Which is better, organic or local?

All of this thinking is new to me, and it’s thinking that’s starting to takeover the majority of my thoughts.  In the past, I’ve purposely opted to be blissfully unaware about my food, especially when it came to meat.  I didn’t want to think about how the meat got into the meat case at the grocery or why all the chicken breasts there were disturbingly similar sizes.  I didn’t want to think about what the chicken had been fed or if she lived a happy life free to frolic around the farm.  I certainly didn’t want to think about feed lots, or chicken houses with next to no fresh air or room to spread your wings, or chickens who were raised hopped up hormones causing growth so outrageous their poor legs were too weak to hold their bodies up.  I wanted nothing to do with any of that.

But here I am thinking about all of it, and frankly it’s uncomfortable.

Over the past couple of months, all of those bullets I’d been dodging started making contact.  It started with a little curiosity about organic fruits and vegetables (and if I should be shelling out the extra cash to buy them).  When I went home to visit family in Ohio I popped the question to my mom, who always seems to be on top of the food scene and has been pushing grass-fed meat for years.  She showed me this video, which I encourage you all to take two minutes to watch.

My Potato Project; The Importance of “Organic”

It’s disturbing, but the fact is the bulk of our produce is grown chemically.  Chemicals are used to prevent weeds, deter insects, and artificially enhance the quality of the nutrient depleted soil.  All of these chemicals become a part of our produce, and this chemical usage and industrialization has a negative impact on the quality of the product the system is producing (i.e., our fruits and veggies).  One example of this is the significant reduction in the nutritional quality of an apple when compared to the apple nutrient stats in the 1950′s.  Today, you’d have to eat THREE apples to get the nutrients one apple provided back in the fifties.  Nowadays, the majority of farmers are using genetically modified seeds, which are magically resistant to chemicals like Roundup and Bud Nip.  These seeds are planted in pesticide saturated soil and throughout their growth are sprayed frequently with, you guessed it, more chemicals.

But what does that mean for us, the fruit and veggie eaters?

As we speak, there is a large russet potato on my kitchen counter.  It is slightly dirty, and I know it will need a good scrub before I bake it.  I think about how this non-organic potato was grown—submerged in poor quality chemical ridden soil—and I wonder what good washing it will really do.  Sure it will get the bit of dirt off of the skin, but what about all those chemicals that have inevitably seeped into every cell of the spud as it grew surrounded by toxic pesticides?  Would I spray kitchen cleaner on this potato to clean the dirt from its skin?  Absolutely not.  We all know it’s not safe to ingest kitchen cleaner.  But apparently it’s safe to ingest Roundup?  And Bud Nip?

Unanswered questions keep piling up in my mind.  I’ve read Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food and I’m currently working my way through Maria Rodale’s Organic Manifesto.  I watched Food Inc., and there are a stack of library books on my counter waiting to be read including Food Matters, Botany of Desire, and Food Rules.  I am passionate about learning all that I can about the industrialized food industry and growing organically.

But the more I learn, the more appalled I become.

The studies are alarming.  Diagnoses for autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity, asthma, diabetes, and childhood obesity are at all time highs, and according to a study done by Dr. Devra Davis, 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will develop cancer at some point in their lifetimes.  Is it coincidence that our nation’s health has deteriorated as the use of chemicals in the American food industry and the number of processed goods in our stores have soared?

These are the questions filling my head, and I’m hungry to learn all that I can.  What do you think?  Do you choose not to think about these issues?  How do you feel about eating organic?  What about eating local?  How do you know local foods are, in fact, organic?

 

I went to a sausage making class and emerged three hours later a fleeting vegetarian.

Bring on the beans and cheese.

Of course, I expected a slightly different outcome when I signed up for the class.  Visions of grinding my own meat and hand-stuffing thick chicken, turkey, and pork sausages filled my thoughts while mounds of frozen links filled my fantasized freezer.  I was one excited sausageer – that is until I spent 3 hours huddled around fifteen pounds of raw pork.  There was just so much meat and so many people and so much talk about the step-by-step process involved in getting the poor free range piggies from the farm to that fork you’re holding in your hand there.  And the smell…. oh dear god the smell.

