Category Archives: food

December 28, 2011

Belgian Food is more than Beer and Chocolate

By simply three cents

During my time in Brussels, I remember visiting the Grand Place, the main square, the Mannekin Pis, a famous landmark (Google it!) and the inside of many bars and chocolate shops…Belgian beers and chocolates anyone?!

I saw many attractions but this post will be solely about food, which, let’s be honest, is an attraction within itself.

First, frites…you could get a paper cone filled with French fries, and before it was handed over, it would be topped with a big squirt of mayonnaise on it.

To some, including the boyfriend, it sounds disgusting when I tell this story, but I remember it being absolutely delicious! Perhaps I imbibed on too many Belgian beers but even sober it sounds delish!

Second, chocolate shops were everywhere. At the end of my trip I had some Belgian money remaining (this was before the Euro) and I just went to a chocolate shop in the train station, I gave the shopkeeper my money and together we filled a bag of chocolate for my train ride home. This served two purposes – getting rid of Belgian money and an edible souvenier.

Third, waffles…I only had them once but they were more of a waffle on the go rather than what we do here in the US, loading them up with fruits and sweets. I remember them being thinner and lighter.

Fourth, beer. The array of beers was incredible. Each beer would be poured in a specific glass with the brand label. The shape and size of the glass was created to ensure the best taste with that particular type of beer. I went into a shop and brought a few bottles and their respective glasses home with me. And not just to London, but these bottles (unopened) made it back to the States with me many months later.

Fifth, I wrote a post about Belgium about ordering fondue in a restaurant and out came mozzarella sticks. A pleasant surprise.

And two other points to note. I have written before about my McDonald’s currency exchange plan. Belgium was the only country where I never saw a McDonalds. Or a Starbucks.

A country known for fries, chocolate, waffles and beer…how could you go wrong in Belgium? Though as I write this post, I have to wonder how prevalent heart disease is in Belgium. Or the increased incidence found in travelers.

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in food, travelogues

October 18, 2011

What’s your go-to dish?

By simply three cents

People always have their go-to recipe when bringing a dish to a party. Mine is wine. Or cheese. Last Thanksgiving my sister hosted and she put me in charge of…the wine and the appetizer. She assumed I would bring a simple starter, like cheese. But I surprised her with a recipe for sun-dried tomato bruschetta I had eaten at a book club meeting a few weeks earlier.

What’s your go to recipe? I know my (five) readers have some delicious recipes of their own…there’s a layered taco dip, there’s homemade mac and cheese, there’s some amazing sausage patty thing, there’s some great mac salad, there’s a buffalo chicken wing dip and there’s a brie and croissant gooey mouthwatering awesomeness out there! Feel free to share — you know who you are!!

Leave a comment | posted in food, holidays

October 13, 2011

Rogue Recipes

By simply three cents

Some people (maybe just me) may find it funny that I collect recipes, being that I don’t really cook.

I don’t know why I do it. I have loads of recipes I have seen online, in magazines and have collected over the years, yet I’ve never really dabbled in it.

Maybe because I don’t have enough pots or bowls. When I make brownies I have to pour the mix (don’t judge) into two bowls because I don’t have one big enough. Never really bothered to get one big enough but it makes for adventures, and a big mess in the kitchen.

Anyway, if you are looking for an interesting recipe, I have it. I can’t vouch for it, but I’ve got plenty. I’ve been doing this for years – is there such a thing as vintage recipes?

With all these collected recipes, I inadvertently made my own kind of recipe the other night – and maybe this already exists – but if it does, I didn’t know. I meant to buy fresh spinach to make a salad for dinner. Forgot to buy the spinach. But had purchased a few pears. I peeled the pear to the core with a peeler and the pears served as the ‘greens’ for the evening. Topped with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar — voila! Who needs all those recipes?!

Most importantly…it was very, very good.

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August 31, 2011

WHY call it a starter?

By simply three cents

It drives me nuts when you are in a restaurant and you order an appetizer and a meal, and they come out together.

More often than not this happens when you are seated at a really small table.

Then the server has to do the dance moving salt and pepper shakers and waters and wine glasses to get everything situated.

If I wanted buffet style, I would have gone to a buffet.

WHY Wednesday.

Leave a comment | posted in food, observations, peeves, WHY Wednesday

August 29, 2011

Number one: I couldn’t stop eating

By simply three cents

Hurricane / Tropical Storm Irene caused significant flooding and damage on the Eastern Seaboard this weekend but hopefully everyone is safe.

My post-hurricane/tropical storm observations from my own home.

