A Modern Jewish-American Deli: Kutsher's Tribeca

On our most recent date night the hubby and I decided to try Kutsher's Tribeca, the newly opened outpost of the famed Kutsher's Country Club resort in the Catskills. The menu includes delectable traditional Jewish American fare albeit with a contemporary twist, such as wild halibut gefilte fish with beet and horseradish tartare. Being lovers of Jewish cuisine and always excited about restaurants with creative concepts, we headed on over.

The space is really interesting. Modern with recessed lighting and curious configurations of blond wood panels positioned around the restaurant.

Source

Being that we were at a modern Jewish deli, we decided to start off with the charcuterie platter, aptly named the Delicatessen.

There are 6 types of meat to choose from but we decided on the Kutsher's pastrami (succulent and absolutely amazing!), the chopped liver (rich and delicious) and the smoked veal tongue (good but not as phenomenal as its other two counterparts). Served with rye bread, mustard and horseradish aioli, this is not to be missed!

We then moved on to our individual appetizers. The hubby decided on borscht but I chose to get the Pickled Herring Two Ways. One serving was dressed with pickled onions and cream, and the other with wasabi, yuzu and pepper. Suffice it to say I am still thinking about this appetizer. It was that good!

At this point we were stuffed. Which would have been fine but we had an order of the Grilled Roumanian steak to share coming up! I really wanted to save room for dessert and so I had a few nibbles of the steak before having it wrapped to go. I am not a huge fan of steak but this one was pretty special. Tender and flavorful.

The dessert was a toss-up between the chocolate babka bread pudding and the strawberry shortcake and on our server's suggestion that the latter option would be a tad lighter we chose the strawberry shortcake. We were not disappointed. It was light and fluffy served with whipped cream and a strawberry compote.

If you're looking for an upscale downtown spot with great food I highly recommend Kutsher's Tribeca!

Question: Does the modern Jewish American deli concept interest you? Would you pay $11 for a bowl of matzo ball soup?

Laduree in NYC: Macaron Heaven!

When I heard that Laduree, the famous Parisian patisserie, was opening shop a few blocks north of my apartment I was thrilled to bits! Their macarons (not to be confused with macaroons), the little cakes made by compressing two soft macaron shells with gooey ganache in between are heavenly! After trying them in Paris many years ago I have searched high and low for the perfect macaron in New York and have always felt like there's something missing.

I waltzed over to Laduree the week it opened and the line extended out of the store and onto Madison Avenue! I begrudgingly stared at all those people and decided upon Plan B: Wait a couple of weeks and come back.

I gave it more than a few weeks and went by again recently. The 12-person deep line was not as intimidating so I joined in. Fifteen minutes later I was in front of the colorful counter and making the rather difficult decision of picking flavors. One of each please?

Standards like vanilla, chocolate and pistachio were joined by the more exotic salted caramel and rose petal. So many choices! Interesting tid-bit: The macarons come in directly from Paris once every two days.

After much going back and forth I narrowed it done to eight different flavors.

Success!

The hubby and I have since been slowly nibbling our way through this box. My favorites, I have to say, were coconut and vanilla!

Question: Have you ever tried macarons? Ever been to Laduree? 

Delusions of Grandeur: Baking Misadventures

So we had a hurricane this weekend. Sort of. It was more like a torrential downpour. Regardless, like everyone else in the city, I stayed cooped up at home. After twiddling my thumbs for a while I decided that I felt like baking.

So I pored over websites looking for some kind of inspiration, something that would work with ingredients that I already had lying around. I had a lot of coconut flour lying around. Plus I had a ton of baby carrots that promised to go bad very soon.

Enter a recipe for Coconut Carrot Bread.

Granted this recipe called for the use of 2 cups of all-purpose flour. I, however, high on the success of my last baking endeavor, and feeling pretty darn invincible, decided that I was going to substitute the two cups of all-purpose flour with one cup of coconut flour and one cup of whole-wheat flour. I fancied myself quite the bakeress. I would soon learn the error of my ways - my delusions of grandeur.

