with you all, but that’ll be in my next post.

What will the next recap reveal?

Posted on by

1

Hi everyone!

I know some of you have heard about The Great Fundraising Act taking place. Susan, the woman behind the blog The Great Balancing Act, was recently diagnosed with cancer, so some awesome people from the blogging community have pulled together to try to help a friend out! Things like this is what inspires me and helps me see the light in people. You can contribute through the auction or donate money. Please pass the word along.

Celebrating in New York Part 1

Posted on by

19

Thank you all for sharing your insight on hormones, and how some of you are also becoming more attuned to them. It’s funny how in the Western world many just pay attention to the symptoms rather than the root–the foundation. In the end, I believe that everything is connected anyhow, so it’s important to be good to yourself overall. For instance, when I was in New York there were some nights I was falling asleep as the sun was rising. I usually wake up at a certain time no matter how late I fall asleep. That was the case some nights and I’d get a couple hours of sleep. Then one day I slept till noon, which is very rare for me. About as rare as finding a wedding band over by the shopping carts at a grocery store (happened to me once when I was little). Anyway, I’ve been trying to get the rest my body needs. Surprisingly, if you’re body is functioning efficiently it won’t need that many hours of rest. Maybe rest isn’t a good word because our minds are very active while we sleep. How else can we come up with those crazy dreams?!

Dreaming of Green Tea Kit Kats

These were so delicious! I normally don’t like Kit Kat bars, but my friend brought these back from Japan and offered a pack for me to try. These were creamy and reminded me of white chocolate.

She also brought back red bean rice cakes, which were also very tasty.

The next day I went out for a run and got to know Brooklyn a little better. One thing that I love about running is that I discover a lot of neat spots, and helps me orient myself when I’m traveling. My sense of direction no matter where I go is something I am thankful for. The Katharina-model comes with a GPS built inside!

For dinner I went to Blossom with two mystery guests…
Guess who I got to have dinner with!

Maya decided to take an impromptu whirlwind trip to New York City, and luckily we were both in town at the same time! I also got to meet her good friend Max! I was definitely in great company that night.

I ordered the Porcini Cigars.

These were “hand-rolled phyllo filled with porcini mushrooms, almonds, and ground tempeh, served over a cashew pesto, finished with pomegranate seeds.” I don’t think I saw pomegranate seeds, but they did have sliced almonds. Maybe they were out of the seeds? The filling for the phyllo rolls reminded me of sausages, but I thought the dish was a tad too salty for my taste. Although I did enjoy biting into the flaky phyllo crust and spooning on as much of the cashew pesto as I could into one bite.

I took a picture with flash just to capture how awesomely green the cashew pesto was!
I also ordered the Field Greens salad

This was a salad of “greens tossed with candied walnuts, tofu croutons, and grilled pears in a shallot  vinaigrette.” I did like how the salad was dressed and the tofu croutons were a nice addition. I don’t know where the candied walnuts were though. Maya ordered the same salad and she also noted something about the missing candied walnuts.

After dinner we walked Maya to the bus station after dinner.
The first day already filled with excitement!

Later on I went bar hopping and ended up at a place where they do karaoke. The list was full by the time we got there. Alas, I couldn’t relive my last karaoke moment all the way back in high school. For the record I sang “Fat Bottomed Girls”.

While I was in New York I was able to use a kitchen and whip up tasty salads to help beat the summer heat.

There was always a supply of kabocha at the nearby market, which is open 24-hours! Actually, my first night in New York I went grocery shopping at 4 am.

I’ve also warmed up to tofu recently.

It is possible to make it tasty, and there’s no denying its convenience.

Spotted a crazy bike lock that looked like a giant clock mechanism.
Ricotta cheese for breakfast

Remember the ricotta cream pillows I’d top my oatmeal with? That morning I just toasted some bread and topped each slice with ricotta cheese, almonds, cinnamon, and honey.

Something else I spotted at the nearby market.

Reunited with a childhood favorite (these were on sale for 99 cents!)!

