Category Archives: review

Product Review: Nature’s Pride bread

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As a member of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker program, I occasionally receive an offer to try new products and review them right here, on home sweet blog. I have two lovely loafs just begging to be written about from Nature’s Pride Oven Classics line of sliced bread – Oatmeal, and Whole Wheat.
You don’t have to have read much of this blog to know that when it comes to bread, I am obsessed addicted a real enthusiast. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to try a brand I’ve never had before – let’s see if there really is something better invented since sliced bread!
[Leave me and my insistence on using cheesy adages alone pleasekthanksbye.]
Oh bread. How I do love you.
Especially when covered in dark chocolate almond butter and smashed banana.
But this post is not about toppings – let’s face it, what are nut butters for without a vehicle upon which to put them?

Enter: bread.
This bread.

Nature’s Pride Oven Classics

I tried the Oatmeal bread first, mostly because it was all white and fluffy and shares a name with one of my favorite breakfast foods ever.
Appearances were not deceiving.
Dark chocolate almond butter (addict? who, me?) + raspberry jam.
This combination might not have been as good, however, if not for the soft, honey-sweet bread beneath it. While I usually don’t like white bread – the crust always tastes weird to me compared to the white part – this made a mean pb &j. And no high fructose corn syrup to boot? Win.

I really liked the Whole Wheat.

Yes, that’s right – enough to eat it plain. (So I eat plain bread. If that’s weird, I don’t wanna be normal.)
It had that nostalgic, homey taste – like, “this is what mom packed in my lunch every day” homey. It really had a nice flavor, not just blah dry wheatness. Now, I have had plenty of other good-tasting wheat breads – they’re kind of hard to avoid nowadays – but what I love about this is that it has no HFCS involved. Seriously, get your creepy overprocessed crap out of my bread. Major props to Nature’s Pride for keepin’ it real. Or natural, as it were.

I will admit, I am not a huge fan of sliced bread. Tasty as it can be, it still has an overprocessed feel to it. Bread is so easy to make and it always tastes better when it’s fresh and, um, not found in plastic bags. BUT – and that’s a big but (teehee) – I am the first to recognize that not everyone, myself included, has the time/ability/patience/etc to make their own bread or buy the fresher stuff, and sliced bread is just so convenient. I love seeing products like Nature’s Pride stuff that aims to keep it natural and without the preservatives, fillers, and words with more syllables than should be allowed in any language in the ingredient list. This is not just a crunchy-granola-head-organic-eating-locavore rant – this is based on my own experience. I not only enjoy bread more without all the icky stuff, but I feel better physically. And that’s where I stand :)

As much as I miss my dearly beloved bakery and constant access to fresh bread in Florence…

Yum.
….maybe that’s a memory to keep in Florence. Corner bakeries aren’t exactly a cornerstone of American culture, and I think that’s an important thing to acknowledge. I talk a whole lot about how much I love & miss Italian culture and the lifestyle there, but I wouldn’t necessarily want to impose that culture on my own country, which has its own interesting culture and foods and peoples. It’s so easy to go abroad and look down on your own country for what they don’t have – but for me, I’ve realized that there is no ‘better’ or ‘worse’, just different. That’s why studying abroad is so important – you gain that respect and understanding not just for other cultures, but for your own. That’s pretty important too.

America, land of sliced bread? Well, yes. But we’ve got some darn good sliced bread.

~Namaste~

Productive

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Wait…what could this be…an update???? Surely thine eyes deceive!
Nope. I’m here, and [mostly] in one piece. What prompted a sudden revival of posting, you ask?…a weekend of blatant procrastination. I am none too proud of it, but the past 3 days have been painfully unproductive. And with 6 1/2 weeks still left in the semester, it’s not making me happy.
Today, however, for the first time in two months, I actually read blogs. I blew the dust off of my Google Reader and read. And I’ve decided, it was possibly one of the more productive things I’ve done yet during this absolute hell ,ahem, busy semester.
As I’m sure any current college senior can attest, that ubiquitous question “so what are you doing next year?” is the hot topic of the moment. And I will say it is quite a relief to a) know the answer and b) be able to ignore the GRE-mania that has taken over my friends and fellow tormented classmates. But, I can’t say I’m immune to my own self-questioning of is this what I really want. As I’ve been running around, making arrangements for gaining my 6 months of food prep experience required by the CIA, I can’t help but hear that very teeny voice in my head saying “oh, but this could be BAD. WHAT do you think you’re doing?” etc, etc – that same voice that held me back before Florence figuratively slapped me in the head.
One of the blogs I depended upon in Florence for restaurant recommendations had been left ignored, like all the others. I caught up on it today, and it all came hurtling back to me. Everything I learned – everything that Tuscany taught me – about food, and food as something inexplicably more, flooded my senses. Oh right – this is why I love it, why I want it. Duh.
I really do miss those yellow apples.
BUT, a number of other exciting things have happened in those few & far apart moments when I’m not metaphorically [usually] bound to my desk chair researching recipes from the 1940s. (My thesis and I….it’s a love/hate relationship. Not sure if I’m the love or hate…but that’s another post for another time.)
Fall Break was last weekend, and I spent it with my aunt & uncle in Georgia. Not only did I get to hang out with these adorable faces for 4 days:
Bosco, Banda, and
Buster!
…but I am also hoping (planning? let’s not jinx it just yet.) to spend the summer with them while getting the aforementioned food prep experience at a restaurant just down the street from their house. We went there – Three Blind Mice – for dinner and a little good-natured schmoozing with the owner/chef to check out that possibility.
My initial reaction to the restaurant itself was something to the tune of “too good to be true.” And I hadn’t even tasted the food yet. The decor is pretty perfect – you walk in and there is a wall of wines ordered by country of origin in front of you; a look to your left is a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf filled with culinary literature*.
*Side note: As a result of my thesis, I now have a venerable wealth of knowledge concerning what to call “food writing”: this includes, but is not necessarily limited to, ‘culinary literature,’ ‘culinary writing,’ ‘cookery books/literature,’ and ‘gastronomical literature/writing.’ Just in case you thought I was only trying to use fancy words…I wasn’t. That’s just a broad enough title.
But let’s get to the menu, right?

