Dimanche (That Means Sunday)

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

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Welcome to this edition of Dimanche (That Means Sunday), a roundup of things that caught my eye this past week.

This week was waaaaay better than last week. First of all, I didn’t have the flu. Second, it stopped feeling like the dead of winter and morphed into spring. Or almost spring…at one point, I accepted that 50 degrees is the new 70. You’ve gotta take what you can get.

The warm weather meant that I did a lot of exploring this weekend. Yesterday, I went on a 10-mile hike to Augusta. I took a scenic route down by the Missouri River.

At one point, I walked down to the river and watched as giant icebergs floated by. I’d never seen anything like it. Some looked like craters, with scalloped insides and a ring of snow around the outside. As they passed by they made a swishing sound that sounded like a bunch of long ball gowns moving across a dance floor. It was a beautiful scene to take in. It made me realize that even in winter, my most hated of seasons, there’s something to appreciate.

In other news, I am very excited because my good friend from college, Anne Kostecki, designed a new header and logo for Allez Le Food. She is so talented. I told her I wanted something French-inspired, possibly with some food items in watercolor, and she came up with the logo you see at the top of my blog. I’d highly recommend that you check out her professional site, especially if you’re in the market for custom illustrations.

Without further ado, here is Dimanche:

I’ve already talked about how much I enjoy Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown,” but one episode I watched last week stood above the rest. Bourdain went to Istanbul and met up with his old cab driver, a man named Eson. Eson drives Bourdain around the chaotic streets of Istanbul, rhapsodizing about how much he loves his job and how he never gets upset. Then he hurls a string of expletives in Turkish at the car in front of him. It’s hilarious. You can watch the scene here.

I can’t go into Knead Bakehouse + Provisions without getting a doughnut. I wrote about the bakery a month ago right after they opened, and I gave them a glowing review. But the doughnut I tried this past week blew me away. It was aronia berry and citrus with a bright pink glaze. I almost went into shock after I took the first bite. If you’re in St. Louis and you haven’t tried Knead’s doughnuts, I’d change that ASAP.

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Another important food discovery this week was when I found Parker’s Table at Oakland & Yale. The shop has been around for a while but I stopped by for the first time recently after hearing about it from a colleague. O.m.g. Parker’s Table is a food lover’s paradise. There’s a wine shop to the side of the store, and a bunch of gourmet food products in the middle. In the back, there’s a deli with premium meats and cheese. During lunch, you can order a sandwich and it comes with chips and your choice of a drink. I got a prosciutto sandwich and it was unreal. Check out my Instagram for a pic.

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I’m loving this smart, moving essay by Anita Jaisinghani, the chef and owner of Pondicheri, an Indian restaurant with locations in Houston and New York. I had the pleasure of eating at the New York location this past fall.

In the essay, Jaisinghani urges chefs to take a hard look at their kitchens to root out misconduct and discrimination. I especially like this line: “We vote with every dollar we spend. Just as important as it is to eat local vegetables, happy chickens, grass-fed meat and sustainable fish, it is important that we think about the treatment of people in the businesses we support.” Yes.

I can’t believe that Trump has been in office for a year. It seems like only yesterday, I was begging my friends and family to wake me up when this nightmare was over. The good news is, we’re one year closer to the administration (hopefully) disappearing. The bad news is, there’s still a lot of problems, including the fact that Trump is a lunatic racist who spits in the face of American democracy. Here’s a good article in The New Yorker that contextualizes the first year of Trump’s “presidency.”

Most of us, at one point or another, reckon with loving a country that doesn’t seem to love us back. That’s the theme of this essay in The New York Times‘s opinion section. In the essay, writer Alexander Aciman talks about his family’s ties to France and the complicated relationship that Jews have with the country. I’m Jewish and I lived in France for a while, so his words reverberated.

Last but certainly not least, I enjoyed this interactive feature in The Washington Post. The article, “What Unites Us,” includes photos and sound bites from people interviewed in all 52 states in the year since Trump’s inauguration. I’ve gotten kind of cynical lately so I almost didn’t engage with the story. I’m happy I did, though. In times of political unrest, it’s easy to forget the strengths of this country. Yeah, we have a lot of problems, but there’s still hope.

