tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79149508207541576292024-02-18T23:12:01.416-08:00De NuevaNew Places, New Experience, New Food, New York!De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.comBlogger200125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-81874049165998785842013-07-22T18:09:00.000-07:002013-07-22T18:09:44.300-07:00Tempeh Banh Mi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hey! Remember when I blogged regularly? Yes, that was long ago. One of my new projects is to remember to blog more not just photo stuff on the business blog, but fun other stuff as well. So, we'll see if I can keep things up!<br />
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Anyhow, Vermont winter was beautiful, and then there were crazy adventures in Asia, and then summer exploded with busy. However, I did whip up these sandwiches the other night, and was mighty pleased with how they turned out. So I figured I might as well share them!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/9348275174/" title="_7002096 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7002096" height="471" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2829/9348275174_b140842c99_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Montpelier has a lovely co-op that we shop at all the time, and they even have a sandwich bar if you're feeling fancy. One of the sandwiches I've ordered from them is the Tempeh Banh Mi. And it's AWESOME. I was a little scared at first, as I sometimes am of weird things, but it turned out to be well worth the fright. I was craving one the other night, but figured it'd be worth trying make on my own.<br />
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A little of this, and a little of that, and success! Thus, I give you my sandwich creation, easy and healthy all in one!<br />
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Ingredients: <br />
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1 Tempeh cake<br />
2 garlic cloves, minced<br />
1 TBS grated fresh ginger<br />
1 loaf fresh baguette or ciabbata<br />
soy sauce<br />
rice vinegar<br />
hoisin sauce<br />
chili sauce<br />
sesame oil<br />
cilantro<br />
grated carrot<br />
sliced cucumber<br />
avocado (I know this isn't normally on banh mi, but avocado is delicious so whatever)<br />
chopped salad greens<br />
spicy mayo (mix the mayo of your choosing with sriracha) <br />
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Make the marinade: (Note, I didn't actually measure any of this, so just go with your best judgement) <br />
Take a long tupperware or shallow pan and add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of soy sauce, enough to fill the bottom. Add a TBS or 2 of rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, a tablespoon of sesame oil, a bit of chili sauce like sriracha, and the garlic and ginger. Whisk together. I also added a bit of some sweet and sour chili sauce we had in the fridge. <br />
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Thinly slice the tempeh and place the strips in the marinade. Swish around so everything is covered with sauce and place in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.<br />
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Once the tempeh has marinaded a bit, you can just dump everything into a frying pan and saute for about 4-5 minutes.<br />
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Lightly toast your bread if desired, layer with spicy mayo, cooked tempeh, grated carrot, cucumber, and a bit of cilantro and greens or avocado and enjoy!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/9345486795/" title="_7002097 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7002097" height="431" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2807/9345486795_136418c980_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-88577879685085456132013-02-12T09:34:00.000-08:002013-02-12T09:34:39.073-08:00Soba Noodle Soup <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
While out wandering one of the old bookstores in town, I came across this new Martha Stewart cookbook. I had good experiences with my other Martha book, so I figured this one would be worth a shot as well. If I'm honest, I mostly like that her cookbooks have a photo of every recipe, but it's also nice that they tend to be easy and delicious!<br />
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I saw a recipe in the cookbook for soba and tofu in ginger broth, it looked delicious. I'm a huge fan of miso soup, and while this isn't that, it does taste very similar. It's comforting and wholesome though not at all heavy, and just plain delicious for a cold night.<br />
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I adapted the recipe for what we had and it turned out wonderfully, we'll be making this again for sure. Along with the tasty cream cheese puffs! :-)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8467681745/" title="Soup by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="Soup" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8525/8467681745_d05cc9a235_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
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Soba Noodle Soup<br />
Adapted from Martha Stewart Kitchen's: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Meatless-More-Than-Vegetarian-Recipes/dp/0307954560/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360689881&sr=8-1&keywords=meatless">Meatless</a> <br />
<br />
1 onion, quartered <br />
1, 3 inch piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced<br />
2 garlic cloves, smashed<br />
1/4 cup soy sauce<br />
1 TBS rice vinegar<br />
1/2 block firm tofu, drained and pressed, <br />
salt<br />
6-8 ounces soba noodles<br />
1 head baby bok choy, thinly sliced<br />
1 bell pepper, sliced thinly and roughly chopped <br />
1 handful kale, finely chopped<br />
1 jalepeno, ribbed and diced<br />
8 cups water<br />
<br />
In large pot, combine onion, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer covered. Allow to simmer about 15 minutes.<br />
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Meanwhile, slice the tofu into thin strips, then season with salt/pepper and saute or grill until lightly browned. Once cool enough to handle, dice into smaller pieces.<br />
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Once the broth has cooked, remove the solids with a slotted spoon. Then add the soba noodles to the broth, and cook until tender. Just before they finish, add the vegetables and tofu to the broth and cook another couple minutes until the veggies are cooked, but still slightly crisp. Enjoy!<br />
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De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-85686785455672364072013-01-20T16:48:00.001-08:002013-01-20T16:48:42.467-08:00Spaghetti Squash & Black Bean Tacos<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Along with loads of other people, I also got the Smitten Kitchen cookbook for Christmas. I'm a big fan of her blog, so I was excited to try out the new recipes in the cookbook! She has a pretty good veggie friendly section, and as that's what we're eating most of the time in this house, I was pumped to try some out.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8399562163/" title="SquashTacos1 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="SquashTacos1" height="438" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8078/8399562163_f2431dde4a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Upon seeing this recipe, I wasn't quite sure what to think. We're a big fan of lentil tacos, so I'm not unfamiliar with meatless mexican, but this was a new one for sure. However, I'll try anything once, and having faith in Deb, I gave them a try. Super tasty! I highly recommend these, as weird as they might seem, because A. It's always fun to cook with spaghetti squash, B. Super duper healthy C. Mexican delicious = an excuse to make margaritas, right? Win win.<br />
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So, I altered the recipe some to my liking, and loved the results, so here you go!<br />
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<b><u>Spaghetti Squash and Black Bean Tacos</u></b><br />
<b><u>Adapted from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Smitten-Kitchen-Cookbook-Perelman/dp/030759565X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358728179&sr=8-1&keywords=smitten+kitchen+cookbook">Smitten Kitchen Cookbook</a></u></b><br />
1 medium spaghetti squash<br />
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed<br />
1 yellow onion, diced<br />
3 cloves garlic, minced<br />
olive oil<br />
1 tsp chili powder<br />
1/2 tsp cumin<br />
1/2 tsp coriander<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
dash of cayenne pepper<br />
juice of 1 lime<br />
feta cheese<br />
tortillas (I prefer flour tortillas, but feel free to use whatever you like)<br />
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Toppings:<br />
diced bell pepper<br />
avocado<br />
chopped cilantro<br />
dash of your favorite hot sauce<br />
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Split the squash and scoop out the seeds. Coat the flesh with olive oil and roast flesh side down on parchment lined baking sheet at 375 about 40 minutes until softened.<br />
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While the squash is baking, saute onions and garlic in a bit of butter or oil until softened. Add the black beans and saute another couple minutes.<br />
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When the squash is finished baking, using a fork, scrape out the flesh and empty into a bowl. Add the spices and the lime juice and mix well to combine.<br />
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To craft your tacos, fill with squash, top with the black beans and onion, and then top with diced bell pepper, avocado, cilantro and crumbled feta. A dash of hot sauce or even a dollop of sour cream are excellent choices.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8399562445/" title="SquashTacos2 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="SquashTacos2" height="431" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8071/8399562445_0cc27242bf_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Enjoy! </div>
De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-89826479305306681942012-12-09T18:34:00.000-08:002012-12-09T18:34:50.519-08:00Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter SauceFor some crazy reason on Friday afternoon, after a morning of editing lots of photos, I decided that I wanted to make something fun for dinner that evening. I had gotten a new cookbook a month or two ago with a random giftcard I had, and I'd been meaning to make something from it. This cookbook is quite the hefty tome, so while I'd paged through it and read good reviews before I made the purchase, I hadn't really gotten into any of the recipes.<br />
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Over lunch I decided pasta sounded good, and this recipe looked perfect. I've been wanting to make my own pasta since forever, but have never gotten around to it, so I figured what the heck? <br />
