favorite product: annie chun's brown rice noodles

I love cooking Asian inspired dishes at home. My husband and I have a couple of Chinese dishes that are on regular rotation at our house, and we always have a stir-fry veggie side and either noodles or rice to go along with the main dish. You can use many different proteins (chicken, shrimp, pork) and use any number of veggies in a stir-fry (green beans, peppers, onions, asparagus, sugar snap peas, brussel sprouts, etc.) and make the perfect Asian combination, usually with ingredients you already have on hand.

While I've had some more authentic rice noodles from the market before, my favorite go-to brown rice noodles are Annie Chun's, which are found in the natural food section in your grocery store. For me, I typically find these are Kroger and absolutely love cooking with them. Here is a picture of the box:

These noodles take just a few minutes to cook (or you can even let them soak in water and they "cook" that way), and you're ready to go with a side. Here are some protein options if you want to try them out and have the veggies and noodles as side dishes:

Skillet Glazed Chicken from Food.com

General Tso's Chicken (from a pre-packaged mix - see previous post on this here)

Asian Turkey Meatballs from Skinnytaste.com

Or, you can mix the noodles as more of the main portion of the dish, like this Pad Thai from Eatingwell.com. (My disclaimer for this dish would be to go very light on the fish sauce. It's an extremely strong flavor, and I think it needs to be cut to around 1/4 of what it calls for. With that said, you may need some additional flavor, so I add a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce or liquid aminos to make up for it.)

Hope you enjoy cooking with rice noodles as much as we do!

destination: parish foods & goods

Okay, okay, I know ... as much as I eat and love food, I need to get better at posting about it. I've actually cooked many news things over the past couple of weeks and gone to a couple of really good, new restaurants, so the information is forthcoming.

For today's post, we have Parish Foods & Goods in the Old Fourth Ward/Inman Park area. Let's be honest ... I think I've already raved about my love for Concentrics Restaurants based first and foremost on a cool website with awesome logos. I am a sucker for creative and a great aesthetic, so I immediately got sucked in and made it our goal to visit all of their restaurants (10 total) within the first year we lived here. Well, we have officially been here a year and haven't quite made it to all of them yet, but we are working on it. With HD1 closing and now becoming a Flip Burger, we have one less to hit over the next few months.

Also, although it ends in just a few days at the end of August, the Concentrics group has had a Summer Swag coupon for 50% off their participating restaurants so we recently took advantage of this at Parish.

Parish is an southern american restaurant with a great relaxed vibe inside. Downstairs, they have a market with freshly made sandwiches, salads, soups, breads, pastries, etc. I didn't get to partake in this as I went in the evening, but it was interesting to see this setup inside the restaurant.

So, what did we eat? I failed to get a picture of the appetizers as they came out as we devoured them. Their garlic fries just surpassed Alon's fries in my mind, so well done on that. Below are some pics.

Menu (sorry for the weird centerpiece shadow):

Or view PDF here.

Appetizer/Nosh: We had the Rosemary & Garlic Fries (to die for), Lemony Hummus (just okay but not a big hummus fan) and Pimento & Spiced Bacon Lil' Biscuits (good but the fries won this round for sure). Pictured below is a Lil' Biscuit.

Entrees:

I had the Seasonal Vegetable Lasagna. I genuinely have no idea what was in it, but I kinda like that. It was super fresh as I could tell they used seasonal ingredients, and I absolutely loved it.

Now that's a beautiful plate.

And, on to my husband's dish .... Fried Chicken. Neither one of us were big fans of this, but then again, we do not really ever eat fried chicken. It looks good, but the batter tasted very similar to a funnel cake, which was a bit much for me. I saw overwhelming reviews online of others loving their fried chicken, but I wouldn't recommend. 

All in all, I will definitely go back again although I wasn't a fan of my husband's dish. We will give them another try ... once we hit up the remaining Concentrics establishments.

favorite product: trader joe's pineapple salsa

No content or stories needed for today's post. This salsa is fantastic; go buy it!

At Trader Joe's, of course.

ingredient: couscous ... regular couscous

I only tried one recipe this week as I wasn't sure how versatile this ingredient would be, meaning sweet vs. savory. This is my first time cooking with couscous (regular couscous), and I got this recipe from For The Love Of Cooking. It is a Parmesan Couscous with Roasted Garlic, Toasted Pine Nuts and Caramelized Onions ... all items I absolutely adore. Please visit the site for the recipe.