I didn’t know it was possible to get the meat sweats without actually consuming meat.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had a run in with meat-nausea.  It took me years to be able to handle raw meat.  In fact, during college and my first post-college years I lived on pasta, rotisserie chicken, lunch meat, canned tuna, and EGGS.  Lots of eggs.  As I grew older, I slowly started cooking my own meat.  Sure, at first I had to use two tongs to handle the meat, taking special care that my skin did not come into the slightest contact with anything slimy and especially taking care not to get a whiff of anything.  Anything.  I had no problem eating meat–in fact I loved meat–I just didn’t want to be near anything that wasn’t fully and completely (is that pink I see?!) cooked.

After time, I got past it.  I stopped thinking about meat as animal remains and instead chose to shroud myself in a cloud of blissful unawareness.  I completely broke the link between the meat case at the grocery store and the cows grazing the farm next to my highschool.  Heck, I even started making my own hamburgers and meatloaf—without using gloves, no less.

And then I went to this sausage making class…. 

And, whelp, I haven’t eaten meat since Sunday, which by my calculation is the longest I have gone without meat since the day my mom switched me to solids.

At first I was confused.  If I don’t eat meat… well, what do I eat???  

Thus far, I’ve managed to nourish myself with potatoes, beans, hummus, Trader Joe’s Veggie Masala Burgers (love!), and lots of veggies and fruit.  Honestly, I don’t intend to remain a vegetarian nor am I devoted to it for the short term.  I think the human body needs meat.  It is designed to eat meat.  I WANT to eat meat… as soon as I quit getting queasy every time I see or hear the word “meat” that is.

Easy Cheesy Black Bean Burritos

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Serves	2
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	10 minutes
Total time	25 minutes
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Serve Hot

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1/4 cup white onion (chopped)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon Mexican chili powder (or substitute regular chili powder)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1/4 cup prepared salsa
• hot sauce (to taste)
• 2 low carb tortillas (I used Trader Joe's brand)

Optional toppings

• shredded mexican cheese blend
• tomatoes (chopped)
• white onion (chopped)
• plain nonfat greek yogurt

Note

Adapted from Cooking Light's Chipotle Bean Burritos

Stats on 1 burrito (includes half of bean mixture using Trader Joe's organic black beans, 1 Trader Joe's low-carb tortilla, salsa of choice, 1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek Yogurt, tomato, onion, 2 tbsp cheddar cheese):  344 Calories, 57g carbs, 6g fat, 26g protein, 14g fiber

Directions

Step 1	Heat a small skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic, 1/4 cup onion, cayenne, chili powder, and salt. Saute for a minute, then add water and beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 2	Remove beans from heat, stir in salsa and hot sauce, and use a wooden spoon to partially smash the beans (chunky texture is good). Spoon half of the mixture onto a tortilla and add toppings of choice, such as additional salsa, hot sauce, plain Greek yogurt, tomato, onion, or cheese.

 

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. Spicy black bean burgers two ways
2. Shrimp & Bean Tostado
3. Black & White Chicken Chili

In December, I signed up for the Charlotte Racefest (my first ever half marathon), but after four long months of training ending with yet ANOTHER knee injury, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to run it.  This time around, I hurt my knee doing lunges in a bootcamp class at the Y.  When will I learn?  I took it easy the entire month before the big race, but when race day arrived I still wasn’t confident I’d be able to run 13.1 miles.  At that point, I only had two 10-mile runs under my belt.

Since I’d already forked out the cash for the half marathon, I decided to at least attempt to run it.  During the race, I tried not to think too much about my knees, but as the miles ticked by I couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded that I was still running.  Most of the race was shrouded in a euphoric haze, but as I neared the finish line I started to feel nauseus.  My pace slowed, and I began to feel dizzy.  With every step, the looming finish line appeared to be one step further away.  At that moment, the BF jumped out from the sidelines smiling and hooting and clapping his hands like a crazy man.  I was so close.  I put my head down, dug my heels in, and pumped my arms.  Seconds later I crossed the finish line clocking in at 1:56:58–literally seconds below my original 9-minute mile goal!

As I hobbled to the sideline, I could do nothing but let out an exasperated “BOO YA.”  Some knees just aren’t made for running, my ass.

