Green Leafys

Of late

2012-09-15T23:07:00.004-05:00

EATS

The Atlanta Food Truck Park. Where else can one find "The Blaxican" Mexican Soulfood stationed next to Gladys Knight's famous Chicken n' Waffles? This spot is hoppin' with good food and fun people and is the perfect place to spend an evening celebrating this cooler weather (with an even cooler beer, of course).

Brick Store Pub

Charming Decatur, how I love thee. Add this neighborhood hang-out with a stellar craft beer menu (it was voted one of America's 100 best beer bars) and authentic Irish eats to the mix and I'm happy as clam.

The Bakery at Cakes & Ale

Another Decatur gem, this exposed-brick semblance of a French bakery serves healthful lunch in addition to unique pastries and breakfast treats. Salt and pepper cookies, anyone?

Paolo's Gelato

Nestled in Virginia-Highlands, Paolo's gelato flavors are as yummy as its neighborhood is cute. Paolo is an Italy native and veterinarian surgeon turned professional gelato maker (and not to mention a creative genius). Atlanta thanks you, Paolo.

COOKIN'

Dark Chocolate Pecan Pie

Turkey-Veggie Pot Pies

Pumpkin Dark Chocolate Cookies

English Muffins

CRAVINGS
~ Bar Antico gelateria and caffe...opening this Fall! (and just when we thought Antico Pizza couldn't get any better)

~ Batdorf & Bronson Roastery tour.

~ Roswell Provisions. I've already done my damage in Westside's Star Provisions, so now it's time to hit up this downtown Roswell market.

WORDS
"...be about ten times more magnanimous than you believe yourself capable of being. Your life will be a hundred times better for it...You will learn a lot about yourself if you stretch in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of kindness, of forgiveness, of emotional bravery. Be a warrior for love." - Cheryl Strayed in "tiny beautiful things; Advice on love and life from Dear Sugar"

EAT, Drink and Be Merry

2011-12-16T22:10:00.004-06:00

You better believe it! A fruit and veggie Christmas tree and a blingin' door wreath!

Hi, friends! Tis' the season! Guess I'm feeling jolly with Christmas around the corner because I have already used a total of four exclamation points! (five)

It's been a while since we last chatted (I do believe I was remarking about Halloween's forthcoming?), so I have many dishes and delights to share with you. Firstly, hows about that Thanksgiving holiday? Not sure about you, but I did a pretty good job of stuffing my face with deliciousness.

My cute Dad carving the turkey

My brother's new PLS (parking lot special), Watley.

My lovely mom with the new pup and perfect Christmas tree

My grandmother, Mamie!

Back in the ATL, there's been lots of merriment. My friends, Mandy and Dara, came to visit. The three of us have been buds since freshman year of college-- we ran the Nashville half-marathon together that year! I also got to meet up with my friend, Christina, who was here on a business trip (< yikes! We are big girls now!!).

Freshman year in Nashville at Cabana

Love these girls

Post-college...in Atlanta!

Christina and I discovered the food market at IKEA...Swedish dark chocolate? Yes, please.

We also ate at Antico...an awesome pizza place downtown

Last week, I hosted my first (of many) apartment party. What do Whole Foods employee foodies do outside of work? Eat incredible food, of course! We had a potluck dinner with amazing dishes like Purple Sweet Potatoes Casserole, Quinoa with Goat Cheese, Pecans and Cranberries, Curried and Jerk Chicken, and the list goes on. My contribution? Vidalia Onion Pie.

My friend, Josh, and his gf

My friend, Kent, and I

Kent and her hubby

Desi and me

My fave Whole Foods ladies


Christmas cookies


frands

 Happenings in ze kitchen:

Gnocchi with Butternut Squash, Toasted Walnuts and Rosemary

Germinated Brown Rice Butternut Risotto

Turkey Meatballs

over yummy, healthy pasta!

And with IKEA lignonberry sauce

Jade rice (yep- green rice!)

Tomato Bulgur Soup with Warm Spices

Finally got around to cooking those tofu noodles...with asparagus, chicken and a white wine butter sauce

Sounds unusual but turned out so good!

