Mediterranean Couscous

This dish is great to bring as a side dish to a barbecue or potluck. It's full of flavor, different textures, and can easily be adapted to how you like it. If you're not vegetarian chicken broth would be a perfect liquid to use for this, or even add little bits of roasted chicken to it.

Mediterranean Couscous

Couscous is super easy to make, I think it's almost impossible to mess up. I used whole wheat couscous from Trader Joe's, but any couscous will do. It makes TONS. I swear it makes like 10-12 servings depending on how big you make the portions. And it's so full of color... after all we eat with our eyes first. Enjoy!

Mediterranean Couscous

2 cups dry whole wheat couscous

2 cups vegetable broth

2 tsp olive oil

1 ½ tsp cumin

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup cubed butternut squash

1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

¾ cup craisins

1 carrot (peeled, and finely diced)

1 zucchini (finely diced)

2-3 cups baby spinach leaves

Olive oil and lemon for garnish

Goat cheese crumbles

Preheat oven to 400 F

1.       1. Place cubed butternut squash and garbanzo beans in a casserole dish and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast uncovered for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, chop carrot and zucchini. Wash and dry spinach.

2.       2. When there is 10 minutes left on the squash, bring vegetable broth, olive oil, cumin, and cayenne to a boil in a large pot. When at a rolling boil, slowly pour in couscous and stir with a fork. Remove from heat, cover with a lid, and let sit for 7 minutes.

3.       3. When squash is done, using a cutting board, fork, and knife, cut squash pieces into dices the same size as your carrots and zucchini.

4.      4.  Fluff couscous with a fork. Add all veggies - including spinach – garbanzos and craisins to the couscous. Stir around to wilt spinach and get some heat on the veggies. Feel free to add a few drizzles of olive oil to help the spinach along. Place top back on pot and turn the heat on a very low simmer.

5.      5.  Leave the simmer and top on for about 5-8 minutes. If serving in individual bowls, garnish with a dash of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and a little bit of goat cheese crumbles. Toasted chopped almonds or cashews will also add a great crunch to the dish.

Unique New York

 Mmm I’m sitting on my bed eating a vegan blackberry muffin that Tristin and I just made, while listening to my honorary little brother’s fabulous new mashup mixtape thingy on SoundCloud (yay, David!). And in the midst of all this excitement, I’m reminiscing on my recent trip to New York, counting down the months til I can move there. So this trip was essentially a foodie adventure in that – I kid you not – all I did was eat eat eat.  Let me break it down for you…

Looking out over Union Square

 Tuesday night- Dos Toros: Basic Burrito with Guac. This burrito rivaled the size of Chipotle’s which I never ever finish but Sara gave me fair warning that there would be no trace of this burrito except in my full belly. She was right – as usual.

Wednesday: Sara started us off right with a shared scrambled egg with spinach, onion, sundried tomatoes, and goat cheese. Then we walked to City Bakery and got coffees, a pretzel croissant, and a raspberry bran muffin. She went to class and I watched a few episodes of Sex and the City at her apartment to pass the time and get excited for the upcoming week. I met her at ‘Wichcraft, a sandwich place (sandwich- ‘wich…get it??), and got a roasted eggplant sandwich with chickpeas, watercress and balsamic vinaigrette on toasted ciabatta bread. This sandwich was so different and one of the yummiest things I’d had in a while. I want to figure out how to make it at home. After lunch we walked through Dean and Deluca, which was basically food torture, then to the Met. After night yoga at Yoga To The People, we walked a few blocks to S’mac.  S’mac is a little restaurant that serves mac and cheese. We got a Spanish one with manchego cheese, fennel, and onion, and a Mediterranean one with spinach, goat cheese, tomatoes and kalamata olives. We were so pleased that the fennel flavor was mild because we’re not exactly part of the fennel fan club. THEN (!) I happened to have run into my childhood best friend within my first 5 minutes at Sara’s apartment so I met up with Tammy for dessert Wednesday night. We went to Spot, a dessert bar, and got some crazy good tapas style desserts. They were a yuzu Eskimo, a chocolate truffle cake with green tea ice cream, and a white miso cake with passionfruit sauce.

Raspberry Bran Muffin, Soy Au Lait, Pretzel Croissant.

The most wonderful food creation to date.

Warm eggplant and chickpea sandwich.

Cookie sandwich!

Yuzu Eskimo

Truffle Cake with Green Tea Ice Cream

White Miso Cake with Passion Fruit Ice Cream.

 I’m actually a little bit embarrassed after writing all of that out. Too much food!! (wait what?)