Fourth of July was spent on a rooftop overlooking the west side.
Fireworks!
They were so beautiful.

Everyone looked like ghosts.

I love seeing how each city in America has their own way of celebrating the Fourth of July. I’ve seen fireworks over beaches, parks, fields, lakes, and now skylines.

Eventually we made our way to a bar… specifically for their tacos!

That night was also when I met fellow food blogger, Mike! It was so awesome talking to him and hearing his thoughts on things. It’s not often that you can talk about things you think about with blogging with someone in real life that actually knows what you’re talking about. You guys should check out his blog! He had so many food adventures in New York. Not to mention he’s a blader. How awesome is that?

They ordered different kinds of tacos.
On another day we headed to Rockaway Beach, and stopped by their famous taco hut.
It was such a nice day!
With all these taco trucks and huts around I decided to make some of my own.

Let’s take a breather, shall we? I could keep going, but I’ll give your eyes a rest. So stay tuned for the next recap of my stay in New York!

Do you think dreams have a deeper meaning?

To Thrive

Posted on by

19

Hi everyone! So I said that I’d be sharing my recap of my trip to New York City, but that is going to have to wait because something very very exciting happened earlier this week that I just can’t wait to share! But before I jump right into it I’m excited to announce the four lucky winners of a $25-gift certificate from Restaurant.com for the restaurant of their choice. Congratulations to Ivanna, Claire, Janelle, Jim!!! I will be e-mailing you with an official congratulations and further information. I’d love to hear about your dining experiences in the D.C. area! Bon appétit my lucky friends.

Earlier this week I flew in from New York, and I was anticipating the next day back in Florida already! Want to know why? I’ve mentioned Brendan Brazier and his book “Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life” on my blog a few times. He’s someone that I look up to, and am amazed by how he’s informed himself of not only the science of nutrition, but how it impacts things from our bodies to the environment. Somehow he manages to bring all of this information to the table in a way that just makes sense. No nonsense. Anyway, I saw that he’s been on tour giving lectures and lucky for me he was stopping by my town! Not just that, but at the local health food store… of all places! As soon as I found out I signed me and my mom up right away.

He actually brought up a topic that I’ve recently discussed on here: hormones. As I’ve noted I’ve recently gone off birth-control, and I really just want to rebalance myself naturally. So far I’ve found that my skin has cleared up tremendously. Funny because that’s one of the reasons why I went on the pill anyways. Birth control for breakouts? What was I thinking? When I initially came off the pill I felt moody, but I reminded myself that it may have just been a symptom of stopping the pill. Anyway, Brendan mentioned something else that may be contributing to my off-kilter hormones. I’m an avid long-distance runner, but I honestly can’t remember the last time I really gave my body a break. Running helps me relieve mental stress, but that doesn’t mean that my body doesn’t feel the physical stress it endures from pounding out the miles. Running is something that I’d like to be able to do for the rest of my life, but my overall well-being is what will allow me to do that in the end. So after hearing Brendan’s own story about how over physical exertion affected his health, I came to the decision to lay low from running for a little bit. I’m hoping that my body will have time to really recover and get a break from the physical stress. This morning I went on a brisk walk with a book in hand. T’was a nice change. It’s hard not to break out into a leap and stride though because sometimes that’s exactly what I want to do. I just love running! But it’ll be back in my life soon, and I’ll be feeling better than ever.

After the lecture we got to try samples of the Vega products.
They had some drinks made with water, coconut water, or almond milk.

The surprising mixture was the chocolate flavored Vega formula with coconut water, but it tasted good! Have any of you tried these products before? I saw them all over Canada. Not just in regular grocery stores, but even at restaurants as a smoothie add-in.

Like any good fan I made sure to bring my book to get it signed!

It’s not everyday that you get to meet someone you look up to. I think he’s making great advancements in the fields of health, sports, and the environment. He’s even dubbed as an inventor, and has been nominated for the Manning Innovation Awards.

If only I had more time to pick his brain!

On the topic of “thriving”, I made some things that could have a life of their own!

