Posted on

I’m Not Perfect and it’s Okay (Great, Actually)

This morning I grabbed a quick and random breakfast. It was a waffle from this weekend (my dad’s waffles) and leftover cabbage with mustard from the corned beef I made last night. Both were taken right from the fridge and eating at room temperature. I smeared some almond butter on the waffle. I ate this at my desk.

I think it’s okay to admit that I eat weird, mis-matched meals like that. Because I’m a food blogger you might think that I am always eating the perfect bowl of oatmeal or perfectly plated dishes with lots of healthy things like wild fish and organic vegetables. But I’m not. I like to eat whatever I have on hand and I eat something because I enjoy it… not because it’s what I “should” be eating.

So lunch was a medley of things I had in my fridge. I steamed up some watercress, daikon, and burdock. I topped it with chopped corned beef, mustard, and whipped cream cheese. And it was great. I ate it out of a tupperware, cold. I might have had something else with this as well, but I don’t remember. I know I had an apple later on in the afternoon.

After work I wandered down to the West Village to look at an (ugly) couch. I met up with Kate and we tried to shop for vintage dresses. It didn’t work out. I got slightly depressed when I tried on some dresses (not vintage ones) and realized how my body has changed recently.

Went to Whole Foods for some maca chocolate, then headed home. I had more leftovers from the corned beef meal and I also had kabocha with whipped cream cheese.

Sometimes my eats go in phases for no reason other than I need/want to use something up. I don’t really want to use up my whipped cream cheese, but now that I have started eating it I can’t really stop because it’s so good. I’m eating the corned beef because it’s good, but also because I don’t want it to go bad. I’m eating all my random veggies because I buy huge quantities of them in Chinatown for cheap and I just like veggies. So there.

I’m trying to figure out what dessert will be (aside from the square of chocolate I munched while thinking of what to write about tonight). I would go out and get ice cream again, but it is gross outside. So I may have a non-traditional dessert of baby carrots and blue cheese (my snack from earlier).

Do you eat weird things? Or weird combinations?

Posted on

Souen Macrobiotic Restaurant: The Best Lunch Ever

This morning after meeting (3rd week in a row!) Bobby and I went to Souen, a macrobiotic restaurant, for brunch. You might remember that I experimented with macrobiotics last year (actually it was just over a year ago this month) and I really enjoyed it. I cultivated my love of kabocha and I learned a lot about how the food we eat impacts the way we feel. Here are some resources:

So today I wanted to try going back to macrobiotics again. I opted for “Brunch A” ($8.50 – well worth it!! Huge portions for me):

  • Kenchin-Tofu Drop Soup: tofu, shiitake, burdock, carrot and watercress in kombu kuzu broth.
  • Corn Bread or Spelt Bread (I got corn bread, duh – with miso tahini dressing)
  • Steamed Vegetables (carrot, daikon, squash and greens)

Bobby got “Brunch B” ($11 – oddly enough this was less food than Brunch A):

  • Yuba: steamed tofu “skin” marinated in kombu-shiitake broth.
  • Mixed Grain of the Day (basmati wild rice)
  • Goma-Ae: steamed special greens with black sesame sauce.
  • Goma Tofu: soy free, creamy and nutty sesame “tofu”.
  • Stewed Vegetables: cooked carrot, gobo, yam cake and lotus root in tamari broth.

I thought this was possibly the best lunch/brunch I have ever had. And there were flowers, soy sauce, and sesame seeds:

feb 28 2010 006

My soup came first. Bobby and I actually swapped soups because we each liked the other’s better.

feb 28 2010 008

The cornbread was really interesting (in a good way) – it was not very sweet at all and tasted healthy (again, in a good way). It came with miso tahini dressing (I finished this dressing and got more – so good). Two related recipes that I made before:

feb 28 2010 007

My veggies came last. The kabocha was ripe and perfectly steamed. The carrots and daikon were also perfectly steamed. Even the kale was delicious! (Sometimes I think it’s boring.)

feb 28 2010 010

Here was Bobby’s spread (clockwise from top left: spinach, rice, tofu skin thing, sesame tofu thing, and soup):

feb 28 2010 009

I thought that Bobby’s gomae (steamed spinach with sesame sauce – I have a recipe here) was really yummy. He thought it tasted a little bit like dirt, but I honestly thought it was great. I also thought his goma tofu (tofu made with sesame) was good, but he didn’t like the texture much. Next time he is getting fish. We’re going to bring his mom here when his family visits in March (!). I think she would appreciate it.

Brunch dessert was a piece of Macasure chocolate. I saw it at Whole Foods yesterday and picked it up. Really good! Bobby liked it too.

macasure_chocolat_bar_angled

I’m gonna end with a mantra that I was contemplating this morning during my hour of silence:

May everyone be happy, well, and peaceful.

How was your weekend?