One of the best ways to celebrate a new day is by making certain breakfast counts. You’ve heard the age old saying that “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day;” there is so much truth behind these words. Studies show that the brain’s serotonin level is at the highest when we first wake up, causing us to have no cravings. However, if the body isn’t fueled first thing, our serotonin levels drop and we instantly start to crave sugar. Honoring these cravings late in the day creates a cycle of poor nutrition. Once you and your stomach become accustomed to eating first thing in the morning, you’ll notice that uneasiness when you first wake up will gradually disappear. Nutritionists generally recommend 25- 30 % of your caloric intake to come at breakfast and the rest to be scattered throughout the day in smaller increments. There’s no harm in loading up for the day before it even begins!
For many women, when we go through tough times or heartbreak we turn to what comforts us most. For some that means a close-knit group of friends or family that can pick us up off the ground when we thought perhaps it wasn’t possible. For some that means purposeful, focused exercise meant to relieve added stress. For some that means finding a pint of the most sinful ice cream and indulging with an equally sinful melodramatic romantic comedy. I find myself craving bits and pieces of all of these things, but for me, there are truly only two things that seem to be the most cathartic for a broken heart. The first is baking and the second is writing.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: brussels sprouts, easy recipes, hea, pasta, recipes, spring, vegetables
I have only recently fallen in love with foods and flavors I thought I could never enjoy. As I have age, my sweet tooth has subsided, or I guess become more sophisticated and I have found myself craving the bitter, nutty, salty flavors I once despised. They say that as we age, our taste buds change and that we acquire a taste for harsher, complex flavors like bleu cheese, green olives and even pungent alcohols like scotch that may have been off-putting even during young adulthood. Brussels sprouts, however, are my favorite of these new affections and are not just an acquired love but one that yields a beneficial relationship. (more…)
Some would say that New Yorkers take certain things to seriously. As a new New Yorker, I now fall into this category. When in reference to food, this is entirely a good thing. Take the bagel for example; found on nearly every corner, in every street-side coffee stand, in the display case of every deli and behind the counter at a majority of bodegas, this is for sure a breakfast food that this city could not live without. There are annual surveys of the five burroughs to find the best bagel, a hundred or so variations on the original recipe and few bad seeds in the bunch. It is no wonder the Atkins Diet was not popular in this carb-loving crowd.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cheese, dairy, easy recipes, italian food, leftovers, pasta, tomatoes, whey
Being the frugal New Yorker that I try to be, I try to use every ingredient to its fullest, meaning leftovers are divided among the freezer and second day casseroles recipes. There are, however some tricky leftovers that are just hard to waste knowing exactly what the cost was for the originating ingredient.
Take whey for example. Thats right, the Little Miss Muffet whey, the byproduct of making cheese. When cooking Italian food I try my best to make my own ricotta cheese or goat cheese. In fact I pride myself in using hormone free and local organic milk so I can stay true to a sustainable and healthful diet. As much I enjoy the treasure of cheese left in the cheese cloth once all the whey has seeped through, I can’t help but be remorseful for all the left over liquid. (For those who haven’t made cheese before, it takes a lot of milk to make a small portion of cheese.) Although it is moment of excitement and pride once your cheese is finished, smooth and pure as snow, it can be almost disappointing to see the waste. What’s even worse is that most of the vitamins, minerals and beneficial enzymes from milk are left in the whey and not the curds. It would be a shame to let this supercharged stuff go to waste.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: baking, dessert, french, macarons, pastry, recipes, sweets
Trends come and go in the world of pastries. For awhile, cupcakes ruled the world, appearances throughout pop culture and into the ovens of single girls everywhere, we can thank Carrie Bradshaw for that. Whoopie Pies moonlighted for a minute and now the french macaron seems to be the trend for the sugar-induced.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: for foodies, kalustyans, new york, spices, stores
One of the greatest challenges in preparing traditional dishes can be finding the right ingredients; in particular, the right spices. New York City is plentiful in both many nationalities and their corresponding food traditions. Spices are no different.
On Lexington Avenue, between 28th and 29th streets sits a spice infused institution. Since 1944, Kalustyan’s has been providing generations of New Yorkers with an array of spices that is hard to match. Originally, the spice shop was home to only Indian spices and groceries, but has since taken the title of international speciality food and spice shop. (more…)
