Pinterest. It's a Problem.

In the early stages of Pinterest I was largely able to ignore it's allure because I had JUST finished planning my wedding and I needed a break from all things organizing.

That lasted about 5 minutes.

I was just starting to get a little bit curious when  I found out that you had to be invited to join. Which meant, of course, I had an immediate need to be a part of the ultra-exclusive community. (I'm a museum guard's worst nightmare and  a marketer's dream.)

So, I impatiently awaited an invite and snapped up my membership. Two months later, I am in LOVE with Pinterest. Unfortunately, it's the bad kind of the love. It's a "your friends and family are likely going to have to stage an intervention" kind of love.

They say the first step towards recovery is acknowledging the problem.

Hi, my name is Nora, and I'm a...

Wait. Would admitting I have a problem mean that I have to stop?

New plan.

Here are the fabulous things I cooked this weekend that I learned about from my very bestest friend Pinterest:

Curried Carrot Soup (Vegan)

(This one needed quite a few changes, you can find those HERE.)

Spiced Pumpkin Biscuits

Lentil & Swiss Chard Casserole (Vegan)

(Just use whole wheat bread and completely omit the butter step, it's 100% unnecessary)

No Sugar Vegan Breakfast Cookies

(I used whole wheat flour.They are GREAT with yogurt and fruit, but I would not give them to a child (or to me) as a substitute for Oreos.)

Israeli Salad with Cottage Cheese and Zatar

(My picture was not worthy of being posted, but it was worthy of seconds..and maybe thirds...)

In conclusion, Pinterest; You are a time suck and a total distraction, but I do love you so.

Vegan Curried Carrot (& Coconut!) Soup

As promised in "Pinterest. It's a problem":


We ate this soup with the spiced pumpkin biscuits I also mentioned in that post. It was a GREAT combination.

Ingredients:

• 6 large carrots, chopped small
• 1 onion, chopped small
• 1 tsp powdered ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup lite coconut milk

Preparation:

• Simmer the carrots, onions, ginger and curry powder in vegetable broth for 20-25 minutes, until carrots are soft.
• Allow to cool slightly, and then puree in blender, working in batches if eneded. (The immersion blender did not work well with this recipe.)
• Return to heat and stir in coconut milk until well combined.

Farro and Pureed Butternut Squash with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Goat Cheese

Making Itineraries & Other Things On My Resume

Yes. Making itineraries is actually on my resume. If I learned anything in college about landing a job, it was the following 3 things:

1. Networking & relationships are more important than what you learn in class.
2. Interview suits should be simple, but your shoes should be spectacular.
3. Under "Interests" on your resume, make every effort to actually sound interesting.

Networking and relationships? Done and done. That shiz is totally my bailiwick.

Spectacular shoes? Why thank you clearance section at DSW, I think I WILL buy 3 pairs of designer shoes for $100.

Being interesting on paper proved to be the biggest challenge. I love my hobbies, but every girl in New York lists "cooking, travel and working out" among her interests. Also, and this upset me, it turns out that "watching copious amounts of television"... is not considered a skill. Lame.

So, I had to get creative. If I get a female interviewer, "make-up artistry", usually goes over pretty well, but men neither notice nor care. That's where "making itineraries" comes in. It's weird, but not so weird that it's creepy. Also, I get to talk about my craaaaazy organizational skillz.

This week is my Mom's birthday. Did you call her yet? Go ahead, I'll wait.

Isn't she fun to talk to?

So anyway, this week is my mom's birthday and she chose to celebrate it with me in NYC this year! As soon as she told me this was what she wanted to do, I started making an itinerary.

Here is the actual itinerary:

• Monday Night:
• 5:45pm Manicures so you'll be EXTRA purdy for your big day :)
• 7 pm Dinner and movie/tv at home (I'll cook you something yummy)
•   Tuesday Night:
• 6:10am I'm going to have to go to the gym to prepare for the rest of your birthday... you don't have to join
• 1pm you meet me at my office for lunch -Le Pan Quotidien & Magnolia Cupcakes!
• 6pm cook dinner at the shelter
• 8:30pm BIRTHDAY DINNER FOR THE BIRTHDAY GIRL -
  Burgers aaaand TOASTED MARSHMALLOW SMORE MILKSHAKES at Stand4 and save room for a little treat from momofuku milk bar    
•  Wednesday Night
• 5pm dentist appointment in Brooklyn
• 6pm gym
• 8pm Take out from 'sNice and girly movies at my apartment

Give me three days and I'll give you exhaustion.

