Top Mind-blowing and changing taste: Vegan Sushi

One of the biggest surprises I had was some incredible vegan sushi. I’m familiar with vegan cuisine and the rules and ideals behind it, and haven’t actively shunned nor sought it out. But this completely blew my mind and I’ll remember as one of my top tastes of the year.

If you’re in Montreal, I suggest checking out Sushi Momo and get the largest sushi boat you can make room for, so you really get a variety of textures, flavors, and smells.

Top taste almost worth the Hype: Torchy’s Tacos

A return work trip in Austin meant I was able to try Torchy’s Tacos this time around, and while I really appreciated the freshness of the ingredients and variety on their menu, I think I made a few mistakes – going “trashy” when the taco had plenty of flavors already, and in general just ending up with too many flavors in a single bite. I’d like to go back and make sure I get some of the classic combos and keep it simple. But yes please, queso!

Top combination I can’t forget: Horchata Iced Coffee

I’ve always loved horchata, an cinnamon-rice milk drink from Mexico, and try to order it when I see it on the menu, especially if it looks homemade. That’s why I had to get this Horchata Iced Coffee and it didn’t disappoint. I don’t drink many sweet coffee drinks but this was a great combo for a change.

Top auto-order-if-I-see-it-on-a-menu: Poutine

I had poutine a few times last year (see my Detroit post) but I’m just putting the love out there: I love things piled on top of french fries! Classic poutine is wonderful, and creative iterations of it are even better. My favorite versions use tater tots, yum.

Top shared meals: Moms in Tech lunches

You might have missed, but I’m a Mom now. No shame here, but I’ve spent a lot of time in 2018 helping grow the Moms in Tech online community as an admin, and we were able to schedule pretty regular lunch meet ups around the Bay Area. There’s some pretty incredible food and it was great to try things with good company! Some notable dishes seemed to be entirely chili peppers, and I always enjoy dim sum.

Top way to take advantage of a snow day in Austin: Terry Black’s Barbecue

It snowed. In Austin. While we were there for work, and we decided to brave the weather and get out to get a great BBQ meal at Terry Black’s. Luckily for us, almost no one else had the same idea, and this very popular restaurant was almost deserted, making it a very relaxing and enjoyable meal aside from the delicious food! I know a lot of food is worth waiting for, but I’m just not that interested in spending a lot of time in lines now.

The sausage and brisket were on point, and so were the sides. I tried the Big Red drink for novelty, but next time I’d skip.

Best long-awaited taste: Kin Khao

Pim Techamuanvivit was food blogging in the early days of blogging; if you’ve been reading for a while you might recognize her name from her Chez Pim blog and when I participated in and helped host her Menu for Hope fundraiser for several years. She now has two Michelin-starred restaurants in San Francisco and in Thailand, and I’ve been wanting to try her SF spot, Kin Khao, for some time.

One of the things I enjoyed the most but didn’t expect to was the Black Rice Pudding dessert. I am not a huge fan of rice pudding in general but the array of textures and tastes you could add to make it your own were delicious. I was slightly underwhelmed by the Khao Man Gai “chicken fat rice,” most likely because it is a delicate dish and the flavors didn’t dance on my palate the way the rest of her flavors did. Overall, recommend checking it out and love the casual vibe for a workday lunch.

Top Underwhelming Taste: Thai Rolled Ice Cream

One of the Thai rolled ice cream places opened up and I was able to go when there wasn’t a line (see my comment above about waiting…). The complete customization and freshness of the ice cream is compelling but also takes quite a lot of labor to produce. And the taste? Pretty ok, not amazing. But I have pretty high standards when it comes to ice cream and gelato – I throw it away if it’s not good :)

I think the taste of the ice cream pales compared to the novelty of its creation. There may be some places which have exceptional flavors but so far folks seem to agree with my assessment.

Top Add-on to Boba: Puff Cream

Thanks to my friend Linda, I consumed more boba drinks in 2018 than ever. And one of my favorite indulgences was the addition of “puff cream” which didn’t initially make sense to me but it’s really the cream / custard you put inside cream puffs, in your drink. I don’t love cream puffs, but it turns out I love puff cream! It made each drink impossibly rich, and delicious! Found at Happy Lemon, but I’m sure elsewhere as well. 