I popped the concoction into the oven and 60 minutes later had this...

Hmm. Not too bad, I suppose?

Except, once I took it out of the bread pan, it looked like this...

Um, it looks a little crumbly, no? Maybe it would not crumble once I cut into it.

Alas, it did.

Gah!

Next time I am sticking to the recipe. Or I will read the label on the pack of coconut flour which clearly says to substitute only 20% of a recipe's flour with coconut flour. Not 50%.

On a happier note, it tasted amazing! The crumbly bits actually went went really well in a bowl of milk.

Question: Do substitutions in recipes always work for you? What's the worst substitution-related disaster you have had?

Accidentally Gluten-Free

I am not gluten-free. Or vegan. Or even a vegetarian. The title of the post simply refers to my recent experiment with coconut flour, which happens to be gluten-free. I had not even heard of coconut flour until a few months ago.

Those who know me know that I love all things coconut. Coconut water. Coconut ice cream. Coconut donuts. I have sampled from practically every single New York city establishment that serves coconut cake. I usually make a bee-line on a menu for any item that has the word "coconut" attached to it. Yup, I like me some coconut. So when I first heard of coconut flour, I knew I had to check it out for myself.

So it turns out that coconut flour is really expensive. A small bag costs three times as much a similar-sized bag of whole wheat flour, which is already more expensive than regular flour.

Anyhow, after acquiring my bag of coconut flour I set about looking for recipes on the internet. I found one that I liked for Banana Coconut Muffins. I have linked to the website so you can check out the recipe there. The original recipe does not use sugar- it relies on the natural sweetness of the banana and the coconut flour. I thought this was a bad idea and so I added a tablespoon of agave syrup. It worked well. I also added 2 tablespoons of almond milk instead of the recommended almond flour, and I avoided raisins completely because I am not a fan.

I was thrilled when the muffins came out looking semi-decent!

In my excitement I called my husband.

Me: So I've baked coconut banana muffins!

Husband: Yum! I can't wait to try them.

Me: Slight disclaimer-they are gluten-free.

Husband: Oh.....hmmm....why are we eating gluten-free?

Me: Well, we're not. It's just that I have a bag of coconut flour that I have been wanting to use, and coconut flour is gluten-free, hence so are these muffins.

I could sense the skepticism in the husband's voice and his sudden disinterest in my baked good-of-the-day!

It reminded me of a hilarious Parks and Recreation episode where Rob Lowe's healthy-living character brings a vegetable loaf to a pot-luck dinner when he has been assigned to bring a cake and invokes this response from the Ron Swanson character...

Needless to say, the muffins tasted nothing like a vegetable loaf. They were delicious and the husband enjoyed them thoroughly.

Question: Have you ever cooked/baked with coconut flour?

Cupcakes Will Be The Death of Me

I just got back from a lovely lunch with two of my favorite bloggers, Ameena from Fancy That Fancy This and Lauren from Foodtrainers. If you don't already read their blogs you really should! It being the first time I was meeting either in person, I was too excited and engrossed in conversation to think about being a good blogger and take any pictures. Oh well!

After enjoying a nutritious and healthy lunch consisting of the stuffed  avocado salad with quinoa, zucchini, cucumbers and toasted pumpkin seeds at Candle 79, I decided to walk back home. That turned out to be bad idea. Why? Because it involved passing by Sprinkles Cupcakes. I lurked around the entrance before deciding to make a quick stop and pick up one cupcake. Sigh, I should know myself better. When have I ever bought just one cupcake? Answer: Never.

They had some seasonal flavors today which included salted caramel and summer cherry.
I decided to pick up four cupcakes: one red velvet, one salted caramel, one chocolate coconut and one dark chocolate. To share with my husband once he got home from work, ofcourse!!!

Alas, this is what the box looked like a mere 15 minutes later...

Hopefully the hubby wasn't hoping to try a bite of the chocolate coconut (bottom left corner, now deceased).

