Today's farmer's market bounty.....

3 Eggplants

1 head of Broccoli

2 Artichokes

2 Nectarines

Cost: $5.25

Proof that eating out is suuuuper expensive. For $5.25, I have enough to make dinner for 4 people using ingredients that I already have stocked (eggplant and artichoke something), dessert (Nectarines and ice cream), plus a mid day snack (broccoli tempura).

This is about the same price that it would cost one person to eat one meal at Micky D's, Panera, Subway etc.....

Now what do I wind up doing with all of these delicious veggies? Check back and see :-)

Peaches, Peaches, Peaches

This weekend, after mini crisis number one million for this month, my brother, dad and myself found ourselves at my cousins' Sean and Wendy Nia's beautiful home. Thanks to them, the debacle caused by the morons at UHaul was remedied. It was hot, and we were tired so Wendy, always the gracious host, offered us fresh peaches from her local farmer's market and ice water. At first bite I was stunned by how succulent and sweet the peach was - absolutely divine.

Then I got to thinking.... there are probably a billion awesome things that can be done with this jewel of a fruit, and this is what I share with you. Check out this video on how to make poppy seed dressing to add to any salad adorned with summer peaches.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Freshtopia#p/u/29/N46pnI-lwOU

Health stuff: Peaches are high in Beta Carotine, Vitamin C, potasium and fiber. All of these things are wonderful for your body, but at this time my only concern is their affect on my palate. (Insert Homer drool) Mmmmm peaches.

DO NOT Indulj

Yes, Yes I know that it has been a while, but in my defense I've been busy...


As has been my weekly ritual this summer, I hopped on my bike with one of my closest sister friends, Monet to go enjoy the music, food and generally awesomeness that is DC on a Thursday night. This desire to celebrate the promise that Friday at 5pm usually brings us to U street looking fly and and ready to party. Last week was extra special because it was Monet's birthday. Happy Birthday Monet!!! The location was Indulj, located on 1208 U St NW. She chose this spot because the band "The Beautiful Experience" is just that... great R&B, go-go and the guys and gals that makeup "The Beautiful Experience" are really nice people. I wish that I could say that about Indulj itself.

Now, the spot looks nice... but the service is slow and twice I've experienced problems with management. The first time, it was my birthday and they couldn't find space for my party to sit, the roof was leaking onto our table once we got one, and then they messed up my group's order. The worst part about it was that the manager at that time was unapologetic. That was 2 years ago, and I hoped that things would have changed, but alas... no.



Enter Exhibit A:






So after we wait forever for our food and drinks, we dig in. The food was pretty tasty, well that was until Monet found an extra special birthday surprise at the bottom of her salad. Yes, ladies and gentlemen that arthropoda, specific type: unknown, was found nestled between her candied walnuts and cucumbers. Yuck! This spoiled dinner for the rest of us too, the rest of my cornbread and catfish stayed on my plate to be sacrificed to the trash can. And y'all know how much I like to clear a plate.

Now here's what made matters worse: Monet signaled the waitress over who in turn called the manager. After about 10 minutes, the manager still had not come and the waitress had to go get him again. When he finally decided to saunter his way over to Monet's plate, he simply looked at it, and when Monet asked what he was going to do about it, He replied, "What do you want me to do about it?" in a saucy manner.

Here is where the "WTF?!?!" comes in. Really? What kind of manager asks that question? And with an attitude too... In the end he wound up taking the salad off of our bill and then let her know like he was doing us a favor. I guess he didn't realize that we had taken a photo and planned on blogging about it...fool that he was.

The moral of this post. I'm in culinary school, so I know that shit happens with food. You try to control these things with proper sanitary procedures, but occasionally, a bug will find its way into a salad. But what makes the difference between a classy spot and and hood spot is the same thing that distinguishes a classy lady from a "hood rat". It's in the details, it's the manner in which you handle a problem and in the people around you (in Indulj's case, guests). From the caliber of our experiences at Indulj , the owners, managers, and wait staff obviously have a lot to learn. I really want to like this place, but the next time you want to have a good time on U street, do yourselves a favor and Indulj somewhere else.

Happy Spring Break!!!!

After Karah and I pretty much bum-rushed our students to get to the bus, we landed in Rosslyn hungry and high off spring break hormones. Naturally as a new "vegan" I had to do my research and realllly think about what I was going to eat before I stepped out, and I'm glad that I did. I didn't want to eat a salad, so knew my choices would be limited to french fries and a veggie burger if we headed to an American eatery, Burritos if we chose Mexican and hmmmm what else?

I thought a second longer and magically I remember SUSHI. Yes, sushi. Rice wrapped in seaweed (thank for the clarification Karah) and fresh veggies. YUM!!!! We landed at Cafe Asia and I ordered the veggie sushi combo. It had avocado, celery, artichokes, 'shrooms, and carrots all wrapped up like present. Talk about a party in my mouth. Although the meal looks small, it was surprisingly filling. Add a great conversation, plenty of brainstorming and it equaled out to the perfect start to my spring break.

