Baked Freekeh Meatballs & Freekehlicious Grains & Cookbook GIVEAWAY

2014 began with a fun and healthy project. This has been in the works a couple of months now. I helped develop this Freekeh Meatballs recipe (shown above) for my client, Freekehlicious, and photographed it. I was super delighted to see Freekehlicious debut on Dr. Oz this past Monday serving these high in protein and fiber and low in glycemic index Freekeh Meatballs. You can catch the Monday "Toxic Acid Takedown: Fighting inflammation" episode featuring freekeh as one of the foods for detoxing for the new year on Dr. Oz's site. Find the baked and super delicious Freekeh Meatballs recipe and my photograph on Freekehlicioius' site here. The recipe also appears on Dr. Oz's site here. Many congrats to the ladies at Freekehlicious for making this super grain a 2014 detox and healthy living must.

DC Eats & Food: My Lunches With Jeanne: Mini Food Crawl: Boqueria, Astro, GBD, Etc.

Jeanne and I arrived in DC around 11am. Way too early for my taste to have lunch but the idea of fried chicken and doughnuts really appealed to Jeanne. Did I mention she is a skinny momma?! As I mentioned before, Jeanne loves everything pork too. I wonder why I chose her as my food wandering companion?! Go figure. She might have altogether chosen me for all I know, and here I thought I held the reins. Speaking of which, she is the one steering the wheel. Navigating DC like a pro, even after a decade long absence, living in San Diego.

Bagels - The Beginning: A Perfect Crust, Chiffon Crumb

Bagel making seemed daunting to me at first, but it is simpler than I imagined. I dedicated half my Saturday to the project and got into the groove. A two step process of boiling and then baking is very similar to pretzel making. From time to time, I burst into self satisfied high pitched giggles or witchy shrieks as they must have sounded like to my guys here. The touch and feel of the dough in its different stages was sensational. I was happy doing my own thing. Hypnotized. Entranced.

2013 - The Year of Top Three Favorites

2013 was the year of top three favorites.

2013 top three favorite food cities:
1. NYC, revisited
2. Seattle, Washington (1st visit)
3. Portland, Maine (1st visit)

Cheese Blintzes & Ivan Ramen & Russ & Daughters Books GIVEAWAY!

As you read in my NYC series, some of the highlights of my trip to NYC over Thanksgiving weekend were discovering Ivan Ramen and Russ and Daughters. One a new establishment launched first in Japan vs. the other that is a part of the history of the Lower East Side, Manhattan. The books however both telling us about their journey which I find fascinating. Great reads with some recipes.

Jewish Lower East Side, Manhattan: Russ & Daughters

Walking into Russ and Daughters felt like homecoming. It transported me back to my cultural and culinary roots. Oh wait, wrong ancestry.

French Bread

French bread as a holiday classic?! Yep, always. I am a big fan of late-mornings holiday-weekend Shakshuka (poached eggs in tomato sauce) brunches. Without fail, we always have it with French bread or baguette, otherwise it's just not the same.  On Holidays and New Year's Eve cocktail parties, toasted bruschetta or crostini with various toppings, I always make with day old French bread or a baguette. Besides, since this French loaf is best the day of, if by any chance you've got leftovers, you can make bruschetta or crostini as appetizers before dinner the following evening.

Vegan Butternut Dill Soup

Imagine four full days of gluttony in New York City. It was well worth every calorie, as each and every one of them settled comfortably, without much discrimination, in every cell of my body. On the other hand, as we were heading back home, I was dreading the empty calories at the rest stops on the road. So…

Panettone & The New Artisan Bread in Five Cookbook Worldwide GIVEAWAY

When I received my review copy of The new Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, I didn't know which recipe to tackle first. Initially I wished to feature the olive bread to illustrate our day to day life. We always have bagels with cream cheese, multi grain and multi seed bread toasted with jam in the morning, pita with hummus as a snack and olive bread with feta and sliced tomatoes on top with a dash of salt as a lazy lunch.

The Ramen That Won Us Over

Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop in Gotham West won both me and Jonathan over. The Barista at Blue Bottle Coffee Co. got such a kick out of me when I was trying to tell him about our magical ramen discovery when I was ordering coffee the next morning.

Brunch at Sylvester's in Western MA

Holidays make me think of brunch and brunch thoughts made me think of Sylvester's in Western Mass. This Oreo Latte above, Jonathan's niece ordered and so well modeled, looks sensational. I am not a big fan of commercially made cookies and sweets, but I have a weak spot for Oreos. I never eat them myself, but with S's allergies, growing up, it was one of the only commercially made cookies he could have and he absolutely loved them. I think he still does.