Tidbits:

New favorite site: The Cuisinerd ("Geeking Out Gourmet Style")

Check it, yo.


A friend at work has started his own hot sauce company-- Hellfire Y'all. It's awesome but is the equivalent of holding a blow torch to the tip of your tongue.


Sweetwater (not the beer!) local infused olive oils... I'm so hooked!


It's going to be a Whole Foods Christmas!

^Just in case you've missed this^

Tis the Season

Wishing everyone safe travels, lots of joy and merry making with family and friends, and, of course, good eats this Christmas and holiday season. LOVE to you all!

What to do When You Lose a Purse + other life musings

2011-10-20T19:27:00.000-05:00

Happy October!

I am totally in Halloween mode. My work station is all decked out:

This morning I bought black lipstick and tried on fishnets for my witch costume (it will be epic). And now I am watching House of Wax. By myself. Alone in my apartment.

And now I am watching D.C. Cupcakes.

I've come across some bands I can't get enough of lately. Do you know any of these? Worth checking out if not.

Dr. Dog

Saints of Valory

Mayer Hawthorne

Portugal the Man

along with Young the Giant and The Sunshine Factory (from Mobile!)

In other news, I met Alton Brown the other day! Wish I had a pic but I tried to keep my cool (I still failed miserably).

I also have seen several old friends lately. My friend, Caitlin, came to visit for a weekend that included a trip to Greek Fest.

While indulging in Greek wine, dishes and baklava, we also came across Mr. Constantine himself from The Bachelorette. I shamefully admit I did not watch the show and barely knew of the dude, BUT I very gladly took a picture with him...

Stay tuned for a report after I visit his Atlanta restaurant

My roommate from when I lived in D.C. last summer was in town from Germany! We met at lovely Marietta Square for some meat pies (please don't let Sweeney Todd come to mind or it will ruin it) at The Australian Bakery Cafe. Reliving our D.C. days of frequenting cupcakeries (ahem, a bit too frequently said my jeans), we stopped by Miss Mamie's Cupcakes, Cakes and Such.

I also got to meet up with some Bama boys visiting the ATL. They made me miss college life!


Blurry pic but take my word for it: we look really good. Mistaken for celebs a couple times.

Callie and I recently paid a visit to a fab-o pizza place- Double Zero. We split the house pizza on their famous "double zero flour" crust. I also had an Ommegang Three Philosophers beer- it was awesome. 8/10 on my craft beers ratings :)

Photo courtesy of doublezero.com

Another new restaurant find is Canoe. I went here when my parents came into town-- it is way down yonder on the banks of the Chattahoochee (never knew how much that muddy water meant to me...). What we enjoyed: Hand Rolled Basil Fettuccine with Summer Garden Vegetables and Grana Padano ~ Watermelon and Vermont Feta Salad, Toasted Almonds, Giuseppe Balsamic & Basil Vinaigrette ~ Heirloom Tomato Salad ~ Popcorn Ice Cream Sundae with House Made Cracker Jack ~ Chocolate Grotto with Salted Caramel and Pretzel Dust ~ lots of vino

Lastly! I went to Red or White while in Mobile for small plates and wine with the fam. Pizza, mushroom ravioli, olive and cheese plate...One of my new favorite places!

Pause. Just realized this is an incredibly long post. Bear with me. Much to report as I have been an unfaithful blogger.

I've been cooking. Like, really cooking. It makes me happy. It relieves stress when your purse is stolen. It helps you reflect and realize there are worse things than texting on a crappy go-phone. It helps you meditate on the positive (missing purse < missing person) over the negative (ATL police really don't give a care that you lost a purse at a bar). Cooking, especially with a glass of wine, makes everything better.

So, here are my good eats.

Spiced Apple-Pear Butter

Spinach and Barley Risotto

Spicy Fish Tacos with Purple Sticky Rice

Can't take credit-- Mom made this one. Fresh Chicken Pasta Salad

Chocolate Halloween Cookies while in Mobile

Brussel Sprouts. First time to cook them and first time to eat them. Not bad, not great.