Top Way to Feed a Lot of People: Breakfast Bar

Once you start adding kids into the mix, eating out with a large group becomes less appealing, more chaotic, and of course expensive. Enter the breakfast bar! Instead of brunch out this year we decided to do an omelette bar and all the various toppings you’d want. We ended up doing a large batch of scrambled eggs and piled our toppings on top and I can’t wait to do it again next year (or before then). A great way to please and feed a crowd.

Top Way to Spend Time in a Gas Station Parking Lot: Tacos

Thanks to my lovely friend Sheri I did a lot of taco seeking in the Bay Area in 2018, and met up with her and Michelle from Nom Nom Paleo for great parking lot tacos and pupusas. I can’t wait to eat more in 2019.

Top Long-awaited Vegan Restaurant: Gracias Madre

Another place I’ve wanted to try for some time in San Francisco; I was able to make Gracias Madre happen when two good friends from Italy came to visit and one, a vegetarian, was craving Mexican food! Win-win. These totopos (similar to, but not to be confused with, chilaquiles) were so, so, so good.

Top Dish Recreation I’m Still Unsure About but it Was Delicious: Deconstructed Green Bean Casserole…Pasta

Read that title again. Yes. I found some green bean pasta (literally: green beans and water – the brand I found was Bellabondonza but there are several out there) and was making a creamy mushroom sauce for it when I realized all that was missing was some fried onions and voila: it was really green bean casserole (a favorite dish) in disguise! It was pretty delicious, but I wasn’t able to get a photo to do it justice.

Top Replacement for S’mores: S’mores Taco from Rocco’s Ice Cream Tacos

This didn’t actually have any ice cream in it, but it’s something they sell only once a week and I couldn’t resist getting one because s’mores are a weakness of mine. A giant marshmallow, hand-toasted with a flame thrower, put gently into a waffle “taco,” and I had them dip it in both peanut butter and dark chocolate to cover. So good. I have been limiting myself – perhaps once a year will be enough.

Top Way to Create a “Healthy” Pizza: Summer Squash Grilled Pizza

I ate this pizza so many times at home in summer 2018. It was super easy to throw together since we had a lot of squash in the garden, and I often kept ready-made pizza dough just in case! The pizza grilled in about 10-12 minutes so it was quick and didn’t heat up the whole house; perfect for the summer. So good with just drizzled olive oil, some pesto, and parmesan. And if you could find some burrata or nice mozzarella to put on after grilling? Even better. It will be returning this year for sure.

Top Way to Feed a Crowd, Part 3: Aperitivo

I was in charge of the welcome meal at my best friend’s bridalette (bachelorette + bridal shower…it’s a thing now) and aperitivo was the perfect way to satisfy a crowd. Luckily I had a few special deliveries from some friends visiting from Italy so I had even more ingredients on hand than usual. Here’s how to host an Italian aperitivo at home.

What were your favorite tastes in 2018? Anything you’d try? Avoid?

Meal planning, not to be confused with meal prepping —where are you prep a week’s worth of meals in a single work session —has been a lifesaver for me for the past 12 months or so. Having a rolling plan of what meals will be cooked for the next 5 to 7 days has been really helpful for grocery shopping and decision-making fatigue that inevitably I feel at the end of each day while being pregnant and now with a newborn.

(That’s right, if you don’t follow me on Facebook and on Instagram you might not have noticed that I had a new addition to my family: Eleanor! She’s wonderful and keeping me busy!)

I haven’t done meal planning every week in the past year, but for a large majority of them. The weeks I didn’t meal plan, I definitely ate worse, ordered out more, and often felt like I didn’t have the energy to make dinner even though I’m sure I had the same amount of time to do so as I normally do.

If you’re uber-organized, you can even do a meal prepping session after your grocery shopping where you end up cooking, chopping, and other prep for some meals you’ll be having that week and having those items ready in the refrigerator. I don’t do this meal prep myself (yet), but I know others who do and love it.

