Sogo Sushi in Easton

http://www.sogofusion.com/

Five years later and a score of dinners revolving around sushi, during my time at Lehigh I have made several trips to Bethlehem's two local sushi places: 24 East Asian Bistro and The Other Fish.

I decided last week that it was time to explore some of the Lehigh Valley's other sushi options. This decision could not have occurred at a better time.

Last Monday, I finished and published the interactive map that illustrates local Lehigh Valley residents' favorite restaurants (see post here). It was gathered by asking Twitter members for their favorite local restaurants, and from the stats of that post, I gather that list and the accompanying map has been helpful to others.

On evenings like last Friday, it was also a great resource for me. My roommate and I had been craving sushi for days and, using the map, elected to try one person's suggestion of Sogo (click for menu) in Easton.

I got an Eel Roll and the restaurant special: the Infinity Roll, created by wrapping avocado and crab meat with tuna rather than rice, and topped with roe. The presentation was beautiful, including several tasty sauces displayed in decorative rings around the rolls. Excellent.

My roommate also loved her rolls: the Monkey Roll "Shrimp tempura roll topped with avocado, three different kinds of spicy sauce" and the Fancy Spicy Tuna Roll, which is a standard spicy tuna roll with sauces.

The ingredients were fresh, there was improvisation in their presentation and the sauces that made the rolls so "fancy" and special were a nice addition. Not to mention the fact that the ambiance and interior decor of the restaurant is fantastic. It was a very enjoyable trip and it has topped my list for best sushi in the Lehigh Valley. So go!

Healthy, Fresh Vodka Sauce Recipe

I have always been a fan of Penne a la Vodka, mostly for the sauce, but had never really attempted to make this dish for myself.

Time to broaden my horizons. I searched for a basic recipe and found one on Cooks.com.
My healthier, fresh-ingredient interpretation of the recipe is this:


1. In a sauce pan, turn heat to medium-high and combine the following:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup minced onions (I say red, white, shallots are all acceptable depending on what you have and prefer, I used red)

2. Saute until the onions are clear. Then add:

• 1/3 cup vodka (Skyy worked well yet is probably the minimum quality vodka you'd want to use)
• 3 peeled Roma tomatoes, minced. (Substitute for recipe's 1 can peeled tomatoes)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely minced

3. Keep the heat at medium-high and slowly add:

• 1/2 cup half and half (substitute for recipe's pint of heavy cream)
• Salt and pepper to taste

4. Cook until the sauce reduces a bit. Add pre-cooked ingredients to be combined with vodka sauce. Suggestions:

• pasta or quinoa
• broccoli, zucchini, asparagus
• chicken, shrimp
• parmesan, etc.

I made this with broccoli and quinoa, sprinkled with parmesan and thought it was fabulous. 

Take note that while this is healthier than the traditional vodka sauce, it will turn out less creamy than your favorite local Italian restaurant's hearty Penne a la Vodka because of using half and half as opposed to heavy cream. That's your prerogative.

I also thought upon finishing about blending the ingredients/final result in a food processor to make the sauce smoother, although I thought the minced ingredients made for a pretty presentation as well.

Your Picks: Best Restaurants in the Lehigh Valley

This map is a compilation of favorite restaurants as identified by various members of the Lehigh Valley, collected on the Twitter network by me, @imanihamilton.
 
If you are interested in adding your favorites to the list, find me on Twitter or comment here-and feel free to add your menu recommendations as well!

P.S. Where people offered specific recommendations, I included this information. More additions welcome.
Also, places without links to their website/menu I found and added in the description.



Too small? View Lehigh Valley's Favorite Restaurants in a larger map, which includes the master list on the side.

Hot Apple Cider: Sweet, Spiced, Citrus-infused, or Spiked?

http://i.ehow.com

I think everyone who truly enjoys cooking likes most the potential for improvisation and improvement of a recipe or food combinations. It's the time of year for apple cider, and a perfect standard fall drink with which to have fun.