 

Now, I don’t know if you can see it, but if you look under appetizers, you will see a affettati board, which is Italian for literally ‘slices’, usually referring to meat. Look a little further down. Any die-hard Gillianasana fans remember finocchiona???  (Hint: here and here!) Only my favorite.sandwich.EVER. from my beloved sandwich shop/wine bar, Casa del Vino!! Y’all, I just about had a heart attack. I have not had the pure unadulterated joy of finocchiona since my last day.second-to-last sandwich in Florence.
…and then our waitress brought out the bread.
Ok, no olive oil & balsamic, but it is in middle-of-nowhere suburban Georgia. Let’s not push it, shall we?
I was seriously torn come decision-time, but I went with the Nicoise salad. I’m a huge fan of tuna in salad – but I hate ‘tuna salad’ (mayonnaise makes me gag. and shudder. and then gag again.). I actually make it all the time at home. That, and when my family and i were having lunch after touring Pompeii, my mom and I got this salad with tuna, corn, olives and arugula that blew our minds. Italy kinda does that.

 

Loved it. Especially because it was over arugula, my love for which knows no bounds.
My aunt ordered the Panzanella after I had another mini spaz attack over it (another fave of my mom’s & mine), but I actually didn’t love it. In another appeal to its audience, it included chicken and that was just kinda wrong to me. That and my pescatarian ways are slowly taking over. My uncle got the shrimp & grits (you see how awesome this restaurant is – it had rigatoni abruzzese just under shrimp & grits…genius.) and near licked his plate clean.
But, I will never forget the sage words (haha, get it? sage? like the spice…oh, never mind.) of my Italian cooking professor when he told us that the way to judge a restaurant is by its appetizer menu – CHECK – and its dessert menu.
We ordered 3.
My uncle ordered a chocolate-raspberry fontaine, a pastry of deep dark chocolate and raspberry filling enclosed in a flaky phyllo dough
I had a bite or two, but found myself a little distracted by the meringue-topped key lime pie…
…was amazing, mouth-watering, and basically exactly what I think of when key lime pie comes to mind, only maybe a step above. Even my aunt who hates key lime pie – and really desserts in general (I don’t know how I’m related to her either) – had a couple forkfuls. It was so light and perfectly tart, and didn’t have any of that icky gelatinous artificial mouth-feel that waaay too many key lime pies do. My fork was momentarily panicked when it could find nothing but a few graham crust crumbs left. Of course, then it found…

 

…the sticky toffee pudding.
Ok, now I am well aware of the reputation – or perhaps infamy – of British cuisine. That being, in layman’s terms, that it sucks. But I had heard of this dish before and being the dessert aficionado that I am, I was curious if nothing else to see what it was.
I did not expect it to be one of the fluffiest, most moist and caramel-y cakes ever steeped in a heavenly bath of liquid toffee. My aunt – you know, the one who “doesn’t like dessert” – and I dueled over the last toffee-soaked speck like two cats over catnip. I promptly texted my brother to inform him that his birthday present this year was going to be my recreation of this. It will be done.
The prospect of working here for a whole summer? Exciting is a sufficient but mundane word to describe how I feel about that!
And on the summer, I just might have a life again. A thesis-free life, at least!
I’m also writing a weekly blog for Converse (my college) – because, you know, I need something else. But it’s pretty fun :) And the next post (up tomorrow I believe!) is all about my favorite topic – Florence!
Ok, back to…Henry James, a paper on Emerson, or chemistry problems. Gosh, what thrilling prospects.
Here’s to being productive.
~Namaste~

On The Road Again

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I completely forgot to mention that as of Wednesday, mia mama and I hit the road. We are driving to Georgia, were most of my material life is residing all packed away in boxes at my grandparents’ house. On Sunday, we’re driving up to South Carolina to move me in! I’m SO excited to reunite with all my friends – haven’t seen them since December!
That said, it will be a bit more difficult to blog for the next few days. 
BUT, I went and missed yesterday’s Over-the-Humpday Challenge, and feel the need to make up for it…with a restaurant review!
Mom & I rolled into Charlotte after a very long day of driving. We were hungry, exhausted, and just wanted a nice, rejuvenating sit-down dinner. Charlotte did not let us down.
At the concierge’s recommendation, we walked down the corner from the hotel to LaVecchia’s, a seafood/steak restaurant.
[The pictures aren't super clear; in LuLu's defense, the lighting was not exactly food-blogger friendly.]
They had really funky decor – I love it when restaurants use the industrial look of the space to their advantage. I think it looks really modern & fun!
Lots & lots of metal fishies hanging from the ceiling. As true fish-lovers, we took this as a good sign.
Things only got better from there:
Bread baskets just make me happy. This arrived warm with a light but doughy interior and a perfectly crispy crust. Never mind the basket – bread alone is enough to make me grin like an idiot. I had 2.5 pieces, and I’m not ashamed to say it.
Mom ordered a salad as an appetizer:
Arugula with beets, blue cheese, and candied walnuts in a lemon-y dressing. It was delicious – she all but licked her plate! I helped her out a little ;) Although it would have been better with goat cheese…but I’m getting to that.
For dinner, I ordered exactly what I was craving: a big bowl of spinach.
Well, alright. Spinach with goat cheese, caramelized onions, tomatoes, pancetta & spicy grilled shrimp. The shrimp was actually a little too hot for me, but I’m a big fat baby when it comes to hot-spicy. I’m also a big fan of shrimp, so I still ate every single bite.
I was not expecting the pancetta – I don’t think the menu mentioned it – but much to my surprise, it was perfect on this salad! I’m not much of  bacon person at all and since basically giving up red meat, I haven’t really had it in years – and when I have, I always remember why I don’t like it. But on this salad….holy pork.  (I think it was pancetta because it both looked & tasted more like it than bacon, but I could be wrong.) It was diced into teeny tiny pieces and was absolutely drool-worthy when combined with the caramelized onions. It totally had that sweet-salty thing going on. I am a little in love with this salad, actually. Spinach + goat cheese is one of those to-live-for combos in my book. If you haven’t tried it, please do. You can thank me later ;)
Mom’s entree was beautiful, in more ways than one!
Almond-crusted tilapia with blue crab beurre blanc and mashed potatoes over roasted corn, baby asparagus and red peppers.
It was in a cute little edible tower with the veggies hidden on the bottom, the taters, the crab, and the fish on top.
Ok, I was one of those kids who ate everything on her plate separately and freaked.out if one section of my plate touched another. Woe to anyone within ear range if my baby carrots began mingling with the ketchup for my hot dog. Thus, I was a bit skeptical about this stacking situation currently going on on my mother’s plate. 
But damn if it didn’t meld perfectly! I would never have put mashed potatoes with tilapia, but they actually complemented each other quite well. It definitely helped that the fish was super fresh and delicious. The crab beurre blanc…well, put it this way: I only got one bite. The vegetables underneath also went well with the potatoes (which weren’t in and of themselves amazing per se, but they tasted like my mom’s mashed potatoes, and there is certainly something to be said for keeping it simple and comforting!). It was just a great dish overall.
I will add that my mom ordered 3 different white wines, all of which were rather disappointing. But it’s hard to tell if that was just due to bad luck on her part or something else. Either way, the food made up for it.
And of course, I can’t not have some form of dessert. It’s simply a must.
Yep. Definitely a must.
That is mango sorbet – and downright delicious at that. I think sorbet is actually the perfect summer dessert. It’s cold, light, and refreshing, and satisfies a sweet tooth without causing that pushing over the edge into too-stuffed-to-move land. Although it didn’t have a smooth and creamy texture like, say, a certain gelato place, I could definitely taste how fresh the mango was and I think that’s more important anyway. It was exactly what I wanted. Don’t you love it when that happens?!
A lovely meal in a lovely city.
Now that is delicious.
~Namaste~

