Carrabas

My omnivore dining partners have always been happy with their meals at Carrabas.

Having said that, if you're vegetarian, you may find the menu to be very limited for you. Here is my recent experience (August 2017).

Given the fact that Italian cuisines are rich in vegetarian options, I was expecting to have a few choices. There were a few appetizers, like fried zucchini and bruschetta. I was hungry and wanting an entree. There was no eggplant, heartier pasta dishes, cheese ravioli--nothing at all like that.

I spoke with the server, who asked if I eat seafood or pork. I said no.

She pointed out they only offered either pizza or one other vegetarian entree--pasta with stewed tomatoes, garlic and oil. It was a special occasion and I didn't want pizza, so I ordered the pasta, already disappointed. The server suggested "building my own pasta" which, she explained, was ordering sauteed vegetables to go on top with it.  I ordered mushrooms.

The server let me know they did not have any vegetarian salad dressings--only Italian dressing. She said all others have meat in them. I was really surprised by that!

The pasta arrived with what seemed to be an entire box of linguine with 1 single button mushroom sliced thinly. It was ok but I am not a fan of large chunks of raw garlic in anything.

So to summarize, my dining partner freaking loved his meat entree. (I was wishing they would have offered that same entree with a portobello or eggplant instead of meat. I can actually think of hundreds of other ideas that would not be costly or difficult for them to pull off.) My meal turned out to be vegan. Even though that wasn't my goal (except for dessert, of course), it's always a bonus. My meal consisted of meh bread with the saltiest olive oil dip known to Man, a cocktail that tasted like Robitussin, a meh glass of wine, enough pasta to feed a family without much else in it, and an excellent slice of ricotta cheesecake.

I know it is totally the restaurant's decision what to put on their menu, and it's totally my choice to patronize that place or not. It never ceases to surprise me though, that restaurant owners don't have a smidge more to offer the 10%+ of its customers who influence whether their party goes to a particular restaurant. I know I can (and did) "get by" by finding something edible on any menu, but honestly, I'm not going to return if it doesn't taste good. It's just not worth the money and effort of going out.

Easter Menu!

It was dinner for two today, so I didn't want to be overstuffed and left with too many leftovers.  Everything came out well.  I had eggplant in my main course, as a nod to the holiday. ;)

Bevande

Rum Sour

Antipasti

Deviled Eggs

Primi

Lasagna Alla Norma

Secondi

Stuffed Peppers

Dolce

Italian Pastries

Restaurant Review: Loving Hut

Believe it or not, I had never been to a vegetarian restaurant before today!

I had the Spicy Cha-Cha which was like breaded shrimp over lettuce and red/green bell peppers.  It had a spicy-sweet dipping sauce.  It was very tasty--very much like shrimp except milder.  (I appreciated that it had less of that strong seafood flavor like shrimp has--some of the "imitation meats" are too similar to meat for my taste.) 

I had a refreshing glass of hibiscus iced tea.  This is destined to become my new favorite drink.  It has a tangy flavor like cranberry, which contrasts nicely with its sweetness.

My non-vegetarian dining partner had a sweet and sour stir fry with cubed, battered soy protein.  He said it was good, even though he was really resistant to eating at a vegan place.  He mentioned he does not like tofu but ordered this instead of going for one of the "beefy" dishes.  Afterwards, he told me he did not realize he was ordering something that might be similar to tofu.  Again, he said he liked it but he wasn't gaga over it either, only because of the protein.  We plan to head back so he can try one of the beef-alikes.

It is extremely clean and a peaceful place to eat a casual meal.  The staff is quite friendly.

Here is their website.  Give it a try!

Verdict:  Excellent!

Healthy summer drinks

I'm trying to cut down on sugar intake and increase liquids*, and I'm getting really sick of water.  Sooo...I've been experimenting and here's a few successes:

• 1 slice of lemon, 1 slice of lime, ice and club soda (refreshing but not sicky sweet)
• 1 slice of orange, a few slices of cucumber, ice and water
• a few shots of espresso (decaf works too), creamer, and crushed ice blended (frozen coffee drink!)
• dash of vanilla extract, club soda and ice (less sweet version of cream soda)
• Zevia ginger root beer

I'm planning to try making a stevia version of horchata too!
_______
*Why, you ask?  Well besides the fact that it's summer....I moved to the low desert and I'm not feeling as thirsty as I should be.  Apparently humidity makes you feel thirstier.  I'm trying to push myself to drink more until I adjust. This also explains why I'm into horchata all of a sudden. :D

Molee, molee, molee!

