The Rainbow Connection

After 3 days of Passover leftovers of (chicken, brisket, potato kugel), we were over[the]lefts, it was time for a meal change-up.  In my cousins house with my surrogate family for the week, my aunt and I decided to clear out the refrigerator and make a large salad filled with colors of the rainbow. We started with a white salad dish and covered the plate with a bed of Kelly-green romaine lettuce. Then we moved that over to the side and began the chopping of the vegetables. First came the vibrant purple cabbage, which I sliced into chunks, circular cuts of carrots, "c" shaped cuts of celery and small chopped pieces of a sunshine yellow pepper. Since a balanced meal should have many different food groups - we added ripe avocado slices for the nutritious fats and lumps of crab meat for protein. To finish it off, we sprinkled some sesame seeds on top. Within a mere 10 minutes of preparation, a salad masterpiece was created. And then came the taste-test, the crisp bites of lettuce, the crunch of peppers, carrots, cabbage and celery mixed with the creamy bites of the avocado, the flavors were to die for. The crab added a soft, delicate sweet taste. This salad was the perfect diversion from my repetitive Passover meal choices.  Leaving me satisfied and excited to eat the left-overs the following day.

A Mindful Mediterranean Meal

All day long my timing was off because of daylight savings, even though we "sprang forward" an hour, I felt as if we really had "fallen back" one instead.  At 6:30 I arrived for my dinner reservation with my uncle at Aldar Bistro on Montgomery Ave in Bala Cynwyd.  I couldn't wait to eat, my stomach was grumbling.  The style of the restaurant is Mediterranean, so we chose a hummus platter for an appetizer.  About 10 minutes after we placed the order, out came a heaping bowl of hummus with fresh chickpeas, a bowl of char-grilled pita triangles and a handful of sliced cucumbers.  I dipped a crisp cucumber in the bowl of hummus.  The flavors tingled in my mouth, the crunch of the cucumber was complimented by the creaminess of the hummus.  I decided tonight at dinner I was going to practice the art of mindful eating, a skill I am learning about in this new book I am reading called Savor by world renown Buddhist, Thict Nhat Hanh.  I ate slowly, taking in every flavor, concentrating on every bite, letting myself enjoy the food I was eating, rather than being distracted by the surrounding tables and loud conversations.  For dinner, my entree came out bright with color.  The bright colors resembled the weather outside, the warmth from the yellow sun as the seasons change from winter to spring.  I ordered a dish with a simple name, "Chicken and Vegetables", but the dish was anything but simple.  A large deep-dish plate filled with a bed of couscous (a wheat grain, similar to rice or pasta) and other ingredients - grilled slices of chicken, flat orange carrot chunks, slices of thin white onion, "c" shaped cuts of yellow summer squash and green zucchini; as I dug further into the deep surface of the plate, I discovered more - sliced mangoes and pineapple chunks, with a couple raisins that were hidden throughout the dish.  The entire meal was drizzled in a light cinnamon curry sauce.  The cinnamon flavor came through in each bite.  The chicken was tender, the carrots were soft, the zucchini and squash were juicy, the onions provided an even balance from the pungent flavor.  The couscous was the perfect grain as it picked up all the flavors from the dish.  The meal was delicious and filled with flavor, I cannot wait to go back again.

The Morning Rush

Sometimes my life is so busy and I'm pressed for time that making breakfast can be difficult - even though I know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Prepared foods are not really what I like to turn to for breakfast, especially on Tuesday and Thursdays, my longest days of the week.  So with breakfast being an extremely vital meal for me today, I needed a fresh start with a bowl of goodness.  For my morning meal today, I began collecting the individual fruit ingredients - a fresh, plump and juicy peach, ripe red strawberries and small, crispy red grapes.  I took a clear glass bowl and then began the process of cutting the fruit.  I cut the peach into large slices, then in smaller chunks, and sliced the stem off the strawberries and cut them into quarters.  Then I added those two ingredients to the glass bowl and added a handful of red grapes.  I stirred about 3 ounces of vanilla yogurt and dolloped it on top of the fruit.  Then I sprinkled on 1/4 cup of slivered almonds and added 2 tables of Vanilla Flax Granola for the additional crunch factor.  My eyes were dancing with colors from the bowl, they were so bright.  My first spoonful was a combination of fruit flavors, filled with the smooth texture of the yogurt, a crunchy bite of the almonds, mixed with granola, as well as the pop-a-ble bites of the grapes.  The bowl was bursting with flavor, freshness and healthy choices.  I won't compromise on taste...for me, it has to taste good.  I know the week isn't over yet, but I can already say this breakfast will be my favorite one of the week.  I am satisfied and content, but not overly full - so even during the morning rush of getting ready, this breakfast was a great way of giving me a flavor rush in the morning.