So we've got a basic drink: apple cider. Buy it in cartons, as a mix, or if you're in a do-it-yourself kind of mood, or went apple picking recently, or just have a lot of apples, click here to learn how to make your own apple cider.

The point here is that there are many ways to turn a basic apple cider recipe into your own, based on your preferences and what's in your kitchen.


For sweetness:

• honey
• maple syrup
• brown sugar

For flavor:

• cinnamon- sticks or a sprinkle of the dried spice
• cardamom
• cloves
• nutmeg
• ginger-tiny amounts of freshly grated or crystallized ginger (available at grocery stores)
• ground allspice
• a dash of other fruit juices: pear, orange, grapefruit
• berries, fresh or frozen
• citrus: lemon or orange peel (in dry spice form or actual grated)

These flavorings can be infused into your apple cider in a few ways:

1. Added and heated with the apple cider in a saucepan
2. Placed in loose tea strainer/filter (or within a cheesecloth if flavor sources are small enough) 
3. Heated in a pan with butter or cream to create a spiced topping
4. If only adding dry spices, whipped into whipped cream

Want to spike your apple cider? Remember to add alcohol at the end rather than heating it with the other ingredients. Recommendations:

• Brandy plus cinnamon, cardamom, curry powder. Rachael Ray version
• Rum, plus orange spice tea, apple cider, cinnamon, brown sugar, butter. Allrecipes.com version
• Bourbon, plus apple cider, orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, cinnamon sticks, allspice, cloves, brown sugar. Recipe from Recipehound.com 

Get creative! Now you have the know-how to make the exact mug of hot steaming apple cider you desire.

Sunday Egg Scramble: Spinach, Sausage, Roasted Potatoes, Mushrooms, Cheddar and Tomatoes

www.tasteofhome.com

Some weekends, all I want when I wake up is an egg scramble. It's one of my favorite things to order at Blue Sky in Bethlehem (the Charlotte) and also one of the easiest breakfasts to make on my own.

One of the best combinations I have had we made a week ago in San Francisco.
Here's the recipe, for two:



Ingredients:

• 5 eggs
• 2 cups of spinach
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1/4 cup of red onion, minced
• 2 sausages
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 12 red potatoes, cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, diced

1. On medium high heat, fully cook the potatoes in olive oil, salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon of paprika and 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary.

2. In a separate pan, combine 1 tablespoon olive oil and spinach, mushrooms, and red onion over medium high heat.

3. Cook until the spinach has wilted.

4. Add sausages, sliced, and let cook until the sausages begin to brown.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk the 5 eggs until smooth, add a 1/4 cup of milk if desired.

6. Add the cooked potatoes, 5 eggs, and grate cheddar into the mixture.

7. Continue to stir the combination until the mixture is scrambled and the eggs are cooked.
8. Add tomatoes so that they cook just a minute before taking the mixture off the heat (to preserve freshness, although this is really a matter of taste).

9. Add salt, pepper, and hot sauce if desired.

10. Serve on or with toast for total happiness.

A Bakery for Bethlehem: The Flour Shop

http://www.flourshopbaking.com

This past Thursday, on the last Bethlehem Farmer's Market day of the year, I was excited for a perfect opportunity to pick up lunch from the Market. I typically only shop for groceries, but this week had the biting chill of early fall and a generous dose of wind, so I was uninterested in purchasing anything but soup.

I had an idea of where to look.
The Flour Shop has appeared every week at the Farmers' Market, always generating lines of people buying breads, paninis, baked goods, etcetera. This week, they had a bread and hummus sample, an enticing windowed display as always, and fortunately for me, soups.

The woman behind the counter, Mary, let me sample the two soups they had available: a Curried Acorn Squash and Pear Bisque and a Bacon Minestrone.

I was completely impressed with the imagination it must have taken to put curry, squash, and pears together as well as the resulting flavor, and purchased a small container of the Squash and Pear Bisque, which came with a piece of their sunflower-seed semolina. All for a grand total of $5.