I tossed them with turkey meatballs, basil marinara and quinoa.

Turkey Pumpkin Chili			Click here to smell this.
Sorry, that was cruel.

Butternut Blondies with dark chocolate

Til next time: Happy Halloween, Watch your purse, Cook when you need some "me" time, Give brussel sprouts a chance, Fall in love with Dr. Dog, and Refrain from watching House of Wax.

Much love.

Carotenoids

2011-09-23T00:10:00.000-05:00

Greetings!

Fall is here and so are the best flavors of the year. When dropping by World Market the other day to pick up this cute guy,

I went a little crazy with the annual beta-carotene display. My cart was filled with butternut pasta sauce, pumpkin gnocchi, and pumpkin ale (I had to stop myself at the sweet potato butter...food NERD). Some butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin granola from Whole Foods and I'm set for October.

I've been reaching outside my culinary comfort zone to test out several new food products lately. Some recent purchases:
Shirataki pasta (tofu noodles!), Raisin and Cinnamon flavored mochi, and Seitan (wheat gluten that is really high in protein and tastes like meat).

I'll report back on the tofu noodles and mochi.

Seitan. Hm.


Cooked seitan. Hmmm.

Remember those herbs I talked about? I present to you fresh lavender and lemon balm that make my apt oh-so-aromatic.


I heart veggies. It's true.

My other hearts:


Kicking off my shoes in the kitchen.

Going out with sweet friends

and visitors!

my job!


Yeah! Burger

The DeKalb Farmers Market

Marcona Almonds (a newfound indulgence)

AND

Voluspa Champaca Bloom and Fern room spray from Anthropologie

What I've been cookin'

Black Bean Brownies. SO good. Really.

My mom's bran muffins

Spinach and Barley Risotto (with Taro chips)


I only had red wine. Should have used white. Still not half bad.

Apple-Scented Oatmeal and Buckwheat

scrumpdidlyumptous

Amaranth Tabouli

Amaranth is kind of like quinoa-- it's actually a seed

Mushroom Couscous

King oyster mushroom. Come reign over your couscous kingdom.

Couscous, meet sauteed goodness. (They're soon to be married).

ta-da

Til next time, friends.

Green Juice for a Blue and Yellow Kitchen

2011-08-30T09:06:00.019-05:00

Camera cord, found! Let the blogging proceed.

I'm currently listening to Beyonce's "Love on Top" from Sunday's VMAs. Youtube it while you read this-- I guarantee it will make you 10,000x more excited about life (and maybe even this blog!). Yay for B and her baby bump.

Lately I have been cooking (amazing, right?), finding fun places in Atlanta, and decorating my apartment in between working and keeping up with new big girl duties. Here is a little taste of my apartment-- still adding some things here and there. I love blue and yellow, in case you couldn't tell.

The kitchen and dining area (the most important part)

I love my love birds.

Thanks, Ikea!

There is an herb garden at the entrance to my building. I'm still planning my stealthy clipping session. A girl needs her rosemary, right?

Why yes! Yes there is an urban vegetable garden!

There are pocket gardens, each with a different theme, around the complex.

This is a poor-quality view of downtown ATL near my apartment.

Stay tuned for next week's episode of Cribs.

Products on my radar lately

Atlanta Fresh Greek Yogurt
I have started eating this local delight every day at lunch. The skim honey variety is my fave-- great with a Ginger Snap Larabar mixed in :)

De Boles Organic Oat Bran spaghetti
Good, nutty flavored pasta. I added Summer squash, kale, veggie marinara, goat cheese and turkey meatballs for a yummy dinner.

Dr. Praeger's Spinach Pancakes
I want to try the sweet potato kind next.

Back to Nature Apple Cinnamon Oat Grahams
These are so good spread with some honey peanut butter!!

Cilantro!
I have never used cilantro very much until now-- I can't get enough of it!

