Local Republic

Local Republic - my new hangout :)

Tom and I have decided to make a concerted effort to support the local, non-chain businesses in our community.   This, of course, extends to restaurants (lucky me!).  We have frequented Ray's, Pura Enchilada and Oyster Bay Seafood Cafe recently and left full and happy that our dollars were helping the local economy.

The Bar - Notice all of the beer taps

Last Friday we had lunch at another local restaurant:  Local Republic.  I found this gastro-pub while doing a search for restaurants in Lawrenceville.  The reviews were favorable and the menu looked interesting, so we decided to give it a try.  I am so glad we did.



The view of the square from my vantage point on the banquette - Beautiful day!

The eatery is housed in what I believe was originally a gas station.  The space when you walk in feels casual and airy.  There are several wooden tables with vintage style metal chairs.  A wooden banquette against the far wall has throw pillows scattered along it.  There is art on the walls and some vintage signage for an eclectic vibe.  I immediately thought, "I could hang out here".

Mexican Coke es muy bueno!!

Local Republic's menu changes often because they focus on using seasonal organic produce and meats.  They have several appetizers to choose from, along with soups, salads, entrees, sandwiches and burgers.  They offer some vegetarian options, too.  Their bar serves craft beers on tap and wine.  And God bless them, they have Mexican Coke.

Absolutely delicious!!

We started out with the goat cheese, tapanade and pesto small plate.  These three ingredients are served atop four toasted bread slices.  When you bite into one, you get the crispy texture of the bread, the creaminess from the goat cheese, the earthy, fresh flavor of the pesto followed by the briny olive flavor of the tapanade.  One perfect bite.

After we scarfed down our appetizer, we each had a burger.  Their burgers are made from antibiotic and hormone free, grass fed Brasstown Beef from Ridgefield Farm just over the border in North Carolina.  (Ridgefield Farm also supplies Atlanta area Whole Foods stores with their dry-aged beef.)

Mr. Jones

Tom had the "Mr. Jones" burger which is topped with house made pimento cheese with jalapeno & bacon.  The pimento cheese was made with sharp cheese, which is how I make mine, so thumbs up there.   I had the "Make Fungus Not War" burger which has sauteed mushrooms, melted swiss and grilled onions.  Both burgers were hot, juicy and absolutely delicious.  My only complaint would be that after eating the appetizer, neither of us could finish our enormous burger.   Next time we will probably order one burger and split it.

Make Fungus Not War!!

The service at Local Republic was very friendly and attentive.  The prices could be considered a little on the high side, but you have to keep in mind that the best ingredients simply cost more.  I am willing to pay a couple bucks more to have them hold the antibotics and hormones, thank you very much.

No styrofoam to-go boxes here!

The final verdict:  we loved Local Republic and we will be back.  One more reason to love downtown Lawrenceville!

Quinoa - A Love Story

Last year, when I decided to start adding healthier foods to my diet, I began reading a lot about quinoa. This grain was completely foreign to me so I had to do a little research before I tried making it. It turns out this “superfood” is not a grain but a seed. It is high in protein and fiber and is super good for you.

I tried finding it at my Publix with no luck. I ended up finding it at my trusty Korean supermarket. I imagine I could ask them to order it for me at Publix too. (On a side note: I am truly glad I heard someone pronounce it on television before I asked about it at the store. Being a southern girl, I was pronouncing it kwin-oh-ah in my head, later learning it is actually pronounced keen-wah. Potential embarrassing grocery store incident averted.)

I tried a couple recipes I found on the web and found that quinoa really doesn’t have much flavor on its own. It takes on the flavors of whatever you cook it with, making it a very versatile ingredient. I have made it with tomatoes and Italian flavors and also with mangoes and curry with delicious results. My favorite is the salad I made with cucumbers, soy sauce and sesame oil. It is simple, refreshing and easy to make.

This dish is even better the next day.

Soy Sesame Quinoa Salad

¾ cup quinoa
3 cups vegetable stock
2 cucumbers – peeled and diced
2 green onions – sliced
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. sugar

Rinse quinoa in cold running water. Quinoa can have a bitter flavor if not rinsed before cooking. Bring vegetable stock to a boil over med-high heat. Add quinoa, return to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer over low heat until quinoa is translucent, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and let cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, cucumbers and green onion. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce and the next three ingredients. Pour the liquid over the quinoa and stir to distribute throughout the mixture. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

I adapted this recipe from a pasta recipe I have been making for years.  It makes a nice lunch salad or a great side dish.