I am a fitness blogger, really, I promise. See?

Question: Obviously baked goods are a weakness of mine! What are some of yours?

My Running Mojo is Back!

Okay, I probably just jinxed myself with that title but I can't help it!

This Saturday I ran the Central Park Conservancy Run for Central Park 4-miler. Although it was a gorgeous day, for the purpose of running it became very hot very soon. Luckily there were plenty of water stations dotted along the race course, along with a rather popular misting station where us runners were sprayed with jets of cold water. Despite these ameliorations I decided I was going to listen to my body and not push myself too hard in this weather. To my surprise, for the first time this year (since having my baby) I ran a sub-10:00 pace! My official time for the 4 miles was 38:28 at an average pace of 9:37/mile. I really should invest in a Garmin so that I can record my splits but I was thrilled nonetheless! I still need some work in order to get back to my former pace but for the time being I am happy. I won't lie, I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get any faster. Hopefully this is an indication that, yes, we are moving along the right track!

The next day I met up with some of my favorite food and fitness bloggers! Jess, Ali, Melissa, Sofia, Leslie and I had a delightful brunch in the Great Lawn at Central Park. After telling everyone we would be meeting in the northeast corner of the lawn, I proceeded to park my picnic blanket in the northwest corner and wait for everyone to come and find me. I am so directionally challenged. Sorry, bloggy friends. Thankfully we all found each other without too much ado!

Check out the lovely spread!

And the even lovelier dessert!

We are a happy, well-fed bunch of bloggers!

Yes, we are!

Attune Foods: Uncle Sam Honey Almond Cereal - Review and Giveaway!

For years I skipped breakfast. A cup of coffee would be my sustenance till lunch-time.  A terrible practice, I know. Even worse, considering I am a doctor. But you would be surprised at all the terrible habits we pick up at medical school. Breakfast came back into my life when I first started to exercise regularly. There was no way a cup of coffee would satiate me till lunch especially after an early morning run or a particularly grueling  Physique 57 class. Cereal is what I usually like to have every morning. So when Annelies from Attune Foods contacted me to ask if I would like to review their Uncle Sam cereal I immediately said yes!

Uncle Sam cereal has been around since 1908. It is an all natural cereal with no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Its main ingredients are winter wheat berries with whole flaxseeds. There are currently four available flavours: Original, Multi-grain, Strawberry and Honey Almond. I love almonds in my cereal so I chose to review the Honey Almond flavor.

The cereal contains the following ingredients: Toasted whole wheat berry flakes (whole wheat kernels, salt, barley malt), sliced almonds, whole flaxseeds, evaporated cane juice, honey, natural flavor.

I poured myself a bowl with soy milk. It's delicious. Even though the toasted wheat berry flakes are small in size they are incredibly crunchy. I love how every bite contains sliced almonds that are delicately sweetened with clover honey. The cereal is not that sweet, something that I was worried about due to the addition of the word "Honey" in 'Honey Almond." The honey taste is not overpowering at all - in fact, I think it blends very well into the taste of the cereal. I found that one bowl was quite filling. An excellent source of fiber, one serving size has 6 grams of fiber and also 6 grams of protein.

I also felt I could use it as in place of granola (its more high-caloried cousin) as a topping for yogurt parfaits. So, overall, I thought Uncle Sam's Honey Almond cereal was great- a definite addition to my breakfast of champions!

Here are some nutritional facts:
*Serving size: 3/4 cup
*Calories: 230                Calories from Fat 50
*Total Fat 6g                       9% daily value
-Saturated Fat 0g                 0% daily value
-Trans Fat 0g
*Cholesterol 0mg                 0% daily value
*Sodium 105mg                   4% daily value
*Potassium 75mg                 2% daily value
*Total Carbohydrate 37g     12% daily value
-Dietary Fiber 6g                  24% daily value
-Soluble Fiber 2g
-Insoluble Fiber 3g
-Sugars 5g
*Protein 6g

Uncle Sam cereal is available at Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's. Check out Attune Foods' website for other store locations.