+

Varasano's
This pizzeria is awesome!! I read about it on Tasting Table, and my friend, Callie, and I met up there the other night for some pizza pies and beer (Ephemere Apple!). We shared the Fontina Mushroom and Chica Bella pizzas and both were fantastic.. I want to try the Dolce one next time-- rosemary, dates, walnuts and honey.

photo courtesy of Danie Zemans via pubsub.com

What I've been cooking

Summer Farro Salad
Cook this before summer runs out! The farro is healthy delish and, let's face it, fresh mozzarella and basil just make everything better.

Bruschetta with Ricotta, Honey and Lemon
and (wait for it)
Raspberry and Goat Cheese Bruschetta
You could also use strawberries in place of raspberries. I used Humboldt Fog goat cheese. For all you goat cheese haters (sorry, we will never be friends), you could always sub another creamy cheese like a soft ricotta.

Quinoa Burrito
I had a fridge-clean-out dinner the other night and sauteed some veggies into quinoa that I stuffed in a spinach tortilla. I also added a veggie burger with some melted parm. Not half bad! I made some darn good pita chips with the spinach wrap, EVOO and a sprinkling of salt, as well.

Power Juice
I never thought the day would come that I would enjoy some fresh squeezed green veggie juice. What a breakthrough.

I don't know about you, but this emerald pulpy concoction has me saying "Yes! Give me juiced veggies!" Right. Sure. Yeah. OK.

It really was SO good (and I'm not being sarcastic this time).

Nasty Quinoa
I am an honest person. Honestly. So honest that I will fully disclose a recipe of mine that I never want you to attempt. Ever. It was nasty. Even the best chefs (such as me, of course) make mistakes. This was one of them:

What started out as harmless sweet potatoes and tempeh,

turned out to be just plain inedible. I don't even recall what I added to the mix that created this bland, colorless invention, but don't do it.

One last thing
I'm pretty sure I've been living under a rock because I am apparently the last person to know about Pinterest. If you are like me and had not heard about it, give it a browse. Check out my food + recipe board while you are there!

Happy eats, drinks and spirits til next time.

New place, new job, new grains

2011-08-01T23:45:00.012-05:00

Hello friends.
So much has happened since I last posted! In the course of 3 weeks I accepted a job offer, passed the Registered Dietitian exam, moved to Atlanta and signed a lease on an apartment. Whew. I am just now starting to catch my breath.

I could not be more thrilled with how things are going-- I like the area, I like my apartment, I like my job. The details of my job shall remain nameless as I need not represent my company in any way through this blog, but I can tell you that the majority of my duties consist of cooking and educating people about food (=awesome). I work in a grocery store that sells only organic and natural products. Kale, tempeh and tofu noodles are commonplace terms there. My company is one of the top 100 companies in America to work for. Its flagship store in Austin is a Mecca to foodies everywhere. And it has been known to get real in the parking lot a few times. But I am in no way revealing who I work for. Nope.
All I can say is that I am loving my new job so far.

My friends, Kristen and Dara, and I at Seasons 52 one night in Atlanta. Both were visiting and both have now passed the RD exam, too!

I couldn't resist a pic. I visited The World Peace Cafe (Yes. Yes I did.) for lunch one day. This was a brown rice and veggie bowl with tofu hearts!!

Before I embarked on this new journey, I decided to test out some new foods with which I did not have much previous cooking experience: green lentils, bulgur, barley and wheat berries. Here is a recipe for a Barley, Lentil and Spinach Salad I tried out. It was really good-- my dad and brother asked for seconds if that is any proof*.

*my father and sibling are not regular consumers of unusual grain/legume products...

Barley, Lentil and Spinach Salad
recipe courtesy of "Dinner with Julie"

I used diced, canned tomatoes instead of fresh cherry tomatoes. I also omitted the feta cheese. And I used lemon juice instead of balsamic in the dressing.

Be sure to rinse off those lentils!

I added in the tomato juice as the lentils and barley cooked to give them a little extra flavor.

You could use basil instead of/in addition to spinach for some extra flavor.

The garlicky lemony olive oily dressing was what made this salad. We served it alongside a veggie dinner of grilled summer veggies, spinach salad and warm French bread. Bon appetit!