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You guys. OMG. This was THE. BEST. DINNER. I have made ever. in my life. Both Alex and I agreed this was fantastic. I was thoroughly proud of myself after making all the pasta from scratch as well! Other then <a href="http://denueva.blogspot.com/2010/12/ostrich-on-christmas.html">Christmas Ostrich</a>, and I suppose orchestrating an entire Thanksgiving feast in a square foot Brooklyn kitchen, it's certainly one of fanciest dinners I've crafted. This is not an easy weeknight meal, but if you're looking to impress, or just spend some loving time in the kitchen, this dish is for you. It took me a good couple hours to pull this off, but the reward was well worth it. :-) <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8258905539/" title="Ravioli by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="Ravioli" height="457" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8082/8258905539_04ce38fc20_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<b>Butternut Squash Ravioli with Pecans and Sage Brown Butter Sauce</b><br />
Adapted from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Cooking-Everyone-Deborah-Madison/dp/0767927478/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355104284&sr=8-1&keywords=vegetarian+cooking+for+everyone">Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison</a> <br />
(Serves 2-3, about 14 large raviolis. However, I had lots of leftover filling. If you made more pasta and this could go way farther) <br />
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Filling:<br />
1 butternut squash<br />
1/2 cup bread crumbs<br />
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese<br />
1 tbs butter, softened <br />
salt/pepper<br />
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Pasta:<br />
2 cups flour<br />
2 eggs<br />
pinch salt<br />
2 tsp olive oil <br />
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Sauce:<br />
6-8 TBS butter (I went for the full stick. Butter makes everything better. :-) ) <br />
2 TBS freshly chopped parsley<br />
3 TBS freshly chopped sage leaves<br />
1 TBS chopped fresh thyme <br />
1 shallot, finely diced<br />
2 cloves garlic, minced <br />
1/3 cup roughly chopped pecans (you can toast them if you like, I didn't) <br />
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Start by roasting the squash. Slice it half, scoop out the seeds, brush with olive oil, then roast cut side down on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 375 until tender, about 45 minutes. <br />
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While the squash is roasting, prep the pasta. I don't own a pasta maker, or a large enough food processor, so I made this stuff the old fashioned way, completely by hand with lots of muscle. :-) If you have the technology, go for it. But, if you're like me... On a clean counter or cutting board, place flour in a mound and then make a bowl in the center. Add the eggs and olive oil and a pinch of salt. Then using a fork and then gradually hands, gently fold things together and work in the flour. Keep kneading until all the flour is combined. Work the dough into a ball and then place in a plastic bag to rest in the fridge 10-15 minutes at least. After the dough has rested, roll it out as thin as you can get it. I did mine in sections so it would stay cool. Once it's rolled out, I used a small juice glass to cut out the ravioli circles.<br />
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To make the filling:<br />
Once the squash is roasted and cooled, scoop out two cups worth of squash. Beat together ( I used an immersion blender to get it nice and smooth) with 2 TBS butter and season with salt and pepper, then add in the cheese and bread crumbs. <br />
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To fill the ravioli, add a spoonful to a pasta circle, top with another, then seal with your fingers and a bit of water.<br />
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Cooking:<br />
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Sauce: Add the butter, herbs, and shallot and garlic to a deep sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, continuously stirring while the butter cooks. Continue to heat until it lightly browns. Once the butter browns, add the pecans and continue to cook another minute or two. <br />
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While the sauce cooks up, cook the raviolis in a pot of gently boiling salted water about 4-5 minutes. Drain carefully.<br />
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Add the raviolis to the sauce, cook another 30 seconds or two. Serve topped with freshly chopped parsley, a few extra pecans, and fresh grated cheese.<br />
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Enjoy with some tasty wine! Happy dining! :-) <br />
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<br />De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-54681589144894431412012-11-28T10:25:00.000-08:002012-11-28T10:26:14.818-08:00Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I thought I'd get a new recipe up here and have some other ones coming soon as well!<br />
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These enchiladas are from my friends Alex and Sonja, who if you don't follow <a href="http://acouplecooks.com/">their blog</a>, really kids, you need to get on that!<br />
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This recipe makes a TON. We got a few lunches and two dinners for both Alex and myself out of these, which is hard to do in this house. And, it's super easy, cheap and extra healthy. WIN!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8224490941/" title="_7006934 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7006934" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8059/8224490941_4092c89152_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas<br />
Adapted from <a href="http://www.acouplecooks.com/2012/10/sweet-potato-and-black-bean-green-enchiladas/">A Couple Cooks</a><br />
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2 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and finely diced<br />
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed<br />
1 yellow onion, finely diced<br />
8 ounces diced canned green chilies<br />
1/4 cup quinoa<br />
1/2 TBS cumin<br />
1 tsp chili powder<br />
1/2 tsp garlic powder<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper<br />
Jar of salsa verde or tomatillo salsa of your liking<br />
Shredded cheese (some sort of mexican blend or cheddar works great)<br />
whole wheat flour tortillas<br />
sour cream for serving<br />
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Heat your oven to 350.<br />
Cook your sweet potato... Place in a sauce pan covered with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. 10ish minutes or so.<br />
Cook the quinoa, 1/4 cup quinoa to 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer until the water is cooked away.<br />
In a bowl combine the black beans, spices, onion, green chiles. Mix to combine. Once the quinoa and sweet potatoes are done, add those to the mix and stir everything together.<br />
In a 13x9 baking dish, add about 3/4 cup of salsa on the bottom. Now add your filling, a spoonful of salsa and a bit of cheese to a tortilla, and roll it up. Place it seam side down in the baking dish. Continue filling tortillas until the dish is full. (I got two full pans out of this, 12-14 enchilladas). Add a bit more salsa over the top and sprinkle with cheese.<br />
Bake in the oven about 20 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8224491165/" title="_7006936 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7006936" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8486/8224491165_557723fd5c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-21402786229343096052012-10-01T19:24:00.003-07:002012-10-01T19:24:48.479-07:00Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tostadas I recently discovered <a href="http://naturallyella.com/">Naturally Ella</a>'s blog via my friends over at <a href="http://www.acouplecooks.com/">A Couple Cooks</a>. So many tasty things!<br />
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I bought a butternut squash at the farmers market last weekend and had been looking for some new ways to use it, so when I saw this recipe, it looked just about perfect! The only thing I would change is to add more squash and increase the recipe a bit, it didn't make quite as much as I had hoped. Only enough for three tostadas, however, they were pretty hardy, so it worked out.<br />
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They turned out delicious! We'll be making this again for sure!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8045680476/" title="DSC_2294 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_2294" height="328" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8033/8045680476_0669b66f75.jpg" width="500" /></a> <br />
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Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tostadas<br />
<a href="http://naturallyella.com/2012/09/28/chipotle-butternut-squash-black-beans-and-goat-cheese-tostadas/">Adapted from Naturally Ella</a><br />
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roughly 2 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced<br />
1 yellow onion diced<br />
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced<br />
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed<br />
1/4 cup diced bell pepper <br />
juice of one lime<br />
olive oil<br />
salt<br />
.5 - 1 tsp crushed red pepper<br />
1 TBS honey<br />
tortillas (we used whole wheat)<br />
goat cheese <br />
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Toss squash, onion and jalapeno with a TBS or two of olive oil, a bit of salt, and crushed red pepper to taste. Spread on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 425 for about 30 minutes until starting to brown.<br />
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Once the squash mixture has baked, mix in a bowl with black beans, lime juice, another TBS of olive oil, and 1 TBS of honey.<br />
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Place tortillas on a cookie sheet, top with squash bean mixture, diced bell pepper, and goat cheese. Bake another 5-8 minutes, until cheese is melty and tortillas get crispy.<br />
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Enjoy! De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-73955730386233613182012-09-27T20:43:00.001-07:002012-09-27T20:43:31.159-07:00Fall Leaves! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Happy Fall!<br />
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I needed to take a quick break from editing yesterday and decided to grab my camera and take a walk around the neighborhood. I'm trying to be better about taking photos for me, so hopefully more fun photo posts to come.<br />
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This past week or even in the past day or so the fall colors in Vermont have absolutely exploded. It's amazing. Today I took the train down to the city for a wedding and just stared out the window for a good hour just marveling at how gorgeous everything looked.<br />
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I'm hoping to head on a bigger hike this weekend weather permitting, so hopefully lots more photos on the way.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8031666368/" title="DSC_1537 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_1537" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8182/8031666368_a4a8858020.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8031677182/" title="DSC_1543 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_1543" height="358" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8450/8031677182_4b591607b8.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8031681371/" title="DSC_1544 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_1544" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8317/8031681371_7e74d5ec56.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8031681968/" title="DSC_1547 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_1547" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8315/8031681968_615149473c.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8031685464/" title="DSC_1555 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_1555" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8310/8031685464_5d08c60eec.jpg" width="333" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8031693488/" title="DSC_1569 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_1569" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8042/8031693488_0e5f14e4ce.jpg" width="333" /></a><br />