Chicken Soup for the Winter's Soul

So much chicken...so little time.  Last night we had a Shabbat dinner, which meant chicken.  Chicken, chicken, chicken, sometimes I feel as though it's all I eat - but it is pretty good.  Anyways, we had some chicken left over and I decided to make chicken soup.  If my readers' haven't realized by now...soup is my favorite food.  However, I do not like soup from a can, homemade soup is the way to go.  I started with a large black soup pot and poured one full carton of organic, low-sodium, chicken stock into the pot and turned the stovetop on.  I added the chicken carcass with the remaining pieces of chicken into the now bubbling liquid and let the mixture boil.  I cut one large white onion in half and slowly placed each half in the pot.  Then I added a couple handfuls of small orange baby carrots, a cup of frozen corn, a half-cup of barley and my favorite ingredient: a can of fire-roasted tomatoes.  The tomatoes turn the soup a scarlet red and give it a smoky flavor.  After all the ingredients were added, I covered the pot and let the soup cook on a rolling boil.  A looooooonnnnng 2 hours later, the soup was almost completed, I added some spices for flavor - salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.  Finally, it was time for the taste test.  I ladled the steaming hot soup into a clear bowl and tasted my first spoonful.  And it was absolutely delicious, if I do say so myself.  The barley had created a creamy consistency, making the flavors melt in my mouth.  The tiny specks of yellow corn were hidden in every spoonful, the baby carrots were cooked to softness, the onions had separated into thin translucent pieces and the tasty, tender morsels of chicken reminded me of our Shabbat dinner.  Immediately after one bowl, I was back for a second and then a third, it was hard to stop.  This chicken soup was able to fill my soul and stomach.

Chick-a-Doodle Do

Today marked one of the coldest days back home in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I shivered as I stepped into the frigid bitterness of the outside, I was not prepared for this weather, in the least.  Throughout the day I tried to stay bundled and warm with cups of tea.  I was looking forward to a nice, hot, home-cooked meal for dinner.  After skimming through a couple of online sites with various recipes, I found one to my liking, another food blog called "The Shiksa in the Kitchen", cute name, good recipes and yummy looking food pictures.  One recipe in particular caught my eye, Chicken Chickpea Stew - a different kind of chicken dish that I wanted to try...and that's exactly what I did!  I saved the recipe and began to cook later in the day.  Starting the dish by browning 4 chicken thighs in a large black pot, I cooked each side for 5 minutes and then removed the pieces to add in the other ingredients.  I diced one onion and scooped the white chunks into the pot where I began to stir them around, once the onions started to caramelize I added chops of vibrant orange carrots to the mix and continued to stir.  Then I added the remainder of ingredients - two large halves of sliced red roasted peppers, a can of Chickpeas, a half cup of crushed red tomatoes and the spices - Paprika, Salt, Pepper, Cumin and a dash of Cayenne pepper.  I placed the pieces of chicken back in the stew and let it cook for about 45 minutes with occasional stirring.  The stew came to a boil as bubbles arose from the heat all around the bowl, I continued to stir as the bubbles continued to reappear, it turned into a game of how many bubbles I could pop.  To end the preparation, I removed the skin from the chicken and finely shredded the pieces, adding them back to the bowl, dousing them in the saucy mixture.  As the stew cooked, the glorious smell wafted throughout my house - the strong spices left my nose sniffing, and my mouth watering.  The 45 minutes, plus an extra 15 at the end felt like eternity.  I was so eager to taste it.  Finally, the time had come.  The first bite was unreal, literally unreal.  I wish you (my readers) were able to taste it.  The crunchiness of the chickpeas,  and the way they dissolved in my mouth bite by bite, the creamy-soupiness of the tomatoes spread heat all throughout my body, the spices were tasted, but not too strong - just right...and the chicken was seasoned to perfection, dipped in all the ingredients, the flavors had really settled in.  This dish was fresh, bursting with flavors, warm and comforting, a perfect pick-me-up on a cold winter day.  

