Blur

Blur
Originally uploaded by daftly smitten

Walked to dinner tonight at Rocket to Venus.  I got an awesome black bean burger with veggie chili and cheese. SO yummy. Dave got gnocci and a sausage papusa something. Great stuff.  The nights this week have been crisp... So nice to take a long walk!

Jambalaya

So the one *major* thing about taking pictures with my phone camera, is that it doesn't take pretty pictures of food.... especially at night, when there is no natural lighting. Blech. But anywho - I made Jambalaya last week - and it was good!

It was definitely one of those "use up what you have" type of things; we had specific CSA veggies that needed to be used, and also a couple of freezer items that I'd been meaning to get out of the freezer and onto our plates.

Dave had bought frozen crawfish forever ago and then promptly forgot about them. I would say for sure now that I will not be buying these little critters again. I'd simply rather buy shrimp. Same basic creature, except crawfish just taste a little dirty. They're both bottom-feeders that are supposedly unclean anywho, but shrimp are delicious, and crawfish are just too fishy.

In addition, I used Kielbasa, since that's what we had in the freezer, but obviously Andouille sausage would be better suited for this dish.

Here's how it went:Chopped half an onion (all we had - would add more in future), 2 stalks of celery, 2 light green peppers, 1 Anaheim pepper and 1 banana pepper and sautéed in a bit of olive oil. Salt, pepper, Essence of Emeril. Added 28 oz can of diced tomatoes and 4 diced garlic cloves, as well as 2 handfuls of chopped kale. Let that simmer a couple of minutes and then added a 1 pint carton of Thai broth (Wegman's brand). Used this since it was near expiration and I hoped to add a little heat; chicken stock would do. Added 1 cup of rice, stirred it around and put the lid on. Took it off to stir a couple times, otherwise let it simmer for approx 20 minutes or until rice is almost tender. Added the crawfish & sausage (both pre-cooked) and put the lid back on for 10 more minutes for everything to heat up.

We've been eating this all week... probably made 6 servings. I have been stuffing a bunch of fresh spinach in before heating it up to up the veggie content.

Getaways

Getaways
Originally uploaded by daftly smitten

Newly strengthened goal: weekend getaways. My mind has always been saving up for a big vacation... But really, jaunting off for just 24 hrs this weekend was amazingly freeing. DLB & I were thinking that Philly would make the perfect next destination...

2nd Avenue Deli

2nd Avenue Deli
Originally uploaded by daftly smitten

So the overarching reason for traveling to NYC was to meet up with my parents, who are on a trip in celebration of their 40th wedding anniversary. My father planned the whole thing as a surprise for my mom, so how could I not sweeten the deal by surprising her again by showing up at their hotel as they were leaving for lunch. Since we were a short walk from 2nd Ave Deli, it took little time before we were surrounded by corned beef, pickles, knishes and matzo ball soup.  Oh what a meal! Of course, we ordered way too much, so we packed a to-go bag for my dinner, which I am about to break into on the busride home. 

Rice

Rice
Originally uploaded by daftly smitten

Dinner this evening was at Rice, described as eclectic international... In the Murray Hill neighborhood of NYC. Did I mention I was in NYC? Staying with an old friend from grad school for a quick 24-hr visit. Very fun.. Details to follow (on food & fun)!

UPDATE: So at Rice I ordered the asian slaw as a salad and Thai Coconut Curry with Chicken and thai black rice.

The asian salad was incredible! The menu described it as "mayonnaise free, shredded cabbage and carrots, with sautéed arame seaweed, toasted sesame seeds, lotus roots and asian carrot ginger dressing." I ate through the entire thing before I stopped and wondered whether the seaweed was really in there. I like most seaweed, but usually it has a really distinct taste that I did not encounter in this dish. I have always loved the carrot-ginger dressing served in most japanese restaurants, but this one made me want to come right home and recreate it immediately.

For the entree - the black rice was described as "sticky, black skinned grain with white flesh, rich distinctive flavor, steamed in coconut milk." I paused while ordering, wondering if a black rice could really be sticky, but since I have never had black rice outside of wild rice mixes, I was going to have to trust the folks at the place called Rice. I was disappointed to find that it indeed was not sticky, nor did it taste like it had been steamed in coconut milk. Bummer all around. I also felt like the curry was not so coconut curry tasting; it tasted like it could have come from a Lean Cuisine called "thai inspired chicken." Don't get me wrong - it didn't taste bad, it just was disappointing... and made me realize that I shouldn't have such high expectations for a restaurant which serves dishes from so many different ethnicities.

On top of that, it was very cheap. Just $18 (including tax and tip) for my meal. In looking up the menu descriptions I found that this is just one of four locations in the NY area. So - I guess not too bad for a chain! And they run their delivery vehicle on filtered Waste Vegetable Oil from their kitchens, so bonus points for sustainability.

My friend Rachel and I spent the rest of the night catching up and walking around the city, stopping every once in awhile for people watching. We also got the famed Pinkberry; I tried the new coconut flavor with no toppings - which made up for the lack of coconut in my dinner. Just delicious! Also can't wait to re-create this at home.

Hooray for fall

Hooray for fall
Originally uploaded by daftly smitten

Went for a run this morning with a friend who lives up towards Pennsylvania, where you could really sense the coming of a new season.  There's this smell... It's just amazing... Like campfire and harvest and earth.  I LOVE the autumn!

p.s. That pumpkin's got a big stem, hasn't it? The local farm I bought it from said they had gotten requests for larger stems and so they sought out this particular variety which is known for it's stem size.

A little strange if you ask me!

Transported

Transported
Originally uploaded by daftly smitten

Do you ever feel like you've transported from one location to the next without any remembrance of what came in between? Even when you are the driver?

I do.

Scary, huh?