The combo of the lentils + barley creates a complete protein (proper proportions of all of the essential amino acids your body needs to do its thang!). Plus, between the barley and the lentils, this salad is chock full of fiber. Healthy and delicious :)

Bay Dining

2011-07-14T22:41:00.021-05:00

To my thousands of faithful readers...apologies for the delay in blogging. I have been enjoying a summer vacay with family and friends on Mobile Bay. This relaxing trip entailed eating many a delicious meal, fishing, boating, rocking-chairing, late sleeping, pier chilling, dining, visiting, cooking, hosting, strolling and non-Internet using. It was wonderful.

One major plus of being "over the Bay" is to have dinner swimming in your front yard and growing in your back yard. We basically lived a sustainable lifestyle during our two weeks as we consumed fish and crab caught by my dad, amazing vegetables grown by my uncle down the road and the farm around the corner, blueberries picked by my mom and me, and milk squeezed fresh from the udder of our cow out back.

OK so I threw the cow in there for effect. But seriously, we ate from the Earth! Here are some details of the fabulous meals we had. One of my favorite parts of preparing these summer suppers was the group effort that went into them. Typically, someone would catch the fish, another would pick the crabs, someone would prepare and cook the fish, and yet another would cook the veggies. This results in an enjoyable meal knowing that all pitched in to make it a success.

I bought this red pepper at a

local fruit and veggie stand. It was the only one of its kind and had such a personality. We still cooked and ate it though it was difficult to slice!

One night I sauteed locally-grown zucchini, red bell pepper and orange bell pepper together. Mom "fried" our fresh-caught fish by breading them in Panko bread crumbs and baking them in the oven (a good healthy alternative!). We then topped one fish fillet with the veggies and the other with fresh crab meat and added a side of cous cous.

If given the opportunity, I'm pretty sure my dad could pull a Cast Away and survive on a deserted island.

But I like him catching our dinner instead :)

Another night, Mom tested out a crab cake recipe. She added chopped red pepper to the cakes among other seasonings and made a "crab cake salad" with cherry tomatoes and vinaigrette. It was a delicious dinner, but Mom decided she was still perfecting her crab cake prowess.

On an enchanting night of alfresco dining, we had fish topped with a lemon butter sauce, toasted slivered almonds and lemon slices and a side of zucchini and yellow squash and some cous cous.

I did just a little bit of baking while at the Bay. These lemon-glazed candied-ginger cookies were a hit!

We had a "sliders bar party" for the Fourth of July. My contribution to the mini burgers condiments? An Alabama White Bar-B-Q Sauce. If you've never had it, go try it!! This tangy sauce is great for serving atop burgers, drizzling on 'Q, and even for dipping veggies. I did not follow a strict recipe but did use this one as a guide. I used light mayo and substituted half of it with non-fat Greek yogurt to cut back on the calories.

Other Fourth of July hits?
Red White and Blue tortilla chips and fresh cut watermelon, of course!

After deciding we needed a night off from catching and cooking our sustenance, we headed up the road to The Birdcage Lounge at The Grand Hotel. Here we drank mojitos and snacked on some of the best crab claws I have ever tasted.

A Blue Crab Tutorial

The Washington Monument (below top) is a male, aka "Jimmy." The Capitol Building (below bottom) is a mature female, aka "Sook." If the female had a slimmer Capitol Building, she would be immature and called "Sally" or "She-Crab" (as in She-Crab Soup!). Also, the female paints her fingernails (claws) red (see above).

Ya learn something new every day.

You're turning violet, Violet!

2011-06-29T17:04:00.017-05:00

This weekend I took a trip down memory lane. Mom and I went blueberry picking in Fairhope, AL! We set out with two goals for our trip to "Bee Natural Farm." 1) Bring home enough berries to make blueberry preserves as Christmas gifts for our entire extended family, the neighbors, and the mailman.
2) Withstand the 97 degree temperature whilst standing in the middle of a berry field.

I'm not sure either of these was achieved, but we had a wonderful time nonetheless (Plus- there were no no-neck monster sightings which alone is an accomplishment.)

