curry, baby.

finally, a night off. a chance to cook something. an opportunity to seek out fresh ingredients to make something delicious and nutritious. i went to the health food store for inspiration. the aisles of glossy fruits and fresh-smelling leafy greens welcomed me like old friends that i hadn't seen in far too long.  vegetables? of course. but there had to be a protein. i walked back to the protein aisle to consider my options. tofu? too banal. seitan? too quotidian. tempeh? hmm...maybe. coconut curry marinated tempeh strips? now we're talking! made by the geniuses behind the tofurkey brand products, this tempeh had just the right amount of flavor i was looking for. i decided to make a delicious green curry with lots of veggies and tempeh. the great thing about a curry, like a stir-fry, is that you can put whatever you want in it, which is perfect for cleaning out the fridge. i already had some peppers, mushroom, leeks, and shelled edamame at home, so all that was going in the pot. i grabbed some green curry and coconut milk and was on my way. when i got home and unpacked my bags, i realized i hadn't actually bought coconut milk, but instead had purchased something called cream of coconut. not really understanding the difference, i cracked it open to find a waxy layer of what looked like congealed cream. i tasted a bit. OMG. i was on the beach in the bahamas with a pina colada. beneath the hardened layer there was there a viscous, liquidy inside that tasted even more delicious than the cream. it was syrupy and sweet and i am pretty sure it is what the gods eat in their cereal. if i had had a blender and a handle of rum, dinner would have never happened. luckily for my hungry boyfriend, i had neither of those things at my disposal and he graciously went back out and got me the coconut milk. so the curry was made it was really good. it didn't look pretty, but it was tasty and chock full of good for you goodness. i steamed some brown rice, and i can say this meal was nutritionally perfect. whole grains, veggies, and lean protein. not bad for a 20-minute dinner.

i had some brussel sprouts in my fridge, so i put them on the broiler, accidentally set off my fire alarm, and then added them to my plate. they were tasty in the curry sauce.

you know i'm not really into recipes/measurements, but it went a little something like this:

TEMPEH CURRY

1 package of coconut curry marinated tempeh strips

1 can of organic  lite coconut milk

1/2 cup diced peppers (any color/combination)

1/2 cup shelled edamame

1 cup of shitake and crimini mushrooms

1/4 cup chopped leeks or onions

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 tbsp chopped ginger

2 tbsp green curry

3 tbsp tamari

1 tsps curry powder

1 tsps cayenne

1 cup of brown rice

empty the coconut milk in a wok or large pan. add the ginger, garlic & leeks.

add the vegetables, curry and tamari. let simmer for a few minutes.

add additional spices. simmer for 10 minutes.

meanwhile, cook the rice. when all is done, combine.

also, add whatever else you want to the curry.  eat for days.

a person of great taste

the story goes, i was only 1 yr old. my parents had brought me to their closest friends house for sunday brunch. it was a classic jewish spread: bagels, tomatoes, onions, various salads, and of course, the obligatory lox platter. 1lb of it to be exact. everything was going great; the coffee was strong, the bagels were fresh, and the lox was...gone. all of it seemingly vanished into thin air. that is, until my parents noticed their baby's pink stained hands and guilty expression. the smell of smoked salmon emanating from my hiccups was probably also a clue. yep, i ate a pound of lox all by myself when i was 1. and i haven't been deterred since.

i love lox. it's both quintessentially jewish and totally new yorky. i look forward to a sunday morning breakfast of a warm crusty bagel with the right amount of cream cheese (not too much or too little), a juicy slice of tomato, and perfectly sliced lox. it has to be soft (not fibrous) but in no way mushy. i may have strayed from my jewish heritage in many ways, but i will never deviate from my love for lox. i spent years turning up my nose at gefilte and chopped liver, but this fish was never my foe.

this week i have been cat sitting on the upper west side, which just happens to be the lox capital of the world. i dragged my beau down amsterdam ave to smoked fish mecca, barney greengrass. i wanted eggs, but i wanted my lox and bagel too, so i got both. the massive menu fortunately includes every combination of breakfast and fish imaginable. i went with scrambled eggs with a generous side of lox and white fish. it came with a toasted bagel and a slab of cream cheese. i asked for a few slices of tomato and i was good to go. the eggs were fluffy, the lox was silky, and the whitefish was so smoky i called it "fish bourbon." even though he was disgusted by that thought, mark had to agree.

