Programming Note

I've been getting a lot of grief for my blog, and it's unfortunately being used against me in a negative way to portray that I am doing something bad in my life.

I admit that I am overweight and it's something that I've struggled with for time, and something that I'm working on. I am not perfect, nor is anyone else (we're human, right?). However, I am attempting to make a difference with this issue of weight, and am consciously exercising and eating right.

Well, then begs the question, how can you eat out and have a food blog if you are attempting to be healthy?

I can't eat out every meal, every day. If I did, I would be broke. $19.19/hour stretches very thin over a 2 week period, and my money primarily goes to rent, utilities, parking, and miscellaneous other fees (groceries, coffee, etc). So, when I do go out to eat (once or twice a week, Fridays usually Broad Street Bagel for lunch, and sushi on the weekends), I try and make it healthy.

Most of the pictures/reviews I do are from meals over a period of weeks. They are not meals in successions, often times they are weeks apart. I get busy to post stuff, so unfortunately the blog goes on the back burner.

My daily routine is pretty concise, and I don't really stray outside of it because I can't afford to:

Breakfast:
-oatmeal (usually, Kashi instant oatmeal, or Quaker low sugar or weight control). I can make this in the office from the hot water tap, so it is easy. On the weekends, I like to make vegetable omelets, or I will have Kashi Heart to Heart cereal.

Lunch:
-some weeks, I will pack 4 ounces of fish (about the size of my fist) that I will bake in the oven with pepper and lemon, or I will steam on the pan along with brown rice or vegetables. With the fish, I will have a cup of vegetables and 1/4 cup cooked brown rice.

-some weeks, I will pack tofu, baked plain, 1/4 cup brown rice, and 1 cup vegetables. I may add barbecue sauce for flavor.

-some weeks, I will buy flat outs (100 calorie wraps), add hummus, vegetables, and Boar's head low sodium turkey.

To these meals, I add a container of yogurt (sometimes the 60 calorie container of dannon light n fit, others the Fage greek yogurt and honey), a bag of baby carrots, or sometimes baked lays if I'm in the mood.

Afternoon snack:
-i try and pack a berry assortment (strawberries/blueberries), or I will have a Clif bar (the peanut butter pretzel). This will give me enough fuel to work out.

Work out:
-this is very new to me. I never played sports competitively as a child so did not understand the need for fitness. Luckily, I work in a very fitness conscious environment. I have gotten into group fitness classes (my gym has classes in the Les Mills program, and I've really enjoyed Body Pump, Spinning, and am now liking a class called Body Attack). If I don't do a group fitness class, I try and do 40 minutes on the elliptical, go on a bike ride, or walk 4 times around Goodale park.

Dinner:

-dinner is usually a repeat of lunch. I cook on Sundays so I will have enough until Friday. Sometimes I have food that my parents have made. Sometimes I get invited to dinner with friends. Sometimes I eat cereal.

I started this blog as a creative outlet. I really like writing, and I like to eat, and people say that I've given good reviews on places. I was even featured in the Columbus Dispatch because of it. But now, I've received so much turmoil about it, I feel like I am distributing pornography instead of showing my friends some cool new places to try. It really hurts and has caused me a lot of stress, and I really don't appreciate it as this was started with the premise of being something fun for me, not "disgusting," "nauseating," "poisonous," and "revolting." I wish people would ask the facts about my eating habits before making the assumption that I am a terrible eater. I eat very well basically every meal, every day, every week, and I feel that treating myself to lunch with a friend, or dinner with former colleagues isn't going to throw me off course.

I haven't decided whether I will keep posting or not, because I really can't deal with the stress that this is now causing. But, to all of the doubters: I have lost 10 pounds since April, and I hope to continue down the same track.

I know I've been negligent...

EVERYONE who reads my blog and tells me about it have asked where the posts are.

(ok, maybe it was just white ninja and fancy pants who asked why i haven't posted in a while)

I'm sorry! I haven't been out to eat in a while.  And have been trying  to eat in this  week.  And all of the places I went this weekend were places I've already blogged about (Tai's Asian Bistro...I ate it on Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday)...

Hopefully this weekend I will go somewhere new, as Friday is pay day as well.

Stay tuned!

This is why Tai's Asian Bisto has the best Pad Thai

Seriously.

