Paleo dinner (sort of ) Shrimp and Brussel Sprouts

Here's a quick < 30 mins dinner I like to throw up together every now and then.

Ingredients :

• Large uncooked Shrimp ( 1 lb)
• 1 cup mushrooms (white/ baby bella /shitake)
• 1 small onion
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1 pack of premarinated Brussel sprouts (courtesey Trader Joes)

Cooking the Shrimp :

Dice the garlic into small pieces. Add it to a cooking pan along with some oil. Let the garlic cook for 1 minute. Chop up the onion and add it to the pan, Cook until the onion turns soft for 5-7 minutes on medium heat.  Add the cup of mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms turn soft for 5 minutes. Finally add the shrimp and cook for another 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp (stop cooking when the shrimp curls up and another couple minutes after that)

Cooking the Brussel sprouts :

The Brussel sprouts from Trader Joes are premarinated with garlic,olive oil and pepper. Simply add this to a cooking pan and sautee for 20 minutes on medium heat until the brussel sprouts turn softer and look evenly cooked.

Serve the shrimp and Brussel sprouts with 2 hard boiled eggs and half an avocado. Serve some carrot sticks on the side.

Food in Beijing,China

So last week I got a chance to visit Beijing, China for a business trip and the food was well.... interesting to say the least! It's a Vegiterian's nightmare and even for non- veggies the local cuisine is quite difficult to handle. Here are some pictures from the local restaurants :

Traditional Beijing food (1)

Mystery meat 

Traditional Beijing food 2

"Vegetarian food"

Soup for Lunch

More "Vegetarian " food

Salad made of Lotus and Wild flowers

Restaurant Review : Mediterranean Grill

Mediterranean Grill  : 5221 Buckeystown Pike, Frederick MD 21704

As someone who is extremely fond of Mediterranean cuisine, this is one of my favorite restaurants in Frederick. The Mediterranean diet has been recently reviewed in the media as one of the better diets to lead a healthy lifestyle : http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/24/mediterranean-diet-heart-health/2013417/

Getting back to the restaurant, the food is mainly Turkish/Lebanese. They have a nice selection of mezze , salads and lunch sandwiches.

For lunch , I started off with the Tirosalata Dip which is prepared from roasted red peppers, red chili peppers, feta cheese and lemon juice. The other mezze dip options of Hummus, Baba ghanouj and Tzatziki are good as well. All dips are served with a warm Pita.

Tirosalata

They have a great selection of lunch sandwiches for only $ 10. You get an option of soup or salad with your sandwich. I recommend the spinach and lentils soup or the Greek Salad.

I had the Mediterrarean Chicken Salad Sandwich. It is a delicious sandwich filled with chicken salad, cilantro hummus, cucumbers, sun dried tomatoes, onions and feta cheese on a pita.

Mediterranean Chicken Salad Sandwich

Under the salad options my favorite is the Mediterranean Cobb Salad. A generous portion of diced tomatoes, avocado, onions, eggs, feta cheese, and kalamata olives on a bed of organic baby greens with honey balsamic dressing. Top if off with some Chicken Shawarma and you have a delicious meal.

The only drawback about this place is the time it takes for the food to come to your table. Especially during lunch, when they have a rush of people between 12-12:45  pm it is best to avoid else or be ready for a long wait time. Personally I okay with their service since this is not fast food and the food quality is good.

Food : Very Good

Ambience : Good

Service : Okay

Chicken Sandwich/ Burger

Ingredients :

• Chicken thighs (Boneless and Skinless)
• Fresh Garlic/Chili powder/turmeric/salt for marinating the chicken

Toppings for the Sandwich/Burger :

• Onion rings
• Tomato slices
• Fresh spinach leaves
• Avocado
• Lemon Juice

In a previous post I had put up a recipe for Baked Chicken :  http://foodieinfrederick.blogspot.com/2013/01/baked-chicken-with-little-heat.html , I will be using the same for this recipe. Once the chicken is cooked, pile a piece of chicken on the bread. Pile on the Avocado, Onion rings, Tomato slices and spinach leaves. Squeeze some lemon juice from top.

Now for the best part, take the top slice of bread and soak into the chicken juices marinated with garlic and spices. Enjoy this delicious sandwich and thank me later.

Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is a quick to make dish which can be served for breakfast or a quick snack. It is also a good way to use some of the extra bread left over.

Ingredients :

• 4 cups of milk
• 2 eggs
• 5 teaspoons of sugar
• 3-4 slices of bread (preferably fruit bread)

In a mixing bowl crack open the eggs and add the sugar. Beat the eggs with a fork and add milk to the mixture. Tear up the bread slices into small pieces and soak the bread into the mixture. Add some lemon/orange zest for flavor. Sprinkle some raisins/dry fruits from the top. Transfer this mixture into a rice cooker and cook for 30 minutes. 

Serve chilled with a drizzle of honey and some fruit on the side.

