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1 March 26, 2014 Travel

Ecuador Travelogue: Quito

As I’ve mentioned a few times (or as you may have noticed from my Instagram pictures), we just got back from an awesome ten-day vacation in Ecuador. Trevor and I tagged along on my family’s spring break trip, and not doing any of the planning or trip prep myself was a welcome change, and meant that pretty much everything we did was totally new and surprising. We spent time in four different parts of the country: Quito, the Amazon, Baños, and Cotopaxi. I left my computer behind, but I took lots of old-fashioned notes (and pictures!) on everything we did, saw, and ate, so I’m putting together a four-part travelogue, both for my own memory, and in case any of you are considering your own trip to Ecuador. First up, Quito.

Quito Overview

Most flights from North America to Ecuador seem to land in Quito, and many of the most popular travel routes start and end in the country’s capital. If you’re headed to the beach, you can also fly in through Guayquil, further South, but we were staying mainly in the highlands so Quito was our first stop. The Quito airport is brand new, having opened only a year ago, and it’s very clean and modern, but it’s a long haul from downtown – our transfer to the hotel took a little over an hour (on the bright side, it only cost $35 for a van). Although we only spent two days there, Quito seems like a city on the up and up. While it’s definitely still on the gritty side, there are some beautiful areas and everyone we spoke with was very friendly. Tourists seemed to be few and far between, which is quite different from every other major capital city I’ve visited, but a little refreshing. Most guidebooks and travel websites that I read had extensive warnings on safety: we didn’t have any issues, but I did feel a little uncomfortable (and extremely blonde) walking around some parts of Old Town, which was probably both caused and relieved by the extremely visible armed police presence. I think with normal safety precautions, you’re perfectly safe, but it’s definitely a city where you should stay alert and do your best to blend in. At 9,000 feet and with plenty of hills, just walking around the city is a workout – bring good walking shoes and take it slow to avoid passing out in the main square like my baby brother (he’s fine). While we were there (March), the weather was fairly cool and gray – jeans and a sweater were most appropriate during the day, although when the sun did show it’s face it was wonderfully warm.

Hotel Casa Gardenia

Kudos to my mom for finding the Hotel Casa Gardenia. Just up the hill from the historic center of Old Town, I think this little hotel was my favorite part about the city. Located in a historic house, it’s been completely remodeled by a graphic designer, and the result is a beautiful, modern, and unique boutique hotel. There are only seven rooms, spread out across three floors and connected by a central courtyard. Collectively, my family stayed in four of the seven rooms so we can vouch that they are all comfortable and well-designed. Rooms on the second floor seem to be the best as far as noise levels go – on the first floor the rooms are right by the breakfast area so it’s loud in the morning, and on the third floor city noise comes up through the windows – but we all slept well regardless of where we were in the building. There are comfortable common spaces on all three floors with beautiful panoramic views of Quito, and we made good use of them – two nights we had dinner and wine on the couches on the third floor, and during an afternoon rainstorm, Trevor and I snuggled up with a cup of tea on the second floor and watched the clouds move over the city. The hotel is small enough that the common spaces feel like an extension of the rooms, and I loved how welcoming they were. Everyone on the staff was lovely – friendly, accommodating, and helpful. We were especially grateful to be able to use the kitchen’s fridge and microwave to store/reheat our leftovers from dinner. Breakfasts were delicious and satisfying, with gorgeous freshly blended juices, made-to-order eggs, and lots of breads, pastries, and fruits. I would go back in a heartbeat.

National Basilica

We spent the whole morning of our first day exploring the Basilica del Voto Nacional, a neo-Gothic cathedral that has been under construction for over a century (and is still not quite finished). While I usually have a short attention span for churches, I had so much fun climbing around this one. Entry to the interior costs $1, and this part of the church is a little boring if you’ve been to many cathedrals, although the stained glass is extremely vibrant and worth a peek. The real highlight was climbing up in the towers, which are found at the side entrance and can be accessed for $2. We spent a few hours climbing up the different belltowers, walking across the ceiling, taking pictures, and stopping in their little gift shop (where I got a great, super-warm hat for $5). There’s also a small cafe inside one of the towers, if you need a mocha to recharge after all the stairs. We didn’t try it but it had pretty picture windows and looked very cozy. Both parts of the cathedral were uncrowded and really pleasant to visit.

Lunch at Vista Hermosa

During a brief hour of sun on our first day we had lunch on the rooftop deck at Vista Hermosa. The food there is solidly average, and definitely a bit overpriced for the area, but in my book a visit to the restaurant is still worth it on a sunny day for the gorgeous views (the best way to go might be to just order drinks and nachos). I tried seco de chivo, a local goat stew served with big chunks of potatoes and avocado, which was hearty and satisfying but not particularly inspiring. If I ever get back to Quito I’m going to try and find a more distinctive version.

Wandering Old Town – Plaza de la Independencia, La Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus

The historic center of Quito was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site back in 1978, for being the best preserved city center in Latin America. We only went inside one building in this part of town – La Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus – a church with an interior that is covered entirely in gold leaf. It’s an impressive sight, but by this point we were all a little warn out from our wanderings that day, so we were in and out. We also wandered through Plaza de la Independencia right down the street, which has beautiful gardens and building facades, but was a little crowded for our taste. I think exploring this part of the city with a guide might be the way to go – I’m sure we would have enjoyed it much more if we were learning something on the way.

Takeout from Pizzeria El Hornero

I’ve never ordered takeout while traveling abroad before (unless you count room service, I suppose) – it has always seemed both overwhelming and like a waste of an opportunity to continue exploring my destination. That said, traveling can be exhausting, and having hot food delivered to your hotel’s door can be so nice after a busy day exploring. Plus, it turns out that local takeout can be just as interesting as venturing out to local restaurants. So although I was a little disappointed the first night when my parents ordered pizza from Pizzeria El Hornero, 10 days later when we were back in Quito I actually requested that we do it again. The pizzas are served with a super spicy salsa that makes the experience of eating them entirely different. I loved the tropical chicken pizza with this bright green sauce – it was one of the more memorable dishes of the trip for me. Plus, it was really nice sitting together in the third floor lounge of the hotel, eating casually and discussing our day in our pajamas. I might be a takeout convert.