Unexpected Austin

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Wednesday, August 11th 2010: Wake up far too early for a sunny day in August. Eat some melon. Head to airport. 
Destination: Austin, Texas.
Purpose: Training as a Peer Mentor for Academic Programs International.
[Just wanted to set the scene for y'all. Why the James Bond writing style?...If I told you, I'd have to kill you.]
Once I passed through security – always a barrel of laughs, that process – I proclaimed it breakfast time. And whaddya know, but there was a UFood Grill in the American terminal. I have heard of this particular restaurant and have always wanted to go, but all its Massachusetts locations are in downtown Boston, and it’s not easy to just hop down there. (Mostly because I refuse to drive in Boston. I value the lives of myself and my car far too much.) It’s a super casual dining place that features all health-focused fresh foods – AND tart frozen yogurt. If I haven’t mentioned it before, I have a frozen yogurt, erm, problem. The problem being that I love it and will get it at pretty much anytime of the day or night, irregardless of actual hunger. It’s usually worth it.
But, I also saw they offered smoothies, and that sounded perfect so early on in the day. I grabbed a yogurt and the Mango Madness smoothie – mango, banana, and orange juice.
It was a little heavy on the OJ flavor, but it was pretty tasty. And it made me happy to see a substantial healthy breakfast option in the airport. It made me smile.
I had a layover at OHare in Chicago, and was equally as successful in finding a healthy lunch option!
It was lacking in the protein department, and was seriously screaming for some avocado, but it was really fresh and tasty. The cilantro made ALL the difference, and I was really impressed that it was even there! When I think of airports and herbs together, I see a flight attendant asking me if salt counts. Go OHare and cilantro!
Got to Austin and eventually found the other 3 Peer Mentors who were with me – we were on the same flight the whole time!
I’m just going to say it now: I have never, EVER in my life experiences humidity like I did in Texas. It was what I think rain forests and green houses are like. It was intense and inescapable. But I actually kind of liked it – the air conditioning never felt too cold! 
Despite all the heat, we still saw plenty of runners and bikers and strollers out and about, sweaty and smiling. It was impressive. Insane, but impressive.
After getting to the hotel, my roommate Gab and I chilled in the room and literally talked for 2.5 hours straight. She had studied with the API Toscania program, and it was absolutely incredible to share our mutual Italy experience/adventures. In fact, the entire time in Austin was like the best therapy I could have asked for in the transition back to home life. I loved hearing about everyone else’s experiences and even though we all went to different places, we all had the common ground of loving every minute of it and it was amazing to connect with that. It was just the coolest group of people. I kinda wish we got to work together more as Peer Mentors. But before I get too wish-washy…
On to the FOOD. We definitely ate well in Austin. The first night, we went to a Tex-Mex place. As we should have.
 