1 – During ‘lock down’ I COULDN’T STOP EATING. We had bought some food (read: unhealthy crap) that we don’t normally purchase so it was a bit of overload. But not everything was unhealthy. Bananas, granola bars, popsicles, bread. It didn’t matter. I couldn’t stop eating. Besides small leaks in my apartment, the biggest personal problem I have with Irene is the weight she put on me. Anyone else have the same problem?!

2 – The boyfriend and I prepare for emergencies very differently. I heeded the advice of elected officials, I taped the windows, I moved my irreplaceable (after human life) items into the closets, I filled the tub with water, I made sure we had wine and beer and canned goods and snacks (okay, so they said canned goods and food…I interpreted it my way), I slept on an aero bed in our foyer away from glass windows. I was under the assumption that our windows were going to blow out. The boyfriend, not so much. He made sure we had bottled water, he filled up used water bottles with tap water in case we needed more water to flush the toilets (because he drained the tub I filled), he made sure we had flashlights (even though the batteries were supposed to be used by 2003), he slept in the bed – next to said glass windows. Maybe we make a good team.

3 – I feel bad for the newscasters. I know that I once wanted to be one of them, but boy is it tedious, not to mention dangerous. And I got sucked in with the best of them. On Sunday evening, yes Sunday, when I asked the boyfriend, ‘Where did Saturday and Sunday go?’ he replied, ‘We watched the news, a lot of news.’ And just like that my weekend was gone.

4 – While I give New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg much credit for speaking Spanish during his press conferences, he might want to have a translator to speak on his behalf. I do hope it is sincerely appreciated by Spanish-speaking New Yorkers because he does give it a valiant effort.

5 – Whatever your political affiliation, you have to love New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s ‘get the hell off the beach’ speech. If you haven’t seen it, click the link I provided right this second. HILARIOUS. PS – he is right, although I admit that I may have waited a little bit longer just to avoid  the traffic.

6 – Social media is here to stay. I have believed this for a long time but for you naysayers…news was out there relaying information as well as local governments. I admit, I followed a few more relevant Facebook pages and Twitter feeds that would give me the information I desired. And some with not so relevant information…but hey, with 10K followers in just a few days, that’s impressive.

7 – Note to self: when stores are restocked, create an emergency kit – including D batteries and duct tape. No where could D batteries be found. Duct tape — I eventually found a few more rolls, but they weren’t at the hardware store. Now I realize the importance…I don’t want to be THOSE people at the store again. I want to have that stuff at the ready.

8 – We should be thankful it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Prepare for the worst, expect the best is a good mantra.

9 – I prepared for the windows to blow out and I also prepared to lose electricity. I had games, a deck of cards and candles ready to go into the bathroom. I also made the boyfriend and I pack a little emergency bag in case we had to evacuate at a moment’s notice. Laugh now, but I don’t think it was a bad idea.

10 – I am a little annoyed by the MTA and the PATH trains. You shut them down for the first time in history and you get them back and running in less than 48 hours? Why? Why? WHY? The storm happened over the weekend. You couldn’t just make a public plea for people to stay home on Monday?

While there are many people who think this was too much preparation for something so little, I do think the public officials did right by their constituents. Mother Nature is unpredictable and while there is significant damage up and down the Eastern Seaboard, you never know what could have been.

Leave a comment | posted in food, in and around NYC, observations, relationships

August 18, 2011

The basics seem to be the same

By simply three cents

Sometimes I get asked, how do you find food you are accustomed to when you travel?

WHAT?! Not knowing what are the staples to the local country is one of the best parts of traveling!

My grandpa is laughing somewhere in heaven right now. Once I got addicted to sushi, he was amazed that the same girl who would only eat grilled cheese and cereal as a child would like such a thing. Especially because some of my favorite pieces of sashimi are some especially strange, but that’s a story for another time.

Truly, the basics are the same all over.

Several years ago the boyfriend and I were traveling from the San Jose airport in Costa Rica en route to La Fortuna, where the famed Arenal Volcano sits. We were famished. The drive is about 60 miles so somewhere halfway, on these back roads, we pulled over into a Sam’s Club kind of place. It was a big food shopping warehouse. We got some water and some small snacks. (You didn’t need to buy everything in bulk, just most of it!)

The woman in front of us had several dozen eggs, huge sacks of rice and a couple of loaves of bread on the conveyor belt. These three items are pretty basic no matter where in the world you may be.

Also in Costa Rica, there was a dish called ‘casado.’ It is a large plate with rice, beans, plantains, tortillas, salad and your choice of chicken, beef or fish. We were told it means marriage in Spanish but it’s called that because that’s a dish that men eat when they get married. I guess because it’s a real meal. It’s not all that different from what you might eat in America either.

