It’s no secret I’ve been posting less than usual. I wish I had a really cool excuse for not being able to blog but I have 5 semi-cool excuses: NYC, Baltimore, Vancouver, Portland, California. Yep, 5 cities all around the country in 12 days.

It started in NYC for the 100 Days Out event for the Olympics in Times Sq.

And bomb veggie balls at The Meatball Shop.

Then, off to Baltimore for a little waterfront and raw bar’in at Thames Street Oyster House. 

After Baltimore, why not head to the West coast to hit up a Farmer’s Market in Vancouver, WA.

And a Sunday afternoon run with perfect scenery…can we just talk about how it was 80 degrees and sunny in WA?!

In case you’re not up on your WA geography, Portland, OR (a foodie’s dream city) is right beyond this river. Although I stayed in Vancouver, you better believe I got my eat on in Portland.

My favorite meal was at Tabla Bistro. This salad was heavenly – black kale and roasted parsnips w/ Romesco sauce and smoked salmon cream. Best salad of life. 

This Dungeness crab risotto w/ meyer lemon at The Farm Cafe was also mouth watering. Great reco from Portland foodie expert, Jessie, of Bee Rooted.

Ended on a high note at Farm Cafe with this rose creme brûlée.

We couldn’t dine in Portland without checking out Andy Ricker’s Pok Pok. Talk about authentic Thai! 

Even without all the delicious food, Portland is a truly beautiful place with lots of great hiking spots, like this one.

I would show you some pictures of California…except that I stayed in Ontario…where the local restaurant list boasts Wendy’s, Marie Callender’s, and Applebees. Needless to say, not a whole lot of blog worthy content! 

I just got back from Idaho and now I’m staying put until my vacation with Steve to Mexico! Counting down the days!

Peace, love, and food,

Kara 

What have some of your favorite eats been while traveling? 

After my Napa Valley excursion, I flew straight to San Antonio. I was battling off the post-Napa Valley blues but San Antonio was a pretty decent place to recover. My first time to TX, I was in my element as soon as the heat hit me. I’m all about warm weather. Give me some sun, a dress and flip-flops, and I’m one happy camper. 

That’s what San Antonio gave me. It also provided some great cocktails and grub. I have to admit that I literally ate Mexican and Southwest fare for lunch and dinner daily. Needless to say, I shut down any suggestion for Mexican food when I returned home to Boston.

My favorite restaurant in San Antonio also had my favorite coasters…Ocho Lounge. 

Ocho was in the Hotel Havana which was basically Texas meets hippies. It was the coolest hotel I’ve ever seen and definitely will be staying there for future trips to the Alamo city. Think vintage. Think art. Think funky colors. 

We got an ideal spot right next to the open door with a view of the river and a nice cool breeze. 

Cocktail by candlelight. 

Unfortunately, most of my meals were outside at night with minimal lighting for picture taking! We did have a delicious lunch (in daylight!) at Boudros though. 

This place had me at “table-side guacamole.” 

I may have eaten guac every day I was there…my favorite was the avocado and poblano salsa at Ocho. This table-side guac had a great citrusy taste – considering they squeezed in fresh lemon, lime and orange juice!

Boudros (on the river walk) also had some good company to dine with…

And some refreshing beverages…prickly pear margarita?! For real. 

I definitely got my taste of San Antonio between fish tacos, gallons of guacamole, margaritas, quesadillas and churros.

I think I’m set until my next Texas rendezvous. I’d love to explore Austin sometime. 

Peace, love, and food,

Kara

Have you been to Texas before? What were your favorite eats? 

First it was Boulder, CO. Now it’s Napa Valley. I’m referring to the “I just had the most amazing indulgent weekend away and now I want to permanently live here” effect.

Yup, Napa Valley, you had me at hello.

I spent this past weekend in Napa at Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives and had some free time to explore. “Exploring” in Napa is code for “eating delicious food and drinking wine” because really that was the theme of the trip.

We visited some really cool wineries including the more touristy spots:

Castello di Amoroso

Darioush

Del Dotto

And the local best kept secrets:

Bremer Family

It’s not every day I do a wine tasting but I really appreciate how much more knowledgable I am about wine afterward. For instance, I now know the difference between a creamy and an oaky chardonnay. I could tell ya what a Cab Franc is (and that I love it). But most importantly, I could guide you through an official barrel tasting.   It involves a lot of stirring, sipping, swishing, and sniffing. Being the foodie that I am, I totally appreciate the process of making wine and loved learning about it during this trip.

With great wine comes great food. I’m still swooning over a few of my fav dishes:

Spinach and ricotta raviolo. Farm fresh egg. Fried sage. Brown butter. @ Bottega

 Mozzarella (Hand stretched and made to order) @ Tra Vigne

Butterscotch and sea salt caramel panna cotta @ Tra Vigne

Other great local eats included Cook and Ad Hoc.

