I’ve literally been obsessed with coconut lately. I really don’t know what started the trend, but these days I just can’t get enough. Coconut milk smoothies in the morning, rich, coconut tapioca for snacking, creamy curries for dinner and coconut macaroons for dessert.
Last month, when I reviewed my week’s Secret Recipe Club reveal posts, it dawned on me that I was doing something wrong. Two beautiful granola recipes were among the collection. Both full of flavor, crunch and simple as could be. It was then I realized: I was doing granola all wrong.
Lately dinner has been a rush. Work is wonderful but stressful so late nights lead to quick fixes like burgers or mac & cheese or worse…takeout. Needless to say, I haven’t been cooking as much as I’d like. Which also accounts for the long periods of silence in between posts. I just haven’t been able to experiment with creating new recipes lately.
While dinner is a struggle, breakfast is something I’ve come to love and need. I used to be the person who never ate breakfast, went to work, maybe grabbed a cup of coffee on the way, and then didn’t put anything of substance in my stomach until about 1:30 or 2pm. Yet somehow when I started forcing myself to eat breakfast a few years ago, I became addicted and now need it to survive. On the occasional day I leave my apartment without food in my belly, I feel nauseous and dizzy on the subway ride in, until I’m able to finally fill that void. To avoid the drab bowl of cereal, I try to prep some foods on Sunday night to carry me through the week’s mornings.
It’s been a while since my last Secret Recipe Club post. Did you think I left them? Of course not! With so much going on during the holidays, it was decided that December and January would form one BIG month. Weeks A & B would reveal the first two weeks of December, then we’d all enjoy the holidays and customary post holiday food coma for a month, the C & D would reveal. So here we are, rounding out the double month with Week D’s reveal. February will be back to our regularly scheduled programming. Promise.
This month I was assigned Table for Seven. Erin is an amazing cook who has challenged herself to provide healthy, not from the freezer meals for her and her family. Oh, I’m sorry, you don’t think that’s too difficult? Hmm, well did I mention her family includes her and her husband plus FIVE kids? That’s where the Table for Seven comes from. I hardly have the time to cook for just my husband and I sometimes, so Erin, for cooking and still having the energy to share with us…BRAVO!
Oranges are so overrated. And grapefruits. What’s with the lack of love for all the other citrus out there?! Buddha hands, clementines (my favorite because I can actually peel them), tangerines. As much as I try to stay local, when Florida citrus starts beckoning me this time of year, I can never resist. Hey, at least I’m sticking to the same coast! A trip to Fairway the other day resulted in a bag of tangerines, among other non necessary food splurges (nutella anyone?).
Brooklyn Locavore 