Quinoa and Black Beans

Tonight I decided to make Quinoa - I always have all these ideas about what I am going to make and then by the time dinner arrives I want something totally different!  One day I will start planning out the week and stick to the week -- but life is to unpredictable right now.
James liked this meal - but I think he would have preferred to have some meat.  I was planning on serving it as a side, but when I saw how much was in the pan I decided to make it the main course!

I always forget to take pictures throughout the process!

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

I decided to serve this with a spinach salad, mainly because it is what we had in the fridge! The salad just had Parmesan cheese, pumpkin seeds, and a home made vinaigrette that I made last night.

Salad Dressing - this is just a guess on the recipe -- really just made it up! 

Olive Oil (1/2 cup)

Dijon Mustard (2 tbs)

Red Wine Vinegar( 4tsP)

Honey (Tsp)

Other reviewers of this recipe said that you can serve it hot or cold - and it it for several days!!! I am looking forward to having something healthy in the fridge!! 

Salsa and black bean soup

I just made this salsa and black bean soup that I had seen on a few other blogs... One being my sister in law's mom-b.blogspot.com and she got it from the blog http://annies-eats.net/2007/10/14/black-bean-and-salsa-soup/

I am serving it to some friends tomorrow night, so  hopefully everyone will enjoy it!
This soup was one of the easiest things I have ever made if you do not count trying to figure out the food processor!!! James had to step in and show me how to work it!! I had not attempted to use it before tonight --- I think I got it down now!

4th and Swift = AMAZING

Saturday night James and I went to 4th and Swift for dinner.  We saw this meal as a big treat, we have really tried to stay away from nice places... but when I saw that there was a Half Off Depot  deal for the restaurant I had to buy it! 4th and Swift is located on North Avenue in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood.  The Old Fourth Ward is the birth place of Martin Luther King ( something I just learned!) The menu at 4th and Swift changes daily depending on what local produce is available.  The chef also has a vegetable garden on his back deck and he uses the produce grown at the restaurant.  4th and Swift is also ranked in Atlanta's top restaurants!

I HIGHLY recommend going if you have a special occasion coming up!!!

Agricole Shrub | 9 St. James Agricole Rhum, Appleton )two types of special rum, grapefruit yuzu shrub, lime and ginger beer! I decided I wanted a fun drink since we were at such a neat place... and it was totally worth it!! All of the specialty cocktails are very detailed... and have all this house made stuff in them --- I wanted to try them ALL!


James and I split a salad with squash, pistachios, goat cheese, and boston bibb lettuce. I think we forgot to take a picture.  The salad was amazing though!  


For dinner we both had specials 
I had the Pan Roasted Oregon Inlet Flounder - 

Preserved Lemon Risotto, Detroit Red Beets, Turnip Greens, Hen of the Woods MushroomsRu

This is the Duck - which was SO good as well. I know there were sweet potatoes --- but not sure what else was underneath it!(
it is really hard to see the food because the lighting was so low in the restaurant! 
For dessert:Lemon
Lemon Madeleine Cake, Meringue Stick, Lemon Curd, Lemon-Basil Sorbet, Black Pepper Panna Cotta  DELISH!!!!

James and I really enjoyed 4th and Swift!!!

Over priced and not that good

I feel like I need to blog... but have not really been anywhere blog worthy this week...
I went to dinner tonight at Cherokee - I use to love eating there when I was little, but now i just feel like it is not very good --- and really expensive... My grandmother also brought her boyfriend who requires a walker -- The Grant Room is not a loud place... so I felt like our conversation was being overheard by everyone else eating there... I guess this post is pointless... so please do not stop reading!! BUT my point is if you are going to be an exclusive country club you should at least have GOOD expensive food!!!!

The school lunch today at St.Martin's was amazing! I am not sure what 2nd grader needs to eat seafood paella for lunch - but hey I am not complaining!! Our chef created a menu around Argentina - very tasty!

Urban PL8

Today James and I went to Urban PL8 with a Scoutmob for brunch.  On our way we helped a little old lady dislodge her car from the icy roads... Well I say we but it was really James!!  The lady had a flat tire after getting unstuck but refused to pull over... Stubborn!!

I love Urban PL8... They are a restaurant that really tries to be healthy, which I appreciate!

Here is the review from Scoutmob!
The Scoop: Gluten-free, Paleo-friendly, Vegan, Vegetarian, Locavore, healthy food eaters in general: if you’ve yet to discover the quality cuisine happening over on Huff Road at Urban pL8, let us introduce you to a new favorite. Betsy Pitts, with her Atlanta culinary pedigree (she opened Floataway Café, was sous-chef at Bacchanalia and worked with Shaun Doty for another number of years), opened this modern, minimalist space to provide high quality food that wasn’t high on the price, but ishealthy, local and delicious. She soon found that her regular crowd was coming back for those Paleo-friendly favorites (all those Crossfit diehards out there) or the gluten-free options, so she decided to expand the menu to cater more to those specialties. And just because you have no idea what any of that healthy jargon means, it doesn’t matter. Judging by the Angus Beef Double Cheeseburger, the Vietnamese Banh Mi, the Krispy Kreme doughnuts for dessert, the full list of small-batch cocktails and bottomless mimosas during brunch, Betsy and the Urban Pl8 crew haven’t forgotten how to excite the taste buds as well.
www.scoutmob.com 

  The atmosphere is not very inviting, but I think that the food over rides that downfall.  We had to sit at the bar - not ideal... but no biggie!