I served this salad with Tom's teriyaki chicken and steamed vegetable dumplings.

My Asian Memories

Me and my dad at the American Club baby pool in Indonesia.

I spent a great deal of my early childhood living in Asia.  We lived at different times in Indonesia, Thailand and Japan.  My few memories of Indonesia center around my governess, Sister, our animals (we had various birds, monkeys and a lamb during our time there) and the baby pool at the American Club. 

Our big house, sailing with my dad and our friends Manfred and Ernst, and the dreadful International Playschool are my takeaways from Thailand.  I hated going to that school so much I threw a crying, screaming fit every morning when the bus came.  After a week, my mom just gave up and let me stay home.  I remember it had something to do with them wanting to make me take a nap on the floor and I wasn’t having it.  What can I say? I was a diva at age four.

My memories of Japan are the clearest to me.  We lived near the beach and down the street from a busy Ginza (shopping district).  My sister and I took the school bus to the base in Yokosuka every day.  In the afternoons after we got off the bus, we would go to the little grocery in the Ginza and get ramens or candy and Cokes.  My parents had an account there so we would just tell them to add it to our bill.  Once a month when they came to our house to collect their payment, my dad would take a look at the bill and hit the ceiling!  We quickly learned to make ourselves scarce if we saw the grocery guy coming.

The Dai Butsu was around the corner from our house in Kamakura.  It has been
there since the 13th century.

Japan is where I have clear food memories too.  We would go out to eat at the Officer’s Club on base or occasionally to one of the local restaurants.  At the O Club I would always get roast beef and salad with Roquefort dressing.  Dessert was one scoop of orange sherbet with two wafer cookies - the height of sophistication in 1967.  But my favorite was when we would go to a local restaurant and Mom would order me yakisoba.  Yakisoba translates to fried noodles, so you can certainly understand how delicious this could be.  I also loved gyoza, which are Japanese pot stickers.

My favorite market is Assi with Super H coming in a close second.

The proliferation of Asian supermarkets in Duluth in recent years means that I can now get these foods in abundance.    I can now get real ramens!  (Sorry y’all, but "Oodles of Noodles" is not a real ramen.)  There are dozens of kinds of dumplings in the frozen aisle and best of all, fresh noodles for yakisoba.  Now I can share my childhood favorites with Tom. 

Pork Yakisoba

Wok full of porky, noodly goodness!

1 lb. pork tenderloin

Soy sauce

2 tbsp. oil

½ large onion, thinly sliced
3 cups sliced cabbage
1 cup matchstick carrots
1 package Yakisoba noodles
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup mirin (rice wine)
1 ½ tbsp. sugar




1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger
1 clove garlic, chopped
Chopped green onions

I used baby Napa cabbage.  Use your favorite.

Thinly slice the pork tenderloin into bite size pieces.  Marinate in soy sauce in a bowl for about 30 minutes.   Combine the 1/3 cup soy sauce, mirin, sugar, ginger and garlic in a bowl and set aside.  Heat oil in wok over high heat.  Drain the pork and add to the wok.  Stir fry the pork until well seared and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes.   Remove the pork from the wok and set aside.  Add more oil if necessary.  Throw the cabbage, onions and carrots into the wok and stir fry until crisp tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Remove vegetables from the wok and set aside.  Add noodles to the wok with a few tablespoons of water.  Stir to loosen up the noodles, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Return the pork and the veggies back to the wok with the reserved soy mixture, stir to combine and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes to heat through and allow the flavors to marry.  Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

This package comes in individual servings.  I used all three for this recipe.

The yakisoba noodles come with a powdered sauce mix similar to that which is included with a ramen.  One of the first ingredients is MSG so I prefer making the sauce.  It is simple and tastes so much better anyway.  You could modify this recipe with chicken, shrimp, beef or even tofu for a vegetarian dish. 

Gyoza!

I served this with gyoza and a salad with ginger dressing.  It is so delicious and easy enough for a weeknight.  Do yourself a favor and head to the Asian market and pick up these yummy treats!

