Yams & Jams
Yams & Jams… I couldn’t help myself. Even though what I was eating was totally not a yam, it just happened to be close enough and rhyme with jam. I rolled with it. If you’re curious about the difference between sweet potatoes and yams, this link explains it pretty well. And if you’re curious about how I ate my sweet potato – I sprinkled with a little salt, dolloped with a ton of plain Chobani Greek yogurt, and smashed it. I made a meal of it.
As far as jams go – one of my favorite bands, The National, is releasing a new album next week. And rather than listen to the streaming of their new album, I decided to play through my old favorites and share them with you.
Mr. November
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Gospel
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All Dolled-Up In Straps
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It Never Happened
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Dinner at Lenoir
The inspiration behind my restaurant to-do post, Lenoir, has been on my mind every time I craved restaurant for quite some time. There were problems though. It’s a pretty small, reservation-only space that has a fairly pricey pre fixe menu. That rules out friends that are picky, on a budget, and are opposed to planning ahead. I guarantee that most of anyone’s friends fit in one, if not all three, of those categories.
Luckily I have three very lovely friends that were ready to give it a go. We coordinated our schedules and made reservations a couple weeks in advance. We tried so very hard to vary our selections, but were all drawn to similar dishes in each category.
My selections from each of the categories:
Field – aleppo spaghetti / smoked ricotta salata / broccoli rabe / crisp garlic
Sea – drum crudo / avocado / loquat vinaigrette / honeysuckle gelee
Dream – bleu d’auvergne / walnut & pistachio ‘baklava’ / roasted sweet potato / smoked honey
I was so thankful when the house-made spaghetti was set in front of me. My appetite, besides a brief desire to cleanse, has been insatiable as of late. But this blip of flavorful and delicate noodle was instantly satisfying and prepped my very hungry belly to appreciate the dishes to come.
The crudo was delicious, as expected. All of the accompaniments added texture and flavor without compromising the freshness and lightness of the fish. If I hadn’t just eaten noodles, I could have eaten this for miles.
The dessert, in the most butchering of simple descriptions, was essentially baklava with blue cheese, sweet potatoes, and honey. I liked this dish because I dig salty/crunchy/sweet. I didn’t like this dish because it didn’t feel like dessert (it would have been just as fitting had it been categorized as an appetizer). But I also did like this dish because it didn’t feel like dessert. Desserts, in my mind, are partly desserts because of the sickeningly sweet taste that leaves you feeling ehhh afterward. The lack of ehhh smooshed any dessert envy before it formed. Overall, I was pleased with my selection.
Lenoir is such an adorably tasty spot and I look forward returning for another lovely evening!
Breakfast Quinoa
Knowing full well that my schedule doesn’t allow for any kind of cleansing these days, I started searching for cleanses I could cherry pick from and stick to when I can. I have lots and lots of birthday gorging to recover from. The last meal of my twenties was half of a bag of hot fries for goodness sake. Admitting that, I could probably use at least one cleansing meal a day for the next two months!
I stumbled upon Dr. Oz’s two-day wonder cleanse that involves eating regular meals at regular times. I can stick to the breakfast quinoa and snack juice this week. And I can also go for the lunch smoothie and dinner soup when plans don’t interfere. At 30, I’m learning that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
I prepped two servings of the breakfast quinoa for work breakfasts. And from what I tasted, I’m not that excited about it. At all. I added some vanilla and cinnamon, knowing that my breakfast could be so much better. And I’ll eat it, because it’s good for me. But next time, since I like the idea of a breakfast quinoa, I’ll make it yummy.