Food | Pomelo girl thoughts

Iceland Day 1: Reykjavik

Posted on August 5, 2015 by elemonated

Iceland is so far beautiful, and glorious, and confusing at times. Reykjavik is lovely and eccentric and proud of its uniqueness, as it should be. Perhaps the business transactions we made today didn’t go down quite smooth (why exactly do we have to retrieve our wireless hotspot from above a post box underneath some stairs near a furniture store, and why do people think this is totally normal?!) but the people were welcoming, kind, and generous, and that’s all Mr. Chokkattu and I could ask.

Today, I saw all of these things!

Coldbrew’s on its way out

Posted on June 17, 2015 by elemonated

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/whats-the-best-way-to-brew-iced-coffee.html

Last summer’s ice coffee method sweetheart is slowly becoming both mainstream (since Starbucks has picked it up) and losing the favor of hipsters all across the country in favor of a method that’s a lot faster and requires way less planning: the pour-ov– I mean, the Japanese method.

Daybreaker & the Beach

Posted on June 14, 2015 by elemonated

Mr. Chokkattu, Bloo (my stuffed representation of the real dog Boo), and I had quite an eventful last Thursday.

We attended Thursday’s Daybreaker at Cielo on Little West 12th for a morning pick-me-up because apparently that’s good for you.

Coke chicken and papas bravas

Posted on June 9, 2015 by elemonated

Dinner for Mr. Chokkattu’s family and my first attempt at a foodwishes recipe!

The chicken was alright because we had to replace some ingredients, but the potatoes and the sauce were great!

Link to his blog post here.

Link to the chicken recipe here (try not to darken the sauce too much…not that I know from experience.)

Honeycomb Candy with dark chocolate and other nonsense

Posted on May 14, 2015 by elemonated

That’s what I did today with Mr. Chokkattu.

Recipe from the SORTED boys, whom I met the other week when they visited NYC for the Today Show, cheerily enough. I think I love them more now that I’ve met them. They’re a little shorter than I thought they would be, but at 5’1″ that’s not really a thing I can get hung up on, haha. This one’s my favorite picture. Credits to Mr. Chokkattu, linked above.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted on May 10, 2015 by elemonated

For the mother who puts up with all of my bullshit:

Happy Mother’s Day! ❤

Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce

Posted on April 19, 2015 by elemonated

I’m making Julian try this. His family can thank me later.

rachel eats

Even with the inevitable post holiday – back to school feelings it is nice to be easing back into the ebb and flow of our daily life, especially where food is concerned. This is one of our favouries, simple, judicious and delicious.

Marcella Hazan’s Tomato sauce with butter and onion

This sauce never ceases to surprise and delight me, a bit of soft red alchemy. Just three ingredients, a large tin of plum tomatoes – San Marzano if you can find them – a thick slice of butter and a yellow onion, peeled and cut into two. You simmer this trio together – slowly and steadily for about 45 minutes, a stir here, blip blip, a squash there – and something almost magical happens, the three ingredients come together into thick, soft red, full flavoured, velvety sauce, luxurious and simple at the same time.

The flavour is rather surprising…

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Kind Bars are Under Fire

Posted on April 14, 2015 by elemonated

http://www.businessinsider.com/kind-bars-under-fire-from-fda-2015-4

They aren’t health and safety issues, thankfully! But Kind Bars simply aren’t as “healthy” as they claim to be according to the FDA (but honestly, who really thought they were super healthy anyway? They’re so sweet!) and some of the labeling is off-kilter. Simply writing “peanut butter” or “mixed fruits” doesn’t seem to legally cover it; which if you’re looking to avoid things like corn syrup that can be found in a lot of “peanut butter coatings” should be something you’re wary of.

Your Kind Fruit & Nut Almond & Apricot, Kind Fruit & Nut Almond & Coconut, Kind Plus Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein, and Kind Plus Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew + Antioxidants products are misbranded within the meaning of section 403(r)(1)(A) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 343(r)(1)(A)] because the product labels bear nutrient content claims, but the products do not meet the requirements to make such claims.

The FDA lists phrases that the company uses that it maybe shouldn’t, including:

Breyers Announces Switch to Hormone-Free Milk and Cream

Posted on February 9, 2015 by elemonated

http://www.thedailymeal.com/news/eat/breyers-announces-switch-hormone-free-milk-and-cream-other-unilever-ice-cream-brands-follow/20415

I’m feeling pretty good about this change. Breyers was my number one back when I was younger, and I was so disappointed when a lot of their ice cream became “frozen dairy dessert” after Unilever changed the recipes in 2006. The news doesn’t say anything about changing some of the frozen dairy dessert back to ice cream, but it’s good that the company is paying attention to consumers and aiding them on the quest to a less problematic diet, I guess. And who knows? Maybe one day Breyers will change everything back and my inner fat kid will rejoice in the nostalgia of it all. I still eat that natural vanilla when my throat is sore though (before you think this is odd, I know it’s counter-intuitive and likely completely counterproductive, but the main character in The Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Shusterman does it and I’ve always been heavily affected by books.)

Until then though, I think I’ll stick with some local product, like ice cream from the Denville Dairy and Milk Sugar Love. And if I need a quick pint, there’s always the ever faithful Haagen Dazs, which has a more complicated ownership: while the brand is owned by General Mills, they acquired it when they acquired Pillsbury who bought Haagen Dazs in 1983, and it’s licensed to Dreyer’s/Nestle, so technically they make the product. Crazy corporate stuff!

P.F. Chang’s is being sued over its gluten-free menu

Posted on February 3, 2015 by elemonated

https://www.yahoo.com/health/why-p-f-changs-is-being-sued-over-its-109996603802.html

This is a departure from what I normally write about, but I just wanted to write that this is a stupid issue. Having an allergy is not a disability. No one’s holding a gun to your head when you choose to visit an establishment. If you’re struggling to save money because of your out-of-house food choices, you should probably reassess the value of those choices. If you can’t afford the restaurant’s having to buy and house completely separate (and more expensive! I’ve cooked gluten-free before, it seems like a really expensive allergy to have just in general) ingredients and equipment to prepare food you can eat, then you should probably stay home.

Cooking’s fun, and cooking teachers are ubiquitous. Maybe Ms. Phillips should watch some more Youtube videos.

Anne can help!