Mary told me their soups change week-to-week depending on what in-season vegetables they purchase. The Flour Shop buys almost all of their vegetables from "Chuck," who she pointed out over her shoulder, a local farmer whose produce is chemical-free. The soups they make and bring to the weekly Farmers' Market are available both warm and ready to serve, as well as cold for people to buy in bulk and take home.

It's also important to note that I only tried their soups and a small piece of bread while principally, The Flour Shop is a baker of artisan breads and cakes. Check out their website for more details!

So the Farmers' Market has ended. Now what? The Flour Shop is still making soups at their permanent location on 2980 Linden Street in North Bethlehem.
Gather your bearings on the map from their website: http://www.flourshopbaking.com/map.htm

Sampling Lehigh Valley Craft Beer at OctoberPreneurFest

http://www.fireislandbeer.com

On a last-minute whim and the encouragement of a few friends, I joined a group of Lehigh students, craft beer entrepreneurs, and Lehigh's Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship at Bethlehem Brew Works last night for "OctoberPreneurFest."

The evening's tag line was essentially come to a craft beer tasting and mingle with the people behind the beer, the entrepreneurs who started their own local craft beer breweries. The first 50 people to register entered free, the rest of us paid $5 at the door and found it well worth it. Not only did entry guarantee a fine sampling of beer, but Brew Works also provided an appetizer bar of especially tasty bruschetta and make-your-own nachos. The event was held in the Brew Works' basement bar and lounge: the Steelgaarden, which could not have been a more perfect setting for the small crowd there.

Each guest received a two sided card with three beers from the Fire Island Beer Company on one side, and four of the Brew Works' beers on the other, each name equating to a sample from the bar. A surprise guest, the maker of an Arctic Ale, also brought some of his beer to be sampled. The Arctic Ale was actually my favorite, although I really enjoyed the variety of other beer offerings: light, dark, amber, oatmeal, red, you name it.

The beer entrepreneurs were wandering around the room, dressed casually and sipping on beer with students and other brewers, and occasionally giving short speeches prompted by a Baker Institute student representative. We learned about how the local movement is encouraging the patronage of craft beers, the challenges in getting on beer taps and staying there, and the importance of creating a brand and situational association with a particular beer. The following are a couple of highlights:

Chris Bowen, the maker of the Arctic Ale spoke about his theory that consumers are increasingly looking for beer with a story. One beer story that inspired him was about Allsop's Arctic Ale, which Canadian arctic explorers took in heaping amounts for sustenance on the Northwest Passage. Consequently, he is making a documentary journey on motorcycles to collect more of the story and eventually re-create the original recipe of the Allsopp's Ale on the Hudson/James Bay. The documentary (to be released in summer or fall 2011) website: http://www.arcticalchemy.com/

Bethlehem Brew Works owner, one of the Fegley brothers, spoke about their early pioneering of the local craft beer movement. He spoke about the economic turmoil and listlessness of the Bethlehem community in the wake of the Bethlehem Steel collapse, which was the local environment at the time they opened on the corner of Main and Broad Streets in 1998. The Bethlehem Brew Works was intended to be a brewery and quality restaurant (which was a very important part of their identity) for Bethlehem families and individuals to identify with. I'd say they've been successful.

All around great, unexpected turn for my Monday night. Support your local breweries!

Meals on Wheels: The Food Truck Movement

My experience with the Chairman Bao Food-Truck at an intersection in San Francisco was all too memorable and delicious to be omitted from my food-related accounts of the past week. (pictured above- both from Chairman Bao's Facebook page)

We happened upon the Chairman Bao food truck amongst a cluster of others, occupying a small intersection at McCoppin and Valencia Streets in San Francisco. Other trucks in the market offered Indian cuisine, Vietnamese sandwiches, Mexican food, and ice cream from a local dairy. The area between the ring of trucks was filled with plastic folding chairs, continually re-arranged in new clusters by each set of patrons. 

