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Category: Food (page 15 of 30)

New Member of the Delicious Larabar Family – Cappuccino!

A cute little box arrived in the mail two weeks ago. Nestled in between the attractive red packing straw and the holiday card were four bars from Larabar… Cappuccino! These bars contain dates, almonds, cashews, fair trade certified coffee and vanilla extract. A delicious list of ingredients, I have to admit.

Unfortunately, I am not a coffee drinker. I love its strong aroma wafting across the room when my colleague walks in with his cup brimming. I love the strong scent of coffee that hits me as I step inside Starbucks to get a cup of my favorite hot chocolate. I love waking up to the smells and sounds of my mother making a delicious cup of Bru or Sunrise instant coffee for us.

That being said, I have been unable to develop a taste for coffee sold here in the United States. Every time I have ordered coffee (Cappuccino, Mocha, Cafe Latte – whatever!), I have felt its jarring effects. Too sharp and intense, it gives me the jitters. Well, I haven’t gotten coffee from any place other than Starbucks, so I don’t know if my opinion actually counts. Let’s just say that I am highly wary when it comes to ordering coffee. Not to mention the countless options of roasting, brewing, country of origin, etc. Suffices to say that I stick to other warm beverages.

So when I got this package in the mail, I knew that I needed help. Actually, I sampled a tiny piece. It was too strong for me. It’s probably my low tolerance for coffee speaking but I felt a strong sensation of heat rising up in my face, pricking my insides. My breath became faster, heavier. I knew I couldn’t eat more of it.

So I recruited a few good friends who also happened to be coffee-drinkers to give me their opinion.

Here’s what T has to say, “There is a hint of coffee smell, though not too strong. The bar appears quite enticing with a nice even look with almonds and cashewnuts identifiable and the dates acting as a binding agent. The bar is good to taste, however, the coffee taste disappears after the first bite and is dominated by texture of the nuts and taste of dates. The texture is quite homogeneous except for a bite or two of almonds interspersed in the bar. The coffee taste differentiation is lost, the bar is indeed very good otherwise. To enhance the taste of coffee in the bar, introducing coffee flavored chocolate would help – maybe small granules or chips.” I love how seriously he took my request!

As per N, “There is an intense taste of coffee and that’s great. But it gets lost amidst the sweetness of dates and cashews. The bar should have been less sweet.”

Here’s what T has to say. “People are not used to the flavor combination of coffee, nuts and dried fruit. It takes some getting used to.”

Here’s what the husband has to say (and I agree with him). “The biggest problem with this flavor combination is that the coffee does not seem to blend it in with the other flavors. It feels grainy and stands separate from the other flavors.”

Thanks, Larabar, for sending me your newest flavor! I may not be a fan but I am sure others will like this one.

Zucchini Tofu Almond Koftas

I obsessed about baking a host of goodies and sweet treats this holiday season. Christmas came, went. I planned everything well in advance, pored over the recipes a million times, checked the Internet for variations, blah blah blah… basically expended a whole lot of mental energy simply thinking about my holiday bake extravaganza.

Sigh. If I had spent even half that energy in the kitchen, I would have been less tired. Long story short, I learned some valuable (life) lessons this December. Stop obsessing, get cooking. You cannot ruminate endlessly on a plan; you have got to start moving eventually, take the first step. Profound stuff, huh!

This evening was a whole different story. We had a dinner invitation, so I had nothing to do, really. As far as cooking dinner was concerned, I mean. Started leafing through Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant. This is a gift from a dear friend, a long time ago. I haven’t cooked much from this book but I love reading it. It covers cuisines from China, Italy, Eastern Europe, India and other countries. Each section has a little bit of history, a personal story, anecdotes. I came across a recipe for Zucchini Tofu Koftas in the section on Indian cuisine. It is a simple recipe with a short list of ingredients. I realized that I had most of them at home. Hmmm, should make this one some time. Well, why not now? Talk about learning from last week’s endless obsessing!

I got permission from the nice folks at Moosewood to pass on the recipe here.

Zucchini Tofu Koftas

Ingredients:
2 cups grated zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
6 large garlic cloves, pressed or minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ground fennel seeds
4 teaspoons ground cumin seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon dried mint (1 tablespoon fresh)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
2 blocks tofu, pressed
2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
1/2 cup chopped cashews, walnuts or pistachios

In a heavy skillet, saute the zucchini and garlic in the oil, stirring often, until most of the moisture has evaporated, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the spices and cook for one more minute. stirring constantly. Place in a bowl. Crumble in the tofu, add the flour and nuts, and mix well.

Form the mix into walnut-sized balls. Place on an oiled baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until firm, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Reprinted with permission by the Moosewood Collective from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant, Copyright, 1990, Moosewood, Inc.; Simon and Schuster, publishers.

