Milk & Cookies

Happy Friday friends.  I hope you have a lovely weekend!  I wanted to leave you this week with something sweet.
Flat out in top 5 cookies I've ever eaten category.  And they ship people.  I suggest you ORDER SOME NOW! 

Milk & Cookies

and for all you bakers...they have a beautiful cook book

 Buy it here!

no wonder I've gained 10 damn pounds since we moved to NYC!  10!

See you next week

Food Culture Subway Map & The Little Owl

Have you seen this?

Hartman Salt

It's a subway style map outlining all the players, locations and ideas happening in food culture today.  What a cool foodie gift!   Take a ride down the central line and stop at Wolfgang Puck, Thomas Keller or Grant Aachatz.  Jump over to the Global line and start at Rick Bayless and end up at Alain Ducasse.  If you go to the Hartman Salt site, you can hover over the names and a a brief bio of each "stop" pops up. 

If it's ever updated I would love to see Joey Camapnaro executive chef of  The Little Owl included.  We had an amazing meal there Tuesday night.  If you are in NYC or plan to be try if you can to get a reservation.  The meatball sliders were amazing...as was everything else!  the bolognese, the sliced big eye tuna with oyster, bibb lettuce, cucumber and avocado...I kid you not, melts in your mouth.

happy eating!  

I fell in the functional food trap

I was shopping in Whole Foods last week and a lovely girl was sampling cookies.  COOKIES!  Well of course Eleanor and I had to check it out.  The girl looked sweet and rather lonely so we stopped, and sampled.  What we tried were Goji Gourmet  cookies…here they are on my desk.  

 Now I know that “functional food” is a great way to market to people using the “this is better for you” health claim.  And claim these cookies do!  Right on the package… “100% natural” “delicious wholesome Super Food” “10x more ANTIOXIDANTS than blueberries”.  Now I’m smart enough to know that these cookies are not going to solve any health problems or boost my overall physical wellness but there is a part of me that thinks…well, every little bit helps and these MUST be better for you than major supermarket brand cookies.

Here’s what I know…the Goji Gourmet cookies have ingredients that I recognize-whole wheat flour, eggs, butter, pure vanilla extract etc... most of them organic (though it is not a USDA certified organic cookie) and it has no preservatives. 

Those other cookies, who shall remain nameless have a lot of things I know are bad-partially hydrogenated soybean oil, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors & colors.

Are the Goji berry cookies going to make me healthier?  No.  Are they a better choice for a once in a while treat? YES.  Is this choice better for my family than those other brands?  I say yes.  AND they are pretty darn good.

I did fall into the trap, but I think it’s ok.

For more information on Functional Food check out this excellent article from the NY Times last Sunday May 15^th
"Foods With Health Benefits, or So They Say"  

Taste of Tribeca

So excited about  Taste of Tribeca tomorrow!

I'll post pics of all the great food on Monday!  Have a great, food adventure filled weekend!

Yummy dinner..

Here last night!  Plein Sud

Though I don't have Chef Ed Cotton's recipe for the fantastic warm mushroom salad I had last night, here's one from Food & Wine.  I might try it this week.  But I probably won't!  I'll think about it a lot.  I'll print the recipe and maybe even go so far as to put it in my bag to take to Whole Foods.  But when push comes to shove...I probably won't pull the trigger because frankly, I'm the only one who's going to eat this and who has time to make this concoction just for myself?  jeeze I'm cranky!  I think I'm hungry. 

Blog Love

My husband forwarded this blog to me, an old friend of his from college writes it.  It's damn funny, really thoughtful & since like all mom's I have very little time for casual reading, the entries are quick and pack a punch...much like...well,  I'm so brain dead right now I cant think of what it's much like.

Please enjoy MAMALINGO

About...

Not another Margarita

In honor of Eleanor's 4th birthday, here is something we all can enjoy...Cinco de Mayo cocktail recipes.
Cheers E!


Paloma

Ingredients
 2oz tequila
.5 oz fresh lime juice
 4 oz Grapefruit soda
 1 pinch Salt

Garnish
Lime Wedge

Glass
High Ball

Preparation
Add all the ingredients to a highball glass filled with ice. Stir, and garnish with a lime wedge.


Herradura Tequila Mojito

Ingredients
2 oz Herradura Blanco Tequila
1 oz Herradura Blue Agave Nectar
1 oz Lime juice
4 Mint leaves
2 oz Club soda

Glass: Collins

Preparation

In a shaker, muddle the mint leaves. Add the tequila, lime juice and agave nectar and fill with ice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with club soda.

