Caravan of Dreams

Last night, I sat down for dinner at Caravan of Dreams, a vegan restaurant in the East Village with a group of other NYC bloggers. Megan of Runners Kitchen organized the outing, and it was so nice to meet Katherine, Lindsey, Liz, Irina, and Jacqui.

It was a treat to spend a night out talking shop with a bunch of ladies with similar interests!

My photos turned out pretty awful, so check out Megan's blog for some quality photo documentation.

As a teaser, here's a pic of the tasty salad that came with my ginger stir-fry entree. This place is a must-try for vegans and non-vegans alike. I can't wait to go back!

Delhi Heights

For some reason, it's hard to get good Indian food in Manhattan, so Chris and I finally got around to heeding the advice of those in the know and headed out to Jackson Heights for lunch today.

We went to Delhi Heights on 74th Street, where we had ourselves a delicious meal of chili paneer, daal tadka, raita, rice, and naan. At the end of the meal, we ordered masala tea, which is brewed right in the milk. We could also have opted for the $9.95 buffet, so perhaps we'll have to go back another time.

Despite eating until we were a little more than satisfied, we still had quite a lot of leftovers to take home. Even better. But man, I'm glad I went to the gym this morning! It's not so much that the food there is "heavy" or the portions are oversized—it's just so good it's hard not to eat more than you need to!

Meatless Mondays to Come to New York City Schools?

This week, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer released a report titled "A Blueprint for a Sustainable Food System," in which he proposed several health-promoting measures for New York City schools. As ways of addressing the fact that one in five NYC kindergarten children is obese, Stringer suggested the following measures:

• Require Food Curriculum in Public Schools
• Expose City Students to Farms and Gardens
• Institute Meatless Mondays in City Schools

For more info, check out NYU's Wagner Food Policy Alliance blog.

There have been both positive and negative responses to the "Meatless Mondays" proposal, in particular. I, for one, am in favor of it—as long as the food being served includes real vegetables and whole grains rather than just pizza, french fries, and ketchup. For example, vegan chili is incredibly easy to make in large quantities for cheap and is packed with nutrients.

One of the main concerns of people unfamiliar with vegetarian eating is protein. Nine times out of ten, the first question is, "WHAT ABOUT PROTEIN?" Contrary to popular belief, once you know what to do (key word: nutrition education), it's incredibly easy. And anyway, as a country, Americans get much more protein than we technically need. One meal without animal protein is not going to cause your kids to shrivel up and die.

Happy Love!

Every February, we get to read new versions of the same old article about aphrodisiac foods. This year’s Love Drugs parade did not disappoint. I think that by far, my favorite article was Vegetarian Times’ “Feast of Love,” which pictured a group of four enjoying a romantic dinner of Roasted Vegetable Linguine with Fresh Torn Basil, Feta-Stuffed Peppadews, Pineapple-Fennel Salad with Ginger-Sesame Dressing, Crispy Kale Leaves, and Chocolate-Nutmeg Pots de Crème.

The pictures are the best part. Models trying to look dewy-eyed and, yes, love-drugged, as they gesture to the serving platters and lift forks to each other’s mouths. They appear to be in a house with glass walls, as well. It’s nearing sunset. Of course.

Quite appropriately, the following article is about five different ways to prepare oats, encouraging the reader to “Rekindle your relationship with a heart-healthful favorite.” Yeah, I know they mean one’s relationship with oats, but come on—I can’t be the only one imagining the Feast of Love folks waking up on the living room floor, covered in baby oil or something and saying, “Hey, guys, let’s go make some oats! Happy love!”

While I believe that if you eat well and take care of yourself, you’re bound to have better stamina and enjoy overall, um, benefits, I don’t think there are any magic foods that can suddenly turn your average Joe into a sex machine (check out this NYTimes article on the subject). The only genuine aphrodisiac I’d associate with a meal is one’s mate offering to run you a bath so you can relax while they do the dishes.

