Green Beans!

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This morning I went to the lovely fella’s apartment gym again.  I did 3 miles in 28:40!  I’m a slow poke so that was kind of fast for me.

Then we headed to Costco, for the purpose of eating samples and frozen yogurt.  After Costco, we headed to Trader Joe’s to get ingredients for dinner tonight.  We’ve been eating out a lot lately so we decided to stay in tonight.  We’re making a recipe from another continent for the January Recipe Challenge!

While at Trader Joe’s, I came across this interesting thing: Green Beans.

Not just any green beans.  These are crunchy and lightly salted.  However, interestingly enough they’re really sweet too!  Who knew green beans were sweet!  They look like green beans too!

The ingredients were green beans, canola oil, tapioca starch and salt.  Not too bad right?  The first one wasn’t that great but the next few or maybe 50 were delicious!  I wonder if they lose all the nutrients that fresh green beans have?  Any thoughts?


Tonight we’re making a new recipe and going to the movies!  Have a great evening!

Food in the City

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Today, the lovely fella and I met my friend Emily in San Francisco (aka The City… I understand that on the East Coast “The City” means NYC but here it means SF).  We met at the Ferry Building because I’ve been wanting to go to the Farmer’s Market there for a long long time.

Upon arriving, we were all starving so we had lunch in the Ferry Building.  We stopped at a sandwich shop called Lulu Petite.

I got a delicious eggplant sandwich.  Ooooh soooo good!  Words can’t even describe how good this was!

Emily almost couldn’t wait!

Then we walked around the Farmer’s Market for a bit, where I bought a persimmon!

I love persimmons.  They’re so expensive in Ithaca ($2 each!  Can you believe that!!?!?!)  Here I got 4 for $2.95.  Still pricey but not as bad as in Ithaca.  Colorful and delicious!

Then we headed to Tcho!  A chocolate factory located on one of the piers!

They had samples!

And I got a shot of chocolate.  Oh my goodness!  This was heaven in my mouth! So rich, so good!  This was the perfect amount!  Emily got a hot chocolate which was also delicious and perfect on this chilly day!

The rest of the afternoon was spent perusing stores throughout the city.  Randomly, we ran into my friend Alex at Anthropologie who was shopping with his girlfriend.  It was so nice to see him! He’s a superstar living in the city now in a sweet apartment and working for Yelp!

Then after many hours of dragging the lovely fella to store after store, we met up with Emily’s fella, Joss, and headed to dinner.  We went to Puerto Alegre a Mexican restaurant in the Mission.  Oh so good as well!  I had one enchilada!  Sadly no pictures as it was really dark in there.

I had a fun food filled day with friends!  I hope your day was fantastic too!

Have a great night!

Chez Panisse

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This morning I did a quick work out in the lovely fellas apartment gym.  It was so nice to use a gym again!  I wish I lived in an apartment building that had a gym!  Then we headed to Oakland for the lovely fella’s dentist appointment.  The appointment was a quick check up (took literally 5 minutes), then we had a quick lunch in Emeryville.

We had a few hours to kill before out dinner at Chez Panisse!  So we went to every Marshall’s in the Bay Area looking for these red pumps that I’m dying to get.  Every place has them, none in my size!  Breaking my heart!

On to Chez Panisse… Chez Panisse is Alice Waters’ restaurant in Berkeley.  In the four years I lived in Berkeley I never went because it’s a bit pricey.  We went to the Cafe (as opposed to the restaurant downstairs).  The menu changes daily so we didn’t know what to expect when we got there.  According to the menu, their “produce, meat, poultry, and fish come from farms, ranches, and fisheries guided by principles of sustainability,” which is an added bonus!

We arrived and were served some bread to enjoy with our wine.  Very tasty!

I started with the “Baked Andante Dairy goat cheese with garden lettuces.”  Oh goodness… this was DELICIOUS!  This may have been my favorite thing all evening.

The lovely fella got the “Sunchoke and celery with white truffle oil.”  This was very delicious as well.  Nice and creamy.

For my entree, I got the “Fried butternut squash bondas with Indian spices, chickpeas, cauliflower, and mint raita.”  This was a fantastic flavor combination.  The mint raita made everything especially delicious.

The lovely fella got the “Soul Food Farm coq au vin with pancetta, chanterelle mushrooms,
and hand-cut noodles.”  I tried some of the mushrooms and noodles.  This was OUTSTANDING!  If I ate meat, I would definitely order this!

For dessert, we shared the “Hachiya persimmon pudding with bourbon cream,” along with some coffee.  This was the perfect end to the meal, not too heavy and not too sweet but oh so good!

