a dancer's asado (buenos aires 2.1)

All the nights of dancing didn't do much for my figure in Buenos Aires... When it came to an asado, I didn't hold back.

This particular night, we enjoyed four different salads, roasted red bell peppers, steak ribs, another cut of meat that I forget the name of, and chicken. (and cheese and eggs and wine.. for everyone else)

salad 1. cherry tomatoes and pesto
salad 2. shredded carrots, hearts of palm, lemon, oil, and salt
salad 3. arugula, oil, and salt
salad 4. lettuce, onions, oil, lemon, and salt

Can't tell you what he did with the meat, but oh my god.. I wish I could.

bs as inspired salad and my aunt's kitchen

Just days after returning from the southern hemisphere.. I was in a nostalgic mood, and concocted this salad with my aunt Allie. One thing I found interesting was, in Argentina, carrots were almost always eaten in the grated form, and usually in a salad. They were always very finely grated there.. and it makes me want to get a special blade for my food processor.

Here's what we threw together:
We had no hearts of palm, but we had artichoke hearts.. and quartered them
Grated carrots
Random salad mix from the fridge, which included celery and little broccoli trees
Sprouts of some kind
And an avocado that was too mushy to cut, so we each got a half to spoon ourselves.
Dressing: Olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and a pinch of salt

My aunt's kitchen is a fun place.. later that night I got to help as she made some salve for her organic and super healing skin care line, madre tierra. It's still in the works - as far as getting products on shelves in different shops - but if you're interested in ordering things from her, just contact her through the website :)

restaurant review - el mirasol, and some more buenos aires photos

I enjoyed this swanky salad at El Mirasol, a restaurant in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires. I've made it at home a couple times now.. it's somthing special. I recommend making it for someone you like.. (as opposed to someone you don't) because the ingredients are all pretty pricey. Boy, I'm on a roll with the alliterations tonight...

Ingredients:
1. Golden delicious apples.. or a different variety, as long as it is crunchy and not too too sweet. Peel apples and dice into little cubes.
2. Avocadoes - not too ripe! Dice into bigger pieces.
3. Hearts of palm :) mmm... sliced, and broken if they are too big around.
4. Carrots, finely shredded.
6. Walnuts. It isn't necessary to soak and dehydrate them.. but they taste SO much better that way. Up to you.
7. Ideas for additions: spinach (just a little)... I can't think of more now.. I'll come back to this list.

The Dressing:
Olive oil with a squeeze of lemon and a SMALL pinch of salt. There may have been a little vinegar used as well, at the restaurant.. but.. I'm not positive.

See the man in white in the corner of the photo? He's wearing really tall stilts.

Caminito

Yep, there's me, getting my dance on.. pretty much everywhere I could.

restaurant review - la posada

So, there is this restaurant, La Posada.. that was 3 blocks from my apartment in Buenos Aires, and I went there a bunch. I think the kitchen was open til around 1am.. so, as long as you got there before midnight, they'd serve you anything on the menu. Quite the shock I had when landing at the St Louis airport at 11pm and only having 1 option for dinner.. on a Friday night! In a city! (besides fast food anyway.. which.. isn't an option.)

Back to the story. They would start by bringing six little ramekins, each with different appetizers. Sometimes liver pâté, or a fruit jam, or a cucumber salad, or steamed carrots with garlic, or potatoes.. and I'd always be able to enjoy at least one of them. Don't you love the wooden plates? I have to say.. I miss them.
The food here was delicious. The salad.. the salmon.. the skirt steak..

After dinner, I'd usually leave my family early, and catch a cab to a milonga for a night full of tango dancing. sigh....
Honestly, it's too late for me to be awake (in the United States, anyway. In Buenos Aires, my night would just be beginning) so I'm going to cut this short, and stop blogging for the night.

Buenas noches.

restaurant review - spring

My view from Deby's.

After a visit with Deby, my personal guide into milonga* land, I went to lunch at a place she recommended. Spring Restaurante is a vegetarian place in Palermo, Buenos Aires. The food was surprisingly good for a buffet, and the price is 30 pesos for all you can eat. (Including dessert.. which I decided to leave for another trip.) So in dollars.. that's about $7.50 with the current exchange rate. :)

As I was bringing my mountain of food back to the table, (avocado, fresh greens, steamed carrots and mushrooms, hearts of palm, lentil salad, and rice noodles) another couple stopped to look at my plate. "Wow, we should eat like that," they said (in spanish). It was a nice compliment... I didn't even realize that my new-ish healthy eating habits had become second nature.


