Fun New Things #1

I am creating the "Fun New Things" series in order to share with you the awesome stuff that I have found, have had suggested to me, or that I think you absolutely NEED to know about.

First thing's first: The Food.

Raincoast Oat Crisps. Gluten free, made with all-natural ingredients and actually pretty damn good! A friend of mine brought them into work to share with me, and we both nommed the Rosemary Raisin Pecan flavor. They reminded me a lot of those little pieces of crunchy rye bread in Gardettos party mix stuff? Only they aren't loaded with sodium. The Rosemary provides the flavor, the visible seeds added to the crunch, and then the raisins provided just a slight sweetness and chewiness in parts. I really enjoyed these. Not only are they yummy, but they are healthy. They helped to keep my blood sugar from dropping or spiking when I really needed a snack between meals. I would definitely recommend these.

Check them out here on their website: http://www.lesleystowe.com/#/the-crisps/

Second: The Drink.

Ever heard of Kombucha? Kombucha is a black and/or green tea that is fermented using bacteria and yeast. I know that sounds gross, but trust me (though please don't try to make this at home, you could hurt yourself). It is pretty popular in Asian countries, but it is starting to see an upward trend here in the US as a functional food. The yeast gives off bubbles, making this drink slightly fizzy. It isn't super fizzy like, say, a Coke, but it is absolutely tasty and refreshing.

I tried the Dreamy Orange flavor, which I found at Target, and it was really good. And I didn't feel guilty about drinking it. Of course, it contains sugar for an added sweetness, but it is tea after all.

Check out their website here: http://livesodakombucha.com/products

Anyone ever been to Europe and try one of their bottled, fizzy lemonade-type drinks? That's kind of what this reminds me of. If not, move on to the Stuff!!



Third: The Stuff.

Kettlebells. The discount store Five Below is selling 5 lbs kettlebells for $5! I have been wanting to try a kettlebell workout forever but they are something that you have to invest in, and I didn't want to drop the cash if I didn't know whether or not I'd like it. Well, for $5 I can definitely give this bad boy (or girl) a go! I did some research and asked around, and it's recommended that a newbie starts out with 5 lbs. So, it's perfect.

I couldn't find the kettlebells on Five Below's website, but here is some of the other sport stuff that they sell on the cheap: http://www.fivebelow.com/sports/fitness-sports-balls.html


Until next time!

Book Review: The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais

Are you a Francophile? Do you have an affinity for French cuisine? Do you have a basic understanding of the French language? If so, then this book is right up your alley!

Unfortunately, though I have visited Paris, I do not speak a lick of French and I think French food is chocked full of much-too-scary ingredients that I don't have any interest in trying (hare, oysters, duck confit, etc etc etc).

The Hundred Foot Journey, by Richard C. Morais, started out very well. I picked up the book because I had read that it had been made into a movie, and the movie starred Helen Mirren, and it was about food. So of course I had to read it. 

**This review may contain spoilers**

Hassan Haji is an immigrant from India who finds his culinary calling in the kitchen of his family's Indian restaurant. After his mother dies, his family immigrates (more like RUNS) to London. Hassan's father, feeling lost, packed the car full of the family and takes a culinary tour of Europe. The car finally breaks down in France, in a small town in the countryside. On a whim, Hassan's father purchases the large house for sale next to their broken down vehicle and decides to open up an Indian restaurant in an area of France where it is likely no one has ever tried an Indian dish. Little do they know, however, that the inn across the street is home and restaurant of a famous 2-star chef, Madame Mallory, who becomes insanely jealous that such an exotic restaurant is ruining the ambiance and drawing in a good deal of customers. 

After several failed attempts at closing down their restaurant, Madame Mallory finally breaks down and tries their Indian food, discovering that Hassan, who is manning the kitchen, has a real talent for cooking and she believes he has the potential to be a great chef. She takes Hassan under her wing, after a hunger strike outside of the Haji's home, and molds him in her wake. 

I thought the first have of this book was great fun, lots of Indian dishes and flavors and spices I could understand and I could picture the meals in my head. I also listened to this on audiobook and the narrator had a great way of pronouncing both the Indian and the French words and accents of the speakers. 

After Hassan leaves Madam Mallory and goes out into the culinary world is when I became a bit bored with the story. While it was very well written it didn't hold much for me in terms of my interest. I really disliked how a lot of French dishes were named, but not described, as I had no idea what they were.

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend it, again, for Francophiles and those who enjoy French cuisine. 

Foodie Favs: Crockpot Chicken Tikka Masala!

I have been on a curry and Indian food kick for some time now. I think I narrowed it down to a reason - a) I work in a library that has a large Indian population, and this includes some of the employees who bring their delicious lunches and heat it up so the entire break room and the rest of the library smells like their amazing food *INHALE*. And b) I am listening to "The Hundred Foot Journey" (review to come) and the beginning is highly steeped in Indian food. Remember in my last post how I wrote about how crazy I am about bold flavors? This one takes BOLD to the ultimate. I mean with onion, garlic, tomato, lemon, Garam Masala, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and coconut milk, how can this NOT be packed full of flavor?

I cooked this in the crockpot and the chicken was so moist and tender that it fell apart with a tap of the fork. The potatoes, after 6 hours in the crock pot, still had a little bit of give to them, which I like better than mushy potatoes that fall apart and get all mixed into the sauce like mashed potatoes.

I recommend serving this with brown rice, with naan, or over broccoli (natures sponge) as a healthier alternative because this yields a lot of sauce.

This recipe was found on Pinterest and links to this site.