Yes, this river view is in downtown Montpelier, this is just looking away from town. Vermont is a pretty fabulous place to live. :-)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8031697719/" title="DSC_1573 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_1573" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8309/8031697719_76e297ace9.jpg" width="333" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8031702433/" title="DSC_1576 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_1576" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8321/8031702433_539e926d65.jpg" width="333" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8031702294/" title="DSC_1578 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_1578" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8177/8031702294_3e435c7286.jpg" width="333" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8031706535/" title="DSC_1581 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_1581" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/8031706535_3d3892bff0.jpg" width="333" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/8031708693/" title="DSC_1588 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_1588" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8180/8031708693_0a6231c404.jpg" width="333" /></a><br />
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Hope you're enjoying the season!<br />
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De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-70903372275246227562012-09-10T12:54:00.002-07:002012-09-10T12:54:38.095-07:00Vermont! The New Place!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The post you all have been waiting for I'm sure! :-) I've been crazy busy with the <a href="http://denuevaphoto.com/">photo stuff,</a> but figured I'd take a little break today to give you a peek into our new space up in the north country! We finally have mostly settled in and gotten most of the art up on the walls and such. There's still a few things left and the back bedroom still needs to be settled, but for the most part, it's pretty set up!<br />
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First off, I knew I was missing having space in Brooklyn, but holy moly I can't even begin to explain how nice it is to just have ROOM again. To have THREE closets! To not be a cluttered mess even when everything is clean is awesome. Also, since I'm working from home now most of the time, it's been wonderful to have such a sunny apartment to be in!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973165234/" title="_7003840 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003840" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8036/7973165234_f4b081b40d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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We're living on a nice little street just two blocks from downtown. It's been great as Alex takes the car most days, but I can still easily walk anywhere I need to go. The coop, grocery store, gym, library, stores, post office, whatever. They're all about a 10 minute walk at most.<br />
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Alex said one day that Montpelier is kind of like a cute little hippy Brooklyn neighborhood that got dropped in the middle of the forest. And I think that's about the best description ever. The stores are all independent, lots of thrift shops and little boutiques, the restaurants are amazingly delicious, and there's a wonderful farmer's market on the weekends! All surrounded by amazing mountain scenery. It's seriously idyllic. Are you coming to visit yet?? :-) <br />
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Bedroom:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973163534/" title="_7003837 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003837" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8032/7973163534_a99363aff0_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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I LOVE how sunny our bedroom is. It's so great to work in during the day.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973148228/" title="_7003789 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003789" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7973148228_ba772ea7b8_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Seriously ginormous compared to our bedroom in Brooklyn.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973149090/" title="_7003791 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003791" height="413" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7973149090_5820ba5b68_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973149936/" title="_7003792 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003792" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8452/7973149936_ed24053211_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Living Room:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973161324/" title="_7003830 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003830" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8031/7973161324_78699124e8_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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I'd like a little coffee table, but Alex has been anti the idea for the time being. So for now, we have storage ottomans from amazon that have actually been pretty nice. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973162510/" title="_7003832 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003832" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8172/7973162510_4862546090_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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I want to print some canvases to hang behind the couch!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973150776/" title="_7003796 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003796" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8042/7973150776_5ca78b69ed_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Kitchen:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973153174/" title="_7003801 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003801" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8031/7973153174_bf3ab9f4ef_z.jpg" width="412" /></a><br />
Sorry, the light is funky.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973154574/" title="_7003805 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003805" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8314/7973154574_ccbac585c8_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Electric stove, boo. But I'm making it work!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973156288/" title="_7003811 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003811" height="426" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8030/7973156288_e6bb89f79e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Bathroom:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973157522/" title="_7003816 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003816" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8309/7973157522_ab34a9e0c1_z.jpg" width="449" /></a><br />
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Our bathroom is kind of silly big, but has the tiniest pedestal sink. I don't really get it, but whatever. I'm happy for the room!<br />
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Second Bedroom!!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973160106/" title="_7003826 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003826" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8436/7973160106_4241900850_z.jpg" width="447" /></a><br />
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Still not finished as you can see, and it's teeny. But hopefully maybe we can squeeze an air mattress or something in here if anyone stops over. For now it's mainly for drying laundry and storage. But it's great to have. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7973158844/" title="_7003824 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7003824" height="640" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8444/7973158844_59f691c66c_z.jpg" width="426" /></a><br />
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Next up I promise to have more recipes and a tour of the neighborhood and pretty photos. For now, stop over at the <a href="http://denuevaphoto.com/2012/09/stowe-pinnacle-hike-vermont-wedding-photographer/">photo blog</a> for views of my latest hike up a mountain! <br />
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De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-91355060133131187922012-07-06T11:44:00.000-07:002012-07-06T12:08:15.308-07:00Fun Times in The City!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So as our time in NYC is winding down, I have been on a quest to get as much city fun as I can before we head out to the Vermont countryside. We actually made a list of things to do in NYC before we moved here, and I have to say, we've done a very good job at knocking off most of them.<br />
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This past June in particular was pretty amazing in terms of awesome NYC things. I got to eat at two absolutely amazing restaurants, Momofuku Ko AND Brooklyn Fare. Seriously, these were two of the most awesome culinary experiences ever. If you have the chance, GO. Now.<br />
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Additionally, we had loads of fun with some sailing and trapezing! For Alex's birthday this year, I was at a loss for what to do. Then I saw a post on <a href="http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2012/05/nyc-date-idea-sailing-on-hudson-river.html#fbid=LWWVGT8LilX">Cup of Jo on sailing</a>, one of my favorite NY blogs, and knew I had found the event! Alex and I don't often exchange gifts, especially for birthdays, we're more "do cool things" over "get more stuff" sort of folks, so a sunset sail on the Hudson was perfect.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7389863002/" title="IMG_1065 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1065" height="480" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7080/7389863002_f346f42b69_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
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I had gone on a Circle Line boat cruise before around the harbor, but this was SO much cooler. I'm fairly certain it's one of my favorite things we've done in the city. I met Alex on 22nd street and 10th as a surprise and then we walked out to Chelsea piers. You can bring along a picnic, which I highly recommend doing. I stopped at <a href="http://www.numpangnyc.com/">Num Pang</a> in Union Square (best sandwiches in NYC, no question) and also picked up dessert at Chelsea Market.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7389875160/" title="IMG_1075 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1075" height="480" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7103/7389875160_f6abe03d62_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