Similar scenes are part of a growing food-truck phenomenon, found in cities and neighborhoods nationwide. I have seen them crop up in my hometown in Durham, North Carolina and countless places in San Francisco, where they appear to have particularly strong patronage and good organization. 

These mobile restaurants have actually chosen to serve their foods from a truck and travel between several local locations, in this story, within the Bay Area. Who knows the real motive, but I'm guessing the investment in out-fitting a truck versus opening a restaurant is lower, and changing locations to follow demand allows for a more consistent stream of customers.

The ability for these restaurants to move is also their Achilles' heel. To help with the reliability of their availability, most trucks have Facebook profiles and/or websites to catalog their upcoming schedule including the intersections at you can find them and menu offerings.

The most important point to make is that the food is actually good. By no means has quality been compromised by the fact that the kitchen fits in a truck. In fact, in San Francisco in particular, most trucks consider their food gourmet. Serving good food is essential to attract loyal diners who either follow the truck's whereabouts or return to a regularly scheduled spot.

Chairman Bao's Asian-inspired dim sum sandwiches, available on either baked or steamed rolls, were absolutely incredible. We tried the authentic steamed rolls, which look like a small dough-y pita and taste somewhat like a sweeter pancake. The food and flavor combinations were like nothing I've ever had before and couldn't have been more (as their Facebook says) "savory and addictive." Five star meal.

We tried four little sandwiches: the steamed pork belly with pickled daikon (my favorite), Sesame Chicken with Scallion and Bok Choy, Chinese Spiced Duck Confit with Fresh Mango Salad, and another pulled pork sandwich not listed on the menu below. As a girl from North Carolina to whom pulled pork equals flavors of Carolina Barbecue, I could not have been more pleasantly surprised with how good pulled pork can taste with entirely different, asian-inspired flavors. 

Bottom line: YUM. Don't be afraid to try your local food truck, great surprises may await. If you want more assurance, look into it first! Many food trucks have an online presence, and most likely, online reviews to point you in the right direction. 

Check out Chairman Bao Food Truck's Facebook Profile for more information.

Dining Out: Exotic Ethiopian Cuisine at New Eritrea

http://www.opride.com

Dear Adventurous Diners,
You must try Ethiopian. It has the allure of an exotic, mysterious, spicy, and a unique dining experience because the typical meal is only eaten with your hands. While some flavors are similar to Indian foods, Ethiopian is a more meat-and-vegetable focused meal without the yogurts and custards. A soft pancake-like bread called injera comes on the side of all dishes, pieces of which you tear off to use as your utensil to scoop from the main platter.

Still confused? As always, Wikipedia will break Ethiopian cuisine into a simplified, digestible summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_cuisine.

I have been in San Francisco this week and was treated to apparently, the best around at the New Eritrea Restaurant at 10th and Irving. As at most Ethiopian restaurants, our main dish was one large injera pancake platter topped with little portions of the meat or vegetable type dish that you specify: as novices at New Eritrea, we elected to try the Meat and Vegetable Sampler.

We also ordered a meat Sambusa appetizer, which we decided is like the Ethiopian version of a taco. Ground beef, caramelized onions, and spices, wrapped in a little fried envelope accompanied by a deceivingly spicy olive tapenade-type sauce. This sauce had the same kind of surprise kick factor as your first wasabi bite.

Our entree platter included:

1. Alicha Begee, "mildly seasoned cubes of lamb mixed with potatoes, carrots, peppers, curry, and Eritrean spices."
2. Zigni, "squares of lean beef, simmered in red pepper sauce with Eritrean spices" 
3. Zebhi Dorho, "Marinated chicken drumsticks simmered in onion, tomatoes, clarified butter, and red pepper sauce."
4. Tumtumo "Lentil beans pureed and simmered with Eritrean spices, tomatoes, onions, and herbs."
5. Hamli "Collard greens and spinach simmered in authentic Eritrean spices"
6. Vegetarian Allicha, essentially #1 minus the lamb.
7. Alicha-Ater, "Chickpea pureed and simmered in onion, garlic, and authentic Eritrean spices."

