Its just another manic Monday .. woah .. oh .. wish it were Sunday ..

Okay, I realize its Tuesday, and the punch line above doesn’t have the same effect, but doesn’t it feels like every Sunday Night we’re just a little sad :( I mean, the weekend is over, the whole work week lies ahead, and somehow Friday seems so so far away! Generally all Sundays are like this, and some are a little bit more gloomy than others.

But a recent Sunday night wasn’t like that. In fact, it wasn’t even close. Sunday night was actually exciting and Monday was one of the best Mondays ever! No, it wasn’t because work was amazing (or that I got a raise ;)), it because a dear dear friend was visiting from Geneva and we, her friends and husband had planned a Monday day night meet up at Myers + Chang!

If you’ve never been there, it’s a must visit! Located at 1145 Washington St in the South End, the place is the brain child of Joanne Chang, and her husband Christopher Myers and is “a funky indie diner setting offering Chef/Owner Joanne Chang and Executive Chef Matthew Barros's very personal interpretation of Chinese, Taiwanese, Thai, and Vietnamese specialties (http://www.myersandchang.com). (If you don’t know, Joanne is also a celebrity in the pastry world in Boston, with multiple locations of her bakery Flour, and a new cookbook out too!)

We started out the night around 7 with a cocktail as we waited for the staff to arrange our table. They were so gracious and the cocktails were yummy! I started with the Ginjo Gimlet (ginjo sake, housemade ginger syrup, fresh lime) since I love my ginger! The rest of the party enjoyed other various drinks including the Asian Mojito, the Mai Tai, and the Margarita. If the drinks were good, the laughs and catching up was even better. I guess that’s just always how it is with good friends. We were having such a blast, that we were probably the most jovial table in the restaurant that day. Even the wait staff loved it, and totally laughed and joked with us too. They were so kind.

Knowing I was going there that night, I had already checked out the menu, and I LOVED that they had a specific vegetarian menu with so many options – YAY! Most restaurants have a few dishes, and some have a special section, but I was super excited to see the spread here! A friend and I (the only other vegetarians in the group) settled in to order our dishes and the rest of the carnivores decided on theirs.

Unfortunately I don’t have pictures to do all the food justice (just pics courtesy of from my friend N), but we ordered:

- crispy spring rolls
- garlicky spicy coal-black wings
- chicken and waffles

- genmai fried rice

- shiitake and chinese greens potstickers
- mama chang's pork and chive potstickers

- vegetarian wok-charred udon noodles

Everything we ate was amazing! The wok-charred udon noodles absolutely, positively, most unequivocally captured wok hei or the breath of the wok! In two words – so yummy. The genmai fried rice was a treat because it was made with brown rice and finished with an egg, that we mixed table side to create ribbons of cooked silky egg in our fried rice. I’ve never had brown rice in my fried rice and was so excited. My companions raved about the garlicky spicy wings and the chick and waffles as well! And of course mama chang’s pot stickers were a huge hit.

By the end of the night were stuffed, happy, and caught up in the events we missed over the past couple weeks that we wished the night wasn’t coming to a close. In fact we decided for once Mondays could just be the new Thursdays. Maybe not every week (but at least every other). After all, good friends, great company and delicious food make for a wonderful night any day of the week. That Monday was especially special thanks to the food and wonderful staff at Myers + Chang.

Little pillows of heaven

A couple years ago, when I worked closer to Faneuil hall, a dear friend and I would always meet up for lunch when our schedules permitted. She - ms. Math professor extraordinaire and I – her long time friend – used to spend the entire lunch hour, chatting, and laughing and sharing our silly stories about the day or life at that time. Of course we’d eat, and sometimes even do a bit of window shopping, but really, the entire time was dedicated to what girls do best – laugh and chat!

I remember one afternoon, after having lunch, we found ourselves inside Godiva craving a sweet ending to our lunch. Now I know what you’re thinking, Godiva almost always equals chocolate, but surprisingly, not on that day. You see, we didn’t settle on a chewy caramel, or a luscious truffle, or even an iced chocolaty drink. Instead we chose a coconut macaroon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaroon) and in turn, tasted a little pillow of heaven that afternoon.

Right after buying our macaroon, the two us, just stood there, in that store, ooing and aaing as we gobbled up and enjoyed every single coconutty luscious bite. Much to the laugh of everyone around us I’m sure.

When a couple months later, said lovely friend having her bridal shower, I knew I wanted to remind her of that special macaroon we shared; and bring a little extra magic to one of the most magical days in her life. In all the time we’ve been friends, we’ve shared so many memories and so many laughs that reminding her of a recent event seemed to be the best way to let her know the best memories were yet to come!

Having never made a macaroon before, I looked online for a while and finally found the perfect recipe for those yummy treats from our friends at Krafts foods.
http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/chocolate-dipped-coconut-macaroons-64373.aspx

I followed the recipe to a T, without changing any ingredient. The only difference was in the shaping of the macaroons. I chose to shape them into cute little pyramids, whose bases I then dipped in chocolate. I just thought it helped dress up the macaroons and make them extra special for a wonderful celebration!