I considered writing a parody article, complete with recipes like baked asparagus (thought to “stir up lust”) with almonds (which can evoke arousal in women) and ginger (stimulates the circulatory system so the blood flows efficiently to you know where!), and figs (a powerful female sex symbol) stuffed with tapenade, but I just couldn’t get my act together.

However, if you want to make the soft pink dessert tacos that just weren’t subtle enough, it’s very easy:

*In a bowl or food processor, blend together 1/3 cup low-fat ricotta, a handful of raspberries, a teaspoon of vanilla, and sugar to taste.
*Heat two small soft tortillas in a skillet in a little butter or put in the oven to warm up. Sprinkle brown sugar on the inside.
*Spread the ricotta-raspberry mixture down the center of each tortilla and fold over as you would a taco.
*Broil for one minute
*Garnish with dark chocolate shavings (optional)

Last year, Chris and I stayed home and cooked, and we talked about doing that again this year, but we decided to make reservations at Pure Food and Wine instead.

This morning I fueled up with what I’ll call the “Brangelina Special”: Oats with bananas cooked in, along with a little cocoa powder and then topped with cinnamon and a spoonful of almond butter. I got my B-vitamins, potassium (both good for sex hormone production), phallic symbolism, passion-inducing-nut flavor, and feel-good chemicals all in one shot.

Stretching Leftovers

Hope you've all enjoyed the weekend. Though I did find some time to see friends, go out to dinner, and to a play this weekend, I spent a lot of time doing homework and cleaning. I also have a few upcoming writing gigs I'm prepping for.

It's tempting when I get busy to just eat on autopilot. While it's great—and important—to have healthy go-to's, the same old stuff can get boring. So this week, I experiment by seeing how many ways I could use the whole wheat couscous I made on Tuesday afternoon.

The first night involved a tomato-zucchini-eggplant-chickpea stew. Then the next day for lunch I threw a bunch of leftover veggies in a pot to simmer down and cooked some lentils and added the couscous at the end. Amazing. It also worked really well in a salad as well as in a soup that Chris made.

Something I was reading this afternoon you might find interesting is this post on Marion Nestle's blog, Food Politics, about the proposed New York penny-and-ounce soda tax. Check out the guide she links to. It's very informative. I'm personally in favor of it, though I don't know how well it will go over with people who regularly buy sugary drinks. For example, some believe it may drive more people to drink alcohol, which also has a lot of "empty" calories.

Thoughts?

These Are Just Wrong

Dude, sunflower seeds are not supposed to taste like nachos. Alas, nacho-cheese-flavored sunflower seeds exist. Why?

The Edible Schoolyard Comes to Brooklyn

This summer, construction on the first east-coast affiliate of the Edible Schoolyard Program, developed by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, is set to begin at P.S. 216 in Brooklyn. The new $1.6 million, solar-powered building will house a kitchen and communal tables where children can share the foods they grow in the garden outside. This photo, courtesy of the New York Times, depicts a rendering of what the garden will look like.

Teachers will use the garden to give students lessons in subjects like math, science, and history. There are also plans for a chicken coop, portable greenhouse, and composting system, outdoor pizza oven, and cistern for collecting rainwater.

While the program does have its critics, I think it's a wonderful idea. I wish we'd had something like this when I was in school. I think we went apple-picking once as a class, and we also had an incubator full of eggs that never hatched, but that was about it.

While I have to nod along when I hear Alice Waters called "a bit of a fruitcake," I admire her stance on the importance of understanding where our food comes from and taking joy in providing loved ones with something delicious that's good for them, and I agree that if we want to change the eating habits of Americans, we need to start with children.

I think teaching kids how to grow a garden and what they can do with what they cultivate is a timely endeavor, especially given the push to develop more urban gardens—you gotta learn sometime and somewhere. Why not in school? Worst comes to worst, they'll grow up to be marijuana farmers in New Jersey or California. One could do worse.