My goal for Monday night's dinner was to prove to my mom that she could enjoy an entire meal made from whole grains and seasonable vegetables.

Farro and Pureed Butternut Squash with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Goat Cheese
(Loosely adapted from the "Stuffed Acorn Squash" recipe in the Canyon Ranch Cook Book)

Ingredients:
3 cups Vegetable or Chicken Stock (low-sodium)
2 cups dry farro
1 teaspoon Salt, divided
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Thyme
2 lbs peeled, seeded, and chopped butternut squash
1/2 medium Onion, finely diced
3 Garlic cloves, minced or crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground Allspice
1 Tablespoon white wine
1/4 cup low fat milk
1 Tablespoon almond oil
Black pepper to taste
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle. Lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil.

Once the oven is pre-heated, place the squash on the baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until the squash are tender when pierced with a fork. I like to let them get just slightly caramelized.

Place a medium sized pot with lid over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable stock to the pot and bring it to a boil. Add farro, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and thyme to the pot. Stir, and then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot with the lid, and gently simmer for 30 minutes, or until the rice has farro has absorbed the broth. If all of the liquid has been absorbed and the farro is not cooked to your desired consistency, add a bit of water. Once the farro is cooked, remove the pot from the heat, and fluff the contents with a fork.

While the squash and farro are cooking, place a small heavy pan with lid over low heat. Add onion and garlic into the pan, cover and stir occasionally until the onion is soft and almost translucent. If the mixture starts to stick to the pan, add a little bit of water. Once the onion is cooked, remove the cover and add the allspice, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and vermouth. Stir and continue to cook the mixture for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, and set the pan aside.

Once the squash is cooked, remove it from the oven. Transfer the squash into a food processor, or use an immersion blender if you have one. Add in the onion mixture and milk and process until smooth. While the processor is still running, slowly pour in the almond oil. Add pepper to taste. Once everything is smooth and blended together, transfer the mixture to a large bowl and mix in the cooked farro.

Sprinkle each serving with goat cheese and toasted pumpkin seeds.

We also enjoyed a lovely baby spinach salad with pears, red onions, dried cranberries, toasted cashews and a whole grain mustard vinaigrette.

My mom was pleasantly surprised by how much she enjoyed the meal, and immediately called my dad to tell him how many vegetables she'd willingly (mostly willingly) ingested.

He did not believe her.

Penne with Beets and Their Greens & a Goat Cheese Sauce

The Countertop Massacre AKA Cooking With Beets

A couple of years into my 20s and shortly after the discovery of veggies other than carrot sticks, I ordered my first beet salad. It was INcredible. Roasted beets with crumbled goat cheese and a warm honey drizzle, the perfect mix of sweet and savory. I fell asleep fantasizing about the new ways in which my world had just opened up.

But first thing the next morning, something TRULY alarming happened. The details are a little graphic for a food blog, but let's just say that a typical part of my morning routine had been drastically altered.

I was 99.9% sure I was dying.

A lengthy phone call with Doctor Dad and several hours of googling later, I was feeling much better. In fact, I decided that the resulting erm..ehem..side effect.. of consuming beets , was kind of cool. I wrote it down in my notebook of things I will someday tell my children to convince them to eat their vegetables.

I thought I had overcome anything about beets that could possibly be scary. And then, I cooked with them.

Let me make a quick list of all of the things in my kitchen that were stained pink:

• My hands
• My nails
• My forehead (note to self: it doesn't matter how itchy it is, if you're cooking with beets, it's not worth scratching)
• My paring knife
• My chopping knife
• My cutting board
• My sponge
• 85% of my counter top
• 3 different walls

When my roommate came home, it took me the better portion of an hour to convince him that no small animals had been harmed in the making of my dinner. (My roommate at the time was my brother... the most carnivorous human being you'll ever meet... so he was actually hoping I'd suddenly changed my vegetarian ways.)