Yummy treats inspired by Nutella.
The undeniably delicious combination of chocolate and hazelnuts…
With coconut butter kisses

Chocolate and Coconut Hazelnut Medallions

These no-bake treats are simple to make, and add a flavorful note to your day or night!

Makes around 24

Ingredients

20 Medjool Dates

1/4 cup Old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup Hazelnuts

1/4 cup Shredded coconut

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tbl Chocolate chips

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

Pinch of Sea salt

Coconut butter (optional)

1. Pulse the oats and hazelnuts in a food processor, but not too much because you still want them to add texture to this treat.

2. Mix in the dates, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sea salt and pulse again. Then throw in the shredded coconut and chocolate chips into the paste and chop for a few seconds.

3. To make a medallion take about a tablespoon size of the batter and roll into a ball, then flatten down to desired thickness. This part is optional but you can imprint your thumb in the middle of the medallions and drizzle a pool of coconut butter in the imprint.

4. You can enjoy them right away or leave them in the fridge to set.

Once again inspired by Brendan Brazier I decided to make one of his recipes.

The Mango-Coconut Energy Bars called my attention as I was browsing through the recipe section of his book.

Taking a satisfying bite into a macadamia nut.

These are dense and full of electrolytes, which are great for recovering from a workout. Or even if you’re just feeling low on energy. Last summer I almost fainted from being overheated, but I believe that my mind-power and bottle of coconut water kept me from being a damsel in distress. So this would probably be a good thing to have during these months where the heat can get intense!

This was a recipe I threw together keeping these two things in mind: vitality and the lovely Lauren.

Awhile ago Lauren reminded me of one of the yummiest salad pairings I’ve had to date: avocado, mango, and beans. I’ll share my “recipe” with you guys, but it’s very loose. I’m just estimating how much I used since I prepare mostly by eye and on how hungry I am at the time.

Mango, Avocado, and Bean Kale Salad

Serves 1

Ingredients

4-5 Kale leaves, chopped

4 grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 pearl onion, sliced

1/4 mango, cubed

1/2 avocado, diced

1/2 cup pinto beans, cooked

1/2 cup quinoa, cooked

Dressing

1 tbl Extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Splash of lemon juice

Sea salt to taste (*tip: mix the salt and balsamic together before you mix in the oil)

1. Massage the kale leaves with the dressing.

2. Throw in the rest of the ingredients, toss, and enjoy!

Oh these are the salad days.

Who is someone you admire for the contributions they’ve made?

On Holiday

Posted on by

21

Hey everyone! I’m currently in New York, and finally finished up this post recapping the rest of my time in Toronto. So keep an eye out for my New York recap as well.

My mom spotted fresh figs at the store, so naturally they accompanied my breakfast the next morning.

Along with the most delicious yogurt ever Liberte’s Plain Organic, multigrain cereal, cinnamon, and almond butter. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find that specific yogurt since I’ve been in the states. I’ll try my luck once I get back down to Florida.

We also spotted a bread that’s made without yeast since my mom is trying to figure out the culprit of her stomach upsets.
Topped with vegetable hummus, Laughing Cow, avocado, grape tomato bits, and red onion.

The bread was dry, but nothing unexpected since that is how that bread typically is.

Later on, I went downtown and moseyed around.
I stopped in to get a big cup of tea.
I also went back to the chocolate bar, MoRoCo, with a purpose.

I had never tried a macaron before, but have heard lots about them. The reviews for these were comparing them to the likes of Ladurée and Hermes, which I’ve heard are the best.

The Salted Caramel…
It was quite tasty for the most part, but just a tad bit too sweet for my taste.
I also tried lemon macarons.

I actually enjoyed this one! When I bought the boxed pair I wasn’t too sure about the lemon and my heart was set on trying the salted caramel. Since they didn’t have any of the salted caramel macarons left to buy individually I decided to take a chance and get the last one that was paired with the lemon flavor. The lemon one had a much better consistency than the salted caramel, and had just the right amount of sweetness. Not to mention it brightened up my taste buds with it’s zesty flavor!