Here are my tips for meal planning – if you have any to share I’d love to hear them in the comments.

Tips for Meal Planning

Start with the proteins.

In choosing a recipe and planning out a meal, I usually start with the proteins. Not only because they’re usually the center of the meal, but because I often need to clean out the freezer and make sure things are getting used to before I buy new ingredients. Making a list of proteins that I have in the freezer and in the fridge is a really good way to start brainstorming for the meals I’d like to create.

Starting with the protein doesn’t mean every meal has to have meat in it. Your star protein might be eggs, tofu, cheese, legumes, etc. or alternatively, you might just have a star vegetable like an eggplant or butternut squash as the centerpiece of your vegetarian meal. Clotilde has a good post on batch prepping and cooking some vegetarian meals.

Leave some flexibility in the week and always have the calendar in mind.

If you’re not forced to use anything by a particular date, you can move some of the meals around as needed, but keep in mind expiration dates on ingredients when planning. Sometimes I swap one night’s meal for another after the week has started, but the great part is I’ve already chosen what’s in the meal is so it’s easy to do that swap and I already have the ingredients bought and set aside.

If you have a get together or other event during the week, make sure to account for it by putting it on the calendar, and consider if that will affect your energy levels or desire to cook the preceding or following day, or if you’ll need leftovers since you won’t have time to cook that evening.

Give yourself some time off, by scheduling a night to order in, or a date night out.

Choosing a night off from cooking on a regular basis is great, and I usually choose a weeknight so that I’m not scrambling to find a table on a Saturday night. Choosing a day ahead of time to eat out or order in also makes it something to look forward to instead of being a last-minute decision or one you make when you’re tired. And, if you have the other meals planned, you can always swap the dining out night around as well.

Remember leftovers!

If the recipe calls for amounts that will really be two full meals, make sure you’re using up those leftovers at lunch or you may have too much to eat for the next night and the new meal you’re supposed to be making. You can also rejuvenate the leftovers by adding a new ingredient or serving it in a different way. Add new vegetables or proteins to a soup, throw leftover veggies into a quiche, put an egg on top of most everything, etc.

Write out the main ingredients for each meal.

List out the main ingredients and the obscure ones (capers, a special spice, etc.) as you go along. After creating the week’s menu, go through the list and check what you have in your pantry and refrigerator and what needs to be bought. Anything that’s missing goes onto your grocery list.

Do meal planning before you grocery shop for the week.

Meal planning is most effective before you go grocery shopping, and allows you to figure out what needs to be used up in your fridge and what needs to be bought to make this week’s meals. It also allows you to have a laser-focused grocery list when you walk into any store. It definitely helps to stick to a budget or spending limit, too, though I love trying new ingredients and my grocery cart will definitely have some unexpected items in it as I go shopping.

Try something new, or stick with old favorites. Or do both.

You know there are some tried and true favorites that make heavy rotation in your weekly menus. Maybe it’s a soup, like this minestrone or cauliflower soup or Italian onion soup. Or maybe it’s a pasta dish, with romanesco broccoli or burrata or eggplant or pesto. Or maybe it’s macaroni and cheese, or lasagna, or even taco night! You know your tastes and your audience, so don’t stress out by trying to do everything new each week. Slot in those favorite recipes first, and then see how many days you’d like to try something new, or not at all!

Often I grab one of the cookbooks on my shelf and try to do a recipe I’ve been keeping my eye on, but I decide ahead of time and put it on the menu. It can also be really helpful to keep a list, bookmarks, or Pinterest board with recipes to try and try to do one new one a week.

Plan for one “Kitchen Sink” meal.

Try to include at least one “kitchen sink”-type meal weekly which will let you use up those scraps and leftovers. Quiches, omelettes, casseroles, soups, and even pasta dishes are great to use up that last bit of cheese in the package, those roasted vegetables, that random vegetable that doesn’t have a meal attached to it, and it will add more flavor to whatever you’re cooking!

Keep it visible.