Here is the pic of my finished product:

So first, let me say, the only difference I made was to omit the parsley, simply because I didn't have any on hand. Second, it was an absolutely wonderful flavor combination. I'm a huge fan of roasted garlic; the smell of it is one of the best in the kitchen in my book. The pine nuts and caramelized onions made a great sweet and crunchy balance, and I'm sure the parsley would be a nice addition as well. 

But, I do not like the texture of this couscous ... at all. It's extremely fine and grainy, and I just could not get used to it. It's one of the few leftovers that I threw out but only for this reason. If you're curious as to the couscous I used, it was the whole wheat couscous from Trader Joe's. 

So, I will definitely be making this again in the near future but will try with israeli couscous the next time around as it is larger in size and, I feel, a much better texture. I would highly recommend this!

destination: alon's bakery

One of the main reasons we moved into the apartment we are in is ....

Alon's Bakery is right across the street. Like walking distance.

I knew of Alon's before moving to Atlanta. I knew of their wonderful smelling breads and yummy pastries and cookies. We would occasionally stop in and get a sweet treat when we were in town as it's just a fun place to walk around in.

But, Alon's is not just a bakery. Not even close. Of course, if you're going low carb, just don't even walk in there. The smell of fresh bread will hit you in the face as soon as you walk in. But, please know there are so many other fabulous things to find in Alon's. It's a restaurant, wine bar, bakery, grill and overall market for fine and unique foods. You will find all sorts of fresh cheeses, different types of pastas from around the world, spreads and jams ... anything you would want to try and impress your guests with, Alon's will have you covered.

On top of that, they have several areas of the store where they grill, prepare fresh brick-oven pizzas and showcase an entire arrangement of pre-made salads, meats and sides. Some of our favs have been the veal meatloaf, crab cakes, risotto crusted goat cheese, kale salad with lemon vinaigrette, duck fat potatoes (yes!), chicken salad with fennel and the margherita pizza, which I envision tastes just like you would have in Italy. I'm not sure if it's true, but I like to believe so as it's that fresh with excellent ingredients.

Although I do not have any pics to post with this one, we have had many fabulous experiences at Alon's throughout the past year. I'll try and remember to take some before I indulge the next time around, which is likely, tomorrow.

favorite product: sun-bird general tso's chicken

This General Tso's mix (pictured below) is somewhat hard to find, but it is one of our favorite quick and go-to Chinese meals to make at home. You will find it in the international/Asian aisle at your grocery store along with several other mixes by the same company, depending on what your store carries. Just a warning though ... we tried a couple of other mixes by this company and didn't really care for them. So, this is the only one, at this time, that I would recommend, and I usually buy about 10 packs at a time. I obviously love this stuff, and since we had it for dinner tonight, I felt I needed to share it with the world. 

It is one of those dry mixes that you will need to add a couple of items to - sugar, soy sauce (or liquid aminos), water and obviously, chicken. It's a bit spicy, makes a nice amount of sauce and only takes 15 or so minutes to make. The instructions say to bread/fry the chicken before mixing in the sauce, but I usually omit this step, making it a bit healthier. We typically cook a brown or jasmine rice and stir fry veggies of some kind with this.

If you can't find it, you can talk with the store manager about ordering it for you, especially if they have other mixes by the same company. I've done this before, and I just buy out their stock when it comes in. Yes, a little obsessed, but it's totally worth it. Enjoy!

ingredient: rhubarb

I recently discovered another fabulous farmer's market here in Atlanta. It's the Buford Highway Farmer's Market, which is much closer to my apartment than DeKalb and still has a great selection of produce. And, there places are open year-round, everyday - so fantastic! My aunt Gail and I went for the first time and found so many crazy ingredients that I can add to my list to cook with. Here is a jackfruit:

I had way too much fun there. I will eventually buy one of those and cook with it, but we will save that for a later date.

This week's ingredient is rhubarb.

Rhubarb is a bit more common than most items on my list although I haven't cooked with it before. I'm sure somewhere along the way I've tried someone's pie with rhubarb but thought it was time to try it myself. It is, after all, a very pretty color.

I went with a savory and sweet option. First, I tried a Pork Tenderloin with a Spiced Rhubarb Chutney from BeingABear.com. I'm usually a big fan of a sweet sauce, especially with a pork dish. I made this recipe 'as is' except substituted cranberries for cherries as that is what I had on hand. I really enjoyed this dish although it is super sweet. I would do a bit more spice with it to balance it out. In terms of flavor though, it was really good. It would have been amazing on a biscuit! So, yes, I really liked it, but be prepared for the sweetness. Here is how it turned out:

