Wow, is it already past two months since my post?! We are officially 36 days away from the end of 2024. My mom has been introducing me to the world of chayote because she and her neighbors has been growing their own crop within the last two years. My mom makes great braised sauteed versions of chayote, which I have yet to master because handling this type of vegetable with bare hands especially peeling the skin is equivalent to handling a prickly pear and cactus. I give my mom a lot of credit for getting rid of the peel from the chayote she used. I’ve been roasting chayote because it was the best way to introduce the vegetable to the my other half who is not person of color (although he has Native American blood in him through his grandfather who was part Cherokee). So what is chayote?
Chayote (Sechium edule) is a type of squash that originated in the Aztec period and it spread throughout Central America, Europe and Asia thanks to colonialism. This squash is part of the Cucurbitaceae plant family, which includes pumpkins, melons and cucumbers. Consumption of this crop has numerous health benefits. Chayote contains fiber which helps with blood sugar issues especially for people who have diabetes. The crop also contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatory biomarkers that play a role in metabolic syndrome. The contents of this crop is still being investigated further.
Personally, I’ve been roasting chayote squash with parmesan in the oven by slicing the crop into thin slices and mixing the slices with olive oil, salt, pepper and bake for about 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven. After 30 minute add the parmesan cheese and cook for another 10 minutes.
Recently, I roasted chayote with red onion at 400 degrees except I waited 10 minutes after the oven was at 400 degrees to place the chayote and red onion mixed with olive oil, salt and pepper in the oven.
Roasted Chayote tasted very good and healthy. I’d like to explore different cooking methods of chayote and even try chayote dishes at various restaurants.
Wow! It’s been awhile since my last post, which was my game plan for French Restaurant Week in June. There are officially 99 days left in 2024! I’ve been cooking a lot and replicating recipes using techniques rather than ingredients because I had to work with what I had. Over the summer, two months ago, I came home early enough to utilize the ingredients that are in the refrigerator before they went bad. After surveying the content at that time, I had leftover vegan cream cheese, spinach and unopened mushrooms that needed to be cooked or it would have been a waste. Therefore, after my child went to bed, I did a basic search on dishes containing cream cheese, mushrooms and spinach. The first thing that popped up on my search engine was the recipe from RiceSelect. After reviewing this recipe, I discovered I had all the ingredients: cooked rice, walnuts, butter, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. I gathered up what I had and here is what I had to work with:
See these ingredients I realized that I have a healthy comforting vegetarian dish in the works.
Butter from grass fed cows have good sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, chromium, copper, iodine, manganese, and zinc. For this recipe I used Vital Farms Unsalted Butter, has been labeled as on the best butters according to taste tests from Serious Eats and and Healthline. Personally I like using grass fed unsalted butter because it makes dishes taste a little richer while consuming the fat soluble vitamins essential for bone health. For this dish, I melted less than 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter.
Then after the butter is melted, I added the mushrooms and let it cook for approximately 4 minutes.
One cup of mushrooms contain multiple cancer fighting antioxidants such as “polyphenols, polysaccharides, ergothioneine, glutathione, selenium, and vitamin C”, These antioxidants fight off oxidative stress, and prevent tumors. The presence of polysaccharides in mushrooms help regular blood sugar and insulin production. Mushrooms also contain a specific type of polysaccharide called beta-glucans. Beta-glucans has been shown to activate macrophages and natural killer cells to stimulate the immune system, which will inhibit further tumor growth, reduce proliferation and metastasis. In addition to the prevention of tumor production, beta-glucans in its soluble form is capable of forming a “gel on the mucosal surface of the bowel”, which will reduce cholesterol levels. The presence of glutathione and ergothioneine in white mushrooms display their respective roles in getting rid of potentially harmful substances and keeping the DNA safe from oxidative damage. Ergothioneine acts as a bioactive agent to prevent plaque development, which reduces the risk of early cardiovascular disease. The presence of Vitamin C and selenium also adds another layer of anticancer properties by respectively blocking specific enzymes responsible for spreading cancer and prevent cancer development. Finally, white button mushrooms have prebiotics, which is beneficial for intestinal health and gut health.