Museo de la Ciudad

After 10 days exploring the jungle, highlands, and volcanos of Ecuador, we had one more day in Quito before our flight home. Everyone was kind of run down and mildly ill at this point, and not up for too much adventure. That last morning, we ventured out to the Museo de la Ciudad, and it was the perfect choice for a low key activity. The museum, which is housed in an old hospital, has a nice mix of art and history exhibits – we all wandered through separately, enjoying the life-size dioramas, artifacts, and paintings which were well arranged, and many of which were interactive. It was really cool to see exhibits of some of the traditional lifestyles after we had seen those lifestyles in person, and we were all pointing out the many objects, plants, and foods that we recognized from our trip. Walking through the courtyards is also pleasantly cool and quiet, a peaceful place right inside the city. Well worth the $3 entrance fee. On our way out, we stopped to check out the great views of the Virgin statue on nearby El Panecillo, and had lunch at the artsy, modern cafe right on the museum steps. Although like most restaurants there’s a traditional lunch offering (soup, chicken and rice, and a dessert) that’s very affordable, we all jumped at the chance to have sandwiches and coffee – after 10 days of traditional lunches, it was a nice change.

Souvenirs at Mercado Artesanal La Marisca

To fill the last few hours before our flight, Trevor and I decided to go out in search of some local art to bring home. We couldn’t find any parts of town which could be reasonably considered an art district, and the types of art being sold in some of the museums were out of our price range, so we wandered up to the Mercado Artesanal on the edge of New Town. It was the only time we crossed over into New Town, and I wish we’d spent more time there – it felt much more like a living city than Old Town, which made me feel a little claustrophobic and skittish at times. The market itself is arranged into covered rows of stalls, most of which are selling jewelry, woven products, chocolate, and trinkets, but there were a few stalls selling prints and paintings. We ended up taking home a big (like 3 feet long) original painting of Illinizas for $60 – our first real art! And despite the anxiety it caused me, I even managed to bring it home as a carry-on damage free. If you’re looking for a one-stop shop for souvenirs of all sorts, the Mercado Artesanal is worth a try – it doesn’t have the most unique or best priced goods, but it does have a large variety all in one place, and it’s fun to wander through.

More from our Ecuador adventures…

Ecuador Travelogue: The Amazon
Ecuador Travelogue: Baños
Ecuador Travelogue: Cotopaxi

0 March 21, 2014 Food

13 Recipes for Looking Forward to Spring

Happy spring, everyone! We’ve just arrived back in Boston from Ecuador, and I was really hoping that upon stepping off the plane, spring would have firmly arrived. Perhaps that was a bit foolish (although I did see a few daffodil sprouts and an encouraging amount of sunshine on my run yesterday), but after this seemingly eternal winter, maybe we all need to delude ourselves a little about how close the days of flowy skirts, white wine on the patio, and sun-kissed evenings really are. After months of heavy winter foods (which, admittedly, are deliciously comforting and indulgent), the fresh green salads, local strawberries, and tangy rhubarb desserts of April, May, and June are a welcome change. To switch my recipe-planning gears into spring mode, I’ve been going through my archives to look for favorites from past years, and thought maybe you needed a little inspiration, too. Below are 13 of my favorite spring recipes, featuring an abundance of strawberries, rhubarb, English peas, and asparagus. So here’s to looking forward to springtime!

Drinks

Rhubarb Prosecco Spritzer

Rhubarb is one of the first plants to poke out of the ground, and its small pink buds are certainly a welcome sight. This cocktail celebrates the return of color to the earth with a simple rhubarb syrup and a splash of bubbly, a pretty pink drink for early spring.

Green Pea Rum Cooler

A mix of fresh peas, cucumber, and tarragon muddled together with rum, this vibrant green cocktail is an unexpected departure from typical spring drinks. It’s vegetal yet still sweet, and great for mixing things up a little.

Strawberry-Lime Agua Fresca

This non-acoholic drink is the ultimate refreshing drink for a hot day. When you see perfectly red, juicy sweet strawberries at the market, this is the thing to make with them. Sweet and citrusy, you’ll never go back to lemonade.

Salads and Mains

Cacio e Pepe with English Peas

This recipe was inspired by our trip to Italy last spring, where we had a wonderfully creative version of Cacio e Pepe served on a black bean puree at Il Santo Bevitore in Florence. Instead of black beans, we used fresh English peas to recreate the recipe and celebrate spring.

Green Pea and Wasabi Soup

A head-clearing recipe for early spring, this soup plays on the concept of wasabi peas, using fresh peas and wasabi to make the base and then topping the soup with the classic crunchy snack.

Strawberry Balsamic Salad with Candied Pecans and Goat Cheese

This salad should almost be in the dessert section, with its super-sweet strawberries, crunchy sugared pecans, and creamy soft goat cheese. But, if you promise to eat all the spinach, too, I’ll let you count it as a healthy meal instead.

Smashed Pea, Dill, and Feta Crostini

These bright little appetizers are a little sweet, a little salty, a little lemony, and a little herbal. On a warm spring evening, you might find that these crostini and a glass of white wine make a perfect dinner all on their own.

Pea, Fava Bean, and Asparagus Risotto

Come April and May, I start throwing English peas, fava beans, and asparagus into pretty much every recipe I make. So why not risotto too? The fresh bite of the green vegetables is a perfect counterpoint to the creamy richness of the mascarpone-laced rice.

Fresh Snap Pea and Radish Salad

This salad uses three quintessential spring ingredients – snap peas, radishes, and mint – to create a nutritious and light dish that’s packed with freshness and flavor.

