Quinoa Rider

A couple of years ago, I gave up eating white rice. That statement in of itself may not seem extraordinary to the average bear, but coming from - as previously mentioned - a Filipina, I might as well have said that I gave up drinking water. It all started because of genetics. Whenever I filled out paperwork for a new doctor and asked to "Please indicate if your family has a history of...", there were always many more checked boxes than not.

I'm now approaching an age when more than a few relatives have passed away unexpectedly or had to address serious health issues. I never really had to worry about watching my weight nor did I really want to start but I did decide that I was going to pay attention to what I was eating at the very least. That's how I eventually started to experiment with quinoa (keen-wah), the stuff I read about in passing a year or two ago that has become all the rage. I serve it up with different bean recipes, sauteed or stir fried veggies, soups and anything else I can think of. So far, so good! I'm diggin' on the taste and texture and I don't feel as heavy as I used to after a meal. My husband and daughter are liking it, too. (I'm still working on #1 son.) A lot of things we used to eat rice with are now riding the quinoa wave, brah. Recipes and more reports to come.

In the meantime, check out cookinquinoa.net. It's loaded with info about the health benefits, where it comes from, how to cook it, and all that jazz. I definitely recommend giving it a shot.

I'll Have What He's Having

A while back a good friend of mine (you know who you are) introduced me to the Café Edison , a.k.a. the Polish Tea Room, in Manhattan.

(Click here for the menu and other info about the place. It's located at the Hotel Edison but their main website doesn't give you much info about the restaurant itself.)

It had me at, "Hello." The pastrami on rye - the sandwich by which I measure most any restaurant that dares to offer it on the menu - was perfect. Granted, if you knew that sentence was coming from a full-blooded Filipina, and now you do, you might take the endorsement with a teaspoon of patis.*

During my first lunch there my friend ordered the Vegetable Chopped Liver. (The first time I heard this word combination it sounded like something you say when someone asks, "What's the password?") His order arrived and I thought it looked pretty edible and I might try it at some point. If he enjoyed it enough to make it a regular choice, it would be worth a shot. But first, I had to make sure that I sampled all my other classic faves including the matzo ball and mushroom barley soups, blintzes, bagels and lox... the list went on. Did I mention I'm Filipina?

About a dozen lunches or so later I finally did order it in a sandwich with lettuce, tomato and onion on rye. One glance at my plate and I knew that it would have sent my kids running to the nearest pizza place. But I don't scare easy. Final verdict? It doesn't come close to the near-religious experience of good pastrami but I think I would order it again - if only to discourage the need for an extended nap in the afternoon.

I never asked what was in it and I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know at the time. Since then I've been searching for a veggie chopped liver recipe online. The only one that looks promising so far is from the LA Times because the they've got a photo that makes it look appetizing. I found plenty of other recipes but the accompanying pics were definitely buzz-kills. Photos aren't normally a deal-breaker for me but in this case, it kinda is. Once I give it go I'm looking forward to posting a my own picture of the final product with an obvious question... wait for it... here it comes... "What am I, chopped liver?"

*An inside joke for my Filipino and Filipino-By-Osmosis friends.