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Convenience Foods

April 4, 2013 in Food by traveleatlove | 7 comments

I am officially at the point where I don’t know what to cook anymore. This is serious. I, the person who pretty much always knows exactly what she wants to eat, suddenly doesn’t care what’s on my plate each night, as long as it fills me up and doesn’t take too much time.

Blame it on winter’s lingering presence making me want to hunker down and do just about nothing. (Yeah, that workout routine I started on the one nice day we had, that’s not been very successful.) Or maybe it can be blamed on the 12 hour workdays, back-to-back-to-back, travel to visit family, events, and other worries. All I know is that food has taken a back seat, and I am hoping my passion for cooking or even just eating, rather than getting meals over with, returns soon.

Convenience foods have been a saving grace during this time. I know, I know, they aren’t usually healthy, and it’s probably just as easy to make something from scratch. Still, knowing that I have a delicious chicken pot pie in the freezer is like meal insurance.

We’ve been living off of semi-homemade meals, and to be honest, many of them have come out quite good.

A couple of convenience foods that go perfectly together are Trader Joe’s frozen ricotta and spinach ravioli, pairing perfectly with chicken sausage. I am getting to the point where I am not super interested in eating meat or any protein for that matter, but I always enjoy chicken sausage for some reason, especially since it comes in so many varieties. Frozen ravioli, chicken sausage, and some of my favorite sweet peppers plus a salad with the best creamy balsamic dressing ever (The dressing recipe is from Food Network Magazine; I definitely want to share it. It has us wanting to eat piles of veggies just so we can have more dressing!)

Instant whole grain rice, tofu, and frozen veggies topped with sriracha also come in handy when it comes to looking for quick eats. The box of goodies that Oldways sent me for Whole Grain Sampling Day has been a huge help and a great reminder that foods that are convenient can be delicious and really good for you.

Do you ever get in an eating slump? What are your go-to convenience foods?

Technorati Tags: convenience foods, cooking, Food

Tags: convenience foods, cooking, Food

Southern Comfort at Estelle’s

April 1, 2013 in Food, Restaurants by traveleatlove | 7 comments

I say it time and time again, but the best part of blogging, by far, has been the friends I have made. There are so many people I’ve met that I may never had encountered otherwise, and I am thankful for it every day.

Over the past few months, I’ve had some great dinner dates with blogger friends; these “supper club” dates are definitely something I look forward to. On our last get together, we finally tried Estelle’s, the latest from Boston chef Brian Poe.

This comfort food-centric establishment was perfect for the night we visited. Despite it being officially spring, snow was falling outside, and I think we were all a little disgruntled with the weather. A great beer selection, cozy atmosphere, and good friends were the perfect remedy.

I was excited to see that one of the many beers Estelle’s serves is Boont Amber Ale, from the Anderson Valley, one of the places we visited on our last wine country vacation. (We’re going to Sonoma in 10 days. . . the thought literally has me wanting to jump up and down on my desk.)

I love Anderson Valley Brewing Company beer just as much as I love the great wines that come from the region. It doesn’t hurt that it is gorgeous up there.

As we often do, we ordered a bunch of appetizers to share. Estelle’s menu has so many delicious sounding items on it; I am eager to try them all. Being a lover of all things pickled, I love the platter of pickled veggies and a pickled egg. I could easily eat this for my entrée next time.

My photos didn’t all come out great, but we also enjoyed massive slabs of cornbread, hushpuppies, deviled eggs, and a chopped salad. Obviously, by the time my entrée, a shrimp po’ boy came, I was pretty much stuffed. After a few bites for dinner, this made a perfect Thursday lunch.

I also stole a couple bites of the husband’s fried chicken. Fried chicken rarely equals my mom’s, but this was really great. The mac and cheese on the side was the perfect comfort food.

I balanced out all of the fried food with some garlicky greens. I can’t get enough of these.

Though we were all stuffed, we decided to share an order of red velvet whoopie pies, because they were there. How can you pass up red velvet whoopie pies? The restaurant overheard that it was my birthday the day before, and kindly brought the dessert out with candles.

It was a sweet end to a really warm and welcoming meal. Estelle’s is a great place to grab a beer and a bite and a welcome addition to the South End.

Technorati Tags: Boston, comfort food, Dining out, Food, Restaurants, Southern food

Tags: Boston, comfort food, Dining out, Food, Restaurants, Southern food

Classic Potato Salad with a Twist

March 29, 2013 in Food by traveleatlove | 5 comments

I LOVE mayonnaise. I love it on fries, especially, but I also enjoy it in salads, dips, as parts of dressings, and in my hair. Trust me, it’s great for getting knots out. One of my family’s classic Easter dishes, my mom’s potato salad, is pulled together by a mix of mayonnaise and mustard. It just has to be there.

When I received an offer to try Nasoya’s vegan nayonaise for an egg-free alternative, I was definitely intrigued and jumped at the chance to try a new-to-me product. How would it measure up with the creamy condiment I love?

On its own, nayonaise tastes surprisingly like mayo. Pretty much just like it, actually. The texture is a little more gelatinous, to me, but it’s still pleasant. I haven’t tried it on fries yet, but I think it’s going to be a happy marriage.

Since we won’t actually be home for Easter, I made a small batch. This simple recipe only contains a few ingredients, but it is always a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:

3 cups small fingerling potatoes or chopped red bliss potatoes

1/2 cup chopped white onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup brown mustard (Gulden’s is what my mom uses)

1/3 mayonnaise or nayonaise

Once the potatoes are boiled and chilled, you just need to toss it all together and chill again until serving.

I love how simple this is and how it reminds me of nice weather. We had this potato salad as a side to veggie burgers topped with all sorts of fun toppings, beckoning summer and sunshine to visit soon.

The nayonaise was great in this dish; it was as delicious as ever and fun that the dish was vegan and egg-free. My husband is not a huge egg fan and even had some sort of allergy as a child, so it’s nice to be able to have the option to leave the eggs out.

My Easter memories are full of great food, and I love visiting the Eastern European stores in Dorchester this time of year. The kielbasa, paska bread, and smell of hyacinths remind me of my childhood. I just love how much smells and tastes can bring you back to a different place and time.

If you celebrate Easter, what will be on your table? If not, what are your go-to foods or smells that remind you of a favorite childhood holiday?

Technorati Tags: Easter, Food, recipe, side dish, vegan, Vegetarian, vegetarian recipe