Sweet Asian Salad

Yummy recipe from Vegan Richa. See blog post here.

Heather’s Bitter & Sweet Asian Salad. Vegan Glutenfree Recipe

This salad is amazingly easy to throw together and keeps well for a couple of days in the fridge, serves well hot, cold or at room temp – making it the ideal candidate for a potluck or cocktail party.

The quinoa can easily be swapped for rice, the edamame for green peas and the purple cabbage for green cabbage. Although the purple cabbage makes this dish quite pretty.

Gluten free, vegan & nut free – this is a dish that certainly pleases a crowd. Even the pickiest of eaters at book club went back for seconds.

Bitter & Sweet Asian Salad

serves 6-8

you will need:

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/2 cup shelled edamame

1/2 cup diced red pepper

1 medium carrot – peeled into ribbons

1 cup pineapple- cut into bite size pieces

1 1/2 cup(s) shredded purple cabbage

for the dressing

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup tamari

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tbsp organic rice vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp ground fresh chili paste

1 tsp of each – black & white sesame seeds

Assembly: 

In a large bowl add quinoa through cabbage – gently tossing to mix well.

In a small bowl, add all ingredients for the dressing and whisk until emulsified.

Add the dressing to the large bowl and gently mix with a rubber spatula until dressing is evenly distributed – garnish with additional sesame seeds if desired.

Serve at room temp, cold or warm – keeps in the fridge for at least 3 days.

 

Enjoy!

Labor Pain Simulation

I will never have children.

Green Man Festival

Friday, May 10th, we welcomed spring with dancing, debauchery, and revelry at the McKittrick Hotel. This was the Green Man Festival. We dressed in white and spun our merry way around the Mayflower pole and enchanted forests while sucking down libations and getting caught in the pouring rain on a New York City rooftop.

There is nothing quite like a Friday night in Manhattan, surrounded by good friends, interesting people, and a Midsummer Night’s Dream environment. We stepped into a fairy tale that night that I’ve yet to truly wake up from.

Homemade Gnocchi

The following text and photos are courtesy of Etsy and the article can be seen in full here.

Eatsy: How to Make Homemade Gnocchi

Photo by Adrianna Adarme

Story by Adrianna Adarme

Published on May 14, 2013 in Eatsy

As a person who adores comforting and cozy food, gnocchi is high on my list. It makes for a delicious meal that’s hearty, filling and super inexpensive.

Gnocchi is far from difficult to make, but it is very touch and feel. Knead it too little and it won’t hold together; knead it too much, and you’ll end up with very gummy gnocchi. If you’ve never conquered gnocchi-making, seeing a step-by-step how-to might bring you and a delicious bowl of pillowy gnocchi a little closer.

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 pounds (about 2-3) Russet potatoes
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more if needed

Gnocchi begins by roasting starchy potatoes. In this instance, I used good ol’ Russet potatoes. They take about an hour to cook all the way through; a little slice in the top releases some of their steam so you can handle them.

I used to make mashed potatoes by mashing them with one of those hand mashers, but ever since I started using a potato ricer, I’ll never, ever go back. A potato ricer is a dreamy kitchen tool.

All of the potato gets scooped out and put through the ricer. It’ll come out in pretty little strings that are so very fluffy.

Half of the flour is added to your kitchen counter or cutting board and the riced potato is poured out.

The next step is kneading the potato and flour together. This is when it’s very much by touch. If it’s not kneaded enough, the dough won’t stick together; if it’s kneaded too much, the potato will turn into a gummy mess. I go little by little until everything starts to come together.

After it’s kneaded a few times, the rest of the flour is added.

A bit more kneading…

And then the test! A small piece of gnocchi is rolled out, cut and dropped into a pot of simmering hot water.

If the gnocchi falls apart, it wasn’t kneaded enough, which is totally fine because you have the rest of the dough to correct. You know the gnocchi is perfectly kneaded when it rises to the top of the pot after a minute or so and comes out only slightly ragged around the edges. A little bit of raggedness is fine.

Then the rolling and cutting of the rest of the dough happens.

Roll…

…repeat…

And cut.

