Did you know: Ice cream sundaes were invented in Ithaca, NY!
In honor of that, and the fact that my friend Sara quit her waitressing job, a few of us took a study/paper-writing break and went to Purity Ice Cream!
This place is like the ultimate sweet shop!
They also had Legos to play with! So we reverted to 3 year old status…
Sara and I shared a Brownie Sundae with Goose Traks and Bulldog Crunch! Mmm delicious!
Obviously we hated it…
On to a long night of paper writing! Wish me luck!
Black beans are a staple in the Guatemalan diet. Most people don’t know a whole lot about Guatemala, so I figured why not share one of my favorite foods (and pretty much the thing I miss most about living at home).
My grandma eats black beans every day and is convinced it keeps her healthy. Whether or not that’s true, I grew up eating them quite a bit. I think they’re pretty tasty and would be totally okay with eating them everyday, health benefits are an added bonus!
My Grandma and Me, walking through some ruins in Guatemala
Black beans can be enjoyed in many, many ways, but the two most common ways they are enjoyed in Guatemala is whole beans (parados) often in a soup form or refried (volteados). This recipe is how my family makes them. Obviously, each family has a different recipe, but I think these are pretty tasty and simple.
1lb of black beans
1 garlic clove
1 large onion
salt to taste (we’re salty eaters so we kind of use a lot)
*I made less than this since it’s just me eating: I used about a cup of dry beans, 1 small onion and a 1/2 tsp minced garlic since I didn’t have a whole clove.
Step One: Sort through your beans to make sure there are no rocks or shriveled old beans up in there! Soak your beans over night or at least 4 hours in a pot.
Step Two: Drain the soaking water
Step 3: Cut the ends off an onion and peel a garlic clove place them in the pot with your beans. Add some salt (1/2 tsp? 1 tsp? depending on how much you make). Add enough fresh water to cover your beans and most onion.
Step 4: Bring water to a boil then simmer for about an hour and a half or until beans are tender.
Step 5: Ladle some into a bowl and enjoy with a dollop of sour cream!
Coming Soon… Part II of the Guatemalan Black Bean Saga…
I must be really into series posts…
In case you missed it, here are Part I, Part II, and Part III of What Causes Food Insecurity. Here is the final part of this segment. While more could be said about each of these topics, remember I’m simplifying a lot of this for the purpose of readability (and this is a blog not an academic paper!).
Here are two more reasons that are commonly cited for increases in the cost of food and subsequently food insecurity.
Fuel Costs: You may recall in early to mid-2008 the price of oil rose dramatically ($140/barrel… in the Bay Area gas was over $4.00/gallon) and all of a sudden there were riots in various developing countries (I remember Haiti, since I was working at a government agency dealing with food security issues). The price of oil is largely controlled by OPEC (Organization of Oil Exporting Countries). Increases in the cost of fuel means increases in the cost of food for a few reasons.
Increased Demand from Emerging Nations: It is argued that certain developing nations namely China, Brazil and India have increase in wealth and improved quality of life in recent years. This has created increased demand for food, particularly meat and dairy products, which require more land and agricultural products to produce. Increased demand with a constant supply causes an increase in price.
Here’s my opinion on this last point:
I don’t think it’s fair to blame developing nations for increasing the cost of food. I’ve never been to China, and was too young when I went to Brazil to observe this kind of thing, but India still has extreme levels of poverty and hunger. I wonder how much their consumption has increased actually affecting food prices.
Developed countries have been consuming at unsustainable levels for decades. Can we honestly tell countries like China, Brazil and India that they cannot enjoy the same luxuries that we do? I think curbing consumption is extremely important for attaining food security and environmental sustainability, but we cannot expect certain nations to limit themselves when we do not. This is the major reason why I am a vegetarian. I feel like if I reduce my consumption of meat, more people in the world might be able to eat and the Earth will be a bit healthier. Some would say it’s a drop in the bucket, but I think it’s worth it.
What are your thoughts? Do you see any solutions to these issues?
Is there anything you’d like to know more about?
Snow for real! I’m pretty excited. Today was the first time I really saw snow fall (more the few flakes I saw last week). Super exciting!!
Today has been one of the most unproductive days of my life! I have a paper due Monday and I need to work on a presentation on Wednesday.
I managed to:
-Go to Wegman’s, you can now rest assured that I will not run out of bananas
-Watch an episode of Ugly Betty (mildy obsessed)
-Read a million and 1 blogs
-Talk on the phone with the madre
-Listen to Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, Jason Derulo’s Whatcha Say, Blue Oyster Cult’s Don’t Fear the Reaper, Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead or Alive, and Miley Cyrus’s Party in the USA, each about 50 times. Thanks Grooveshark!
That’s pretty much it.
I also made a tasty dinner. I’ve had an acorn squash sitting in my kitchen for about 2 weeks and thought it’s about time that I actually use it. I cut it in half and baked it for about 45 minutes. Then I filled it with some leftover quinoa, dried cranberries and sour cream then topped it with some shredded cheese.
Not bad.
I fully intend on getting a lot done tonight! Wish me luck!
Coming up soon… next recipe for December Recipe Challenge and next post about Food Security!
I don’t usually eat out two meals in a row, but since the lovely fella is leaving we decided to make the most of his time here in Ithaca. It was 26 degrees out (eek!!) so I suited up before walking to breakfast!
I look kind of like a marshmallow but seriously, this jacket kept me ridiculously warm! Despite the fact that it was pretty cold, it was a lovely walk. Then we arrived at the Carriage House. They’re known for having a really good brunch, so I was pretty excited to go. I love brunch! I prefer breakfast foods to any other meal!
The decor was lovely and the ambiance was very cozy.