One thing not mentioned in any of the articles I've read about the Edible Schoolyard or Alice Waters is the therapeutic aspect of gardening. Though I have as yet to catch the bug myself, I come from a family of gardeners. My mom could often be found tending to the flowers or vegetables when I was a kid, and the summer my grandfather lived with us after my grandma died, he was out in the sun almost every day, pulling up weeds, trimming, and watering. As my mom put it, "He knew how to mourn."

A lot of people also find it very satisfying to grow beautiful plants. Even Chris has his "babies"—a shell ginger, sunflower, basil, oregano, and aloe plant. I wonder if he sings to them when I'm not home...It's somehow calming to be surrounded by plants. It's also good feng shui, if you're into that.

New York Aims to Curb Sodium Intake

Salt made the the front page of Monday's New York Times.

Today, Mayor Bloomberg unveiled the National Salt Reduction Initiative, which aims to cut sodium intake by twenty-five per cent over the next five years, potentially preventing thousands of premature deaths.

High salt levels can raise blood pressure levels, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Americans eat an average of 3,400 milligrams of sodium daily, though the amount recommended by the American Heart Association is 2,300 milligrams. Since a reported 80% of sodium is already in the food when consumers purchase it, food companies are being encouraged to lower the amount of sodium in their products.

I don't personally have a problem with this campaign, though I can understand if someone were to say it makes Bloomberg seem like one of those hovering mothers who tells their kids' friends' parents not to give them junk food at sleepovers (I had a friend growing up whose mom used to brag that her kids had never tasted butter—yikes). While I'd also like to see some kind of health information campaign about what sodium is and why people shouldn't eat too much of it, I'm curious to see how this goes.

Now if only the mayor could do something about neighbors having dance parties on Monday nights...

Sorry, Michael Pollan

As I mentioned in Monday's post, Michael Pollan made an appearance last night at the Barnes and Noble in Tribeca. I'm sure a lot of my classmates and fellow Michael Pollan groupies were present, but I decided, instead, to go see my boyfriend's band, My Cousin, the Emperor play a mellow acoustic show at the Rockwood Music Hall.

Sometimes, you just need a night off. When classes are in session, I often have to miss Chris' shows, so it was nice to be able to sit back and enjoy without having to worry about looming assignments or my alarm clock. Since my school is on break and since my two most regular jobs involve colleges in some capacity, I've had a chance to go out to lunch with friends, visit my family, see movies, and even check out a few museums.

As interesting as I find Michael Pollan's work and as great as I'm sure the event was, I just didn't feel like crowding into a Barnes and Noble to talk about someone else's "food rules." And besides, even if I weren't living in sin with the bass player, I'd still love this band.

I think it's important to make time to do things you like to do rather than always do the things you think you "should" do. Enjoying life is just a part of overall wellness as eating right for your body and sleeping enough.

Vegan-Friendliness

Sometimes I take for granted how easy it is to find vegetarian and vegan eats in New York. Today, for example, while doing my holiday shopping, I stopped in at Pure Juice for a tall glass of "green spice" juice and raw vegetable sushi rolls (made with jicama-and-pine-nut rice!). A little later, I met up with a girlfriend for coffee at Cocoa V, a vegan chocolate-and-wine place, which just opened up on Ninth Ave.

Of course, our coffee plans actually turned into healthy glasses of Malbec and a sharing of a vegan cheese plate and chocolate once Chris arrived. The portions are small (but in that "perfect taste" way), and it's not exactly cheap, but it was a very nice treat to linger for a couple hours and enjoy a moment of peace before the holiday madness envelopes us all. The hot chocolate samples they brought out were pretty awesome too! Worth stopping in even if you're not a vegan. I mean, hell, I'm not even technically a vegetarian.

After that, we all hit up the Chelsea Market to pick up cellophane for cookies Chris and I had made as well as some last-minute treats for family members. I couldn't believe how many interesting shops and places to eat there were in there! I'm definitely going to go back sometime in the very near future! If you're in the New York area, you should check it out!