Not even the messy and time consuming prep work can keep me away from what has become one of my favorite vegetables, but I sure do love when someone else does the dishes.

Penne with Beets and Their Greens & a Goat Cheese Sauce
(Adapted from a recipe in the Simply Organic Cookbook)

Ingredients:
2 bunches of beets (about 8)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 pound whole wheat penne pasta
Salt
Black Pepper
6oz soft goat cheese
1/4 cup grated asiago or parmesan cheese

Preparation:
Cut the greens off the beets, remove the stems, wash thoroughly, and chop coarsely. Set aside.
Trim the tops and bottoms of the beets and put them into a large pot, cover with water.
Bring water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover.
Cook for 20-60 minutes; until soft (size of the beets is the determinant).
When the beets are cooked, run them under cold water using your hands to slip off the skins.
Cut the beets into bite size pieces. Set aside.

Bring another large pot of water to boil, cook the pasta as directed (omitting salt if called for).
One minute before the pasta is finished cooking, add the greens to the boiling water.
Strain pasta and greens, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water to be used for the sauce.
Toss the pasta & greens 1.5 tablespoons olive oil.

While the beets and pasta are cooking, warm 1.5 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan
Add the onion & garlic, cook (stirring occasionally) until onions are soft - about 5 minutes.
Add the vinegar, oregano, and rosemary and cook for one minute.

With the pasta in the strainer, use the still warm pot from the pasta to mix both cheeses, and salt and pepper. Add the reserved pasta water tablespoon by tablespoon until the cheeses have become the consistency of a cream sauce.

Add the beets, pasta and greens to the cheese sauce. Toss until coated.
Add the onions and herbs, tossing to disperse thoroughly.

Clean everything IMMEDIATELY, unless you're really into the idea of a kitchen that looks like the car of a successful Mary Kay saleswoman.

Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad and More!

Why Go Out When You Could Stay In?

Here's a quick break down of my life since the new year began. 

• I fill my free time on weekdays with blogging, workout classes, dates with girlfriends and volunteering (OK OK.. and maybe a little too much TV). My theory is that if I'm busy enough, I might not notice that part of me is 388 miles away. Mostly though, my weekday activities just succeed in making me incredibly tired. I'm still well aware that beloved hubby is. not. here. STUPID PITTSBURGH.
• Moving on... 3 out of the past 7 weekends we've been out of town visiting friends and family
• 2 out of the remaining 4 weekends we've hosted out of town friends and family

That left us with only 2 "normal" weekends to negotiate. And those were completely crammed with plans because we'd been ignoring our local friends for 2 months!

So, you can image how excited we were when we discovered that we'd somehow forgotten to make plans for an ENTIRE WEEKEND.

Let me repeat that.

AN ENTIRE WEEKEND.

Muahahahahahahahahahahaha.

We took walks, watched movies, SLEPT, and most importantly... we ate a TON of amazing homemade food. 

Throughout the weekend I made:

• Spinach and Mushroom Korma This was OK..a little bland to be honest, but had potential if you boosted up the spice content a bit.

• Mushroom & Barley Soup This was FANTASTIC, but only if you LOVE mushrooms. I recommend doubling the barley. (Vegan)

• Beer, Cheddar & Mustard  Pull Apart Bread For the dough: I cut out a tablespoon of butter and used 2 cups of white flour, and 1/2 & 1/3 cups whole wheat flour in place of the extra white & rye. For the filling: I cut 1.5 tablespoons of butter and I used low fat cheddar. This bread was DELICIOUS, but not decadent. If you're going for decadent, use the original recipe.

•  Warm Butternut Squash & Chickpea Salad  DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT attempt to change this recipe. It is perfect just the way it is. (vegan)

• I also made some chocolate chip cookie dough, whiiiiiich... never turned into cookies. Whoops!

In the last 2 months we've dined out in highly regarded establishments in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Los Angeles, Boston and New York. But really, there's no place like home.

Urban Teenagers are... Special

Once a week I cook dinner by myself, or with a generous friend, for ten lovely gentlemen who just so happen to be homeless. They are all clean and kind, and hard working. You would never know they are homeless if you bumped into them on the street. The shelter is volunteer run, and is part of the synagogue to which I belong.