Enjoy your week! Stay tuned for a bunch of recipes, including one for Alison Roman’s famous salted chocolate chip cookies. I held out as long as I could, but today I gave in and jumped on the bandwagon.

Here’s a song to start your week. I’m learning how to play it on the guitar.

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Tahini Toast with Banana, Cinnamon, and Orange Blossom Honey

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

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I’m a fan of simple breakfasts that look pretty. It also helps when they taste good.

Cue: This tahini toast with banana, cinnamon, and orange blossom honey. I’ve been thinking about making this toast all week but I kept getting distracted by other baking projects. This morning, I finally took the plunge.

Toast is a relatively simple thing but it delivers so much happiness. I mean, yeah, some people just eat it with butter and jam, which is delicious on its own. But a few extra minutes and ingredients yield a breakfast or lunch that’s above and beyond.

A word to the wise: Bread makes a big difference. You can use slices of grocery store brand bread but it won’t have the same effect as local, handmade bread. I like to use multigrain bread from Companion for my toast. I buy a big bag the day it’s baked and then I store it in the freezer. It lasts for a month or so, tightly sealed. I pop a slice in the toaster oven whenever I want one.

I topped this toast with a generous spoonful of tahini, bananas, ground cinnamon, and a drizzle of orange blossom honey. Orange blossom honey is another one of those things that might make you say, “Do I really need that?” Yes, you do.

I’m an advocate of spending a little more money on superior ingredients, and this orange blossom honey justifies my case. Unlike most regular honey, it has a bright, complex flavor and floral and citrus notes. Orange blossom water is used in a lot of Middle Eastern sweets and the flavor and scent comes through in the honey. It complements the tahini.

I think this is going to become one of my new go-to recipes in the morning. It involves relatively few ingredients but the payoff is HUGE. It also comes together quickly, which is good for me because I usually press snooze three times on my alarm and wait until the last possible minute to get out of bed.

Enjoy your weekend! Here’s a song to get you started.

 

 

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Twice Roasted Maple Sweet Potatoes

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

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If you follow this blog or my Instagram, it’s no secret that I love sweet potatoes. They’re one of my favorite foods year-round but I especially love them during the winter, when the cold weather almost drives me insane and I want something warm, flavorful, and reassuring.

I came across a recipe for twice roasted maple sweet potatoes with harissa, but I was too lazy yesterday to go get harissa. It also called for coconut yogurt, which I rarely have in the house. So I improvised and created a recipe based on what I had on hand.

Even though I’ve eaten sweet potatoes in almost every form, I’ve never had them twice roasted. Now that I have, there’s no turning back. O.m.g. Why roast them once when you can roast them twice?

I guess because it takes a lot of time. You have to leave the sweet potatoes in the oven for ALMOST TWO HOURS. If you’re like me and you have no patience, this is an excruciating task. To distract myself last night, I took a shower, blow dried my hair straight, practiced the guitar, and wasted time on Facebook.

But after two hours were over, I was rewarded with soft, smoky, crispy, caramelized sweet potatoes. I served them on a bed of Greek yogurt with toasted sesame seeds, a sprinkle of sea salt, and minced parsley. The Greek yogurt is key here: It cools down the potatoes and balances out the smoky maple flavor.

This is a recipe I’m going to keep in my repertoire. Eventually, I’ll buy harissa and make a spicy version of the dish. Until then, I’ll leave you with the recipe for these potatoes and a song to get you started. The song is also good for moments when you’re waiting for the sweet potatoes to finish cooking and you’re going out of your mind with excitement.

Twice Roasted Maple Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
toasted sesame seeds and minced parsley to garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap two potatoes in tinfoil. Place them on a rimmed baking sheet and place the sheet in the oven. Roast the potatoes for about 90 minutes, or until they’re completely soft throughout when pierced with a knife.

Take the potatoes out of the oven, unwrap them, and let them cool slightly. Turn the oven up to 450 degrees F. Line another rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

When the potatoes are cool enough, tear them into pieces (I used tongs). Whisk together the olive oil, maple syrup, and salt in a medium bowl. Dip the potatoes in the mixture so it’s evenly coated. Place the potato on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the other pieces of potato.