Hope your holiday prep has been more fun than stressful!

Consumers Crave All-Day Breakfast

Living in New York, I think I take it for granted that if I really want, I can get an egg-white omelet or a belgian waffle or oatmeal any time of day or night I want. Unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky.

There are, naturally, many people who would like to be able to get breakfast all the time. According to recent restaurant surveys, nearly half of US consumers report wanting full-service restaurants to offer breakfast fare all day and about a third would like limited-service restaurants to do the same.

As noted in Technomic's "Breakfast Consumer Trend Report," consumers in general find breakfast food comforting, but women are even more into the idea of being able to get breakfast at lunch and dinner. I guess I can see that.

Also interesting, apparently the purchase of breakfast sandwiches is on the rise. I don't know why I find this so interesting or amusing exactly...maybe because I've always thought of, like, bacon-egg-and-cheese-type breakfasts as hangover food (at least for me, though it's fortunately been a long, long time...).

Even though you could joke that a lot more people are probably drinking a lot because the economy sucks, I think it's also true that a savory breakfast is very comforting and makes people feel like they're getting a good, solid start to their day. I guess you could also say that in times like these, you need to feel like you're getting off on the right foot in at least some respect.

It could also be, too, that breakfast tends to be cheaper than other meals.

Neighborhood Gem

I don't usually post too much about restaurants, but last night when we got home, Chris and I stopped in at this Greek restaurant, Dafni, which opened in our neighborhood this summer. We'd always walked right by it, sort of writing it off because of its proximity to Port Authority, but man, were we wrong!

We split an order of kolokithokeftedes—zucchini fritters with onion, mint and cheese served with tzatziki—and the vegetarian moussaka—layers of vegetables in a tomato sauce with cucumber relish and fava dip on the side. That shut us up.

If you ever find yourself in the area, you should definitely drop in. They also have a pretty good wine list, which I'm looking forward to exploring in the near future.

Photo from restaurant website.

Let Me Down Easy

On Saturday, Chris and I got student rush tickets to see Anna Deavere Smith's Let Me Down Easy at the Second Stage Theatre. If you have the opportunity, go see this! It was not exactly cheerful, but you will come away with a lot to think about. You may be stirred up, but you will not be disappointed.

I'd first encountered Smith while I was doing my undergrad at Emerson, when my honors class studied her play Twilight, and ever since, I'd been hoping I'd have a chance to see her perform live. The way she embodies her incredibly varied interview subjects on stage is mind-blowing to me, especially as someone who has performance in my background.

In this one-woman show, she portrays twenty different individuals she interviewed for the play, ranging from Lauren Hutton to Lance Armstrong to a doctor from Charity Hospital in New Orleans to her aunt.

On the surface, the play is about our country and its health care system, but it is also about life and death, winning and losing and all the disparities in between. This write-up in today's Times is a pretty good summary without giving away too much.

One thing I found myself wondering was if anyone will ever be able to write a successful play about our country's twisted food culture. At first, I was thinking, "Gee, someone should do an eating disorders play," but I really think food in our country is such a broad topic and so many different groups of people have so many different and passionate feelings about it, from consumers all the way up through the government and out into the industry. I don't know how you'd keep it interesting without getting too bogged down in "this bill and that lobbyist," but it could be really fascinating.

Teaching Schools to Care

Today on her blog, Food Politics, Marion Nestle described a recent tour she took of a few schools in the New York area

Her conclusion: "School food can be really good, even in poor neighborhoods, if everyone involved cares about it. Can we teach schools to care? Of course we can."

She also references an article that ran in the Times on October 2nd about how local schools are banning bake sales as part of a new wellness policy that also limits what can be sold in vending machines.

I think that in some ways, children are the most susceptible to the intense marketing of unhealthy foods. I'm in favor of these restrictions. Doritos and Snickers bars are not going to give students the fuel they need to perform. Plus, eating a real meal makes it easier to stay awake during class. Schools are a really great place to begin reinforcing the importance—and benefits–of making positive choices.