Here are some pics from the outing.

The Honor System. We picked a total of 10 lbs of
blueberries between us. $15 for 10 lbs of berries?
Not too shabby.

Mom and her handy-dandy fanny pack bucket berry holder-- a clever contraption devised by the owner of the Bee Natural Farm.

There were also apples, pears and corn on the farm. Sadly only the berries were available for pick-n-pay.

I, too, sported the fanny pack bucket.

This is an old recipe my Mom uses to make her preserves. I have zero experience with making preserves-- I didn't realize you add "liquid fruit pectin" in order to get the jelly consistency. Pectin is a form of soluble fiber from fruits and veggies that can reduce cholesterol. Just as it gels up the preserves, it also gels up in your small intestine (this is good). There's a nice visual for you.

We spread ours on a warm English Muffin-
makes for a nice breakfast!

Which kind of preserves/jams/jellies are your favorite?

Keen on Quinoa

2011-06-22T22:45:00.011-05:00

If someone had asked me to describe "quinoa" before I had become a Nutrition major, I would have stared at him blankly. These days, however, I shamelessly confess to the thrill of learning about new, unusual foods. Textured soy protein? I'll tell you all about it. Mochi? I could write a book. Injera? Pull up a chair.

For those of you, like myself, who had no idea what quinoa was until recently or now (and for those of you who did, you can just grin and skip below), here is the low-down.

Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah") is a "pseudocereal" with edible seeds that is grown in the Andes mountains region of South America. The seeds contain every essential amino acid

(amino acids that must be obtained through diet) making it a complete protein. Quinoa is also high in iron, magnesium and phosphorous and is a good source of fiber.

Basically, this stuff rocks.

Quinoa can be treated similarly to rice in cooking. I like to mix mine

with sauteed veggies, but you could also do a quinoa pilaf, serve it for breakfast with berries, or even use quinoa flour (gluten-free) in baked goods.

Quinoa Fun Fact: Brainiacs are considering quinoa as a food for the Contr olled Ecological Life Support System in space! Looks like quinoa stir-fry is on the menu at that space station resort we will visit one day.

Pumpkin Pesto Quinoa

I pulled together some odds and ends and made this for lunch the other day. It turned out surprisingly awesome-- good enough that I want to share it :)

1/4 cup dry quinoa

1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup Bella Cucina Sweet Pumpkin Pesto

dash of sage

parmesan cheese is optional

Heating the pureed pumpkin and pesto together.

I promise I wasn't making baby food.

Adding the mixture to my cooked quinoa along

with the toasted walnuts and a sprinkling of sage

(you could add parmesan here, too).

All mixed up.

So it's not the prettiest dish in the world...

...but I still enjoyed it.

Any you will, too!

Pumpkin Pesto Quinoa Nutrition:

530 calories, 78 g carbohydrate, 17 g fiber, 23 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 11 g protein, cholesterol <5mg, 415 mg sodium

Blondies Have More Fun

2011-06-20T23:13:00.000-05:00

Cinnamon may be my favorite of the flavors.
I steer clear of that Red Hots, set your mouth on fire kind of cinnamon. No thank you. I gravitate toward the warm, I go well with vanilla and fireplaces type cinnamon. Cue cozy feelings now.

So how much better could cinnamon get than wrapped up in a blondie? I found this recipe by, admittedly, clicking on an Internet ad. This is the first time that doing such proved to be a good thing (The Kitchenarian is a cute blog!).

These bars were so easy and turned out perfectly. I actually prefer them to brownies.
But, then again, I am a blonde.

Cinnamon Blondies

Just a few simple ingredients.

Melting the sugar and butter.

Then the egg.
Mixing dry and wet.

The oven send-off.

And afterward.

I never wait until they cool. Never. Ask my tongue.

Trying to enjoy in moderation.

I had to give the blondies away so as to avoid our staring contest.
MA: 1 Blondies: 0.

New Post!

2011-06-16T22:55:00.000-05:00

Food Spots
Yeah? Yeah!
My visit to Atlanta's oh-so-good Yeah! Burger.