After you plan out your week’s meals, put the menu in plain view so you and others know what’s coming! It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it can be fun if you want it to. I got this fridge magnet weekly calendar to list out meals, and these neon dry erase markers to write them with, but often I’ll just write it on a piece of paper and stick it on the fridge for an easy reference. There are so many weekly fridge magnet options!

Meal planning doesn’t have to take long.

Meal planning takes me about 20 minutes each week, from taking stock of what’s in the fridge to deciding on what to eat for the week, to creating my grocery list to go out and get any missing ingredients. Of course, preparing each meal takes its own time (and if you meal prep and do several meals in one shot, that’s even better), but according to my plan I’ll know how much I have to dedicate later that day and if I’ll have to defrost something or do some extensive chopping or veg prep.

Do you do meal planning? What tips do you have? 

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Want to be pen pals? I’m bringing back snail mail! I’d love to hear from you – a picture, post card, thought, question, photo, design, whatever you like! Send it my way and I’ll send something back.

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Sara Rosso
P.O. Box 1058
Santa Clara, CA. 95052

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Summer Bucket List

Summer is a great time to do fun projects, and a short-term bucket list is a good way to never be able to say “What do I do today?” Read more about how to create a life list here. Here are a few things I’m looking forward to tackling this summer. Do you have any things you’re excited about this summer? Let me know in the comments.

• BBQ. BBQ. BBQ. And eating outdoors.

I love grilling, and might get a gas grill soon, but in the meantime I’ll keep grilling indoors, and making side dishes like these Barbecue Baked Beans, the fresh salad at the end of this post, this detox summer salad, this panzanella bread salad, this quinoa and farro salad, or this Israeli cous cous, and as much fresh corn on the cob as I can handle.

I also made the investment in an outdoor dining table and have been loving being able to eat outdoors (and work, too)!

• Get a library card. 

I love reading! I’d like to support the library system as well as try a few books I’d never buy with no remorse about returning them after.

• Cook from study abroad recipes. 

I found a packet of recipes from when I studied abroad in Tuscany in 1999. That experience was great and we had home-cooked meals twice daily, so I’m looking forward to seeing if any of these recipes evoke any specific memories for me when I taste them again.

• Sell some (used) stuff. 

I have a few things I’d like to sell instead of donating / trashing, so getting on a few sites to sell some things will make me feel good.

• Make an ice cream cake. 

I think these might be my favorite thing in the world. I’ve made a chocolate mousse cake in the past, but I think it’s time to make an ice cream cake as well. I’m not worried about the recipe or attempting one, more about what will happen once it’s in the house! Bonus points if it’s homemade ice cream.

• Do more snail mail.

See the first part of this post. Who wants more than just bills in the mail? Me, me!

• Take an online creative course. 

I’m pretty interested in something related to drawing and handwriting, as I’ve been practicing that on my own, but may be looking for something a little more structured. Or something else. Any suggestions?

• Make limoncello.

My lemon tree keeps on giving, so hopefully if it keeps giving all summer, I can get some young lemons with great skin to make another batch of limoncello.   

• Make a photo book. 

I have been printing some photos as cards, and a few more as magnets, but I’d like to print some more for longer-term keeping. Have a favorite service/printer? Let me know.

• Make a jam crostata, from scratch. 

Both jam, and crostata crust! I have never liked pie, but I love crostate, and want to make one with some homemade jam as well.

• Cook from and publish recipes using vegetables from my vegetable garden. 

My herbs are already going crazy meaning lots of pesto and cilantro chutney, but the tomatoes, beans, and eggplants are still on their way, and I can’t wait to be able to cook more from my own vegetable garden.

• Continue the workout train 2x week – yoga, Zumba, Body Pump!

I’ve been doing yoga twice a week but want to start adding in some other classes again, but at the very least, just keep the twice weekly momentum going.

• (Late entry) Continue meal planning as much as possible. 