Public school kids in NYC have to do a certain number of volunteer hours each year, so I often have teenage su chefs.  Last night, I had the assistance of a 16 year old boy. Most of the kids I’ve met are pretty aloof, but certainly helpful enough.

This boy, however, was a disaster.

I asked him to use a 4 step brownie mix to make dessert... not something he'd ever done before. He read the instructions (4 step brownie mix) for a solid 10 minutes. When he finally finished,  he began to get all of the ingredients out of the cupboards. Good start.

Just as he was ABOUT to crack an egg, I asked, "do you have a bowl??"

No, he did not have a bowl.

He took a cereal bowl off the shelf.

Next, he set about measuring the water. The sink is on the opposite end of the kitchen from where he was working (it's a BIG kitchen) and he was using drying measuring cups to measure the water. He walked each cup from sink to bowl, spilling most of it along the way.

Then it came time to crack the eggs.  This didn't go well. I asked if he got any shell in the batter. He said, "just a little", and continued to measure the oil into the bowl.  I said "Did you take the shell OUT?" He stared at me blankly."You have to take the shell out, no one likes to eat the shell".

Finally, he poured in the mix and asked, "Now what?"... so I told him to stir it.  After stirring, he decided to read the box for a few more minutes before he said, in a puzzled tone of voice, "I've done everything it says to except stick a tooth pick in it, and I just don't really get that".

I said, "Well... you have to bake it first."

After I provided a pan of appropriate size, he proceeded to pour in the batter... in 3 different kitchen locations.

 

I am NOT exaggerating when I tell you that he got batter on his shirt, his face, 2 different counters, the microwave, the paper towel dispenser and the stove top. HE WASN’T EVEN NEAR THE STOVE TOP.

When the oven timer went off, he was very proud because he knew he had to use a pot holder.

JUUUUUUST as he was about to grab for pan, I said, "WAIT… may I please see the inside of your potholder?" So he held it up... GIANT HOLE.

If I were one to use hash tags, this one would be #sogladIdidn’tbecomeahighschoolteacher.

Maple Granola with Pecans and Figs

Yes I'm sure I've never had dreadlocks...

I recently spent a weekend with four of my closest childhood friends and their lovely significant others.  As old friends are wont to do, we spent most of our time together reminiscing. In the process, we bored our better halves near to tears.

This did not stop us.

During our bajillionth "Do you remember when...?" conversation, one friend casually asked me,
"You had dreads for awhile, right?"
"No, I never had dreads", I replied.
"Yes, you totally did!!!", another of my friends chimed in.
"No, I'm VERY certain I did not..."

Several childish minutes later of "Yuh Huhs" and "Nuh Uhs", I had not successfully convinced my friends that though my hair has indeed been nearly every color of the rainbow over the years, it has never been in dreadlocks.

But I did go through a bit of a crunchy phase for a few years in high school and early college. Most of my clothes were from a truly terrifying (and equally fabulous) thrift store in Ithaca, New York, I dyed my hair with henna instead of my go-to Manic Panic, I switched to all-natural (barely-functioning) hygiene products, the Indigo Girls played on repeat in my mini-van, and yes, it was during that time that I stopped eating meat.

It's been many years since that particular phase, but a little part of me looks forward to a day when I live in a place where it's socially acceptable for my wardrobe to be 100% linen and well-worn Birkenstocks, my music collection to be composed entirely of acoustic guitar and angsty chick rockers and where it's easier to buy local organic vegetables than imported fake Chanel.

But only part of me.

Maple Granola with Pecans & Figs
(adapted from this recipe in Cooking Light magazine)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups regular oats
• 1/2 cup pecans (broken into small peices)
• 1 rounded teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons wheat germ
• 3 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup chopped dried figs

Preperation:

Preheat oven to 325°.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.

Combine water, honey, syrup, sugar, and oil in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.

Pour over oat mixture; toss to coat.

Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper

Spread oat mixture on baking sheet. 

Bake at 325° for 35 minutes or until golden, stirring every 10 minutes.

Place in a large bowl; stir in figs.

Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Serve with plain yogurt or milk & fresh berries, and enjoy a patchouli candle lit breakfast.