*Milonga is the term for a place or an event where tango is danced.

restaurant review - pura vida

In the beginning of my 1 month in Argentina, it was a little difficult adjusting to the food situation. Luckily, I stayed in a nice apartment with a usable kitchen. The vegetables all tasted different, of course.. and so did the olive oil, the salt.. and even the different water made me miss the taste of home. I got over it, don't worry :) But when I found this little place downtown during my first week there, I was so excited! I think I missed organic-y people.

PuraVida Juice Bar is on Reconquista, at Tucumán. They serve salads, sandwiches, wraps, muffins, juices, smoothies, and wheatgrass. I enjoyed their Todo Verde Salad: organic mixed greens, avocado, parsley, alfalfa sprouts, green onion, celery, and cucumber, with a tahini based dressing. And, the drink I went back for, a few different times, was the anti-resfrío: made with pineapple, apple, ginger, and wheatgrass.

I'm no scientist - but I'm pretty sure wheatgrass is gluten free. Incase you were wondering.

one dish meals with tempeh. one hot one cool..

I haven't been doing much cooking for other people lately.. Just quick-ish meals for myself, meals with one dish. I'm getting ready to go on a 6 week trip to Los Angeles and Buenos Aires.. so I've been working a lot, and not focusing my energy on pretty entrées.

1. Sautéed leek, tempeh, and spinach in olive oil with gluten free tamari sauce. Add leaks to heated oil, then add the tempeh and tamari, then a little water and the spinach leaves (so they will steam a bit).

2. Spinach salad with avocado, tempeh, and red onion. Dressing: olive oil, flax seed oil, lemon juice, honey, and a tiny pinch o'salt.

restaurant review - ecopolitan

My friend from elementary school, Jenn, and I picked a place we had never been before and decided to meet there. This is how the Minneapolis trip was started. I have to say, that Minneapolis is the cat's meow. With an awesome art museum, food co-ops, lakes, nice summer weather, and a live tango band to dance to every week!! If it just didn't get so cold there.. hmm. (I learned that Minneapolis has two seasons: winter and road construction. There's your joke for the day.. but.. it's not really a joke.)

Anyway, one place I visited 3 times was a building called the Ecopolitan. It's full of natural doctors and massage therapists, and on the main level is a raw food restaurant. The first time I went there with a large group of friends, Jenn and I split a freaking amazing salad made with kale, kiwi, red cabbage, tomato, fresh basil, sprouted quinoa, raisins, and a tahini-garlic dressing.

We also got the flaxeed tostadas made with: flaxseed-sunflower shells with lentil “taco meat”, greens, marinated mushrooms, onion, olives, cilantro, cashew “sour cream,” & hot sauce. And it was served with salsa & guacamole. I couldn't help myself from getting a dessert to go as well.. I got a slice of coconut creme pie. It's just too exciting when I can actually eat dessert at a restaurant and feel good afterwards. I recommend checking out their website and visiting their restaurant if you're in the area, or at least downloading their menu and trying to make some of their dishes at home :)

My photos from the first meal didn't turn out so well, but the 2nd time I went there, I visited their juice bar and my friends and I got the "orange dream" (orange, carrot, and ginger) and "sweet beet" (beet, carrot, apple, kale, and ginger). mmm

The THIRD time I went back was by myself to get breakfast.. I got the "rawnola" made of crunchy cinnamon spouted and dehydrated buckwheat groats, with strawberries, pineapple, apple, cherries, dates, raisins, all topped with a date syrup and served with freshly made coconut milk. It was delicious, organic, $6. How? I don't know.

salad with avocado & artichoke

Hey everyone :)
Right now, I'm in Minneapolis, on another summer trip visiting friends and having adventures :) I'll be back at home in less than a week, so get ready for a flood of posts. But at the moment, it's 2 am on my last night in Minnesota, and I can't fall asleep! I thought I'd at least be productive.. and catch up on a post :)

Here's a photo of the salad I had right before leaving for the megabus. If you don't know about megabus yet, you should. And sorry if it doesn't go to your town - but I made it from Columbia, MO to Chicago to Minneapolis and all the way back for $60. Yeah, I know.