Second, I tried Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins from A Pretty Life (www.aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com) which were so, so yummy. I will say that this is a bit "unhealthy" from the way I usually cook. Don't get me wrong - they were/are so delightful. But, even with a whole wheat flour substitution, I still think you could do add a few more substitutes and make this a bit healthier. I left off the pecan streusel topping, and I would even add more rhubarb and strawberry as the combination was great. Here is a pic for you ... although it doesn't quite do them justice:

I really liked the rhubarb in both places although I do think it's better fitting for a sweet treat. I will definitely cook with it again and hope you try it too!

inspiration: papaw

It's hard to figure out how to write this post as it isn't about food. It's about my Papaw. I've neglected this blog over the past couple of weeks but have had some of the most memorable and hardest times in my life with my sweet family. My Papaw was the backbone of our family and was one of the most inspirational, caring and Godly men in my life. He cared most for his relationship with God, his wife of almost 63 years, Lola Jean and his large, close-knit family of which I'm blessed to be a part of (5 children, 12 grandchildren and, to date, 16 great grandchildren plus many other family members and friends). We all love and miss him dearly and will continue to cherish such sweet memories in our hearts of our times with him.

He also loved food. He would begin talking about "what's for dinner" about an hour prior to mealtime; I guess I've taken after him with this too. And, above anything else, his first love in the food category was ... catfish. The man could eat catfish and would talk about catfish more than anyone else I've ever known. He loved all types of food, but the way to his heart was with catfish.

So, as I continue to work on recipes and future posts ... and try to figure out how to cook catfish in honor of my Papaw, let me just share something with you written by my cousin, Ben, on this man's legacy. It sums up perfectly how we all feel about him and was given out at his memorial service on Friday, June 14th.

I love you Papaw and will try to see if I can figure out how to make catfish just the way you like it.

From Ben Redmond, 6/12/13

"My Papaw passed away this morning. Two days before his death, I had the opportunity to hold his hand and say goodbye. As I reflect on his life, I am struck by one word.

Legacy.

Papaw died surrounded by his family. His wife tearfully holding his hand and kissing him ... his children taking shifts staying nights by his side ... his grandchildren traveling and rearranging plans to come say goodbye ... people who could not come calling in and letting him hear their voice. In the coming days, there will be a funeral, and that celebration will reveal just how many people were impacted by the life of this Godly man. As I stood at the end of his hospital bed and took all of this in, I had one question:

How?

How did an 84 year old man with no fame or fortune build a legacy like this? How did Papaw have a life that ended so well? I've reflected on this question for the last week, and here is my answer:

He was faithful.

This was a man who just did the right thing ... period. It didn't mater if anyone saw it; it didn't matter if anyone did it with him. He just did what was right. He treated his wife with absolute devotion, love and respect. He loved his children and continued to do so even through dark times. He was the spiritual leader of his family, guiding three generations into faith in Jesus. He called his grandchildren on birthdays and after big events. When one of his children or grandchildren came and visited, he dropped everything to spend time with them. He worked hard and managed his life with integrity and character. He was a man who was faithful to God and to his family.

The result of his faithfulness was profound. During his final hours, the family gathered around his bed and sang his favorite hymns, the songs he held so dear. He left the arms of his faithful wife of 63 years and jumped right into the arms of his faithful Savior. My Papaw died reaping the rewards that come with a legacy of faithfulness.

So here's the challenge for those of us who are left behind:

What you are doing today will determine what you have when it is all said and done. Your legacy isn't built at your deathbed; it is revealed there. So learn from one of the best men I have ever known:

Be faithful. To God ... to your family ... to what you know is right. You won't regret it."

destination: NYC!

My first time in New York was 2 weeks ago. Wow. So fun!

I will try to not post a ridiculous amount of pics and will focus mostly on food. And to be honest, I didn't take pics of everything I ate this time around -- but just flat out enjoyed the food.

First, our hotel was fabulous. We stayed at the Conrad Hilton in the Financial District, which is by far, the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in. Way to go, Mark (hubby)!

Our first food stop was Buddakan, an upscale Asian fusion restaurant in the Meatpacking/Chelsea area. It was recommended by a family member of one of my best friends and was completely spot on. We only took one picture there, oddly enough of the item we liked least of what we ordered. We decided to split dim sum/appetizers to try several different items, and the entire experience, including the server bringing out the items in "waves", was incredible. We split: Cantonese Spring Rolls, Hoisin Glazed Pork Belly, General Tso's Dumplings, Boneless Spare Ribs and Chinese Sausage Fried Rice.

Yes, it was a ton of food, and yes, our server told us we may need to order more. Not necessary.

All in all, it was the best meal in NYC. Below is a pic of the Chinese Sausage Fried Rice, and although it was our least favorite, it was also the last to arrive. On a normal day, I would have devoured this as well.