After the gnocchi is cut, you could make it right away, or you could freeze it for later. If you’d like to freeze it, transfer it to a floured, parchment-lined baking sheet and place it in the oven for 20 minutes, until the gnocchi is firm. Transfer the gnocchi to a freezer-safe plastic bag and boil when you’re ready!

Gnocchi
Serves 6

2 pounds (about 2-3) Russet potatoes
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more if needed

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until they’re tender when poked with a fork. This should take about one hour. When the potatoes are done, immediately slice them open to let the steam out.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add a few pinches of salt. Scoop out the potato flesh and transfer it to a potato ricer or food mill. Push the potato ricer down and repeat until you’ve passed all of the potato through the ricer. Sprinkle the potatoes with the salt and adjust according to your liking.

3. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of flour onto your clean counter or cutting board. Knead the potatoes with it, sprinkling in the remaining 1/4 cup flour, until the dough just comes together. If it’s still pretty shaggy, add more flour one tablespoon at a time.

4. Now for the test! Pinch off a piece of dough and roll out into a tube. Cut it into a few pieces and boil it to make sure it holds its shape. If it falls apart in the water, this means you’ll knead the dough a bit more. When right, the gnocchi will float to the top and look a little ragged but hold together when ready.|

5. Roll the rest of the dough into ropes that are about 1/2-inch thick, then cut the ropes into 1/2-inch lengths. Transfer the gnocchi to a parchment-lined baking sheet, being sure the gnocchi don’t touch each other.

6. Add the gnocchi to a boiling water a few at a time. Adjust the heat so the mixture doesn’t boil too vigorously–it should be more like an aggressive simmer. When the gnocchi rise to the surface of the water, they’re done. Remove them with a slotted spoon or mesh strainer and transfer them to your sauce or to a paper towel.

All photos by Adrianna Adarme. 

Read more food posts

Adrianna Adarme is a recipe blogger and content producer living in Los Angeles. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, easy, everyday recipes from her kitchen.

Five Boro Bike Tour 2013

After over two years of thinking about it, attempting to plan it, falling short, and wishing I did it, the Five Boro Bike Tour finally came to pass.

Attending the Bike Expo on Saturday (for the primary purpose of hoarding free samples and free food) my friend Nick and I made a few friends and learned about some excellent cycling opportunities. Being from Vermont, Nick immediately bonded with the Cabot cheese representatives. On top of giving away free cheese samples, Cabot also gave away cups of delicious strawberry banana smoothie blended up in an enormous vat to break the Guinness Book of World Records for largest smoothie. They did it! and all proceeds went to charity.

Nick hopped on their blending bike and made himself a tasty chocolate and banana smoothie!

We walked away with racing gear and our bags full of free goodies and coupons.

Sunday, bright and early, I met up with my racing buddy Jeff, for a breakfast of bagels as we prepared ourselves for the 40 mile trek through Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.

Beginning in Battery Park we worked our way towards the Bronx cutting through Central Park and dodging pedestrians attempting to cross the street or jog along the paths. All of whom were in their own ipod induced worlds completely oblivious to 32,000 bikers flying by them. There were a few narrowly avoided close calls.

The bridges were the most grueling (mainly the Verrazano and the climb leading up to it). Long, steady inclines surrounded by masses of people crawling along, some walking their bikes. This left little room for maneuvering and no room for kicking it up a notch to end the pain sooner.

Excluding those two tough inclines, the 40 miles flew by! Between spectacular scenery at all of the five bridges, random bits of entertainment along the way from local establishments and New Yorkers, as well and good company, a great crowd, and free bananas, the tour was spectacular  It ended with a festival in Staten Island with live music, food trucks galore, and plenty of sunny spots to catch some sun.

Cucumber Salsa

Saw this delicious recipe on Facebook courtesy of 45 Minute Skinny.

Crisp Cucumber Salsa:
Note: 1/4 cup is only 16 calories

2 cups finely chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4-1/2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/4 c reduced-fat sour cream
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
Tortilla chips

In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin and seasoned salt. Pour over cucumber mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately with chips.