Friday, April 11, 2008

Day of Food

I had my usual oatmeal today, but I mashed up an entire banana and it was way too much. For the first time in forever I couldn't finish my oatmeal. I topped my oatmeal with a few carob chips and banana slices. I'm not as huge of a carob fan as everyone else. Something about it just tastes strange to me.

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Today I only had class until 12 so I decided to plan a delicious meal. I was low on food so grocery shopping was in order as well. The weather was beautiful today so I went out onto my porch with a big stack of cookbooks and started picking out recipes for the rest of the week.

I wanted to do some leisurely shopping and try out some new places. My first stop was a little specialty store called Ed Hyder's Mediterranean Market. It's one of those places that I've been meaning to go forever and today I got the chance. It was exactly what I was hoping it would be. It's a tiny store but full of delicious things. A whole wall full of dried beans, interesting pantry staples from a multitude of cuisines, and even a selection of wines. They make their own hummus, baba ganoush, tabouli, and soups, carry a whole bunch of cheese and desserts. They had homemade pita breads and bulk spices. I only bought a small tub of baba ganoush and one of the ingredients for tonight's dinner but I am sure I'll be shopping here a lot more.

Next I went to Big Y, a supermarket that I don't usually frequent but I wanted to change things up a little. Within five minutes of getting there though the power went out, totally nuts! I ended up just leaving to do my grocery shopping at my usual haunts.

Lunch was on the run because I had plans to go shopping with my friends. When I got back from shopping I started cooking the recipe I chose for today Cold Way Hot Soba Noodles from Potluck at Midnight Farm by Tamara Weiss. I can't post the recipe because of copyright stuff but it's a beautiful and useful cookbook that I totally recommend. The recipe is for hot buckwheat soba noodles covered with a cold, spicy peanut sauce and topped with tons of fresh cilantro, scallions and cubed firm tofu.

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Too much noodles tend to make me feel sick and overstuffed so I put a small portion of noodles over a bed of freshly shredded red cabbage and carrots. I used about a quarter of a block of lite firm tofu. It was definitely one of the best tasting and best looking recipes I have cooked in awhile. Even though I cut it down to a fourth the recipe still made tons of sauce. It says it should keep for a few days so this will definitely be on the menu again tomorrow or Saturday

Tomorrow I am planning on going to a wine tasting and remembering to bring my camera! Just today I bought the latest issue of Food and Wine Magazine with an articleon the top 30 pinot noirs for all budgets. Maybe I'll pick one up tomorrow.

4 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I'm a carob-fanatic; but it's NOT a good idea to just eat carob chips "straight from the bag" - it's definitely an acquired taste. Try baking with carob and I bet you'll like it better :0)

sounds like a great grocery trip!! oooh and have fun today at the wine tasting - take pictures! :0)

Meredith said...

Thanks for the tips on carob! I might try making some carob chip cookies soon!

Anonymous said...

can't finish a bowl of oatmeal?? i cannot fathom the idea!!! salad looks yummy though!

Anonymous said...

this is Kate from next door fyi...

if Cosmo come back to your house you can bake cookies with carob and both of you can enjoy them together because it is dog-friendly!