Terri

You know those days that are just so crazy that nothing seems to go right?

I woke up late.

My train got delayed.

I left my lunch on the kitchen counter.

…with my debit card.

What a great freakin day.

But then I stop, take a moment to breathe and realize that my obsession with deal sites was finally going to pay off. I perused my deals. I had quite a few. But a lot of them were for dinner. And I needed lunch.

Cue Yelp Deal Alert.

I spied a new yelp deal and remembered the dusty one in my account since OCTOBER. (yeah, those deals are good for one whole year!) And thought it was perfect for lunch.

Terri. Located in Chelsea/Flatiron district, this vegetarian Organic hole in the wall makes a big fuss on review sites. Everything on the menu is vegetarian and delicious. I, a carnivore, am very enthusiastic about this place- my experience was amazing.

I set out on my journey from Chinatown and after 20 minutes was at Terri. I felt like i had to hurry and make a decision so i ordered the first thing I saw, the Thai Chicken Wrap. Handed over the Yelp deal and paid a whopping $2 extra… thanks to the chump change in my wallet! score.

The wrap is huge. It was $7.61 and came out rather quickly. i also ordered a side dish.

Roasted Sweet potatoes.

I grabbed my heavy lunch and headed back to the office. I sunk my teeth into the best veggie wrap i have had to date. The thing that blew my mind was the “chicken” covered in their light thai peanut sauce. It was not the nasty fake meat that I was expecting… I was quite pleased! The wrap was packed with peppers and onions and lettuce… quite delish.

Despite the hike to get there, i can definitely see myself trekking uptown for lunch. It was the perfect solution to the day from hell.

The sweet potatoes did not travel well. They were soggy when i got back to work… but they were okay. I wouldnt order them again. I hear the potato salad is great- might have to go back to try that!

On my list of “must try” for the next trip: Hummus and Avocado wrap with smoked tofu, lettuce and tomato. or the buffalo “chicken” vegan mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, and celery.

Oh la la!

Scalloped Turnips

One of the great things about having a roommate that can cook is the abundance of food in the apartment. Especially if the roommate is awesome and considerate and just like you in so many ways.

My roommate is a culinary student.

I eat her homework sometimes.

When she first started she was learning how to cut vegetables into weird shapes. I watched her mutilate a potato once. It was fascinating. Then we fried up the pieces of potato and made something tasty.

We like re-purposing things so nothing goes to waste.

She had some veggies that she no longer needed to practice on and told me to have my way with them.

Two artichokes. 2 bags of carrots. and 2 turnips.

The turnips were in need of some loving ASAP. So I tried to think of something different.

pureed turnips. Definitely not… that sounds a lot like mashed potatoes and I have had enough of those to last me till Thanksgiving.

Turnip fries. Meh. Not feeling it.

Scalloped Turnips… hmm. There’s an idea. And what do ya know, i have ALL the ingredients on hand (plus some milk thats about to go bad)

Win[ning]!

While searching for a recipe guideline, i came across a site from the UK that had quite a bit of recipes for just turnips. So i gave it a whirl.

The fun part was converting all the measurements!

Ingredients (Mr. Neeps recipe with my alterations):

3 medium turnips, peeled and thinly sliced (I uses TWO turnips)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine (Butter baby. always butter)
2 tablespoons plain flour
3/4 pint milk (or 1.5 cups of non fat milk)
1 teaspoon salt (1.5 tsp..im hispanic- i like things a lil salty)
freshly ground pepper
4 to 5 ounces grated mild Cheddar cheese (1/2 extra sharp cheddar- its what i had lying around)

After slicing the turnips nice and thin, I boiled them in salted water for about 8 minutes. I wanted them fork-tender. After I drained them, i placed them in a lightly greased 2.5 quart casserole dish. As the turnips sat, i prepared a bechamel sauce to pour over the turnips. Preheat oven to 400*.

In a heavy sauce pot, heat the butter over a medium heat. Once the butter melts, slowly add in your flour and whisk. Its going to form a paste. Let the paste cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking constantly to prevent the roux from burning (this also cooks away that FLOUR taste and makes it nutty…sorta). With your whisk in hand, slowly pour in your milk. Lower your flame so as not to scald the milk. Whisk in a figure 8 motion. Season with salt and pepper.

Allow the bechamel sauce to simmer slightly over low heat for about 5-8 minutes and then add your cheese. Stir the cheese in using figure 8 motions.

Once the sauce is nice and thick (think alfredo sauce), pour the sauce over the turnips.

Tap the casserole dish to make sure the sauce fills every nook and cranny!

  Cover. And Bake for 20-25 minutes. uncover and bake for 5 additional minutes.

When its done, allow it to cool slightly to let the turnips and sausage congeal a lil bit. Take a honkin spoonful and serve yourself.

It makes 6 servings… of 4 really big portions for me and my roommate.

what have you done with turnips lately?

Lentil Chili

So, I’ve been interviewing potential roommates. In the last 3 years, i have had 3 different roommates; each of them have moved out to be with their significant other. I seem to be a lucky charm. But as it stands, cheese eater is moving out and I could not be more thrilled I am currently screening potentials.