Asparagus and Arugula Pasta with Almond Parmesan Crumble

You should be warned – if you make this recipe, you’ll become addicted to the almond parmesan crumble that goes on top. It’s the most delicious. The buttery sauteed asparagus and wilted arugula don’t hurt either.

Desserts

Rhubarb-Ginger Bars

These tangy bars are a favorite of mine – with a peppery, gingery shortbread crust topped with tart pink custard, they’re basically dressed up lemon squares. I think these might be first on my list for rhubarb season this year.

Lilac and Blackberry Pavlovas

Did you know that lilacs are edible? While a bit painstaking to clean, infusing desserts with their delicate color and scent is totally worth it. These super light pavlovas with lilac blackberry syrup are a very elegant addition to the spring dessert table.

Strawberry Almond Cream Tart

A very traditional pastry, strawberry cream tarts are always sure to please a crowd. They’re at their prettiest when made with those perfect market strawberries, the ones that don’t need any sugaring, mashing, or macerating to be tasty.

0 March 15, 2014 Food

Another Garden Season // Parmesan Beans with Kale and Sausage

Last summer, in our wild, overly ambitious garden, we planted a few handfuls of beans. After seven varieties of tomatoes, three eggplants, four types of peas, and six melons, the beans were kind of an afterthought. We planted green beans in two neat rows, then poked a handful of seeds of mixed varieties in a circle around our bean pole, and proceeded to ignore them for the rest of the summer. Towards the end of August the pole beans began to reward us despite our negligence. Two “Gold Marie Vining” plants produced dozens of 8-inch long yellow pods, the sweetest fresh bean I’ve ever tried. We liked them so much that it took us a little while to notice that the less tasty, less prolific green pods hanging on the same pole were slowly turning a beautiful mottled pink. They still didn’t taste great, so we continued to leave them. And then, just like that, it was the first frost, so we pulled the now dried and wrinkled pods from the vines and tore the plants out of the ground. We shucked the pods open to reveal gorgeous cranberry beans, threw them in a jar for later, and continued to clean up the garden.

That jar of beans, which we have since determined must be the “Good Mother Stollard” variety, has been sitting patiently on our counter all winter, waiting for its time to shine. Stacked next to the slowly dwindling supply of jarred tomato puree and pickled green beans, they’ve served as a quiet reminder that summer will come again, with its bounty of food that will take us through yet another winter. A few weeks ago, we finally decided it was time to cook those beans, so we soaked them overnight, then dumped them in a pot with a few aromatics, a hunk of parmesan, and some chicken stock and let them simmer away. A few hours later, when we lifted the lid from the pot, we had the most amazing bowls of beans. The parmesan had completely melted, infusing the whole thing with a deep, rich, cheesy flavor. The beans themselves had a bite to the skin but were creamy and soft inside. Topped with a provolone-laced crumbled Italian sausage, they were winter comfort food perfection.

That humble jar of almost-forgotten beans turned into one of the best meals we’ve had this winter. Simple but so satisfying, I’m already looking forward to next year’s jar of beans. That small handful of beans I grabbed from the jar and set aside will soon be buried in the earth, ready to turn into another reminder of summer for another winter.

Parmesan Beans with Kale and Sausage

Serves 3-4.

2 c. dried cranberry beans or other medium-sized white bean, soaked overnight
1 TBS olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely minced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
3/4 tsp red chile flakes
2 parmesan rinds
4 c. chicken stock
2 c. chopped kale
1/2 lb. Italian sausage
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Take soaked cranberry beans and rinse several times; they should have doubled in size. Drain and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent about 4-5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and the chile flakes and saute for another 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the parmesan rinds and cook until they begin to melt, stirring occasionally, another 2-3 minutes.
Add the beans and the chicken stock to the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer the beans until they are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove the lid and simmer liquid until it is reduced to 1 cup. Add the chopped kale and cook for another 8-10 minutes until tender.
As soon as you add the kale to the pot, heat a small frying pan over medium heat. Crumble the sausage into the pan and use the back of a wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Cook fully, stirring frequently until sausage is browned and crispy.
Spoon the beans into serving bowls and top with the crumbled sausage. Serve immediately.

1 March 9, 2014 Food

A Trip to Oman // Mint-and-Sumac Grilled Goat Chops with Tahini Sauce

As I complained about a few weeks ago, Trevor recently took a work trip to Oman. He brought back all kinds of spices and goodies from a market he visited while he was there, and used them to make these tasty grilled goat chops flavored with mint and sumac. I decided I wanted to blog about them, and by that I mean I asked him if he would write about his trip and type up the recipe. He’s the best so he agreed, and wrote the short novel below which makes me look bad as a writer/blogger, but I’m letting it go since it’s all about what’s best for my readers, right? We’re off on our next adventure now – I have posts scheduled for you while I’m gone, but if you want to follow along as we travel through the jungles and up the mountains of Ecuador, come see what we’re up to on Instagram, where I’ll be sharing pictures and stories and hopefully some really tasty food. And now to Trevor…

Not only did I get to travel to the middle east for work, I’m lucky enough to have an exceptional girlfriend that will let me blather about it on the internet just as long as there’s a recipe involved. At the company where I work, the exciting trips to exotic places don’t generally get thrown to the low guy on the totem pole. I constantly hear stories about floatplane rides in Alaska and almost-bar fights in Ukraine, and I’ve kinda been waiting my turn. I was getting ready for disappointment when this trip cropped up, but in the space of a week, everyone else was called off to different corners of North and South America and I totally lucked out.

At any rate, (back story: I’m a structural engineer) we were asked to take a look at a brand new shipyard in the soon-to-be port city of Duqm. As part of a plan to establish Oman as a shipping powerhouse in the Persian (Arabian) gulf, a massive port was built mid-way between the capital, Muscat and the southern port city, Salalah. The port of Duqm is designed to handle an incredible amount of freight, and the nearby shipyard can service (e.g. repair, paint, scrape-the-barnacles-off…) some of the most massive ships in the world, (VLCCs and some some smaller ULCCs for ship nerds). What they don’t have yet in Duqm are a ton of roads.