Alright so the main ingredients are nothing we haven't seen before, but I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering about these so-called "Eritrean spices." With a little investigation I found that these typically include:

Red chili pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, ground ginger, salt, and ground spices: cardamom, cloves, cumin, cinnamon, fenugreek, and black pepper.

As a note, we found there to be little warning of the spicyness of the food, fortunately didn't mind, and even more fortunately had honey wine (tej), which is an essential complement to the meal. Honey wine is an ambrosial "nectar of the gods" kind of drink and really contrasts the cooked, spicy, heat of the food perfectly.

Second note: the injera beneath the various entree dishes becomes saturated with the flavors of the meats and vegetable spices above it and is also a tasty little treat.

If you're in San Francisco, five stars to New Eritrea, I would definitely give it my recommendation.
I looked up Ethiopian cuisine local to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where I am currently based and found the closest: Dahlak Restaurant in Germantown (near Philadelphia) and Abyssinia in Philadelphia.
I can speak for the experience yet not specifically for the food, but that is what Yelp is for. Let other people's reviews help you decide.
If you have a smart phone, get the AroundMe app, which does the search I just did according to your specified criteria: restaurants, stores, etc.

Barbecued Oysters on the Shore of Tomales Bay, CA

http://tomalesbayoysters.com

For my first post from my week in San Francisco, an anecdotal piece about my Sunday, spent on the shore of beautiful Tomales Bay barbecuing oysters. My boyfriend and I met with his roommates, their girlfriends, and a few other couples about an hour outside San Francisco at the Tomales Bay Oyster Company.

We got there early enough to get a picnic table right on the water's edge, with only a little typical Parks and Rec open-top grill impeding our view.

One veteran to the Tomales Oyster Bay Company among us put together a sauce of butter, olive oil, parsley, salt, and pepper in a pot over the coals. Essentially, combine, and let melt. Proportion to your dietary and flavor profile. 

We bought 50 small oysters from the small building up the hill from the picnic tables; while it is possible to buy M, L, and even XL (the size of a small plate), experienced oyster-diners said that the larger are less flavorful than the smaller ones. 

The key to opening oysters is to crack them at their hinge. At all other places on the seam, the shells are too thin and will flake rather than make a clean break. Here's the Tomales Bay Oyster Company directions for "How to shuck an oyster."

After a few test combinations and methods of flavoring, here's the best, simple oyster flavoring we could muster with the ingredients on hand. I think this is a good starting place for any oyster barbecue:

• One barbecued or raw oyster (these oysters are fresh and good enough to eat either way)
• One spoonful of the butter/parsley/olive oil/etc. sauce
• One generous squeeze of lemon juice
• A dash of hot sauce

Our neighbors a picnic table away prepared a salsa verde that they added a scoop of to each oyster. Kudos.

Many people are nervous about fishy-tasting oysters and pour out the water inside the shell. This is, in fact, incredibly flavorful-keep it! If you have fresh oysters, raw or barbecued, add the ingredients above, the fishyness will be in fact complemented by the other flavors.

A 10/10 rating for 10/10/10 (October 10th, 2010).

Zucchini As Pasta - I finally made it!

This recipe came as part of a Twitter dialogue, demonstrating the good things that can come from this program. Believe me, before taking this class, I was the first person to say how much I couldn't stand the idea of Twitter, how it was like the worst parts of Facebook combined with people just reporting the fact that they went to the grocery store. But I, @imanihamilton, have seen the light. This recipe is one of many reasons why.

First, I Re-tweeted this Food and Wine Recipe (@fandw) recipe using zucchini as pasta, which led to another Twitter user (@foodiesatwork) reply that directed me toward this zucchini pasta recipe from the New York Times. The basic idea of preparing and cooking the zucchini is as follows:

1. Slice 2 zucchinis lengthwise with a vegetable peeler, making wide pasta-like strands. I actually used a cheese grater because I discovered I don't have a vegetable peeler here at college. I was happy with the results.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat, add half of the zucchini. Cook the other half exactly the same way, but breaking into two groups allows each half to cook better.