Food in Italy!

Here are some pictures of my meals taken during my trip to Italy last summer.

Prosciutto

Mozzarella Cheese

Salami

Lasagna

Cottage Cheese and Green Peas Curry

Today's recipe comes from a poster who wishes to remain Anonymous.

Ingredients :

• One pound of Cottage Cheese ('Paneer' from Indian stores preferably because the grocery stores ones are too soft for this recipe)
• One Large Onion or two smaller ones
• Half Cup of Cashews
• One Cup of Green Peas 
• Half Teaspoon of Turmeric and Chili Powder
• One Teaspoon of Ginger and Garlic paste (Or few cloves of hand chopped garlic and ginger)

Defrost the cottage cheese for a couple of hours if it was kept in the freezer. Slice the cottage cheese into small pieces and keep it soaked in salt water until it is ready to be cooked.

Chop up the onion into small pieces. Stir fry the onion with a little oil until it starts to turn brown. Add the cashews to the onion while it is being cooked. After the onion and cashews turn brown a bit , add this to a mixer. Blend it until the mixture turns into a fine paste. 

In a cooking pan heat up some cooking oil and add in the ginger/garlic paste,turmeric and chili powder. After cooking it for 2 minutes add in the green peas and cook until the peas soften a little.Add the onion/cashew paste from the mixer along with the cottage cheese. Cook for 10-15 minutes on medium heat. Add salt to taste. Serve with rice or indian bread and enjoy 3 servings for Dinner.

Restaurant Review : Burma Road, Gaithersburg MD

Burma Road : http://www.burmaroad.biz/ 717 S. Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg MD 20877

Burma Road as the name suggests is a restaurant catering to Burmese cuisine although they have a separate section for your run of the mill Chinese food as well. Burmese cuisine is very similar to Indian and Chinese cuisines and is a fusion of sorts of both.

I've been to this place a few times and have always had a good experience. The place is very easy to miss on Rt 355 in Gaithersburg, but it's worth to find this place for the food.

I've tried the Coconut Noodle Soup which is a personal favorite of mine. Rib sticking soup made of coconut milk, egg noddles , onions and shredded chicken with spices make this a delicious treat.

Another popular item on the menu is the Chicken/Lamb and Potato. It's very similar to the Indian curry, chicken cooked in tomatoes and spices along with potatoes. 

Their menu lists the Pickled tea leaf salad as a must try although I am not too fond of it.

Food : Good

Ambience : Okay

Service: Good

And if you're not sure about tasting Burmese cuisine there's always the Chinese menu here.

Vegetables and Egg Casserole

Today I have a breakfast item which is a good substitute to the common omlette. It's the Vegetables and Eggs Casserole. This preparation is similar to the breakfast quiche recipe .

Ingredients :

• One Medium sized Zucchini/Squash
• Small pack of Mushrooms (White/Baby Bella/Shitake)
• One Tomato
• One small onion
• 4 Eggs
• Chopped Ham ( You can skip this if you want to keep it vegetarian)

Chop up the Zucchini,Mushrooms,Tomato and Onion into medium sized pieces. Using a Cooking pan on Medium heat sauté them together with a little Olive oil until the vegetables begin to soften. Sprinkle a pinch of Chili powder while cooking to add a little heat to your dish.

In a mixing bowl, break open the eggs and beat them with a fork. Add salt and pepper to this according to your taste.

Place all the vegetables from the pan in a Oven dish. Add the Egg mixture on top making sure it is evenly spread in the oven dish. Add the chopped ham from the top making sure it is evenly spread.

Set the oven to 375 F. Place the dish in the oven until it is cooked for 30 minutes. When the top and bottom of the dish starts to turn brown it is ready to be served.

Enjoy 3 servings for breakfast or lunch. 

Split pea soup with Ham

Want a delicious and cheap way to get more fiber in your diet ? Then consider the split pea soup as part of your regular diet.

Ingredients :

• One pound of split peas 
• One large onion or two smaller ones
• Pinch of Turmeric
• One large piece of ham steak cut up into small pieces ( you can skip this if you want a vegetarian soup)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Soak the split peas in water for 2-5 hours.  Try to follow this for cooking any type of lentils as this will  reduce your cooking time by quite a while ( and save energy!). 

Chop up the onion into small pieces and add it to a large cooking pan. Saute the onion in cooking oil until it turns soft. Add the turmeric to the onion while it gets cooked.

Next add the soaked split peas to the pan. Add boiling water to the pan up to the level that it just covers up the peas. Bring this to a boil on high heat and then immediately reduce the heat to medium.

Cook the split peas stirring occasionally for an hour until the peas break down in the soup. Add the ham to the soup at this point along with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy 6-8 servings which you can use as a healthy lunch for an entire week!

