Garlic Parmesan Popovers

This has not turned out to be the weekend I thought it would be. My beloved kitten, Huxley, had jumped off the bed and hit his back paw wrong and then refused to walk. He's had little sprains like this before but as he's getting up there (9! Yikes) I figured we should rule out anything bad. So that night it was off to the vet.

$528 later they had ruled out any diabetes, kidney, liver, worms, ticks/fleas, upper respiratory, hydration problems and most importantly, paw issues (not even a sprain, better than I expected). Which was a relief. And the vet was amazing. I was also in and out in less than an hour, which helped stress levels for both myself and the Hux. My goodness though... I was not expecting that kind of bill. But this is what savings is for, right? And so, for the next 2 months I'm pretty much broke. Which pretty much put my weekend plans on immediate hold.

Dry Sauteed String Beans

When I first moved to New York, take out was a new and exciting experience. In Dallas we'd get pizza delivered... and that's about it. So coming to a city where I could get everything from Cuban to Malaysian to Salvadorian and at any time of the day... well it was just a tad overwhelming. Thanks to chowhound, menupages, yelp, etc I found some must haves, one of my favorites being Dry Sauteed String Beans at Grand Sichuan.

The beans are nicely blistered, but not burned and the pork adds some nice fatty deliciousness and also picks up the sugar, soy and of course the spice from the chilies. Over some brown rice all the textures work perfectly and even though I wouldn't call it the healthiest meal, it's fairly balanced. And it's a dish I crave over and over, throughout the seven years I've lived here. And even though I've now moved back into delivery range for Grand Sichuan, why not try to recreate this at home?

Chicken Cacciatore

Honey Soy Ginger Shrimp Stir Fry

Well I've got a few recipes I need to type up and get out there but I figured I'd start with this one first because it was pretty delicious, fast and made somewhat on the fly. Exactly what you want for a busy weeknight. I had gotten into my head that I wanted to do a miso glazed cod (a la Nobu), but that needed a while to marinate so while I was at the fish counter I grabbed some shrimp that I could do a quick, Asian-flavored marinade with some fresh ginger and honey.

Having also ended last weekend at a friends' BBQ where the hosts had made some pretty delicious coconut rice with golden raisins, I was determined to recreate as I couldn't get enough. If you remember, I'm quite fond of coconut rice... and was able to find some 5.5 oz. cans of coconut milk from Thai Kitchen which is pretty much the perfect size to get some great coconut flavor with only a touch of the fat. I topped off the rice cooker with some fresh kale leaves to steam (my new favorite dinner trick) and stir fried the shrimp with some shitakes. Balanced, delicious, easy and pescatarian. 

Midtown Lunch: Lena Latin Grill

Last week’s midtown lunch was a wash. With the heatwave going on all I wanted to do was stay in my cool building. The weather today however... gorgeous. Sunny, just a few clouds and a perfect 75. Just the right day to head out for a midtown lunch expedition with my friend Robin, aka Ms. Silk Purse, who’s been such an inspiration lately in getting me out of the office during lunch.

I did some quick research into what was equidistance between our offices (I’m in Herald Sq and she’s up near Bryant Park) and settled on Lena Latin Grill. Described as the Chipotle of South American cuisine, it was also the perfect quick serve, yet sit down set up for us to chat and catch up in an hour. Still on my pescatarian fix, but having fish tonight, I settled on a nice and light tofu salad. Added in were grilled corn and queso fresco (a last minute splurge made while looking at their overwhelming sides list) and I topped it off with some chimichurri.

The Urban Herb Garden

One of the things I was most excited about with the new place was my balcony. Facing the back of the building with a good sized alleyway between the building across the way, it gets great sunlight and a cool breeze. And having a balcony means I can have an herb garden, albeit a small one, as the actual balcony size is pretty small. But I have sunlight, good drainage and good air circulation, all necessities for growing herbs.

So in the past few weeks I've set out to make this dream a reality, researching everything from the types of herbs I wanted, to the places to get them, to planting the right combinations, to the actual planters they'll go in. I settled on a 36" and a 24" CobraCo English Horse Trough balcony planter that hangs over the railing of our balcony to maximize space. Then I was off to get potting soil and herbs. After an unsuccessful trip to Home Depot I did some more in depth yelping research and came up with a hardware store that got kudos for having lots of organic products as well as being pretty economical. Plus it's only 10 blocks or so from my place.

Lunching It Up In Midtown & Other Local Excursions

I rarely leave my office for lunch. In fact, I rarely leave my desk. And some days I’m so busy that taking the 5 minutes I need to heat up food can be too much. Plus it’s expensive. If I want to eat my favorite healthy salad, that’s $10. If I feel like being a little gluttonous with a burrito bowl at Chipotle (don’t judge… I love their burrito bowls and have perfected the combination- mix white and brown rice, no beans, chicken, tomatillo salsa, pico de gallo, lettuce and guacamole… not so unhealthy) that’s $10. And $10 every day, or even a couple of days a week can add up. I also work in what is generally considered a culinary no man’s land, so that definitely doesn't help either.

But some days, especially the nicest days all I want to do is get out, even if I’m just running across the street. I remembered those long ago days when I had just started this job and would go sit out in Herald Square or read next to the windows in the now shuttered Borders in Penn Station. So I’ve started trying to make the time. Come in just a little earlier, get those reports done a tad sooner. Once a week just get out, even if I’m just heating up my lunch and taking it outside. But even more fun would be those days I can go try something new. I'll occassionally grab Korean food- kimchee pancakes, mandoo or kimbap- but this is basically owing to my close proximity to K-town. I want to branch out further. Elusive food trucks, ethnic carts hailed by Chowhounders, that crazy sandwich on Serious Eats or specialty salad featured on Midtown Lunch. $10 once a week, I can handle that. So beginning today it was a chicken tikka kati roll at The Kati Roll Company. Tender chicken, spice sauce, an equal parts soft and crispy kati wrap. And $5 for a me-sized roll (though those with a bigger appetite may want to go for the 2 roll special), well that’s doable.

Meant to take a picture before I scarfed down 1/2 the roll but oh well