Personal Pizza Pizzaz

I wanted to make a new Saturday night special, homemade pizza for dinner.  But first, I decided to order some starter salads from Dakota Pizza company...I mean, what were they thinking stealing my name?   Lol but for real...it's a real place, a real pizza company, and I once got a free shirt because we share the same name.  Anyways, back to my blog.  I pulled out a small circular round of whole wheat pita from the fridge and placed it on a sheet of aluminum foil, then i doused the pita in mushroom flavored tomato sauce, spreading the sauce out so it covered the entire base of the pita.  Then I added a couple handfuls of shredded white Mozzarella cheese, so only a couple specks of red sauce were visible.  To add some "pizzaz" to the "pizza" I sliced two green onions into small, miniature circles and one medium sized red pepper into thin strips.  I added the vegetables to the pizza and placed it in the oven for 5 minutes.  After a quick 5 minutes, I let the pizza sit in the oven so the rest of the cheese would melt.  As I took the pizza round out of the oven, I was shocked by the heat from the aluminum foil, probably should've used an oven mitt...but hey, YOLO, right?  To enhance the taste, I sprinkled some garlic powder and crushed red pepper flakes on top.  My mouth was salivating and I could hardly wait to try my creation.  I tried to cut it in half but then the toppings started to get messed up, so I decided to eat it whole.  As I took my first bite, my teeth sunk into the soft pita, as the combination of flavors entered my mouth - the sweetness of the tomato sauce, with the hint of the mushroom, the salty creaminess of the cheese, the pungent spice of the scallions and the crunch of the red peppers.  The bold flavor of the garlic mixed with the fiery flavor of the crushed red pepper added just the right kick to my pizza.  This really made my Saturday night, special.

Gimme S'more of That

Last night I decided I needed to spice up my life a little bit, in the sense of food, and what I was going to eat for my meals - dinner and dessert.  For dinner I decided on brown rice, stir-fried shrimp and roasted butternut squash and onions: tasty and easy.  However, I always have more trouble deciding what to have for dessert, because I am not a huge fan of sweets.  I opened our snack cabinet to find a box of mini graham cracker squares, mini jet-puffed marshmallows and mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, and Voila!  I was going to make mini s'mores for dessert!  But first, I had a prior commitment - a yoga class with my dad.  After an hour of relaxation, the only thing on my mind was the s'mores.  As we pulled into the driveway, I jumped out of the car and rushed into the house and took out a packet of chopsticks.  Why, chopsticks? you may ask...well it was a replacement skewer because these s'mores were taking place over an electric stove, rather than a smoky BBQ grill.  I stuffed two mini marshmallows on the chopstick and let the white puffs toast over the low heat from the stove, as they caught on fire and turned a golden brownish-black.  After about 3 minutes, the marshmallows were ready to be combined with the other ingredients.  I placed one mini brown speckled cracker on the plate, slid my marshmallows off the "skewer" as they laid on top of the cracker and then sprinkled about 3-4 mini chocolate chips on top.  To finish it off, I placed one more mini cracker on top, making it the perfect s'more sandwich.  The first bite was crunchy but gooey, the crunch from the crispness of the cracker mixed with the gooeyness of the marshmallows, as the chocolate chips melted in my mouth.  I went back to roast some more marshmallows, once I start, I can't be stopped - I'm a sucker for roasted marshmallows.  For not being a big dessert fan, it was the perfect amount of sweetness with a quick crunch, leaving me happy and satisfied.