Here are the top 9 things I learned while training for my first half marathon:

#1  Buy good shoes.  This one is #1 for a reason, and I can’t stress it enough.  The first time I hurt my knee, it was completely and solely due to the fact that I was wearing a cheap pair of old cross trainers.  I urge you to go to a real running store and hop on the treadmill.  Have the sales associate watch your running patterns and check to see if you under or over pronate your ankles.  Is your stride too long?  Are you heel striking?  (I was!)  Don’t buy shoes based solely on the sweet color or the cool gel thingy in the heel.  It’s hard, I know.  I LOVE my Asics Gel Nimbus 13′s, and plan to get a new pair this month!

#2  Create a plan (brownie points if you use Excel).  When you’re training for a long distance race, especially if it’s your first one, you can’t just approach it all willy nilly.  Are you serious about completing the race?  Yes?  Well then sit your butt down, do some research, and create your plan of attack.  Make sure to factor in short runs, long runs, and those extremely important recovery days.  Check out my half marathon training plan here.

#3  Stick to the plan.  Here’s the bottom line:  if you miss a run, you are only cheating yourself.  Plain and simple.  Remember, all runs are important — not just the long ones.

#4  Listen to your body.  YES you need to stick to the plan.  However, there’s a big difference between missing a run because you’re feeling lazy and tired and just want to curl up on the couch and watch Big Bang Theory reruns versus missing a run because of an injury.  When I hurt my knee AGAIN a month before the big race, I was forced me to miss out on 75% of my last month of training.   My knees had had ENOUGH.  I knew it.  My knees knew it.  Had I forced myself to continue to run through the injury, the injury would have gotten much more serious.  Period.

#5  Food.  Food is extremely important.  Your body needs to be properly fueled, especially for long runs.  Choose your pre-run grub wisely.  Unfortunately, there is no one-size fits all meal plan.  Each of our bodies reacts differently to different foods.  It may take some trial and error to help you find balance between energizing yourself and not feeling weighed down.  For long runs (longer than 1 hour), make sure to bring a snack.  Something soft and easy to chew (like a Larabar) is ideal.  I do not recommend fiber bars for mid-run snacks.  I speak from experience on this one…  Enough said.

#6  Go #1 AND #2 (if possible) before your long runs.  This is serious.

#7  Stay hydrated.  EVERY. DAY.  Dehydration can cause all sorts of problems–headaches, fatigue, and JOINT PAIN.  I’ve found I tend to drink more when I have a glass with a straw, so I keep a tumbler full of ice water on my desk at work all day long.

#8  Cut your toenails or face injury.

#9  Your legs and toes might go numb mid-run.  I’m not sure if everyone has this problem, but I sure do.  I’ve found that doing a few quick high knees and a few toe scrunches helps to keep the blood flowing without having to stop and stretch.  During a race, I make sure to do this quick combo at every mile marker.  Sure it may look a little funny, but heyyyy I can feel my legs!!!

 

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. My Half Marathon Training Plan
2. Things I’ve learned over a week in Charlotte
3. Strength Training & a Breakfast Sandwich

Last time Tracy visited, we quickly realized there are TONS of “gluten-free friendly” restaurants in Charlotte, but far fewer actually post their gluten-free options on the web.  So, I’ve been in research mode over the past couple of weeks and pulled together the list below, which links to each restaurant’s GF menu and/or a menu that indicates which items are gluten-free.

Know of a restaurant I missed?  Leave me a comment with a link to the menu below!

Restaurants located uptown are marked with a *

131 Main
Basil Thai*
Bad Daddy’s
Blue Basil
Blue*
Bricktops
Brixx*
Cowfish
Encore
Firebirds

Fuel Pizza*
Harpers
Harvest Moon Grille*
Jason’s Deli*
Luna’s Living Kitchen
Mama Fu’s
Mellow mushroom
Melting Pot
Midwood Smokehouse

Morton’s
Pure Taqueria
Red rocks café
Shanes rib shack
Souper!Salad
Village Tavern
Vivace
Zoe’s

Other delicious restaurants that have gluten-free menus (not available online):

• 300 East
• Cantina 1511
• Pacos Tacos
• Mama Ricottas
• Rooster’s wood fired kitchen
• Toast Cafe

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. Malabar – Charlotte, NC {restaurant review}
2. Smalls Food & Spirits – Charlotte, NC {restaurant review}
3. Charlotte Foodie Scrap Book

His response?

“I dono.”