I managed to cook some of my own food too at HKHL with Chef Patrick. My coworkers and I made a beautiful Romesco sauce at a cooking class all about legumes and nuts. We had some fun getting our hands dirty in the CIA kitchen. I never realized how much patience it takes to separate the skin from the flesh of an ancho chile!

So great food, great wine, what more could you ask for you say? How about a beautiful landscape? Oh yea, got that covered too.

Herb garden @ French Laundry

Yep, Boulder, CO, you’ve got yourself some friendly competition. I could totally spend my days in Napa Valley soaking up the beautiful scenery, sipping delicious wine, and savoring local food.

Until next time, Napa.

Peace, love, and food,

Kara

Have you been to Napa Valley before? Have you had weekend away lately that you didn’t want to end?

Maybe gypsy is stretching it just a wee bit but I have been traveling a good deal and it’s only just started! A couple weekends ago I was in Las Vegas for the WMDPG Symposium. It was my first trip to Vegas and I’m still in awe of the entire scene. 

I’ve heard it referred to as an adult playground or Disney World and I can see why. Any city where you can buy alcohol on the street and walk with it at your leisure is the perfect setting for an adult playground if you ask me (and makes for some interesting sight seeing). 

I’m not a gambler by any means but I did manage to enjoy the strip and the casino scene. Mostly I just enjoyed watching folks getting really really worked up at the black jack tables. 

In all seriousness though, I enjoyed a really great dinner at Sushi Roku. There’s a handful of locations on the west coast from Arizona to LA. The sushi was delicious.

Tuna Sashimi Carpachio. Sesame Soy & Garlic Chips.

Shima Roll: Shrimp wrapped spicy tuna, avocado & cilantro.

Assorted Sashimi.

Seaweed salad.

 A few other favorite snapshots of Vegas:

Fountain show at the Bellagio.

Palms. Not to be confused with the casino.

Hotel pool…and beach?

Beatles Love Cirque Du Soleil

CHO at the SHOW.

NYC in Vegas?

Big Lights. Big City.

Next stop for this traveling gypsy: Napa Valley. A wine lover and foodie’s paradise…

Peace, love, and food,

Kara

My dear friend and colleague, Stephanie, wrote a post just in time for the Leap Year! She provides some simple, effective tips on how you can take steps to live a healthier and longer life. As for me, I’m traveling this week for work. First stop: Charlotte. Second stop: Las Vegas! Thanks, Steph for the great post!

Leap into Healthy Habits and Live Longer
By: Stephanie Horton, MS, RD

New England Dairy & Food Council

Every four years, Leap Year grants us an extra day to enjoy.   This gift of extra time to enjoy family, friends and fun activities is precious, so why wait around another four years before adding more time to your life? By incorporating some simple, healthy habits into your daily routine, you can not only add extra days to your life but also increase the quality of that time.

Treat yourself to some extra living by following these four simple strategies that can help you live longer and feel better.

1. Eat breakfast – Whether you’re heading to school, the boardroom, or staying home, breakfast is an important way to give you the energy you need. Consistently eating a healthy breakfast has been linked to improved concentration and performance, lower cholesterol, decreased weight and increased energy levels.

Plan breakfast around at least three of the five food groups, especially low-fat or fat-free dairy foods, fruits and whole grains.  Including three food groups – for example, a yogurt, orange, and whole-wheat toast – offers the right nutrition for energy that will last until lunch.

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.  Grab ‘n’ go breakfasts for those rushed mornings might include portable items like yogurt, granola bars, fruit and single-serve milk in a plastic, re-sealable container.

2. Keep your heart healthy – Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the #1 cause of death in the U.S.?  Eating the right foods can help decrease your risk for heart disease now and extend your life longer into the future.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major risk factor for heart disease.  Experts suggest following a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan to help control your risk of hypertension.  The DASH eating plan is a low-fat eating plan rich in calcium, potassium and magnesium and includes two to three servings of dairy foods and eight to ten servings of fruits and vegetables each day.  For more information, visit the “Heart Health” section at www.NationalDairyCouncil.org.

3. Get out and play – Research shows many important benefits of physical activity including decreased medication dependence, decreased weight and increased bone health and quality of life. Try to achieve 30-60 minutes of physical activity at least five days each week.  That may seem like a lot, but remember, it doesn’t have to happen all at once.  Take a ten minute walk during your lunch break, always park the car in the furthest parking spot or take the stairs instead of the elevator.  Encourage the entire family to get more active by making small changes together that will add up to a big difference.

4. Focus on the food groups – Choosing nutrient-rich foods from each of the five food groups is a good way to guide your daily eating choices.  Each food group – dairy, fruits, vegetables, grains and protein – provides nutrients that are important for healthy living.  For example, dairy products provide a unique combination of nine essential nutrients that play a crucial role in helping to promote bone health, healthy blood pressure and a healthy weight.  Because of these benefits, experts recommend eating at least three servings of dairy foods each day.  Visit www.myplate.gov to learn about each food group, how much you should be eating and practical tips to help you incorporate more of these super foods into your life.