The salad!
Greens (I used a mix of spinach and lettuce)
1/2 avocado, chopped (per person)
3-4 artichoke hearts, quartered (per person)
some wisps of red onion

The dressing!
olive oil + balsamic vinegar, and maybe a little pinch of salt.

enjoy :)

friends+farm+feast - and 2 recipes

I totally shouldn't be blogging right now. Sorry other jobs of mine.. this.. is important.
Here are some photos from a trip out to my friend Paul's farm. We feasted, of course, on salmon with fennel and apple salsa, watermelon, basil cucumber and tomato salad, and on Paul's home made pickles. They are my favorite pickles ever. Better than Bubbies, and better than the ones at the Carnegie Hall Deli in NYC.

1. freshly picked cucumbers and tomatoes
2. salad made from fresh cucumber, tomato, and basil.. with a little oil salt and pepper.
3. salmon with fennel and apple salsa
4. here's the recipe: (thank you Williams-Sonoma fish cookbook)

For the salsa:
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely chopped, fronds reserved for garnish
1 granny smith apple, cored and diced
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

For the fish:
4 salmon fillets (or 1.5 lbs of salmon)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp honey (they say sugar.. but they're so silly)
1/4 cup bbq sauce.. (I use a super organic and healthy brand.. or you can make your own)
2 tbsp fennel seeds plus extra for garnish

Step 1. Make salsa by combining all salsa ingredients. Cover and set aside.

Step 2. Prep fire in charcoal grill or preheat gas grill. Score the skin side with 2 shallow crisscross cuts. In a large bowl, stir together 1/2 cup lemon juice, honey, and bbq sauce. Add salmon, turn to coat, and let stand for only 10 minutes.

Step 3. Just before cooking salmon, through 2 tbsp of fennel seeds onto the coals. Lift salmon from marinade (and save the drips and the left over marinade!) Lay salmon on the grill over direct heat and cook until browned on 1st side (~5 minutes). Using a wide metal spatula, turn and cook on the 2nd side until opaque throughout (~3 minutes longer).

Step 4. Spoon salsa onto individual plates or serving platter. Lay fish on salsa. In a small sauce pan, boil reserved marinade for 2 minutes. Pour over salmon, garnish with fennel seeds and fronds, and serve.


Back to the photos:
5. One of the shelters on Paul's farm
6. Enjoy!

what's in the fridge salad + some awesome dressing

For lunch today, I ate this salad. It was made up of whatever I had in the fridge.. of course it helps if you keep healthy and fresh and delicious food in your home. Always.

Salad greens - lettuce, kale, arugula, and swiss chard
Carrot - shredded
Artichoke heart - pulled apart
Red onion - thinly sliced
Cucumber - seeded and diced
Walnuts - chopped

For the dressing.. There are two steps to this if you don't already have Mary's Oil Blend.
Mary's oil blend is a combination of coconut, sesame, and olive oils (in equal parts). The idea comes from Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon's book Eat Fat Lose Fat which stresses that coconut oil be a part of one's diet everyday. So! First, I made a big batch of this oil - with 1 cup of each of the 3 oils. Then I made Sally Fallon's herb dressing: (minus the mustard, because I'm actually allergic to that too..)

1/2 cup Mary's Oil Blend
2 tbsp + 1 tsp raw wine vinegar
1 tbsp flax oil.
(1 tsp Dijon style mustard - if you must)
1 tsp finely chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley, oregano, basil, and some rosemary)

Because there's flax oil in this, I recommend storing it in the fridge. Enjoy!

(All of the oils I use are expeller or cold pressed, as well as organic.)

restaurant review - the farmhouse

The Farmhouse is an amazing new place in the River Market neighborhood, in Kansas City.. I really recommend trying it out. They are all about in season produce from local farmers, and they have a big patio. This is important to me, which I have probably mentioned before.

In the photos:
Our salad, made of: roasted beets, blue cheese (on the side), walnuts, spring herbs, fried capers, farmer greens, lemon-thyme vinaigrette

Matthew's dinner: (even though it doesn't fit in with the rest of the blog, nor my diet.. I can still appreciate how beautiful it is and how good it must have tasted.)
Cheese plate: Green Dirt Farm’s bossa, prairie tome, wooly rind and sheep’s milk) cherry mostarda, syrup, seasonal fruit, house-made crackers

And my dinner: 360 day aged hanger steak with salsa verde, and sautéed summer veggies. To die for. Simply. Amazing.

mint cucumber salad

I misunderstood my friend on the phone, I thought he said that he had a mint flavored cucumber. I was so excited for him to bring it over for dinner.. then he showed up with fresh mint, and a cucumber. It made more sense, and a delicious salad - but it wasn't was I was expecting.