Maybe if people stopped talking so much in terms of enforcing restrictions and instead using language that emphasizes the inclusion of more healthy foods it might foster a more upbeat attitude. Rather than focus on what you're giving up, focus on the good things you're embracing.

The Banana Man Strikes Again

I don't know if you remember my post earlier this summer about the guy at the fruit stand who likes to give me a free banana—For the past few weeks, I'd been enjoying relative anonymity while he had other guys working with him. While free food is always a good thing, there's something awkward about free bananas. I guess it's the blatant phallic symbolism.

Anyway, today while I passed by, I figured I should pick up some produce, since we're out of a lot of things. There was one person ahead of me, and when he'd been helped, I said my usual, "Hi, I'd just like to get—"

"You can get for yourself! You are a well-known person!" Banana Man cried jovially and handed me a plastic bag.

"Um, okay. Thank you." I cautiously put four bananas into the bag. "Great. Here's a dollar."

Banana Man grabbed a particularly large specimen and plopped it in my bag with a grin. "This from me."

If he hadn't given me the extra banana, I probably would have bought more, but I just felt too awkward. I told him to have a good rest of the day and intended to run home as fast as possible, but apparently, that wasn't an option, as a woman shoved a microphone in my face.

"Hi, can I ask you a question? How are you handling the heat?"

This is why I'm glad I don't have a TV—I sure don't wanna see my sweaty self rambling about how we turn the AC on in short bursts so it doesn't get too expensive. Good God...

Feed the Artist

As I was passing through Union Square Park on my way to work this morning, I saw a cardboard sign in my path that said: DUDE! I need food!

There was a small painting of the same size a few feet away. I'm not sure if the painting and the sign were related, but it made me want to look around for the artist of the painting and/or the sign.

I never know whether to offer money or food to people begging (vocally or with signage), but this sign kind of made me want to hand something over. This morning, though, the cynic in me said, "Eh, it's probably some artist dude who came up with the idea for the sign over PBRs with his buddies in Bushwick last night."

The painting was pretty good though. I always say that one day when I have money, I'll buy art from people on the street, since it's usually more interesting to me than stuff I see in galleries, but that day seems really freaking far away.

5 for a Dollar

I feel a bit funny about always taking the extra banana from the fruit vendor on 9th, but I do it anyway.

My sister tells me this is how people like me get into trouble. What she may or may not realize is that I wrote the book on trouble—it's just that nobody bought it.

I've actually written several books on various sorts of trouble. I've only showed one or two manuscripts to people, only actually shopped one around. One agent wrote back to me, "When you have a story that is not your own, get back in touch with me."

No thank you. I had a weird moment of clarity a few months after that in which I realized that instead of using my writing to share painful stories, I could use it to spread positive ideas that could help people more directly.

Sometimes I feel a bit guilty for neglecting my fiction and essay-writing since I spend so much time and energy doing other work for my jobs and school. I do get to do a ton of writing and blogging, at least, it's just about different subject matters.

It's been an interesting path so far, and kind of funny to see how after a while, writing about sex is so much less interesting than writing about, oh, I don't know—Chinese medicine, vegetarian protein sources, or weird findings and goings-on around the city.

The closest I come to writing about sex lately is when I have to write fertility-related blog posts (check here for the latest one), but somehow, I think that's okay. I feel like in a few years (or many), I'll look back and see that the stars were, in fact, in alignment.

Sharing is Caring

So we finally are settling in to our new place. It seems to be going pretty well. We look out over a Papaya Dog and are next door to a halfway house and down the street from a Catholic Church— it's pretty typical New York.

We're also right near a Subway, so last night, Chris ran out and got a foot-long sub for us to share. It was a simple and satisfying meal that we got to enjoy on the roof deck of our new building as the sun went down over the city.

We often share entrees when we go out to eat. At most restaurants, a main dish is enough for, like, three people, so it works out perfectly. You save money and still have room for dessert if you want it. Not to mention, it's terribly romantic. Hah.