Tai's Asian Bistro is amazing.

All of this for under $7

 

Look how much Pad Thai that is!!!

Look how deep that container is!

 

I'm telling you, if you're craving pad thai, head over to Tai's.  It's well worth the trip over to West Lane Avenue.

What happens when Snowpacalypse prevents you from leaving the house?

More snow. Round two. For some reason, the ground hog has shown no mercy on Columbus.

(the intersection of 2nd and hunter, and my car, which has been parked since 2 pm).

I really like pizza on Monday nights, and contemplated ordering a pizza. However, my friend Sarah promptly reminded me that you really, REALLY, have to tip well in order for a pizza delivery person to arrive to your house in a level 1 snow emergency.

So I made up my own:

l-r:

1. low carb 50 cal tortillas

2. natural kraft low fat mozzarella cheese

3. oregano

4. tomato sauce

5. hormel's turkey sausage

First I heated the oven to 350 degrees, and placed the tortillas in by themselves. After about 5 minutes, I combined the rest of the ingredients, and put everything in the oven for another 5 minutes.

Needless to say, it satisfied the craving. I just hope that this snow leaves for sanity and hunger's sake.

Do you ever eat at home?

That was a question I received from a reader.

Yes, I do. In fact, this is what I made today for lunches/dinners for the week:

Stir-Fried Tofu, Red Cabbage and Winter Squash (minus the winter squash because Kroger was out):




2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar or honey

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons canola oil or peanut oil

1/2 pound firm tofu, cut in 1- x 2-inch dominoes

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 pound butternut squash, cut in 1/2-inch dice

Salt to taste

1 1/2 pounds red cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped

Rice, bulgur or buckwheat noodles for serving

1. In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, the rice wine vinegar, sugar or honey, sesame oil and cornstarch. Set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles and evaporates upon contact. Add the tofu, and stir-fry until lightly colored, about three minutes. Remove from the pan, and season to taste with soy sauce.

3. Add the remaining oil to the pan. When it is hot, add the butternut squash. Stir-fry until it begins to color, five to eight minutes. Add salt to taste, the ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds, and add the cabbage. Stir-fry until the squash is tender and the cabbage is crisp-tender, about six minutes, adding about 1/4 cup water to the pan from time to time if the vegetables begin to stick. Return the tofu to the pan.

4. Stir the sweet and sour mixture, and add to the vegetables. Stir just for a few seconds until they are glazed. Remove from the heat and serve with grains or noodles.



I also made Soupe au Pistou, minus the pistou, pasta, and I had to use up a bag of many beans so I didn't just stick to white beans:





For the soup:

1 1/2 cups white beans, soaked for six hours in 6 cups water and drained

2 quarts water

1 large onion, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed

A bouquet garni made with a few sprigs each thyme and parsley, a Parmesan rind and a bay leaf

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 leeks, white and light green part only, cleaned and sliced

1 pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped, or 1 14-ounce can, with liquid

2 cups shredded savoy or green cabbage

2 large carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 medium-size zucchini, scrubbed and diced

2 medium-size turnips, peeled and diced

1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and broken into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups), blanched for five minutes and set aside

1/2 cup soup pasta, such as macaroni or small shells

Freshly ground pepper

For the pistou:

2 large garlic cloves, halved, green shoots removed

Salt to taste

2 cups, tightly packed, fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan for sprinkling

1. Drain the white beans and combine with 2 quarts water in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam, then add half the onion, half the garlic and the bouquet garni. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes. Add salt to taste.

2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet, and add the remaining chopped onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the leeks and remaining garlic. Stir together for a few minutes, and add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly and the mixture is fragrant, five to 10 minutes. Stir this mixture into the soup pot, add all of the remaining vegetables except the green beans, and bring back to a simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes to an hour. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

3. While the soup is simmering, blanch the green beans for five minutes in salted boiling water. Transfer to a bowl of ice-cold water. Drain and set aside.

4. To make the pistou, mash the garlic with a generous pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle. Remove it and set aside. Grind the basil to a paste in the mortar, a handful at a time, then add the garlic back in and mix together well. Work in the olive oil a tablespoon at a time, then stir in the cheese.