[Insert here bowls of some seriously delicious salsa, guacamole, and queso. I always thought queso was just glorified melted Veleveeta cheese....I was wrong. It's amazing.]
I went with the fish tacos for my entree. It was a tough choice, but I’ve always wanted to try them, and I do love me some grilled tilapia. It was a good choice :)
The corn tortillas were soft (my fave!) and tasted homemade, and I never thought I would say this, but the best part of the dish was the Chipotle Ranch dressing drizzled on top. I usually opt for no dressing, because the plate typically arrives drowning under a cloying, bland, cheap-tasting white goo. But this was unlike no other ranch I’ve ever tasted. It was light but wonderfully creamy, well-spiced but not too hot, and accented the dish without taking any other flavor away. Basically, exactly what a sauce should be. One of the best tex-mex experiences I’ve ever had. (The only one that was better was a seafood enchilada in downtown Boston when I was around 9. It remains in my head as one of the tastiest seafood dishes yet to reach my mouth. I could eat one right now.)
After dinner, the group of us wandered around downtown Austin (ha! that rhymes with Boston!…maybe I need to get out more.). Austin is such a cool city! It reminded me a lot of Charlotte, North Carolina which I was totally not expecting. Most of our group ended up doing a bit of bar-hopping on the [in]famous 6th street, but my 20-year-old status and very tired self prevented me from doing the same. Luckily, my roommate and one other girl were also still 20, so I wasn’t alone. Yay for the youngin’s!
After a none-too-restful night, I awoke groggy but excited to get started. It was so great to actually meet the people I had emailed obsessively and see the building where that rather hefty check was sent to. The API Staff is just awesome. And a lot of them are Gillianasana readers, which just makes me grin like an idiot to know. [Hi everyone!!!] And the office decor is SO cool. The creative director Mark is, well, creative. It’s really colorful and fun, and I have plans to decorate my future apartment a la API. You’re all invited to my housewarming party. Bring chocolate.
We went out to lunch & I had my first one of these:
A fried pickle! And the consensus was that it tastes like…um, a fried pickle. Yep.
Dinner was really exciting. Like, really really exciting.
Italian! What else would get me so excited?
[That was some delicious focaccia. Nothing like the focaccia I had in Italy...but delicious nevertheless. Crispy, cheesy, chewy. God I love bread.]
Remember my first garganelli experience? I loved the shape, and when I saw it on the menu simply done with a tomato & basil sauce, my mind was made up quite quickly.
Simple is always a good way to go.
The dining experience in Austin was really fun. Great food + great conversation. It was, well, great!
And lo and behold, what was across the street from this Italian restaurant but a frozen yogurt shop. I was all over that like white on rice.
This was my first experience with pay-per-ounce fro yo, and I must say, I am jealous of those of you who have one nearby. Although my wallet sure is happy without them.
But who can say no to this??
Not I. 
I went the next night too.
The next and final day, we all gave our presentations about our personal study abroad experiences. It was so much fun to hear everyone’s, and made me want to go back. And then go everywhere they went. Global tour, anyone?
Earlier, we met with our program managers, aka the person I stalked via email for 3 months when I was dealing with the massive amount of paperwork involved. [Note to all those study-abroad hopefuls I just scared: most of it is now done online. I am jealous.]. Mine was absolutely awesome, despite the fact that I emailed her 3 times in a row in a period of 10 minutes, and it was so cool to meet her (and see a pic of her adorable son!). 
Another highlight was lunch.
Turkey+sprouts+lettuce+tomato+mustard+”avocado”. Apparently in Texas, when you see avocado on a menu, it means guacamole. Only one more reason I love Austin. More places should adopt that principle.
But dessert basically eclipsed everything else. There is a “cookie delivery service” nearby that the office orders from often, understandably. But the kicker? The cookes are delivered fresh from the oven.
In one word? GENIUS.
That was hands-down the best M&M cookie I’ve ever had. It was all gooey and melty and warm and if I didn’t have enough reasons to up and move to Austin, this would do it. I want to open a fresh-from-the-oven cookie delivery service. Seriously. Possibly one of the best business strategies I’ve ever heard of.
After our training was all over (*tear*), a small group of us decided to check out Barton Springs Pool, which is a public outdoor swimming area with natural water. (I don’t know how else to describe it; by “natural,” I mean not chlorinated. So before you start giggling about the concept of “unnatural water”…shutup.)
[I love that there is an award for "Best Swimming Hole."]
We ran back to the hotel and I fought with the hotel printer, and before I knew it, it was dinner time! We met at a tapas bar (we were going for barbecue, but the was an hour-long wait, and it was already 8 o’clock. Not happening.).One of the group studied in Barcelona, so needless to say, we asked him for recommendations. I
went vegetarian.
It was some fresh bread with some of the best grilled veggies I’ve had – and I have had a lot! It was leeks, artichokes, and asparagus in smoked olive oil + sea salt. The leeks literally melted in my mouth. That romesco sauce on the side was none too shabby, either. I wanted to partake in the bottle of wine, but that pesky age limit and my conscience stopped me. Oh, to be in Italy again.

It was really a great trip. Even better than I expected, and I was pretty excited to begin with! The job will be a lot of work, but studying abroad is something I’m pretty passionate about & I think it will really be fun. 
That wasn’t the only surprise; the trip seemed to trigger a bit if reverse culture shock. Perhaps it was all the talking about living in our respective countries and how much we loved and grew from it, but either way, I came home happy but a little hurtin’. But what it really did was remind me of what a crazy, confusing, beautiful experience studying abroad is and, for me, was. And I’d do it all over again.
Thanks, Austin!
I think I’ll be back ;)
~Namaste~
[P.S. - if anyone read this earlier, my mouse clicked the "Publish" button of its own volition when I was halfway through writing it. Hate it when that happens.]

Restaurant Review: Red Lentil

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When my aunt and uncle left to go home to Atlanta, they took my brother with them so he could have a vacation down there. My anti-fish/anti-”health food” brother. What’s the big deal, you ask? My parents and I can go out to fun, interesting restaurants the doorways of which my brother couldn’t be paid to darken. Naturally, the first on the my must-go-to list was a relatively new vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Watertown, near Cambridge, Mass: The Red Lentil.
My mom and I met my dad there, who arrived before us and much to our relief and delight (we were starving), had already ordered the eggplant caponata appetizer and was sipping on a ginger brew – like ginger ale, only with much fresher ginger and very refreshing. I’d never tasted anything quite like it; I stole several sips! 
[Word to future diners - no wine list!]
First of all, I really liked the feel of this place. It wasn’t too loud, despite the fact that every table in the small dining area was packed. The walls were a funky lime green that gave it a hip – not 1970s nightmare – aura. The clientele were, well, as expected in Cambridge – in every size, shape & color! For any non Mass readers, Cambridge is where Harvard is located. ‘Nuf said.
So, about that appetizer…
One of the best things about this place hands down is their presentation. Every single dish we saw was beautifully and artfully placed on the plate. You eat first with your nose & eyes before your mouth, and it was lovely that the chefs take this into consideration.
As for taste? Well, I really enjoyed this. The sundried tomato spread was tangy (although a tad pasty, like it had been spread on too soon) and the crusty slice of bread was wonderful. The eggplant was mixed with tomatoes, capers and olives and went perfectly with the sundried tomato spread. My parents felt it was good but still missing something; I agreed, it wasn’t the most amazing thing to pass my lips, but it was tasty and made my empty tummy happy.
After LOTS of deliberation (so much looked good!), my mom chose an appetizer & salad:


Beet-potato latkes

Arugula salad w. beets & golden beets, walnuts, and herbed goat cheese.
The latkes were very interesting, and enjoyable, but perhaps not to die for. It was also a lot of food! It was a little too big; by the time you get to the middle, we found our tastebuds a bit bored. The salad was great, very fresh, and a delicious combo of flavors. And the goat cheese was de-LISH!
My dad got the special:
Tamale filled with tropical fruits, black beans, and spiced soy chorizo
Again, a bit underwhelming. And again, we couldn’t put our finger on why! Tasty but nothing particularly *wow*.
I ordered the Macrobiotic Platter – a choice of tofu, tempeh, or seitan with pinto beans, fresh veggies (broc, squash, zucchini, sweet potato) and a brown rice-sea vegetable mixture.
I really enjoyed this. The tempeh was perfectly cooked and had that great grainy texture I adore so much, even if it was a tad on the salty side for my taste. The pinto beans were, well, pinto beans, but what I was really impressed with was the sea vegetables! They had the coolest flavor – I’ve had & love seaweed salad at sushi places, but never had this particular kind of sea veggie before. It tasted like, um, the sea? I know, specific; I suppose it was salty with a pleasant bitterness not completely unlike kale, but with a hint of vinegar in there. (Is that better? ;) It was nothing life-changing, but I did very much like my entree.
We were debating dessert…and then the table next to us ordered. And then my dad reminded me of the “always judge a restaurant by its dessert” rule set forth by my beloved Italian cooking professor. And it was done.