For the most part of our trip, we stayed at a very well-appointed resort-style hotel on the beach, replete with BBQ nights and Budweiser. It was extremely comfortable, and also the only thing for miles. Every morning we drove through beige desert, past places where the road would abruptly end, and where bits of infrastructure were being jackhammered out of the bedrock. We drove at incredible speeds; (a little alarm would go off at 160kph,) into a sprawling yard where fourteen cranes dwarfed the silhouettes of fishing dhows in the harbour, and every berth in the yard was occupied by a huge ship crawling with workers. The yard recently celebrated the docking of its 200th vessel in a mere 3 years of service, so It isn’t hard to imagine Duqm growing into a successful center of trade and industry.

But we were looking for a little culture. So on our way home, back through Muscat, we begged for a tour of the city and for ideas of what to bring home to show off to our friends and family. We were treated to an evening tour through the beautiful old city and past the Indian-style palace built by Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said. It was explained to us that the Portuguese once invaded Oman in order to position itself along the same crucial trade routes that are used today. Old forts from this time flank the harbour and look down on a city in transition. More and more cruises are stopping in Muttrah, a city in the province of Muscat, as it becomes a destination of interest for National Geographic-style expeditions. We visited one of the oldest marketplaces on the Arabian peninsula, the Muttrah or Al Dhalam Souq (Darkness Souq) which now hosts only a few stalls catering to Omanis, and many which cater to tourists.

With our extremely gracious host guiding us, we sampled delicious gelatinous candy, and sorted through cheap knockoffs for old-school Omani coins. We sampled powerful perfumes and checked out a small grocery which was full of snacks, candy, oil extracts and spices. I managed to grab some sumac, which is a lemony spice from the sumac berry, and some whole turmeric roots, which are super funky looking. (Side note: I tried to buy two little nubbins of turmeric, but ended up with a whole kilo… so we’re set for life.) I also grabbed some rose petals for candying and then escaped for fear of blowing the weight limit on our checked bags. Everything we asked for was shoveled out of giant colorful sacks which created such an incredible set of smells that the other market-goers’ heads would whip around every time the door was opened.

Our last stop was the smallest stall yet; a six-foot square with walls lined floor-to-ceiling with bags and bags of frankincense. Just as we walked up, a small crowd formed of people firing off questions and haggling with a young man in the middle of the whole thing, perched at a raised counter. There was frankincense for chewing and making tea, frankincense for burning, and frankincense mixed with every kind of perfume and oil. We got away with a big bag of huge chunks of the dark, powerful-smelling sap, and a smaller bag of the clearer variety used as as a sort of panacea.

But that’s enough babbling. Our extremely friendly host treated us to a dinner of everything-on-the-menu at a lively outdoor restaurant full of men smoking sheesha and drinking fresh fruit juice, and then sent us on our way. Part of our feast included a small grill, placed on the table full of kebabs, lamb sausage and goat chops, all of which were super delicious, and one of which, I tried to recreate here.

Mint and Sumac Goat Chops with Tahini Sauce

Adapted from Bruce Aidells’ The Great Meat Cookbook. Serves 2.

For the Goat Chops:

2 small garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
½ cup parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
1 tablespoon sumac
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4-6 small goat chops (about 1 lb. in total)

For the Tahini Sauce:

2 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water, or more if needed
salt to taste

In a mortar and pestle, grind up the olive oil, garlic, mint, parsley, sumac, and fennel until you have a rough paste, and there are no huge chunks. Add the rest of the the spices and mix it up until it’s a uniform consistency. Trim the chops of any silver skin or ragged edges, then coat them with the rub. Let the chops sit covered in the fridge for two hours or so.
For the tahini sauce, mix the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and water in a small bowl with a whisk, making sure there are no lumps. The sauce should have a syrupy consistency; season with salt.
On medium-high heat, grill the chops for about five minutes per side for medium-rare (125-130 degrees, internal temp). Let them rest for a couple of minutes after removing them from the heat and then artfully drizzle them with the tahini sauce.

0 March 7, 2014 Food

Relished Foods Review

Update 8/2014 – Relished Foods has re-branded to Home Chef, and their new website can be found here!

A few weeks back, a relatively new meal delivery company called Relished Foods reached out to see whether I would be interested in reviewing their service. Like Plated and Blue Apron, Relished delivers fresh ingredients to your door with instructions for making three meals each week. Based in Chicago, they currently ship to most of the Eastern half of the U.S., and, if after reading this review you’d like to try them out, you can get 50% of your first order with the code “KitchenDoor” through next Friday, March 14th. Since I love coming up with and cooking my own recipes, I’m probably not the ideal customer for this type of service, but I figured some of you might be interested in how it works and how good the recipes are. Overall, I think Relished offers a pretty good service – I was very happy with the portion sizes (having enough leftovers for lunch the next day was a big win), the quality of the ingredients, the speed of preparing the recipes (the longest I spent in the kitchen, including dish-washing, was 40 minutes, which is pretty quick in my book), and the overall healthfulness of the meals. I do think the company has some kinks to work out – I found a few places where the recipe instructions weren’t super clear, or where the cooking times seemed too short, and the first meal was almost ruined by the amount of sugar added to the tomato sauce. These little things are easy to catch if you’re an experienced cook, but if you are someone who’s just learning, it might be hard to know intuitively how to adjust the recipe. That said, I do think these recipes overall were easy and clear enough that they would be a good way for beginners to learn to cook. And taking both meal-planning and grocery shopping off your weekly to-do list is a definite time-saver, beginner or otherwise. I would categorize my overall experience with Relished as positive, but not overwhelmingly so – read on for more details about each recipe I tried.