I was on a mission to have chocolate in every single dish for Valentine's Day, just to see if it could be done. And by that, I mean done well.

Stop wrinkling your nose.
.
.
.

No, really, stop! It's good!

Menu
Chocolate martinis
Spring greens, avocado, fried plantain with balsamic chocolate vinaigrette
Mole tacos (for me--eggplant; for my Valentine--turkey)
Chocolate Kahlua fondue with fresh strawberries and pineapple

By the time we were done with this chocolate extravaganza, we were vowing never to eat chocolate again as long as we lived. lol

I made the mole using a jarred mole paste. The jar's instructions said to blend it with broth--I used vegetable broth. I've never had mole before and hope to make it from scratch one day. I thought I'd try the jarred version first to get an idea of what it's supposed to taste like. Unfortunately, I now have enough mole paste to last me a long time.

I really wanted to try jackfruit in the mole. I've read it lends itself to dishes calling for shredded items in sauces (i.e., a vegetarian version of pulled pork). I couldn't find it in Wegmans, though. I've never even laid eyes on a jackfruit. I suppose that will be my next food quest.

Instead, I tried eggplant for mine. One word: INEDIBLE. Those flavors do not go well together at all. The eggplant tasted sour and the sauce was just odd. My Valentine loved his turkey taco with the same sauce, so my guess is the blend of eggplant and mole was the problem.

As I said, I've never had a mole so I was taking a risk paring it with something unusual without knowing what flavors might go with it. Or maybe it was the fact that I had the "molee molee molee!" scene from Austin Powers stuck in my head. ;)

I composted the mole eggplant and filled my tacos with plantain and the cheese (a nice local soft "farmer's cheese" since our grocery was sold out of queso fresco--equally good too). That was really, really good, especially since there were some remnants of the chocolate salad dressing on the plantain. I know, it sounds so odd, but it was scrumptious.

Other than that, mission accomplished--everything else was really tasty. Is there anything chocolate can't do? (Well yes, apparently there is--go with eggplant.)

I'll post pics as soon as I find the stinking cord to my camera.

P.S. Have a nice day and treat yourself, no matter if you're solo or with a friend. Enjoy. <3

Product Review: So Delicious Brand Coconut Nog

I am an afficionado of eggnog. I have been ever since I was a young child. I have no idea why; I've always hated drinking milk.

My refusal to drink milk as a kid is the stuff of legends whereby my stubbornness would beat out my parents'. I was raised in the days when it was "good parenting" to tell your kids they could not get up from the table until they finished dinner. This taught me how to be stubborn--stubbornness was a game, I thought--and I became Nobel Laureate of Stubbornness. I slept at the table.

Another common parenting wisdom was to keep serving kids their uneaten dinner for every subsequent meal until the lesson was learned. "They'll eat when they're hungry enough." Uh, no. I refused to eat and hunger did not bother me. As Nobel Laureate of Stubbornness, I was quite willing to become faint just to win the game.

I don't even like the sound of the word milk. When pronounced, it reminds me of exactly why I don't like it. Mi-lll-kkkk, like the slimy feeling in my mouth and throat as it goes down. Yuck.

As you know I drink smoothies quite often, but even then I need a thick, milkshake-like texture. No milk-like drinks for me.

I guess eggnog is more like an milkshake to me. I got a LOT of positive feedback for drinking eggnog! My parents and grandparents were totally thrilled when I drank it, albeit perplexed.

I can't wait for the first eggnog to be available at Byrne Dairy each year. I drink it alone. I drink it with a little spiced rum. I sweeten my espresso with it. If it wouldn't make me literally sick, I'd probably drink it even more often.

Regular eggnog has a lot of sugar and calories, though, and I don't do well with a lot of dairy. I heard about nondairy nog a few years ago and thought it blasphemous. I finally tried it just now.

Wow. So delicious is right! It's awesome and I do not feel as though I'm depriving myself of anything. It's got half the calories of my traditional nog and less sugar. It does have more fat.

Unlike the brand's coffee creamer, this product does have a coconut flavor, which I find pleasing.

Verdict: There's noggin better.

Ode to soy creamer

I've crossed a threshold I didn't think I would ever cross. I had a line drawn in the sand between me and "those extremist vegetarians", which I placed right before soy creamer.