After the mushrooms are cooked, add the vegan cream cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted and reduce the heat temperature to medium-low.
Vegan Cream Cheese
Add cooked brown rice (leftover brown rice – a day old), stir to blend and heat with the mushroom cream cheese mixture (3-4 minutes).
Brown rice has been advertised and promoted as a healthy carbohydrate ingredient because it is considered a whole grain. Four years ago, a three prospective cohort study covering self-reporting, follow-up questionnaire with supplemental questionnaires covering a period of 33 years (1984-2017) was published. The results from this cohort study showed that higher consumption of whole grains, which includes brown rice was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes among the “158,259 women and 36,525 men who did not have type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer at baseline”. However, in 2023, there was an article that was published revealing that there is more arsenic found in brown rice versus white rice. The article addressed that arsenic is considered an environmental pollutant that has contributed to higher risk of arsenic-induced metabolic syndrome whose symptoms include “a large waistline, high blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, high triglyceride level, and low HDL cholesterol”. These symptoms often lead to cardiovascular disease in the long term. Ultimately, based on these two studies, more studies and research need to be completed to validate the health benefits of brown rice. In the meantime, we should limit food and products containing arsenic due to more consistent findings.
Add spinach to the rice mixture and stir until wilted.
Spinach is one of my favorite vegetable because of its versatility but more importantly this vegetable contains a large amount of health benefits. I have shared recipes in past blog posts containing spinach:
Recent research reveals another another component that is found in spinach called Betaine. Betaine has been known to help regulate homocysteine levels in the blood, which may contribute towards disease prevention such as heart disease, and stroke, Betaine has also been shown to with endurance, reduce fatigue and improve muscle power and strength.
After the spinach is wilted, remove pan from heat and add walnuts. Walnuts usually adds another layer of flavor and texture. They are great for garnishes. I personally like to include them when baking banana bread or incorporating them in a salad. There have been recent research showing that walnuts are beneficial for improving cognition and reducing the risk and/or progression of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. In additions the properties found in walnuts may provide protection against neuroinflammation.
Happy National Rice Month! I hope to continue to blog more successful dishes before the year ends!!
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This weekend was productive and exhausting. We did a lot of food shopping since Friday, but it was mostly snacks and I defrosted lots of stuff from the freezer which took at least two days to defrost. So here’s this week’s plan:
Baked Hake Scrambled Eggs with Andouille Chicken Sausage Scrambled Eggs with Spinach Steamed Green Beans
Roasted Cauliflower Ravioli with a red pasta sauce Ramen with Spinach Avocado Toast (if the avocado ripen this week)
Ground beef enchilada for Saturday
Eight-nine dishes should be enough considering that I’ll be doing NYC Restaurant Week Lunch or Dinner tomorrow and maybe Thursday or Friday. The website for restaurant week was revamped resulting in less multitasking. I am hoping that two posts will cover it (one for Manhattan and the other for the remaining four boroughs). These restaurant week posts here are my wish list for each borough/neighborhood because I’ve been very busy juggling motherhood and my paid job, which financially funds this project for the last seven years. As of today (07/23/23), there are 548 restaurants participating and I’m reviewing so far 383 menus that have already been posted. Hopefully by the end of the week, I’ll post my restaurant week game plan wish list.
This weekend was a big food day for eggs and cheese. Yesterday (Saturday, June 3rd) was National Egg Day, and today (Sunday, June 4th) is National Cheese Day. So, to celebrate a weekend of eggs and cheese, I prepared a bunch of dishes for the week utilizing either eggs, cheese, or both.
Happy New Year! 2022 was a transformative year as I became a new mom. I’ve been active on Yelp and Seated writing restaurant reviews and hitting up Michelin rated restaurants. I’ve been struggling with Meta, which consists of Facebook and Instagram. My post has not been reaching out to a lot of people and businesses as if I’ve been ghosted or blacklisted. I know it’s a very competitive market out there. So, if anyone out there can provide input to help improve this account, that would be great.