All the desserts at The Red Lentil are vegan, gluten-free, and made in house. Gotta love that! We obviously went with chocolate – if nothing else, for comparison’s sake!


This was…a disappointment. The cake was super dry – I think the chef needs to meet Dreena’s blog! The ganache was lovely, and as for those peanut-butter-looking bits in there, I have no idea what they were, perhaps pieces of cake that got tiedyed? It was good, but not great. Of course, they could just hire me as their pastry chef and all their problems would be solved. Sounds like a plan to me.


And, another mark against them – my mother went to the bathroom before we left and, well, it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Dirty bathrooms in a restaurant? Come on, guys, that’s TOO easy to fix!

Overall though, it was a fun dinner. It was new and different, and I am so excited that vegetarian/vegan cuisine is gaining in popularity. I wish one would open up close to me! The biggest issue (food-wise) here is that the dishes themselves won’t make you say “whoa.” A lot of it would be very simple to make at home. I would, however, recommend it to everyone from strict vegan to the veg-curious. My parents & I truly enjoyed The Red Lentil, and I am more than happy to support veg-conscious places like this.
 Rock on, Red Lentil. Rock on.

~Namaste~

Barrific

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A food blogger walks into a bar…and reviews it! Bahahahaha…..alright, all done.

Reviews, anyone?

Let’s start with Odwalla! They were recently on sale at Whole Foods, and, um, I had fun. What can I say, I see those yellow-and-red sale tags and all but jump for joy! Yes, this is what grocery shopping does to me. Totally normal.

This kind of reminded me of a cross between a Nutrigrain bar and a Fig Newton. Had that dense, datey feel with that vague berryness in NGs. I found it pretty boring, unfortunately. The whole berries were nice, it had a decent texture, but…meh. Not bad, just nothing special.
NEXT.
Another letdown. I made my brother try some too, for a second opinion. He took two bites and looked at me with a “why do you do these things to me” expression. I wasn’t exactly excited. This would actually be a great, cookie-like treat if the first and most prevalent flavor is dates. It’s one thing to sell a date bar and advertise it as such, quite another to name something “chocolate chip peanut”, one of the best combos ever, only for those flavors to be the least obvious. The few chocolate chips thrown in helped, but not enough. 

Now this is one tasty bar. The banana nut flavors are spot on and it tastes like a particularly good and chewy piece of banana bread. I loved every bite – even more so than the Larabar version! Yum!

Speaking of Lara…

Ok, I will start out by saying that I do NOT like coconut. Why, you ask, did I buy this? Well, I’ve found that in Larabars I actually can appreciate the flavor, and I figured with chocolate thrown in, how bad can it be! (The coconut cream pie is one of my favorite flavors!) But this was…sad. It was neither chocolatey nor coconutty, just some vague middle ground between the two that was lacking in any distinct flavor at all. Maybe I just got a bad one? Oh well. 
This is the Lara I know and love. Very cinnamony and the dates added a light, fruity flavor. Plus the added texture of the nuts, this is a great bar! Came just in time too; couldn’t have made it through the last 2.5 hours of my shift without it!
Clif bars are another favorite of mine to take to work. After 3 hours of nonstop movement, I definitely feel the need for some protein.
*Sigh* Let down again. This had a really weirdy soapy(??) taste to it that I could not get over! It wasn’t very peanutty or toffee-y, just sweet and blah. But it gets points for looking pretty.
This I liked very, very much! It wasn’t too sweet and those 3 fruits came out really well and meshed well too, to my relief and surprise. Most of the Clifs are waaaay too heavy on the brown rice syrup even for my sweet teeth, but this was really well balanced.
As was this guy:
This is probably my fave Clif so far. Just like a gooey peanut butter treat with crunchy chopped peanuts – perfect. I definitely recommend this to peanut butter lovers!
I know, this is a LOT of bars! They’ve been filling my camera since the road trip and I’m just now getting around to all of ‘em, oof! I would like to throw out my personal opinion (although I probably already have) on bars: I don’t like using them as meal replacements, and unless cirsumstances are unusual, won’t eat more than 1 a day. I have always had problems with hypoglycemia and for me, they are a great and easy way to raise my blood sugar quickly when I need it (you do NOT want to be around hungry Gillian. It aint pretty.) I also discovered that when working in the coffee house when I usually get about 3 minutes to chomp something down during a 5 or 6 hour shift while making coffee and generally running around, there is nothing quite as easy to eat as these. That said, I do prefer to snack (and eat meals) on whole “real” foods, mostly because I find them more filling and my body functions better with them. I am not defending myself or anything here, I just wanted it to be known that I do not live off 4 Larabars a day, nor do I recommend it. I like Michael Pollan’s saying a lot” “Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.” Word.
As for real food, there’s been aplenty of that going on as well:
Supercharge Me cookies. I’m determined to maintain a constant supply. They make the best pre-yoga snack. Ever.
Oh, and they are super DUPER if you add cardamom and nutmeg along with the cinnamon. Trust me.
Fresh bread! Nothing like it. 
WAAH I miss my little Italian bakery on the way home to the apartment!!!
Sorry. Random nostalgic moment done.
Fage, raw oats, blueberries, peach and cinnamon. Happiness in a bowl.
Cream of wheat with blueberries cooked in, swirled with applesauce. Yes, I love the taste…but look how pretty!
As for that preview? Pasta Alla Norma! My aunt & uncle were in town last week and I decided it was the perfect occasion to attempt to recreate one of my favorite dishes from my cooking class this past semester. I’ll  admit, it wasn’t as good…although I have a feeling that fact that I was in Italy made it a little better…but it was still a delicious plate of pasta!
1. Buy fresh pasta. It makes a difference. And start your water boiling now – it takes freakin forever to get there.
2. Start your sauce: heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan with some chopped garlic and half a chopped onion (or one small). When the onion becomes translucent, add in 3 cans diced tomatoes, give it a stir, cover and let it cook. Just keep an eye on it and cook it low; if I don’t burn it, I promise you won’t!
3. Get a big ole eggplant (or 3ish small ones) and cut it into rounds, pretty thin. Dust both sides of all of them with some flour – this will keep the oil from completely saturating the eggplant when it goes in the pan and leaving them crispy.
4. Heat up some more olive oil in a pan and start throwing the eggplants in. I gave them about half a monute or so, flipped them over, then put them on paper towels to drain and blotted the tops lightly with another towel. [Fyi, I didn't actually make these in my class - I worked on a different dish that day - so I was going with what I remembered seeing others do. Worked for me!]
5. Your water has GOT to be boiling by now, right? Good. Throw in the pasta and check it in 3 minutes – fresh cooks faster than dried. No one likes soggy pasta! Al dente just tastes better and will hold up the dish better.
To plate, toss the pasta in your wonderfully fresh-tasting tomato sauce. Top with the eggplants rounds, then with some basil, then with some parmesan or grana padano. 
Mangia bene!