Lamb Meatballs with Creamy Polenta and Tomato Ragout

This is the dish I was most excited about when I read the menu, and the first recipe I tried – it has three of my favorite foods all combined into one comforting meal. The pros? It’s a filling, warming, seasonally appropriate dish; it took exactly 30 minutes to prepare, from the time I opened the package to the time I put it on the table, including a bit of dish washing while everything cooked; the portion sizes were very generous, making at least three full-sized servings for us, if not four. Unfortunately, I found the flavors in this recipe a bit off, mostly due to the amount of seasoning. The most glaring thing was the sweetness of the sauce – this was the only element of the recipe I adjusted as I cooked (it just looked like a ton of sugar for the amount of tomatoes, so I only used half) and I still found it way too sweet. Honestly, it didn’t need more than 1 TBS of sugar. The polenta was also a little too salty, but this was probably more a matter of personal preference. The meatballs themselves were fine, and all together it was OK but not great. I think a knowledgeable cook would naturally make a few easy tweaks to this to take it up a level – some more spices in the meatballs, maybe oregano and paprika; a splash of cream in the polenta; a light vinaigrette on the arugula; and no sugar in the tomato sauce and I think you’d have a really tasty meal. But a beginner cook is unlikely to come up with this type of adjustment, and might have been disappointed with the results.

Quinoa and Roasted Vegetable Salad with Pan-Seared Chicken

Dinner number two was a simple roasted vegetable and quinoa salad topped with a quick pan-seared chicken breast. The meal was simple, but very satisfying, and I was much happier with the outcome than I was with the lamb meatballs. The balance of veggies, protein, and grains felt healthy and nourishing, and it was definitely something I could see making myself for dinner. It took a little longer to make – about 40 minutes – but it was straightforward to prepare. I do think the instructions could have been a little clearer, especially for a beginner cook: simple additions like describing how to clean and slice a pepper (instead of just “chop pepper”) would be helpful. I also made a small change to the veggie roasting technique, letting them roast for 20 minutes instead of 10 (brussels sprouts do not fully cook in 10 minutes!), and seasoning them before cooking instead of after, arguably both matters of personal preference. There was some quinoa and veggies left over, which I tossed with crumbled Italian sausage and feta cheese for a very satisfying lunch the next day. All in all, I was happy with this meal.

Panko-Crusted Cod with Roasted Baby Carrots and Asparagus

Some of you know that I’m not a huge fish fan, so I wasn’t thrilled to see baked cod, my childhood dinnertime nemesis, on the menu. However, I’ve been trying to approach fish-eating with an open mind these days, so although I did task Trevor with the preparation of the cod itself, I made myself take a few bites without wrinkling my nose in advance. And you know what? It was OK. I still don’t love it, but I’ll eat it. The preparation was simple and quick – you prepare a pan of buttered, garlickly breadcrumbs and mix with chopped parsley, then coat the fish with them and bake – and the fish mostly tasted like breadcrumbs and the copious amount of lemon I squeezed on it. The fish itself seemed fresh and of good quality, and the roasted asparagus and carrots it was served over were really tasty veggies, with no woodiness at all to the asparagus. A fine dinner. My only issues with this meal were that there was a lot of leftover panko crust that had to be tossed, and that it was a very light dinner. Because we could only use half of the buttery panko crumbs, I’m guessing this meal came in at closer to 350 calories than the advertised 430, and unlike the other meals, there were no leftovers. If we hadn’t been going straight to bed after eating this, I think we would have gotten hungry quickly.

Disclaimer: I received one box from Relished Foods free of charge for the purposes of writing this review. I was not otherwise compensated and all opinions are my own.

0 March 5, 2014 Dessert

Monthly Fitness Goals: March // Chocolate-Dipped Almond Butter Cookie Bites

In January, I decided that instead of setting one big, difficult goal for my health and fitness for the whole year, I would create a new, smaller challenge for myself each month. The idea was that my progress would be more measurable and the goals would be easier to achieve, and so far, that’s been true. I’m now in the middle of challenge #3, and I’m really glad that I’m doing it this way. I’m feeling pretty fired up about exercise (at a time of year when it’s easy to want to give up on it entirely), and I’m craving super indulgent foods less and less. Thinking more about fitness and my body does mean that there are some days when I’m much more frustrated than I would be if I weren’t trying to achieve something, and on those days I have to continually remind myself to take the long view – the negative emotions that come with overthinking your size and shape can be so overwhelming. But there are also days when I feel really happy about something I’ve achieved – like making it to the top of a rock climbing route I’ve been struggling with for weeks (seriously, that caused elation), or noticing that I feel really good three miles into a run. While sometimes I think that feeling neutral about yourself is preferable to the emotional highs-and-lows of struggling to achieve something, when it comes to my health, I should probably choose the highs-and-lows.

February’s challenge, which was to have one entirely vegan meal every day, was eye-opening for me in a couple of ways. First, it’s really hard to find vegan food in restaurants, even in a big food city like Boston. Even at health-food and salad chains completely vegan choices are few and far between, making finding lunch on the days I was too busy to make it ahead of time a real challenge. Second, just having to think through all of the ingredients in a dish to make sure they were fair game made me a lot more aware of what I was putting in to my body at any time of day. I will admit that I cheated on the two days that my girlfriends were visiting, but I didn’t beat myself up about it. Although I don’t love eating vegan meals, I did like the way doing this challenge made me think and feel, and that I’m starting to see the numbers on the scale creep down, so I’m thinking about how I want to incorporate this into my eating habits longer term.