After our bodies worked through the haze of early morning overeating, dad would move on to lunch.  Lunches were varied, but one of my favorites were the tuna melts he’d make on cold days, rainy days, or days that otherwise demanded a comforting hot melty sandwich.  After the recent potato-text heartbreak, I didn’t bother asking dad what he put in those tuna melts.  Rather, I choose to focus solely on the memory:  jumbo kaiser rolls loaded with mayonnaise-laden tuna, hunks of fresh cheddar cheese, and chopped up dill pickles.  He’d wrap those giant sandwiches in foil and toss them right into the oven—no cookie sheet needed (which I remember wordlessly opposing).  After a half hour or so, he’d reach into the oven with a giant pot holder.  We’d line up, plates held tightly in our little hands, and dad would plop a massive foil pack on each one.

I still put pickles in my tuna on occasion, just for nostalgia sake, but more often than not I go with this lightened up tuna recipe.  Chopped celery and red onion give the tuna bulk and a desirable crunchy texture.  Pickles, optional.  And if you use Miracle Whip, I will personally come to your house and flog you.

Tuna Salad

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Ingredients

• 4oz solid white albacore tuna (drained)
• 1 tablespoon light mayonnaise (such as Hellmann's)
• 2 tablespoons fat-free plain Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon mustard (Dijon, stadium, or brown)
• 2 tablespoons diced red onion
• 1/4 cup diced celery
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/8 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/8 teaspoon celery seed (optional)

Note

Stats on the tuna salad:  196 calories, 7g carbs, 6g fat, 26g protein, 1g fiber, 2g sugar

Directions

Step 1

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Serve as a sandwich or atop a bed of mixed greens with tomato, cucumber, or veggies of choice.

 

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. Saturday eggs, smoothies, & tuna salad
2. Chicken Couscous Salad Salad
3. 10 Calorie Iced Mocha (yes, really).

While we waited for the tasting to begin, we sampled a few of the 12 bottles of moonshine Ten keeps on tap, including cinnamon moonshine, apple pie moonshine, and my personal favorite:  blueberry infused moonshine lemonade:

It’s all about options at Ten, including the choice of four different barbecue sauces.

• Chipotle Apricot:  sweet and tangy with a gold mustard base
• Coffee Jalapeno:  smoky and spicy
• Piedmont Blond:  tangy vinegar with a hint of ketchup
• Double Honeycomb:  sweet and sticky

Ten’s menu is sprawling, and we got to scratch the surface through a six-course tasting.  SIX. COURSES.

Course #1:  Starters, Sliders, & Sticks

Dinner began with southern style fried pickles and jalapenos ($6).

Fried pickles are a mainstay here in North Carolina, and I’ve had good ones and bad.  The bad usually come in the form of greasy, thinly sliced pickles with breading that slides off when you bite into it.  The pickles at Ten avoided all these snafus – they were cut on the thick side and the breading held on with each bite.  The addition of jalapenos added a nice heat kick, and the app wasn’t greasy at all.

Next, we were on to the Sliders and Sticks portion of the menu.  First up:  PBR Sliders with shaved smoked angus prime rib, local blue cheese, roasted sweet onions, and homemade garlic mayo ($6).

These sliders were one of my favorites items of the night.  The local blue cheese was very mild and added a hint of tang without overpowering the prime rib or the sweet caramelized onions.  One can only hope that they start selling these little guys by the case.  Please.

The smoked pork belly skewers with grilled naan ($6) were one of my least favorite plates of the evening:

I’m no pork belly connoisseur.  In fact, I’ve only tried it once before and found the squishy texture disturbing and unappealing.  The porky belly skewer at Ten was a completely different experience.  The meat had bite to it – it didn’t fall apart in my mouth.  This skewer was served naked so that you could add the sauce of your choice to the meat. Even with the addition of bbq sauce and the warm charred naan, the appetizer lacked cohesiveness.   I’d pass on ordering this next time.

Course #2:  Fresh Tossed Salads

First we tasted grandma’s salad, featuring mixed greens, smoked gouda, roasted almonds, turkey breast, orchard apple, dried cranberries, and sweet basil jam vinaigrette ($6 for a small salad).  This salad was absolutely delicious, especially the dressing.

Salad #2 was the Carolina greens salad, which included baby arugula, chopped romaine candied pecans, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and a herb-shallot vinaigrette ($6 for a small salad). 