Roast the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, or until they’re crispy on the outside. Take a cup of Greek yogurt and smooth it into a shallow bowl with the back of a spoon. Place the potatoes on top and sprinkle with sesame seeds and parsley. Enjoy!

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Baked Oatmeal with Raspberries and Banana

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

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I was scrolling through Instagram Monday night and I saw a picture of baked oatmeal from Chef Josh Charles. For those of you who don’t know Josh, he’s a chef based in St. Louis who does recipe development and consulting work.

I met him about a year ago when I’d just moved back to St. Louis. I wanted to pick his brain about the city’s food scene and also, about what I should do to further my food career. He gave me some good advice. Josh’s encouragement convinced me to stay in town and make a go of food writing and recipe development in St. Louis.

Fast-forward to Monday night. I had a bunch of raspberries that I needed to use up, and I wanted to make something that would make me want to get out of bed on Tuesday morning. Going back to work is never easy after a three-day weekend, but in my case, it was more like a six-day weekend because I had the flu last week.

This baked oatmeal makes getting out of bed worth it. Yeah, you have to get up a little early to make it (unless you make it the night before and warm it up in the morning). But I’d advocate for making it the day-of. It’s quick and easy, and it will make your kitchen smell good. Those are three of my favorite qualities in a recipe.

I tweaked Josh’s recipe a little because I’m a sugar fiend. His was pretty bare bones in terms of sweetener, relying only on a banana for extra sweetness. I added some maple syrup to the batter AND I sprinkled powdered sugar on top. You can omit either of these, but I’d stick with the maple syrup in the batter. It pairs well with the banana and oats.

You can serve the baked oatmeal with more sliced banana and raspberries on top. I did that this morning and I liked it more than yesterday morning, when I just used raspberries and powdered sugar. I like combining textures and flavors. Plus, if you heat the leftover baked oatmeal up in the microwave it will be piping hot, so the bananas and berries cool it down.

Here’s a song to get you started on your baked oatmeal journey. I’m not making any guarantees but I think it goes pretty well with the flavors in the dish.

Baked Oatmeal with Raspberries and Banana (slightly adapted from Chef Josh Charles)

Ingredients

1 banana
2 eggs
8 oz almond milk
4 oz coconut oil (melted)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
6 oz rolled oats
3 oz all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 small package fresh raspberries
pinch of salt
powdered sugar for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan and set aside.

Smash the banana with a fork or masher and mix it with the eggs, almond milk, coconut oil, and maple syrup. Add the cinnamon, oats, flour, salt, and baking powder, and mix with a spoon to combine. Gently fold in the raspberries with a spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.

Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until set. Allow to cool on a wire rack before serving. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top once it’s cool. Enjoy!

 

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Bagel Sandwich

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

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When I lived in D.C., every Saturday I would go to Glen’s Garden Market for a breakfast sandwich. I’d always order the “Grains & Greens,” or scrambled egg, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, pickled jalapeños, salsa, arugula, and cilantro. I’d get it on a poppyseed bagel from Bullfrog Bagels, a local bagel joint.

It’s difficult to describe how much I loved this sandwich. If I was working on a Saturday morning and I didn’t get a break until noon, I would literally sprint up Connecticut Avenue to make it to Glen’s in time to get the sandwich. I hated settling for anything else. I loved the Grains & Greens, and it loved me, too. I would sit there, eating my bagel in a state of near ecstasy.

What made the sandwich better than other breakfast sandwiches? A number of things. First of all, there was the soft bagel with crunchy poppy seeds. Then there was the sweetness of the caramelized onions balanced with the spicy jalapeños and green salsa. The cilantro and arugula gave the sandwich a little bite, and the scrambled egg and cheddar comforted me even when I didn’t think I needed comforting. I think I just described the perfect relationship. I guess I’m lucky to have found it in a bagel.

Fast-forward to this past week. I started thinking about the Grains & Greens a lot and missing it, so I decided to try to recreate it in St. Louis. I’d made a fresh batch of bagels (more on that here), so I had my base ready. I went out yesterday to get the rest of the ingredients.