Since I’ll be on vacation for a third of March, I’m only applying this month’s challenge to the 20 days that I will be home. This doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on being active and healthy while I’m away – on the contrary, I think it’s going to be a super active and outdoorsy trip. What I am giving up is lists and schedules and my daily routine, which is definitely where these fitness goals tend to fit in. So, with that in mind, I decided that my goal for March is to run 40 miles over the course of the 20 days that I’ll be home, a goal that is certainly achievable but feels like a true challenge. Since I started using the Nike+ Running app to keep track of my runs, the most miles I’ve logged in any month is 41, and that was last June. To be fair, I started using the app after my two half-marathons and I probably only use it for about 90% of my runs, but still, I’m not running more than 40 miles most months, and 10 miles a week is something that I should be able to achieve on a regular basis. I’ve already gotten 10 miles in so far this month, so if I can squeeze in another 10 before we leave, I’ll be halfway done.

One of the challenges of fitting runs in during the work week is figuring out how and when to eat to best fuel yourself. I am not a run on an empty stomach type of person, and whether I’m running in the morning or after work I need to eat something filling and energizing 45 to 60 minutes before I hit the road. As I thought about the attributes of my favorite pre-run snacks, I began making a mental list of the features I’m looking for in the perfect snack: portable, so I can easily bring it to work with me; dense, so that I feel energized without having to eat a large volume of food; a little sweet, to satisfy my dessert cravings and get my blood sugar up; a good balance of carbs and protein, for short and long term energy. Where did this list lead me? To these almond butter cookie bites, portable mouthfuls of energy-dense almond butter, dates, oats, and chocolate. There are lots of recipes for no-bake almond butter bites out there (these ones and these ones both look good), but I wanted these to be baked so they felt more like a cookie, and were easier to throw in my purse without having to worry about melting/smushing. These little cookies come in at just under 100 calories per piece, with 2 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber in each one. They’re a little bit crumbly, so you have to be careful while dipping them in the chocolate, but I think that might be their only flaw. They’re flavorable, filling, and sweet enough to feel like dessert without the “empty” ingredients that most cookies and desserts have.

Past Fitness Challenges

January: 10 Visits to the YMCA; Recipe: Gluten-Free Olive-and-Feta Corn Muffins
February: One vegan meal every day; Recipe: Pakistani Chickpea Pulao with Sweet-Hot Date-Onion Chutney

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Chocolate-Dipped Almond Butter Cookie Bites

Makes 18 small cookies.

3/4 c. oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
4 pitted dates
1 egg
1/2 c. almond butter
1/3 c. chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the oats in a food processor or blender, and blend until finely ground. Pour into a bowl, and whisk in baking soda, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.
Add the brown sugar and the dates to the food processor or blender, and pulse until a smooth paste has formed. You may need to stop to scrape the mixture down the sides once or twice. Scrape the paste out of the blender and into the bowl with the oats. Stir to combine. If there are still a lot of big chunks, add the whole mixture back to the blender and pulse a few more times to fully integrate.
Add an egg to the bowl with the oats and sugar mixture, and stir until all of the mixture is evenly moistened. Stir in the almond butter until fully combined. You should have a smooth, moist dough that holds its shape when rolled into a ball. Roll the mixture into 18 small balls (less than an inch across) and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are starting to turn golden brown and the cookies have cracked on top. Carefully transfer to a baking rack to cool.
While the cookies are cooling, melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler, whisking just until the chocolate is smooth. Carefully dip the cooled cookies into the melted chocolate so that half the cookie is covered. Place on wax paper to cool completely.

79 March 1, 2014 Fall

Butternut Squash Carbonara with Fried Sage and Caramelized Onions

On Monday morning, lying in bed and catching up on my blog-reading after a happy and busy weekend with friends, I saw this post from Cookie and Kate, and was immediately obsessed. I spent the rest of the day thinking about various versions of the creamy butternut squash linguine, and by the time I stopped at the store on the way home from work I had reversed all of Kate’s healthy twists to the dish and it had morphed into a full-blown, decadent carbonara in my mind. Which, it turns out, is how the folks over at Bon Appetit had originally published it anyway. There’s no denying that I’m a fat kid at heart – give me the opportunity to cover pasta in fried salty bits and cheese and heavy cream and I’ll go all out (and then hide the rest of the leftovers to help keep my vegan challenge going strong).

Now that it’s (finally) March, we only have a few weeks left where root veggies, kale, and heavy winter flavors are what we need to keep us going, so I’d suggest that you indulge in this dish now before all you can think about are radishes and asparagus and rhubarb. I’m not sure how best to convince you that it’s worth the calories, so I’m just going to ask you to trust me. If it makes you feel better, serve it with gently sauteed bitter greens, like broccoli rabe or mustard greens – the bitterness is a perfect counterpoint for the sweetness of the roasted squash and the saltiness of the pancetta. And enjoy it! One of winter’s redeeming qualities is the comfort food it inspires, so if eating food like this is what gets you through the lingering cold, go for it.

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More creamy pastas…

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Cacio e Pepe with English Peas

Roasted Garlic and Shallot Mac’n’Cheese

Butternut Squash Carbonara with Fried Sage and Caramelized Onions

Spaghetti carbonara gets a healthy-ish twist with a butternut squash sauce that’s as creamy and smooth as if it were made of eggs and cream! Well, there’s still a little bit of cream…

Inspired by Bon Appetit and Cookie and Kate.

Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
Yield: 4-6 1x

Ingredients

Scale

1 small butternut squash, about 1 1/2 – 2 lbs.
2 TBS olive oil
sea salt and pepper
1/2 lb. slice pancetta, cut into small cubes
1 small onion, peeled and sliced into thin half moons
1 lb. fettucine
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 TBS butter
1 small bunch sage

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Peel the butternut squash and cut into slices that are half an inch thick. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip slices with a spatula to coat with the oil. Roast until fork tender and slightly caramelized, about 20-25 minutes, checking and flipping after 10 minutes. When tender, remove from oven and place in a blender. Set aside.
Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat and add the pancetta cubes. Cook until crispy and browned on all sides, stirring frequently. Once cooked, set aside on a paper-towel lined plate. Discard all but 2 TBS of the pancetta grease. Heat the 2 TBS of grease over medium-low heat, then add the sliced onions to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until thoroughly caramelized and slightly crispy, about 15 minutes.
While the onions are cooking, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook the fettucine according to package directions and drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. Place the cup of pasta water in the blender with the squash and the 1/4 c. heavy cream, and puree until very smooth. Toss the squash puree with the fettucine.
Just before serving, melt the 1 TBS of butter in a small frying pan. Fry the sage leaves in the butter until crispy, about 2 minutes. To assemble, divide the pasta between the serving plates, and top generously with cooked pancetta, caramelized onions, and fried sage. Serve immediately.