~Namaste~

Beatin’ the Heat

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Confession: I LOVE hot weather. I hate heavy air-conditioning and while I will say that humidity can be killer, there’s nothing I like more than sitting in front of a fan on a hot, dry day with a book. 
My family thinks I’m nuts. I like to think of it as quirky.
That said, I have found some very delicious ways to beat the heat! 
Oats, while delicious, have definitely not been on my mind for breakfast. Enter: yogurt.
Remember Wallaby? I found some more super fun flavors!
I just love how colorful these are!
Wallaby are Australian-style yogurts, which means super-thin (as, in the polar opposite of Greek) with really none of that “tang” that the Greeks have. While I do still prefer the thick texture of my beloved Fage, these are fun for variety, and this flavor was awesome. It tasted like….um, mango & lime! Like fresh lime juice had just been squeezed in. And not too sweet, either!
I know, strawberry guava?? What could this possibly taste like?? Well, that’s easier asked then explained, but I did adore the combo! Sweet from the strawberry but wonderfully tart from the guava, this yogurt can only be described as utterly unique. I’d definitely recommend it, even though I know buying the individual yogurts can be pricey (at my Whole Foods these are 99 cents each, so I get one or two every so often), but sometimes ya just need a little something different, no?
From Australia to Greece! (If only, right?)
I was SO surprised by this! I’m not big on peaches – at least, the fake/canned peach “flavor” that’s in so many things. [Don't get me wrong, get me around fresh peaches and I will go to town!] When I opened this up and stirred it around, the peaches on the bottom looked dangerously similar to those disgusting canned peaches I abhor so passionately – the spoon shook as it made its way to my mouth. One bite later…whoa!! It’s not overly sweetened, and it actually tasted fresh and delicious! I would totally eat this again. Yum-O!
This was yet another surprise – only not quite so nice. I really didn’t like this very much. I appreciated the whole blueberries, but it tasted rather bland and a tad syrupy, and it wasn’t very thick at all. I was a bit let down by this guy. Oh well, live and learn!
Greek yogurt, by the way, is my new favorite pre-work breakfast. That extra protein boost can keep me going for hours! And the addition of raw oats helped too :)
Back to the pleasant surprises! I was expecting to be, well, annoyed with this. I was all prepared to open it up and find a massive amount of honey at the bottom which really bothered me because 1) it would be waaaaay too much and 2) I could have just used my own honey and plain yogurt and not paid $1.50. But, you know me, always have to try new things and I had never tried this and was intrigued, so I just did it. And I’m glad I did! The honey was not on the bottom, but premixed into the yogurt with plenty of sweet, clover-y flavah! It was perfectly balanced between sweet and tangy, and super thick. Made my 4.5 hours at coffee shop a little less frazzled :)
Yogurt is all well and good, but on a day like today, with the temp hopping into triple digits, cold doesn’t cut – give me frozen!
Like Edy’s Pomegranate Fruit Bars, for example.
I really enjoyed these. The flavor was a little vague, but I never think of pomegranate as having a distinct flavor itself. It enhances things it’s mixed with, but alone sometimes I like, other times not. This was great though – sweet like a berry with just a little tartness. The texture isn’t super soft – I think it would be better in popsicle form – but the flavor is tasty and very refreshing. The ‘rents agreed :)
 
And you KNOW what tops my list when it comes to frozen things.
Mango, of course! And when it’s in the same sentence as “Italian”, how could it possibly get better?
I am in love with these little cups of joy. I was expecting them to be super ice-y (being in the title and all), but they are soft and more like sorbet!
And so, SO good. 100 calories a cup, too, and a pretty short ingredient list. They also had lemon and I think a couple other flavors, but obviously the mango was a must-have in the Gillianasana freezer. I’m pretty sure these are summer-in-a-cup. Yum.
Back to the refrigerator…
I read about Crofter’s Superfruit Spread when Kath of KERF tried all 4 flavors (continents) and I have been dying to try them ever since! I made myself wait until our jelly/jam selection flagged a bit. Then the hard part: Asia, Europe, or one of the Americas??? I went with Asia because I was too curious about yumberries! I have since tried this alone and with a plethora of nut butters, but the best yet is simple:
With Maranatha almond butter on Ezekiel toast.
The spread is really unique and I am in love! It’s tart and sweet – makes me want to taste a yumberry by itself! It makes some seriously awesome toast. I’m planning on making a jam+tempeh sandwich with it too…I’ll keep you updated ;)
How are you beating the heat?
I’ve been doing yoga and ending up a puddle on the mat! Totally worth it. :)
~Namaste~