A Lighter Lasagna Option

You know how you sometimes get a craving for a certain food?  I had a craving this past weekend for lasagna.  I mean the ooey-gooey, cheesy kind of lasagna with sausage and tomato sauce…then I got a hold of myself and got inspired to create a lighter alternative.   I wanted something that would scratch my lasagna itch but not take up permanent  residence on my ass later. 

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Delicious right out of the oven and even better the next day

8 lasagna noodles

1 6 oz. package baby spinach
Olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 ½ cups low fat ricotta
½ cup shredded low fat mozzarella
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesano-reggiano
¼ cup Eggbeaters or 1 egg
1 recipe Spicy Marinara Sauce (See below)
1/3 cup shredded low fat mozzarella
¼ cup freshly grated parmesano-reggiano

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cook the lasagna noodles according to the box instructions, about 10 minutes and then drain.  While the noodles are cooking, roughly chop the spinach and then sauté in the olive oil with the garlic until wilted.  Season the spinach lightly with kosher salt.

To make the filling, combine the spinach with the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan and Eggbeaters.  (I don’t care for Eggbeaters cooked like scrambled eggs, but in an application such as this, you can’t tell the difference.  Save yourself the fat.)  Spread a thin layer of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 2.5 quart baking dish.

On a clean cutting board, lay out one noodle at a time and spread a generous ¼ cup of the filling on the noodle.   Roll up the noodle and place, seam side down, on top of the marinara in the dish.  Continue until all eight noodles are in the dish.  Top with the remaining marinara sauce and then the remaining mozzarella and parmesano-reggiano.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Spicy Marinara Sauce

Olive Oil

2 Cloves garlic
1 box Pomi tomatoes
Tube Chilies or red pepper flakes
Fresh basil

In a large skillet heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil (always Extra Virgin).  Peel and chop the garlic and add to the olive oil and sauté for 1 or 2 minutes without browning the garlic.  Over browning the garlic will make it bitter and ruin your sauce.  Add a generous squirt of tube chilies or red pepper flakes and sauté a minute or so.  Add the box of Pomi chopped tomatoes and check for seasoning, adding kosher salt to taste.  Simmer for about 10 minutes on low to allow the flavor to develop.  Add a generous handful of shredded fresh basil. 

So there you go, lasagna craving knocked out without a bit of guilt!

Sweet Potatoes 3 Ways

Growing up, I thought I hated sweet potatoes.  Even my mom, who was a wonderful cook and my role model in the kitchen, couldn’t make any sweet potatoes that I liked.  They were always smothered in some sort of gelatinous sweet goo.   We lived overseas most of my early childhood until my dad moved us home to Georgia.  Here I was introduced to sweet potato soufflé with those disgusting little marshmallows melted on top.  More overly sweet yuckiness. 

It wasn’t until I became an adult, when I went on a low carb diet, that I discovered what a delicious, savory and versatile vegetable sweet potatoes are!  They are so good for you too.  They are high in fiber, chock full of beta carotene and vitamin A.  You can eat them and feel good about what you are putting in your body.

I am going to share three of my favorite sweet potato recipes starting with the easiest one.  This dish is delicious with steak or pork but also would work with a simple roasted chicken.

Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Roasted Garlic & Greek Yogurt


Creamy, Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes

2 heads garlic
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
Plain Greek yogurt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Trim the root end of the garlic heads just enough so that the heads will sit flat.  Peel off the outer white papery skins.  Cut off the top of each head to expose each clove.  Place the heads on a large piece of foil.   Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Be sure every clove gets their share of the olive oil.  Close up the foil into a loose packet and roast in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes until the cloves are soft.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.



Roasted garlic spreads easily on bread

While the garlic is roasting, cook the sweet potatoes in boiling salted water until tender, about 30 to 40 minutes.  Drain and return to pot.  Using a potato masher, thoroughly mash the sweet potatoes.  Add three or four cloves of garlic to the sweet potatoes.  The cloves are very soft and all you need to do is squeeze the clove and it will come right out.   Mash the cloves into the potatoes, working to incorporate them thoroughly.  The remaining cloves can be spread on bread for yummy bruschetta or used in other recipes.

