Greens

Deborah Madison is magnificent. Not only is her book, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, a staple in my household (we have 2 copies, in fact), but her restaurant in SF, Greens, truly showcases her artistry. I actually have the Greens cookbook... and it puzzles me why I have yet to try my hand at making anything.

In honor of my cousin and uncle's first visit to California from the east coast, we spent the day eating and sightseeing in SF. Naturally, Greens was on the menu. This was my third time eating here, and I cannot say it was my best- because really, the food is amazing every single time.

I started with the Moroccan Chickpea soup, which turned out to remind me of a subtly-spiced minestrone. It was a light and perfect first course.

This was followed by an arugula and strawberry salad with pumpkin seeds.

Mom ordered the asparagus pizza for lunch- whole wheat flatbread, asparagus, perfectly browned cheese, and the subtle taste of lemon somewhere in the mix. Fantastic and light. I borrowed stole a slice.

Uncle John has the roasted eggplant sandwich on Focaccia, with new potatoes that he could not stop raving about.

Erin chose the Mediterranean salad, complete with a blob of lemony hummus atop fresh pita slices.

I hope they enjoyed their introduction to northern California's cuisine! There is much more to come this weekend- stay tuned for a Napa tour!

Mother's day breakfast!

Happy mother's day! This strangely drizzly morning was spent cooking a big breakfast for the fam, which was simple, healthy, filling, and all-around awesome! On the menu: Fruit salad, classic French toast, Mediterranean frittata, and vegan chocolate-raspberry cupcakes. The meal fed five people perfectly! Read on for the recipes.

Fruit salad

2 large bananas

3 white peaches

3 kiwi

2 oranges

French toast

3 eggs

1.5-2 cups milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. cinnamon

I stopped at Le Boulanger this morning and bought a fresh honey-wheat loaf for the toast. It held up really nicely with the batter and lent a really subtle sweetness to the overall flavor. I discovered along the way that it's better to just dunk the slices in the batter, rather than let them soak. We don't like soggy French toast in this family!

Mediterranean frittata

Adapted from Everyday Italian (I used different veggies and yogurt instead of cream):

6 eggs

2 Tbsp Greek yogurt

salt and pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp butter

1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced

1/4 cup sundried tomato halves, sliced

1-2 handfuls baby spinach, chopped

feta cheese

Preheat the broiler.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, yogurt, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a 9.5-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet, heat oil and butter on medium. Add cherry tomatoes and sundried tomatoes and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and saute just until wilted, about 1 minute. Pour egg mixture over veggies and sprinkle desired amount of feta cheese on top. Cover and cook over medium-low until frittata is almost set but the top is still runny, 2-3 minutes. Uncover and place skillet in broiler until the top is set and golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Remove and let stand 2 minutes. Loosen edges with a rubber spatula, slide onto serving plate, slice into wedges and serve.

Chocolate-raspberry cupcakes

photo cred goes to Elliott!

This is by far the easiest cake recipe ever, and might I say, the best tasting! We call it "Busy Day Chocolate Cake" because you can find all the ingredients right in your pantry, it takes 35 minutes flat to make, and it is so satisfying at the end of a busy day. Better yet, it just happens to be vegan (unless you serve with whipped cream, like I did)! I've experimented with this recipe many many times, adding whole-wheat flour, brown sugar, and chocolate chips, and it turns out delicious every time. This time, I added raspberry puree, which upped the moist-factor and decadence by hundreds of points. They are off-the-charts good!

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1.5 cups flour

6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tbsp white vinegar

6 Tbsp salad oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup cold water

1/2 cup raspberry puree, strained to remove seeds

Preheat oven to 350. Into a medium bowl, sift all dry ingredients. Make 3 small wells in the mixture, and into one put the vinegar, into the second put the salad oil, and into the third put the vanilla extract. Pour 1 cup cold water over it all and mix with a fork or whisk, just until all flour is incorporated. Add raspberry puree and thoroughly combine. Pour batter into an 8x8 ungreased baking dish or paper-lined muffin cups. Bake for ~25 minutes.

I hope your mother's day was just as delicious as ours! Bon Appetit :)

The best kind of literature

I had forgotten how happy cookbooks make me. Last year, I brought them all to school with me. Not because I had a well-equipped kitchen to cook in (rather, I had only a hot water boiler for making tea in my little dorm), but because they served as a slice of home, comfort, and bedtime reading. I would gaze at them sitting on the shelf above my bed and feel soothed in times of stress and homesickness. This year, however, I neglected to bring them along. And this morning, when I opened up my closet where they live at home to search for a recipe, I was blown in the face by familiar, long-lost feelings of joy, curiosity, and enthusiasm for life and experimentation. I'm sure many of you know exactly what I'm talking about. It hit me that this entire academic year, I've felt like my little single room was missing something very important. Turns out, the missing ingredient was my collection of culinary literature.

