'Tis The Season To Enjoy Life

Winter Happenings:

This year I had the opportunity to visit with two different families over the holidays. I spent Christmas in Roselle, New Jersey and New Year's in Hockessin, Delaware. It was great to get away from Philadelphia and visit some really good friends for a change. The highlight of my winter break was starting a family oral history project, having really amazing food and making new discoveries such as:

• Creamed onions, which I actually had a hand in making
• Eggless, Milkless, Butterless Cake
• Wild Rice Salad
• Freshly pounded pomegranate juice, which I used to make sangria
• The cookbook Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine
• Simon Pearce

I had the opportunity to be in the kitchen with other people who love to cook and have as much passion for food as I do. It was such a great experience that I resolved to spend more time cooking with other people in the new year. I have also resolved to spend more time enjoying the simple pleasures in life.

2010 was not my favorite year, by far. I had a lot of ups and downs mostly due to living in Philadelphia. However, I managed to remain optimistic and hopeful. The new year will be spent enjoying life and cooking even more. To anyone reading this, a joyous Happy New Year to you and yours!

Red Bean Desserts

As a person with a sweet tooth, I have eaten a wide variety of desserts in my life. Some of my personal favorites are red velvet and carrot cakes; pecan, lemon icebox and key lime pies; bread and banana puddings; and coconut macaroons. Most of them are traditionally made with plenty of unhealthy ingredients like sugar, butter and bleached flour and are deliciously unhealthy morsels of goodness with very little nutritional value. In the United States, the concept of a healthy dessert is the ultimate blasphemy to a mainstream pastry chef. I can rarely think of examples of truly healthy desserts that have garnered widespread acceptance. The top contenders for that award would probably be the N.O.I. bean pies, fruit tarts and whole grain breads and muffins in the baked goods category. Then, there's the frozen treats like yogurt, sorbet, parfait, and fruit pops. A google search for "healthy desserts" retrieved 1,320,000 results and here's a list of healthy dessert recipes from the world famous Mayo Clinic: Dessert Recipes.

Then, there was Chinatown. Here in Philadelphia, there are several Asian bakeries in Chinatown. The average U.S. American would probably think of many of the baked goods there as "bizarre". I've noticed pastries with meat such as pork, green tea, sesame paste, taro, duck egg, and my personal favorite--red bean. My first red bean dessert was a puff pastry ball. It was so delicious and faintly sweet that I have been eagerly trying all Asian products containing red beans. Here are some of the great finds:

Sweety Red Bean Ice Bar

These are pretty light and are filled with red bean pieces.

Red Bean Pancakes

I had these for breakfast this morning and I think I prefer them to pancakes and waffles.

Che Ba Mau

This is my Vietnamese obsession that my friend Ngoc introduced me to. It has red beans, Vietnamese jello, mung bean and coconut milk over shaved ice.

Do you know how healthy red beans are? WHFoods: Kidney Beans They are easily becoming one of my favorite dessert ingredients. I encourage you to give them a try.

Che ba mau image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreelau/1062749392/

Red bean spoon image: http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/ln/red-beans-spoon-lg.jpg

Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake

I generally love anything with garbanzo beans (a.k.a chickpeas) in it. So, I naturally had to try out the recipe I received for Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake. The recipes only calls for 5 ingredients. It's really easy to make. It's also flourless (gluten free), healthy and packed with protein.

The resulting cake is dense and tasty and probably more "brownie" than "cake". I topped it with fresh whipped cream and raspberries but I'm considering a peanut butter icing since chocolate and peanut butter is one of my favorite combinations.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch round cake pan.
2. Place the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Cook in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds after the first minute, until chocolate is melted and smooth. If you have a powerful microwave, reduce the power to 50 percent.
3. Combine the beans and eggs in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Add the sugar and the baking powder, and pulse to blend. Pour in the melted chocolate and blend until smooth, scraping down the corners to make sure chocolate is completely mixed. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan.
4. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

French Omelette

This morning, I made the PERFECT French Omelette thanks to Julia Child. It's a technique that requires a little maneuvering but is done in no time. I served it over some homemade jambalaya (last night's labor of love) with a piece of cornbread on the side.

10 Best Soul Food Restaurants in America

This Mother's Day, I will be gifting my mom with a soul food cookbook. I have been painstakingly searching online for the absolute best there is available. In the process, I discovered this gem, a listing of the 10 Best Soul Food Restaurants in America. I've dined at two of these establishments--Alcenia's and Sweetie Pie's--and I've heard about a few of the others. So, I'd say this is a pretty solid list.

At Alcenia's in Memphis, I was fortunate enough to receive one of her legendary hugs. She serves up some serious food and I'm always happy to go back.

I hit up Sweetie Pie's over spring break while visiting a friend in St. Louis. We happened to be in the neighborhood around dinnertime so I indulged. It was pretty good eating.

As for the others, I'll add them to my list.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zagatbuzz/3441640678/

A Sentimental Mood

I wanna go outside, in the sun

See the sunshine

Feel the sunlight

Smell the sunflowers

Open the sunroof

Wear those vintage sunglasses

Feeling the warm breeze upon my face

I wanna go home, to the Sun Belt

Walk out on the sun deck

Eat an ice cream sundae

Make a tequila sunrise

Brew some sun tea

Watch the evening sunset

Relaxing for the moment and leaving worries behind

I wanna go up yonder, be with the Son

Put on my sun hat

Do a sun dance

Marvel at the sun dog in the sky

Sing like a sunbird

Live everyday like it's Sunday

Walking around heaven all day long

-Brother Soulistic

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesuscm/3745854254/

Hummus Plates

This past week has been all about my hummus plates! It's a concept that I discovered three years ago while living in Richmond, VA. It was probably during the time that I first became pescetarian considering I was dining out at one of my favorite pizza joints in the city, Sette. I will never forget the symphony of flavors that I experienced while eating that dish. The warm and smooth hummus contrasted perfectly with the robust flavor of the olive oil. The fresh tomato juices were like a midsummer's night fireworks show in my mouth. The cucumbers were cool and crisp. The red onions were crunchy and potent. The olives and feta cheese were sharp and salty. And, the pepperoncinis were juicy and sweet.

The thought to do hummus plates actually came to me by chance earlier this week: I returned from my weekend trip to DC with a healthy appetite and a limited supply of groceries in my apartment. After a few moments of thought and frustration, I decided to go with hummus for some protein. I didn't have much left so I decided to do a mix of hummus, olive oil and pita bread a la Italian restaurant (crusty bread and olive oil). It turned out to be amazing as I heated the pita bread and added fresh ground black pepper and coarse sea salt to the olive oil mix. And voila! It hit me then and there that I should do hummus plates. The rest is history.

Hummus plates are inexpensive, really easy to make and are ready in no time. They can be made in the style of a vegetable platter with the hummus as a dip or they can be built as a salad. I personally prefer to build mine as salad. I start with a heaping mound of hummus as my base. Then, I add tabouleh and a generous pour of olive oil. Next, I add chopped tomatoes, feta cheese and olives. I finish the salad off with some fresh ground black pepper and a few sprinkles of coarse sea salt. If I'm motivated enough, I like to make falafel for a little something extra (tonight, I decided to blacken some sardines and the salad turned out great). Then, you eat the salad using the pita bread (I recommend heating it in the microwave for 30-45 seconds or warming it in the oven is even better). This salad is meant to be eaten dip style. Tear off small pieces of the pita bread and then scoop up the salad to eat and enjoy.

Hummus plates can be made with a wide variety of ingredients: eggplant, artichoke, eggs, chicken, steak, falafel, bell peppers, cucumbers, etc.