Make the extra days in your life count with better health.  For more information about healthy habits and the health benefits of different foods, visit www.NewEnglandDairyCouncil.org.

The theme of this month’s Recipe Redux is “Chocolate Love Is In The Air.” In honor of Valentine’s Day, yummy, indulgent chocolate recipes are in high demand this month. The challenge this month was to complement chocolate with some other good-for-you foods to make a delicious and healthy treat. “We’re creating recipes that will make the heart grow fonder – and stronger.” 

When I read this month’s theme, I started to think of some of my favorite chocolate and fruit combos – chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered bananas, chocolate covered cherries. Cherries. I just so happened to recently buy a bag of frozen dark sweet cherries that I was going to use for smoothie making. Smoothies. Chocolate. Cherries. Now the wheels were turning…

Enter, the Chocolate Cherry Frosty. First step was making my own homemade chocolate sauce. I followed this recipe but used 1.5 cups sugar instead of 2 cups. 

Chocolate Cherry Frosty

1.5c frozen dark sweet cherries

1c coconut milk

1/4c plain Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)

1 tbsp chocolate syrup

1/2 banana

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Optional: Eat with a spoon to get the full frosty effect.

Peace, love, and food,

Kara

Looking to further satisfy that sweet tooth? Check out all the other healthy chocolate recipes featured this month by fellow Reduxers!

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Kindles. iPads. Nooks. 

I can’t seem to conform to the e-reader technology that’s sweeping the nation. I totally get the allure of it. It’s convenient, sleek and at your fingertips. 

You can call me old-fashioned but I love the sensation of physically turning the page of a paperback. I love the frayed edges of a book that’s been overused. I love the indentations of the corners of pages that were folded as a placeholder. 

With my cookbooks, it gets even better. You can tell which recipes I’ve tried and which I’ve tried over, and over, and over again. The usage is evidenced by how many grease spots lie on the pages. Hey, I never said I was a neat cook! 

The same high I get from curling up with a paperback (currently The Help), I get from paging through a cookbook to see what will be my next culinary adventure. 

One cookbook I’ve been paging through recently is Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson, author of one of my favorite blogs, 101 Cookbooks. Her blogs and books reflect a cooking style which uses ONLY whole foods and ingredients in their purest forms. You may remember Heidi’s name from a post a while back about her first cookbook, Super Natural Cooking. 

The first page I got stuck on (and got a little dirty) was the recipe for Baked Oatmeal. I love oatmeal in the morning, especially during the winter months but my oatmeal is usually cooked on the stove-top, not in the oven. Baked oatmeal is heavenly, especially this recipe which calls for oats, huckleberries (I used blueberries), banana, walnuts, and maple syrup for sweetener. I served this with a dollop of Chobani on top! Greek yogurt on top of oatmeal is pretty amazing if you’ve never tried it!

One of the greatest things about baked oatmeal is you can prep the night before and just bake in the AM! Or, you can do what I did and while the oatmeal is baking in the oven for 40 minutes, you get yourself ready for the day!

I am a huge advocate of not skimping on breakfast. No, I don’t have the time every morning to make baked oatmeal, but I DO make the time to fuel my body each and every morning! Even if that means grabbing a handful of nuts and a piece of fruit. Starting your day off right with breakfast will be sure to help your body run efficiently throughout the day!

Peace, love and food,

Kara

What’s your favorite baked oatmeal variation? What cookbook are you paging through right now?

It’s no secret breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. It’s also no secret that if I don’t have my favorite meal, you better stay far, far away. It’s not a pretty sight. Lucky for me, my favorite meal of the day also happens to be the most important meal of the day. That’s right breakfast is the best way to jumpstart your metabolism for the day and fuel you body for it to run efficiently.For all these reasons, I was psyched when I read the Recipe Redux theme for January: Fresh Starts: healthy breakfast makeovers.

My breakfast makeover was inspired by your typical egg scramble complete with ham & cheese, home fries and white toast.

Roasted Vegetable Scramble & Sweet Potato Home Fries 

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped in 1/2 cubes

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 turnip, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp thyme

6 eggs

1/4 cup milk

2 tsp butter

1/2 tsp cane sugar

1/4 cup shredded asiago cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Prep all vegetables. Combine all vegetables (saving 1 sweet potato for later) in a large baking dish. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, rosemary & thyme. Bake in pre-heated oven at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, heat butter in a frying pan over low heat. Whisk eggs and milk in a bowl and add to pan. Move the egg mixture around the pan with a spatula as it cooks so that the wet mixture is exposed to the heat. Remove eggs from heat once they look close to being cooked. As the eggs are cooking, add 1 tbsp olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add the sweet potato cubes and let cook on one side for at least 6 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper. Then flip potatoes over to cook on the other side. Sweet potatoes should be crispy and browned. Once the vegetables are roasted, combine with eggs. Add cheese, salt and pepper. Serve with whole-wheat bakery bread.

Peace, love, and food,

Kara

Click on the frog link below to read all the other great Recipe Redux breakfast makeovers!