Remember these? I do. I hadn’t really thought about them until a friend of mine recently said she was on the chia seed diet.
Whaaat?
Then, I saw that there were all sorts of chia-based drinks coming out. Even GT’s Synergy Kombucha-my favorite- has a whole line of chia-filled kombuchas. Okay, what’s this chia stuff about? I decided to look into it.
Holycrapwhatatoughwinteritsbeen. I’m so serious. My astrologer (GO SEE HIM if you live in New York. Eric will change your life) told me at the beginning of January that this winter would be a rough one because of Mars going retrograde. He wasn’t wrong. I went from bronchitis to chronic migraines to flu to cold to stress to a new job. I’m finally doing what I love- nannying and cooking- and I couldn’t be happier. And since I’m happier (and Mars is out of retrograde!), I decided to bring it back to y’all with a heaping of stuff I’ve been loving lately. Read the rest of this entry »
Pie is very important. I’m serious. At least at this time of the year. No, scratch that, pie is important year round. In the summer there’s strawberry-rhubarb, cherry, blueberry. In the fall, apple and pumpkin. And in winter, mincemeat and…wait! I can’t have pecan pie. Neither can you. Crap. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ll admit it. I’m a carnivore. A full-blown cavewoman! I like filet mignon, leg of lamb, bacon, veal sausage, bacon, bacon, anything that was once alive grilled, and bacon. I have a poster of all of the prime cuts of beef hanging on refrigerator. But, as much as I love meat, I also realize the need for an occasional vegan meal. I also recognize a curry craving when I have one. Behold, my dorky adventure in kind-of Indian, totally vegan dinner food. Did I mention how incredibly cheap this whole meal was? Like, under $5 cheap. Cheap, vegan food. How can you say no?
I’m serious, how can you say no? Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve got one word for you, and one word only: Whew.
So it’s over. I’m officially done with classes at The Institute of Culinary of Education. After months and months of chopping, blanching and sautéing, I’m here. I’m sitting here writing to you about what I’ve been up to since the day I was given my toque. Not only will I tell you about what a culinary school’s graduation is like, but I’ve got 2 great new dork-friendly recipes for you to try out with your dinners this fall. Read the rest of this entry »
Have y’all ever heard of Jenny Kales? The Nut-Free Mom? I read her blog religiously. Not because I’m a nut-free mom, but because I’m a nut-free lady. She’s got great tips to remind all of the nut allergic the severity of their food issues, and some great recipes. Like, nut-free nutella. I made it and died, mostly because I knew I was about to pack on 7 pounds.
Anyways, we got in touch and she asked me to answer a few questions. I have to admit, I was a liiiitttle starstruck. But I did it, in spite of a fake hurricane, a fake earthquake and the most intense quarter of culinary school. Here’s the interview for your enjoyment! There are some great tips on how to dine out with food allergies, the woes and pitfalls of a social life with food allergies, and some stupid jokes I make. Alllll right! Read on, dorky! Read the rest of this entry »
It wasn’t that much of a surprise when it happened. In fact, I was expecting it to go down. It wasn’t necessarily a happy thing to happen, but it certainly wasn’t soul-crushing. We were never really that close. No tears were shed, but there would always be memories of better times for the future.
By the way, I’m not talking about my love life here. That part of my life is almost as pathetically empty as my refrigerator. I’m talking about my break-up with sesame. After discovering my peanut and tree nut allergies, I read somewhere that a sesame allergy was likely in the cards for me. One day, I decided to test it out. You see, the bodega by my house in Brooklyn never really has the kind of candy I want. But it always has halvah, which can be a lovely treat when the mood strikes. You see, halvah is a candy made from, among other things…sesame. Chocolate-chocolate halvah seemed like the perfect after work pick-me-up. Except for the whole part where after eating it, my tongue swelled into some sort of pancake, and my nightcap ended up being a few doses of liquid Benadryl.
So, imagine me, a few days later, perusing the hummus selections at my local grocery store, with a huge frown on my face. Everything had tahini in it! I later discovered that Trader Joe’s makes an excellent tahini-free hummus, but at that moment, I decided I would have to give up on my favorite dip of all time. But recently, I had a change of heart. I was going to make my own hummus, darn it! Read the rest of this entry »
This heat wave has been brutal. In New York, you can’t escape the heat. It’s everywhere! On the train you take to work, in the bodega where you buy your gatorade, even the moment you step outside your apartment, you begin to melt. Summers like these require all sorts of rituals : three cold showers a day. Lots and lots of Mo-Town. Popsicles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And at this rate, I’m pretty sure my hair is going to grow in the shape of a sloppy topknot. But there’s one thing missing from my New York summer: Sonic.
Sonic is a Southern summer staple. Maybe it’s one everywhere else but New York City. Unfortunately, the nearest Sonic is in New Jersey. Okay, so apparently not in Brooklyn. Anyways, I grew up drinking those syrupy, snowy slushes every summer. Watermelon, powerade, sour apple. The occasional cream slush. GAH! I get sad just thinking about the big empty hole in my summer life where Sonic used to be.
After wallowing, I realized I could probably recreate these drinks at home.
Have I died and gone to heaven? I swear, it’s like someone’s been listening to my thoughts and finally did something about it. I can’t believe this. Zero calorie noodles. No soy, no gluten, no nothing. Just…noodles. If I could draw a food pyramid of what I eat, the bottom half would be a lot of tomato sauce, a lot of nutritional yeast, and a whole lotta gluten-free noodles. So, imagine the look on my face when my best friend Laura brought me these. I was in awe.
“This can’t be real life,” I tell her.
To most, lemonade brings us back. A stand on the corner when you were six. An after-school drink with cookies. A Southern summer staple. Or, if you’re a hip-hop dork like me, it means this:
Back to the summer staple thing. With this heat, I feel like anything but lemonade or iced tea is out of the question. I feel like mother nature is handing me a pile of steaming hot pile of lemons. And being the crafty girl that I am, what do I do?
Make lemonade, duh.
