Tummy fulfilled: New York style

We have recently been travelling about in the US: Eating in New York.

As is my wont, when I have been away I try and blog about my experiences. I confess, freely, that I haven’t finished where I went last year, but I am trying to get to this year a bit quicker! So here is something about eating in New York. I have specifically chosen this subject as we found some very interesting and different places to eat.

Ricetoriches

Yes, we can have porridge cafes, they can have rice pudding outlets! they have a website so you can check them out for yourself but we did think they were a trifle expensive for a small bowl of rice pudding. That said, they had some amazing flavours and do seasonal flavours too. Their standard range is 18 flavours with 5 per season and 12 different toppings. Sweet? Very!

Pinkberry

Frozen yoghurt with a difference – the pink berries! They have a yummy taste… they have come to the UK now and can be found in Stratford – Westfield – and Selfridges.

 BubbaGump

We ate in their Times Square outlet and were served excellently despite the loud noises from their celebrating a customer’s birthday!

Everything had calories attached so beware the desserts! We had a variety of shrimps of course, but very large shrimps too – and mahi mahi with a cajun shrimp starter and garlic  bread. spicy and nicy.Bubba Gump interior

PS they are now in London!

Eataly

Amazing – a supermarket with a difference – you can buy your Italian food here or you can eat it fresh from the counter. The longest queues being for the ice-cream of course! there are 2 places where you sit and are served – Fish and Vegetarian; otherwise you can perch at stools and eat what you have bought. We tried the Verdura eating area and ate our veggies. Just beware the risotto is made with wheat berries and is very heavy as a result. 

Also now in London I believe.

Hangawi

This is a Korean place in the traditional style – so beware if you have disabilities. You sit on the floor with your feet in a pit. The table is fixed at waist high and thus can’t be removed for you to climb out of easily. I managed to thump down but getting out and getting back on my feet defeated me. In the end, I managed to get my feet up on the floor and then did a very ungainly bum shuffle over to where there were some steps so I could climb back up onto my feet. Good job I was wearing leggings under my skirt! You take your shoes off so make sure your feet don’t smell and you have matching socks on.

They have a very sensible ban on mobile phones. Turn them off completely. The food is all vegan and excellent. Stone rice pots as are especially good as the rice ends up sticky and crisp as it continues to cook in the residual heat. When they ask, do you like it spicy? beware. They add a spice paste to your dish at the table and mix it in for you. 

Booking essential.

Winter needs Soup!

It’s cold and snowing so time to get out the really big pan from the bottom of the cupboard and collect all those lovely veggies up and make some soup.

You make some soup to add vitamins or you can make soup to add bulk or just as a meal in a pot. Soup is incredibly versatile  and I have lots of recipes that I try from time to time and then ring the changes on them.

So here are two for you to try. Let me know if you find a nice addition to either!

Watercress soup

2 bunches watercress

3/4lbs potatoes

Onion

2 pints stock; 1.5 oz butter; bayleaf; garlic; salt; pepper;

3tbsp cream

Wash cress. Peel and slice potatoes and onions.

Put cress, pots , onions, stock, butter, bayleaf, garlic into large pan. Season. Boil and then simmer until ingredients soft.

Liquidise. Return to pan and stir in cream and then heat very gently.

Serve chilled if wanted.

Winter Lunch in a soup

Potatoes – left over boiled will do fine

White onion

Mixed soup base – buy in a packet as a mix of beans and peas dried – if not available use a mix of dried peas; split peas; lentils green, black and red; and barley;

Stock – preferably a good herby stock base or add some herbs such as parsley, oregano etc. mixed herbs or French herbs.

Salt/pepper

Hot dogs – I use the vegetarian ones.

 

The amounts of each ingredient are variable but I use a small handful of everything to around 2 pints of stock.

You can flavour with tomato ketchup for a variant.

Gently fry onion until soft and then add stock and bring to boil. Add the soup mix next and bring to boil. There is likely to be a scum on the top of the pan – carefully scoop this off – try not to take the lentils with it.. until the top of the soup seems clear. Then add the potatoes, salt/pepper and simmer for 1 hour. Test if  soup mix and barley cooked.

If so, add hot dogs cut into bite sized pieces – 2 per person is plenty and bring to boil again. Simmer for another 10 minutes for vegetarian hot dogs.  Serve big ladles of this for lunch!

You can miss out the hot dogs and add grated cheese instead.

Vary the different pulses to your taste …

 

 

13 things I might do

http://www.cookveg.co.uk/inspiration/13-things-only-vegetarians-do?utm_source=cvnewsletter&utm_medium=20150122&utm_campaign=monthly

 Vegetarian Magazine’s 13 Things only Vegetarians do post

 came out today. 

I am actually a pescatarian but I do get the Vegetarian newsletter regularly as I mostly eat vegetarian – fish in restaurants where the only offer is mushroom goulash – or tomato pasta for vegetarians – or even – as a certain Michelin starred place offered me once, roasted vegetables!

I did think that this particular list was great fun and so I’m reproducing it for you with a few comments of my own added.

1. Google a restaurant’s menu the moment someone suggests dining there.
   Because c**** veggie options still aren’t that unusual. See above comments.
2. Dry retch when you walk past a butcher’s shop and the smell hits you.
   Do meat eaters seriously think that smells good..?! oh and what about when you have meat eaters for a meal and they won’t eat veggie? Do you too wear gloves and use long forks to touch the meat? And try not to smell at all? And ask someone else to cook the meat?
3. Get annoyed when other people tuck into the special diet stuff at a buffet.
   Eat one more veggie samosa and I’ll eat you! If meat eaters think vegetarian offerings are so much better than their own – why aren’t they vegetarian?
4. Buy hemp oil.
   This fish-free source of omegas is a secret ingredient only seasoned veggies seem to know about. Good stuff this – tastes OK too.
5. Die a little inside when a mate uses Parmesan in your food.
   “But it’s not veggie!” you sob quietly…true but have you ever been offered an alternative? I always thought Pecorino was a vegetarian alternative and now I find it isn’t! It uses lamb rennet… oh well, back to the search for vegetarian parmesan type cheese which is OK but not as good…
6. Instantly fall in love with other veggies you meet at parties.
   And you have a new temporary bestie until the recipe sharing conversation dries up.   And it can dry up quite quickly or not as the case may be – what about ‘besties’ on the internet? And blog?
7. Have 100% more patience for dumb questions.
   “What about wafer-thin ham? Can you eat that?” or as I was once told – Yes chicken is really so good for you! – or when a catering company at a conference dinner offered a plate of fruit – or when offered a combination of broccoli and potatoes for the 3^rd time!
8. Have a special place in your heart for Marks & Spencer.
   Two words: Veggie Percy. Never tried it!
9. Enjoy a difficult relationship with pans that have been used to cook meat.
   Do you leave it for the meat eater to clean, or do you scrub it yourself so you know it’s clear of all animal? Leave it for the meat eater I say!
10. Find the smell of boiling cabbage oddly intoxicating.
    Never something to actually vocalise though. No!!! I don’t like cabbage.. only when it is red and cooked with apples and red wine vinegar and some sugar and raisins and slow cooked for hours….
11. Have a fake surprised-yet-interested face.
    For when meat eaters tell you how much vegetarian food they eat. Ie all the vegetarian offerings at the buffet!
12. Know more than a dozen ways to use a butternut squash.
    This humble veg is basically our best friend. I am sure I could equal that if I tried… anyone want to try and list them?
13. Not eat fish.
    Not even a little bit.  And this is where I fail dramatically – but I do have lots of health reasons…