Some great snack ideas

Recently I got lots of sample for my patients from the Larabar and Raw Indulgence companies. My fellow dietitians down in the Miriam Clinical nutrition office have been hard at work taste-testing all the flavors we received. The general consensus has been "tastes just like what it says the flavor is!" Seems miraculous that the wrapper would say apple pie and if you closed your eyes you would actually believe apple pie was what someone had put into your mouth!
Larabar uses dates as the base of all their products and they add nuts and natural flavor extracts (ie lemon, lime, cocoa powder, apple etc) to create the flavor. There is never any added sugars or 'fake' as in man-created ingredients. We received: Cashew Cookie, Apple Pie, Lemon, and Peanut Butter and Jelly. They were a hit with the patients, and while they do not have as much protein in them as the normal protein bar - patients liked the Larabars because they don't have that chemical aftertaste and if they like them, they will eat them! Right now they have a dollar off coupon available on their website too!


Raw revolution uses a similar concept but they use all raw ingredients. The thought process behind that being, that the less you cook/process something, the closer it is to its natural form and the healthier it is for you and the easier it is for your body to digest and absorb. We are working our way though these samples now but it is looking good. I just had Chocolate Cashew myself, and though I was not expecting there to be a huge nut chunk and almost choked on it, I found the item quite tasty! It is not super chocolaty and rich, but definitely satisfied my sweet craving without having to reach for a chocolate chip cookie :)

I found both these items originally in Shaw's supermarket in the Heathy Havest isles, so there is no need to comb the planet looking for them! Good news these days is that you can, of course, also order them online.

Acropolis

Last night I went on an adventure to the Acropolis Greek restaurant - the newest kid on the Needham block. Moved into the old Gabriella's on Highland Ave, Acropolis is small and intimate. The inside got repainted Greek blue and white (yes how creative I know - they did name it Acropolis after all), but don't let the stereotype/cliche name and decorations fool you - the food is fabulous. Greeks are known for their mastery with meats: "What do you mean you don't eat no meat? It's ok - I make lamb!" and this one lives up to the legend.

Joy, the chef's wife, ran over some kalamari, grape leaves and pita almost immediately after we sat down. The kalamari was very well executed. It is a tricky item to make, if you cook it to long it is really chewy, if not enough it is soggy and fishy. These were cooked just right, with a very light coating of batter and a chunky, sweet, homemade tomato dipping sauce. They could have been sparked up by a drizzle from the lemon wedge but they were delightful nonetheless, I liked that they were not coated in salt.

The grape leaves were chopped and sauteed. Nothing added, just heated. I had never had a grape leaf unless it was stuffed (does that make me a bad Middle Easterner??) Even though they were so plain, I thought they were quite delightful atop a wedge of of warm pita. It was a nice acid balance after the fried kalamari to cleanse the palatte.

I had a falafel sandwich with tangy tahini. Unfortunately, I had to eat it with a knife and fork but it was tasty nonetheless. The falafel could have been pulled out of the fryer 30 seconds earlier but they had a different taste to them and you could tell they were made with herbs mixed into the chickpeas which was a nice change from the typical blandish falafel.

Other items at our table was a gyro, chicken souvlaki sandwich and moussaka - all given great reveiws by their consumers.


No beer or wine available - only soda.

Lots of good things to be written about in the next few days!!

Supper club is underway in Cleveland as I type. Apparently, the smoked strawberry salad has been a BIGGGGG hit!! I can't wait to hear how the rest of the dishes went over! If pictures get sent along of the items I will for sure post them! We did have a slight bobble about 1:30pm and that was a "phone a friend" moment over the actual cooking procedure of farro, but after a few good deductions - since non of us had ever actually cooked farro - and a go a googling - we (and by 'we' I mean me and fellow RD rapmaster-jay) came up with a pretty accurate answer to pass along to Chef Dubbs.

A new restaurant has just opened in my town - Greek fare - and I am pumped to give it a go in the next few days so there will also be a full report on that!!

Happy eating!

"Eat food, not alot, mostly plants" ~ M. Polin............pretty apt quote for the theme of tonight's supper club ;p

just as I finished typing this two photos came in!! Peanut and sweet potato stew and the falafel with chipotle tatziki

HAHAHAHAHAHA

awesome name for a beer and one of the biggest crabs ever!!

Supper Club - why not?!

If anyone is in Cleveland on March 23rd you should check out the Iron Wood Cafe's monthly "Supper Club" held in the space known as "The Copper Cup" . This month's menu is a vegetarian tasting - 5 courses - paired with wines. My good friend Joe Dubbs is the Chef over there and he does a great job with the food both in taste and presentation (and it doesn't hurt that I helped with some of the creative development for this month's menu :)). Copper Cup is a neat little space, very inviting for a fun night with girls or a date. Supper Club evenings usually have about 30-40 seats available so reserve yours if work, pleasure or your residence brings in the vicinity of Westlake, OH!