The flavor profile of this salad was much milder than the first.  I don’t usually prefer fruit in my salads, but the fruit in both of these dishes was used sparingly and added just a touch of sweetness.  Both of the dressings were fabulous.

Course #3:  Fired Flatbreads and Retro Burgers

After our salads, we moved onto the BBQ Chicken flatbread pizza.  It included slow roasted chicken, applewood bacon, caramelized onions, fresh mozzarella, smoked gouda, and cilantro ($9)

This pizza was so good I burnt my mouth on it… TWICE.  I was incapable of waiting for it to cool off.  The barbecue was tangy and not overly sweet–the perfect balance.

Next we tried the Fifty-50 Burger, which is made from a blend of prime angus beef and pecan smoked bacon ($9).

I was amped to try these burgers, but I found them disappointing.  The meat was dry and lacked flavor, and the sandwich as a whole was pretty bland.  I’d pass on these burgers in the future.

Course #4:  Smokeshack BBQ and Sides

I couldn’t wait to try some meat at Ten.  They use a custom built 400 pound smoker to cook up ribs, chicken, pork, sausage, and beef.  We first got to sample the pulled Boston butt ($11).

And then the St. Louis Cut Ribs (4 Bones $10)

One bite into the rib and the entire hunk of meat slid right off the bone it was so tender.  Both meats were juicy and flavorful–I didn’t even need to add additional bbq sauce.

For sides, we tried the creamy cheddar mac & cheese ($5) and Sunday baked beans ($3):

After fried pickles, macaroni and cheese is the second most important southern tradition.  I adore it.  Ten’s version is creamy with a strong cheddar taste.  I passed on the beans and instead mixed a big hunk of pork butt in the macaroni.  THAT was a droolworthy combination.

Course Five:  DESSSERT

The evening ended with a slice of homemade moonshine pecan pie.  The pie had a crisp top layer and a sinfully creamy middle.  I couldn’t taste the moonshine, but I’m fairly certain there were miniature chocolate chips in there.

It was divine.

Overall, I was very impressed with the food at Ten at Park Lanes.  The PBR slider, barbecue chicken pizza, mac and cheese with pork butt, blueberry lemonade, and pecan pie were my favorites of the night (honestly, I couldn’t narrow the list down any more than that).  The menu has at least a dozen other dishes I can’t wait to try, including the goat cheese spinach dip, pulled pork tacos, and the southern spiced sausage skewers.

 

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. Malabar – Charlotte, NC {restaurant review}
2. Smalls Food & Spirits – Charlotte, NC {restaurant review}
3. E2 Emeril’s Eatery – Charlotte, NC {restaurant review}

Besides the bugs, the gym is also crowded with people frantically getting ready for you-know-what season.  Ok, fine.  I’ll say it.  The dreaded swimsuit season.

*cringe*

This time of year, swimsuits are in the back of my mind (in that deep dark spot where I keep all my greatest horrors hidden).  Instead, I’m primed for a different sort of season:  Sandwich Season.

I love the standard PB & banana sandwich or a turkey with pepper jack, but sometimes I crave something a little fancier.  A little pizzazz between my buns, if you know what I mean. This turkey artichoke panini is an admitted hodge podge, but the result was worthy of inhalation.  And boy did I inhale.  The secret is in the sauce. Garlic Aioli—the schmear of gods. My boyfriend swears up and down that he LOATHES lemons, but he’ll slather this aioli on anything and everything.  Its simplicity makes it all the more delicious.

Did I mention this panini is less than 350 calories?  Maybe getting ready for swimsuit season won’t be completely and entirely horrific after all?

Turkey Artichoke Panini

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Serves	1
Prep time	5 minutes
Cook time	5 minutes
Total time	10 minutes
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish

Ingredients

• 2oz ciabatta (Or a ~130 calorie roll)
• 3oz deli turkey
• 1 slice reduced fat provolone cheese (such as Sargento's)
• 1 slice tomato
• 1/4 cup roasted red peppers (sliced)
• 1/4 cup marinated artichoke heart pieces
• 2 dashes hot sauce (preferably Frank's Red Hot)
• 1 tablespoon garlic aioli (see separate recipe)