Now add some Greek yogurt.  Add as much or as little as you like.  I use about ½ cup.  I use Greek yogurt because it is thicker and creamier than regular yogurt.  It is also higher in protein and has less of a sour taste.  You could also substitute sour cream or light sour cream if you don’t care for yogurt.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.  If you want, you can add some butter at this point but I think the flavor is rich enough without it.  You get the natural sweetness of the potato, the almost nutty flavor of the roasted garlic and the creaminess of the yogurt.

Now on to my next dish.  About once a month I will make a big breakfast/brunch on Sunday for the two of us.  It usually consists of eggs, scrambled or fried, bacon or sausage, grits or home fries and toast.  Even though we don’t do it often, I still wanted to look for ways to lighten this meal up.  First off, we started eating turkey sausage.  Then I hit upon the idea of substituting sweet potatoes for the Yukon Golds I usually use for the home fries.  OMG – Why didn’t I think of this sooner? 

Sweet Potato Home Fries

I may ever use Yukon Golds again!

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons grated onion
¼ tsp.  Garlic powder
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cut up the sweet potatoes into ½ inch cubes.  Parboil the potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes to slightly soften them.   Drain and let cool. (Ideally do this step the night before.)  Grate a Vidalia onion on a box grater until you have approximately 2 tablespoons of onion.  I cannot stress how important it is to grate the onion instead of simply chopping it.  The flavor permeates the potatoes much better with grated onion.

Grated onion makes all the difference

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat until hot.  Coat the skillet with olive oil.  Add the sweet potatoes, grated onion and garlic powder to skillet and toss to combine.  Arrange the mixture in a single layer in the skillet and season lightly with the salt and pepper.  Press the mixture down to make an even layer.  Allow the mixture to cook over medium high without stirring or flipping for about 8 to 10 minutes.  I find this difficult because I am an impatient cook, so sometimes I will just leave the room and watch the clock and come back when it’s time to flip.

Flip over the potatoes and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through and have several caramelized and browned edges. 

These home fries are so delicious you will never miss the regular potatoes.  They would make an excellent side dish for roasted pork or chicken. 

Now for my last dish, I am feeling like something spicy.  This soup is a perfect winter dish that is

hearty, spicy and full of flavor. 

Curry-Coconut Sweet Potato Soup

You could also top with a dollop of yogurt or creme fraiche.

2 large sweet potatoes – you want to yield about 2 cups of cooked potatoes, so eyeball it
½ cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Olive oil
2 Tbsp. red curry paste
Red pepper flakes to taste
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup coconut milk
Salt & pepper to taste
Cilantro

Bake sweet potatoes in a 375 degree oven for about an hour until done.  Ideally, do this step ahead of time. 

Coat a wok or large saucepan with olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent.  Add the curry paste and red pepper flakes and sauté for 2 minutes.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and let simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.  Add the coconut milk, whisking to combine.  Scoop the pulp out of the potatoes and add it to the soup, whisking to combine.  You could break out an immersion blender and really puree the soup.  I prefer a more rustic soup so I let the whisk do the work.  Continue to heat over medium heat until hot.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.  Garnish with cilantro leaves. 

So that’s my sweet potato story.  It’s been a sweet potato marathon over the last week.  I think Tom has hit the wall, so it is time to move on to something else for now.  I hope you try these recipes and enjoy them as much as we do.

Wok It Out!

I recently paid my first visit to HomeGoods – my new favorite store ever! I feel the same way as I felt when I discovered Charming Charlie.  Why in the hell hasn’t somebody told me about this place sooner?  While Charming Charlie is full of fantastic accessories, HomeGoods has tons of stuff for the home, and most importantly, the kitchen.  I walked around the store and ooh-ed and aah-ed for about an hour and ended up leaving with a new wok, a heavy duty baking sheet and some fancy wok oil.

The next day, armed with my new goodies, I headed to the kitchen to whip up a yummy stir-fry.  This savory stir fry can be served with white or brown rice but I personally prefer noodles.  Noodles absorb the sauce and integrate well into the dish.