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For the cruise they take you out on a gorgeous sail boat, one of the old school beautiful schooners. Our group was fairly small, maybe 12-15 of us on the boat, and our evening was perfect! It was a clear night, there was lots of wind for sailing, and there were even points where we were nearly at a 45 degree angle going around a curve. Super fun! Along with the picnic, they also serve unlimited drinks on board. Wine, champagne, and beers. While they say it's not meant to be a booze cruise, we never had an empty glass the whole 2 hours. :-)<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7389872520/" title="IMG_1073 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1073" height="480" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7082/7389872520_7f4898d861_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
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I didn't bring my DSLR, but did manage to snap a few photos with my cell phone and with our little point and shoot camera. The views were gorgeous!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7389871318/" title="IMG_1072 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1072" height="480" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7389871318_5a8ccbd680_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7389883708/" title="SunsetSail by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="SunsetSail" height="459" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7072/7389883708_6eaa4d28b3_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
I love this one. The boat in this photo is just like the one we were on. <br />
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Our second fun adventure was<a href="http://newyork.trapezeschool.com/"> trapeze</a>! Again at the suggestion of Cup of Jo, as soon as I saw it, I knew this was something I needed to do. SO MUCH FUN! I pretty much wanted to immediately join the circus. It was a deathly hot day when we went, but being on the water there was a decent breeze. And when you're flying through the air, we barely noticed it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7469051542/" title="IMG_1099 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1099" height="480" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7131/7469051542_c79eb54803_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7469048162/" title="IMG_1096 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1096" height="480" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7469048162_5604eca6b0_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7469063720/" title="IMG_1110 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1110" height="480" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7469063720_f8c77c831a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7469072094/" title="IMG_1118 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1118" height="480" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7469072094_b19c115942_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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We learned a basic knee hang, a flip off the bar to dismount, and got to try a few catches. The instructors here were fantastic teachers and incredibly friendly. I would completely recommend this place to anyone coming to the city! I know I'll be back!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7469053766/" title="IMG_1101 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1101" height="480" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8146/7469053766_ed919a989e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7469065208/" title="IMG_1111 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_1111" height="480" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7266/7469065208_b1f4684c5e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
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So hard to believe we only have about 3 weeks left! Get ready for loads of post from green mountains, as I'm hoping my free time will actually start to exist! Hurray! :-) <br />
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<br /></div>De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-29138115617979132652012-05-10T20:13:00.000-07:002012-05-10T20:13:12.670-07:00Tempeh Sloppy Joes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Oh HEY blog. How's it going?<br />
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So when we were in San Francisco a couple weeks ago, ( yes, I know, I'm awful at giving you travel photos. I will do it sometime this year. PROMISE.) Alex and I went to this really cool cafe by our hotel for lunch and Alex had this fantastic sandwich. Afterwards I promised to give it a shot at home, and here's what I came up with! Alex devoured two of them, and the one I had was mighty tasty, so I'd say that was a success! Take that making up recipes!<br />
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Tempeh Sloppy Joes!<br />
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Ingredients: <br />
1 onion, finely chopped <br />
1 celery stalk, finely chopped<br />
1 bell pepper, chopped<br />
approximately 1/4 cup grated carrot (I didn't actually measure, this is a guess) <br />
5 garlic cloves chopped<br />
1 15 oz can tomato sauce<br />
1/2 tsp chili powder<br />
1 tsp cumin<br />
1 TBS red wine vinegar (plus an extra splash) <br />
1 TBS soy sauce (plus an extra splash or so) <br />
1 TBS Worcestershire <br />
dash of red pepper flakes<br />
1/4 tsp oregano<br />
dash of paprika (a bit less then 1/4 tsp)<br />
dash of cayene pepper <br />
1 tsp brown sugar <br />
sea salt and a few grinds black pepper <br />
1 tempeh cake<br />
olive oil<br />
Burger buns for serving, toasted<br />
avocado and bell pepper, shredded cheese for topping<br />
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Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic to a frying pan with a bit of olive oil. Saute until softened. Add in the tomato sauce, vinegar and sauces and spices and sugar. Stir until well mixed. Cover and simmer over low heat 5-10 minutes. <br />
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While this sauce is cooking, chop up the tempeh and fry with a bit of olive oil in a separate pan about 5 minutes or until browned. Let cool until you can handle it. Then crumble into small pieces. Add the tempeh to the sauce mixture. Let simmer about 5 minutes. <br />
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Serve over toasted bread with toppings as desired. Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/7174015284/" title="_7004342 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img alt="_7004342" height="471" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7099/7174015284_f3629febc5_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br /></div>De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-63029687859877533612012-03-20T12:22:00.004-07:002012-03-20T12:40:52.368-07:00Channa MasalaSo, blog? How's it going? <br /><br />I have been up to my ears this spring in photo editing and such, so this blog has sadly fallen by the wayside. However, soon enough, especially later this summer, I have high hopes to get on the more regular blog train! (This may or may not have to do with exciting announcements that involve states called Vermont.)<br /><br />On to the food. Alex and I have pretty much given up cooking meat for most meals during the week. A. We've decided we're only consuming sustainably raised stuff. and B. it's turned out quite a bit cheaper to eat mostly veggie, which is lovely. and C. These veggie dishes are super quick and easy, and flavorful, which is awesome for a weeknight meal. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6998476705/" title="Untitled by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6107/6998476705_e1d3dd6e89_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt=""></a><br />As if to prove how lazy I was feeling last night. I didn't want to grab my actual camera. Sorry for the cell phone photo! <br /><br />I was in the mood for something Indian flavored last night, and remembered starring Smitten Kitchen's recipe awhile ago, so figured I'd give it a try. <br /><br />I made this in like 25 minutes, which is great for any night of the week I think! It was fairly spicy, but pretty tasty! I'm betting on it tasting even better as leftovers, as I don't think it had quite enough to cook and let the flavors meld as we were mighty hungry! I was tempted to add some potato as well, which I might do next time. <br /><br />Chana Masala<br />Adapted from <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/02/chana-masala/">Smitten Kitchen</a> <br /><br />A bit of olive oil <br />2 medium onions, diced<br />4 cloves garlic, minced<br />2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger<br />1 hot green chili pepper, minced (we used jalapeno, as that's what we had)<br />1 tablespoon ground coriander<br />2 teaspoons ground cumin<br />1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (I used more a heaping 1/4) <br />1 teaspoon ground turmeric<br />2 teaspoons paprika<br />1 teaspoon garam masala<br />1 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes, (smaller diced is better) <br />1 bell pepper, diced<br />2/3 cup water<br />4 cups cooked chickpeas or 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed<br />1/2 teaspoon salt<br />juice of 1 lemon <br /><br />Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat with oil until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, paprika and garam masala. Cook with spices for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes with their juice and the bell pepper. Add the water and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir in salt and lemon juice.<br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6852351908/" title="Untitled by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6215/6852351908_d9fe7d4987_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt=""></a><br />We had ours over a bed of quinoa, but rice would be tasty as well!De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-76366258684017295492012-01-29T13:08:00.000-08:002012-01-29T13:38:13.549-08:00Gado GadoRemember when I had a blog? Sorry for the hiatus! Things were little crazy over here in December, and then we went to Argentina! Hurray! Photos and stories to come soon, I promise. <br /><br />I haven't cooked a new recipe in awhile, a fault of the crazy schedule the end of the year held for us. However, this weekend I finally got to the library and picked up some fun new cookbooks. Alex has the tradition of often picking the strangest sounding thing possible from any menu (unless something has the word chiptole in it) and thus he instantly was drawn to this recipe for Gado Gado from a Moosewood cookbook. It's apparently <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gado-gado">Indonesian specialty</a> and turned out really tasty! <br /><br />It was pretty easy to make, you could totally alter it to suit whatever veggies you have in the house, and, most importantly, it was delicious. Clearly evidenced by Alex having THREE full plates. (Ah, the joys of keeping a hungry husband full. Someday I'll have leftovers again. :-) ) <br /><br />Gado Gado<br />Adapted from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moosewood-Restaurant-Daily-Special-Recipes/dp/0609802429/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327871708&sr=8-1">Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special</a> <br /><br />I halved the recipe that was originally in the book for the sauce, and mixed up the veggie portion a bit to suit our tastes and what we had in stock. The original recipe also calls for 2 TBS of lime juice in the sauce, which I completely forgot! <br /><br />The recipe calls for this to be served on a bed of spinach or rice, we went for quinoa. I think cous cous would also be good! <br /><br />Sauce:<br /><br />Canola Oil (a few tsp)<br />1 onion, chopped<br />3-4 garlic cloves, minced<br />1/8 tsp cayenne<br />1/2 jalepeno or other chile, finely chopped<br />1 TBS ginger root, peeled and grated<br />1 cup natural peanut butter (the stuff that JUST has peanuts!)