Yams & Jams…  I couldn’t help myself.  Even though what I was eating was totally not a yam, it just happened to be close enough and rhyme with jam.  I rolled with it.  If you’re curious about the difference between sweet potatoes and yams, this link explains it pretty well.  And if you’re curious about how I ate my sweet potato – I sprinkled with a little salt, dolloped with a ton of plain Chobani Greek yogurt, and smashed it.  I made a meal of it.

As far as jams go – one of my favorite bands, The National, is releasing a new album next week.  And rather than listen to the streaming of their new album, I decided to play through my old favorites and share them with you.

Mr. November

Gospel

All Dolled-Up In Straps

It Never Happened

The inspiration behind my restaurant to-do post, Lenoir, has been on my mind every time I craved restaurant for quite some time.  There were problems though.  It’s a pretty small, reservation-only space that has a fairly pricey pre fixe menu.  That rules out friends that are picky, on a budget, and are opposed to planning ahead.  I guarantee that most of anyone’s friends fit in one, if not all three, of those categories.

Luckily I have three very lovely friends that were ready to give it a go.  We coordinated our schedules and made reservations a couple weeks in advance.  We tried so very hard to vary our selections, but were all drawn to similar dishes in each category.

My selections from each of the categories:

Field - aleppo spaghetti / smoked ricotta salata / broccoli rabe / crisp garlic

Sea - drum crudo / avocado / loquat vinaigrette / honeysuckle gelee

Dream - bleu d’auvergne / walnut & pistachio ‘baklava’ / roasted sweet potato / smoked honey

I was so thankful when the house-made spaghetti was set in front of me.  My appetite, besides a brief desire to cleanse, has been insatiable as of late.  But this blip of flavorful and delicate noodle was instantly satisfying and prepped my very hungry belly to appreciate the dishes to come.

The crudo was delicious, as expected.  All of the accompaniments added texture and flavor without compromising the freshness and lightness of the fish.  If I hadn’t just eaten noodles, I could have eaten this for miles.

The dessert, in the most butchering of simple descriptions, was essentially baklava with blue cheese, sweet potatoes, and honey.  I liked this dish because I dig salty/crunchy/sweet.  I didn’t like this dish because it didn’t feel like dessert (it would have been just as fitting had it been categorized as an appetizer).  But I also did like this dish because it didn’t feel like dessert.  Desserts, in my mind, are partly desserts because of the sickeningly sweet taste that leaves you feeling ehhh afterward.  The lack of ehhh smooshed any dessert envy before it formed.  Overall, I was pleased with my selection.

Lenoir is such an adorably tasty spot and I look forward returning for another lovely evening!

]]> http://www.foodfash.com/2013/05/15/dinner-at-lenoir/feed/ 1 http://www.foodfash.com/2013/05/14/breakfast-quinoa/ http://www.foodfash.com/2013/05/14/breakfast-quinoa/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 12:00:11 +0000 Kristin http://www.foodfash.com/?p=8689

Knowing full well that my schedule doesn’t allow for any kind of cleansing these days, I started searching for cleanses I could cherry pick from and stick to when I can.  I have lots and lots of birthday gorging to recover from.  The last meal of my twenties was half of a bag of hot fries for goodness sake.  Admitting that, I could probably use at least one cleansing meal a day for the next two months!

I stumbled upon Dr. Oz’s two-day wonder cleanse that involves eating regular meals at regular times.  I can stick to the breakfast quinoa and snack juice this week.  And I can also go for the lunch smoothie and dinner soup when plans don’t interfere.  At 30, I’m learning that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

I prepped two servings of the breakfast quinoa for work breakfasts.  And from what I tasted, I’m not that excited about it.  At all.  I added some vanilla and cinnamon, knowing that my breakfast could be so much better.  And I’ll eat it, because it’s good for me.  But next time, since I like the idea of a breakfast quinoa, I’ll make it yummy.

And the winner of the Just Good Giveaway is…  Nicole!

Congratulations Nicole, I just know you’ll love these brownies!  Thanks a million to everyone that entered!