I didn’t quite make the Grains & Greens sandwich that I had in D.C. I omitted a few ingredients including the jalapeños, salsa, and cilantro. I subbed in spinach for arugula because it looked better at the grocery store. I got high quality cheddar cheese because cheese is crucial. I knew it would make a difference and it did.

I was a little worried about how the sandwich would stack up with the one I ate in D.C. I thought at the very most, it would be a second-rate impostor.

I was wrong. The sandwich was almost as good, if not as good, as the one I used to eat at Glen’s. It made me realize a bunch of things, including the fact that if you have a few core ingredients or flavors, you don’t need the rest. For example, keeping the egg, cheddar, greens, caramelized onion, and bagel was critical. This was and is the crux of the Grains & Greens. When I tasted these flavors together, memories started rushing in.

I also realized that sometimes, if you’re lucky, revisiting a favorite dish or memory can yield satisfying results. I remember once I went back to the village in France where I studied abroad for the first time. It was during the winter, not the spring, so the time of year was different. But it was also much smaller and less impressive than I remembered. It was disappointing.

I expected a similar thing to happen when I tasted my version of the Grains & Greens, but luckily, it didn’t. I was excited that I could create a version of the dish that so closely matched the one in my memories. Maybe my expectations were lower, or maybe I just got lucky. But something tells me that certain things, whether they’re a dish, a person, or a place, are meant to stay with us forever.

Bagel Sandwich inspired by Glen’s

Ingredients

1 poppyseed bagel, sliced in half (and toasted if you prefer)
2 eggs
pinch of salt and pepper
4 slices of Tillamook cheddar, sliced thin
1/2 yellow onion, sliced into thin rounds
handful of spinach or arugula
sunflower oil or vegetable oil for frying onions
1/2 Tbsp butter for frying eggs

Directions

Heat the sunflower oil or vegetable oil in a skillet over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, add the yellow onion. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is brown, soft, and caramelized.

In the meantime, make the eggs. Whisk together the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat another skillet with butter. Once the pan is hot (you can flick a little water on to see if it sizzles), pour in the eggs. Allow the eggs to cook like you would an omelette. Once they’re mostly set, place the cheese slices on one side. Allow them to melt down a little before folding the eggs up with a spatula. I usually start by folding one side over to seal the omelette, and then folding it again to it looks like a crêpe. Press the eggs down with your spatula to flatten them.

Assemble the sandwich by putting your egg on one slice of bagel. Top with spinach and onions, and then the other half of the bagel. Enjoy!

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Bagels (!!!!)

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

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I was looking for a new baking project the other day and I stumbled upon this recipe for bagels on Lottie + Doof. Yep, I thought to myself. This is happening.

I trust Lootie + Doof because Tim (the blogger) tells it like it is. In this case, he mentioned that the dough would be difficult to work with at first but that overall, the recipe was great. I’d agree with this assessment. You can find Tim’s thoughts on the bagel recipe here and you can get the original recipe from Peter Reinhart here, but I’ll add some notes below.

One of the easiest mistakes to make with this recipe is using the wrong kind of yeast. There are two types of yeast for baking, instant and active dry yeast. This recipe calls for instant yeast, or the kind that doesn’t need to be dissolved in water before you use it in a recipe. If you make a mistake and use active dry yeast, the bagels might still turn out but they will probably be harder and more chewy.

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Another tip would be make sure you don’t over-roll the dough when you’re shaping the bagels. You’re supposed to do this on a counter without flour, and basically just use pressure from your hands and the counter itself to get the dough into an 8-10 inch rope. If you need help, lightly run a damp paper towel over the counter so the dough has some moisture to adhere to. You don’t want a wet counter, though.

I know I just made the bagel-making process sound scary and complicated but really, it’s not. If you follow the directions step-by-step and use all the correct ingredients, you’ll be fine. I’d recommend reading through the recipe a couple times before you start. I don’t always do this but when I do, I always see a difference. It’s like previewing a route before you start driving. You’ll be more familiar with the road marks so you’re less apt to get lost.

ANYWAY. Enjoy these bagels. You can top them with anything you want but I’d recommend poppy seeds and sesame seeds. Poppyseed bagels are my favorite. I used to get a breakfast sandwich every Saturday in D.C. that was melted cheddar, caramelized onions, arugula, and egg on a poppyseed bagel. I’m going to recreate that with the bagels I just made.

