Delicious Italian Sandwich

Lately, I have really been craving some nice, garlicy Italian food.  And being a vegetarian, you kind of miss sandwiches cause, lets face it, there isn't much vegetarians can put in a sandwich.  So with these thoughts in mind, I decided to make a delicious Italian sandwich.

Delicious Italian Sandwich

Time from start to finish: 15 minutes

1 loaf of Italian bread

1 container of roasted peppers

1 package mozzarella cheese

1 container pesto sauce

5 freshly chopped leaves of basil

1 package sun-dried tomatoes

Cut the Italian loaf in half lengthwise.  Spread a generous amount of pesto on the inside of each half of loaf.  Add a layer of roasted peppers, followed by a layer of thin sliced mozzarella cheese, then a layer of sun-dried tomatoes.  Sprinkle on the basil evenly.  

Then, close the sandwich & cook it in a panini grill, George Foreman grill, or on a stove-top.  Cook both sides evenly until the cheese melts.  Slice into as thin or thick of slices as you want. Enjoy!

Restaurant Review: Hummus Place

Last week, Melissa, Nick, Jay, & I went to Hummus Place.  It is a restaurant where all the meals have the same main ingredient of fresh, homemade hummus.  Jay & Nick thought the restaurant was pretty good while Melissa & I did not like it at all.  Between the 4 of us, we ordered mushroom hummus, chick pea hummus, and 2 shakshukas (a cast iron skillet filled with roasted veggies, tomato stew, and 2 fried eggs).  The shakshuka was okay but kind of bland and the hummus needed serious improvement.  Then we ordered the vanilla & rose malabi which tasted so much like laundry detergent we couldn't even eat it!  The prices were very cheap, but we would definitely not go back.

Me not liking it.

Melissa not liking it.

The shakshuka.

The malabi.

Hummus Place

99 Macdougal Street

New York, NY

Comforting French Toast Breakfast

This morning, we were all hungry for breakfast but did not want oatmeal or cereal, we wanted something special.  I suggested French Toast & everyone got really excited.  Here's the recipe:

Comforting French Toast (serves 4)

Time from start to finish: 15 minutes

1 loaf of bread (challah bread is recommended but potato or white bread is fine), sliced

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

2 cups of lite vanilla or lite chocolate soy milk

2 eggs

1 tsp. orange zest

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup sliced almonds

margarine

powered sugar

maple syrup

In a medium sized bowl, beat the milk, eggs, cinnamon, orange zest, & vanilla together.  Spray a large skillet or flat pan with non stick spray & heat the skillet.  Dip the slices of the bread in the egg/milk mixture & cover all the sides in batter.  Place each slice on the hot skillet.  Let it sit on each side for about 2 minutes of until golden brown, then flip.  After the french toast is golden brown on each side, place it on a serving plate.  Spread a little margarine on top.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and almond slices.  Serve with maple syrup.  How delicious & what a great way to start your day!

Soup and Salad... a twist on the traditionals!

Sweet Beta-Carotine Soup
Time Start to Finish: 45 minutes

1/2 calabaza pumpkin
2 sweet potatoes
maple syrup
cinnamon
1/3 can coconut milk (try to use lite)
pumpkin seeds

Despite the vitamin-rich sounding title.... this soup is fabulous and truly a product of grocery shopping boredom. It really is loaded with Beta-Carotene (sweet potatoes and pumpkin!...so orange) and the slight sweetness makes it a great dessert or afternoon snack.

Slice the pumpkin into thin wedges and the sweet potato into rounds. Leave the skins on. Lightly sprinkly the sweet potato with cinnamon. On a baking sheet drizzle both with maple syrup and use your fingers to spread the syrup on all the pieces. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees till soft... for about 20 minutes. The syrup will slightly caramalize and give the veggies great flavour and colour.