Prior to heading to LA, a new restaurant in Austin dropped off a bunch of packaged lunches at my office with hopes that we’d become addicted and turn to them for our catering needs.  The name of the restaurant slipped my mind, but the broccoli salad they dropped off did not.  From what I remembered, the salad consisted of broccoli, carrots, dried cranberries, and a nut.  I trucked on over to Trader Joe’s this afternoon to get the ingredients and give this salad a shot.

FoodFash Broccoli Salad

2 cups chopped broccoli

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

5 to 6 ounces of vanilla Greek yogurt

In a medium sized bowl, add all of the ingredients except for the yogurt.  Stir the veggies until they are evenly mixed, add the yogurt, and then mix again.

Although my version wasn’t nearly as “restaurant tasting” as the restaurant version, I have a feeling that mine is wayyyy less caloric than what I sampled last week.  I loved all of the tastes, textures, and crunch.  And I could totally see myself keeping this salad on hand as a snack in between meals when I need some energy and something to munch on.

Ariel and I headed west yesterday, from Hollywood to Santa Monica, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with our other Floridian friends, Bret and Baily.  We braved the ultra chilly weather and sat on the patio at Oscars on Rose.  Oscars on Rose that Bret’s iPhone changed to Oscars on Rosé.  And Oscars on Rose that I somehow started referring to as Carlos’ on Rosé.  Lots of giggling yesterday.

LA has become a home of sorts.  And hanging with Ariel, Bret, and Baily (who have known one another for years now) felt much like home.  Our cinco celebration made it very apparent that it doesn’t get much better than sitting across the table from three people you love so dearly from three very different phases in your life.

Yesterday was a wonderful way to kick off my 30th birthday week and I’m so thankful that the people in this post will be the celebration company I’ll keep!

I am a brave, little chickadee for whipping out the mandolin slicer before my major mandolin injury is all healed up.  I thought not that long, but hard, about it.  And then, mandolin guard in hand, I got to slicing.  Lesson.  Learned.

I decided to celebrate the warmth of today with one of my favorites, an acorn squash filled with XYZ salad.  Today’s XYZ salad was ultra summery, with lots of fresh fruits and veggies.  I even added some mint with hopes that the universe would acknowledge my dedication to a summery salad and keep it warm in Austin until it’s supposed to be cool again.

FoodFash Mint & Apple Chicken Salad

1-1/2 lbs cooked chicken breast

1 apple, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)

salt and white pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and then serve in an acorn squash, over a bed of lettuce, or between two slices of bread!

Fresh herbs are really where it’s at, always.  And even though I rarely use mint, I am glad mint was on my mind while I was shopping for chicken salad ingredients.  Between the lightness of the greek yogurt, crispness of the apples and celery, and freshness of the mint – this salad is as airy as a protein packed meal could be.

I am not at all certain how my thirtieth birthday could possibly be next week.  I mean, nothing about me feels thirty.  Nothing at all, not one bit.  But here it is, thirty, peeking at me from around the corner.  And regardless of how I feel or don’t feel, thirty is just gonna happen.  So what am I going to do about it?

Well, I’m going to run away to LA for nine days at the end of the week (see, I’m not much of a thirty year old).

But first, I’m going to host a giveaway for lots and lots of Just Good Chocolate goodies.  Fifty dollars worth of top notch cocoa powder, brownie mix, hot cocoa, and chocolate nib/fruit/nut snack mixes could be yours.  And the winner, the winner will be announced on my thirtieth birthday.

And just to give you an idea of how good Just Good brownies are…  I made an entire batch this afternoon.  I ate two.  I left one out for Hansell, only because he’s moving to Austin today.  And I froze the rest so that I can have a Just Good brownie whenever I darn well please.  There’s minimal sharing going on here, folks, because Just Good brownies are just that good.

To enter, simply leave a comment below letting me know your favorite chocolate dessert between now and 8PM CST on Wednesday, May 8th.  I’ll announce and contact the winner first thing on my birthday, May 9th!

]]> http://www.foodfash.com/2013/04/30/a-just-good-30th-birthday-giveaway/feed/ 43 http://www.foodfash.com/2013/04/29/cure-for-the-common-monday-44/ http://www.foodfash.com/2013/04/29/cure-for-the-common-monday-44/#comments Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:00:29 +0000 Kristin http://www.foodfash.com/?p=8622

Lenoir

Jeffrey’s

Clark’s Oyster Bar

Congress

Barley Swine