Here’s a song to get you started on your bagel-making journey. It also describes my feelings for these bagels.

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Dimanche (That Means Sunday)

Posted on January 14, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

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Welcome to this edition of Dimanche (That Means Sunday), a roundup of things that caught my eye this past week.

Truth be told, not as much caught my eye this past week because I had the flu. I was kind of surprised I got it because I actually forced myself to get a flu shot this year. I’m sure there’s an Alanis Morissette lyric about this somewhere.

I spent four days flat on my back, which might sound good to some people but it’s pretty much torture to me. To get through it, I watched movies endlessly, caught up on TV shows, listened to music, and thought about beach vacations I went on last year when I didn’t feel like my face was going to explode.

This seemed to work, as after a few days I was (mostly) back to normal. I’m still tired and bummed that it’s winter, but I guess that comes with the territory.

Yesterday, in an effort to raise my spirits, I did a bunch of things that made me happy, including eating a burrito as big as my head and getting my nails done (I’d do them myself but it looks like a kindergartener got carried away with crayons whenever I try). The manicure made me think of a line I heard once in a British TV series: “The worse you feel inside, the more important it is to take care of yourself on the outside,” or something along those lines.

I’m not advocating for getting a makeover when you’re deathly ill with the flu, but I think there’s something to be said about taking extra care of yourself when you’re feeling shitty (or immediately afterward). People have been tossing around the term “self-care” lately, which is a little too self-help’y for my tastes, but I’m a fan of the idea. It’s important to take time to raise your spirits in ways that are meaningful to you.

Without further ado, here is Dimanche:

As I mentioned before, I ate a burrito as big as my head yesterday at Winslow’s Home, one of my favorite brunch spots in St. Louis. It’s a small restaurant, bakery, and home goods store in University City, a neighborhood near where I went to college. If you go, I’d highly recommend ordering this burrito and getting a side of avocado.

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On the second or third day I had the flu (they’re all running together now), I watched an amazing Turkish documentary about cats. The movie, called “Kedi,” details the lives of cats living in and around Istanbul. As it turns out, they play an integral role in many Turkish citizens’ lives. This movie is a must-see for any cat lover.

I’m *slightly* obsessed with the Google Arts & Culture app. I discovered it after a friend of mine from France posted a picture of herself alongside a painting that supposedly looked like her. There’s a feature on the app that allows you to take a selfie and then matches you to a well-known painting. I thought mine was pretty on point, especially when I looked at the portrait in context.

Sometime during my delirium earlier this week, I saw something about Frenchwomen opposing the “#MeToo” movement. I was dismayed but I waited until I felt better to read up on what they were saying. Needless to say, I’m disgusted. This article in The New Yorker summarizes the situation pretty well. I especially like the last paragraph. “Bothering women in an unwanted way isn’t an expression of artistic temperament, without which the world would lose its magic. It’s often a by-product of a man’s (possibly very good) work making him think that he is invincible and owed,” staff writer Lauren Collins said. Amen.

Have I told you about Seed Sprout Spoon? I think I did briefly, but I’ll spend a little more time gushing here. The restaurant is only open on Sunday for brunch, but that’s okay. It’s the restaurant equivalent of playing hard to get, which makes me love it even more. Today I got the turkey sausage and grits (see the first photo in this post) and I was blown away. It’s one of the best, if not the best, brunch dish I’ve had in St. Louis this winter.

I saw “The Shape of Water” a couple weeks ago and loved it. Now I can’t stop listening to the soundtrack, which was composed by the very talented Alexandre Desplat. It’s so sad, romantic, and beautiful. I’d recommend giving it a listen.

Last but certainly not least, I started taking guitar lessons last week and I love it. My teacher taught me how to play “Blowin’ in the Wind” and yesterday, I taught myself how to play one of my favorite songs, “Helplessly Hoping,” by Crosby, Stills & Nash. I can only play the chords but I’m going to learn how to strum it the way they do in the song.

Enjoy your week! Here’s a song to get you started.

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Miso-Tahini Squash Soup with Brown Rice

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

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This soup falls under the category: Things I’m Going to Make Again and Again. I know I say that about almost everything on this blog, but also, I only put things on this blog if they’re really, really good.

