Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Squash

Here's a good quinoa dish that I've added to my roster of summer salads. I made this back in June for a party whose invitation jokingly requested no healthy stuff like quinoa. So of course that's what we had to bring. The salad is composed of quinoa, chickpeas, chopped cherry tomatoes, a diced yellow summer squash, diced spring onion, and fresh parsley. It qualifies as vegan and gluten free. Despite their love of meat, everyone at the party ate it up.

Read More

Bike Commute Reflections

Last summer, my bike commute took me over the Williamsburg Bridge. This summer, it's the Manhattan Bridge. (And soon enough, my commute will likely change to the Brooklyn Bridge when my office moves to the financial district in the fall). I like seeing the wildflowers and smelling the grass on the Brooklyn side ramp, a rare glimpse of nature against the steel and concrete.

One thing I will say about biking in New York City is that I find it exhausting. Not only physically, but also mentally, as you have to be constantly aware of your surroundings. My eyes scan the parked cars to the right to make sure none are about to open a door or pull out. I listen and glance behind me to make sure there are no cars approaching too fast that I should move out of the way for. Before I go through a green light, I check to make sure there are no cars running red lights in the other direction.

Biking doesn't tire me out that much in the mornings, because I take it easy on my way to the office. But I definitely feel it in the evenings, after I've worked all day and then biked five and half miles home with a gradual incline at the end. I welcome the occasional stormy day when I can veg out and close my sleepy eyes or read on the subway.

But I keep it up because it's still the best form of exercise for me personally. It's consistent and it's fun and it's hard enough finding "me" time in my current schedule that I don't know how I could fit in cardio workouts otherwise.

I realized that it actually limits my future job options, because I don't think I ever want to work somewhere with a bike commute that would be longer than six or seven miles. When it gets to be ten miles each way, it's too rough to do regularly, as Evan has found out at his new job. But I've decided I'm okay with that right now, because I'm prioritizing my health and quality of life.

And sometimes biking earns you comments like this one, said to me from a garbageman the other day: "Even in that helmet you look beautiful."

Read More

Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

The season of strawberries and rhubarbs has come and gone, but I've only now had time to take these photos off the camera. Evan made this ice cream, not me, but he was so enamored with it that he wanted me to share. For fruit ice cream, he likes to take the time consuming method of cooking fruits down into a jam that can be added to the ice cream machine after you've put in the plain ice cream base. Bookmark this one for next June.

Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream
1 3/4 cup rhubarb, chopped
1 cup strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Stew ingredients for twenty minutes. Puree. Return to the pot and simmer until it reduces to a jam consistency. Test to see if it's ready by using the frozen plate test (put a spoonful on a frozen plate, wait a few minutes, then touch it and see if it wrinkles).

1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar

Meanwhile, whisk these ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. Pour mixture into ice cream machine to churn. After the ice cream machine has been going for ten minutes, slowly add the strawberry rhubarb jam. Let it churn for about another five minutes. Store in the freezer overnight until the ice cream firms up.

Read More

Pretty Pink Rhubarb Cocktails

Continuing with the year of cocktails, lately I'm all about rhubarb simple syrup concoctions. I love the vivid pink color, which feels so fun and elegant to drink.

Rhubarb syrup is versatile, as proven by Kelly's suggestions galore on The Best Remedy. I started with her rhubarb blush. Here I paired the rhubarb with lemon, seltzer and gin from one of the many new local distilleries proliferating in Brooklyn, New York Distilling Comapny, just down the block from one of my former Williamsburg abodes. Their Dorothy Parker gin is a "blend of traditional and contemporary botanicals including juniper and elderberries, citrus, cinnamon, and hibiscus," which sounds like the perfect pairing for a sweet rhubarb drink.

I also tried her Hello Rhubarb, which is simply bourbon, lemon juice and rhubarb syrup. Or as Sarah of Pink of Perfection recommends, add some rhubarb syrup to a white wine spritzer.

I'm pretty sure rhubarb can still be found at farmers markets (try Wilklow Orchards) in New York. I think this weekend I will find some to chop and freeze so I can mix up these babies throughout the summer and sip on them in my new backyard! Because yes, I'm moving again mid-month and this time achieving the holy grail of New York apartments, a private yard.