*GIVEAWAY:
One lucky person shall win one box of Uncle Sam Honey Almond cereal, courtesy Attune Foods in one of the following ways:

1. Leave me a comment telling me how you like taking your cereal. Out of the box? With soy milk? With Greek yogurt?

2. Tweet the following: @momatthebarre is giving away a box of Uncle Sam cereal: http://bit.ly/l1yrZ9
(Make sure you leave me a second comment. This shall count as a second entry)

3. Add my blog to your reader or subscribe via email and leave me a comment telling me you did so. This shall also count as a separate entry.

You have till 10pm EST next Monday (July 4th). I will announce a winner on Tuesday July 5th.

*This giveaway is open to readers in the Continental US only.

Thank to Annelies from Attune Foods for allowing me to sample a box of Uncle Sam cereal.

Note: I was not compensated for this post. I was provided with a complimentary box of Uncle Sam Honey Almond cereal to sample and review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

My New Favorite Granola: Product Review of Purely Elizabeth Granola

Confession: I am a granola fiend. Come to think of it, that would have been a great title for my blog, The Granola Fiend. Oh well. I digress. My love for granola knows no bounds. My husband and friends can attest to the fact that I love ordering granola whenever I am out for brunch.

"Why don't you try today's egg special?" my exasperated husband will ask.

"Why are you always ordering granola?" my best friend wonders.

"Look at you, eating healthy," the waiter might say.

I have heard all these comments, really, I have. And I would like to personally respond to each.

Hubby: I don't want eggs, the granola here is awesome!

Best friend: I order it all the time because I friggin love it!

Waiters: It's actually not that healthy. Do you know how calorific granola can be???

So now that my love for granola is out in the open you will understand how thrilled I was when I won Foodtrainer's Purely Elizabeth granola giveaway!

Purely Elizabeth makes gluten-free, certified vegan granola without any refined sugar and instead utilizes ingredients such as raw virgin coconut oil, chia seeds, amaranth and quinoa.

I was super-excited to win the giveaway and even more thrilled once the package arrived.

I received three boxes, each, a different flavor: Original, Pumpkin Fig and Cranberry Pecan.

The Pumpkin Fig intrigued me the most so I poured myself a bowl of coconut milk and dug into that first.

I am a granola connoisseur, I think we have established that, and I thought it was excellent! I can't think of any other word that would describe it aptly enough!

The granola was outrageously delicious. I tasted sweet and salty at the same time and the toasted oats provided a delicious crunch. There was no overt pumpkin flavor - I think that the raw pumpkin seeds provide all the 'pumpkin' in this cereal. The figs added a nice jamminess though.

I moved onto the Original flavor next and it was just as amazing. The granola is the same-it's just missing the extras (figs etc).

The Cranberry Pecan was my least favorite. Don't misunderstand me-it's awesome also but I am not a fan of cranberries in my cereal and so it was my least favorite of the three.

My favorite? Definitely the Original! So if you like granola try it out, you will not be disappointed.

The nutritional content of the Original flavor is as follows:

One serving size: 1/3 cup (30g)
-Calories: 130   Calories from fat 50
*Total fat: 6g                    (9% daily value)
 -Saturated fat: 3.5g          (18% daily value)
 -Trans fat: 0g
*Cholesterol: 0mg             (0% daily value)
*Sodium: 115mg               (5% daily value)
*Total carbohydrates 17g  (6% daily value)
 -Dietary Fiber: 2g             (8% daily value)
 -Sugars: 6g
*Protein: 3g

Check out Purely Elizabeth's website to find locations where it is sold. A case of 6 boxes is available for $45.54 on www.abesmarket.com

Note: I was not compensated for this post. I received three boxes of the Purely Elizabeth granola in a giveaway and was not asked by Purely Elizabeth or Foodtrainers for a product review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.


Question: What is your favorite breakfast item? I think we already know mine.