And again, in Costa Rica, one of the parts of breakfast we were once served was cheese. I had never met a cheese I did not like enough to eat the whole thing. Until that one piece. A thick piece. It almost looked like you were served a large square of a sponge soaked in butter. I had thought, cheese? I told the waiter, of course, I will try it, and I did. And when I did, I realized I had met my first kind of cheese I could not even stomach. I took a second bit just to confirm I hated it. I absolutely did.

I don’t know what kind of cheese it was, I don’t remember what it tasted like, I just remember I covered it with another plate because there was no way I could take another bite. I was so embarrassed because before I tried it I had told the waiter I loved  all kinds of cheese. Note to self: never tell anyone you love cheese until you try what they are serving.

But let’s go back to basics that you count on at home. What about all the pizza and pasta in places other than Italy? So many options in Argentina and Croatia because they are influenced by Italian cuisine, just like the US.

Of course in some places, you can get your ‘American burger’ or your ‘New York pizza’ – but what’s the point of adventurous eating then?? Obviously sometimes you are homesick, or craving a certain something, but don’t think for one second that the ‘New York pizza’ somewhere outside of Edinburgh is going to taste like New York pizza.

Although once while in Amsterdam, my dad (who is not at all an adventurous eater) managed to find a Chinese restaurant. That had the biggest eggroll we had ever seen. Ever. I don’t recall if it was any good, but most eggrolls that I’ve seen fit into a little paper bag, and are an accompanying piece to the meal. I will never forget that it was so big, it came out on a properly sized entrée plate.

More on adventurous eating in another post. My dad may not be an adventurous eater but my mom certainly is!

And when you are out and about trying to figure out your meal, having translation trouble is really fun too!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , | posted in food, observations, travel, travelogues

July 7, 2011

Caffeine Nation

By simply three cents

So I don’t usually frequent [well-known coffee chain in the US]. I don’t drink coffee. I don’t like the flavor and I don’t crave the caffeine and I have all the tea and hot chocolate at my disposal in my workplace.

Today, I was asked to join some colleagues for a coffee run. I went. But what’s a girl to do? The options! The calories! The names! The sizes! The caffeine!

Instead of getting a drink, I had originally planned to stop off and grab some chocolate, (I had my salty fix earlier in the day) so let’s not get too hung up on the calorie count of these drinks. But I don’t want to drink the calories. I’m all about snacking, but that’s snacking. Sipping calories…unless it’s a chocolate malted milkshake, I say, what’s the point?

Plus, it was late in the day, so I wasn’t looking for a caffeine rush. If I really a boost, I will drink a Mountain Dew. I like to think that I am naturally caffeinated 😉

I let my cohorts know I don’t like coffee so they direct me to the various iced tea offerings. I, too, can make tea, throw a few ice cubes in and voila…iced tea.

I’m also a bit of a tea snob, so I also have my own tea selection at my desk, so I’ve got instant access to enjoyable flavors.

So I’m not sure why the lines are terrifically long. Maybe the coffee is THAT good. I won’t know the difference. But tea? It’s weak. So weak in fact that I poured some of my own tea into it for some more flavor.

Sorry [well-known coffee chain in the US].

For all of you loyal coffee chain fans, what’s your drink of choice?

And, I’m all about second chances. Convince me to try again! Even if it is a quasi-coffee drink.

Leave a comment | posted in food

July 2, 2011

She Works Hard for Her…

By simply three cents

Sunflower seeds?

For a lot of work, there’s not that much to enjoy.

I could say the same about crab legs, or lobster…that there’s a lot of work. But, there’s more of a reward than with sunflower seeds.

Don’t you agree? What other foods are a lot of work and are either worth the reward, or aren’t?

Leave a comment | posted in food

June 27, 2011

Extreme Couponing

By simply three cents

Oh Em Gee.

I can’t even remember to pull out a ‘save 50 cents’ coupon if I go to the supermarket. These people on the show of the same name are serious shoppers. But, some of them may have another problem. Extreme hoarding. How many jars of pickles and bags of rice cakes does one family need?

Leave a comment | posted in food

June 16, 2011

Vending Machines

By simply three cents

Some pondering…

Have you ever had just one dollar on you, you punch the button, your much-awaited snack drops, and then…gets stuck? This is what I think of as I wait for my snack to drop. It’s at that time, I think I should have brought two one-dollar bills, just in case, but I never do.

Or what if you only have one bill, and the machine refuses to take it?

The thing with vending machines is figuring out what’s really popular, so you know it gets refilled with fresh stuff pretty often. You don’t want to get the thing that’s been in there since 1995.

And I’ve always been cautious when sticking in my hand to retrieve my snack…for some reason, I am terrified that there’s a mouse in there. I mean, crumbs get in, it’s warm, it’s the perfect place for a mouse.

Makes you want to go grab a snack asap, huh?

Leave a comment | posted in food, just silly, observations