Speaking of which, I recently joined Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/tocolormegreen/. In particular, I'm keeping an eye out for ideas for the new yard. Follow along!

Rhubarb Simple Syrup
Chop 1/2 lb of rhubarb into 1-inch pieces. Combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan and heat while stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add rhubarb and simmer about 30 minutes. Let it cool a bit and then strain the liquid into a jar, discarding the mushed rhubarb. The syrup will last for about a week in the fridge.

Read More

Perfect Pancakes: with bacon fat

I think I've hit on my perfect pancake recipe. The proportion of whole grains, including cornmeal, gives it a balanced flavor and a texture that is hearty and chewy while still light enough. Bacon fat is commonly used in place of butter in this household, since we keep a constant supply in the fridge of strained grease leftover from cooking bacon. It won't overpower but rather enhance, especially with maple syrup on top.

Whole Grain Pancakes with Bacon Fat
1 1/2 tsp bacon fat (or butter)
1 1/2 tsp honey
1 egg
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp milk

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

additional bacon fat (or butter) for frying
maple syrup

Take out your fat of choice, whether it be bacon fat or butter. Scoop out 1 1/2 tsp into a mixing bowl and give it 5 or 10 minutes to soften. In the meantime, you can get out the remaining ingredients, grease a 1/4 measuring cup, and put your cast iron pan over a low heat to warm up.

Combine the honey, egg and milk into the fat. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine until it's a smooth batter. To the pan, add enough bacon fat to coat the bottom. It should quickly melt and slightly bubble. Run your finger under the faucet and then flick it over the pan - when it sizzles, it's hot enough.

Using your well greased 1/4 measuring cup, scoop out batter. Pour it into the pan with a steady hand and let the batter flow outward to create a perfectly round pancake. When the pancake edges start to curl under and bubble, flip it over and cook for an additional few minutes until both sides are browned. Store pancakes in a covered dish or oven to keep warm until they're all cooked and ready to serve with maple syrup.

Makes 8 medium sized pancakes

Read More

Birding in Jamaica Bay

Not only does Jamaica Bay offer camping, as I was surprised to learn last summer, it is also home to one of the country's largest bird sanctuaries. We headed out there on Mother's Day. The air smelled clean and salty, as if we'd left the city behind. From the visitor center, it's an easy mile and a half walk circling a pond, with the bay water on one side and the marsh and shrubby vegetation on the other. Ducks and geese abound, but so do plenty of other birds. Bring binoculars to spot them all, as well as bird watching lovers. I'm no good at finding and identifying birds, so I'm always impressed by people who can. They pointed out ospreys in their constructed wooden nests, egrets, a green heron, yellow warblers and others I can't remember. We stopped so often to look at birds that we had to turn around after only making it a quarter way around in order to make a dinner reservation on time. We drove there, but it would also be a nice day trip by bike.

Read More

Tips for Entertaining in Small Spaces

The apartment I'm living in now with my boyfriend is a 400 square foot one bedroom. It may not be as difficult as Erin's life in 250 square feet, but it still requires some creativity to make it work. 

For example, we both love to entertain. I often hear people complain that their apartment is too small to have people over but as I've mentioned before, I don't let that stop me. In this apartment, I've discovered two tips that make it possible to entertain in a small space: 1 - rearrange furniture and 2 - have convertible furniture.

We are lucky enough to have an open kitchen/living space that allows us to rearrange as needed. We also both inherited quality wood dining tables that can expand or contract as needed. Mine has extra leaves that can be added, and his can be folded into a small narrow side table.

For dinner parties, the couch is pushed against the wall with an accompanying coffee table. Then, our two dining tables can be fully expanded and pushed together in the middle of the room, in total providing seating for nearly 10 people. Or for bigger parties, the tables can be folded up out of the way against the walls or bookshelves to create open space for dancing and mingling.



When the party's over, the couch goes back into its place in front of the TV, one table folds back into  a side table next to the couch, and the extra leaf comes out of the other dining table, returning to a table for two.

All that rearranging might seem like a pain, but that's just how life is in NYC. And you might be surprised at how many people you can actually fit in your apartment, if you try.

Read More