as i worked happily on my various breakfast components, i noticed a woman eating by herself at a nearby table. she was older; hair thinning, skin sagging, but i was moved by how content she looked to be eating her meal.  i wasn't aware that she had noticed me, but on her way out she stopped by our table and in a voice tinted with jewish heritage and new york breeding she said, "i hope you don't think i'm strange for saying this, but anyone who eats eggs with lox and white fish is a person of great taste." she smiled approvingly and made her way out. meanwhile, i was beaming. i personally have always considered myself to be a person of great taste, but now i knew for sure. if this woman, this perfect stranger who had probably seen so much in a lifetime was able to recognize my gifts within an instant, i knew she must be right. who cares that 99% of the dishes at barney greengrass include these same three ingredients. affirmation? check!

the fact was, it was a perfect new york moment. eating at a jewish deli on the upper west side, a stranger offering you their unsolicited opinion-- sometimes it doesn't get much better then that. 

so thanks mom and dad for not chastising me when i was only 1 and instead encouraging me to cultivate and pursue my tastes until they were honed and precise. you have produced a daughter with superior predilections and discerning orientations. well, at least according the lady in the diner.

speaking of loving new york and breakfast, i had to share this fantastic photo that was in this week's new york times dining & wine section. nyt shared their picks for the city's best coffee. it's a great list, and if you are a coffee connoisseur, it offers so many alternatives to the ubiquitous chains. i especially like this photo because it embodies how i feel about new york if i were to personify it: completely loyal, passionate about the details, and unapologetically itself.

pasta and possibility

there are times in life when it feels like a change must take place--like you have come to a crossroads and a new path must be taken.  i imagine in a lifetime this happens many times. it is both scary and exciting; utterly terrifying in its newness and deep with possibility. i have been doing a lot of thinking lately (more so than writing) and i now know i have reached one of those moments, those special times, when it is up to me to make the next move. i have spent a lot of years in new york waiting for change to present itself to me. i have often expected miraculous things to happen with very little effort on my part but with all the faith in the world. this may be naive, but it also part of growing up. we live and learn, right? and then we do it again. and again.

i think i want to go back to school. my undergraduate degree in theater has not me led me to the place i had initially hoped, and i am a different person now then when i was 22 and believed new york city was in the palm of my hand. priorities change, dreams change, people change. the important thing is finding what it is that makes you happy. i want my life to be wholly fulfilling. i want every day to be meaningful. i want to be proud of my choices. i want to work with an organization that cares about the same things that i do: local food, sustainable food, healthy choices, environmental responsibility, nutritional education. so my question is, is this a degree in nutrition? public health? i have a lot of research to do. this is exciting stuff!

all this thinking got me hungry yesterday and sometimes there is just nothing as satisfying as a good bowl of pasta and some red wine. my friend, amy, and i made our way to soho for a late afternoon meal at well-reviewed osteria, lupa. one of the many celebrated restaurants in the mario batali enterprise, lupa is often considered the "people's trattoria." out of the many upscale establishments he claims, it's still a splurge but not out of reach. when it comes to comfort food, simple is almost always better, and that couldn't be more true than with rustic italian. fresh bread, good olive oil, full bodied red wine and homemade pasta are ingredients that keep me dreaming of a perfect meal. lupa hit my sweet spot just right. my pasta choice was the traditional roman dish, bavette cacio & pepe, which translates to bavette (linguine-like pasta) with cheese and black pepper. simple as can be yet so delicious. the use of black pepper was extra liberal, but not overwhelming. i believe the cheese was pecorino and although it was somewhat creamy, the pasta tasted light and subtly flavorful. i had no problem eating every last bite. i found the recipe here  at foodnetwork.com. mr. batali leaves the amount of pepper to taste. someone with an aversion to heavy spice may not want such full flavors, but i loved the kick!

so, yeah, food is good. it can warm the heart and clear the mind. it should not be abused and we should try and make good choices as much as possible but sometimes a hearty meal on a winter day is almost too satisfying to put into words. i wish i could dine at places like lupa more often, but i know it's the rarity which which i frequent them that makes the experience that much more special.

* above photo from here