Lunch at Zampa in the West Village
Monthly Archives: February 2014
Weekend Post
Last weekend was another snowy one in the city, perfect for hibernating, cooking, and watching too many movies, inevitably leading to cabin fever! I think I’ve watched more television in the last two months than in the past 5 years. It seems like there’s no end in sight and we’ll be stuck in a blizzard for eternity. But on the bright side a long winter allows time for recipe experimentation, catching up on reading, and lots of white snow-filled photographs.
First up a pancake dinner! I found this vegan friendly Blueberry Banana Pancake recipe on the blog, Love & Lemons. I used white flour because I was out of whole wheat and gluten free flour and there was no way I would be venturing out in the ice and snow! Thick pillows of cinnamon banana deliciousness with real Canadian maple syrup, from our trip to Montreal. They were a hit!
What better time to bake chocolate chip cookies?! Stuck inside and I needed a sweet treat to send to my brother for his birthday! Now Tate’s Cookies, a.k.a. “crack cookies” because it’s humanly impossible to just eat one, are my favorite. The entire bag is usually consumed within a few hours. I Googled “Tate’s Cookie Recipe” and low and behold there’s actually a recipe! You can find the recipe on bon appetit’s website.
Use salted butter which the owner, Kathleen King, points out is the most important ingredient in the recipe. The homemade version of the cookies came out very similar; crispy, salty, buttery and sweet. Perfection!
For dinner it was a creative non-traditional curry dish. I started with Curry Basmati Rice from Dual Specialty Store in East Village. In a separate pan I caramelized onions, garlic, fresh ginger, roasted potatoes and carrots in coconut oil. Finally I mixed everything together with cooked black beans. Lots of flavor, but will take a few more attempts to perfect.
By Sunday it was time to leave the apartment! We ventured over to Brooklyn for a late brunch at Pies ‘n’ Thighs. Southern comfort food using fresh, sustainable, humanly raised ingredients. Just what I love!
Bless your heart, order the fried chicken. Enough said!
To end the weekend I had to try one more recipe. I have a sweet tooth and I live with a person who I’ve diagnosed with a sugar addiction! To try to reduce our intake of processed sugar I made fruit leather. Check out the recipe on the blog Oh My Veggies. I mixed together frozen mango and raspberry. It was a little difficult to blend in a Vitamix, but that may have been because I didn’t use the full amount of fruit the recipe called for. It’s very important to keep the oven at 175ºF because it will burn if the temperature is any higher.
Northern Lights
Our northbound road trip to Montreal started off with the typical Friday night city traffic which after the frustration and arguing led to a silent car for a bit. What felt like an eternity…because it was, we finally made it to the Northeast Kingdom, Burke, Vermont. All was right again Saturday morning waking up to the spectacular views of white capped mountains and a breakfast of champions; fried eggs on toast with maple butter made by my cousin. A perfect start to a bluebird day!!
View from my aunt and uncle’s home. I could get used to waking up to mountains and trees. Rejuvenated from sleeping in the middle of the mountains sans sirens, car alarms, and shouting!
Christmas isn’t over yet in the Northeast Kingdom
We drove past farm after farm after farm on our way to Montreal
I wouldn’t be the first and I won’t be the last to say, Montreal knows food. How to grow it, how to prepare it, and kicks it out of the park in delivery! Dinner at Pastaga on Saint Laurent Blvd. was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. Everything from the atmosphere to the service to the food was freaking outstanding! When we sat, I have to admit, it took a few minutes before anyone approached our table, but maybe it was the New York scent oozing from our pores that made them make us wait or just my grumbling stomach that made it seem longer than it was. As soon as the waiter, Malcolm, introduced himself all was changed and this restaurant experience was off to a very very good start. Malcolm was exceptional and didn’t disappoint in his guidance. Venison and foie gras perfectly rare with sweet potato puree…sweet, savory, salty mind blowing perfection. Salmon, dill, fennel, cucumber, radish dish served on a slab of wood. The salmon was so fresh (and so clean clean) as if it had been caught, killed, and prepared minutes before we ate it. We ended with crispy pork belly and a Quebec take on the Waldorf Salad. I thought I couldn’t look, let alone inhale another crumb, but my partner in crime has a minor sweet tooth, to say the least, and a meal at this restaurant would’t be complete without dessert. Malcolm brought out the big guns, a chocolate mouse and caramel delight! It was devoured within seconds much to my full belly feeling.
Sunday was spent at Jean-Talon Market and in Old Montreal before embarking on our long, and I mean very long, drive back to Manhattan. We sampled as many types of cheese as possible, stocked up on real maple syrup, had a hard time choosing just one baguette at Joe la Croute, were awe struck at the sight of the interior of the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal, and wandered the streets of Old Montreal. Ending our time in Montreal we stopped at Fous Desserts because of course we needed a snack for our snow-filled journey back to NYC. We walked out with a bag of croissants and chocolates…they were gone before we crossed the Connecticut border!
Conclusion from our northern road trip- spend more time in Vermont and Montreal!
To Do List for the next trip to Montreal:
- Joe Beef
- Brasserie T
- St-Viateur Bagel
- La Banquise
- Mount-Royal
- Musee d’art contemporain de Montreal
- Joyce Yahouda Gallery
- SBC Gallery of Contemporary Art
Bailey's Nest 