Fervent Foodie

Beans and Bulgur {recipe}

December 11, 2012 3 Comments

I had some free time over the weekend, so I sat down with my laptop, opened up Excel, and scheduled out every hour of my work week in a beautifully color coded spreadsheet.

Did I mention I’m an accountant?

Right.

Anyway, once I factored in sleep, work, exercise, commute, time to eat, and bathing/primp time, I found I have about three hours of “free” time each work day. THREE. I have big aspirations each week—home cooked meals, coffee with friends, blogging, Wheel of Fortune, flossing, plus 30 minutes of reading before bed—but with these dismal findings, it’s clear I can’t squeeze all of that in every night.

Years ago, in an effort to increase my workweek free time, I started batch cooking food on Sundays. Sunday morning, while I sip my coffee and listen to NPR, I get to work in kitchen cooking meals for the workweek and portioning them into single-serve containers. The single-serve containers are KEY.

A typical Sunday cooking session includes:

5 servings of steel cut oats with almonds, blueberries, and cinnamon
2 servings of quinoa (for sprinkling on salad)
2 salads. Lately it’s mixed greens, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, feta cheese, and half a serving of cold quinoa plus balsamic vinaigrette (in a separate container). I only prepare salads two at a time because I HATE soggy veggies. Blegh.
5 snacks. My go-tos are hummus & veggies, Greek yogurt and fruit, or a loaf of sprouted bread that I keep at work along with some PB to make sandwiches at my desk. Don’t judge. I also keep a container of almonds in my desk drawer.
The wild card: something, ANYTHING, I can use for workweek dinners

On a normal work day, I make myself eggs and toast before heading to the office, but when I’m really crunched for time I’ll cook a large batch of scrambled eggs or an egg casserole on Sunday that I can quickly heat up each morning before heading out the door.

I can get by eating the same breakfast, lunch, and snacks most days of the week, but when it comes to dinner I honestly get depressed if I eat the same boring thing every night.

Dinner ideas usually come from brainstorming ways to use up leftovers from the weekend. Other times I’ll cook a big batch of something that I can use in many different ways, so I don’t get stuck eating the same thing four nights in a row. That could be a giant roasted spaghetti squash, a batch of black bean burgers, or a pot of some sort of grain. This week, my dinners will revolve around a big ole batch of beans and bulgur.

Restaurants

Two soups, two salads, two trips to Panera

December 7, 2012 3 Comments

I’m sick.

And not just in the present sense of the word, but also the past. And the forseeable future. It’s been a WHOLE week of sniffing and hacking topped with days of my voice cracking like a 13 year old boy on the verge of the big change. You know. The change.

And then my voice just up and left, which has made work rather interesting. I swear, I’m not ignoring my ringing phone for any other reason. Promise. Twice this week as I walked out of the office all I could think about was soup. Hot steamy soup to soothe my sore scratchy throat. So, twice this week I walked over to Panera and whispered my order to two very patient employees.

I’ll have the you-pick-two please *cough* *cough* (while holding up two fingers for emphasis).

I always go with the you-pick-two at Panera, which gives you the options of half sandwiches, salads, and soups. I’m a creature of habit, so I usually go with one of two soups: the Vegetarian Black Bean, which is a teeny bit spicy with garlic and cumin, OR the Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice.

Recipes

Easy Chicken & Bean Wet Burritos {recipe}

December 6, 2012 2 Comments

Ok guys, what’s the difference between a wet burrito and an enchilada? Is it really just the size of tortilla? A little tortilla leaves the filling exposed, while a big burrito-sized tortilla tucks everything into a nice little package. Is that all it is?!

I took a look on Wikipedia, and there’s mention that enchiladas are made with corn tortillas, while burritos are made with flour tortillas—but, I’m certain I’ve had flour tortilla enchiladas at Mexican restaurants… Plus, wet burritos are often called “enchilada-style” burritos.

Beats me.

Tonight, I was in the mood for something warm and gooey and hearty and comforting. Normally, this sort of craving would be assuaged by my sausage lasagna or a vat of creamy mashed potatoes, but this time around I opted for cheese and beans. You see, thanks to the folks at Cabot Cheese, I entered the week with eight bricks of assorted cheeses in my fridge. What’s a girl to do with EIGHT bricks of cheese? Cheese dip, cheeseburgers, cheese grits, cheese-on-a-stick… Yes.

Urbanspoon

Most buzzed about bakeries in North America

December 3, 2012 No Comments

Bread, COOKIES, muffins, scones… I want it all. It’s my inner Veruca Salt–she cannot be appeased. Well, not without a hearty handful of carbohydrates, anyway. For fun, I pulled together a list of the most talked about bakeries on Urbanspoon, based on votes and buzz, and did a little digging into their tastiest wares. I’ve got quite the continental bakery wishlist now!

Fervent Foodie is a contributing writer for the official Urbanspoon blog.

We’ve all heard the term “sweet tooth,” which makes us crave crazy things like Snickers bars slathered with Nutella and marshmallow fluff, but the less familiar “carb tooth” creates some equally intense cravings for yeasty, buttery breads and crumbly three cheese scones. To satisfy both a sweet tooth and a carb tooth, a trip to the bakery is in order. There are over 10,000 bakeries listed on Urbanspoon, and their specialties span the gamut from meat-filled ciabatta to double-stuffed whoopie pies.

Continue reading about the best bakeries in the world.

Duchess Bake Shop Meringue — photo by Nikki Stoyko

Looking for more of the world’s best bakeries? Check out this list of Urbanspoon’s most talked about bakeries.

Travel, What I ate

22 hours in New York City

November 29, 2012 No Comments

This week, I had the pleasure of spending 22 hours in New York City, 11 of which were dedicated to work, 8 to sleep, and 1 to my morning get-ready rituals, leaving 2 measily hours for exploration. Luckily, those work hours included a great dinner at ViceVersa, an Italian restaurant on West 51st. ViceVersa’s menu is fairly mellow, but with hopes of eating something I could only find in New York, I ordered the Casoncelli, a pillowy pasta stuffed with crumbled veal, raisins, and crushed amaretto cookies, of all things, topped with butter and fantastically salty slivers of pancetta. Let’s not forget the wine and the delicious garlic and herb house bread.

Even though time was scant, there were three key New York moments during my trip that made me smile like only an out-of-towner can.

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