Thursday: We made Challah French toast Thursday morning with a gorgeous loaf of challah we bought at the green market in Union Square. We also made a berry sauce with blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries reduced down with a little sugar and orange juice. Sara went to class and I watched more Sex and the City. After class we went to John’s Pizzeria of Bleecker Street (Ohhhh my GOD) and had the best pizza of our entire lives. We shared a 14 inch pizza with cheese and basil and ate the entire thing. Yep three slices each for two little ladies… and we didn’t think twice about it. We’re a big deal. Since it was about 5 pm when we had the pizza, we decided to have a late (and semi-healthy dinner) at an Indian Restaurant called the Royal Bangladesh. We shared a Vegetable Kurma which is mixed veggies in a really mild yogurt sauce, and coconut samosas. It was good, nothing too special but I’d like to look up some recipes for the yogurt sauce.

Challah French Toast.

The pizza I wish I could have at any given time.

Friday: We skipped breakfast because we woke up a little late, and I met up with my Uncle and good family friend Jason at Artichoke’s Pizza. They are famous for something quite the opposite of a classic new York pizza: a thick crusted pizza topped with artichoke dip. You could tell by looking at it in its creamy fatty glory that it is not at the top of the healthy food chain. We got a wedge of it which was a quarter of a normal pizza and cut into teeny slices. We also shared a salad that had a super delicious dressing and a bunch of veggies on it. In the late afternoon Sara’s and my friend Michael came into the city so we all went to a Venezuelan restaurant called Caracas Arepa Bar that made fantastic arepas! I had one with guayanes cheese, avocaco, and fried plantains which was exactly like the one I get at Coupa Café at home. Sara and I also shared one with black beans, sautéed peppers and onions, and some kind of cheese. Oh! And a coconut milkshake thing! After dinner we walked down the street to Butter Lane which is an adorable and homey little cupcake shop. They only make 3 types of cupcake and you can choose between about 15 different frostings. I got banana cake with chocolate hazelnut frosting and Sara got chocolate cake with espresso frosting.

Arepa with Black Beans, Cheese, Peppers and Onions.

Arepa with Fried Plantains, Guayanes Cheese, and Avo.

Banana Cupcake with Choc. Hazelnut Frosting!!

Butter Lane's fantastic variety.

Saturday: The three of us had brunch at Essex, a really cool restaurant with tons of natural light and tall ceilings. I ordered a salmon scramble with onions that came with a toasted bialy and a mixed green salad. It was simple, relatively light, and just what I was looking for. We spent the day doing various things around the city and did a lot of walking! It was so nice out that day, a perfect little Saturday. We took a collective nap in the afternoon and geared up for a delicious Chinese dinner down the street at a restaurant called the Cottage. I had sweet and sour prawns with broccoli and brown rice. I could go for another plate of that right now. Strangely we skipped dessert…

Salmon Scramble, Salad, Bialy, Potatoes.

Sweet and Sour Prawns with Broccoli.

Sunday: The day of rest. That’s fitting actually, because we went to this adorable Latin restaurant with tons of opened windows for brunch. It’s called Esperanto which is some variation of the verb “to wait” in Spanish. I had huevos rancheros (sadly with no avo) and coffee. This brunch was so relaxed and gave me the chance to reflect on my wonderful spring break. Before leaving town, Sara and I walked back to City Bakery so I could grab a pretzel croissant for the plane. I’m so glad I did that, it was a very long plane ride. 

Take me back, please!

Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Back in the day, I used to walk to a little French place called Cafe Marley that was around the corner from my high school. The food wasn't amazing, but their French onion soup was so so good. I'd never had it before Cafe Marley so I was delighted to see my bowl covered in melty-crunchy gruyere cheese! I stopped eating red meat after my freshman year of high school so my year long love affair with French onion soup (traditionally made with beef stock) came to a bitter end. Last March (2010) I stopped eating all meat except for fish so my recent craving for French onion soup could not be made with chicken stock either. I searched foodgawker for a vegetarian French onion soup recipe and I found this little gem...

mmm mmm mmm

A note on stock vs. broth: Usually with meat versions, there is more meat and bones used in a stock than in a broth so it has a richer, deeper flavor. With broth, there is less meat and bones used so the broth could be eaten on its own without being over powering. When we're talking about vegetable stock vs vegetable broth, there isn't a huge difference but I have noticed that the veggie stocks I've found at the market are a little more flavorful. The one I used in this recipe (sorry, forgot to write down the name of it) was an organic one in a white and green carton and I think it had a lot of mushroom infused in it because it tasted really meaty. It was good, and perfect for French Onion Soup.


Yes, chopping the onions is a bitch of a task but it's so worth it. And this soup only took about two hours from start to finish whereas most French onion soups take hours (cooked low and slow). If you're eyes are sensitive to onion, you might want to invest in a pair of onion goggles (no really). My eyes are shielded by the brilliant suctioning action of contact lenses so I always offer to do the onion chopping because I don't like to see my friends cry :). I've also heard that touching cold stainless steel helps. What do you do to block out the onion tears?

So many onions!