Ingredients

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 pound potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces (I used fingerling)
• 1/2 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons freshly, finely grated ginger
• 1 (29 oz) can tomato puree
• 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons Garam Masala (found in the spices section of most grocery stores)
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1-3 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used 2 and it was pretty hot for me)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
• Chopped cilantro, for serving

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Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine onion, garlic, ginger, tomato puree, yogurt, oil, lemon juice, Garam Masala, cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon, pepper, and cayenne.
2. Place the chicken and potatoes in the slow cooker then pour the sauce over. Gently stir to coat.
3. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked.
4. In the last 20 minutes of cooking, mix together coconut milk and cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the slow cooker and let thicken. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

The only thing I did here was I used 2 chicken breast instead of 3 (but regretting it, the chicken is so damn good), and I used onion powder instead of an actual onion. I also used 3 tbsp of flour instead of cornstarch because I totally thought I had it and I didn't.

ENJOY!

Foodie Favs: Curry Beef with Peas and Teriyaki Sweet Potatoes

I know, I know, curry and teriyaki don't necessarily go together (well, it depends on who you ask), but I am a huge fan of bold flavors. I think that's why I like condiments so much. Sweet, sour, savory, spicy, you name it, I love it.

I have been trying to eat healthier - especially having less processed foods. 

Both of these recipes come from one of my absolute favorite recipe websites: www.budgetbytes.com. So many flavorful recipes for all budgets.

Curry Beef With Peas:

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 2 inches fresh ginger
• 1½ Tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• a pinch crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 medium potato
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 tsp flour
• ½ lb. frozen peas
• to taste salt

Instructions

1. Mince the garlic, peel and grate the ginger. Use a vegetable peeler or scrape with a spoon to remove the peel of the ginger. Cook both with vegetable oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until softened.
2. Add the curry powder, turmeric, and red pepper flakes. Stir and cook for about 1-2 minutes more. Add the beef and continue to cook until fully browned.
3. While the beef is cooking, peel the potato and then cut into small cubes. Once the beef is fully cooked, add the cubed potatoes, beef broth, and flour. Allow the whole skillet to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes have softened and most of the moisture has evaporated off (about 15 minutes). If it gets too dry before the potatoes have finished cooking, simply add a little bit more water and continue cooking.
4. Once the potatoes are tender, stir in the frozen peas and heat through. Give it a taste and adjust the salt to your liking. Serve over rice or with naan bread.

The only alteration I made to this recipe was using powdered ginger as I didn't have any fresh on hand. Worked just as well!

Teriyaki Sweet Potatoes:

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs. sweet potatoes
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 oz. sesame seeds

1. Wash, peel and cube your sweet potatoes.

2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray and put all of your sweet potato chunks in it. In a separate bowl, mix the sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic, and soy sauce together until as much as the sugar is dissolved as possible.

3. Pour the sauce over the sweet potato chunks and stir to coat all sides. Cover the dish with foil (or a cover if it has one) and place in the oven for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, stir the mixture and place back in the oven without a cover. Stir every ten minutes after this point, cooking for 30 minutes more total. I added the sesame seeds at the last stir (with ten minutes left to cook).

The only modification to this recipe I made were leaving out the sesame seeds, just because I didn't have any. I bet they would be really good, though.

TV Review: American Horror Story: Asylum

I know I am a bit late on watching this one, but I'm kinda slow at watching TV.

What I love about AHS as a whole, is that every season is a different show. Same actors play completely different characters, totally different eras and subject matter.

**The rest of this review may contain spoilers**

Season 2 takes place in 1960s Massachusetts, in an asylum for the criminally insane called Briarcliff. Lana Winters, a lesbian journalist, sneaks into Briarcliff with the intention of scooping out a juicy story about the atrocities happening inside. Lana is caught in the act by the very strict Sister Jude, a nun that runs Briarcliff, and is admitted into the asylum for the "mental disorder" of being gay.

Inside Briarcliff, Lana finds exactly what she was looking for and the pain and suffering that she hoped to expose. Boiling baths, electroshock therapy, and solitary confinement are just naming a few.

There is a lot going on in this show, which is typical AHS fashion. Including: a serial killer, several different mental disorders, the Devil, an exorcism, aliens and a Nazi.

I honestly thought that the last few episodes of the show could have been left out. The last episode, I believe, was needed, but there were even more twists and turns added right at the end of the show, then hastily wrapped up.

I give this series 4 out of 5 stars because I honestly enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to watching American Horror Story: Coven next!

Book Review: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

First off, let me start off by saying: listen to this book on Audio! Mindy narrates it herself and I think her voice and her emphasis on certain words really add to the overall experience.

It took me about a week of commuting to listen to this book, and it was one of those books that actually made me look forward to getting into the car.

For those of you who don't know who Mindy Kaling is (aka those of you living under a rock), she is an Indian-American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. You may know her as Kelly Kapoor on the American version of The Office as well as Mindy Lahiri on The Mindy Project. I seriously love The Mindy Project, which is one of the things that prompted me to pick up this book.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? was written back in 2011, so this was before TMP took off. Mindy discusses her childhood, adolescence, time spent at Dartmouth College, her best friends, odd jobs, and career moves. But what also fills the pages are her opinions on: the difference between men and boys, the rules of being a best friend, her demands for a perfect funeral, her hatred for riding bikes, and the difference between terms such as "chubby" and "obesetron" (among many, many other things).

Funny, witty and full of Mindy's personal experiences and opinions, this book was one of those laugh-out-loud reads that you make mental notes about, so as to sound funny at a party.

I give this book 5 stars and will recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and light read.

p.s. Fun Fact: Mindy's real name is Vera Mindy Chokalingam.

Where Are You From??

I am currently living in Detroit, Michigan, but was born in Nuremberg, Germany and have traveled around a lot with a military family, living in California and Georgia at other parts of my life.

I'm curious about my readers! Where are you from? Where do you currently live?

Leave me a comment!