3. Add salt and ground pepper to the pan and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon, stirring occasionally to let the zucchini cook evenly.

4. While the zucchini cooks,

• grate 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

These are my additions to the recipe:

• mince 1/4 cup parsley
• slice into very thin strips 2 salami slice- I used Genoa Salami

4. When the zucchini becomes slightly transparent, remove from heat.

5. Add 1/2 of the toppings listed above and eat while still warm, allowing the parmesan to melt.

6. Cook the other half of the zucchini the exact same way, and add the other half of the toppings.

Your favorite pasta sauce, of any type, would also be great with this. I leave town for San Francisco  tomorrow (totally just mentioning that because I'm so excited) for a week and didn't want to open a whole jar, so I did without and while I tend to love tomatoes in any form, I was still very happy with this dish sans-tomatoes.

Don't short change yourself on the cheese! You've already done yourself a favor by making pasta from a vegetable so don't hold back. The parmesan is one of the elements that transforms this dish from the flavor of most other zucchini you've tried to tasting like a better version of pasta.

Another Twitter reply from @Chefamom mentioned that she prepares this dish for diabetics, bringing up another point that clearly, this makes a healthy, diabetic-friendly substitute for pasta.
Even if you haven't been diagnosed as a diabetic, there are warning signs we should all be looking out for it: http://www.defeatingdiabetes.com/diabetes-statistics.htm.

Now you can enjoy this dish even more knowing you're doing good things for yourself. And not lacking anything in the flavor category.

My Go-To Asparagus

Asparagus is one of my favorite stovetop vegetables. It tastes amazing and is incredibly easy. This particular way of preparing it will give you a well-cooked, lemon-flavored asparagus dish that makes a perfect side to anything. I will sometimes also turn this into a stir-fry with meat, as pictured left.

For any time you make asparagus, be sure to wash it and rather than cutting the ends off, take each and snap the end off. This way, the not tender, not cook-able part will be disposed of.
Here's what I do with asparagus in a skillet:

1. Put the skillet on high heat and add:

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 bunch of asparagus, cut into segments if you choose

2. Let the asparagus cook for a minute, then add:

• the juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper to flavor
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts- pecans or almonds is what I tend to add

3. Optional additions to this asparagus at this point (as pictured):

• 1/4 cup minced red onion
• 1/4 cup minced red pepper
• sausage, chicken, steak, or shrimp

4. There should be enough lemon juice to cover the bottom of the pan but then cook off. Cook all of the above until the asparagus becomes a bright, almost neon green. 

5. Note: Asparagus can definitely be overcooked, it will be almost floppy when it is and probably not taste great. So when you think it may have reached the bright green point, try one. If is tender yet doesn't respond too much to gravity, take it off the heat and enjoy! If it is still a bit too crunchy, let it cook a little longer until it's reached the desired consistency.

6. Also--if you're a fan of polenta, all of these ingredients plus a little cheese can make an incredible polenta dish. Cook these first then add into the polenta with cheese to finish cooking. 

That's all for today! For tomorrow: making zucchini pasta!

Foster's Seven Pepper Jelly

One of my favorite condiment secrets is Seven Pepper Jelly from Foster's Market in my hometown Durham, North Carolina.

It is both sweet and slightly spicy, and completely palatable for the mild-tastebudded among us. There is really no limit to its applications but I have found it to be especially excellent with cheeses and breads. You can get creative with an appetizer plate, on toast for breakfast, or as another flavor for your favorite sandwich. This just coming to mind, it could even make an excellent meat glaze.

This jelly makes a perfect holiday, housewarming, or really any occasion gift for friends and family who like a little spice or are adventurous eaters. For example, I brought a jar with me to Cape Cod to visit my boyfriend and his family and it was being rationed by the end of the week to allow everyone to get their last little bit.