Several months ago I started doing weekly meal planning on Sundays for the week, and have been able to meal plan most weeks – probably every other week if I average it out. On the weeks I meal plan, things go great – in general I eat healthier, I have something planned for every lunch/dinner (including a few evenings or lunches eating out which are pre-planned), groceries are used up, and there’s little waste. On the weeks I didn’t set aside the time to do it, the week goes considerably worse. I’ll be posting more about meal planning, but hopefully I’ll be able to maintain or increase the weeks I’m able to meal plan this summer!

Sesame Summer Salad Recipe

Here’s a super fresh salad which can be dressed in a number of ways, and you can use whatever veggies you have on hand. The key is making sure all the ingredients are roughly the same size, and I think it makes a good alternative to a traditional cole slaw as a salad for a BBQ or just a hot day. To keep the salad longer, you can store the dressing separately and add before serving.

I made it recently for a friend who is doing Whole 30 and to do that, just omit the corn and sugar from the dressing. I was going to smash up a date and add it to the dressing to get back the sweetness but haven’t experimented!

1 c. shredded fresh cabbage
1 c. shredded brussel sprouts
1 large cucumber, mandoline-sliced or thinly sliced
2 ears of corn, kernels shaved off the cob (omit for Whole 30)
1 c. thinly sliced sugar snap peas
2 T. sesame seeds

Some alternates/substitutions for veggies: Napa/Chinese cabbage, snow peas, bell peppers, celery. This salad is all about the crunch!

Dressing

2 T. sesame oil
2 T. apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
2 T. brown sugar (omit for Whole 30)
4 T. water
Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Chop or slice all vegetables into similar-sized bites if not already chopped. Some pre-sliced or chopped vegetables might need an extra chop to make them the same size as the other ingredients.
2. Mix all vegetables together in a large serving bowl and sprinkle sesame seeds throughout.
3. In a small bowl or dressing container, mix the ingredients for the dressing and shake or mix well.
4. Dress the salad and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour, or it can be served immediately.

You can see a bit of what we did that weekend in this video below – I make an appearance :) You can see some of the Detroit small businesses using WordPress.com here.

But back to the food. The food! And the coffee.

If you remember when I travel I like to use Google Maps to mark places to eat and visit. As you can see in the video above, it was very snowy and cold in Detroit, but that didn’t keep me indoors. This trip had a lot of pre-planned structure in it but I made sure each morning to go out and get a coffee from a local coffee shop instead of sticking to the super-warm lobby coffee shop.

On my morning coffee sojourns, one morning I went to Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters (yes, dessert, not a typo):

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Though we weren’t in Canada, I thought it was a good idea to get some stick-to-my-ribs poutine at “Iron Chef” victor, chef Michael Symon’s ROAST. It was delicious.

We went into the snow to visit the Heidelberg Project, which is “a Detroit-based community organization designed to improve the lives of people and neighborhoods through art.” The resulting art project is in an actual neighborhood and will either charm you or horrify you. I fell on the side of charmed, and the snow meant it was an empty and semi-haunted landscape punctured by art installations.

Barbecue at Slow’s Bar B Q was so good and I can’t believe they fit 17 of us into the packed restaurant at lunch. I love their barbecue sauce lineup.

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I ended up ordering the Longhorn sandwich and tried the Mac & Cheese, too (note: all the food pictured is not mine) :)

We toured Ponyride, a non-profit space that’s a mix between an incubator and co-working space, to meet some of the local entrepreneurs doing interesting things. We started with a coffee from Anthology and heard from some of the residents in the space like The Empowerment Plan and their amazing EMPWR coat.

And a great Thai dinner at KATOI.

I also stopped by The Royal Fresh Market, one of the small businesses we were getting to know, and I loved walking around and seeing what products and specialties are local. Discovering grocery stores in any place or country is one of my favorite things! Hearing of my love for local stuff, the store manager offered me a Faygo Vanilla Creme Soda, which I promptly sent a pic of to my mother, who is from Michigan. Faygo is from Detroit (and their site is on WP!), so it was as local as I could get. And tasted great, too.

Another morning, another local coffee. This time I went to Roasting Plant, and I really loved that they had their milk on tap!

Just as it was time to go, Detroit started to show off. And I was glad to be there to see it.

Do you know Detroit? What should I check out next time I’m in town?