Restaurant Review: Bella Luna

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Instead of letting everyone in the house abandon me and leaving me to stalk the aisles of Whole Foods for dinner (not necessarily a bad thing, really), my mom invited me to her dinner date with a friend. And then put me on restaurant-search duty as the resident foodie of the fam. I was more than happy to oblige :)
I had read about Bella Luna, a funky restaurant/lounge in Jamaica Plain in a feature in the [Boston] Globe. It  was described as “satisfyingly groovy” and had a menu to match, so we figured, why not??
I couldn’t have described it better myself.  You walk in to a somewhat dimly lit space, most of the light shining out of big paper mache star lamps. The decor was funky, just shy of kitsch, and the service was great. Our waiter had an impressive knowledge of the wine list, too. Best of all, they have outdoor seating under bright red umbrellas. I love sitting outside. I think it totally ups the atmosphere and makes for an even lovelier evening meal.
If we weren’t charmed yet, each seat had a different plate with its own hand-drawn design:
Clearly designed by some aspiring artists. TOO cute!
And I loved the bottle the water was served in:
A restaurant I just went to recently did this too…maybe this a becoming a trend in the US restaurant scene?
To start, we 3 split an order of some seriously awesome fried calamari. For all you skeptics out these, I usually don’t like fried food because it tends to make me violently ill, but I couldn’t resist one golden, crispy bite – and it was SO good. Some of the best I’ve had.
We also split the Mediterranean Duet, warm pita bread with raw veggies and 2 dips: classic hummus and a spicy eggplant dip:
The hummus was only so-so, a little too creamy-chickpea-y for me. What can I say, I need my tahini and GAHLIC! But the eggplant dip was ca-razy good! Heavy on the ginger and with quite a kick of spice, and really tasty. The other two helped, but I pretty much dominated this plate.
For my entree, I just got a big salad – love me some arugula!
The shrimp was lovely and fresh, and the cheese was deliiisssh. Arugula and sharp cheeses like prmeggiano were basically made for each other. It also had pumpkin seeds, which I totally loved! Such a fun extra flavor addition. It was in a very simple lemon vinaigrette, which I felt needed a little work – it was a little too much like straight lemon juice. I think just a spice or two added to it could really make it incredible. But I was a very happy leaf-eater with this salad.

Mom got this beauty:
Arugula, goat cheese (!), cherry tomatoes, red onion and garlic oil.
Ok, I don’t know what kind of crack they put in their crusts, but this pizza was one of the best I’ve had. And I’ve had what I consider the best - fresh from the oven, in Italy, after making it myself. But this was up there. The crust was that perfect thickness and the arugula + garlic oil made it herby and delicious. I had a slice and then a couple more teeny tiny slivers when we brought it home. Whoa.
And Mom’s friend Barb (and just in case she reads this…HI!!!) got the wild mushroom ravioli:
I had half of a bite of my madre’s bite because it’s me and I avoid all things involving peas like they’re mosquitoes (and, actually, ravioli…but that’s another story), but the bite I had was some seriously phenomenal ravioli. The earthy mushrooms + creamy sweet cheese filling flavors were just spot on.

Dessert came in the form of lemon sorbet and tiramisu. Now, I will say that this is one restaurant where the “judge a restaurant by their desserts” rule does not work. We had great appetizers and wonderful entrees, but I was quite disappointed in the dessert. The sorbet, although refreshing and lemonade-like, had a very odd texture. It was almost like freezer burn-icy on the outside (which had a watery flavor) but then oddly chewy on the inside. Sorbet, to me, is supposed to be smooth and almost creamy, at least easy for a spoon to dig in. This was almost gummy, and there was nothing inventive about the flavor. The tiramisu was even more of a disappointment – I mean, I realize I’m horribly biased, but still. The sponge in the middle was watery and weak tasting, and the whipped cream on top tasted very artificial. And the chocolate syrup was no better than Hershey’s out of a bottle – not that that doesn’t have it’s place, but come on. That place is not tiramisu! I tried [multiple times] to take a picture, but the sun had long since set and LuLu wasn’t having it. Clearly they should just hire me to be the tiramisu chef! Haha, jk jk (sort of ;) .
Dessert aside, it was a lovely meal with great conversation and company, and that is what a meal is supposed to be.
~Namaste~

Gone Swimming

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It’s been too long!
My head has just been swimming with too many things. I feel like I’ve been going through this summer with something constantly in my peripheral vision but I can’t turn my head to figure out what it is. I’m not sure that really even makes sense, but to sum up, I feel overwhelmed with lots of *things* going on and can’t seem to quite ever feel caught up. Know what I mean? 
But, the one thing that is not confusing me is my love for food. Especially yummy, healthy food!
I guess I was feeling patriotic?
Actually, I was just really excited when I came downstairs to find my dad home from a Costco trip with huge containers of fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, melon, and Fage in tow. It was like Christmas!

Chocolate makes everything better.
Applesauce + cinnamon + Naturally More. 
I mixed mine up, but I don’t recommend it – the pb got totally lost and I could barely taste it! No worries, there will be a next time.
Who’s up for some reviews??

A Chobani that passes the sideways-spoon test!!
This was very tasty and enjoyable – like regular plain greek with a little sweet kick. I did like it, but to save $$ I’d rather just throw a little vanilla extract into some plain Fage. Just sayin.
You may recall my recent road trip. Road trips = LOTS of bar consumption.
This was disappointing. Very dry and very date-y. Not that I mind dates, but when I pick up a bar touting the name chocolate prominently in its title, I’m expecting lotsa cocoa, not so much date flavor. The chocolate chips helped, but I wouldn’t buy this again. Plus, brown rice syrup was the first ingredient – not ok for having such a dry, crumbly texture!
My second Odwalla had better results.
Love that bad hotel lighting.
I was not expecting much after the chocolate one, but this was a horse of a different color! The coffee-chocolate balance was dead on, and it was pleasantly oaty and not dry or datey in the least. Loved this guy! Perfect dessert after a loooong day on the road. (And I mean long – 500 miles in 9 hours!)
Tried some new (to me) Laras as well:
This was just lovely! Reminded me of lemonade. Very refreshing! I had my doubts, but they were all put away after the first bite. The lemon flavor came through loud and clear, but were not at all clashing with the dates, and the cashews added the perfect creamy flavor and crunch in texture. A perfect summer snack!
I’m a bit ambivalent about this one. The banana flavor tasted almost too overripe for me. But overall, it definitely tasted like banana bread, and I loved the almonds! I’m always impressed with the Larabar flavor – always so real and genuine and such a teeny tiny ingredient list. 
Along the same lines…
Clif C boasts only 9 ingredients and a whole serving of fruit. I’ve reviewed the raspberry and tried the blueberry & cherry pomegranate with varying results, so I was interested to try this last one. 
I liked it. It had cinnamon, which was a very wise addition. I do like the texture of these – chewy, with the crunch from the bits of chopped nuts on top, reminiscent of Nutrigrain bar fillings. But, I wouldn’t pay the $1.29 per bar. Just not that good. But, it’s always fun to try new things!
I have one final review left:
FROSTING!
I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before or not, but I have a bit of a problem with frosting. The problem being that one bite and I am compelled to scrape it off the entire cake and leave the cake itself naked. It’s one scratch recipe I’ve never made well and it bothers me. All in good time, right? In the spirit of trying new things, I picked this up at Whole Foods. I couldn’t resist – toffee vanilla by a company named Namaste?!! Yesplease.
You just mix the bag with 6 T of butter, margarine, or the like and add water as needed to get the right consistency. In one of my baking storms, I whipped some chocolate cake a la Dreena (halved the recipe and made it all one layer) and topped it with this gooey goodness. It was wonderful – this chocolate cake recipe rocks my baker’s socks! I wish there was a similar one for vanilla cake. I figure it can’t be hard to figure out, just may take some experimenting (my fave activity!). And the frosting? Very toffee-y! I was really impressed with the toffee flavor. In a testament to how good it was, my brother ate one tupperware full last night, and ate the second tupperware this afternoon. Sometimes my parents worry that I bake too much for the house to eat….I don’t know why.
Hope you’re all surviving the heat! I’m only semi-melted.
~Namaste~