I had a hard time deciding on what to order... I decided to go with the crab cake and eggs.

the crab cake sits on a whole wheat English muffin, then there is a poached egg on top with fresh veggies! YUM! It also came with roasted sweet potatoes - a healthy alternative to hash browns! this was $12.25 - but with the scoutmob it would only be $6!

 huevos rancheros* 8.25
2 farms fried eggs, pico de gallo, corn tortilla, pinto cake, spicy sour cream, cilantro 

If you know James you could have predicted this order!! They were amazing!! The pinto cake was really good and something different... I feel like you always see black bean cakes but not pinto bean cakes!

I also decided to have a mimosa at the last minute. Sitting at the bar made me have an impulse order! The bar tender told me about how they use this fancy orange juice that is $6.00 a gallon. The mimosas are bottomless at brunch too... so they champagne is Cooks - but the nice OJ should make up for that right?! 

I think you should all try UrbanPL8 if you have not already... Again you need to be patient with the set up of the place... there are a lot of tables right by the door which is hard when it is FREEZING outside!!! 

Test Kitchen - Lasagna

While Susanne has been snowed in she has been perfecting her lasagna recipe!  We have cooked 9 Lasagnas in 3 days.  Susanne feels confident that this batch is much better than the last.  She is hoping to start a little side business selling lasagnas.  If you are interested in buying one of these yummy looking Lasagnas they are $12.00.

How do we know if it is perfected if she will not let me taste it?!

Oh - I got her to let me taste! They are delicious!!! They would be great if you wanted to drop one of for someone who just had a baby or if you just don't feel like cooking one night!

Yes - I look a little rough - but I have been stuck inside for almost a week!

A sample of wine we have tried during the snow week!

I wanted to tell you about some of the wine I have been sampling over the last few days!
I think I have a new favorite wine is a Merlot - which I did not realize I like Merlot!
 
I found the review online
 Supple in texture, with ripe plum, herb, currant, game and cherry notes, holding its flavor and focus. An elegant, graceful Merlot at an attractive price. 37,000 cases made.


We purchased this bottle at Kroger on sale for $9.00! The regular price is $16.99.  I usually do not purchase anything over $10, so I highly recommend going out and trying this while its on sale!



Read more: http://www.snooth.com/wine/dynamite-vineyards-merlot-north-coast-2003/?t=reviews#ixzz1AvaNqDf3

My next wine has become somewhat of a staple wine - Cupcake Pinot Noir.  Cupcake is a great wine and you can usually find it for around $8-9 a bottle.

Here is more information on the Cupcake wines - the experts can tell you more than I can!

Richardson explained that his Cupcake line has been designed to please the palates of the next generation of wine drinkers. “The current generation of wine consumers tend to find what they like and stick with it. The newer generation is always looking for something new, bigger, better – that’s what this line-up offers.” The wines are hand-crafted to be rich and decadent with a smooth, creamy palate, designed to create a moment of luxury and pure pleasure…making each sip like indulging in a gourmet cupcake.

Richardson literally traveled the world to find the ideal terroir for the grapes of each varietal. He no doubt in involved in the entire wine-making process, and now he’s on the road to personally introduce his wines to market.

- I have taken this wine to several parties gatherings and it has been enjoyed by all! I guess we are part of the "next generation of wine drinkers" so go buy a bottle and let me know what you think!

The 3rd wine of the week was called Root:1 Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine comes from Chili - I thought it was good - but I am no expert! The reviews say it is best with bold cheeses, red pasta sauces, ribs, steaks, and chocolate!

Stewart purchased this wine - so I am unsure of the total... but it looks like it retails for about  $12.00 a bottle normally... but i am sure it was on sale at Kroger!

Another blogger had to say this about Root:1

Initial strong cherry pie aroma, which mellows into a slightly jammy black cherry. There's a touch of tobacco and hay, with big, firm tannins. There's a tart finish that is very long lasting

http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/

This guy has lots of good reviews on wine - and he pairs it with good looking food!

Hopefully we will not be iced in much longer -  Day 4 is getting a little long!!!

Jacksonville Discovery!

So my first blog post, and i am going to tell you about something I ate in Jacksonville.... Makes a lot of sense right?!

Last weekend James and I were in Jacksonville for his grandmothers 90th Birthday!  We met John, Anne and Margaret for lunch.  James and I decided to head to The Brick a little early and get an appetizer while we waited for baby Margaret to wake up from her nap!  We tried the hummus platter - it had a scoop of hummus, a scoop of white bean dip, and a scoop of Muhammara.  I had never tried Muhammara, it is a popular spread from the Middle East.   James and I decided we wanted to try and make it when we got back to Atlanta, but then the snow hit... SO here is the recipe I plan to try when the city is not covered in a thick sheet of ice and I can drive to the store!

Muhammara

yield: Makes about 1 3/4 cups

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

ingredients

• a 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained
• 2/3 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup walnuts, toasted lightly and chopped fine
• 2 to 4 garlic cloves, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses*
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• toasted pita triangles as an accompaniment

• *available at Middle Eastern markets
• In a food processor blend together the peppers, the bread crumbs, the walnuts, the garlic, the lemon juice, the pomegranate molasses, the cumin, the red pepper flakes, and salt to taste until the mixture is smooth and with the motor running add the oil gradually. Transfer the muhammara to a bowl and serve it at room temperature with the pita triangles.
  
  
  Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Muhammara-10982#ixzz1AkHsrcjJ

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Muhammara-10982#ixzz1AkHfZkEG


Has anyone else ever tried this?