The next day we had some yummy pizza at Adrienne's on Stone Street as we walked around the Financial District, Battery Park, Wall Street area, etc. We ended up in Little Italy, had a drink and snack at a cute little bistro and rested for a bit. Later in the evening, we went to a place we were most excited about, Craft. As a huge Top Chef fan, we had to, of course, hit up one of Tom Colicchio's restaurants. We had actually filled up on pizza earlier in the day and decided to split several appetizers including a salad not pictured below. The food was great, and the atmosphere was really nice. But, the doughnuts were the best part. Please see below for drooling photos.

Appetizers:

Crispy Bacon and Pickled Ramps (in front of plate) - No, I did not know what ramps were, and yes, I love them, pickled at least. They are now going on the "ingredient" list to try.

Pork Ravioli (in back of plate)

Desserts:

Sugar and Spice Doughnuts

S'Mores Tart with Bourbon Pecan Swirl ice cream

Although I was full at the end, I genuinely wanted to stick the doughnuts in my purse as I couldn't stand to waste such goodness.

I didn't.

It was a success.

Saturday's food choices included an NYC hot dog for Mark. He thought he was getting a Gray's Papaya dog, the recommended hot dog place by his sister, but he ended up at "Papaya Dog" ... it seems not quite the same experience. I had a random cafe sandwich, and we ended up doing more of the Times Square/Theater District this day as we went to see The Lion King (amazing!) Saturday night. We also also had spaghetti at Harry's Italian Restaurant close to our hotel about 11:30 PM. Gotta love being on NYC time.

It was raining on Sunday, so we didn't quite get the Greenwich/West Village strolling and shopping day that I had hoped for. We did find a cute, random little place for brunch called Philip Marie. It was okay. No complaints at the time as it was a dry place to sit down. We took a cab to The Plaza and Central Park and stayed around that part of town for the afternoon.

The last "food" stop I didn't quite make it to as I was in a rush to get to the airport. Mark tried Shake Shack, which was right around the corner from our hotel. He said it was awesome, and rumor has it, Atlanta is getting one too. I guess I'll just have to wait until it opens here to taste that fabulous burger.

Can't wait to visit NYC again!

favorite product: trader joe's white bean and basil hummus

So, as I'm still sifting through New York photos (a little ridiculous I know as it was a couple of weeks ago), I wanted to go ahead and share one of my favorite products: Trader Joe's White Bean and Basil Hummus.

I. love. this. stuff.

You can use it as a dip, a spread, on crostini, etc. It's just that good. Trader Joe's actually has a great selection of hummus. I'm not a big fan of plain hummus as I typically find it lacking taste and really need some type of good flavor combination to really enjoy it. I've tried many from TJ's and usually really like those that I try. This one is different though and much better than the norm. It is more of a pita chip hummus (as opposed to a veggie hummus) with a thick, almost creamy texture.

Please try it; you won't regret it. I may go have some now ....

ingredient: leeks

Well, of course, I have lots to share about my first trip to NYC (from this past weekend), but while I am still sorting thru all of my pics, let's talk first about my "new ingredient" challenge for the week. 

My first new ingredient: leeks

I really didn't anticipate leeks to be oversized green onions; I'm not sure what I thought they were but not this ...

So, let me also start this blog by saying I am not creating my own recipes. I will be looking to those more skilled and advanced than myself in this department and will give credit where it is due. At this point, I don't even know what most of these ingredients are, so creating my own recipes with them, at this point, is not on the agenda.

Back to leeks ... other than oversized green onions, my first thought is - what part do you use? I'm confused.

I was recently reminded of a story from my stepmother-in-law of a dinner we had during the early days of my relationship with my now husband. I, being the somewhat sheltered vegetable eater I was raised to be (sorry, Mom and Dad), was so excited to have found a love for a new vegetable: asparagus. I really do still love it so much, and instead of gnawing on it as I do at home (picture Bugs Bunny eating his carrot), I decided to have appropriate table manners and use a knife and fork in order to eat my asparagus properly in front of my in-laws. To this, they also noticed that I was only eating the stem ... as I thought the tip/top/head of the asparagus was a decoration of sorts.

No, not quite.

JB, my father-in-law, proceeded to tell me that yes, I could eat that portion of the asparagus, and, yes, it was actually the best part!

It's like I had found a new vegetable!

So, to those of you not eating the top of the asparagus, no worries - it will make you love the asparagus even more when you figure out you CAN eat the top and will find a completely new flavor hiding there. Thanks, JB and Lois, for filling me on in this as I would have wasted lots of asparagus tips over the last 6.5 years if it wasn't for you.