Chez Panisse was everything I expected it to be and more!  I swear I’ve been talking about this place for year!  Thanks lovely fella for taking me 🙂  (He’s a Chez Panisse veteran.  He’s been with his familia many times!)

Tomorrow we’re going to San Francisco to meet up with some friends and hopefully enjoy the city and the day!

Have a great night!

Made it!

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Hey all!

I made it the Bay Area!  Upon arriving, we went to dinner.  The lovely fella’s dad was in town on a business trip so he took us to a great restaurant called Parcel 104.  Delicious!  The menu was seasonal and local!  I had a delicious artichoke 3 ways (pureed, braised and fried) and a beet salad and a small carrot cake dessert that was amazing!  I didn’t take pictures but I wish I had because the food was so photogenic!

This morning, I got in a quick work out in the lovely fella’s apartment gym.  Now we’re headed to Berkeley/Oakland because the lovely fella has a dentist appointment.  Then we’re going to dinner at CHEZ PANISSE!  I can’t wait!  I’ll be back with an update and pictures!!

Have a great day!

Balance Out the Sweet

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I woke up this morning to find a package had been delivered for me!

My friend Sara sent me biscotti she made!  It’s absolutely delicious!  Chocolate cherry with nutty goodness!  I had to have a piece with my coffee!  Soo good!  Thanks, mam!

I can never get my biscotti to taste that good.  Must be her Italian-ness that makes it so good!

My banana bread was also ready so I had to try a piece of that too to make sure it was edible.

Not bad. I’ve made better.  (I’m kind of a tough judge when it comes to my own baking/cooking)

To balance out all that sugar, I had a green monster for breakfast (or really kind of second breakfast since I ate so many things this morning haha). I enjoyed this while watching Beyonce Revealed on E!  Thank you E! for feeding by obsession!

I’m going to the Bay Area tonight!  Woo!  I can’t wait!

Shopping, Chinese and Bananas

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I’ve been a bum all day long.  I’m going to confess that I’ve been re-watching season 2 of True Blood because I finished the Sookie Stackhouse series.  Apparently I can’t get enough… or maybe I’m just super bored…

After watching about 4 episodes and admiring Alexander Skarsgard, my mom and I went shopping.  I got a cami and a sparkly sweater!

Then we met up with my Dad for some Chinese food.  We have gone to this place since I was a little girl.  All the people in the restaurant know my parents, and every time I go they all ooh and ahh at how old I am.  It’s kind of funny.

Then I came home and started on Banana Bread!  My mom doesn’t really like sweets but she loves banana bread.  So I figured I would make some.  At the grocery store, I found one of those giant bags of overripe bananas, which was perfect!

I decided to use the recipe on the side of the bag.  I’ve found that recipes on the sides of boxes/bags/containers are usually good.  Tried and true, I guess.

The best part about baking at home:

The house is starting to smell like banana goodness!

The rest of the night I’m packing!  Tomorrow I’m headed up to the Yay Bay Area to spend a week with the lovely fella.  I can’t wait!

Have a great night!

January Recipe Challenge: Africa

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In undergrad, I was a Development Studies major.  In other words, I studied the political economy of developing nations.  You’d think I would know a bunch about Africa (since it is the least developed region of the world), but honestly I don’t.

In searching for a recipe for the January Recipe Challenge, I wanted to stay away from Moroccan food, which I think is the African food that most people are (or at least I am) most familiar with.

In my search, I came across a recipe for West African Vegetable and Peanut Stew, which sounded delicious!  So in keeping with my peanut butter filled day I decided to give it a try.   I’ll be honest and say that I have no idea whether or not this recipe is authentic.  As I mentioned earlier, I know very little about Africa, aside from some political/economic history. This recipe just sounded interesting and from the little research I did, seems to have West African flavors.  I also liked how many vegetables it had: sweet potato, carrot, okra, green beans, onion… oh my!

In case you’re curious, the countries considered part of West Africa (as defined by the UN) are:  Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Ghana, The Gambia, Nigeria, Togo, Mali, Sierra Leone, Benin, Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Niger.

West African Peanut Stew

From Food & Wine

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
One 14-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped, with their liquid
4 cups water or canned low-sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth would work too)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 cups frozen whole okra or 6 ounces fresh whole okra
1 cup frozen green beans or 1/4 pound fresh green beans, cut into 2-inch lengths
1/4 cup cilantro leaves (I thought we had some, but we did so I left this out)
1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts
Lime wedges, for serving

First gather all your ingredients

Even super old curry powder should be okay (fresher is probably better.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this stuff is older than me)

Chop the onions, jalapenos (if you want this dish spicier then leave some of the seeds), ginger and garlic.  Word to the wise: don’t touch your eyes after chopping the jalapeno.  It hurts… Also make sure you don’t have any cuts on your fingers.  My finger is still burning!