<br />1.5 cups water or veggie stock (I used half and half)<br />1/8 cup cider vinegar<br />1.5 tsp soy sauce<br />pinch salt<br />1.5 tsp brown sugar<br /><br />Saute up the onions and garlic in a sauce pan with a bit of oil until softened. Add in the spicy pepper and cayenne and ginger. Cook for a few more minutes. <br /><br />In a bowl, combine the peanut butter with about .5 cup of stock until blended, then slowly add the rest of the liquid. Once it's smoothly combined, add to the onion mixture. Stir in the vinegar, soy sauce, salt, and brown sugar. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring now and then for about 10-15 minutes. If your sauce gets too thick, add a bit more stock until it's the consistency you'd like. <br /><br />Veggies<br /><br />2 small sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in small slices <br />1 small red potato, cut in small slices<br />1/3 cup diced carrots<br />1 cup bite size broccoli florets<br />1/2 cup cauliflower, bite size pieces<br />1/2 bell pepper, chopped<br />handful snap peas <br /><br />I steamed all the vegetables in one big pot over a metal steamer. First, add the potatoes, steam about 7 minutes. Add the carrots on top and steam about 3 minutes more. Then add the broccoli and cauliflower and steam another 5 minutes. Add the pepper and snap peas and steam for a final 3 minutes or so. <br /><br />Serve the veggies over a plate of quinoa, then top with the peanut sauce!<br /><br />Enjoy! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6784662783/" title="DSC_8694 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7170/6784662783_b3fd1ecd17_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_8694"></a><br />(It's not the prettiest dish, but it's TASTY! I promise!)De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-85807787252358710692011-11-27T17:13:00.000-08:002011-11-28T07:13:06.316-08:00Savory Herb BreadI hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! We hosted a couple friends again this year, though it was a lot tighter fit then in our previous apartment in Bushwick! I made a pretty good spread, including turkey and gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, corn bread stuffing, some other assorted veggies and a salad, and a <a href="http://denueva.blogspot.com/2010/11/best-pumpkin-pie-ever.html">pumpkin pie</a>. I think this may be the first year I've managed everything without stressing out and getting everything done at the same time on schedule! So for that, I was proud. 4 times is the charm apparently. And considering the size of my tiny Brooklyn kitchen now, that is no small feat! :-) <br /><br />In any case, the new thing I added to the menu this year was bread from scratch! I've been wanting to make homemade yeasted bread for awhile now, but have never gotten around to it. I've done pita bread and pizza dough, but not actual loaves of bread. I spotted this recipe in my Cafe Brenda cookbook and it sounded lovely for a Thanksgiving meal, so I went for it. This was probably the last time of the season to get fresh herbs at the farmers market, so it was especially great for that! <br /><br />Though bread making takes awhile, it's not active cooking for the whole time, mostly you just have to wait for things to rise. So, for a Thanksgiving cooking day, this was perfect to throw together, leave it alone for a few hours, and then pop in the oven. <br /><br />And, it was DELICIOUS! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6413373997/" title="DSC_2621 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6413373997_4930ea1f2e_z.jpg" width="640" height="448" alt="DSC_2621"></a><br /><br />Savory Herb Bread<br />Cafe Brenda Cookbook <br /><br />Makes two loaves <br /><br />1.5 Cups warm water<br />1.5 TBS active dry yeast (about 1.5 packets) <br />1/4 cup honey<br />4 - 4.5 cups flour<br />2 tsp chopped fresh chives<br />2 tsp chopped fresh parsley<br />1 tsp chopped fresh thyme<br />up to 2 TBS other chopped herbs such as marjoram, basil, or oregano (or slightly less dried) <br />1/2 tsp salt<br />2 TBS oil <br /><br />Add the warm water and yeast to a large bowl and mix together until the yeast dissolves. Add in the honey and stir well. Add in 2 cups of flour and mix together. Set aside the mixture while you chop all the herbs. Then add in herbs, salt and oil and stir. Then add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time. Once the dough has come together, turn onto a floured work surface and knead well for a few minutes. Place in an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place for an hour. Punch the dough down and knead a couple times for air bubbles, then separate into two loaves. I did one circle flat loaf and one regular bread loaf, as we only have one rather decrepit loaf pan. (Santa! Hint: we could use a new loaf pan! :-) ) Place the loaves either on a buttered cookie sheet or in a loaf pan. Cover and let rise for another 45 minutes to an hour. <br /><br />Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. (Note: Our oven runs quite hot, and I peeked in at about 20 minutes and the dough was already starting to brown. I turned the heat down to about 325-300 and it turned out well. So be sure to keep an eye on things once you start to bake.)De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-1541780096781842642011-11-17T17:30:00.000-08:002011-11-18T06:51:51.392-08:00Curried Lentil and Sweet Potato SoupSo the past two days were pretty grey and drizzly here in the city so I figured it'd be the perfect excuse to make some warm, delicious soup. I positively love soup on a cold day, and this hit the spot. This soup also makes a TON! So, lots of leftovers for lunch! Alex said this is one of his new favorite soups ever. (And since we now both work right next to the most awesome soup place ever, that's a mighty big compliment!) <br /><br />Curried Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cafe-Brenda-Cookbook-Seafood-Vegetarian/dp/081664439X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321627631&sr=8-1">Cafe Brenda Cookbook</a><br /><br />1 large onion, diced<br />6-7 cloves garlic, minced<br />1/4 cup peeled and finely minced ginger root<br />olive oil<br />1.5 TBS curry powder<br />1 chile pepper (or jalapeno) minced<br />1 cup diced carrots (which I think I forgot, opps!)<br />1 bell pepper, diced<br />5 cups (about 3-4) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced<br />1 14oz can coconut milk<br />2 cup dried lentils<br />8 cups veggie stock<br />juice of 1 lime<br />1 bunch cilantro, minced<br /><br />Add onion, garlic and ginger to a large pot with a bit of oil. Saute until softened. Add the sweet potato, peppers, carrots, and curry powder. Saute about 5-10 minutes. Add lentils, coconut milk, and stock. Simmer covered about 30-40 minutes until lentils and potatoes are cooked. Add lime juice and cilantro just before serving. <br /><br />Enjoy! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6356422517/" title="DSC_2616 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6117/6356422517_0cd72e612b_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_2616"></a>De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-59804551035033469472011-11-10T09:12:00.000-08:002011-11-10T10:32:55.671-08:00Pasta with Broccoli, Walnuts and Edamame!In need of an easy, healthy, tasty dinner? This totally hit the spot and was great to throw together for a weeknight meal! <br /><br />Hurray for Moosewood Cookbooks from the library!<br /><br />Also, I promise hopefully soon once I finally finish plowing through my mountain of photo editing I will have more exciting posts for you besides just recipes!<br /><br />Pasta with Broccoli and Edamame<br />Adapted from Moosewood Simple Suppers: Easy Meals for the Weeknight Table<br /><br />3/4 bag of whole wheat rotini pasta<br />3 cups-ish broccoli chopped into smaller pieces<br />1 cup frozen shelled edamame<br />1 shallot, finely chopped<br />4-5 cloves, minced <br />2 tsp mix of dried herbs (basil, oregano, thyme)<br />1/2 cup chopped walnuts<br />olive oil<br />sea salt<br />parm or romano cheese for serving<br /><br />Cook pasta to al dente per package instructions. While the pasta is cooking, add the garlic and shallot to a deep skillet and sautee with olive oil. Add the brocolli and a half cup of water. Cook over high heat for about 2 minutes, then add edamame and herbs and salt to taste. Stir to combine, add a bit more water as needed. Cook about 5-7 minutes until the brocolli is bright green and steamed crisp. <br /><br />Combine pasta in a serving bowl with veggies, nuts and a few tsp of olive oil. Toss to combine. Serve topped with shredded cheese is desired. <br /><br />YUM!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6330204941/" title="DSC_2610 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6019/6330204941_76f97dcf3a_z.jpg" width="640" height="455" alt="DSC_2610"></a><br />(Hopefully my flash will be out of the shop soon and I can take more normal photos again!)De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-54709669088162981702011-11-03T11:57:00.000-07:002011-11-05T08:24:15.636-07:0030.On this today. <br /><br /> may my mind come alive today<br /> to the invisible geography<br /> that invites me to new frontiers<br /> to break the dead shell of yesterdays<br /> to risk being disturbed and changed<br /><br /> may I have the courage today<br /> to live the life that I would love<br /> to postpone my dream no longer<br /> but do at last what I came here for<br /> and waste my heart on fear no more.<br /><br /> -John O’Donohue<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6310082900/" title="VietnamHalongBay by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6052/6310082900_2f765cb97b_z.jpg" width="429" height="640" alt="VietnamHalongBay"></a><br />Halong Bay, Vietnam.De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-39035873250481331772011-10-28T06:46:00.000-07:002011-10-28T07:09:22.584-07:00Sweet Potato Crockpot Chili!It's starting to get a little cooler in the city these days and apparently we're expecting SNOW tomorrow! It's not even November yet! Anyhow, one of the best parts of a cool evening is a piping hot bowl of soup, better yet when it's been cooking all day in the crockpot! I love coming home to house smelling wonderful and just having to dish it up and enjoy!<br /><br />I first saw <a href="http://wegotfed.com/2011/10/sweet-potato-chili-again/">this recipe</a> over on Erin and Ben's cooking blog, We Got Fed. I had been debating between this chili and the<a href="http://www.ezrapoundcake.com/archives/17194"> veggie chili</a> over on Ezra Pound Cake, but because of the ingredients we had and the appeal of using the crock, this won out!<br />If you chop all the ingredients the night before and just dump them in in the morning, it's super easy!