What’s in a Name…or Post Title

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Welcome to…
My yard. 
A.k.a, the Gillianasana photography-practice site.
No Flash
—–>
 w/ Flash.
Couldn’t decide.
All my mother. I bake, she gardens. Hobbies are important.
Especially when they become your career! Yesterday I zipped down to Providence, Rhode Island to check out the Johnson & Wales culinary school campus. It hopped to the forefront of my list when I read about their Culinary Nutrition program and decided it was definitely worth a visit. It was indeed, and I got a lot of really good information and now have way too much thinking to do. I’m going on a college tour road trip with my brother (a senior-to-be in high school) and madre this coming week, and on the way back we are stopping in Hyde Park, New York to check out the holy land  CIA – Culinary Institute of America. It’s the big one, where you go to be in the food industry. It scares me. 
That said, tomorrow we leave for Philadelphia and will be on the road until Friday night! I am bringing my mini laptop and will hope and pray to find hotels with wireless access or computers – but just in case I can’t, I promise I WILL return! With pics. LOTS of pics. I’m looking at this trip as a good time to practice my [food]photography skillllllz. 
Speaking of which…breakfast anyone?
Melon is one of those foods I could (and often do) eat every day and never get sick of it. Especially this kind:
Tuscan melon!
It is a lot like canteloupe, only smaller and I find a little sweeter and stronger in taste.I had this in, where else, Florence, and fell in love. Look for those indented lines in the rind. It’s amazing.
Blueberry Acai Dannon Light & Fit
Yes, another new flavor I was powerless to try. I actually really liked this – I could actually taste the acai and it blended wonderfully with the sweet blueberry! It’s kind of a hard flavor to pinpoint, but I find it a little tart and a little sweet at once, a bit like pomegranate. The only issue, other than the ingredient list, is the awful fake-sugar aftertaste. WAY too sweet. I wish it had just been sweetened with real fruit! Oh well, I ‘ll just have to do it myself.
Nothing like a waffle on a Saturday morning (er…afternoon…)
AB-squared: apple butter + almond butter. A perfect combo.
Did some shopping at Old Navy. Ugh, shopping. I can never find exactly what I want. BUT, I did get a pretty cute dress 50% off because one of the straps was broken! Sewing won’t even be necessary. LOVE that!
I came ravenous. Nothing a smoothie can’t fix – especially when it involves this:
Amazing Grass’s Amazing Meal Chocolate Infusion protein powder.
I used half the packet + 1 c. frozen mango + 1 c. almond milk + splash vanilla. I should have added a little extra cocoa powder, but didn’t.
Aglow with healthy goodness!
I didn’t love the Amazing Meal – it was a little too spirulina-y for me. But I didn’t hate it either, and liked it with the mango very much. Of course, I like pretty much anything with mango….Either way, as far as Amazing Grass goes, the Kidz Wildberry and Original Superfood powders are in the lead.
The liquid health theme continued with this:
I got it on sale at WFs last week. As usual with Kombucha, I have no idea what to make of this! What I love about it is the complexity of the flavor – it changes every second it’s on your tongue and definitely keeps me interested. This one went from berry-sweet to flowery and then very pine-y. I probably wouldn’t but it again, but it was a fun try. I wish the Honest brand would go on sale again!
Because my mother, brother and I hit the road tomorrow, we had to have Father’s Day a little early.
Dinner on the patio!
Including:
My grandmother’s salad: romaine, tomatoes, avocado, red onion in red wine vinegar+olive oil and S+P.
Grilled eggplant, marinated in balsamic + olive oil. Melt-in-your-mouth amazing. Probably one of my favorite things.
Roasted taters
Fresh pasta in a vegetarian sauce for me, lamb for the fam. [Don't worry, I had some tempeh for protein ealier!]
And my present to the man of the day:
Chianti, straight off the boat plane.
YUM!!
Tippy agreed.
For dessert, I whipped up some peanut butter-chocolate chip cookies (Dad’s fave)  using the Supercharge Me cookies recipe:
The first batch was gone before the second even left the oven. I think they liked them. 
Dessert also included this newbie:
Chobani Champions honeynana!
It’s not thick at all; it’s basically like regular yogurt, but I suppose that could very well be more appealing to kids which I assume are the target consumers here (although I know plenty of “grown-up kids” who would be attracted by the cartoony design). The flavor is great though! Unlike the chocolate, the cane sugar taste blends  in very well. It reminded me of a yogurt I ate all the time when I was little, but I can’t remember exactly which one – I think it was Yoplait Custard-Style Vanilla. SO good. Gotta love nostalgia foods :)
Time to go pack, pack, pack! 
~Namaste!~
P.S. Remember that surprise I mentioned? Check out the sidebar — I’m a Foodbuzz Featured Publisher!!! Dancing most definitely ensued when I got the email. I love Foodbuzz, and my absolute favorite blogs are all a part of its awesome community, so I’m super excited and proud to be too. Share the foodie love!