Then sautee it in the oil for about 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.   Then add the curry powder, stir and let it cook for a few more minutes (about 2).  Then add your peanut butter, tomatoes and water (or vegetable broth, I used water).  Stir and cook for about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, peel and chop your carrots and sweet potato.  Then add it to the soup.

Simmer for 20 minutes.  Lastly add the green beans and okra and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Garnish with chopped peanuts, cilantro and a lime wedge!

The recipe said it can be served with rice, which sounds delicious!  Enjoy!

I thought this soup was pretty delicious!  It was also vegan in case you were wondering!

The flavor combination was really interesting and surprisingly creamy (probably from the peanut butter).  The carrots and sweet potato added an interesting sweetness.  Next time, I would make it a little spicier (maybe I would have tried using that spicy peanut butter from PB and Co… one of my many peanut butter jars that needs to be used) and cut my green beans a little smaller.

I know a lot of people don’t like okra, but seriously… try this!  It’s not slimy at all!

Have you tried any other types of African food?

I’ve had Ethiopian and Moroccan!  Both were REALLY good!  The lovely fella didn’t appreciate the Ethiopian much but I thought it was delicious (I can really appreciate any time I can eat with my hands)!

Peanut, Peanut Butter!

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I love peanut butter!

When I moved from Berkeley to Ithaca, I didn’t have enough room in my luggage to take my 6 (literally 6, maybe more actually) jars of peanut butter with me.   Consequently, they’ve been sitting at my mom’s house waiting for me.

This morning, I decided to make the familiar toast with peanut butter and banana.  I reached in the cupboard for one of my jars because sadly my mom buys JIF, which is just really no good in my opinion.  I pulled out one that I hadn’t seen in a while: PB2.

Have you heard of PB2?

PB2 is powdered peanut butter.  Sounds weird, right?   According to the site, “PB2 is made with premium quality peanuts that are slow-roasted to our specifications and pressed to remove the fat.” 2 tablespoons of dried powder (mixed with 1 tbsp of water) provides only 54 calories, which is nothing compared to the nearly 200 that 2 tablespoons of peanut butter would provide.

I forgot I even had it!  So I decided to use it this morning. I mixed it up in a small bowl then spread it on my toast.

Looks like PB right?

Honestly, if you try this, try it on something (i.e. pb and j, pb banana) not by itself.  On its own, I don’t find it to be particularly delicious. The texture isn’t really the same as peanut butter.  Peanut Butter is creamier and thicker (…gets stuck on the roof of your mouth), although I guess adding less water could make PB2 thicker.  Even so, I still don’t think the texture would be the same, as they advertise.
I’m not a dietitian or doctor, but I always thought the fat in peanut butter was good for you.  Cutting out the fat seems like cutting out some of the good stuff.  However, if you’re looking to cut calories I see where this could be a good option. I still prefer natural peanut butter.

Have you tried PB2?  Any thoughts on it or the idea of it?

Note: I bought this product on my own a while ago, it was not given to me to review.

January Recipe Challenge: Food Around the World!

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The December Recipe Challenge was a ton of fun!  I loved trying new recipes full of veggies!

I want to continue this but with a new flare, a global flare.

The goal will be to make a recipe from each continent!

1. North America
2. South America
3. Europe
4. Asia
5. Africa
6. Australia
7. Antarctica (not sure how this is going to work out just yet as Antarctica doesn’t actually have a human civilization to my knowledge, except scientist).

This means I will do around 2 recipes per week!  I’m pretty excited to try new things!  Just like the December recipe challenge, these recipes will be vegetarian and veggie filled!

If you’d like to join me (vegetarian or not), write a post on your blog and I’ll link you!  If you don’t have a blog, not to worry, you can do a guest post! Just e-mail me at foodologie00@gmail.com

Also, if you have a recipe/dish to suggest, I’d love to hear about it and try it out!

Come back soon to see new recipes!

Happy New Year!

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Happy New Year everyone!  I can’t believe it’s all ready 2010!

Last night, a bunch of my sister’s friends came over (sadly most of my friends don’t live in the area and those that do already had other plans) and we had a mini party!

Of course there was food!

I made cream cheese penguins! Aren’t they cute??

and a Colossal Caramel Apple Trifle

and oreo balls!

The rest was store bought to make things easier.  It all turned out great!

We had fun, drank some champagne, danced around!

I taught my sister how to do the Beyonce/Shakira moves… because everyone woman should know how…

Pajamas went on shortly after this.   My parents finally got home from the party they went to.  By the end of the night, I was falling asleep on the couch, so I went to bed!

It was a great night!

Happy New Year!  Have a great 2010!