The Carnivore's Delimma

The last few weekends with their excesses and indulgences have left me wanting to turn over a new leaf and do something radical with my diet. I love food too much to partake in juice cleanses. So the next best thing (for me) is to try being a vegetarian for a few days. I am toying with the idea of eliminating dairy also while I conduct this experiment but I'm still on the fence with that, and till then I shall consume all the cheese I want!

So now that I have reconciled with eliminating meat for a few days, how to approach to my meat-loving, veggie-hating husband that we are about to embark upon a 3-day vegan adventure? I decide to skip sugar-coating the facts and just inform him.

We are eating organic vegetables for the next three days.

A look of horror on his face.

Okay, two days, I proffer.

Still some reluctance on his face.

Okay, can we just try it for today, please? 

Okay, he says, let's see how this goes.

Awesome!

So then began the process of choosing a recipe palatable enough to not remind the hubby that anything is lacking.

Carnivores love burgers so I decided to make a veggie burger. I got a bean burger recipe from Kath's amazing website and tweaked it a little, throwing in my own additions. I also decided to make Kale chips as a side. Here are the recipes.

Bean and Pea Burger

Ingredients (Makes 3 burger patties):
1 can of Pinto beans

1/2 can of peas

Whole wheat flour-3 Tablespoons 

Salt (a dash)

Pepper (1/2 teaspoon)

Garlic (1/2 teaspoon)

Red pepper flakes (I overdid this by adding 1 teaspoon. It gave it a real kick, which I liked, but please use less if you do not like food to be too spicy)

1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. Mix the beans, peas, flour and spices using a grinder/food processor 

2. Heat a skillet with medium heat and spray some cooking spray.

3. Make patties and place on the skillet.

4.Cook for about 5 minutes. Flip and cook for another 5 minutes.

They should look like this

Done!

Place it in a hamburger bun and add whatever garnishes you prefer. I added a slice of lettuce and some ketchup.

They were delicious. Even the hubby agreed! 

Kale chips

Ingredients:

Bunch of kale

Salt to taste

Shredded or powdered parmesan cheese (you can avoid this if you prefer-they still taste amazing)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Wash kale and dry it well. Use a salad spinner if possible. I do not have one and so I employed the meticulous use of kitchen towels. Spoiler: It worked out!

3. Tear the leaves off the stem into chip-sized pieces

4. Spray some cooking spray into a cookie sheet and place the kale chips on to it.

5. Put in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the edges get brown

Done!

These were amazing and the real winner of our meal. The hubby polished off the first batch before the burgers were even ready and so I had to make a second batch. They were that good!

So now that I have shown the hubby (and myself) that we can indeed eat enjoyably and nutritiously without the use of animal products, and Veggie-Day was such a hit, I am already planning our next meal!

Although the hubby did well with this one-day experiment I shall not subject him to any further dietary restrictions! Who knows how long I can keep this up. I know I am not converting into a vegan or a vegetarian any time soon but I do think there is something to be said about how good I felt all day today.

Question: Have you ever gone out of your comfort zone to try a new diet/way of eating? Were you successful or did you soon revert back to old eating habits?

Finally. Date Night. A Success: Maialino at the Gramercy Park Hotel

I am slowly getting more comfortable with leaving my baby boy with a sitter. I'm a little obsessive-compulsive and a tad bit of a control-freak, so it's no picnic for my sitter either. It's bad enough being stressed about leaving your six-month old with a complete stranger but it's even worse when the date-night dinner you had been so looking forward to culminates with mediocre food.

The last few restaurants the hubby and I have been to had been hyped up but we left feeling disappointed. This losing streak changed last night when we were finally able to snag a table at Maialino!

Maialino is the impossible-to-get-into Italian restaurant that is part of Danny Meyer's culinary empire (of Union Sqaure Cafe, Gramercy Tavern and ofcourse Shake Shack-fame, amongst others) located at the Gramercy Park Hotel.