I was craving a warming soup over the weekend but I was tired of making ones with ginger and turmeric. I hardly ever cook with miso or tahini so I thought I’d give this recipe a try.

A word to the wise: You can buy tahini in the nut butter section of the grocery store but white miso paste is kept in a plastic tub in the refrigerated section. I spent about 10 minutes scouring the Asian foods aisle before I realized this.

It’s okay, though, because this soup made the search worth it. It’s flavorful, warming, fragrant, and surprisingly light. It’s more like a broth than a heavy soup, which makes brown rice the perfect accompaniment. The first day, I ate the soup with brown rice on the side. The second day, I mixed it in and it was even better. It was like chicken and rice soup, just with no chicken.

ANYWAY. I’d highly recommend making this soup as soon as possible. It has fresh, wholesome ingredients that are good during the winter when you’re cold and on the verge of getting sick, and you need nourishment. It’s also great to come home to. You have to be a little careful heating it up because tahini separates easily, but the flavors get even better on day two and the soup doesn’t lose any of its star power.

Here’s a song that reminds me of this soup. It’s good for days when you don’t want to get out of bed but you force yourself to, anyway, and then sing in the car on the way to work.

Miso-Tahini Squash Soup with Brown Rice 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups short-grain brown rice
2 Tbsp virgin coconut oil, melted, divided
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more
1 (1 1/2″) piece ginger, peeled, minced
5 cups vegetable broth
2 pounds butternut squash, cut into 1/2″ chunks
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced kale
5 Tbsp white miso paste
1/4 cup tahini
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 scallions, white and pale-green parts only, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
sriracha sauce and lime wedges for serving

Directions

Combine the rice, 5 cups of water, pinch of salt, and 1 Tbsp of melted coconut oil in a large saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook about 25 minutes, or until the rice is al dente. Drain and set aside.

In the meantime, make the soup broth. Melt 1 Tbsp of coconut oil in a heavy-bottom pot over medium high heat. Add the ginger and cook a couple minutes until it’s light brown. Add the vegetable broth and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to get the garlic into the mixture. Bring the broth to a simmer. Add the butternut squash and cook for about 10 minutes. Then add the kale and cook another 5 minutes, or until the squash is soft and tender.

Whisk together the miso paste, tahini, sesame oil, 1 tsp of salt, and 1/2 cup of hot water in a large bowl until very smooth. When the broth is done cooking and the vegetables are ready, stir the mixture into the broth (be very gentle because the tahini will separate). Add to a bowl half full of brown rice. Top with scallions, lime wedges, toasted sesame seeds, and sriracha. Enjoy!

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Maple Cinnamon Porridge with Caramelized Banana

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

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This maple cinnamon porridge with caramelized banana is going to be one of my new go-to breakfasts. I knew it the second I tasted it.

I often make porridge for breakfast but I keep toppings simple. When I’m in a rush in the morning, I’ll cut up some banana, throw blueberries and sliced almonds on top, and call it a day.

Yesterday though, I didn’t have anywhere to be so I took my time. I decided to caramelize some bananas in coconut oil to put on top. It was an excellent decision.

As it turns out (and how have I not realized this until now?), coconut and banana are made for each other. Sure, there’s the tropical flavor and vibe, but it goes beyond that. The coconut oil softens the banana and makes a slightly unripe fruit sweeter. If you leave the banana in the oil long enough, it will get brown and caramelized on the outside, kind of like crème brûlée. If I haven’t sold you on caramelized bananas by now, I never will.

I topped the oatmeal with the banana, a small scoop of almond butter, shredded coconut, cacao nibs, and fresh blueberries. I found some good looking berries at the store the other day so I splurged on them. It was worth it. The tartness of the berries pairs well with the maple cinnamon porridge, the sweet bananas, and the almond butter.

So yeah. I guess the moral of this story is, if you have extra time you should definitely spring for the best breakfast you can. I might not have time to make this every morning but on weekends or days when I decide to sleep in and be thirty minutes late to work, it’s perfect. It’s also great for winter. It makes me think of somewhere tropical and warm.

Here’s a song that reminds me of this porridge. I heard it the other day and I’ve been jamming out to it ever since.