Back to leeks ... again ... I decided to try two recipes for leeks: one which showcased the leeks as a main ingredient and the other where leeks were an added flavor, which happened to be added to my aforementioned favorite, asparagus. In reference to the above question on what part to use, both of these recipes suggested to use the white and light green parts only.

The first comes from Linda Thompson with There and Back Again blog. Although this dish is more of an autumn dish, it was still yummy and different than anything I've made before. It is a Leek, Apple and Gruyere Tart.

I think using the tart apples is key as it would be very "dessertish" if you used a sweet apple. I'm not sure I will make this again 'as is' as I'd like more depth and, actually, less leeks.

Click here for the her recipe; below is a pic of my finished product.

The second comes from kaykay (found on Food52) and is entitled Absurdly Addictive Asparagus. Below is the pic of how mine came out; click here for the original recipe.

I will say I didn't do it justice quite as much as I left out a few key ingredients based on time and what I had on hand. So, I omitted the orange, lemon and pine nuts and added lime zest/juice as my replacement. Either way, I really enjoyed it!

Verdict: I'm indifferent with leeks. To be honest, I couldn't tell a big difference between leeks and green onions so I'm not planning on cooking with them again in the near future. Let me know if you love leeks and can share how you love to cook them!

destination: two urban licks

Before starting this blog and upon moving to Atlanta, my husband and I started researching the food scene. We're (learning how to be ...) foodies and are definitely Top Chef fans, so of course we looked up two of our fav chefs in Atlanta: Richard Blais and Kevin Gillespie.

With this, we found Concentrics Restaurant Group and decided upon a bucket list item for 2013: to eat at each restaurant within the Concentrics Group at some point this year (yes, this year = we're on a budget) based on looking only at their website and a couple of menus. I'm a sucker for beautiful logos, sleek restaurant design, and moving higher up on this list, just good food. So, Concentrics, keep your graphic designer/agency as I will be eating at many of your establishments this year based on your website alone.

Although it's not the first restaurant we've been to in Atlanta that I will highlight, it is the first for the blog as IT IS THAT GOOD. I hate using all caps; it must be warranted. But, I will not edit as that is my first reaction. I'm still drooling thinking about it.

It was my birthday treat last Saturday (yes, thank you for wishing me a happy birthday via your computer/iPad/mobile device), and my husband picked TWO urban licks. Here's a play by play of what we ordered ... forgive the dark photos as I forgot to use the flash on my phone. Crazy excitement, I guess.

First up: brisket empanadas

(I'm new to empanadas as well - it's just like a turnover/pastry filled with goodness,

which in this case, happened to be the only brisket I have ever loved.)

Main course: duck with a crazy, good sauce that's indescribable

Bday dessert: chocolate cake

(This was okay but not graced with the same excitement as the above items.

It was free and my choice, so one cannot complain.

It was rich chocolate cake with a little vanilla milk shot, which was divine.)

This is definitely one of the best meals I've had in Atlanta so far. If you haven't been before, it's in a cool warehouse with a bit of a mess of a parking lot. Valet is complimentary though, so that's a wonderful perk.

Yes, I'm still getting used to the difference between Midtown, Downtown, Five Points, Little Five Points, etc. and it may or may not fall into any of those categories as I think it would be considered Old 4th Ward. This blog will not help you get to any of these destinations as I'm directionally challenged. Google map everything.

Live music, great atmosphere and killer food - go there!

So, food.

So, here it is. My "food blog" ...

Why, food, you ask?

Just because. Within the past few years, I have turned from this "picky" girl who used to only like those vegetables (potatoes, green beans and corn - don't judge) to someone who cannot go without having onions, garlic and zucchini in my home ... in addition to many other items I now love.

I love these items now because I know how to cook them. I love fresh produce, trying new foods and going to the Dekalb Farmer's Market. (Side note: yes, it's crazier than Wal-Mart so definitely avoid on the weekends, but if you are in Atlanta, you MUST go here sometime for the experience. This place is another post in itself as my love for it is insane.)

Back to the topic at hand ... this blog will mainly be used to try new and unfamiliar ingredients (to me), highlight Atlanta's fabulous food scene and share some of my favorite products with the world. I'm not sure what this blog will turn in to; I'm just excited to share my life and love for food on a page. I will focus mostly on healthy foods as I'm loving cutting out the processed junk in my life - this is also another post in itself. I'm taking baby steps, but it's amazing what this can do for you and how it makes you feel. Cook fresh; it will change your life.

Thanks for joining me on this journey and for following my food adventures! Pics and posts to come. Let the learning begin ...