"Everything you see I owe to spaghetti."
(Sophia Loren)
As often seems to be the case in good old NYC, a mostly chilly and rainy past few months have quickly given way to temperatures in the 90s. In my final goodbye to spring -- which officially ended on Friday, June 21 with the summer solstice -- below are photos and recipe links to our unduplicated meals from the last season: 1) smoothies and drinks; 2) breakfast; 3) vegetarian; 4) chicken and turkey; 5) seafood; 6) pasta; 7) sweets; and 8) grilled food.
Smoothies and Drinks
After our
New Year's cleanse, I wanted to make more blended fruit concoctions with interesting flavors, and saw one that looked good in the March issue of
Martha Stewart Living, with peaches, spinach, ginger, and honey. I also came across a tart grapefruit juice and apple cider vinegar drink that is supposed to be good for swimsuit season. Finally, one night I was in the mood for a mojito, so my husband went out and bought some rum and mint leaves and muddled one up for me!
Breakfast
Breakfast and brunch are my favorite meals of the day, but you probably won't be able to tell from this post, since I didn't cook a lot in the morning in the spring as compared to in the
winter, and I also enjoy going out for brunch. I did bake some wholesome banana and chocolate muffins though, and eggs with arugula and cheddar grits from the March issue of
Everyday Food.
Vegetarian
I eat pretty much everything -- including chicken, turkey, fish and other seafood, eggs, and dairy products -- except meat from mammals. I don't mind cooking beef or pork, and have no plans to limit it from my family, but since my husband adopted a healthy lifestyle (he even took part in
Meatless Monday when he was away at medical school), we seldom cook beef or pork at home. So while I sometimes complain about his healthfulness, I guess it works out for the most part. But we do have marinated Korean beef in our freezer.
Chicken and Turkey
Chicken can get boring, but because there are so many different recipes out there, it's easy to find and prepare a tasty chicken dinner. The turkey we eat, besides on Thanksgiving, is mostly in the form of cold cuts for our lunch sandwiches, or lean ground for burgers, pastas, and chilis.
Seafood
I grew up in a family of big seafood fans, and I definitely take after them in that I love fresh fish, mussels, scallops, crab, and lobster, to name a few. I've already eaten a bunch of lobster rolls, and summer has just started!
Pasta
Being that I thoroughly enjoy bread, pastries, pizza, and pasta, a low-carb lifestyle is clearly not the way I'm headed. Pasta dishes are generally inexpensive to put together, are flavorful and filling, and somehow always feel comforting and familiar, even when you've never made them before.
 |
| Same recipe as above, with roasted red pepper sauce and green peas |
Sweets
Everyone knows that I love me some pies, cakes, and cookies! I've been experimenting with lighter recipes that are lower in calories and fat, like the
Hungry Girl cake below... but I'll never get away from the real stuff, which everyone knows tastes better.
Grilled Food
Spring is the warm-up to summer, which is all about cookouts and pretty much throwing anything you can on the grill. Well, we don't have a grill or any outdoor space, but do you know what we do have? A grill pan! So when I say "grilled" food here, I really mean food cooked in our little grill pan on the stove. (Actually, it's technically a
panini pan, but you get the idea.)
Spring Meals by Local Eateries
American:
Elberta Restaurant & Bar,
James
Bagels:
La Bagel Delight
Health Food, Juice & Salads/Sandwiches:
Healthy Nibbles
Indian:
India Place
Japanese:
Shinju Sushi
Korean/Mexican:
Kimchi Grill
Latin American/Colombian:
Bogota Latin Bistro
Mediterranean/Falafel:
Kulushkät Gourmet Falafel
Seafood:
Fish & Sip
Vietnamese:
Bahnmigos
Now that it's officially summer -- and officially hot! -- I'll probably try to cut down on oven use and do a little more indoor "grilling." I may also make more slow cooker recipes, because although they usually come to mind for fall and winter meals, if you think about it, they would be great for warm weather when you don't want to crank up the oven or stand over a hot stove. I also want to take another trip to
Smorgasburg.
With this, alongside my
winter,
fall, and
summer Brooklyn food posts, and my posts on various occasions and holidays in between -- my sister's
baby shower; last summer's
dinners with friends; our
autumn craft party; our first
Thanksgiving,
Christmas, and
smoothie cleanse together; the
Super Bowl; and
Valentine's Day -- I've covered much of our past year in home-cooked and local meals. There are many meals I would love to write about in more detail, but then my posts would become even longer than they already are or I'd have to post more often... and
ain't nobody got time for that.
amazing meals! i don't know how you do it!!
ReplyDeleteThis is over a couple months, so I definitely don't cook every night! Sam is on an earlier schedule this week so yesterday he actually made yummy tacos and we had Daniel over.
DeleteWoah...you are so talented!! So much yummy food!! :)
ReplyDelete