Once the pumpkin and sweet potato are soft, remove the baking sheet from the oven and let cool. Remove the skin of the pumpkin. Leave the sweet potato skin on (extra fiber and flavour!). Take half of the mix and put in a blender or food processor. Add half of the coconut milk and blend thouroughly with a few tablespoons of water. Set the blended mix aside and continue to blend the other half of the pumpkin and sweet potato with the remaining coconut milk.

Once blended, put the mixture through a sieve to achieve a silky smooth texture. I actually used a pair of fishnets over a glass!... so you can definitely get creative. You can serve either warm or chilled... sprinkle a few pumpkin seeds on top for the final touch!

Ado-Ato Salad
Time Start to Finish: 10 minutes

1/2 head of lettuce, chopped
3/4 cup edamame, boiled and shelled
1/2 cup marinara sauce
1/3 cup hummus
1/2 avacADO
1/2 tomATO, chopped
1 sweet potATO

Boil and shell the edamame. Cook the sweet potato on the "potato" setting in the microwave and ice. Mix ingredients together and serve! How easy was that?

Same Veggies, Different Cuisines continued...

So here at LiMe we are all about fushion and innovation. When my veggie curry didn't turn out quite the way I expected, we turned our Indian inspiration into an Italian dish!

Curry Italiano
Time Start till Finish: 30-40 minutes

For the "curry"...
1 carrot
1 yellow squash
1/2 head of cauliflower
4-5 celery stalks
1 onion
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 large can of chickpeas
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. tumeric
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. curry
1 tsp. garam masals
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. cumin

Dice the onion and add to a large pot or wok. I prefer not to use oil so I add a few tbsp. of water to sweat the onions, but feel free to use 1-2 tbsp. of olive oil instead. Once the onions are cooking, add the spices and cook until the onions are soft. Add the rest of the vegetables and stewed tomatoes and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas and continue to cook for another 5 min until the veggies are soft and you have achieved a nice CURRY consistency.

Now for the Italian part!

To the curry add...
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 cans canellini beans
2 cans red kidney beans
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 tsp. parsley
balsamic vinegar
hummus

Add the additional ingredients (except the balsamic vinegar and hummus) to the curry pot. Heat thoroughly for 10 minutes. To serve, drizzle with balsamic vinegarette and add a dollop of hummus. Enjoy!

Same Veggies- Different Cuisines!

Last night, Melissa & I went to Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, & Jin's Superette (our favorite little local store where our buddy Jay works).  We bought broccoli, yellow squash, chick peas, carrots, zucchini, onions, cauliflower, lite coconut milk, calabaza pumpkin, sweet potatoes, stewed tomatoes, cannellini beans, kidney beans, & crushed tomatoes.  Somehow, all these ingredients resulted in a Sweet & Creamy Dessert Pudding, a delicious healthy Indian Mixed Vegetable Curry, & Hearty Minestrone Soup.  The recipes are as follows:

Hearty Minestrone Soup

Time from start to finish: 30 minutes

1 chopped onion

3 tablespoons minced garlic

1 chopped carrot

1 tablespoon italian seasoning

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon parsley

1/2 chopped yellow squash

1/2 chopped zucchini

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 large can crushed tomatoes in puree

2 large cans of water (use the large can from the crushed tomatoes)

1 can cannellini beans

1 can kidney beans

Spray a large pot with non-stick spray.  Add the onion & garlic.  Lightly cook them until the onion is golden brown.  Add the carrot.  Add the parsley, basil, & italian seasoning.  Stir & cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the squash, zucchini, tomatoes, water, & beans.  Cover & reduce the heat.  Let it stand for about 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

The other two recipes were Melissa's creation so she will be posting about those in a couple minutes!  Enjoy!

Restaurant Review: Red Bamboo

This entire weekend was simply amazing!  Sunday was such a great day.  Melissa & I woke up early, got dressed in some cute vintage outfits, &  headed down to the Brooklyn Flea Market.  The flea market was so cute!  There were tons of vintage dresses, outfits, picture frames, books, jewelry, accessories, & plenty of random finds.  Melissa bought a super cute silky red cheetah print vintage dress & a yellow strapless tube top that has large orange flowers embroidered all over.  The only bad thing was the super long lines at the snack booths & the blazing NY sun & humidity- considering the whole thing is outdoors.

