Dinner and Photography

Last night Cameron and I went out to eat at Pasha where he took these pictures. Then we went to an photography exhibit "The Ground on Which I Stand : A Photographic Essay and Oral Histories from Tamina, A Freedman's Town" at the Rice Media Center, part of FotoFest Houston.

Here are some pictures of the delicious lunch I shared with Cameron's family at Nippon. After lunch we went to the ballet. It's so nice having weekends off.

Quinoa Mushroom Kale Recipe

Here is my latest quinoa dish. I made this one up so it doesn't have a name.


Ingredients
1 C. quinoa (2 cups cooked)
1 bunch lacinato kale
1 onion chopped
1 container of mushrooms sliced or chopped
several cloves of garlic, minced
Bragg Liquid Aminos (soy sauce alternative)
olive oil

Saute onion, mushrooms, and garlic in olive oil. When the onions are clear add the kale which has been torn into medium size pieces (stems removed) Continue sauteing until the kale cooks down but not too long.
Cook the quinoa in water with some Bragg Liquid Amino. I used 1/8 of a cup last night but you could use a little more or add some to the dish after cooking to taste. When the quinoa is ready just mix it all together for a super healthy meal. I made enough to have it for dinner all week.

Photographing Food

One thing I've learned from my roommate is that all food, especially meals eaten out, must be photographed. I did remember to bring my camera to Pasha, a Turkish restaurant in the Rice Village, but forgot to take the photo until we had already had a few bites. I went with a friend from work and the food was excellent. I had hummus with thick pieces of bread and my friend had the Pasha Meze Platter, a mixture of Turkish appetizers which included hummus, ezme, babaganush, tabuli, eggplant salad, dolma and lebni. They also serve an olive oil dipping sauce with sesame seeds that I could eat all day, everyday. We had tiny glasses of hot chai tea after the meal.

Another Breakfast at the Empire Cafe

Cameron and I had breakfast again at the Empire Cafe. I had the "Mickey Mouse" waffle with vegetarian sausage and Cameron had the egg dish with an entire bottle of hot sauce. It was a beautiful day and we were able to eat outdoors on the patio.

Food Porn Index

This is a pretty addictive site. It's interactive and best with a larger screen and the volume turned up.
http://www.foodpornindex.com/

I really want this bumper sticker.

Fourdogmom's Fabulous Quinoa Recipe

This recipe doesn't have a name since I made it up. On Sundays I make a big pot and put it in little containers and I have my lunch for an entire week.

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa (2 cups cooked)
1 can Rotel type tomatoes (I use Muir Glen Organic Diced Tomatoes, Fire Roasted with Medium Green Chilies)
1 onion diced
1 red bell pepper (or any color) diced
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Chile powder and salt to taste


Put the tomatoes in a medium saucepan with an additional cup of water, chile power and salt. When it is boiling add the cup of quinoa (be sure to rinse and drain first). Lower the heat and cook until all the liquid is absorbed (15-20 min.)
While that is cooking saute the onions, garlic, and pepper in the olive oil until tender.
When everything is done mix together and add the can of black beans.
Simple to make, delicious, and very healthy. I've been doing this for several months now and haven't gotten tired of it.. My roommate loves it too and took this picture.

Graupel

Yesterday morning when I went to my car I saw tiny little snowballs like these on my windshield. They didn't look like snow or sleet. They looked like white nonpareils or polystyrene pellets. Thanks to David Paul on KHOU, I found out that they are called graupel. A new word for me.
Here is the definition from Wikipedia: "also called soft hail or snow pellets refers to precipitation that forms when supercooled droplets of water are collected and freeze on a falling snowflake, forming a 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) ball of rime. Strictly speaking, graupel is not the same as hail or ice pellets."
This isn't my picture but one I found on the internet. I was much too cold to take a picture.

Sunday Brunch

Here are some pictures from our brunch last Sunday at the restaurant where Cameron works. Cameron and I had the Vegetarian Eggs Benedict without the egg which is a roasted beet and mushroom patty, with vegan hollandaise and grilled vegetables. This is the same patty they use for their Vegetarian Burger which also has arugula, lettuce, feta cheese, sweet onion, basil pesto, and a Parmesan crisp. It's by far the best burger I've ever had. I also got to meet his aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandfather who, along with his brother and mother, are in the pictures.