Zucchini Tofu Almond Koftas

I must admit, I tweaked the recipe a little. I was not sure if I could handle six large cloves of garlic, so I used three. I should have tasted the dough for salt/spice before baking it. Well, it was low on salt and I could have upped the spice levels, added some additional spices too. Also, I had sliced almonds at hand, so I used them instead of cashews, walnuts or pistachios. I skipped the mint as well.

All that being said, this is one delicious kofta! Tofu is so light in texture and taste, so you can eat a whole bunch of these koftas without feeling weighed down. Flour (2 tablespoons) is required as a binder but I am guessing there should be a gluten-free way to bind the dough. This is a vegan recipe also, yay! Next time, I will probably give the garlic a miss, add shredded ginger, chopped cilantro, garam masala, maybe some raisins.

So glad that I acted fast when the thought of making these koftas came to me… Else this would have been another one in the list of ‘MUST MAKE’ recipes.

Figo Pasta, Vinings

Figo Pasta deserves a more detailed post but I got such lovely pictures when we went for lunch last week that I absolutely had to post them here. It was a gorgeous sunny day, the company was excellent (Sucheta and Ruksana) and the food was GOOD. This location is in Vinings, a nice little neighborhood with eateries, boutiques, retail outlets and more. What I really loved about Vinings is that it is a walk friendly community. Would absolutely love to come back to Vinings and to Figo Pasta as well.

I got the Coconut-Carrot-Ginger soup. It was excellent. 100% vegetarian (yes, I asked – as always) with a whiff of curry flavor, this is a thick soup, perfect for these cold days. I am guessing it contained garlic, ginger and a bunch of other spices but the taste was subtle and not overpowering at all. I should have ordered a bowl, not a small cup!

Next up was Mista di Campo, a salad of mixed greens with cherry tomatoes, carrots, olives, shredded ricotta cheese and balsamic vinaigrette.

I have recently become a fan of salads, I must admit. This was a good one. I would have liked additional dressing (well, I should have asked for it, duh). The ricotta cheese was a tad chewy, I thought. All in all, it was a nice plate. Come to think of it, this is a plate full of Pitta-aggravating ingredients – tomatoes, cheese, olives and balsamic vinegar! Thankfully, it didn’t affect me this time. But I am mindful about what I eat since I have a fair understanding of my constitution, the kinds of imbalances I tend to fall into, and the foods that cause it.

Thank God for Ayurveda.

As for Figo Pasta, expect to see more posts about this sunny Italian place in the coming days.

Figo Pasta
2941 Paces Ferry Rd NE
Atlanta GA 30339
770-434-4444

www.figopasta.com

Little Thai

Little Thai sits right across from the parking lot where Sandy Springs Farmers Market is located. That’s where we went for dinner this week.

I am no connoisseur on Thai food but it feels like all Thai food, well most of it, that I have sampled tastes the same. Some curries are sweet while some are spicy, and most dishes feature the same set of vegetables namely carrots, sweet peas, broccoli, baby corn, red peppers, potatoes. Scan the menu of any Thai restaurant and you’ll see the same names – Red Curry, Yellow Curry, Green Curry, Penang Curry, Massaman Curry, Pad Thai, Basil Noodles and so on. I love that the curries are choc-a-full of vegetables, I like the fresh flavors. But I do wonder if I am missing anything. And I don’t mean the meat, you know that.

Little Thai was no exception.

It is a cheerful space, tastefully decorated and casual. The servers were really nice and made us comfortable, stroller et al. We ordered an assortment of appetizers – Tom Yum Goong Soup (huge bowl, lots of vegetables, nicely spiced), Larb (lettuce leaves with a side salad of tofu, red onions, cilantro, lime juice) and Thai Roti (similar to Roti Canai – Malaysian paraantha served with curry that was a tad too sweet and lacked the fire).

On to entrees… Basil Noodles, Massaman Curry and Pad Prik.

We had asked for medium spice levels although I thought all entrees were a tad spicy. Nothing to complain really except that the flavors didn’t really jump out at me. Decent food, many vegetarian options, lots of vegetables, friendly staff- good stuff, hmmm.

For dessert, we got banana dumplings served with vanilla ice cream. As usual, P griped about it (he always does!) but dug his spoon in to the mound of ice cream eagerly when it came.

Would I go to Little Thai again? Sure, why not. Maybe we will sample other dishes on the menu and hopefully have a more unique experience. I know the pictures are fiery red but the light was poor, so I couldn’t take regular pictures! Apologies…

Little Thai Cuisine
220 Sandy Springs Circle, Suite 209
Sandy Springs, GA 30328
404-943-9189

www.littlethaicuisine.com