Since it’s Sunday, I began the game plan last night on New Years Eve 2022 with my traditional lucky foods menu. Thanks to Instacart and Food Bazaar, I was able to achieve that. To start, I had my traditional 12 fruits, which I was able to obtain:
Oranges, clementine, banana, Apple, pear, plum, grapes, blackberries, blueberries, Kiwi, pomegranate, lemon and lime. That turned out I had 13, well to be fair. I had 12 pairs of fruits and 1 banana.
For my meals, I search recipes online to find inspiration with the ingredients I had to work with. So I made the following:
Cornbread, baked lentil pasta with collard greens and ricotta, Cappellini with tuna, ricotta and peas, Smithfield apple smoked pork loin topped with bacon.
Today, the celebration continues with Pacific foods lentil soup and maybe dumplings. In addition, I’ll go through recipes with my Beaba baby food blender and make stuff for the baby, which I’m very excited about.
Check out my posts on Instagram at @tablespoonsandteaspoons. Stay tuned for an exciting 2023.
Happy New Year! We are nine days into the new year and 2021 was a year of reflection and life changing moments. I’ve been active on Yelp and Seated writing restaurant reviews and hitting up Michelin rated restaurants. But this is a New Year and I want to provide content that focused on my mission of why I started this blog. Therefore, I am working on developing more social media content and supporting businesses and products that help create that perfect dish.
So to start, I have drafted a plan to get through this week partly because I am running out of space in refrigerator, freezer and pantry because I tend to go on a grocery shopping spree.
Throughout the week, I’ll be posting more content on Instagram (tablespoonsandteaspoons). My goal for the week is to clean out my freezer and pantry. So here are the following dishes that I aim to recreate to get back on the horse.
Cappello’s Sweet Potato Gnocchi with butter
Cappello’s Spinach Ravioli with asparagus
Lentil Penne with jackfruit meatballs topped with Fody’s sauce
Slow cooked Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Cauliflower burgers
Tuna burgers
I’ll be posting on my Instagram account so stay tuned.
Last week I decided to make solo trip to David Burke Tavern in the Upper East Side in Manhattan. The former Fishtail location will be one of the participating restaurants for the upcoming NYC restaurant week starting tomorrow.
One of the entrees that will be offered during restaurant week is the celery root ravioli. The dish consists of grapes, pickled celery and winter black truffles. This homemade dish is well balanced especially when all the elements are combined.
A few days ago my fiance and I finally had dinner here at Red Salt Room in Garden City, NY. The restaurant was fairly quiet that evening which made it easier to talk. The food was more expensive than King’s Bar but you will be paying for a tasting on a budget. The chef/owner, GM Steve and our waitress/server Christine were very accommodating and took care of us. Service was fairly quick and although the presentation of the dishes appeared small they were deceivingly filling. We ordered a salad, and two sides.
Salad: We were curious with the heirloom tomato and ricotta salad because it was different from the heirloom tomato and burrata salad served from other restaurants. The presentation of the dish was deceivingly small but artistically whimsical. It is a healthy dish consisting a huge slice of tomato that could pass for a tomato steak on top of pesto with grilled peaches and ricotta on the side. The overall dish tasted good as individual components but combining all the components together makes the bite and taste complete.
Side dishes: We ordered truffle steak frites and tomato gratin. The flavor of the truffle steak frites were reminiscent of the truffle fries I had back in the day in David Burke Townhouse. I do miss the truffle fries, but I knew what I was getting myself into whem I ordered the steak frites and thank you Christine for the heads up about the thickness of the potatoes. The steak frites can serve as a main dish for one or a side dish to share with 2 or more people. My fiance was curious about the tomato gratin our waitress Christine was knowledgable and raved about the dish. The dish was definitely sharable for 2 or more people it is reminiscent of a chicken parmigiana without the chicken. We loved the tomato gratin and a great semi low carb vegetarian dish to order.
I definitely want to return one weekend for brunch and the next Long Island Restaurant Week.
Hello everyone! So tomorrow is July 1st and this is the perfect time to make a change with the end goal being weight loss and eventually getting into my dresses comfortably.
