Jar of Pickles

While watching the Food Network today, I learned a fun fact. Apparently when you finish a jar of pickles, you shouldn't throw out the liquid. Just cut up a cucumber, place it in the brine, and put it back in the fridge. Makes more pickles! Ted Allen called it a "little known fact." He was right. Unless I'm the only one who didn't know it. :-)

One of these days I'm going to try it. If anyone else does, let me know!

Favorite Things of 2009

Happy New Year!

Following last year's entry, I figured I'd take a few minutes to look back on my favorites of 2009. :-)

Food Related:

Favorite dessert: Anything from Jean Philippe in Las Vegas (at the Bellagio). Amazing.

Favorite alcoholic drink: Lychee Martini from Graffiti. No matter how hard we try, ours just doesn't taste as good as Jehangir Mehta's.

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: The virgin Lychee Martini from Graffiti. (Oh yes, it's that awesome.)

Favorite frozen yogurt: This one remains the same as last year-- Half coffee/ Half chocolate from Forty Carrots at Bloomingdale's. However, we've been having a lot of fun with our ice cream maker, and we can churn a pretty good yogurt ourselves!

Favorite ice cream: I'm going to have to stick with the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup sundae from Friendly's. The peanut butter sauce is just too good to only stay on the list for only one year. :-)

Favorite burger: 'Shroom Burger from Shake Shack (2nd year in a row!)

Favorite Mexican restaurant: La Cantina Laredo (it's a small chain restaurant--fantastic if you can find one near you!)

Favorite Thai restaurant: Chu Chai (a fantastic vegetarian Thai place we just tried in Montreal!)

Favorite Italian restaurant: This one has taken a total turn in 2009. Since moving to Boston, I am officially in love with just about every italian place we visit in the North End. I can't choose just one.

Favorite Pizza: I still love all of last year's spots, but Figs certainly tops my list for Boston. There are still a few pizza places we have left to try, so perhaps one will make it on the 2010 list.

Favorite Indian restaurant: Amma.

Favorite Chain restaurant: It's a tie between Roy's and La Cantina Laredo. Both smaller chains, but absolutely delicious.

Not Food Related:

Favorite TV Show: How I Met Your Mother -- definitely the same as last year.

Favorite Movie: Probably "The Blind Side." Haven't been blown away yet.

Favorite Event: Valentine's Day 2009--it was a fantastic night. A romantic dinner with Ash, and then meeting up with Priya and Vinny at Brandy's--a night that was full of love and laughter.

Favorite New Thing: Chaco shoes. I can't believe it's been less than a year that I've been wearing them. Between them and my Merrells, I wear no other shoes. (The new 100% Pure Skincare line I recently purchased is a close second.)

Favorite Book: "Better" by Atul Gawande.

Favorite Blog: This one stays the same as last year-- Jennsylvania. (Jen Lancaster's Blog.)

Favorite Single Moment: When we found out my Dad had successfully completed his Everest base camp climb. The relief and pride I felt just can't be put into words.

Well, that's it! A very happy new year to you and yours!

Subway has flatbread!

I just went to Subway for the first time in a few months, and was super excited to discover they now have flatbread! Below is the texting conversation that followed:

Neha: "Subway has flatbread!"

Priya: "Ummm yeah they got that about 3 months ago honey."

Neha: "Lol. Oops. Well I just had it for the first time. And it was delicious."

A veggie delite on flatbread with chipotle southwest sauce. Yum.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

I made these Iced Pumpkin Cookies today. The can of pumpkin I just bought was calling my name--and it was begging me to mix it with cream cheese for another pumpkin cheesecake. My waist was saying otherwise, and I knew I had to use the can to make something quick. A girl only has so much will power when cream cheese, graham crackers and butter are so readily accessible.

The cookies. Are. Delicious. And half taste like cake, and I love cake.

This was the first time I didn't change the recipe! Well, okay, I just changed it a little bit. I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white (instead of all white), and threw in a tiny bit of allspice. And increased the other spices ever so slightly. And when I only had batter for about 12 cookies left, I threw in some mini chocolate chips.

Oh yeah, and I didn't put any butter in the icing. So I guess I did change the recipe--sue me. If you're reading my blog, you should know me by now. I can't follow recipes. I have a problem.

That being said, make the cookies. They are worth it!

PS- I ate one as soon as it came out of the oven, without icing. It takes like a pumpkin muffin top. Yum.

Nutrition Data

I read food nutrition labels. Always.

That being said, a lot of food doesn't come with nutrition labels. A while ago I was trying to figure out the nutrition facts of an apple, and stumbled across this website. I used it again today, and I realized I never put it on here! I find it tremendously helpful--it gives TONS of info on just about any food you can think of. Personally, I love the graphics--the nutritious vs filling graph is my favorite. :-)

Go ahead--try it out here.

Milk Containers

Did you know it's better to buy milk in containers that are not clear? Apparently many of the nutrients are light-sensitive, so it's better to buy milk in cardboard containers than in the clear plastic ones. You can read more here-- look under "fortification" in the third paragraph.)

I love Alton Brown.

So Bittersweet.

I was watching Guy Fieri on the Food Network this morning, and a commercial came on with a familiar voice. (Once you go to Graffiti a few times, you can quickly pick up on Jehangir Mehta's unique accent.) I thought it was a repeat of his Iron Chef show, but I was wrong! He is actually competing on the Next Iron Chef series that premieres tonight on the Food Network! (The winner becomes an Iron Chef--Michael Symon was the winner of the first season.)

How bittersweet. I love Jehangir Mehta, so I really hope he wins! But, on the other hand, I love eating his food at Graffiti, and I love having him come over to our table. That's probably going to disappear. :-( His appearance on Iron Chef has already made it near impossible to get reservations at the restaurant--I loved when it was our secret hole-in-the-wall place that very few people knew about. Ah well, so it goes. At least we got to experience it numerous times, and I even got to purchase a cookbook from him--not from a bookstore, but him as an individual. So cool.

Now, I can't be mad. I do recall telling him to try out for Top Chef while we were eating there once with Priya and Vinny. (That's when he told us he had just finished filming his Iron Chef episode.) But you can't blame me--his food is fantastic! I dream about the paneer and the lychee martini, and our family's "pau bhaji" lovers (Priya & Ash) rave about the tamarind buns. I'm sure hundreds of diners probably said the same thing...and now we're all paying for it. Crap.

If you haven't yet been to Graffiti, be sure to call ahead of time to see if he's going to be working. Though the food is amazing on its own, his presence adds a really unique element to the dining experience. Either way, go soon while you still can! And don't forget to watch tonight--the Next Iron Chef on the Food Network, Sunday nights at 9:00. All selfishness aside, I'll be rooting for him the whole way!