Before you elect to give it away, get some for yourself to experiment with. It is a pantry standard at home in Durham and I made sure to bring some with me to college. It's a fun thing to have on hand to add spontaneity and flavor to any dish, and it's great for entertaining guests because it's unusual yet delicious. I've found many times people who taste it at a dinner party, etc. will leave resolving to buy a jar themselves.

That is, of course, easier to do in Durham where we can go to Foster's but you can order it online at Foster's Market. It retails for $6.50 and is well worth it.

Sara Foster, founder of Foster's Market, trained with Martha Stewart and has gone on to do great culinary things. Her Foster's Market cookbook is also one of my favorites because her recipes have fantastic yet unpredictable combinations of ingredients. No, she's not paying me to say this, I really am a true fan!

Red Grapes, Parsley, Pecans, and Quinoa Salad

Another quinoa recipe! I promise the last for a while but these colder days make me want grain, so I decided to look for a new way to prepare quinoa. This recipe is inspired by several others, as well as ingredients I have on hand.

1. Cook quinoa on high heat until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water (boil water and quinoa together in 2:1 water to quinoa ratio)
2. Take off heat, let cool or refrigerate to allow quinoa to cool.
3. Combine the following with 1 bowlful/plateful of quinoa:

• half a juice of lemon
• 1 teaspoon of sherry vinegar (white or red wine vinegar would work as well)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/3 cup minced red onion
• 1/2 cup minced parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (almonds or other nuts would work also, adapt to your taste)
• 1 cup red grapes, quartered
• salt and pepper to taste
• goat cheese or feta cheese optional

I'm totally happy with discovering this new combination of yummy flavors. The acidity and bitterness of the lemon juice and vinegar combine nicely with the sweet grapes, and contrasts the hearty quinoa and pecans. I would imagine carrots could also be a nice addition to this recipe.

Soup Weather is Here and All I Want is Mom's Tuscan Bean Soup

www.blogs.targetx.com

The title says it. Fall has arrived; leaf colors are turning warmer, and so are our preferences.

During the last two days of downpours and cloudiness that has apparently descended upon the whole east coast, all I've been craving is a bowl of the Tuscan Bean Soup my mom always makes this time of year.

I'm going camping this weekend, but I'm certainly planning to get the ingredients to make it next week. Here's the recipe, it does any heart good this time of year. (Most of the credit is due to Mollie Katzen for her Tuscan Bean Soup recipe in Still Life with Menu.)

My mom has also added a ham bone to this recipe to hearty-it-up. If there is a Honeybaked Ham in your area, or a similar deli, you can purchase (for almost nothing) the ham bones from which the ham has been carved. Often, there is some ham left which does wonders for flavoring soups.

Tuscan Bean Soup
1. In a large soup pot, combine and saute the following:

• 2 medium sized cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 medium sized carrots, sliced
• 1/2 lb. fresh green beans, cut in 1-inch lengths
• 6-8 scallions, minced (white part only)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• lots of ground black pepper
• 2-3 tablespoons of dried basil

For the first five minutes, cook on medium heat, then turn down to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Next, add:

• 1 1/2 cups dried white beans (or a can of cannellini beans)
• 2 1/2 cups water or stock (from soaking beans)

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Then, add

• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

and cook for 10 more minutes.

Serve it hot, garnished with parmesan and parsley.

Alright, so I want this dish even more now that I've written this. Invite me over if you're making it before I do.

Restaurant opening: Hello Burrito!

A few days ago, my fellow J198 classmate and I ventured over to Broad Street on Bethlehem's North Side to check out the area's newest restaurant, Hello Burrito. Enjoyed a Southwest Burrito to start classic, but I'm also intrigued by both the Mango burrito and Thai burrito for my next visits. The soups sound great too, especially on a day like today.
For your curiosity, here's their menu: http://www.helloburritobethlehem.com/

The question is, will it be the North Side's new hot spot?

Here's the story: