January 2012 – Harmonious Belly

January 31, 2012January 31, 2012

Beyond Kombucha

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Beyond Kombucha office and brewery. They are located right here in Astoria and are producing a lot of kombucha in their relatively small space. The visit was both educational and fun, plus I got to try some different flavors, all of which were delicious.

As I walked to their office from the train, I totally missed the entrance to the space! It’s actually located in the back of a parking lot in amongst a bunch of other small industrial spaces and warehouses; more specifically, the space is located below the Rent-a-Center in Astoria.

Once I figured out where they were exactly, with help from Liz (Beyond Kombucha’s Project Co-ordinator) on the phone and a couple of nice guys in the parking lot, I descended the stairs to the office. As I did, the aroma of kombucha hit me – that lovely sour smell I like so much. I met Liz and Spiro, the founder of the company, and Liz took me on a tour.

First, we visited the room containing the second fermentation vessel and the final vat for the kombucha ale, but we then realized it would be better to start where the kombucha itself was brewing. That room currently contains wooden barrels brewing vanilla rooibos tea as well as a “SCOBY farm” – lots of large jars containing SCOBYs. I have to admit, the idea of a SCOBY farm is pretty cool.

I love the look of the wooden vessels brewing the vanilla rooibos for the Mava Roka, Beyond Kombucha’s own kombucha ale. Yes, you heard that right! Beer!

I believe these are oak barrels in which they are brewing the vanilla rooibos.

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January 30, 2012January 30, 2012

Almond Shortbread

This weekend, I was craving something just a little sweet and with the texture of cake or a cakey cookie/brownie – fruit (citrus, primarily) and dark chocolate have been my main (though not solo) source of sweets since the beginning of the year, but sometimes I crave a different texture from fruit flesh and the snap of a chocolate bar. I remembered having come across a very simple almond shortbread recipe, and decided to give it a try.

My friend Marija posted it originally on her Facebook page, with a positive review accompanying it. This shortbread is gluten-free, appropriate for those following SCD diet, and a nice sweet treat if you are eating paleo/primal. It also gave me an opportunity to use delicious (and healthy) grass-fed butter and virgin coconut oil, along with some raw honey.

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January 25, 2012January 24, 2012

My First Oysters

Yesterday, I tried my first oysters ever. I’d been squeamish about them for a long time, but they were presented to me and I knew this was the time to try them. I’m really glad I did. They tasted like the sea!

Oysters are quite nutrient dense. They have a lot of iron, tons of Vitamin B12, and a huge amount of zinc. They are also an excellent source of calcium.

Like with most sea food, I liked them with fresh lemon juice. I also like spicy things, so a drop of hot sauce also went really well. I know I could be a purist and eat them with nothing, but as a newbie, I wanted a little help. I’ll try them solo another time.

I will admit, we found opening the oysters a little challenging. We had an oyster knife, and I can totally see why you’d use something like that, as opposed to a regular paring knife. It’s got a thick blade with a curved tip, shaped to dig in and pry apart the oyster. We found it challenging, still, to open them – those suckers really don’t want to be disturbed.

We had a great time eating the oysters. It can take a lot of effort getting these guys pried open, which makes eating them even more satisfying. We had to work hard to get our food!

Here’s to more oysters in my future.

January 24, 2012January 24, 2012

Salt Preserved Lemon Peel

Recently, I’ve seen a bunch of posts on the interwebs about citrus and citrus peel – since it’s citrus season, that makes sense. I’ve been preserving lemon peel in kosher salt for a few months now – yes, that’s just the peel, not the entire lemon (I’ve preserved entire lemons, too). It’s a way to reduce waste as well as turning it into something delicious.

Usually when I use preserved lemons, it’s all about the peel; more often than not I discard the pulp, though I’m sure someone could show me what to do with it (I’m interested!). So, I got the idea of just preserving the peel in salt – each time I juiced an organic lemon, I’d get rid of the leftover lemon innards and reserve the peel. I slice the peel into strips and store them in salt.

I use the peel in things like chicken dishes or with couscous. It gives a kind of North African flavor to things. I love it! And it’s super thrifty. Organic lemons aren’t cheap.

After the peels stay in the salt for a while, they start to change color – it goes from a bright yellow to a kind of yellow orange. I think it’s beautiful.

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January 23, 2012January 23, 2012

Sights and Sound: 2 Videos and 1 Podcast of Note

I’ve recently come across a couple of videos and a podcast that I’ve really enjoyed, and wanted to share them with you here.

For months, I’ve heard about Unique Eats, a show on the Cooking Channel, from my friend Tamara Reynolds. Tamara is the force behind The Sunday Night Dinner, a supper club in NYC – that’s where these bacon lollipops came from. She also works with Unique Eats as an “eating and talking head” – and rightly so, because she knows her stuff.

One of the UE episodes is all about Queens, which is my home borough right now. They highlight three of my favorite spots in the borough: Mombar (lamb cheeks!), an Egyptian restaurant, Tortilleria Nixtamal (carnitas!), a taqueria in Corona, and The Queens Kickshaw (Gouda sandwich!). I was unfamiliar with the Korean restaurant, Sik Gaek, but I must say – after watching a little bit about it, I want to check it out. Here’s the video:

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January 18, 2012January 15, 2012

Astoria’s Butcher Bar

In late December, I stopped by Butcher Bar, a new spot in Astoria focusing on local, organic, and grass-fed/pastured meats. It’s part butcher shop, part barbecue restaurant. The barbecue is pretty dang good, but I must admit that it’s the butcher shop aspect that excites me the most. I order most of my meats through my CSA or online, so it’s really cool to have a place I can just walk to if I want some fresh pastured meats.

While I was there, I got into a conversation with the owner, Matthew Katakis, about the shop and his reasons for opening it. Essentially, he came to understand that grass-fed/pastured meats are superior in many ways, and felt that now was the time to bring them to Astoria. I agree with him on all points, and am particularly happy to see someone who is so much a part of the community doing this. The people behind Butcher Bar are the same ones behind Pita Pan, a popular Greek spot on 30th Ave in Astoria.

They head upstate every Monday and visit the farms and pick up their meat. This allows them to have a closer relationship with the people that raise the meat, and since a lot of the farms are local, the meat fresher. They also work with Heritage Foods, and stock D’Artagnan products. Across the board, they are sourcing from places that humanely raise their animals, which is important to me.

The sell a number of cuts, some whole and some of the meat is ground up. I hear from very reliable sources that the “Bob’s Burger” is fabulous – 80/20 brisket and… bacon. The delicious smokey bacon fat melts into the rest of the meat and makes for a real taste sensation.

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January 17, 2012January 15, 2012

Food Lover’s Cleanse 2012, Days 5-8

I ended up taking several days away from the cleanse for various reasons, mostly due to social events and meetings with friends that came up. Connecting with the people I care about is important to me, so I take advantage of it when I can. Good news is that I didn’t over do it with sweets and I ate smaller portion sizes, not because of a conscious decision, but because my body is better regulated these days after eating mostly real food; I don’t feel the need to overindulge. The times spend with friends were so fun and I’m really glad I had those opportunities.

Day 5 (Thursday) started with 2 pastured eggs topped with a spicy fermented relish. I love this relish, and adore pastured eggs, so it was a great combination for me. And I get my fermented foods right off at the start of the day. I also had some pear ginger tea.

Lunch was leftover pumpkin chicken curry, based on the pumpkin shrimp curry for that week. I don’t care for shrimp and I had this lovely pastured chicken breast, so I made the curry earlier in the week, simply swapping one protein for the other. It worked out great! I also used coconut oil, which added a nice flavor. And it was delicious over the carrot brown rice pilaf. I soaked the brown rice in water and whey to deactivate the phytic acid.

Dinner was a spur of the moment trip to Adrienne’s, my favorite pizza spot in Manhattan. I was pleased to have comfortably restrained myself to two slices – they make something called an Old Fashioned, which is essentially a grandma pizza. It’s fantastic; we get it with pepperoni. We treated ourselves to a serving of their delicious meatballs and a glass of wine, with a couple of sweet treats at the end (I wasn’t able to finish my tiramisu, and I am a sucker for tiramisu).

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