Restaurant review : Pho Apple, Frisco Texas

Looks like the first restaurant review is going to be about a restaurant in Frisco Texas , as posted on yelp.com :

Website : http://phoapple.com/Default.aspx

(Nice place to get Pho, I live in Maryland and googled Vietnamese food in the Frisco area since I was here for work and I love me a good Pho. I got the Curry Chicken Pho (which I have never seen in any of the Vietnamese restaurants in the Maryland area). I got the Medium spicy kind and the soup was excellent. Very flavourful sort of like the Mullogotawny soup. I guess this soup was created for the strong south asian community in the area. I also tried the Grilled pork Sandwich (Banh mi) which was delicous as well. A Baked Crunchy French baguette stuffed with grilled pork, chili sauce, mayo, pickeled carrots,cucumber, cilantro and some other goodies .

If I'm ever in this area again I will definately be back for the Curry Chicken Pho.)

Food : Very Good
Ambiance: Decent
Service : Good

On a similar note this place got me thinking about why Banh mi sandwiches are not mainstream in this country, I would love to see a chain for these sandwiches (#businessidea) and would personally prefer these over the Jimmy John and Subway chains.

Facts about Greek Yogurt

In the recent times Greek Yogurt has come about to be an extremely popular snack competing with the regular Yogurt brands. And you can see why, it has a smooth thick texture similar to sour cream with out the calories and it is high in protein content. But again not all Greek Yogurts are made the same.

So before you reach out for the Greek yogurt in the grocery aisle and put in your cart make sure you read the content on it. If it has any mentions of Milk protein concentrate or thickners avoid it. It is the cheap stuff which is made to look like Greek Yogurt.

This link provide good information about the issues with Greek Yogurt production and how some companies are straying away from the intended production processes.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/07/19/156997600/high-tech-shortcut-to-greek-yogurt-leaves-purists-fuming

This link provides a interesting read about the issues while producing Greek Yogurt :

http://www.wnyc.org/npr_articles/2012/nov/21/why-greek-yogurt-makers-want-whey-to-go-away/

Hope you find this informative!

Post Workout Sandwich

Many times after getting back home from a long strenuous workout in the gym the last thing you want to do is cook. But again you don't want to reach for the junk food/order takeout and ruin all the gains in the gym. So came up with the need for a quick meal which satisfies the post gym hunger and provides the body with  a protein punch and good carbs. Aaand this sandwich was created :

Ingredients :

• Sliced Bread (I prefer whole wheat)
• Few Slices of Turkey Breast
• Few Slices of Ham
• Boiled Egg (Always keep few boiled eggs in your fridge for a quick snack)
• One Avocado
• Mustard for taste (Honey Mustard works good too!)

Pile all of the good stuff on the bread and Viola, you have a sandwich which will keep you full for at least couple of hours!

Breakfast Smoothie!

I was never a big fan of eating my breakfast. So I decided to drink it instead. Of course it has to be nutritious and tasty ,so here I am sharing with you my breakfast drink which I drink every weekday before heading to work. The good part about this smoothie is that it is healthy and keeps me full until lunch time.

Ingredients :

• Milk
• Greek Yogurt (For an extra protein punch but you can use regular yogurt too!)
• 2 Bananas
• Handful of Berries (Rasberries, Blueberries,Blackberries,Strawberries)
• Oatmeal (Optional, I use it sometimes to make the smoothie thicker)
• Honey 

In a blender add all the bananas and the berries. Add two to three big spoons of greek yogurt. Also add a cup full of milk. Blend together. Add a teaspoon of honey and blend some more. Enjoy 2-3 glasses of  a delicious breakfast.

Tip : If want to reduce your grocery bill, substitute frozen berries instead of fresh ones. The nutritional benefits are supposed to stay the same.

Baked Chicken with a little heat!

One of my favorite quick dishes to make is Baked chicken. It is so easy and quick to make that even a novice to the cooking world can make it and enjoy it.

Ingredients :

5-6 Boneless and Skinless Chicken thighs (Chicken thighs are perfect in the oven compared to breasts because chicken breasts turn dry!)
5-6 Cloves of Garlic (more if you love lots of garlic in your food like me!)
Pinch of Chili powder (which provides the heat!)
Pinch of Turmeric
Pinch of Pepper
Salt to taste

Chop the garlic into fine pieces. Mix it together with the turmeric, chili powder, salt and pepper to create the marinade to rub onto the chicken.

Wash the Chicken thighs and poke them all over with a knife or fork. Rub the marinade liberally over the Chicken . Keep it aside for 2 hours minimum.

Set the oven to 375 F . Place the chicken in the oven for 45 minutes and remember to turn it once through.

So there you go , enjoy this delicious chicken with a side salad or enjoy it in a wrap!

Introduction

I'm a late 20s single professional living in Frederick, Maryland.  I've created this blog as a means to share my passion for food, eating and cooking it. So expect a few posts on restaurant reviews in the Frederick/Montgomery county area and also cooking tips for creating healthy and quick meals as a single guy.