Weekend Discoveries v. 3

A wonderful weekend came and went;

As always, I ate to my heart’s content

These edible discoveries I now shall vent

During this perfectly tempered NYC weekend, I discovered…

-When you whine about NYC weather, it refutes your bad mouthing with a beautiful 70 degree weekend—necessitating you to, once more, revert back to iced coffee.

No complaints.

-When an Egg McMuffin craving cannot be kicked because (a) it is past 11 a.m. or (b) you don’t want your tombstone to read “Death By Golden Arches,” a homemade version works nicely.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. WW english muffin toasted; 2 egg whites microwaved (never did this before! they were good!); ketchup & an American deli slice. 99.9% less likely to be your cause of death than McD’s version.

-Another homemade sandwich of sorts: Graham cracker ice cream sandwiches > those incredible little stick-to-your-fingers chocolate ones from your childhood.

This is saying a lot because those were great.

-Roasted figs with roquefort and maple syrup: !!!!!!!!

I followed this recipe but substituted maple syrup for the honey. This flavor combo was muy bueno and gave me a new appreciation for figs.

-Another figgie foray: Frozen figs.

I discovered this unique approach to fig consumption from Lynn. Me gusta. Frozen figs are the new frozen grapes.

–Zucchini cheetahs + sun-dried tomato tapenade=happy together.

-SAVORY OATS!

I know I’m really behind on this one, but I’d never made savory oats until this weekend. However, I can say with fair certainty that I’m addicted.

I followed Bittman’s approach to savory oats for my premiere bowl. I used 1/2 cup Irish oats cooked in 1 cup water, seasoned with 2 tbsp. soy sauce & salt. On top went spinach sauteed in garlic & soy sauce, grilled mushrooms and roasted red peppers.

I kid you not, I have never enjoyed a bowl of oats so much. I don’t know why it took me so long to test the savory oats waters because I’m a steadfast salty over sweet girl. I do fear that I will now—with dual loves for sweet oat breakfasts and savory oat dinners—OD on oats. Sort of looking forward to it.

-My first homemade veggie burgers!

Again, a little behind the pack on this one. But I’ve always had such love for Dr. P that I’ve foregone making my own.

I followed this recipe—only because it called for instant oatmeal. (I’m trying to work my way through a never-ending stash that I haven’t touched since discovering oat bran and irish oats.)

I used black beans instead of garbanzos, and brown rice instead of barley.

This was the mix before adding the veggies. I won’t lie; I had several uncooked bites, and they were delicious.

I baked half, and pan-fried half.

The baked took the cake.

SO GOOD. I LOVED the soy sauce & brown rice combo. I’m proud of these because they were my firsts—but I definitely think I’ll outdo them once I experiment a bit. I really want to try this recipe using Soy Vay instead of soy sauce. Mmmm.

-Starbucks was incorrecto. I could definitely taste the difference between VIA and regular.

I intensely dislike Starbucks brewed coffee, so I thought they both tasted nasty. But, if you are a Starbucks lover, VIA’s taste isn’t that different from the brewed ~~garbage~~ goods.

The rest of the weekend’s discoveries were made at yesterday’s Third Avenue Festival—a street fair in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

I was accompanied by Miss Gigi and spent the day discovering that…

-She really does look like Dora.

-Five-year-olds come up with hysterical reasons why you can’t do/eat things that aren’t of interest to them.

For example…

When I showed interest in giving these lonely masseurs something to do…

Gigi said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. They might break you.”

When I was looking at some ceramic, I was suddenly less delicate…

Gigi warned me, “We should go now. You might break something. And then you’ll go to jail.”

And lastly, when I suggested that we get some roasted sweet corn,

Gigi—whose attention was more grabbed by the funnel cake & ice cream stands—explained that “since our parents let us have corn at home, we should eat other stuff while they’re not here.” (She doesn’t understand that I’m an adult; she frequently refers to me as a teenager. I don’t ever correct her.)

Oh, she also kindly advised me, “If you get corn stuck in your teeth, you’ll never find a husbamd.” Punk.

-I also learned that when you promise a kid a cupcake, you have to deliver.

So, if you forget about said promise and accidently get ice cream…