This salad was simple and yummy for a hot summer night.
Cucumbers, peeled and sliced
red onions, thinly sliced
fresh mint, chopped
And for a dressing we just used olive oil with a little salt and pepper
(but you can also use apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice, or yogurt)

Also - how cute is the little guy on that homegrown broccoli? You really can't beat homegrown broccoli.

my cousin Deb's

Here's the last post from my New York trip, at another great spot to dine.. my cousin Deb's. It's definitely an exclusive joint, so I had to call about 2 days ahead to make a reservation. :)

My diet (basically meat, fish, veggies, fruit, nuts & seeds) tends to freak hosts and hostesses out, if I'm coming over for dinner. Especially if I'm going over to a vegetarian friend's or family member's home. Deb had a great idea, which was to create a gourmet salad bar, so everyone in the family could create something delicious for their own mouths and digestive systems.

There were two bowls of greens, pre-dressed (but I can't remember the dressing.. Melissa?) One of spinach and the other for people who don't like spinach. There was a bowl of cherry tomatoes, a bowl of sliced avocados, slices of red onion, sliced grilled bell peppers, roasted cauliflower (I took more than my fair share of this one), raw peppers, and raw cauliflower, radishes, four different kinds of cheeses, hard boiled eggs, sun dried tomatoes, green olives, black olives, and chickpeas..
phew!

Thanks Deb! It was fun, delicious, and most of all, full of love.

restaurant review - live

My cousin took me out to Live, an organic food bar in Toronto.. and it was to die for. Check out their website to drool over their menu, and get inspired by some of the descriptions.

I enjoyed the big bowl:
"A high protein salad mix of field greens, and kale topped with carrots, beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, mixed seeds, black beans, avocado, and sunflower sprouts tossed with your choice of dressings. Raw option: Substitute sunflower seed pate for black beans."

With the dilly house dressing:
Made of " cold pressed olive oil, tahini, apple cider vinegar, dill, garlic, wheat free tamari, celtic sea salt"

I also split the smoked reuben with my cousin:
"Our sesame kale and carob 'rye' bread smothered with a spicy sesame mayo, avocado, probiotic sauerkraut and our smoked walnut veggie patty. Served with root veggie chips and dill pickles."

And washed it down with a blues buster smoothie made of:
"Almond milk, blueberry, hemp seeds, apple juice, St. John’s Wort"

I wish I took photos of everything I ordered, but it all disappeared before I had time to think, about taking my camera out. Dessert was so hard to choose.. all their desserts were made without flour, gluten, or refined sugar.. I ended up with something small, an almond dream bar, due to the lack of room left in my stomach.

I'm going to try to reproduce some of their desserts, and when I figure them out - I'll let you know for sure :)

sorry it's been so long!

So... I graduated from the University of Missouri last Friday, and I've been busy with that. But iphoto has been broken on my laptop for the last 3 weeks, and that's the main reason I haven't been blogging. But now.. It's finally fixed! Thanks to my friend Ryan. Thank you Ryan, and all the other good people who've tried to help me.

Let me explain some of these photos..

1. A salad I was eating a lot of.. spinach from Phil at the farmers market, with shredded carrot and sliced pieces of roasted red bell pepper, with this delicious Italian dressing I made up.

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup flax seed oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp shallot salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 dash paprika
1 dash garlic powder

2. New plants in my window.. and boy, has this spring been raaaaaaainy.

3. My new Toms shoes! And another herb to add to my collection: savory.

4. My new favorite meal: broccoli, onions, garlic, and cashews sauteed in schmaltz! YUMMMM! And it makes my apartment smell AMAZING.

5. Soaked oatmeal for breakfast with my sister, who flew in from NYC for my graduation weekend. Oatmeal soaked the night before, as usual (with water and about 1 tbsp lemon juice) then instead of water, add coconut milk in the morning, with cinnamon, honey, and raisins. :)

6. That's me.

7. Spinach, dried cherries, walnuts, and chicken with spicy honey lemon dressing


I promise you'll hear more from me.. now that school's out and I have so much free time! (that was a joke.) But really.. I hope to be blogging more. Peace out.