So whether you’re craving a coconut treat, looking for a reason to make someone smile, planning a black tie event, or just staying home on a lazy Sunday there is always a reason to share a coconut macaroon and enjoy a little pillow of heaven with someone wonderful in your life.

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (14 oz.) BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut 2/3 cup Sugar 6 Tbsp. Flour
1/4 tsp. Salt
4 Egg whites, lightly beaten
1 tsp. Almond extract
1 pkg. (8 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Method:
Heat oven to 325°F.
Combine coconut, sugar, flour and salt.
Add egg whites and extract; mix well.
Shape mixture into small pyramids with your hands and place 2 inches apart, onto greased and floured baking sheets.
Bake 20 min. or until edges are golden brown.
Cool 3 min. on baking sheets; remove to wire racks.
Cool completely.

Melt chocolate as directed on package, approx 1 minute in the microwave in 2 square increments.
Dip the base of the macaroon into chocolate, shake excess and place on a sheet lined with wax paper to firm.

Quinoa Salad for a Scorcher of a Day

It’s hot!! Boston is in the midst of another heat wave and temperatures are rising! Humidity is at an all time high, and some local towns have even affected water bans for their localities. (Even though we experienced some torrential rain this spring!). With all this heat, it’s natural to want to eat light, cooling and refreshing things. And this morning, while reading the New York Times, I stumbled upon just such a dish: a spicy quinoa, cucumber and tomato salad.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/health/nutrition/13recipehealth.html

The only problem? I didn’t have all the ingredients to make it. So, I improvised and I compromised and eventual I wound up with something pretty close, and hopefully just as refreshing and tasty.
I deemed it quinoa salad for a scorcher of a day, inspired very closely by the article above. Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa) has been dubbed the gold of the Incas and although an ancient grain, is actually the seeds of a plant related to the beet, chard and spinach family.

Quinoa which is highly rich in protein, is the only ‘complete’ protein and contains all 9 of the essential amino acids. This makes it an excellent choice for healthy consumption, and a wonderful addition to a salad in the summer months. Cool crisp veggies and the nutritious quinoa fill you up and do absolutely nothing to your waist line! So that means, you can enjoy your salad, and still have room for an evening ice cream treat!

Here’s the recipe for you to enjoy!

For the quinoa salad (which serves 8) you’ll need
Ingredients:
½ cup uncooked quinoa
1 fist full of dried cranberries
½ red onion1 small cucumber

½ large roma tomato

1 ½ ear of corn - steamed

3 inch large piece of daikon radish

1 – 2 green chillis

2 limes juiced
6 tsp olive oil

½ inch of ginger
cracked pepper
salt
Method:

Wash the quinoa thrice with cool water in a bowl to cleanse it and remove its saponins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saponins).

When draining the quinoa after each wash, pour it through a sieve to remove the water and prevent the quinoa from flowing away into the sink.

Then soak the quinoa in cool water for 15 mts to further aid in saponin removal.

After 15 minutes, drain the quinoa again (remember the sieve method) and add 1 cup of fresh water to it.

Pour the quinoa and water into a pan, add ½ tsp of salt and let the quinoa cook on high until the water boils and barely a thin layer of water is left on top of the grain.

At this point, add the cranberries, cover the pot and let the quinoa cook undisturbed for 10 minutes on a low simmer.

Once done shut off the stove.

In the meantime, cut the onion, tomato, cucumber, daikon radish and green chilli into bite size dices. Try and make each piece the same size so that every bite in the salad will have a little bit of everything. Once you’ve finished your chopping, place all the vegetables into a large serving bowl.

Next, steam the ears of corn until tender and then cool. Once cool, cut the kernels off and discard the ears. Add to the serving bowl.

Then wisk together the juice of 2 limes, freshly cracked pepper, 6 tsp of olive oil and salt to taste to create a light dressing for this salad. After combined, thinly slice a ½ inch piece of ginger into bite size pieces and add to the dressing. Set this aside for all the flavors to combine and become bright and light.

Once the quinoa had finished cooking, remove and place in a bowl to cool. You’ll know when the quinoa is done, because it will have increased in size, become moist and fluffy and most of all sprouted a characteristic thread out of each grain. (The first time I cooked quinoa I thought I had spoiled it because of this very thread!)

After the quinoa has cooled to room temperature, add the quinoa to the serving bowl and toss to combine with the other ingredients.After combined, spoon ½ of the dressing over the quinoa salad and mix. Add the rest and toss fully to incorporate all the ingredients.

Now let the salad sit for a few minutes as all the flavors combine, and then serve a couple heaping serving spoons to each person and enjoy!

The quinoa salad will keep fresh for a couple days in your fridge, so in case you have any leftover, just store it away for later!

And be sure to beat the heat and be good to yourself in these hot and humid summer months!