Oyasuminasai!

Info on Sushi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi

My vegan life: One week and counting.

For all of y'all who think vegans don't eat and turn into skinny little thangs - I'm here to destroy that urban myth right now, well sorta lol. While I have eaten way more yet, higher quality foods this week than in the past few months, I have lost about 3 pounds. This is just in time for my sister's wedding in Jamaica; thong, string bikini here I come!!!! Just kidding - I don't think that I'll EVER be ready for that.

Anyway, back to food. I was on American University's campus and guess what I saw.... A FARMER'S MARKET!!!! Right smack in the middle of campus. Talk about meeting the needs of the community. They had leeks, oranges, yams, kale, garlic and a variety of other fruits and veggies. I personally purchased the Kale, yams, Brussel sprouts, popcorn, and an orange. All for about 10 bucks.

In addition to the fresh produce, there were employees willing to help out with any questions that the student/shoppers had. For example, I didn't know how to cook brussel sprouts (No, nuking Green Giant’s Brussel Sprouts in Butter Sauce does not count ascooking), so two of the guys working there gave me a few pointers. I also over heard Rebekah Anderson, an employee of Agora farm and AU student help brainstorm with another student about roof-top farming. In all honesty, I think that every university should have a Farmer' Market. I mean isn’t it their goal to properly educate the future of America?

Now as most of you know, I went to Howard which is according to Google maps, 5.8 miles away from AU and the last time I checked there wasn't one there. When I asked Rebekah, who is studying food security, about this, she said that they approached the folks at HU and after saying that they were comparing farms, no one followed up with them (flashback to the A bldg :-/). Come on man..... Howard get it together!!! We can't continue to get in our own way. I wonder if they realize the link between proper education and food? I digress. In conclusion, I’ve had an awesomely delicious week. I’ve even begun to consider keeping my diet animal free, but that’s to be seen……18 more days left to go ☺

Resources:

Link to AU’s farmer’s market webpage: http://www.american.edu/hr/Farmers-Market.cfm

Farmer’s Markets in DC: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17047-2004May11.html

The Vegan Resource group: http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm

Day 2 of 21...

As I eat the peanut butter from the jar... I thank God that it's vegan. Hahaha!

My vegan life ?????

Day 1 of 21 as a vegan… and it was great! What?!?! Okay, so I’ve decided that for the next 21 days that I would forgo the pleasures of meat and dairy products. This is an idea that I’ve been toying with for the last few months, but was not ready to commit to it. Now, I’m still not ready to commit, but I’m ready to give it a try. So what made day one great, better yet, delicious? Two words - Seasoned Vegan.


Unforeseen circumstances landed Danielle and I in NY early this week. Luckily all went well, and we were able to grab a bite to eat. I checked Yelp for Vegan restaurants and amidst several listing for Vegan restaurants in NY, I decided to go with Seasoned Vegan – it was in Harlem, served soul food, was vegan, and had 5 stars. Since it was on our way our location, Danielle and I decided to give it a try – man am I glad that we did.

Seasoned Vegan is located within Lee Lee’s Bakery on 118th and 8th Ave – a quaint little shop in the middle of Harlem. Being that this was day one for me, I didn’t want to feel deprived, and I wasn't. We walked in and found out that it was Italian Wednesday, I was hoping for soul food, but honestly by the time that I got there, I didn’t care. Danielle and I both ordered the “Meat”balls with spaghetti, and for our sides, sautéed broccoli and stuffed Portobello mushrooms.

OMG! It might not have technically been soul food, but between the ambiance and the meal, I felt like I was at home, around loved ones. I judge a good meal by how delicious it is when I eat it, the company I'm with, customer service and how energized I feel after wards. I give this place a 5 star rating all around.

The ingredients were all organic and fresh and every bite tasted like it was. There was no additional salt added to the meal and with all of the wonderful spices blended within the sauces and veggies, I honestly didn’t need it. Even before she knew that I blogged, Ms. Brenda, came over and chatted with us about her food, and it was obvious that she took care to prepare each and every item. She spoke with us about the importance of putting good things in your body - when she started talking like that, y'all know that I was sold. On top of that, she also let us sample the other items that were available - what a gracious host.

So... Whenever your in Harlem please make sure that you drop by Seasoned Vegan located at Lee Lees. Be sure to tell her that Stephanie and Danielle from DC sent you. Oh yes: and after you have a deliciously vegan meal from Seasoned Vegan, please be sure to grab a cup of homemade Ginger beer from Lee Lee's it was simply divine :-)

Here's the yelp link: Seasoned Vegan Harlem