After doing a little research online prior to heading to the flea market, we discovered Kumquat Cupcakes would have a booth there.  Their cupcakes are extremely small & only $1 each.  They only had 3 flavors- Vanilla Peach, Chocolate Blueberry, & Red Velvet.  The cupcakes were just okay.  They do not even compare to Batch.  The flavors were weird & I think Kumquat Cupcakes underestimates the joy of simplicity.  They were cute but not worth a special trip just to get them.

After we finished our cupcakes & bargained at the last booths, we headed to Red Bamboo- only a 3 minute walk from the flea market!  Melissa was still ranting about the flea market & we both had a great time.

Once we got to Red Bamboo, we were amazed by the menu! BBQ skewers, Buffalo Wings, Grilled Chicken Salads- all Vegan!  We ordered the Teriyaki Chicken Salad, The Mediterranean Platter, & a side of Tofu Scramble Florentine.   The Teriyaki Chicken Salad was WONDERFUL! It had amazing seasonings & spices, flavor, texture- everything was perfect! 

 The Mediterranean Platter contained freshly made hummus, whole wheat pita slices, greek olives, couscous salad, and tomato.  It made a great little appetizer & was so light & fresh.  The tofu scramble was good too but not as good as the other dishes. 

All in all, our day was amazing!  Red Bamboo is a great find & a true blessing for Vegetarians & Vegans of NYC.

Brooklyn Flea Market

176 Lafayette Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11238

Red Bamboo

271 Adelphi Street

Brooklyn, NY 11238

Restaurant Review: Curry in a Hurry

Nestled in Manhattan's "Little India" there is a true gem to be found.  Once upon a time, my mom & I were shopping at Trader Joe's in Union Square when we were both struck by a craving for delicious Indian food.  We were walking the streets of Union Square with no luck.   We came across a fresh fruit stand & noticed that the man working the stand was Indian.  We decided to ask him in hopes of him knowing a great local Indian restaurant.  He told us to take the 6 train uptown just a couple stops to 28th Street & walk until we hit Lexington Avenue.  Doing as we were told, we caught the train & headed in hopes of some great curry.  When we got to Lex & 28th, there were Indian restaurants on all 4 corners, but we both remembered him saying it was called "Curry in a Hurry"... a name we both thought was funny & clever.  We  rushed in to find a counter where you place your order.  The items individually were quite expensive, but as a meal- dirt cheap!  We loved the restaurant so I promised Melissa I would take her there.  Here is our review:

We ordered the Vegetarian Combination Plate.  It comes with 2 veggie dishes, rice, & naan.  In the dining room, there is a free salad bar & rice pudding dessert bar.  For our 2 veggies, we chose mixed veggies & dal (the one with the yogurt!!).  We ordered an extra naan & this was a great amount of food for the both of us to split.  The food at Curry in a Hurry is amazing!  Probably the best Indian Restaurant in all of Manhattan.  Neither Melissa nor I have ever had better Indian food- and we are avid searchers!  Everything wa

s just perfect!  Curry in a Hurry has a lot of vegetarian option, including: cauliflower curry, mixed veggie curry, dal with yogurt, eggplant curry, yogurt-free dal, chana masala, vegetable tempura, potato samosa, and a couple "items of the day".  

The food here is simply amazing. The atmosphere is that of an upscale cafeteria with little wait service & it is mostly "do-it-yourself" style.  However, this would be a great place to meet with curry-loving friends, co-workers, etc.  No reservations needed.  Not recommended for a first date or an anniversary or anything but that is just because the atmosphere is not romantic or very professional... but who cares when the food is this great?!

Curry in a Hurry

119 Lexington Avenue

New York, NY 10016

212-683-0900