Fresh & Local, by Alaska

12 09 2011

Ever since I got back from my trip to Alaska, life has been hectic. In fact, I think I’ve reached a new level of “exhausted” last week. But my new gig is also very exciting, fun, demanding and engaging. I should be making more frequent appearances here as I get settled in!

Alaska, above all, was exceptionally beautiful. I traveled via cars, railroads and ferries, which enabled me to see so much more of the state’s natural wonders.

I blogged about the trip via another blog but what kind of food blogger would I be if I didn’t share a meal here? So I’ll share one of the best.

Towards the end of my trip, I was fortunate enough to enjoy a delicious, local, home cooked meal at a beautiful home in Anchorage. Unlike most of my time in Alaska, the sun even decided to come out that evening!

How did I luck out? One of my college professors has a friend who lives in Anchorage. When I told him about my trip, he put us in touch and I got treated to an incredible meal at an Alaskan home.

We started with wine and appetizers. What wouldn’t go well with this view?

I got to have some homemade smoked salmon:

Along with an assortment of cheeses, mustard, crackers and capers:

There were also moose dogs, straight off the grill!

The moose was shot by my host, who then brought it to a business that processes meat. It turned the moose into delicious moose dogs:

While still sipping on wine, fresh red salmon went on the grill. Isn’t this beautiful?

The salmon shared the grill with some halibut & asparagus:

In addition to the fish, we had a salad and quinoa:

From grill to table:

I could not have asked for a better meal. So now, when I’m eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich while running around lower Manhattan between different agencies, I can think back to that meal and hope that I’ll make it back to Alaska someday for more of that delicious fish :)





Currently in…

6 08 2011

Hi!

I’m currently on a solo backpacking trip through Alaska. You can follow my adventures HERE.

This blog will be updated when I’m back in New York in September.

 





Healthy pizza in NYC

5 08 2011

On a rainy Wednesday, my friend and I were looking to grab a quick dinner in Midtown East before seeing a movie. While walking down Third Ave, we saw this:

This was the sign outside of Revd Up Pi, a small, cute establishment that prides itself on healthifying New York’s most precious and highly debated food.

I definitely know a good pizza but I’m all for trying a healthier version of it! To start, we ordered the grilled calamari appetizer: local fresh calamari lightly grilled with organic evoo over mixed greens.

The calamari was fresh and the abundance of greens was appreciated. But grilled calamari is no fried calamari…Still, we ate it all!

We then ordered the Vim & Vigor Pi: artichokes, zucchini, mushrooms, red peppers and eggplant with part-skim mozzarella cheese on a 16-grain crust.

This was beastly-full of vegetables:

With pieces of artichokes, eggplant strips and mushrooms perfectly baked into the thin crust under the cheese:

And let me tell you, I wouldn’t leave a piece of this crust behind either. It was delicious, grainy, crunchy and chewy at the same time:

The pizza’s only con for me was the lack of tomato sauce. Because of how many veggies it had, it was really dry and difficult to eat without drinking lots of water. I’ll definitely ask for tomato sauce next time!

A factor that impressed me about this place: cleanliness. It was squeaky clean! And that’s always a plus for a restaurant where the food is prepared right in front of you.

So was it Di Fara’s? Not even close. But was it healthy and delicious? Yes it was.  I’d go back!





Buh bye, office

1 08 2011

This has been my 9 to 5:30 home for the past year and a half:

But this Friday, I packed up all my stuff! The desk will belong to someone else now.  I feel really grateful for the job that I landed right out of college. Not only did I get to write articles for a well-established health care magazine, I also got to do some traveling on my boss’ tab.

Thanks to the job, I got to go to Denver, New Orleans, Washington D.C., San Diego, Chicago and Salt Lake City. It was great!

Last week my editor took me and my replacement out to dinner at Suspenders, a restaurant a few blocks from my office, my ex-office.

I started off with a Brooklyn Lager. Hey, when the boss is buyin…

He’s a big fan of calamari, so we got shared that as an appetizer.  This was just OK, nothing special.

For my entree, I ordered the grilled salmon, which came with roasted tomato risotto.

This was DELICIOUS. The fish was cooked perfectly and the risotto was buttery and cheesy and just all that it needed to be. The crushed pistachios on top of the salmon were a great touch! I’m gonna have to do that the next time I cook salmon.

The company’s president also closed the office early on Friday and took us out for drinks. The whole thing was bittersweet because I’m definitely going to miss many of the people I’ve worked with…but I’m also excited for the new opportunity that’s in store for me!

Plus, my bed definitely beats the office chair ;)

 





Taking a hike

13 07 2011

Slowly but surely, I’m catching up with my intended posts. Sure, this one languished for a while but there are pressing deadlines at work, I cut my finger on a spiralizer blade (UGH) and you know, it’s summer. Anyway, better late than never – let’s stick with that excuse.

So some time recently, I headed to Harriman State Park for a day outdoors. I really needed to break in those new hiking shoes for my trip. And the trail was gorgeous.

After the hike, and maybe getting lost a little, we were hungry! There’s something about being outdoors that makes food taste so much better.

We started with roasting veggie kebabs, which I marinated overnight in balsamic vinegar and plenty of garlic.

We also had salmon burgers on whole wheat buns, plus cheese.

There was also plenty of fruit.

But hey, since we still got the fire going…

Why not roast some marshmallows?

I like mine nice and charred. I don’t want to know what marshmallows are made out of, I just like to eat them sometimes. We definitely needed some chocolate and graham crackers! Next time ;)

As a final touch to the day, we drove up to Bear Mountain to enjoy the view.

Gorgeous.

Maybe I can move my office desk out there.