1 February 25, 2014 Boston

A Weekend with Friends // Zucchini-Pesto Mini Quiches in Phyllo Cups

This past weekend was a much-needed break from winter. The sun came out, the temperatures rose above frigid-levels, and my three best girlfriends from Duke flew/bussed/trained in for a weekend of gossiping, giggling, lots of walking, and really good food. Now that it’s Tuesday and 20° again, it seems like the good vibes from this weekend are going to have to get me through the next 11 days before we leave for Ecuador (!!!). Good thing 11 days is not that long, and last weekend was really good.

Having people that love you the way you are is a wonderful thing, whether those people are your parents, your boyfriend, or childhood friends. But there’s something about a group of great girlfriends that’s just awesome, and sometimes hard to find. When the four of us get together, we laugh, a lot, both about shared memories and stories that we’re telling each other for the first time. We talk about our feelings in this intense, introspective way that I don’t have the opportunity to do very often, and sometimes it makes us cry. We make fun of each other and support each other at the same time, something that only comes from really knowing someone, not just from what they say about themselves but from how you’ve seen them act and grow and change. We tell boy stories. A lot of boy stories. More than Trevor would like. And we love each other, and it’s the best.

Friday and Saturday we ate (and ate and ate – it’s also good to have friends who like food as much as you do, and who are willing to walk it off for miles and miles afterward) at several Boston restaurants – dinner at West Bridge was a highlight, perhaps the best meal I’ve ever eaten – but on Sunday we had a cozy little brunch at my house. I was a little over-zealous with the menu: green smoothies! mimosas! lattes! lox on homemade bread! quiche! and waffles with cinnamon-berry sauce! My friends gave me a little reality check when they arrived and we cut out the smoothies and the lox (although I know Phoebe wanted that lox – next time, love, I promise), sticking with the mimosas, lattes, mini quiches, and waffles. The waffles are my mom’s recipe, that she used to make me every year for my birthday, and I served them with a quick sauce made from frozen mixed berries, sugar, and a cinnamon stick. The quiches are from Lindsay and Taylor’s book Breakfast for Dinner, which was the first book I turned to when I wanted a breakfast-for-breakfast recipe. The phyllo cups are easily baked in a muffin tin (or Lindsay says you can buy them pre-made, although I’m guessing they might be tricky to find), then filled with grated zucchini and a pesto-and-egg-custard mixture. Not exactly health food, but at least there’s a little bit of green in there. We all devoured them, along with the waffles and mimosas, and afterwards it was pretty hard to resist falling into bed for a three-hour nap. It was the best kind of Sunday. And the best kind of weekend.

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Zucchini-Pesto Mini Quiches in Phyllo Cups

Adapted from Breakfast for Dinner. Serves 4-6.

1/4 lb. packaged phyllo, thawed in the fridge
4 TBS butter, melted
1 TBS olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 small zucchini, washed and roughly grated
3 large eggs
1/2 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. pesto, store-bought or homemade
salt and black pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush regular muffin tin cups with some melted butter. Carefully unroll phyllo dough and cut sheets into 4-inch squares, keeping the sheets stacked together. Gently place one square into each muffin tin, pressing down to line the tin. Do this carefully, but don’t worry if some squares rip – the other layers will cover them up. Brush these squares with more melted butter, then layer another square of phyllo on top, again pressing down. Repeat one or two times more, until tins are fully covered. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until bottoms of cups are slightly puffed and dough is golden. Remove from oven and let cool at least 5 minutes before filling (leaving them in the muffin tins).
Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute, then add the grated zucchini and saute for 2-3 minutes longer, until the pan is mostly dry. Remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and heavy cream. Stir in the pesto. Season with salt and black pepper.
Place a small spoonful of zucchini in each phyllo cup. Spoon 2-3 TBS of the egg-pesto mixture on top of the zucchini. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until egg mixture is set and slightly puffed. Carefully remove from muffin tins and serve.

2 February 19, 2014 Drink

Forever Winter // 1,001 Kentucky Nights

I am so over this winter. The snow has just been pouring down in Boston, and although I generally love that my office has a big window, it seems like all I can see lately are whiteouts. Last Thursday, this weekend, yesterday, today – four storms in seven days. Enough already.

But I know winter’s not all bad, and so I’ve been trying to enjoy what it does have to offer. I spent last weekend in Maine with my dad, and although it was still snowy and cold, at least there was a bit of sunshine, clean snow, and plenty of fresh air. We spent the mornings waking up slowly to drink coffee by the sunny windows; the afternoons trekking through the woods, enjoying the heavy stillness of a freshly blanketed pine forest; and the evenings eating too many cookies and watching movies. It was incredibly relaxing, and hopefully gave me just enough optimism to make it through the next three weeks (before we head to Ecuador!).

When I can’t be traipsing through pretty snow and enjoying the quiet of fresh winter air, I can at least be snuggled up enjoying rich, warm drinks I’d never make in the summer. This cocktail was inspired by a recipe in Winter Cocktails called 1,001 Nights. A smooth and thick mixture of rum-and-cinnamon-soaked dates blended with coconut milk and served warm, it’s an incredibly rich and comforting drink that hints of warmer climes. Tasting it after blending, I thought it was a little too sweet, so I skipped the honey and sweetened whipped cream that the original recipe called for and instead added a splash of bourbon to the mixture. The result was just right for me – the drink was still sweet and rich, but with just enough smoky, woodsy flavors to offset the syrupy-ness. While it certainly has it’s roots in Middle Eastern flavors, it has a profoundly American accent, so I’ve changed the name to 1,001 Kentucky Nights. And I’d make it just like this next time, too. That said, if you don’t have a copy of Winter Cocktails yet, you should really go order one – I’ve discovered so many great recipes from it this winter.