Blueberry, Kale and Quinoa Salad with Fresh Blueberry Vinaigrette

Ingredients

For the Salad:
2 cups water
1 cup raw quinoa, rinsed and drained
1/2 bunch kale (6-8 large leaves), stems removed
1 Tbsp avocado or olive oil, preferably organic
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup chopped red onion
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

For the Dressing:
3/4 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup avocado or olive oil, preferably organic
juice of 1 lemon
1 large clove garlic, chopped

Instructions

Make the salad: Bring the water to a boil in a medium pot; add the quinoa, cover, and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 18 minute then remove from heat and turn the quinoa into a large bowl to cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, wash and dry the kale. Chop into bite-sized pieces and place in a large salad bowl with the 1 Tbsp (15 ml) oil and salt. "Massage" with your (clean) hands by kneading and squeezing the kale between your thumb and fingers until it becomes shiny, softer and a shade darker. This will allow the kale to be digested more easily.
Add the tomatoes, red onion and blueberries to the bowl and toss.
Make the dressing: combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy. Pour over the salad and toss to coat. Add the cooled quinoa and toss again. Makes 4-6 servings.

I found this recipe on cookingquinoa.net The original recipe called for only 1/2 cup of quinoa which wasn't enough so I ended up making an additional 1/2 cup which seemed just right. Cameron and I enjoyed it. I'll probably wait until blueberries are on sale before making it again as it is pretty expensive. This picture is from their website. Mine didn't look like this as I used lacinato kale.

Barnaby's Cafe

The roads were too icy on Friday to go to work but just fine for driving to Barnaby's Cafe for breakfast. I had the waffle and Cameron had the French toast.

Rosie Keeping Warm

Quinoa Miso Broccoli Salad

Ingredients

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp white miso

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 cups cooked quinoa

3 cups steamed broccoli florets, roughly chopped

2 cups baby arugula

1⁄4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1⁄4 tsp salt



Directions

To make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, miso and rice vinegar. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, broccoli, arugula and sunflower seeds. Add the dressing and the salt. Toss gently until combined.

I found this recipe on the Dr. Oz website and made it a few nights ago. Cameron and I both loved it. I'm planning on making it again tonight but will probably double the sunflower seeds.

Breakfast at The Empire Cafe

Cameron and I had breakfast at The Empire Cafe on Westheimer this morning. I had the waffle and veggie sausage and he had an egg dish with spinach, cheddar hash brown potatoes, and fresh fruit. He also ate part of my waffle and sausage. This is the only place in Houston I know of that has veggie sausage. We both had delicious organic coffee too.

Rosie and Adrian

Rosie loves to snuggle up with Adrian when he spends the night at our apartment.
Cameron took this picture.

Rosie, the Lion Pug

Picture by Cameron

Rosie posing under the Christmas Tree (Again)

Gigantic Inflatable Christmas Decorations

I kept seeing this giant Rudolph while driving down Shepherd but since Shepherd is one way I didn't see the other huge inflatable Christmas decorations until I turned onto the street. Cameron took this picture.

Blueberry pancakes and coffee from our Christmas Eve breakfast at Tiny Boxwoods.
Pictures by Cameron.

Christmas Lights in River Oaks

Cameron took this picture as we were driving around River Oaks.

Christmas in River Oaks

Here are some more pictures from River Oaks. We stopped so Cameron could have his picture taken with Santa. We also met and talked to the homeowners who were very nice.

My cubicle all dressed up for Christmas

I took this picture with my new iPad and then tried to create a post and add the picture. This doesn't seem to be possible with the iPad. Instead, I had to send the picture to my email and then work on this post from my computer at work. With all the things the iPad can do it seems strange that it can't do this basic thing. I'm going to investigate further.

Rosie In Her New Red Sweater

Rosie With Her Reindeer

Waiting For Santa