Now, I am still not an extremist by any means. I don't like seitan. I eat eggs and dairy. I didn't throw away my leather shoes. I wear glass pearls and glass coral beads, even though some think it will increase demand for the real thing.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing any of those things, and in fact, I find them admirable in my logical mind. But apparently I've retained some sort of prejudice from the whole 1970s McDonald's soy Communism fiasco. (From what I recall, it was discovered that McD was putting soy in its burgers. People were outraged, as though we were all victims of a subliminal brainwashing plot to make us all Communists.) Mea culpa. That is just silly.

So I thought if I stopped using cream in my morning cup of espresso, somehow that put me into a wholly separate category of vegetarians--those who had forsaken flavor and common sense for militaristic goals. Again, totally silly!

I've been having trouble with dairy due to some bona fide health problems I have, so I decided to give the "soy creamer" that "those vegetarians" kept talking about. I couldn't find it though, despite the hugeness of my grocery store's natural foods department.

I kept using dairy creamer for a while but it kept giving me problems. I realized the solution was right there in front of me--nondairy creamers in the dairy case. There they were, and lots of 'em. Every flavor imaginable. Hmmm.

I tried out this flavor. I am chagrined to admit it does not taste any better or worse than dairy cream!

The only possible critiques I have? It contains corn syrup, which is not marked "non-GMO". There is also a high proportion of sweet flavor to creamer, higher than what I prefer. I compensate by using less.

I don't like flavors in my coffee. I buy good espresso because I like its flavor. Masking it with hazelnut, vanilla, or anything else seems pointless to me. If I was going to do that, I'd just buy cheaper coffee. That's why I settled on this "flavor" of non-dairy creamer--Italian Sweet Creme--it masks the flavor less than the others.

Another prejudice crumbles!

This morning's healthy breakfast

In preparation for what I knew would be a long day of eating, I had a nice bowl of high-fiber Kashi cereal with blueberries, pecans and a few sunflower seeds. I washed it down with a double espresso with nondairy creamer. mmmm

This week I've been using some coconut milk in my breakfast smoothies for extra fat and calories, in an effort to get me feeling better faster.

I normally use about 1 cup of soy milk. This week I've been substituting a little coconut milk for part of the soy milk. One thing I've noticed is I'm overcompensating for the sweetness in the coconut milk. I keep thinking it's going to be too sweet, so I add less protein powder, because that adds a lot of sweetness.

I compared labels. The soy milk has 1 gram of sugar per cup. The coconut milk has 3 grams per cup. Neither has added sugars. I don't know why, but the coconut milk always tastes less sweet in my smoothies than the soy milk does. I shall investigate this further. There must be some sciencey explanation.

For your reference, I also use 1 cup of frozen fruit, 5 baby carrots, vanilla protein powder, and half a tablespoon of wheat germ.

Yes, wheat germ--I am turning into a full-on hippie! I've been adding that for extra vitamins and fiber, but I've found half a tablespoon is my limit. Add any more and I don't like it.

I think I've mentioned the carrots before. They add vitamins, sweetness and fiber, and I honestly do not notice a difference in taste. And believe me, I am the Princess and the Pea when it comes to taste!

Here's today's breakfast, made with strawberries and coconut milk. Happy Meatless Monday!

Smoothies!

Right now I'm drinking a delicious, healthy smoothie in anticipation of tomorrow's debauchery! It's got half a scoop of vanilla protein powder, plain soymilk, frozen strawberries, and a few steamed/cooled baby carrots. Really good! {But not as good as all the candy I'm going to be eating tomorrow!}

I've been wondering if I could start sneaking some veggies into my breakfast smoothies without making them taste weird. A few slices of avocado go unnoticed, and it turns out, so do a few baby carrots. I was concerned about using raw carrots due to their texture, so I nuked them for 30 seconds and let them cool down while I went about my morning routine. They pureed nicely and I can't tell they're there, except it's a tad sweeter than usual--not a bad thing. A little extra fiber and vitamins. mmmmmm.......

Happy Easter!

Kumquats remake two sublime treats

I saw some organic kumquats in the market yesterday.  I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but I bought them anyway, as I often do.  I like adventures. ;)

I had a plain one and it was way too tart on its own, even for me, a lover of tartness.

So....I squeezed one over a scoop of Haagen Dazs vanilla bean ice cream.  Oh.my.goodness.

I took another, broke it in half, and squeezed it into my espresso.  Another foodgasm.  (Kids, if you're going to try this at home, you should probably be sure to not add the kumquat until after you've mixed your cream in well.  Otherwise it might curdle.)

Making over two treats that are already perfect on their own--awesomeness. ;)