Newly full of glee and smiles, I grabbed them by the armful and rescued them from dust-collecting doom. They're now sitting on my desk, where they seem to radiate sunshine and where they will stay. I had to dedicate a post to these wonderful books, because not only does just looking at them make me happy, but they are filled with my own memories and I can read them over and over again without ever getting bored.

obviously, I have a book dedicated to chocolate...

the timeless and beautiful Giada

My plan for the summer is this: The Los Altos farmers' market started yesterday, and I plan to go every Thursday afternoon to stock up on fresh fruit and veggies. My goals are (a) to try at least one new vegetable every week, and (b) try at least one new recipe from my cookbook collection every week.

My library contains everything from chocolate to baking to Italian to farm-fresh to homemeade baby food to food-as-medicine to vegan and beyond. Obviously, it's going to be one helluva summer!

I'm leaving you with a couple pictures of my breakfast this morning, a delicious Green Monster. If you haven't tried one of these bad boys yet, do get your blender out ASAP! These things are dangerously uplifting and you will soon be addicted.

before I added berries

after adding berries

Today's ingredients:

Greek yogurt

wheatgrass powder

hemp protein powder

spinach

frozen berries

homemade vanilla almond milk

maple syrup

Blend yogurt, powders, spinach, maple syrup, and almond milk for about 1 minute, until smooth. Add berries and pulse or use the ice-crusher setting, then blend for a few more seconds. Enjoy!

Foodie luncheon and the Nike Women's Marathon

You know you're at lunch with a bunch of food bloggers when, as soon as the first plate arrives, twelve camera phones appear instantly and furiously snap pictures. There's an unofficial contest to see who's the first to "check in" on Foursquare. Discussion of food and food-related subjects dominates conversation. You linger long enough to receive a 4th (or 5th) beverage of choice.

Such was the situation yesterday at San Francisco's Pier 23. Sadly, the camera on my first-generation iPhone is no longer functional, so I have no foodie pictures to share with you. I will, however, show you these:

source

source

Pier 23 is a quirky restaurant located on the Embarcadero. It features delicious local seafood and produce, a spacious outdoor deck on the water, an impressive list of beer, and a super friendly wait staff. For starters, the table (probably 20 of us) shared roasted artichokes with red pepper hummus, pan-fried rock shrimp with pine nuts, raisins, chillies, and garlic (which were cooked at the table in front of us!), fried calamari, and BBQ buffalo wings (which I passed on). Next, we ordered individually and I received some crispy fish tacos complete with black beans, cole slaw, guac, and fresh salsa. To tell you the absolute truth, I would have liked them more if the fish was not fried. After the fried calamari and the sampling of sweet tater fries from other people's plates, I was feeling overwhelmed and greasy. This is a girl who rarely eats anything fried. And by rarely, I mean never. The tacos were good, but that's about all. I tried to fill up on beans, guac, salsa, and the warm corn tortillas. Of course, I shared plenty of the four deserts presented to us at the end of our 2.5-hour stint at Pier 23, which filled me to the brim. The walnut fudge brownie sundae was probably the yummiest thing I've eaten in a long time.

In other news, I got into the 2010 Nike Women's Marathon!! The NWM is an annual race to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma society. 20,000 runners (you don't have to be a woman to enter) run in the name of blood cancer and empowerment for lady-folk. Why is this exciting? For starters, the race is one of the hardest to get into in the first place. Anyone who wants to run must enter the raffle, and entries are randomly chosen. It sells out every single year. Second, it is one of the most beautiful courses in the country. I ran last year with Team in Training (my first marathon :) ), and the experience changed my life in ways I cannot possibly describe. Third, sexy firemen in tuxedos holding blue Tiffany boxes wait for you at the finish line, ready to hand you your shiny finisher's necklace. Now, if this isn't what you'd all like to see just after exhausting yourselves to the point of delirium, then please let me know. Finally, the race raises millions of dollars for blood cancer research and treatment. Need I say more?

my amazing friends!

This year, I'm signed up for the half marathon instead of the full. I ran the full 26.2 last year, but developed a stress fracture about a month after the race. I spent 3 months doing absolutely nothing, and it was torture! But I'm now successfully rehabbing myself and taking it very slow. If there's another full marathon in my future, it won't be until 2011.

Wishing everyone health and a full stomach, and getting excited for October 17!!

Thoughts of the day

Since this blog is not only dedicated to healthy, mindful, and balanced eating, but to living an overall healthy, mindful, and balanced life as well, I thought I'd share with you some random tidbits of wisdom that I happened to come across today. Some are quotes, some are pictures, and others are thoughts I conjured up while walking to and from work, class, and the gym.

I think it's important to never assume we know everything. Every single day, there are new discoveries to be made, especially where we least expect them. If we view life as a series of lessons, it appears that we're always learning and growing. Humans are like students, and our life's coursework is determined by the choices we make. Life is a series of decisions. Dwelling on the too-far-ahead or the too-far-behind only distracts us from the millions of forks in the road that we unknowingly encounter hour by hour.

For me, baking and cooking bring my full attention to the present moment. It's such an adventure for me because I hate following recipes. Every single time I make something, it turns out different than the time before. And I don't make the same thing many times over. The discoveries I make and the lessons I learn in the kitchen keep me sane.

Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want. - Margaret Young

from Oh She Glows this morning

We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. -Sam Keen

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being a human. -Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I must write it all out, at any cost. Writing is thinking. It is more than living, for it is being conscious of living. -Anne Morrow Lindbergh