We got to the restaurant at 910pm for a 930pm reservation, and found it to be at almost 50% occupancy. I was elated since that meant we were seated sooner but puzzled as to why I was unable to get an earlier reservation. Could there have been that many last-minute cancellations?

Anyhow, by 930pm the dining room had filled up and the place was popping.

Source: NYTimes

The decor is very 'Roman trattoria'. You walk past the bread and salumi station...

Source: NYTimes

..to get to the dining room where there are wooden floors, oak wainscotting and white on top of blue and white checked table cloths.

Source: Mailino

The place did get packed but the noise was not a bother. I hate going to restaurants where you cannot hear yourself think and this wasn't the case here.

The food was amazing! We started off with the Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe- ribbons of pasta prepared with pecorino and pepper. So simple and yet so delicious!

For our entrees we shared another pasta dish, this time the Garganelli- tube shaped pasta (similar to penne) with braised rabbit, green olives and rosemary; and the Pollo alla Diavola: Half chicken with black pepper and pickled chili.

Pollo alla Diavola

Everything was superb! The pasta was cooked just right and the flavors were not overpowering. The portion sizes were great too. Some people have complained that the portions are too small-I disagree, I think they are just right.

For dessert we opted to have the gelato, trying the trio of olive oil, straciatella and tiramisu flavors.

All in all, it was a perfect evening. Good food, great ambiance, excellent service. Date night is back with a bang!

Apparently had we been there a few hours earlier we may have caught a glimpse of Lady Gaga who was staying at the hotel!

Q: What is your favorite date-night spot?

Cape Cod Adventures: I Love New England!

New England has to be my most favorite part of the country. Granted, I still have not visited the Pacific Northwest (I have been told that I would love Portland, Oregon) but for the time being throw me into any part of Vermont or Massachusetts and I shall be content!

The husband and I just spent the past few days in Cape Cod, allowing our little guy to experience his very first beach. While it was slightly cool to actually get into the water we spent our time reading at the beach, exploring the charming neighboring villages and eating a ton of lobster! The quaint little inn we were staying at had the spottiest wireless internet connection. When I brought this up to the gentleman-in-charge he nodded, "Yes, the internet comes and goes here." He then paused and added helpfully, "There's a library though...its about 20 miles from here...you could access the computer from there?"

Um, no. I figured the blog could be updated once I was back home!

So the highlights of the trip (most of which are ofcourse, food-related!) included the following:

*The Lobster Caesar salad at the Friendly Fisherman Restaurant in Eastham, MA

The freshest, sweetest lobster ever, thrown over crispy leaves of lettuce amidst croutons and sprinkled cheese. Divine!

*The Sandwich Glass Museum in Sandwich, MA

This was a real winner, in my opinion. Sandwich is a charming little village, with gorgeous houses and woods that seem like they are out of a fairy-tale.This was my favorite of all the villages we explored in Cape Cod, and the Glass Museum is lovely. Sandwich used to be the largest producer of glass in the world at one point and this museum commemorates that. There was a wonderful glass-blowing demonstration and some really fun interactive exhibits, including one which detailed the history of light. Of course the museum also houses the most beautiful collection of glassware..

Along with a very interesting exhibit in the ladies' rest room!

Yes, ladies, thats a breast pipe in the top shelf, along with a nursing bottle and a 'bosom shell' in the bottom shelf, circa 1850. The "bosom shell" is the glass equivalent of a present-day breast shield. Uncomfortable much, nursing ladies of the 1850s?

*The Stony Brook Herring Run in Brewster, MA

Isn't it pretty?

*The Houses in Chatham, MA and the Chatham Lighthouse

*Dinner at PB Boulangerie and Bistro, in Wellfleet, MA

Roasted chicken runs the risk of being rather bland. Not so much at this adorable little French bistro. Served with a carrot puree, it was one of the best plates of roast chicken I have ever had. Unfortunately I failed to take a picture. What I did take a picture of was the dessert- the bombolones, little balls of dough, filled with chocolate ganache, served alongside creme fraiche.