After doing some research I read an article from Woman’s Day regarding a 6 day summer weight loss program and as much I want to replicate the plan, I have to do some modifications because I had to work with what I had. In addition, I will be traveling back and forth so planning healthy meals will be tough. The article set a plan where the most calories come from dinner. The calorie outline listed on the article was 300 calories for breakfast, 400 calories for lunch, 500 calories for dinner and 150 calories for snacks. Therefore the total calorie intake is 1350 calories.
For this week’s game plan, I have listed meals for 7 days instead of 6. In addition I didn’t count calories so I am unsure if I went over the total calorie intake. So below is the list of breakfast, lunch and dinner meal plan for the week.
Pictures of these proposed meals will be posted on my Instagram: tablespoonsandteaspoons.
Almost two months ago we were privileged to attend the preview of this year’s Queens International Night Market behind the New York Hall of Science inside Flushing Corona Park in Queens. With a small fee $5 which went to charity, we get the opportunity to taste dishes from returning and new food vendors. Founder John Wang, started the International Night Market back in 2015 in the effort to create a cultural event to celebrate the diversity of immigrants and small businesses. The Night Market was designed to sell dishes at a cap of $6 and in the beginning of this project, I’ve learned that half of the proceeds were going to be donated.
On April 27, there were 54 food vendors that participated in the event. The vendors came from various countries such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, Colombia, Korea, Vietnam, Burma, Mexico, Moldova, Malaysia, Ukraine and Indonesia. In addition, to the diverse food options, there were unique food creations such as the Moffle Bar and Twister Cake.
This was my fourth time I visited the Night Market and this time my goal was to taste the food at Burmese Bites. This vendor always had a long line because you get your money’s worth. Portion sizes were shareable. So finally we were able to order a dish from Burmese Bites. Burmese Bites were selling three dishes and we ordered the Keema Palata for $6. The dish tasted authentic and really good plus it fed two people, the portion size appeared deceivingly small but it was extremely filling.
During our visit to the Night Market, we sampled food from 7 out of the 54 food vendors. We just want to disclose that healthy food choices during this visit did not cross our minds as we were embracing the diversity that was celebrated through cultural and even fusion dishes. Below are the dishes that we tried that stood out from the event. The total cost of the dishes below we spent was: $40 for two people, which was not bad for 7 different dishes.
There were five other dishes we tried including the Pho Ga (chicken pho soup) from Em Vietnamese for only $5. The soup was really good especially that it was cold that night. The soup was also hot, fresh and filling.
We were already full at this point so we walked to various vendors and we spotted another vendor that we wanted to try: Jibarito Shack which is a Latin food vendor that served sandwiches using fried plaintains instead of bread. As a result we decided to split a low carb sandwich. We ordered the El Dominicano made with roast pork, pickled onions, queso frito and Dominican salami for only $5. The sandwich was definitely low carb but the first two dishes we had previously were better.
We also checked another new vendor called KINI – Korean Dakgangjeong & Ganjang Chicken. We ordered the Ganjang (not spicy) fried chicken $5. The chicken was messy but tasty however it wasn’t as crispy as Bon Chon.
The next place we tried again was Joon a Persian rice cup spot that can be filled up with various flavors. We got the Pomegranate Walnut Chicken and Tumeric Beef and Eggplant at $6 each. Personally I like overcooked rice which is a little dried but other people didn’t like it. In addition, the proportion or balance of meat with sauce to rice was uneven meaning that there was more rice leftover after eating the meat(s). The leftover rice had no flavor and once it got cold, the taste was not the same once served hot.
For dessert we went to Wembie for some awesome Farmer cheese donuts ($4). The donuts definitely hit the spot.
We ended the night with Ecuadorean dark chocolate from Element Truffles. These chocolates were raw, organic and dairy free. We ordered a small dark chocolate bar with sea salt and tumeric for $3.
The Queens International Night Market runs every Saturday night starting at 5pm until midnight starting now until August 17 and September 28 thru October 26. It’s free and prices for each food item is capped at $6.
Tablespoons and Teaspoons 