Zing!
I always think of macarons as delicate treats.
I also picked up some local sheep’s milk yogurt.

I wasn’t a big fan of it however. It was very pungent, but atleast it was creamy! Did you know that because of it’s molecular composition it is easier to digest, and can even be used as baby formula!

And another local find… strawberries from Ontario!

I find that local produce always tastes better.

Two fruit finds for breakfast: persimmon and strawberries

I was able to make a few outings to the downtown area during my trip, and came across a lot of interesting things.

Check out this work of architectural art at The Royal Ontario Musuem.
After a long day of walking around I picked up some take out at Fresh.

I followed the recommendation from a few of you, and I’m glad I did. Sadly, I couldn’t sit down and eat because I was with my pup, Matilda. But it’s alright because they didn’t make a fuss about having to take my order at the door. In fact, the man who helped me held Matilda for me while I went in to snap some pictures!

Snap snap
The first time I intentionally got take-out for myself in years!

I’m rarely in the mood for take-out, and I usually don’t find the motivation to order take-out. Wait. What? Since when does take-out involve motivation? Well, for me it does. I just have a lot of things that I can put together in a cinch and voila! And if I’m getting food from elsewhere I’d rather just go to the restaurant. So that’s why I rarely order take-out.

My eyes went straight to the quinoa-battered onion rings along with their housemade BBQ sauce.

Oh my word! These were incredible and I didn’t have to try the other onion rings in Toronto to know that these deserve to be dubbed “one of the best”. You get more than the usual satisfying crunch with the quinoa. Then you bite into it you get to the soft onion ring in the middle. The BBQ sauce was the perfect dipping sauce for these, thanks to the waiter’s recommendation! Seriously, I could go on and on about how great these were. If you’re in the area you should definitely stop by and try these.

I ordered their monthly-special salad, which had too many delicious things to remember them all.

The ginger dressing was another welcomed recommendation from the waiter. Let’s see… it had all sorts of sprouts, sweet potato rounds, tofu, all sorts of colorful kale, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, goji berries, broccoli… ohhh so many things to remember!

Matilda and I had quite an adventure that day.
Finally got back to the hotel to enjoy the rest of the salad.
And Matilda got a giant doggie cookie after enduring her first subway ride.
On our last night in Toronto we met up with my mom’s co-workers at a Hungarian restaurant.

The only options I could have were the salads, aside from this creamy mushroom dish with tomato sauce that didn’t sound appetizing to me. I ordered the spinach salad with fresh fruits and an orange-yogurt dressing. It was actually quite tasty! Not very filling, but what did I expect? I had another restaurant picked out for me and my mom to enjoy, but she wanted to meet up with her  co-workers who were already at this place. To be honest, I was upset about not being able to enjoy an actual dinner together, especially on our last night. Oh well. Atleast the company was fun!

So my last night in Toronto entailed a yummy salad and a microwaveable soup.
The next morning involved quick packing.
All the while little Matilda was relaxing on her pillow.

So that was my trip to Toronto! It was very low key, but it was nice to atleast be introduced to Canada. If I go there again I’d like to do things a little different so it’d be easier for me to get to places, so I can experience it more. Ever have a vacation that you’d just want to do over?

I’m extending the Restaurant.com giveaway till next Wednesday. Who in the D.C. area wouldn’t like to get a $25 gift-certificate to any of the restaurants on the D.C. guide list?! What’s better? I’m giving away four. So I’ll repeat the rules:

1. Browse through the Washington D.C. restaurant guide, and let me know which restaurant you’d like to go to.

2. If you have a blog you can mention this giveaway in a post.

3.  Share this give away on Twitter: “Win a Restaurant.com $25 Gift Certificate for the D.C. area from @mixoparthenos over at  http://wp.me/puETn-1ze!”

Each of these counts as an entry so please make sure to notify if me if you share this on Twitter. Good luck! The giveaway officially ends next Wednesday 13 July, 2011 at midnight.