Note

Per serving:  345 calories, 37g carbs, 10g fat, 30g protein, 2g fiber

Directions

Step 1	Smear each side of ciabatta roll with half of the garlic aioli. Top with remaining ingredients, then sandwich two sides together.
Step 2	Grill on an indoor contact grill (such as a George Foreman Grill) until the cheese is melted and the bread is crispy. Alternatvely, tightly wrap the sandwich in foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Garlic Aioli

Print recipe

Serves	4
Prep time	2 minutes
Meal type	Condiment
Misc	Serve Cold

This is a simple spread that adds a WOW factor to sandwiches, burgers, and wraps.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup reduced fat mayonnaise (preferably Hellmann's)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Note

Per serving:  36 calories, 2g carbs, 4g fat, 0g protein, 0g fiber

Miracle Whip is NOT mayonnaise.  Do not go there.  Do not.

Directions

Step 1

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate.

 

Last month I realized some of my favorite dishes from Coco’s are now served at Luce, a sister restaurant located in the same courtyard, mere steps away.  So then I became a little less angry and slightly less hostile and decided to finally try Malabar. 

Inside Malabar, the seating area is quaint with about 15 or so tables.  They tend to fill up shortly after noon and again around 6:30 in the evening.

There is also a bar area with a handful of stools.

The Malabar dinner menu boasts four types of tapas (vegetable, meat, seafood, and cheese), plus entrees, and traditional made-to-order paella.

I needed a cocktail to assist me in analyzing the menu, and I opted for the Caipirinha, which had a mango puree and fresh muddled basil.  It was different from traditional Brazilian Caipirinha, but very enjoyable nonetheless.

It wasn’t an easy decision, but we opted for tapas rather than paella so that we could sample more of the menu.

The star plate of the evening was the Almejas a la Mancha (sautéed clams, chorizo, and saffron).  At only $10, I think this was a pretty generous serving.

Both the chorizo and the clams were tender and coated in a delicious Spanish red sauce.  My best bite was a sauce soaked piece of bread, topped with a large slice of chorizo, and garnished with a succulent clam.

We also order the Croquetas ($8).  These were basically little fried logs of mashed potatoes.  They were decadently creamy, but the best part of the dish was the garlicky white sauce the croquetas were perched upon.  The menu says the croquetas are made of potato, manchego, and jamón serrano.  The potato and manchego were definitely there, but ham and pepper?  I couldn’t taste either of them.  And only three croquetas for $8?  Overpriced in my opinion.

Next was the Braised Beef Empanadas ($9).  The plate came with four empanadas, which were good but in SERIOUS need of a sauce.  Thankfully we had leftover red sauce from the clams and chorizo, and a spoonful on each empanada completely transformed the plate.

I went back to Malabar for lunch and tried their Cubano with pork and ham, homemade pickles, swiss cheese, and mustard for $9.  This sandwich was OK, but I was a bit disappointed.  This is North Carolina, and I was expecting hunks of succulent pork.  Instead, the sandwich had thinly-sliced lunch-meat style barely discernible meats.

For vegetarians or those looking for a lighter option, Malabar has several entree salads available in the $10 price range.  You can opt to get the salads without meat, bringing the price down to a mere $5.

On the whole, I like Malabar but I don’t love it.  There are several other tapas on the menu I’d like to try as well as the paella, so I will return.  In addition to the paella, I’ve heard great things about the Pimientos Rellenos and Albondigas (beef meatballs in tomato sauce).

 

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. Smalls Food & Spirits – Charlotte, NC {restaurant review}
2. E2 Emeril’s Eatery – Charlotte, NC {restaurant review}
3. Charlotte Foodie Scrap Book

Earlier this year, I FINALLY made the switch to self-host my website, and with that switch came a newer even weirder passion.  I’m talking about the passion for website development and administration.  I know this sounds incredibly nerdy, but if you’re thinking about self-hosting a website (or have recently made the switch) I KNOW you understand what I’m saying.  Self-hosting gives you an insane amount of flexibility—the hard part is figuring out what tools are out there, what exactly you want, and how the heck to implement it.  Implementation proved trickier than I anticipated—so I hit the web looking for help on the ins and outs of WordPress self-hosting.  I stumbled upon the Blogging Your Passion website last month, but when I searched for reviews of the program I came up short.  So I hesitated.