Thought I had died and gone to heaven!

*And finally, brunch at Chach, an off-the-beaten-track brunch spot in Provincetown.

This is where the locals go for some tasty grub.

I had the french toast with strawberries and lemon curd!

De-lish!

Now that I am back home it's back to green smoothies for me. I'm also looking forward to getting back into the workout routine, having taken a short break over this mini-vacation. I'm excited about trying a new workout in the am. Till then!

Question: Have you been to Cape Cod? What's your most favorite thing to do there?

Beignets Down The Bayou and Green Smoothies!

I just got back from a weekend jaunt to Baton Rouge. This was my second visit to Louisiana, the first one being to New Orleans a little over a year ago. While that visit was for a work-related conference my husband and I spent the vast majority of our time scouring the city for its best food. The food in New Orleans is unbelievable. From the Fried Oyster Po Boys at the famed Acme Oyster House to more sophisticated Creole fare like the pecan-crusted Gulf fish with Creole Meuniere suace at the more upscale Palace Cafe, we indulgently savored it all. The highlight of our culinary adventure was a pit-stop at Cafe Du Monde, a coffee-house famous for its chicory-laced coffee and divinely decadent beignets. Beignets are square pieces of fried dough that are generously sprinkled with powdered sugar.



Cafe Du Monde

When one of my closest friends chose Baton Rouge as the location of her wedding I quickly began mapping the distance from Baton Rouge to the French Quarter location of Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans. One hour and 10 minutes, according to Google Maps. Totally do-able, right? Not so much when you are there for a wedding. There just was not enough time to make the trip to New Orleans and back and be ready for the 2pm wedding. So I moved onto Plan B. There had to be beignets in Baton Rouge! So began another Google search for the best beignets in Baton Rouge. That is how I came upon Rue Beignet, a cosy little cafe with very friendly servers. The beignets were made fresh, as soon as we placed our order. They were heavenly! Slightly crusted on the outside with chewy moistness on the inside and a light dusting of powdered sugar. I topped that off with a cup of their chicory-laced coffee. Happiness!

Coffee and Beignets at Rue Beignet

The beignets at Rue Beignet in Baton Rouge were amazing, as good as those that I remember having at Cafe Du Monde, and in fact, some online reviewers have reported that they are even better.


Unfortunately, the beignets were not my only indulgence this weekend. The wedding festivities ensured that all guests were well-fed. From a rich crawfish etouffee to moist red velvet cake and a fish'n'chips dinner I am trying not to think too much about, I was not feeling very healthy once I was back at home. I was craving greens so this morning for breakfast I made myself my own version of a green smoothie.

Ingredients (makes 2 large glasses):
2 cups of spinach
1 cup frozen strawberries
A handful of cashews
3 tablespoons of non fat Greek yoghurt
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon of organic honey

One blended it looked like this:

And it tasted pretty good also.
For dinner I decided I was going to continue my healthy eating pattern and so I made yellow split-pea Dal (lentils). Dal is super-nutritious and a staple in South Asian kitchens and this one is my mother-in-law's recipe (albeit with a few deletions on my part to make it a tad healthier!)

Ingredients:
1 cup of split peas
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 chopped tomato
Salt according to taste (I used 1 teaspoon)

Directions:
1. Soak the split peas in water for 1/2 hour, and then discard the water.
2. Add fresh water, (enough to cover the split peas) and bring to a boil.
3. Add the spices and chopped tomatoes and cook until the splits peas soften (I cooked them for about 30 minutes at medium heat)

Done. Super healthy and super delicious! You can eat it with rice, pita bread or even on its own.

My dinner

My husband vetoed my decision to eat healthy and made his own dinner. Boo!

