You may remember Seattle Mary from her great vegan sweet and savoury recipes this past summer. Well, A-Tooch’s (only?) vegan foodie bff is back. This time, she has unleashed her cooking power on her new Vitamix blender. Check out these delicious recipes that vegan, vegetarian and carnivore foodies will salivate over.
Mr. Vitamix – true love right here
Seattle Mary: Most ladies may wish for designer purses, perfume, shoes or clothes on their holiday wish lists. Me, I wish for food-related goods (ok, I may or may not have asked for some Stella McCartney perfume as well). A couple years ago, it was a crockpot that changed my life. This year, it was a beautiful thing called a Vitamix blender. I started hearing about how amaze they are and after careful research, decided I must become a proud owner of such brilliance. I hinted so much at how badly I needed Vitamix in my life, that my husband surprised me with one at Christmas! Let the smoothie obsession commence.
What better time to have a fun new blending machine than right when January rolls around and you’re trying to step away from the cookies and holiday treats, and replace them with healthy green things. I’ve been blending up some different fruits and veggies to see which smoothie combos I love the most. Here are some super easy and delicious smoothie recipes to give a try, even if you don’t have a Vitamix.
Simple Green Smoothie
1 cup apple juice
Handful of your fave kind of kale (purple, dino, green, etc.)
1 banana
1 cup ice
Combine apple juice and kale and blend. Add banana and ice; blend for 60-90 seconds.
Berry Smoothie
1 cup water
1/2 cup plain yogurt (soy, Greek, coconut milk, whatever you fancy!)
1 1/2 cups frozen berries, I used blueberries, raspberries, strawberries
Combine and blend!
Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie
1 cup milk (I used rice milk)
1 cup of your fave peanut butter
1 banana
1 tsp sugar, maple syrup or agave (optional, adds a bit of sweetness if you are using fresh ground pb)
1 cup ice
Blend for 60-90 seconds.
Some tips to note:
You can slice up peeled bananas and pop them in the freezer, just reduce the amount of ice you add.
I’ve found the pre-packaged containers of fresh kale mix are awesome for smoothies because they combine different kinds of kale, already chopped up, and usually go for a decent price. Sometimes they have little bits of carrot in the mix – bonus!!
NYC Restaurant Reviews – Empellon, Craftbar and Cavatappo
A-Tooch has had a few interesting foodie jaunts recently, worthy of sharing with those of you who are also exploring the NYC restaurant scene.
I was excited to spend New Year’s Eve at Empellon in the West Village. The new restaurant lived up to expectations, cooking a variety of flavors and dishes even for the large NYE crowd. A lobster-pinenut queso fundido stole the show, along with an avocado and peeky toe crab salad and hand ground steak tartare with a pickled quail egg. The only disappointment was the dessert! Our cake was a bit dry and lacked a lot of flavor. After dining at WD~50, I had higher expectations of a restaurant owned by the former pastry chef. In any case, definitely worth a visit (you’ll be too stuffed for dessert anyway!)
For a belated celebratory birthday dinner (yes, lots of good eats these past few weeks) I finally got to check out CraftBar – the Tom Colicchio flagship that always appears on top NYC restaurant lists. The experience was as expected with great staff, a casual ambiance and a great modern American menu. Our braised pork belly with roasted apples and polenta was melt-in-your-mouth good. Fatty without being overkill, decadent and rich. It also didn’t hurt the cause that when my friend and I casually told the waitress we were celebrating both of our birthdays, they brought a candle in our shared dessert without hesitation. Weird, and cute at the same time.
The famous chef dining scene can get exhausting (oh, and pricey). One of my favorite casual, local spots is now just a block away from my new apartment. I call Cavatappo Wine Bar an “Italian tapas” joint since it reminds me of a little Spanish small plates place. The menu includes a great cheese selection, creative salads, pizza and gnocchi. Nearly every bruschetta topping is fabulous – my favorite is the speck and Gorgonzola. Most importantly, there are a number of items with truffle oil. Awesome, awesome, truffle oil. Cavatappo isn’t huge, but it is ideal for a date night or a
glassbottle of wine and some apps with the girls. If you drop in (there’s also an UES location) Tweet @CavatappoNYC or heck-in on foursquare for one of the most social media savvy restaurants I’ve seen around these parts.