<br /><br />Sweet Potato Crockpot Chili<br />Based on the recipe from <a href="http://wegotfed.com/2011/10/sweet-potato-chili-again/">We Got Fed</a><br /><br />1 onion, chopped<br />5 garlic cloves, minced<br />1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped<br />1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced<br />2 bell peppers, 1 red. 1 green. Finely chopped<br />1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed<br />1/2-3/4 cup frozen corn kernals<br />2 tomatoes, diced<br />1 15oz can of diced tomatoes <br />3 cups water (We cooked our chili for like 11 hours, so I added more water, if you're only cooking it for 6-8 you can probably add less)<br />1 - 1.5 tsp chili powder<br />1 -1.5 tsp cumin<br />1/4 tsp paprika<br />1/4 tsp cayenne pepper<br />1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes<br />1 heaping tsp oregano <br />dash of parsley<br />dash of salt <br />Optional for garnish: Avocado, sour cream, grated cheese, cilantro<br /><br />Add all the ingredients to the crockpot, cook on low until you return! (At least 6-8 hours, up to however long you'll be gone!) <br /><br />We served this over rice with some cornbread muffins, avocado and sour cream. YUM!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6287279339/" title="DSC_2556 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6041/6287279339_15f37aeca5_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_2556"></a>De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-63883592617061427012011-10-20T06:31:00.000-07:002011-10-20T06:57:23.667-07:00Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos!So we've been experimenting with various taco recipes lately, most notably the delicious <a href="http://www.acouplecooks.com/2011/07/lentil-tacos/">Lentil Tacos</a> over at <a href="http://www.acouplecooks.com/">A Couple Cooks</a>. <br /><br />In search of something veggie to make for dinner last night, I came across this recipe for <a href="http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/10/black-bean-and-sweet-potato-tacos/">Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos</a> on Joy the Baker and was intrigued. It looked pretty simple and we had all the ingredients on hand, so I decided to give it a go. <br /><br />YUM! I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, but they were awesome! And insanely healthy to boot. Excellent. The lime flavor really made the dish, and I didn't realize how many limes were required, it cleaned out my drawer! So make sure you have lots on hand!<br /><br />I altered the recipe slightly from the original as I can't eat raw onions without getting a stomach ache, but otherwise, followed it for the most part. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6262473598/" title="DSC_1885 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6098/6262473598_1f585c8756_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_1885"></a><br /><br />Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos<br />Adapted from <a href="http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/10/black-bean-and-sweet-potato-tacos/">Joy the Baker</a><br /><br />Ingredients: <br />2 normal size sweet potatoes (or one ginormous one like we had), chopped into small cubes <br />olive oil<br />1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed<br />1 small onion, finely chopped<br />1 large garlic clove, finely chopped<br />1 carrot <br />1 small head of red cabbage<br />a few TBS of chopped cilantro<br />4 limes<br />salt and crushed red pepper flakes<br />ground cumin <br />small flour tortillas <br /><br />Preheat your oven to about 400 degrees. Start with the potatoes, diced into small cubes. Toss in a small bowl with a few tablespoons of olive oil, a bit of salt, and a few good shakes of crushed red pepper flakes (probably about 1/2 - 1 tsp?), and the juice of one lime. Once coated, turn the potatoes onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes until fork tender and slightly browned. Take out and toss about half way through. <br /><br />Once you get the potatoes started, chop up the cabbage and add to a bowl (the same one you mixed the potatoes in is great). Grate the carrot and add to bowl along with a few TBS of chopped fresh cilantro and salt/red pepper flakes to taste. Toss with the juice of 2 limes and set aside. <br /><br />Finally, add your chopped onion and garlic to a skillet with a bit of olive oil. Saute until the onions have softened. Add the beans, juice of half or a whole lime (we had half, so that's all I added), and 1 tsp of ground cumin and a bit of salt. Cook another couple minutes over medium heat until warmed through. <br /><br />Once your potatoes are done, top up your taco with beans, sweet potatoes, and the cabbage slaw with a bit more cilantro and you're good to go!<br /><br />YUM!De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-23844665752112028672011-09-21T18:15:00.000-07:002011-09-21T18:48:55.222-07:00Hot & Sour Stir Fry with Baked TofuSo I'm about half-way through reading the book that started this vegetarian kick, <a href="http://www.thechinastudy.com/">The China Study</a>. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend giving it a shot. He has some pretty convincing arguments backed up by a crap-ton of actual scientific research. I'm still a fan of all good things in moderation, and will probably always eat some animal protein, so long as I know where it came from. I mean, I had some pretty awesome bacon chocolate chip (yes, seriously) pancakes this weekend. However, if I can make our kitchen mostly meatless during the week, I'm keen on that idea. <br /><br />In any case, this stir fry is super delicious, and super quick to whip up. We used fresh green beans from the farmers market which were awesome. I also used to not be much for tofu, however, baking it with the marinade makes it mighty tasty. <br /><br />Hot & Sour Stir Fry with Baked Tofu<br />Adapted from<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moosewood-Restaurant-Simple-Suppers-Weeknight/dp/0609609122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316654980&sr=8-1">Moosewood Restaurant, Simple Suppers for the Weeknight Table</a><br /><br />For the Tofu: <br />1 package firm tofu (about 16 oz)<br />1 TBS canola oil<br />1 TBS sesame oil<br />3 TBS soy sauce<br />1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grate<br />1 garlic clove, finely minced<br /><br />Slice the tofu into thin rectangles and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Whisk the other ingredients together and then brush over the tofu. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes. <br /><br />Stir Fry:<br />1/2 pound green beans (use fresh green beans!) <br />1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes as that's what I had) <br />4 cups grated cabbage<br />1 grated carrot<br />1/2 bell pepper sliced thinly<br />1 TBS grated ginger root<br />1.5 tsp sugar<br />1/2 tsp Chinese chile paste<br />1/2 tsp spicy chile sauce <br />2 TBS soy sauce<br />1 TBS white vinegar<br />1 tsp corn starch<br />canola oil for frying<br /><br />Have everything prepped and ready to go before you start to stir fry. In a small bowl combine the ginger, sugar, chile sauce and paste, soy sauce and vinegar, then stir in the corn starch and a 1 TBS of water. <br /><br />Heat a TBS or 2 of oil in a wok over high heat. Through in the cabbage, carrots and green beans. Fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and pepper, stir fry a few more minutes. Pour in the sauce and stir fry another minute or so to coat the veggies. <br /><br />Serve over rice or noodles. Top with baked tofu. <br /><br />Enjoy! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6170568071/" title="DSC_3458 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6158/6170568071_1c73cb631a_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_3458"></a>De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-88391622579369289452011-08-28T08:16:00.000-07:002011-08-28T08:48:20.879-07:00Curried Rentil Lentil BurgersI picked up a bunch of cookbooks at the library last week to get some new recipe ideas and this was one I knew I wanted to make right off the bat!
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<br />These turned out awesome, though were a bit time consuming in the prep. They sort of work better with a fork then on a bun, but taste delicious either way. This also made a TON. (Which worked out for the best as alex ate THREE!)
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6087815218/" title="DSC_2807 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6079/6087815218_033c9baf68_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_2807"></a>
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<br />Curried Red Lentil Burgers with Spicy Mango Slaw
<br />Adapted from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moosewood-Restaurant-Cooking-Health-Nutrient-Rich/dp/1416548874/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314545412&sr=8-1">Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health</a>
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<br />Burgers:
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<br />1 Cup dried red lentils
<br />2 Cups water
<br />1/2 tsp tumeric
<br />1 tsp salt
<br />1 onion, chopped (about 1.5 cups)
<br />3 garlic cloves, minced
<br />a few tbs of olive oil
<br />1/2 cup diced celery
<br />1 cup diced red pepper
<br />1 TBS peeled, grated ginger root
<br />1 TBS curry powder
<br />1.2 tsp ground cinnamon
<br />2 cups cooked brown rice
<br />3/4 cup finely chopped cashews
<br />juice of half a lemon
<br />1/4 cup chopped cilantro
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<br />1. Prepare the rice if you don't have any cooked rice on hand. Usually 1 cup rice to 2 cups water. Boil and simmer covered
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<br />2. For the lentils, place in a sauce pan with the water and bring to a boil, stirring often. Add the tumeric and 1/2 tsp salt, reduce heat to low and cover and simmer until the water has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.
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<br />3. Meanwhile, in a skillet, add the onion and garlic with a bit of oil and saute until soft. Add the celery, bell peppers, and ginger and saute a few minutes more. Add the curry powder and cinnamon and saute another minute or two. Remove from heat and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the two cups of rice, lentils, nuts, lemon juice and cilantro. Mix with a large spoon.
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<br />4. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, use your hands to shape it into burger patties, we got 9 patties! Place them on a lightly oiled parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
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<br />Spicy Mango Slaw:
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<br />1 Mango
<br />1.5 cups grated or shredded green or red cabbage
<br />1 cup grated carrots
<br />1/4 cup mint leaves (I totally forgot to buy mint, so left this out, it was fine)
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<br />Dressing:
<br />1/4 cup lime juice (1.5 limes)
<br />2 TBS good maple syrup
<br />1/4 tsp salt
<br />2 garlic cloves
<br />a bit of oil
<br />1 small chile, minced
<br />1 TBS grated peeled ginger root
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<br />1. Peel the mango and cut into thin slices. Put in a serving bowl along with the cabbage and carrots.
<br />2. In a small pan saute the garlic, ginger, and chile with a bit of oil until fragrant. About a minute or two.
<br />3. Whisk together the lime juice, salt and syrup. Add the garlic, ginger and chile. Whisk together.
<br />4. Pour over the slaw and combine.
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<br />Serve the burgers topped with mango slaw. We served these with a side of baked sweet potato fries as well. YUM! Enjoy!
