Aquinnah's 2nd Birthday

Upper West Side: Awaiting her steak meal

I know a few people who adamantly believe that human food for dogs are something that they would never do ... few of these people actually own dogs.  Well, we believe in spoiling our dog sometimes, however we never give her table scraps (well, rarely).  If we give Aquinnah (our 2.5 year old yellow lab) food, we wait until we are finished eating and place the food in her dog bowl.  Aquinnah gets leftover vegetables, breads, grains and meats and she LOVES it.  If we order Indian or Chinese, we save the rice that comes with everything and mix it in with her dogfood (we use Wellness Simple Solutions for her) and she eats it right up.


On her birthday, April 24, we make an exception and we make her a steak, rare.  This year she had a delicious filet of grass-fed, humanely treated steak from Fairway.  On her first birthday, she got so excited when she realized the steak was for her that she had a little accident on the kitchen floor when we put the warm meat in her bowl.

seriously dainty

This year, as a two year old, she was calm and collected.  She daintily ate each bite, slowly, from a fork (in order to discourage her typical swallow everything in one bite, lab mentality) - and appeared to enjoy every last bite.

 I don't recommend adding any sauces to your pet's meat dishes, I just keep it simple, roasted or poached chicken, hamburgers (just ground meat cooked rare in a pan, or steaks grilled until rare).  Veggies are roasted or steamed and rice cooked simply with water.

very patient 

cutest satisfied customer face ever

I think that supplementing pets diet with "human" whole foods is great.  While we change flavor of her dog food, I'm sure it gets a bit boring eating the same dry food every day.  So, here are some pictures of her birthday this year.  Mostly because they are super cute.

Hot and Sour Soup

A riff on Mark Bittman's Hot and Sour Sour Recipe

Last night was rainy and chilly in Brooklyn and I decided to try Mark Bittman's Hot and Sour Soup Recipe from How to Cook Everything... I made a change or two, namely taking out the cornstarch and using arrowroot, using stock instead of water instead and leaving out the meat. It came out wonderfully....
Ingredients
5 dried shiitake mushrooms
5 dried wood ear mushrooms
3 cups natural vegetable broth
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon nama shoyu
1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 1/2 tablespoons arrowroot
2 farmer's market eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

(Aquinnah didn't mess around when it came to getting cozy, either. Maybe next I'll make a dog friendly chicken soup).

relaxing

Place mushrooms in a medium bowl; cover with boiling water let stand 10 minutes or until tender; drain. Thinly slice mushrooms; set aside.

Combine broth, 2 cups stock, ginger, and garlic in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Add mushrooms. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add vinegar, soy sauce, pepper, and tofu; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

Combine remaining 1cup stuck and cornstarch, stirring with a whisk. Stir cornstarch mixture into broth mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 3 minutes or until soup thickens slightly, stirring frequently. Slowly pour egg into broth mixture in a steady stream, stirring constantly but gently with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat; stir in onions and sesame oil. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Crisps

So, for whatever reason, I've never been a huge sweet potato fan.  I know that they are good for you and I love roasted potatoes, but I've never opted for sweet potatoes.  Perhaps it's because of their inherently sweet flavor.

Sweet Potato Crisps

However, I contributed to an article about healthy snack ideas for children, and I was thinking about client's who I make snacks for... the sweet potato crisp jumped out at me.  I made them in my apartment adding chopped thyme and rosemary and a generous amount of sea salt.   I then sliced them extremely thin (I actually used my relatively new de Buyer Mandolin - amazing), tossed them in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the herbs and roasted them at 350 until tender.  Then I broiled them for a few minutes until they were crispy.

They ended up being the perfect combination of sweet and savory and they are healthy and filling to boot.   A great alternative to the potato chip.... I love them with sandwiches or soups.

This is a perfect time of year to make the crisps as sweet potatoes are almost in season!

Big Salad Bowl

There are few things I find more satisfying than a big salad with loads of different ingredients.  Last night I roasted some brussel sprouts and asparagus tips in olive oil with sea salt and pepper.  I made brown rice with miso broth, I toasted and chopped some almonds, poached an egg on the rice while it was steaming, and added a little raw goat's blue cheese and some sprouted garbanzo beans.  It was totally satisfying, healthy and delicious.  Also, I discovered the most fantastic large and sturdy salad bowls (http://www.fishseddy.com/browse.cfm/4,1444.html) they come in deliciously lovely colours.

After reading Eating Animals, I've decided to go back to my vegetarian ways and to stay away from meat of all sorts.  It's been easy so far, luckily having been to school for vegetarian cooking, I love trying creative meals that satisfy both me and my meat loving boyfriend.

The hardest challenge has been eating out.  We just moved from the East Village where there were tons of vegetarian friendly restaurants within walking distance to Park Slope, where one would think there would be a lot of vegetarian friendly restaurants, but there aren't too many creative ones! I've noticed my inclination for eating out has lessened and I'm much more happy to cook for myself and Joe even after a long day of cooking for clients.

I'll share some fun recipes along the way.  This week, I'm going to try and make a quinoa loaf with cooked quinoa, chickpea puree and roasted veggies.  I made it for a client and they loved it, so it's time to try it out for myself!

Miso.... The fall is here!

Well, officially I have my trusty Skidmore sweatshirt on and I'm sitting on my couch with a down blanket covering my legs ... I do have the window open and feel cozy under my layers with the autumn breeze sweeping into the room.  It seems as though in one day the leaves on my street have turned from vibrant green to pumpkin orange.   Goose bumps covered my skin today when I left the apartment in summer clothing and had to warm myself up upon returning with my first cup of hot tea in months. 

What better way to welcome the cooler weather than with a big bowl of miso soup.  I used ingredients sitting in our refrigerator from the farmer's market last Sunday: diced red pepper, broccoli, a spiraled white beet (which tastes amazingly spicy, like a huge radish), I added some buckwheat noodles, sprouted smoked tofu and an egg.


It was perfect and our house guest attested to it's warming and comforting properties.  Miso is notoriously healing in the Japanese culture, the matza ball soup of Japan.  There are many different varieties of  of miso, all of which are delicious.  I had red miso in the refrigerator which is why my soup is darker.  Usually I mix it with some mellow miso which is sweet and lightens the soup.


Miso Soup is great because you can add any veggies or meat to the soup and it's just as delicious.  One thing to note about miso, is you should not boil the water once the miso is in it as it destroys many of its healing powers. 


Enjoy the fall! Soon, fall recipes.