5. Add the pasta to the simmering soup about 10 minutes before serving, and cook until cooked al dente. Add pepper, taste and adjust salt. Stir the blanched green beans into the soup and heat through. Serve, adding a spoonful of pesto to each bowl for guests to stir in. Pass additional Parmesan for sprinkling.


So there you have it! Yes, I do cook!

Random Website

I just saw this website and it really raged me. A restaurant in San Francisco charges at least $10 for a dosa.

http://www.dosasf.com/index.html

REALLY??!?!?! TEN DOLLARS! I mean, I think it costs $10 to make a huge batch of dosas with chutney and sambar!!

Wow.

Programming Note

Hello food lovers.

I know that I had proclaimed that I would be posting reviews by neighborhood/part of Columbus.

However, I'm finding it difficult to stick to locations in specific areas; I love to eat, so I want to go everywhere!

I will try my best to post by geographic regions, but I can't help it if one day I post Short North and the next Bethel Road; don't hate, enjoy!

Eat on!

My favorites.

I've lived in Columbus since 2005. I know that is not very long in the grand continuum of life, but I feel it is long enough to have had sampled many restaurants in the 614.

My plan for this blog is to highlight restaurants by location: German Village, Downtown, Short North, Victorian Village, Grandview, Campus, Clintonville, Worthington, Easton, Polaris, and beyond. Each month, I will focus on a specific area of the city, and will post my likes/dislikes/hopefully some pictures on specific restaurants during the weeks.

That being said, I have a collection of restaurants that I consider to be my favorite places in Columbus. I mean, what is a foodie without a favorite list of places?

My top 10 (not in any particular order, just any place that when someone asks, "Where would you like to go to dinner?" I would definitely say "yes!"):

1. Lindey's, German Village

2. The North Star Cafe, Short North

3. Japanese Oriental Restaurant, Campus

4. Udipi Cafe, Worthington/North Columbus

5. Lavash, Clintonville

6. Cap City Diner, Grandview/Victorian Village

7. The Happy Greek, Short North

8. Cafe Istanbul, Easton

9. Tai's Asian Bistro, Campus/Upper Arlington

10. The Tip Top, Downtown

Next up...my list of German Village Restaurants, and reviews!

The Introduction.

Growing up in an Indian family, food is a big deal.

Some Indian families have a rice ceremony for a one year old baby; the baby is given its first taste of rice, the staple of the Indian diet. Surrounded by loved ones, the parents gently give the baby a morsel of rice, followed by plate holding a pen, pile of dirt, or money; whatever the baby picks up, will determine its future career (doctor, lawyer businessperson).

Every house party has its intricate layout. My mother is an amazing cook. My family hails from the state of Karnataka, in South Indian, and Karnatik cuisine is delightful. Carefully, my mother would plan her menus: four different types of rice, six different vegetables, home made yogurt, gulab jamoons soaking up sweet syrup. My father would also contribute to the menu, preparing perfectly round pooris, fried bread puffs, and the standard dish in Mysore: dosas. Paper thin, always crispy and hot, my father is a legend for his rice pancakes.

However, being raised in small town Ohio created very few opportunities to eat out. The local restaurants consisted of Chinese food, Ponderosa, Bob Evans, and a local eatery with the best sugar cream pie. When we'd travel to the big city (Dayton), we'd eat at the temple: simple, delicious, vegetarian food, Or, if my dad was lucky (he, unlike my mother, was a meat eater), we'd venture to Amar India for the lunch buffet. Rich Punjabi curries with perfectly cooked meat, puffy, crispy naan, and thick mango lassis. To this day, it is still my family's favorite North Indian restaurant, and caters every party we have.

I didn't really try different foods until I moved to Columbus. In college, my circle of friends had diverse backgrounds, and diverse palates. I tried hummus for the first time, and my first bulgoki.

I soon grew to love all types of food, and in Columbus, I have favorites restaurants, everywhere. Working in politics, people ask for recommendations on where to eat. I would always give a referral in such detail that many have told me, "Lakshmi, why don't you start a food blog?"

So, here goes.

I'm starting this blog, and will be working my way through Columbus talking about my favorite places to eat, and sampling new ones along the way. I know that there are a ton of food blogs already in existence, but I hope mine will be different with my spin on it.

And I promise, I will try to keep my running monologue to a minimum...try.