Beer in Pleasantville

10 07 2011

Last weekend, a bunch of friends and I hopped on the Metro-North Railroad and headed to Pleasantville, an overly cutesy town less than an hour away from Manhattan. And pleasant it was.

But we didn’t head there for the white picket fences of pretty suburban streets.  We came for the beer at Captain Lawrence Brewery.

The brewery offers complimentary tours and tastings on Saturdays. The samples are generous and flow like rivers.

The Liquid Gold and the Kolsch were my favorite. Although I wouldn’t say no to the Brown Ale either.

In addition to getting a beer buzz in the afternoon, we also went on an educational tour to learn how the magical brew is created. This is Scott Vaccaro, owner and head brewer at Captain Lawrence. This man brewed his first beer when he was 17. He has a degree in Fermentation Science.

I really enjoyed this brewery experience. Because the brewery is small, the tour felt intimate. And who can argue with seemingly endless free samples?

We were happy campers.

And by the end of the whole thing, hungry ones. A friendly local suggested Michael’s for lunch.

It was a good recommendation. Excellent, friendly staff and service and a good variety of tasty food.

I ordered the Vegetarian Panini: Grilled zucchini, yellow squash, roasted red peppers, Portobello mushrooms, fresh mozzarella & pine nut pesto. I wish there was more of that pesto but this was fresh and delicious.

And it came with sweet potato fries, which I wasn’t going to deny.

Beer, fries, friends. It was an appropriate chapter of the holiday weekend. And a damn good one, too.

 





Smokin’ Dinosaur BBQ

6 07 2011

If there’s a hell, there’s now a seat there with my name on it. And I’m blaming Dinosaur BBQ for awakening my inner glutton. (It was a one-time thing, I swear…)

Dino BBQ is considered one of the best bbq joints in NYC. And even though the heavens tried to warn me about my proximity to gluttony…

The temptation lured me in anyway.

Fortunately, I wasn’t alone. Among my group of friends, there was one brave soul who decided to share all the goodness Dino BBQ has to offer. So we started off with an appetizer sampler plate for two, which included chicken wings, fried tomatoes, deviled eggs and spicy shrimp boil.

The wings were OK but not the best I’ve had. The place is known for its fried green tomatoes and those were, in fact, delicious. But I also think if you deep fry cardboard, I’d say the same thing. Still, they were the highlight of that pig out precursor.

This friend and I decided to split the Sweetheart Deal, which is a full rack of ribs and four sides. What the hell were we thinking…

Look.At.That.

They were gross. We didn’t eat them at all…

No, kidding, THESE WERE THE BEST RIBS I’VE EVER PUT IN MY MOUTH. Seriously.  Soft, juicy, tender, flavorful, fallin’-off’-the-bone goodness.

The sides? Not as big of a fan. The mac ‘n cheese was dry. The sweet potatoes with spiced nuts were just alright. The baked beans were nothing to write home about.

The “cornbread” served with the meals is an abomination. I think it’s made out of pre-WWI boxed cornbread mix…meh.

My advice:

  • Eat a light lunch
  • Make a reservation
  • Get the ribs

I’ll save you a seat in hell.





Happy birthday, America.

4 07 2011

Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear’d, grown, ungrown, young or old,


Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,


A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair’d in the adamant of Time.

Words: By Walt Whitman.

Photos: At Pleasantville, Bear Mountain, Harlem, NY.

More on all of the above after America’s birthday is properly celebrated.

Happy Fourth!





One last thing…

29 06 2011

I’m a little late on this but I was really sad to find out that Peter Falk, the actor who played a detective on the show Columbo recently passed away. I’m usually not affected by celebrity deaths but I loved this guy!

I remember watching dubbed episodes of this show in Ukraine as a kid. Columbo’s signature line was “One last thing,” at which point he masterfully revealed the details of the crime, stunning the perpetrator with his insight.

I also found out that before Falk became an actor, he got a master’s degree in public administration and worked as an “efficiency expert” for a local government agency. He got the same degree I want! I’ll miss you, Columbo. :(

As I looked over my last posts, it looks like all I’ve been eating is pizza. And wine. And more pizza. But I eat way more than that!

Like a blueberry oatmeal breakfast cookie:

Zucchini noodles with chickpeas, tomatoes and toasted sunflower bread smothered in Mama Pea’s Mmmm Sauce. (You’re missing out hardcore if you haven’t had this sauce yet.)

Amazing stir-fry: red onions, enough garlic to destroy a vampire colony, sweet peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, BBQ tofu.

And other randomness:

Yesterday, I had to eat my dinner standing up, in the middle of the Times Square chaos:

It was a delicious Falafel & Red Peppers Wrap from Pret A Manger. It contained falafel, red peppers, Mediterranean dressing, marinara tomato sauce and Jarlsberg Swiss.

But I can’t really complain…because I rushed dinner to see Robin Williams in his Broadway debut!

He and the rest of the cast were incredible in this play. I’m really glad I got to see it, since it’s only running for six weeks. So good!

The long weekend can’t come fast enough, eh?





She gets it

14 06 2011

Even though she has a brutal commute home, she’ll go out of her way to stop by the store that sells that amazing, dark, loaded-with-a-ton-of-seeds bread I can’t resist.

And she’ll pick up the perfect companion to the bread, the garlicky eggplant caviar the store also sells.

She understands why my jaw drops when I see THIS for the first time:

And knows that my constant “mmmm” sounds while I’m eating this means it will be a regular on the grocery list.

She knows to pick up the marinated chicken kebabs at the Russian butcher and throw it on the grill on the balcony, ready to be eaten right as I get home.

…Served with dill baby potatoes on the side.

And she knows I’ll be first in line to try the veggies from her beautiful, Brooklyn-balcony garden:

Mom knows best :)








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