And they had Bon Appetit magazine at each table!! Great reading material for when you’re waiting for your meal!
I ordered the scrambled eggs (cage free!) with ciabatta toast and a side of garlic home fries (served with house-made tomato-ginger ketchup). The tomato-ginger ketchup was interesting. A little too sweet for my liking but a great flavor combination, almost reminded me of a chutney.
Overall, this place was pretty good. Their coffee was tasty, food was pretty good and the decor was great!
What’s your favorite restaurant??
Since the lovely fella is leaving tomorrow 😦 we decided to go on a “hot date.” So in a foodie’s life that means go out to a great restaurant. We decided on Moosewood because I’ve been obsessing over it heard it’s delicious. You may have heard of Moosewood because of their cookbooks. Moosewood is a collectively-owned, vegetarian restaurant and pretty much an Ithaca landmark. Their menu changes daily and most items have the option of being vegan as well (i.e. omitting cheese)
Dinner was pretty delicious.
I started with a glass of wine, the lovely fella got an Ithaca Pale Ale while perusing the menu. Both were delicious
Then came the house salads. Oh my goodness. This salad was probably the best part of the entire meal! I got the Lemon-Tahini dressing. It was fantastic! I’m going to try to recreate it ASAP! The lovely fella got the house dressing, which was a creamy spinach-basil dressing. It was equally delicious. I can’t decide which one I liked better.
As my entree, I got the Savannah Stew (Sweet potatoes, kale, green beans, celery, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes simmered with Old Bay seasoning, lemon and thyme, topped with cheddar cheese (opt.) and served with freshly baked scallion cornbread (v)) That is the menu description. The (v) means vegan. I got the cheese on top so it was not completely vegan.
Oh man! This was one of the best stews I’ve ever had! It was so flavorful and hearty!
The lovely fella got the Roasted Vegetable Lasagna (Layers of lasagna noodles, roasted portabello and white mushrooms, eggplant and zucchini, whipped (local organic Ithaca Soy) tofu “ricotta”, baked in a savory tomato-basil wine sauce;
topped with mozzarella cheese (opt.)). He liked his, but I wasn’t a fan. The tofu was really bland (as tofu generally is) and slightly bitter. Sure glad he liked it! The lasagna minus the tofu was great! Here he is with his dinner 🙂
Then of course came dessert. The menu said there was carrot cake, so we ordered that. However, the waiter let us know this is was actually banana cake! I was instantly sold, as I am a banana fiend.
Honestly, it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had (on that note, the best Banana Cake I’ve ever had was in the Azores, Portuguese Islands, I studied abroad in Portugal and seriously I still dream about that cake). The frosting was a little too sweet and the cake was kind of dense.
That being said it was still tasty and greatly appreciated!
Overall, Moosewood was pretty good and I recommend it to anyone in the Ithaca area.
Also, tonight was the first time I felt like a food blogger haha. I took pictures of everything. I lugged the big camera. It was less nerve wracking than I thought it would be and now I’m glad to have the pictures. So if you hesitate at all to take pictures in public, don’t!
Now I’m stuffed and off to either work on a project or watch a movie. I can’t decide… I have a feeling it’ll be the movie since the lovely fella is leaving tomorrow 😦
Goodnight!
I have two fakers here today and both are good for the environment and my tummy!
Faker #1: Chicken Parmesan for Lunch
1 Morningstar Chicken Patty, some pasta sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Faux-Chicken Parmesan! Delicous and meat-free! I love being home for lunch and making more exciting meals, not that Cliff bars and frozen vegetables aren’t great but I much prefer an exciting lunch. Do you prefer quick, light lunches? or elaborate lunches?
Faker #2: Paper Cup
It’s not paper! It’s a ceramic reusable travel mug! Kind of fun and environmentally friendly, right!?!
Speaking of paper… My paper is almost done! I’m putting the finishing touches on my bibliography! Thank goodness!!
HAPPY FRIDAY!!
I went to Target last night, thinking I wanted a pretty new plate (I won’t get into my obsession with dishes and flatware…). Then I remember Erin‘s post about Binge Spending and though I probably shouldn’t buy this since I don’t actually need it. So I was going to walk about empty handed, but on my way out I saw an interesting thing in the refrigerated section…
Double Twisted String Cheese!
Orange and White Mozzarella twisted together!
Okay so it’s tastes pretty much like regular string cheese, but it makes snacks that much more fun! I’m a nerd… I know!
Agenda for Today:
-Edit Paper
-Turn in Paper
-Gym
-Surprise outing with the lovely fella! I’ll post more about this later 🙂
December Recipe Challenge Update!
Head over to Karin’s Blog Give Me Bananas to see the recipe for Thai-riffic Spinach Curry Noodles she tried out for the December Recipe Challenge!
Have a great day!
Since as earlier mentioned, lunch was ridiculously boring. I tried to get a little creative with dinner.
First, I cooked some Portabella Mushrooms in a pan with some salt, pepper and olive oil. To prevent them from sticking and burning I added a little bit of brine from my artichokes since I was out of vegetable broth.
Then I put those aside, sauteed some apples, added some cooked quinoa and dried cranberries. I cooked those together for a few minutes with some apple cider for moisture (you could probably use juice or water too).
Then I piled the mixture onto the Portabella and enjoyed!
The lovely fella decided to add some shredded mozzarella to his.
Quick and Easy! Pretty Tasty too!
After an extremely long day, I came home to find a package on my doorstep. My snow boots arrived! (excuse my ridiculously messy room and haggard appearance, I slept a little less than 4 hours last night…)
I’m really pleased! I’ve never had snow boots before (I’m a California girl, remember!). I kind of can’t wait for it so snow so I can wear them. I’m ready for winter!
Are you ready for winter??
Foodologie 