Roast Veggies!

As we wait for spring and the plethora of fresh things that pop up from our home veggie gardens, you can get yourself in the summer spirit by roasting vegetables in your home. They are a great accompaniment to hummos, cheese or pasta. You can chill them and put on salad or in a wrap or eat them fresh from the oven and warm.


Possible vegetables to use in whatever combinations you like!

Eggplant
Zucchini
Yellow summer squash
Bell peppers
Red or Vidala onions
Garlic gloves
Asparagus
Sweet potatoes
Carrots
Apples
Pineapple
Swiss Chard
Mushrooms (any kind!!)
Green beans

1. Wash veggies - be sure that they are cut into pieces that are same thickness (please note sweet potatoes will take longer then any other vegetable)
2. arrange in single layer on tinfoil covered sheet pan (if they are piled up they will steam and get soggy)
3. Drizzle with olive oil - sprinkle with salt and pepper and some herbs/spices if you so desire
4. cook at 425 for 15 minutes or so - you want the veggies to get tender but not be soggy or grayish colored.
ENJOY!!!!

Masa

SOooooo this review came a little late after the dinner but it is here nonetheless and as we know before I did not have my camera for photos....

Masa is located in the South End on Tremont Street in Boston, super accessible from 93 and situated on a corner with ample street parking (also a bonus for Boston!!). The fare is south western meets the Caribbean islands-ish and has been a favorite of Bostonians for years.

The decor inside is fabulous and reminded me of places I had been to around the Grand Canyon area in AZ. Wooden chairs with leather cushioned seats, exposed wooden beams, and rough plaster mixed with white washed brick gave it a feel similar to a chic western retreat. The wooden bar is gorgeous with its mirrored cabinets and carved banister columns. Every bottle in that place had a well lit, well organized home that brough feelings of both grandeur and ease.

Masa is home to tequila. They have a whole menu just of the stuff - 99% of them, I had never heard of and a cocktail list devoted to using all those tequilas in various, adventurous concoctions. Being the tequila hater that I am, I opted for a Smuttynose IPA (I thought it a much better choice anyway, since of the food would have some heat to it). The rest of the girls went with a fancy margarita, mojito or the ever popular $5 Carafe of sangria!

The cornbread is homemade as is the rustic bread and it comes with a trio of sauces: maple butter and a hummos and something else (to be honest I was to obsessed with the maple butter to care what the other two things were! I know - bad dietitian eating butter, but no body's perfect people, live with it!). Anyway, this maple butter was heavenly, especially on that homemade cornbread. It reminded me of something I had in Quebec many moons ago - at a smoke house we went to along with dinner they would serve loaves of sliced white bread with vats of 100% maple syrup and butter. You were to spread butter on the bread and then cover it with maple syrup. I lived on that combination for 3 days (I was 12, what else was I going to eat in French-Canadian land) and have found nothing like it in the states until now. So fond of it was I, that I found myself asking the waiter what else on the menu I could order just to put that butter on!! I understand that is a little out of control!

I decided on plantain crusted catfish which came with some hushpuppies. The catfish flesh was nice. Not over cooked and not cool. The outside, while crispy, did not taste much like plantain at all - actually when I took bites of the whole thing together (fish and crust) all I could taste was chipotle, which was discouraging since the fish itself was so well cooked. The hushpuppies had a great flavor and a creamy interior but spent a tad to much time in the fryolator and were a bit burnt on the outside, which sent a lanced a burnt-smokey fry grease taste throughout the whole item. Two girls got the swordfish which was just pan seared and looked lovely sitting atop some bacon roasted potatoes, and two girls got the steak frites which also came with a bit of greens salad.

Dessert was for sure the icing on this cake. A thick and creamy creme brulee came to the table with a sugary, thin crisped shell on top; a pumpkin cheesecake enclosed in a shell of high quality chocolate (probably the biggest hit) and a caramelized banana bread pudding. I got the bread pudding and though the pudding itself tasted great - cinnamon, sugar and brandy with the sweet bananas, the sauce was spicy and not what I wanted to end my meal with. I guess I was a bit shocked/surprised when the first bite of heat in my dessert came through and then I was just annoyed with their overdose of heat throughout the meal.

However, I would give Masa a second chance, as I thought that they had some great looking appetizers that I would probably order in sets of 2-3 for a meal, but if you are someone who does not like heat or bite to your food this is not the place to visit.