The recipe calls for white wine but I'm 19 and I didn't want to go bug my neighbor to buy me a bottle. Their suggestion was to use no sugar added white grape juice in place of the wine but I didn't want to buy that either because I wouldn't drink the rest and they only had huge bottles. So I googled "white wine substitutes" and the best one I found was for a 1/2 cup) to do 3 tablespoons of vinegar, 1 tabelspoon lemon juice, and the rest water. It worked out great, it didn't seem to be missing anything at all.

Vegetarian French Onion Soup

(Makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 large onions- peeled and thinly sliced (I used yellow onions)

2 tablespoons of water

Salt + pepper

½ cup nsa white wine, white grape juice, or replacement

3 sprigs fresh thyme

6 cups vegetable stock

1-1inch slice of crusty bread, cubed, per bowl

¼ cup freshly grated gruyere cheese per bowl

Directions

1. Put butter, olive oil, sliced onions, water, and a few pinches of salt into a heavy bottomed soup/ stock pot. Put a lid on the pot and let onions sweat over medium heat for about 10 minutes. They should be beginning to look translucent.

2. When the water has evaporated, remove the lid and turn heat on low, stirring often. The onions will begin to caramelize, it will take about an hour.

3. When the onions are an amber color, add the grape juice, thyme, and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Let this simmer with the lid off for 15 minutes.

4. In the last five minutes of the simmering, preheat your oven’s broiler. Ladle soup into oven proof bowls. Top with cubed bread, then grated cheese. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and place on top rack of oven under broiler for about 3 minutes. Keep an eye on it – there’s a fine line between crisp and burned!

Mich's Maccs

Dear world, 

I have a confession to make. I’m in love. I want to shout it from the rooftops. I now have something to come home to everyday, something to console me when I’m upset, and something to calm me down when I’m stressed. Yes, it’s true: RISH LOVES MICH… Mich’s Maccs that is. Michelle Goldberg’s gorgeous macaroons are pure, delightful love.

Milk Chocolate

If you’re a fan of traditional coconut macaroons you need to order yourself some of these. I’ve never had one so perfectly crispy and crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. My method of choice for eating a macc is quartered straight from the fridge. Michelle recommends eating them room temp, chilled, halved quartered, whatever you like as long as you share always. I may need to go back to kindergarten because I’m having a tough time with the sharing part. There are only 6 in a bag (and yes you might think I’m crazy for using the modifier “only” before the number 6 when you see the size of these, but once you taste one you’ll understand why) and I don’t want to share! But I’m a nice gal, so I did it, I shared. I offered each of my housemates a few bites which is almost worse than not sharing at all because it’s not nice to tease.

I admire Michelle’s company for its luscious simplicity. Coconut and chocolate mixed with a community support and passion. Michelle has mastered the macc and she’s spreading the love all around New York. Mich has been maccing since 2008 when she started selling the maccs at local stores around her home in East Hampton. Eating one of these maccs is like feeding your soul. Having my first macc not only satisfied my sweet tooth, but it put me in a good mood for the rest of the day. Anyway, the need for maccs is spreading to the city where they will be sold at Macy's starting in April! Just in time for passover, or a perfect gift for your Easter Dinner host. I hope the maccs make it out to California and everywhere in between because it is imperative that everyone has the chance to try a macc. For the time being, you can (and should!) buy your maccs online at michsmaccs.com. I wouldn’t recommend buying only one bag because you’ll regret it. You’re going to want two bags minimum.

White Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate.

Another thing I love about Mich’s Maccs is that they are gluten free. Celiac disease is a serious problem in today’s world where seemingly everything is made with various types refined flours. There are many gluten free alternatives to flour and while many are just as delicious as wheat flour, others can turn out to be heavy, stodgy, or just wrong in flavor. But you know what, Celiacs deserve a delicious treat, too! Mich’s Maccs are the proof to all the nonbeliever that every delicious baked good doesn’t need flour at all!

"Crunchy, Chewy, Chocolate, Coconut Heaven."

Mich's Maccs donates 10% of proceeds to a program called i-tri that "is an inclusive, community based intervention program that fosters self-respect, personal empowerment, self confidence, positive body image and healthy lifestyle choices for at-risk adolescent girls." How great is that?? Just another reason to support Mich's Maccs. At only  $11 for a bag of 6, or $16 for a pound (about 10 maccs), you really can't go wrong. I get the impression that Mich's Maccs is all about positivity, passion, and community love. It's so wonderful to see this kind of business in the hustle and bustle of our modern society.

My favorite so far is the dark chocolate – after all that’s my favorite kind of chocolate – because the bittersweet taste of the Belgian dark chocolate balances out the sweetness of the coconut. That moment when you bite into one and the chocolate cracks and then your teeth sink into the heavenly fluffy coconut…wow. Have you ever heard of world peace cookies? Well, I think Mich’s Maccs just upped the ante.