My husband's dinner



My weekend: UAE Healthy Kidney 10K race + Cupcakes at Sprinkles

It never ceases to amaze me how far the UAE has come. When I was growing up on the tiny island, in its capital city of Abu Dhabi, the population of the entire country totaled less than 1 million, and we lived in relative anonymity from the rest of the world. When visiting foreign countries, the phrase, "I am from Abu Dhabi" evoked quizzical looks and shrugs each time I was asked where I was from . "...In the UAE...., " I would further venture. More shrugs. "It's a country in the Middle East," I would finally concede. Nods would follow but I hated having to constantly explain it that way. "The Middle East" always conjured up images of Scheherezade, women in veils, political unrest, and that was so not what my life was like. "I am just like you!" I wanted to scream. I loved Punky Brewster. I listened to Madonna. Judy Blume's books lined my bookshelf. LA Gear sneakers were strewn across my bedroom floor. Note: I was 9 at that time. My tastes have since become a touch more sophisticated. Although Madonna is still awesome.

Abu Dhabi

Nowadays, the UAE is not as obscure as it once was, its signs everywhere. From the "Jumeirah Essex House" sign seen on Central Park South (Jumeirah is a neighbourhood in Dubai, and also the name of a Dubai-based company dealing with luxury hotels and residences), to Emirates (the official airline of Dubai) being an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup in 2010 in South Africa, having its logo emblazoned on the stadium sidelines, to yesterday's race, the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K run in Central Park, sponsored by The Embassy of the UAE. This popular race (I was one of 8000 runners participating) benefitted the National Kidney Foundation, to honor American excellence in the field of kidney transplantation. Sheikh Zayed, the country's founder and late ruler dealt with American physicians first-hand when he underwent his kidney transplant. The first place prize this year was $25,000, the highest of any 10K race in the world, with an additional $20,000 being awarded if the winner broke the record held by the previous record-holder. This happened yesterday and Leonard Patrick Komon of Kenya left $45,000 richer after speedily completing the race in 27:35!!

It's always fun poring over the goodies that runners get prior to the races and this race was no exception. Dri-FIT t-shirts are always a plus and this one had the colors of the UAE's flag (red, white and green), which was also printed in the middle of our bibs.

I like running 10Ks, as they are a great test of endurance. This one started out well but a few minutes into the race I noted a sharp pain in the outside of my left knee. This pain has occurred in each of the three races I have run this year, and usually happens after about two miles. In this race, unfortunately, it started sooner than that, in the early part of my first mile. My heart sank. I had hoped to try and complete the race in under an hour, like I did in my first 10K, the Mini 10K race two years ago.  Not wanting to suffer an irreversible injury, I slowed down my pace and ran steadily for three miles. The Harlem Hills were no match for my debilitated knee at that point and from then onwards till the end of the race I stopped to walk (read limp) every few minutes. I sped up when I saw the "800 feet left" sign and bounded once the finish line was in sight. I completed the race in 1:06:57, my longest 10K, slightly disappointed but I immediately lit up on seeing the chocolate chip bagels being distributed to the runners! For some reason I always end up getting the plain (read boring) bagel at the end of these races so this was a nice surprise!

Anyhow, I have decided to hold off the running for a while and have my knee checked out. I have been procrastinating this because I know I will be asked to cut back on working out but the fact that the pain occurred earlier in a race really jolted me. And writing about it on the blog will make me more accountable about taking care of myself!

After the race, I came home and negated the effect of the race by inhaling the cupcakes my darling husband waited in line for 20 minutes for. Yes, people, only in New York do we wait in line for cupcakes! Sprinkles Cupcakes opened a block from my house this past Friday and the lines have been snaking around Lexington Avenue since with people who cannot wait to get their sugar fix!

The scene from the line outside Sprinkles

He got a whole box but unfortunately only two cakes survived long enough to be photographed by me! Here's the strawberry cupcake and the coconut cupcake...

Before

And then...

After

So what's my verdict? While the cupcakes are smaller in size than their counterparts at Magnolia Bakery or Buttercup Bakeshop, the selection is large with interesting flavors such as strawberry, banana and lemon coconut,and as the picture above is testament, they are unbelievably yummy!

The remainder of the weekend has been spent icing my knee- hope you all had a good one!