Then, I decided to sit in on a free webinar with the guys from BYP.  In that hour alone I easily learned over five new tools I wanted to implement on my blog, so I stopped hesitating and decided to give their Blogging Your Passion University (BYPU) 201 course a shot.  I’ve spent each night over the past week sprawled out on the couch listening to the videos, typing up notes, and making changes to the blog (thank god for pause buttons).  I’ve learned more about WordPress, site plugins, SEO, and getting my blog name out there in this week than I have learned in nearly two years of blogging.  I’ve gotten so much out of the videos, that I wanted to share my virtual two thumbs up with you all in case you too are searching for help with WordPress self-hosting.  The BYPU 201 course is the second in the BYPU series and is geared toward those who already have a self-hosted blog up and running and are looking to take things to the next level.  The BYPU 101 course is geared toward those who are just starting out in the blogging world and who need assistance with how to self host WordPress blogs.  Both of the courses are ridiculously inexpensive, and I cannot overstate how valuable I have found the 201 videos.

If you are interested, follow these links to read all about the BYPU 101 course and BYPU 201 course.

At the time of this post, the cost of the courses are as follows:

• BYPU 101:  $18.50 (after 50% discount with promo code “101sale”)
• BYPU 201:  $37.00 (after $20 discount with promo code “201sale”)

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Granted this fantasy hinges on my baking experience, which consists primarily of baking the cookie recipe on the back of the Nestle chocolate chips bag a thousand times or two.  (I don’t care what people say—it’s ok to use the recipe on the back of the bag.)

Fresh-baked bread is one of the simple pleasures in life.  I consider myself a free-basket-of-bread connoisseur, but I’ve never been behind the scenes at a cafe (or a bakery for that matter).  That is until last month, when I got the opportunity to knead some dough at the Great Harvest Bread Co. in North Charlotte.

Great Harvest is a national franchise, but each location is independently owned and operated as an individual small business.  Melissa, the owner of the North Charlotte Great Harvest, says this business model gives each owner freedom to tailor their store to meet their specific market.  For Charlotte, this means pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and lots of pepperoni bread to please us northern transplants.  (Insert wide eyes and belly rubbing here.)   Melissa’s store is now baking gluten-free bread and is also introducing a new Strawberry Lemonade muffin this month.

Once I arrived at Great Harvest, I was given a GH t-shirt and put to work kneading dough with the rest of the team.  I’ve kneaded dough before… in the privacy of my own kitchen with no supervision.  I had intentions of writing all about the steps involved in kneading the perfect dough ball, but it turns out many of mine weren’t up to par.  Melissa says the key to making great bread is PRACTICE, followed by more practice, good ingredients, fresh yeast, and PRACTICE.  Sounds like I have an excuse to bake some bread this spring!

Cinnamon chip is one of the most popular items at the North Charlotte location.  Here are a dozen or so loaves waiting for their turn in the oven:

Holy.cheese.bread.  Seeing this massive mound of dough with huge hunks of cheddar poking through may have been my favorite moment of the day.

I was also a sucker for these swirl breads.  The loaves were monstrous.  Some were stuffed with sweet cinnamon and pecans and some were stuffed with parmesan and pesto:

The smell of the pesto parmesan swirls was intoxicating.  I had to take one home.  And I did, of course.

The honey whole wheat loaves are another one of Melissa’s top sellers:

Check out the ingredients list on the Honey Whole Wheat and Farmhouse White bread.  Each has a whopping FIVE ingredients.  No crazy concoctions you can’t pronounce–just flour, honey, yeast, salt, and eggs.  That is how bread should be made, folks.

Besides the bread, there were lots of sweet treats in process:

Tell me this doesn’t look divine.

Did you know Great Harvest offers *free* samples of their daily specials?  Just walk on in and try before you buy.  Trust me, once you have a taste you will need to take some home with you.

I think I look right at home here!

I dare say, getting to work behind the scenes has taken my love of bread to a whole new level.  I admire the guts it took for Melissa to make the move from the corporate world to opening her own bakery.  She says sometimes you just have to take a chance!  Spending the day at Great Harvest showed me that running your own business is no piece of cake (and good thing because cake isn’t on the menu at GH), but when you are pouring your energy into something you are passionate about it sure does make the day sweeter.

 

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. Bananas Foster Bread
2. The great salad extraction…