Of course, some foods are better for sharing than others, but that's probably a matter of taste. I was just about to say that I can't imagine sharing a hot dog with someone, but then I remembered a family/business trip to Maine and watching a mother split a hot dog amongst herself and her four young daughters.

Not only that, but an early 90's PSA on Nickelodeon told kids in no uncertain terms that they could not catch AIDS from sharing a hot dog with their friend. Good thing—I'll bet parents were worried, you know, with all those kids sharing hot dogs out there.

Whatever—it doesn't matter anyway since I hate hot dogs and Chris doesn't eat meat—just goes to show, I guess. Show what, I don't know. Perhaps that you can cut or divvy up pretty much anything?

Clearly, I am overthinking this point and really just get back to unpacking...

Greek-Style Nachos

I'm about twenty-five percent Greek but unfortunately don't know many of my relatives on that side of the family—go figure I try to connect to my heritage through Greek food. I never seem to get sick of it.

I just saw this recipe in the New York Times Dining section and decided I have to try it out in the near future. Maybe whenever we have our housewarming party? Yeah, we're moving on Friday (just a couple blocks), so it's packing week over here—and finals for me. I think a celebration is definitely in order once the boxes have been unpacked and the grades have been posted...

Greek-Style Nachos

4 pita pockets, white or whole wheat, cut into wedges

About 1/2 cup olive oil

Salt

4 ounces feta cheese

1/2 cup yogurt, preferably whole-milk

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

1 lemon

Freshly ground black pepper

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 pound ground lamb*

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 or 3 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeded if necessary, and chopped

1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted and halved (optional).

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Arrange pita wedges in one layer on baking sheets and brush or drizzle with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Bake until they begin to color, turning once or twice, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, turn off oven and put chips back in to keep warm.

2. In a blender or food processor, combine feta, yogurt, 1/4 cup olive oil, mint and zest and juice of lemon; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Blend or process until smooth. (You can also mash mixture by hand, with a fork.)

3. Put two tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add lamb and cumin and sprinkle with salt and pepper; continue cooking until meat is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes more. Put chips on a serving plate and top with lamb, sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers and olives if you’re using them.

Yield: 4 servings.

*I wouldn't use lamb since Chris and most of are friends are vegetarians, but if you could find texturized soy protein lamb (weird that I haven't seen it before), you could try that.

what kind of salad?

Today in the Op-Ed section of the Times there was an interesting critique by columnist Maureen Dowd of the way President Obama sends mixed messages about food. I'm not exactly sure what to make of it.

Her gripe is that half the time, he's preaching the benefits of healthy eating and exercise, talking about the White House vegetable garden and eschewing french fries in restaurants, except for when he's showing what an average Joe he is by chomping on burgers.

"Mix the salad, not the message," Dowd says.

Might that be an arugula salad, Maureen?

When Bush was in office, there wasn't a whole lot of talk about what the President ate (except the whole pretzel incident), but you see people looking to the Obamas for cues on how to eat. Obviously, Barak and Michelle know what they're doing and who's watching, but foods like burgers and fries can be part of a healthy diet as long as you're physically active and make room for indulgences by making good food choices the majority of the time.

While I do find it encouraging to see Dowd focusing in on the President's eating habits, I feel like she misses a few opportunities to talk about what a healthy lifestyle can include. She almost makes a good point about our country's need for a good role model but doesn't exactly go there.

It also bugs me that the public supposedly considers burgers and fries "average Joe" food in the first place. It's like when you go to a bar mitzvah, and the kids get chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks, while the adults get to nosh on prime rid and caviar. Why can't everyone line up for the same buffet? It doesn't have to be one extreme or the other.

However, living in a city full of "arugula-eating liberals" who can afford fresh produce, I have to remind myself that the concept of moderation isn't exactly a no-brainer in our country.

I guess we'll just stay tuned for now.