Mise en Place

Spicy Shrimp Stir Fry with Noodles

8 oz. Linguine (I use Dreamfield’s pasta because it’s relatively low carb)

2 Tbsp. oil (I used my fancy new oil but regular vegetable oil works well)
1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp (Buy wild caught whenever you can.  You can taste the difference) 
1 cup snow peas
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1/2 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
1 generous squirt of tube ginger or fresh grated ginger to taste
1 generous squirt of tube chilies or red pepper flakes to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup light coconut milk
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tbsp. mild curry paste - readily available at most grocery stores or at Super H ( I like to use mild curry paste because that way I can adjust the level of heat to my taste.  I like spicy, but not “burn your face off” spicy.)
Salt and pepper

Try to find these in your produce department.  They are a great
way to add a lot of flavor instantly.  I buy them at Publix.

First things first, prepare your mise en place.  Mise en place translates in French to “putting in place” or a fancy way of saying cut up all of your veggies ahead of time.  This is especially important when wok cooking because it goes so quickly that you don’t want something to overcook while you are frantically cutting up the next ingredient.  The veggies I used are one option, feel free to use whatever vegetable combination works for you.

Cook linguine in salted water according to box instructions. In the meantime, heat the oil in a wok or a frying pan over high heat. Add shrimp and stir-fry about 1-2 minutes on each side or until the shrimp is cooked through. Remove shrimp from the wok and hold it in a bowl while you move forward with next step.

Throw the veggies in and stir constantly at a high heat. 
You are going for crisp-tender.

Add snow peas, bell pepper, onion, tube ginger, tube chilies and garlic to the wok and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add coconut milk, soy sauce, and curry paste. Taste and adjust seasoning to your taste. Boil for 2 minutes to thicken slightly. Add the shrimp and cooked linguine and toss to warm the shrimp and coat the noodles with sauce.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Fresh veggies, Georgia Wild Caught Shrimp and a savory
sauce on low carb noodles.  I'll take it!

This dish is a favorite at our house.  It is a good master recipe that you can change the protein and two or three ingredients and have a completely different dish.  Try chicken and asparagus, beef filet and broccoli or pork tenderloin and sugar snap peas. Stir-fries are quick, easy and perfect for weeknight meals.  There are no rules so just be creative!

I will post more stir-fry recipes as I break in my new toy.

Hot New Tool!

I am a firm believer in the old adage about always having the right tool for the job.  Tom came through with a great tool from  my wish list this year:  a brulee torch.  This torch is the coolest thing ever!  It’s a tiny pistol that shoots fire.  What’s not to love? 

One of the best cookbooks ever written

I was dying to use the torch but didn’t want any more sweets in the house, so crème brulee was out.  I decided to try it out on some French Onion soup.  I turned to my go-to book for all things French , my mom’s 1961 copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.   I cook a lot of Southern food, Italian food, Mexican and Asian food but my first love is and always has been French food.  The classic techniques and focus on the finest ingredients available speak to my love of the art that is food.

This classic recipe takes some time but the depth of flavor that you gain in the end makes it worth the wait.   I have changed a couple of ingredients to suit my taste, but if you want to stick with Julia’s recipe I have included her original ingredients.

French Onion Soup

5 cups thinly sliced yellow onions (Being a Georgia girl, I used Vidalias instead)

3 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. sugar (helps the onions caramelize)
3 tbsp. flour
2 quarts beef stock
½ cup vermouth
Salt & pepper to taste
3 tbsp. Cognac
Toasted rounds of French bread
Grated Swiss cheese (We prefer a combination of provolone and grated parmesano-reggiano)



Nice and Caramelized

Cook the onions slowly in a covered heavy bottomed 4 quart pot for 15 minutes.  Uncover, turn up the heat a little and add the salt and sugar.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently, for another 30 to 40 minutes until the onions have turned an even, deep golden brown.  Sprinkle in the flour and stir and cook for 3 minutes to remove any flour-y (my word not Julia’s) taste.  Pour in the beef stock and vermouth.  Taste and check for seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer, partially covered, for another 40 minutes.  Add the cognac.  You are now ready to serve. 


Yummy!

To serve, fill your bowl or crock with the soup and add a piece of French bread.  Top with cheese and then run it under the broiler until the cheese melts and is bubbly.  Or if you are lucky like me, blast it with your super-cool mini-flamethrower!



I am packing heat baby!

Gooey, Delicious Final Product

Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to turn my focus in the direction of eating healthier foods.  So no more flame-throwing for now, but I do see crème brulee in my Valentine’s future!