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<br />De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-53964088446334381582011-08-26T18:27:00.001-07:002011-08-27T07:21:32.501-07:00Roasted Cauliflower Sandwich<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6084422368/" title="DSC_2799 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6080/6084422368_9de6184d75_z.jpg" width="494" height="640" alt="DSC_2799"></a>
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<br />So Alex has been reading this book called The China Study. The book basically preaches the health benefits of vegetarianism, occasionally bordering on veganism. Once I assured that this was still in fact my husband, and while I don't plan on going full on veggie any time soon (let's be serious here), Alex and I agreed it'd be fun to try and eat completely vegetarian for a full week. (Also way cheaper!)
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<br />I usually cook 2-3 veggie meals a week, but we both have a tendency to take deli meat sandwiches to work. So we thought it'd be a good experiment in being more creative in lunches as well.
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<br />So far this whole week has gone very well!
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<br />These sandwiches were dinner tonight and they were SO tasty!
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<br />There is a little tiny sandwich shop by where I work that has AMAZING Cambodian sandwiches. If you're ever in Union Square, <a href="http://www.numpangnyc.com/">Num Pang</a> is the place to go! Anyhow, Alex ordered the cauliflower sandwich a few weeks ago and I've been dying to try and make it again.
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<br />These turned out SO well and were super easy. So, if you're looking for a tasty new sandwich, give these a try!
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<br />Roasted Cauliflower Sandwich:
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<br />Ingredients:
<br />Cauliflower
<br />Olive Oil
<br />Salt, Garlic Powder, dash of cayenne
<br />Cucumber
<br />Carrot
<br />Cilantro
<br />French Baguette
<br />Mayo
<br />Sriacha Sauce
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<br />Cut up the cauliflower into thin pieces. Toss with olive oil and salt, a bit of garlic powder and a dash of cayenne. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven at about 350 for about 10 minutes.
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<br />Slice cucumber into thin rounds.
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<br />Grate carrots.
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<br />To make the spicy mayo, mix with sriacha sauce to taste. I probably used about 1 tsp sriacha per 2-3 TBS mayo.
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<br />Slice the bread and toast lightly if desired, then spread spicy mayo. Layer with roasted cauliflower, carrots, cilantro and sliced cucumber. We also added a bit of Montreal red pepper sauce. :-)
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6084425360/" title="DSC_2801B by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6081/6084425360_26e45278a7_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_2801B"></a>
<br />(I clearly was not paying attention to my white balance, opps!)
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<br />Enjoy!
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<br />De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-6502834805001889082011-08-24T13:05:00.000-07:002011-08-24T13:29:10.290-07:00Olympic Triathlon Success!This past weekend I accomplished one of my goals on my 30x30 list. Finish an Olympic Distance Triathlon! (.9 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6.2 mile run)
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<br />I knew I wanted to do something later in the summer so I'd have time to train after the half marathon and to make sure the water would be a little warmer. I ended up at the Park City Team Mossman Tri in Connecticut.
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<br />Originally I picked this tri as it was closer and we could probably drive out there the morning of. However, after realizing that they were starting the race at 6:30am (!!!) Alex and I decided to get a hotel in the area the night before, which was actually pretty nice. This worked out especially well as our hotel had a full kitchen, so I could cook and not have to worry about what I was going to find at a restaurant the night before the race.
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<br />Race morning ended up being almost comically chaotic as I forgot my ID and had to go back for it, we got sort of lost on the way there as the road was closed, and then I arrived as they were singing the national anthem. Crap. So much for a relaxing start. The original plan was to have Alex drop me off and then he could go back and sleep and have breakfast. However, as we pulled in, they closed the roads and he was stuck for the duration of the race. Thus, as the plan was to go back and get the camera when he returned, the only photos we've got are awesome cell phone pictures. (Neither of us have nifty smart phones, so the quality is especially high. ;-) Oh well. )
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6066335593/" title="/photo07/c2/8a/9e88c727b97d.jpg by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6208/6066335593_66f44a7381_m.jpg" width="240" height="192" alt="/photo07/c2/8a/9e88c727b97d.jpg"></a>
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<br />Anyhow, the race itself went really well! The swim was my first race in salt water in the Long Island Sound, and though the waves were more then I was used to, it went really quick! The bike was 5 loops of a 5 mile course. It was really scenic along the beach and was, thankfully for me, completely flat! SCORE. The run was also along the bike course, so nice and flat and views of the water. The last bit of the run was pure gumption, but I made it through and ran the entire race finishing with a time of 3 hours 25 minutes. Not super speedy, but perfectly good for me!
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<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6065935761/" title="/photo35/e8/8b/ab7566332cbd.jpg by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6078/6065935761_2f7af7ec94_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="/photo35/e8/8b/ab7566332cbd.jpg"></a>
<br />Cheers to Triathlons!
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<br />De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-11464496814003540822011-08-01T19:17:00.000-07:002011-08-02T17:07:10.763-07:00Around the World in 80 Dates: MalaysiaA few weeks ago Alex and I decided we were due for a fun day in the city (aka Manhattan). We so rarely venture out of Brooklyn on the weekend, but Alex was between classes, and I was magically caught up on photo editing, so we had some amazing free time to take advantage of. <br /><br />Since we don't have AC in our apartment, summers in NYC can be brutal, thus, we decided the perfect outing for a hot summer day would be the cool confines of one of the fabulous museums Manhattan has to offer. Alex and I usually are not very good museum buddies, as he tends to want to look at EVERYTHING and I usually just glance, but I actually had been wanting to see the natural history museum, since I've never been, so we decided to give it a shot. On the way there, we figured we might as well knock off another country on our list. <br /><br />The Upper West Side has pretty slim pickings for affordable and meeting our 80 dates criteria, but we eventually found a winner in <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/penang-new-york-3">Penang</a>, a Malaysian place. Since we were there for lunch on a Sunday, it was pretty empty, but the food was super tasty. I had a mango chicken and Alex had the Mee Curry, a traditional curry soup. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6003711796/" title="DSC_0594 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6137/6003711796_278462f751_z.jpg" width="428" height="640" alt="DSC_0594"></a><br />The Petronas Towers in KL. <br /><br />Though Alex and I both ended up in Malaysia for a few days during our honeymoon in 2008, we never had this curry while we were there. I mainly remember being fascinated that everything there was flavored with CORN! Corn in a cup was everywhere, even corn flavored ice cream! Though we only spent a time in the capital of Kuala Lumpur on our visit, I would LOVE to go back and explore the rest of the country side. <br /><br />The Brooklyn Version!<br /><br />I googled around for lots of recipes for Mee Curry, but as with the past South African Curry, they called for lots of crazy ingredients... I don't normally stock cubed pig's blood in my cupboards. Apologies. So, I just went for it! <br /><br />I'm becoming more confident in my ability to make due with what I've got and craft something pretty tasty. This wasn't an exact match to the restaurant, but pretty close! And if all else fails, it was easy and quite delicious! <br /><br />Mee Curry with Chicken and Vegetables <br /><br />For the curry paste: <br />1 inch piece of ginger, peeled<br />3-4 garlic cloves<br />1 shallot<br />1/4 - 1/2 jalepeno, seeded<br />5-8 <a href="http://foodlibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/06/shishito-peppers-japanese-treat.html">shishito</a> peppers (These are fun peppers that are sold at our local farmers market)<br />2 TBS brown sugar<br />1 TBS fish sauce<br />1/4 tsp tumeric<br />1/2 tsp coriander<br />1/2-3/4 tsp curry powder<br /><br />For the soup:<br />half bell pepper, thinly sliced<br />1/2 zuchinni, thinly sliced <br />handful shisito peppers, diced<br />1/2 package udon noodles<br />chicken stock, about 2-3 cups<br />1.5 cups shredded chicken (we had leftovers from a whole roasted chicken, so this worked great!) <br />1 can coconut milk<br />salt to taste<br />bit of oil<br />1 tsp red curry paste<br />juice of half a lime <br /><br />Add all the ingredients for the paste into a food processor and spin until smoothly blended. Add to a large stock pot or wok with a bit of oil. Sautee over high heat a minute or two until sizzling. Add in the curry paste and stir and cook another minute or so. Add in the chicken and vegetables and blend together. Squeeze in the lime juice. Add the can of coconut milk and chicken stock to your desired consistency. Stir and let simmer covered. <br /><br />While the soup is simmering, drop your udon noodles in boiling water for about 3 minutes until softened. Once the noodles have softened, drain the water and add them to the soup. Let simmer about 5 more minutes. Serve topped with a handful of chopped cilantro. <br /><br />Enjoy! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/6001153978/" title="DSC_1572 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6140/6001153978_14a9bdd912_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_1572"></a>De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-33146485250065703882011-07-14T19:04:00.000-07:002011-07-14T19:20:08.922-07:00Salmon Peanut Sauce Stir FryAbout a month ago, after seeing the recipe on <a href="http://www.acouplecooks.com/2011/06/simple-fresh-spring-rolls/">A Couple Cooks</a> for fresh spring rolls and accompanying peanut sauce, I knew I had dinner made for sure that night. However, after thoroughly enjoying the recipe, I thought I could make even more delicious-ness out of the sauce they came up with. <br /><br />Thus came the salmon stir fry. You could certainly make this with chicken or steak or shrimp or whatever you please, but it works particularly well with the flavor of salmon. It is also great this time of year when all the veggies are in season. Feel free to mix and match with whatever vegetables your farmer has available! <br /><br />Ingredients: <br /><br />For the fish: <br />A few salmon fillets (we generally buy ours frozen from TJ's)<br />2-3 cloves of garlic<br />olive oil <br />juice of 1 lime, 1/2 a lemon<br />spices: Moroccan 35 spice, salt, parsley, and a dash of cayenne<br /><br />For the stir fry:<br />1 green pepper thinly sliced (or 1/2 green, 1/2 red or yellow if you like things more colorful)<br />2 carrots grated<br />1/2 large zucchini, grated <br />large handful of snap peas, chopped or whole <br />a small handful of basil<br />several cloves of garlic, minced<br />1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated <br />oil <br /><br />For the sauce: <br />1/3 Cup hoisin sauce (I used just slightly less) <br />2TBS natural peanut butter<br />1 tsp or so sriacha sauce (pending desired heat) <br />2 TBS water<br /><br />Cook the salmon with a bit of oil, garlic. Sprinkle with spices and juice of citrus fruits. <br /><br />Stir fry the garlic and ginger in oil a minute or two, add the veggies, stir fry over high heat about 2 minutes. <br /><br />Mix the sauce ingredients, blend with a fork, then pour over the veggies and stir fry another minute or two. <br /><br />Serve salmon over rice and top with veggie stir fry. <br /><br />Enjoy! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5938854930/" title="DSC_1158 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6024/5938854930_de6542ebd6_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_1158"></a>De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914950820754157629.post-14405870154915207152011-07-06T14:19:00.000-07:002011-07-13T07:51:31.371-07:00Bermuda!Bermuda!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5906824315/" title="DSC_9164 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5074/5906824315_d6ce5e59ba_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9164"></a><br /><br />Alex and I have been doing LOTS of traveling this summer! After Montreal, we finally did get to use up our free Airtran vouchers and did in fact find somewhere tropical and awesome. After much discussion, we finally settled on Bermuda! We were originally wanting to do the DR or Puerto Rico, but decided against PR because we didn’t have enough time to really get to the parts of the island we’d be interested in and against the DR for basically the same reason and that Airtran only flies into Punta Cana, which is all inclusive resort central, which basically is about the grossest thing possible if you ask me. I’m kind of a travel snob/granola liberal in that I refuse to have anything to do with resort-y type places for a multitude of reasons. (If you’d like to know my reasons, I’m happy to share, but figured I’d leave the politics for another day.)<br /><br />ANYWAYS, so yes, what we’d read about Bermuda sounded perfect, beautiful beaches, mopeds, and not so much into the huge hotel chains. And really, when else am I going to fly for a weekend to Bermuda unless hubs and I have free airfare? After figuring out we could book the flights we moved onto finding a place to stay, which was supposed to be easy peasy since there were some handy websites that had loads of apartment type rentals for cheap. However, these website are all basically through this company called Bermuda Rentals. Which, though has many cheap, lovely properties, was, in our experience, a freaking nightmare to book. I felt like I was pulling teeth just trying to give them money. I had to follow up SEVERAL times and had to keep calling them (which is annoying because they’re in Canada) instead of email. Finally, after several follow-ups, and a confirmation email that fell through, they emailed to say opps, sorry, even though you've been trying to book for over a MONTH we don't have any thing at all. In fact she said, "it looks like your reservation fell off a cliff." Umm, what? To which I wrote a very strongly worded email response saying, yes, so, that's not going to work for us. I also tweeted to say never EVER book with them. <br /><br />The best part of all this was that I ended up feeling almost as cool as <a href="http://dooce.com/2009/08/28/containing-capital-letter-or-two">dooce</a>, in that literally a few hours after I tweeted, I got the fastest response ever from these guys, at like 5am they sent an email saying, just kidding, they would most definitely find us somewhere to stay within our budget. Oh, and could you please update your twitter account to reflect that? Wow. Well then. I guess social media IS effective. I let them know there would be no changing of any statuses until we actually were booked and had gotten there without any hiccups. <br /><br />The day arrived for our departure and Alex and I headed off to the airport at the ungodly hour of 3:45am. Only to be told once we arrived at La Guardia that our flight was canceled. Come back tomorrow! WHAT?? Seriously people, never fly on Air Tran if you can help it. LAME. We rebooked things so we could come back a day later and made arrangements with work, but still this was ridiculous. <br /><br />The next day things fortunately went off without a hitch and we finally made it to beautiful Bermuda! The place we were staying also has their own taxi service, so we were even picked right up from the airport. <br /><br />Our hosts for the weekend, <a href="http://www.wadesgardeninn.com/">Wade's Garden Inn</a> were amazing in every way. If you head to Bermuda, I highly recommend them. Just book directly through them, not through another agency! They picked us up from the airport, gave us a tour of their little part of the island, took us to the grocery store to pick up food, and were just generally awesome. And their accommodations were spotless and beautiful, and just a walk over the hill or quick trolley ride from Horseshoe Beach! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5931849249/" title="DSC_9089 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6150/5931849249_35d03590ea_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9089"></a><br />Wade's Garden Inn<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907327736/" title="DSC_9107 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6029/5907327736_8a236ae146_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9107"></a><br />The bay around the corner from our Inn. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907310786/" title="DSC_9087 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6040/5907310786_d8018a47cb_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9087"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907323456/" title="DSC_9101 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5032/5907323456_5a0506dbab_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9101"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907319164/" title="DSC_9099 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6002/5907319164_e4eee56474_z.jpg" width="426" height="640" alt="DSC_9099"></a><br />Beautiful orchids in our apartment. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907315358/" title="DSC_9091 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6010/5907315358_7d3d4d6b08_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9091"></a><br /><br />The area we were staying in was purposefully away from the hubbub of town, we were going for as relaxing as possible, and that was what we got. We mainly spent our days relaxing at the beach or walking along the railroad trail enjoying the scenery. Since we stayed in an apartment we cooked our meals for breakfast and lunch, and then just went out for dinner, which made things much more affordable. Food is pretty pricey on the island. <br /><br />We had hoped to rent mopeds, but for this trip, it was just a bit much. Next time for sure! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907396446/" title="DSC_9208 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6015/5907396446_ba1a8f0bcf_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9208"></a><br />Horseshoe Beach. Of COURSE the day I brought my point and shoot to the beach I forgot to charge the batteries and it was dead. But, this is the view from the road of the beach we spent our days at. Alex couldn't get over how blue the water was and kept saying, "I can't believe a place like this actually exists!" <br />The second day we were out was busier then the first, but both were fairly low key. If you walked around to the far edge of the horseshoe, there would be hardly anyone. The first day we walked around the rocks at the end and found ourselves on a practically deserted stretch of sand, it was lovely. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5906841645/" title="DSC_9211 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6027/5906841645_8e13c00db1_z.jpg" width="426" height="640" alt="DSC_9211"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907399704/" title="DSC_9221 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5238/5907399704_35edb8f578_z.jpg" width="426" height="640" alt="DSC_9221"></a><br />An old railway trail runs up the center of the island, and now makes for a lovely trail for walking. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907401468/" title="DSC_9223 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6025/5907401468_e46335853a_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9223"></a><br />Lots of pretty flowers abound!<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907406322/" title="DSC_9232 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5036/5907406322_664d07c095_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9232"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907409568/" title="DSC_9235 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5079/5907409568_0bd229d091_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9235"></a><br />And chickens too! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5906854891/" title="DSC_9123 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5240/5906854891_93b0477854_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9123"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5906800199/" title="DSC_9127 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5075/5906800199_0065d7250c_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9127"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907388926/" title="DSC_9194 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5119/5907388926_9b5bbc844c_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9194"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907378172/" title="DSC_9152 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5031/5907378172_29a8a79723_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9152"></a><br />Gibb's Lighthouse. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5906802419/" title="DSC_9131 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5120/5906802419_d6a43b3a81_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9131"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907387830/" title="DSC_9190 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6025/5907387830_b19a5b2144_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="DSC_9190"></a><br />View from the trail. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28430028@N02/5907311334/" title="IMG_0799 by de_nueva, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5075/5907311334_59f741f4c6_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_0799"></a><br />The only photo of the two of us, nice and sunburned! Though much too short of a trip, we had a wonderful time and will hopefully be back someday!De Nuevahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170009751465532404noreply@blogger.com0