Maple Cinnamon Porridge with Caramelized Banana

Ingredients

1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup almond milk
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup maple syrup, or more if you want it sweeter
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 banana, sliced in half lengthwise then cut into fourths
blueberries, cacao nibs, shaved coconut, and almond butter for topping

Directions

Bring the oats, almond milk, and cinnamon to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce to a simmer and let cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened to your desired consistency.  I like my oatmeal thick so it usually takes about five to seven minutes. Stir in the maple syrup.

In the meantime, make the bananas. Heat the coconut oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the banana. Cook until one side is golden brown and then flip the banana with a fork. Cook until the other side is evenly brown.

Place the oatmeal in a bowl and top with the banana, blueberries, cacao nibs, shaved coconut, and almond butter. Enjoy!

Posted in Breakfast, Uncategorized, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dimanche (That Means Sunday)

Posted on January 7, 2018 by Emily Wasserman

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Welcome to this edition of Dimanche (That Means Sunday), a roundup of things that caught my eye this past week.

We’re one week into the New Year and already, I feel like a lot is happening. In a semi-shameless plug, a couple articles I worked hard on last year went live on Feast Magazine and St. Louis Magazine‘s websites. It’s a gratifying to see the articles online and share the stories with a wider audience. Check out the links below.

I’m lucky to have missed the bomb cyclone that just hit the East Coast but I’ve been suffering through a cold spell in St. Louis. It makes me want to curl up with a cup of tea, binge-watch “Parts Unknown,” and make a big pot of soup. I plan on doing all those things this afternoon.

I hope that wherever you are, you’re staying warm and escaping the winter cold. I don’t know about you but I’m definitely ready for it to be spring. Until then, I’ve cooked up a few ways to tolerate this weather.

Without further ado, here is Dimanche:

As I mentioned before, I had a couple stories go live this week. One is a monthly column I’m writing for St. Louis Magazine about cheap eats. More specifically, it highlights five items for less than $10 that you can find in St. Louis. The second story is a feature I wrote for Feast about Edelbrand Pure Distilling, a family-owned-and-operated business that makes Swiss brandy.

I just saw “The Shape of Water” and I was blown away. The acting, the dialogue, the cinematography…everything was on point. The movie deserves to win lots of awards. I’d highly recommend going to see it before the Oscars.

Have you been to Fiddlehead Fern Café yet? If not, you should DEFINITELY check it out. I stopped by for lunch yesterday and it felt like coming home. The staff is friendly, the coffee drinks are made with an expert hand, and the avocado toast (pictured at the top of this post) is made with local bread and fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s the perfect place to spend a couple hours reading, chatting with friends, or working.

Bruno Mars’s new song featuring Cardi B, “Finesse,” just came out this week and I pretty much lost my shit. The song itself is amazing but the music video is out of control. I teared up watching it. The dancing is incredible. I also liked the homage to In Living Color. If you haven’t seen the video, check it out here.

I’ve been waiting a looong time for David Choi to open his West County outpost of Seoul Taco. On Friday, I read that it was finally open so I stopped by yesterday night to check it out. For those of you unfamiliar with Seoul Taco, it’s a Korean-Mexican fusion restaurant that originally started as a food truck in St. Louis. It became so popular that Choi, the chef and owner, decided to open a few brick-and-mortar spaces. I got the spicy pork tacos with kimchi last night and I was blown away.

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I really enjoy reading Lauren Collins’s stories in The New Yorker because they usually cover France. Collins, an American, is based in Europe so she gets the scoop on what’s going on abroad. This article about a French author who wrote a “killer-nanny novel” is a must-read. The book sounds compelling but even more fascinating (in my opinion) is the author herself.

Last but certainly not least, I’m loving this interview with Lena Waithe in Chicago Magazine. Waithe, who won an Emmy for her work in “Master of None,” is premiering her new series, “The Chi,” on Showtime tonight. The show chronicles life on the South Side of Chicago, where Waithe grew up. I like what Waithe said in the interview about putting a little of herself in all the characters.

Enjoy your week! Here’s a song to get you started. George Harrison is my favorite Beatle but somehow, I’d never heard this song. I’m glad that changed last week.

 

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