For more on these recipes and more check out Liquor.com

Say it isn't so!

Is my favorite new American Apparel purchase making me, & the tons (ha ha) of other women I see running around NYC fat???

 American Apparel 

  chictopia

 street peeper

Check out this story from Huffington Post!  ARRGGGHHHH

Yucky Charms

 

Growing up, the breakfast cereal of note was Cherrios.  On occasion we had Honey Nut Cheerios or if my mom was feeling particularly generous-Golden Grahams.  Lame.  I can honestly say I never saw a box of these in my house

As an adult who can make her own (bad) choices I have grown to love Yucky Charms as I so lovingly call them.  Brian loves them too and one particularly trying visit to the grocery store I bought a box, Eleanor tried them and here's a shock...she loved them!  Great.  Big mistake on my part, BIG.  I have successfully avoided purchasing yuckies with any kind of regularity but when we moved to NYC Brian found this fab bag of yummies at Whole Foods.  

So the nutrition facts are pretty similar (sadly)  & it seems the ingredients are pretty similar.  Though Three Sisters (above) doesn't use artificial colors-their marshmallows are colored with blueberry, pumpkin and carrot concentrates and no artificial flavor-yay.  Three Sisters uses wheat starch in place of corn starch.  AND they use less packaging so there is less waste...so these are all good things to love about the Three Sisters brand.

BUT...

they both use Trisodium Phosphate.  TSP is also a cleaning agent, stain remover and degreaser and apparently is great at cleaning concrete!  Now obviously the TSP found in food
is food grade (it's an emulsifier) and for all I can see it's not harmful but I don't think I want to eat too much of it.   According to this it seems there is another option in the emulsifier world...lecithin.  Some people are allergic to lecithin & soy lecithin so you need to make sure you read your ingredient list before you buy.     Just another lesson on this food adventure...maybe stay away from ready to eat cereal...most of the time.  

I'm still going to finish this bag of Marshmallow Oaties. 

fantastic food weekend!

Here are some scenes from our weekend.  So interesting how since I decided to blog about food and eating,  without prompting Eleanor has become quite a food adventurer.  Makes me think I'm on to something! 

SATURDAY morning...

Carambola for the first time...truth be told, had never eaten it either!

A little breakfast for the alligator.  The doggie was a good sport.

This is a fun game to play in the bottom bunk.  Hang all your Barbies and stuffed animals then lift the top mattress and watch them fall! 


SATURDAY afternoon...

We went to the Tribeca Film Festival Family Festival.  Such a great day.  It was bright and sunny and there were great food vendors and fun things to do and see.  It all started with a cupcake...

Then pizza.  Not one slice but THREE full sized slices!  I think Eleanor is going through a major growth spurt because she has never before eaten ONE whole slice!  I have to say it was great pizza!  Thanks Portobello's Pizza!

 Then a little hair painting from some sweet school girls.

 Watermelon Lemonade from Bubby's

A Lobster Roll for me from Red Hook Lobster Pound

 I am not a Lobster connoisseur but it was soooo good-great buttery, warm, grilled bread and cool, fresh lobster.  Go to their site  here to read more about Ralph and Susan, the founders and their lovely lobsters.

 Red velvet cupcake from Billy's Bakery. 
So glad I ran all week.

Sharing with Daddy.

Begrudgingly.

 Snickerdoodle cookies from Billy's Bakery. 

 Amazing face art by Peanut Butter

and some kite flying to finish it off.


SATURDAY late afternoon...

A trip to Whole Foods with daddy resulted in a new food adventure...Horned Melon.  It's expensive at $6 a melon but she ate the whole thing.  Again, something I've never had before either!


SUNDAY morning...

 Eleanor made this strawberry design that mimics the chevron pattern on her DASH+fin placemat.
Making mealtime fun!

An impromptu run in with a more typical NY street festival...you know the kind...zeppoli, funnel cake, sausage & peppers, gyro's and vendors selling socks and underwear, began with picture with Sponge Bob.  This was so stupid because we had to pay this joker $2 to take a picture with him.  She was happy so it was worth it but man it was hard to spend money on that!

Elanor eating an Arpea from a street vendor-this is the third big food adventure from this weekend.  It was so yummy, like pancakes with mozzerella cheese in the middle.  Ok maybe that sounds gross but try it! Here's a recipe from epicurious

On to the next adventure!