I might have a winner by the way- which is a huge sigh of relief. I posted an ad on Craiglist, and a few of my friends wanted to be with me at the apartment. You know, just in case I got a crazy on my hands or something. Out of 4 possible roommates, two came to see the apartment and one I actually like so… i gave her my offer and now we wait.

But because my friends were so awesome, they came over with wine to make good of our time together and I decided to cook for them. Lately, i have been making a lot of veggie dishes. Not consciously, but because I have been saving like a maniac and cutting my grocery bill has been easy being semi vegetarian. When i dine out- i indulge by getting meat (still dreaming of the luscious skirt steak i ate on sunday at a Spanish restaurant!)

My friends were willing to try my veggie creation since they know I wouldnt eat anything gross. LOL. So, using my favorite chili recipe, i tweaked it a bit and made a lentil chili.

LENTIL CHILI (serves 6)

2 cups lentils, rinsed and parboiled

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 Tbsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp pepper

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 Tbsp chili powder

2 cups chicken broth.

I started by parboiling my lentils. In my past experiences, dry beans need a little longer to cook so i boiled these for 10 minutes, or until they were almost cooked. While they were boiling, i placed all my spices in a bowl to make it easy to just add to the chili.

I strained the lentils and got them ready for the pot.

In my dutch oven, I sautéed the chopped onions in some olive oil for about 5 minutes over medium heat, or until the onions became translucent. I added the lentils and the rest of the ingredients. Sitrred. Added a pinch of salt. Covered and let simmer for 30 minutes.

In the end, it was fantastic. The lentils cooked down and were nice and al dente. The spices were just right and my friends, the skeptics, were really impressed by how much they didnt miss the meat. now, will they crave this? Probably not. But if they needed a meat free option – this would definitely be it. I cant blame them though… nothing like a beefy bowl of spicy chili!

It Smells Like Spring

There are always certain days when the air just smells like the season is changing…does that make sense? Today I got a whiff of fresh cut grass and then when the sun was shinning it just felt like Spring was getting comfortable!
And as I look out my window, I feel spring. So I hope it stays night.
I’m continuing today where i left off yesterday: LUNCH.

I brought in a Vegan burger. I was tired of the other kind I was eating – it was a Masala Burger and while it was delicious day 1, 2, and 3…I was ready for something else. This was a “grillers” kind of burger. So i grilled it on my stovetop grill pan.

I smeared some Garlic Laughing Cow on an Arnolds Sandwich thin with lots of lettuce (for Crunch) and my Vegan Burger in between. It was a pleasant change. One thing I hate about those Vegan Burgers though is the way they repeat on you… Ever burp after eating one of these? You don’t want to!
For dinner last night I was desperate to cook something because there has been a lot of take out and leftovers going on…and I needed to chop or grill something.

Found some tofu to grill up. Good thing too because in about two weeks, it would have had to go bye bye. As I was grilling away my roommate came home and commented that whatever i was cooking smelled good… and then he walked into the kitchen and gagged. He has never tried tofu but claims to hate it. So now that I got him to say tofu smells good, next thing im gonna do is make him eat it.

I thought I would try this with some Country Bobs sauce. While I love the two separately, I didnt love them together. I think i was craving a terriyaki kind of flavor… but I ate this and was satisfied. I was too busy playing with new toys in the kitchen and experimenting…

with my new loose tea leaf pot! Isnt it a cutie? I got it in Chinatown last night for home brewing so i can save my tea bags for outdoor adventures!

I was feeling very intimidated with all my tea and all the possibilities of tea mixing but my new friend Christine sent me a wonderfully detailed email about all the possibilities that I have before me! So I made an iced tea to go with my lunch and an oolong for breakfast.
I noticed while brewing last night that the leaves are dried and look so small but when they steep they expand beautifully! I was most surprised by how much the oolong had expanded. it nearly doubled in its size.

thats my Oolong for breakfast. I loved the aroma of this one so I brewed it just as it is. And it was a perfect cup of tea!

Then I started to get creative. While researching possible mixes I found a TWILIGHT mix. Its Blood Orange Tea mixed with Valentines tea ( kind of deep red and smells somewhat floral and fruity). The dried stuff smelled really good together so I heated up some water and put my new tea pot to work.

7 minutes later I removed the basket and had a gorgeous slightly pink tea. I know for iced tea you brew at double strength but I let it cool and then i put it in the fridge. Once it was cold I added a touch of sugar and took a sip. Its perfect! Its fruity but not too sweet. Very Refreshing and probably my newest favorite blend because I love twilight and I love this combo.

See how the tea expands???

And this is the color it was after i took out the leaves.

This morning for Breakfast i will be enjoying the usual for the week:

Greek Yogurt, 3 oz of Maple Granola, and a little bit of honey. I love my little jar of honey! I took it from room service when I was in texas.

Its reusable too!

Snack-a-lacking on some Sea Salt Krinkle Sticks. I actually ate them already… oops!

And for Lunchies I got a HUGE Tofu Caesar salad with Fat free garlic croutons and light dressing. I am staring at it right now… mmm. tofu…

And before my ride home tonight I will be enjoying my savory cottage cheese that my grocery store recently ordered! the last time I tried this cottage cheese was at the Rachel event a month or so ago where I chatted with Christo from Chez what.

Tonight is Chinese take out night.

I know…soooo exciting (NOT!)