P.S. Check out the genuine Omani goodies making my pictures that much more authentic! That’s agar wood in the box in the background, and the little knobbly stuff in front of it is frankincense. I had never really thought about frankincense being a real thing before, so I was genuinely shocked when Trevor showed it to me. So cool.

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1,001 Kentucky Nights

Adapted loosely from Winter Cocktails. Serves 2-3.

1/2 c. pitted dates, roughly chopped
3/4 c. dark rum
1 cinnamon stick
3/4 c. coconut milk
1.5 to 3 oz. of Bourbon

Add the chopped dates, rum, and cinnamon stick to a small saucepan. Bring to a very gentle simmer over low heat, and simmer until the dates have absorbed most of the liquid and are very soft, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool 5 minutes, then remove the cinnamon stick (you can save it for garnish, if you’d like).
Add the dates and their liquid to a blender with the coconut milk. Blend on high until the mixture is smooth and thick. Strain the mixture back into the small saucepan. If you are using a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix, you won’t need to strain it. Reheat gently until just warmed through. Stir in 1.5 oz. of Bourbon and taste, adding more if you’d like a stronger drink. Serve immediately.

1 February 14, 2014 Breakfast

Happy Valentine’s Day // Chocolate-Almond-Strawberry Granola

I’d been moping a little bit about Valentine’s Day this year. Even though it’s not a huge holiday in my book, the fact that Trevor would be away (and far away, at that – he’s in Oman!) for business seemed unfair. But then scrolling through my feedly last week I came across this post by Melissa and remembered that I loved celebrating Valentine’s Day long before boys were in the picture. Like she says, it’s about “spreading a little extra love and joy to friends and family,” and when I think back, my best memories of this holiday are mostly of my girlfriends and family. I’m lucky enough to get to spend almost every day with my man, loving him, and even though the flowers and chocolates on the 14th are nice, they really aren’t the point. So I’m postponing the romantic part of February until Trevor is back, and today, I’m celebrating friends and family. [Edit: Because he’s the sweetest, Trevor still managed to get roses to my desk at work today even though he’s thousands of miles away. I love you, Trev.]

First up, family – as far back as I can remember, Valentine’s Day meant coming downstairs to a big heart shaped box of chocolates and a card from my mom telling us how much she loved us. I mostly remember these mornings as sort-of bleary-eyed surprises, probably because I had to get up for school at 6am most days and it’s pretty dark at 6am in February. She also always helped us make little homemade valentines to bring to school – bags of foil-wrapped hearts tied up in pink and red tuille with doile-and-construction-paper cards attached. Our valentines were way better than the average school valentine. So tonight I’m having dinner with my parents and my baby brother (who is probably dreading today, seeing as fifteen is probably the most awkward age for Valentine’s Day). We’re heaving steak and red wine and heart-shaped shortbread cookies and I’m really excited about it.

As for friends, I’m sending my three best college girlfriends these little care packages because celebrating your girlfriends is important. In high school, we used to have Valentine’s Day parties at my house where we would all wear pink and make each other goofy homemade cards and decorate sugar cookies while getting a little hyper from too much hot chocolate and giggling. It was great. Later, during our freshman year at Duke, Becky and I got all the pink things we could find at the Dollar General and then covered her dorm room floor with candy hearts while making valentine’s for our new found boy friends. Because part of celebrating your girlfriends is talking about how much you both love boys.

I was going to make cookies for these packages but after thinking about it, decided that maybe some crunchy dessert masquerading as a healthy snack would be more appropriate for my friends, who are all super busy and on-the-go students/teachers. This chocolate-almond-strawberry granola is inspired by (OK, I’m blatantly ripping it off) the only commercial brand of granola I’ve ever liked, LoveCrunch. I think I might like my version a smidge better, but I’m not sure I’m saving any money by making it myself – freeze-dried fruit is surprisingly expensive. The base is simply oats and almonds, which are coated with a mixture of melted coconut oil, cocoa powder, and honey before it’s baked. After it’s baked but while it’s still warm, you stir in the chocolate chips, resulting in heavenly clumps of granola held together by creamy bits of melted chocolate, which is seriously going to elevate your yogurt-eating experience. I made the mistake of bringing the care packages to work with me before I shipped them, and I was eating out of everyone’s bags – sorry if they seem a little light, guys, I promise I’ll make you some more when you come visit. But seriously, this stuff is kind of addictive. Be careful with it. Or just give it away to someone that you love.

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!

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Chocolate-Almond-Strawberry Granola

Inspired by LoveCrunch and adapted loosely from Yummy Mummy. Makes about 8 cups.

6 cups rolled oats
2 c. chopped almonds
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. coconut oil
3/4 c. mild-tasting honey
3/4 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips (or more or less depending on how dessert-like you want it…)
1 c. freeze dried strawberries

Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, and salt until evenly mixed. Set aside.
Add the coconut oil and the honey to a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring, until the coconut oil has melted and the consistency of the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa powder, whisking until all clumps are removed. Pour the chocolate mixture over the oats and stir to evenly coat the oats with the cocoa-mixture. Spread out on two large sheet pans and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir up the granola to prevent burning, then bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes, until warm but touchable. Return to the mixing bowl and add 1 cup of the chocolate chips to the warm granola, stirring to evenly combine.
Let granola cool completely, then stir in the remaining 1/2 c. of chocolate chips and the strawberries. Keep in an airtight container.