Pizza Break: Glen’s Garden Market

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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In this installment of Pizza Break, I bring you pizza from Glen’s Garden Market.

I’ve been going to Glen’s since I moved to D.C. It’s a gourmet market that has excellent food, including some of the best pizza in the city. The base is thin and light but the crust is thick and chewy. You can tell that all of the ingredients are fresh. I like when places don’t mess around.

This pizza is DEFINITELY not messing around. I’m going to start sounding like a saleswoman for Glen’s, but you should go there and try it immediately (if you’re in the D.C. area) because it’s seasonal. It has mozzarella, tomato sauce, fresh sliced peaches, jalapeños and house smoked ham. It’s kind of like a Hawaiian, but even better because of the peaches. It’s sweet, spicy but also a little smoky–the perfect marriage of flavors.

So yeah…if you’re in Dupont Circle and you’re wondering where to get pizza in a low-key atmosphere, consider Glen’s. You can also browse the market while you wait for the pizza and hold yourself back from buying $19 salt. Or maybe that’s just me.

I’ve been looking for new music lately, and this song came highly recommended. I’ve been listening to it on my walk to work.

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Balsamic Roasted Peach Salad

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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This is one of those salads that makes you say “whoa.” It’s so good, you’ll find yourself wanting to eat the whole bowl. I don’t know about you, but that rarely happens to me.

The salad also depends a lot on the ingredients. I bought almost everything fresh from the farmers’ market (including the mozzarella) and I could taste a difference. The peaches were ripe and juicy, the arugula was tart and tangy, and the mozzarella had the consistency of a cloud. Sometimes when I get the cheapest store-bought mozzarella, it tastes like a ball of wax. So I was happy that this worked out.

The original recipe calls for grilling the peaches, but I don’t have a grill. If you do, feel free to follow the original and cook your peaches that way. Broiling is a good back up method, though, and your fruit will still taste delicious.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Fruits Bats this week. Here’s a song I was jamming out to today.

Balsamic Roasted Peach Salad (slightly adapted from Love & Lemons)

Ingredients

for the salad:
2 firm, yet ripe peaches
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 cups baby arugula
fresh mozzarella, sliced
a few dollops of pesto
sprinkle of toasted pine nuts
salt & pepper

for the mint & basil pesto:
1 packed cup of a mix of mint & basil
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted (you could also use walnuts instead)
½ garlic clove, roughly chopped
juice and zest from ½ a lemon
¼ cup olive oil (or more)
a few pinches of red pepper flakes
salt & pepper

Directions

Preheat your oven to broil. Slice the peaches into 6 segments per peach. In a small bowl, toss peaches with olive oil, balsamic, and just a small pinch of salt. Put the peaches in a shallow baking pan and let them broil in the oven until they’re soft and slightly caramelized. Keep an eye on them; you don’t want them to burn.

Meanwhile make the pesto. Combine all ingredients in a small food processor and pulse to combine. Add more oil for a smoother pesto, or leave it chunky – whichever consistency you prefer.

Toss the arugula with just a little bit of olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Assemble on a platter and top with mozzarella slices, peaches, dollops of pesto, and a few pinches of red pepper flakes. Squeeze just a bit of lemon on top and serve.

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Chocolate Chip Brioche French Toast

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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The best part about working at a bakery is taking home free bread at the end of the night (if there’s any left). These days, there hardly ever is–which is great for business, but not so great for me. Luckily, I managed to snag some chocolate chip brioche last week, and I’ve been letting them go stale in preparation for this brioche French toast.

French toast is called “pain perdu” in French, which literally translated means, “lost bread.” I could see why that would be painful.

It’s really called that, though, to signify the bread that goes stale on the counter after a week. We’ve all been there. Some of us throw the bread away. Others of us make French toast.

This is probably the best French toast I’ve ever had in my life. The chocolate chips melt in your mouth and you don’t even need to add maple syrup. The toast speaks for itself, which is the hallmark of delicious food.

I didn’t use a recipe for this French toast. I was reading David Lebovitz‘s food blog the other day and he said something about how he didn’t follow a recipe to make cherry jam. “Before you panic, remember that your grandmother made lots of things without recipes and without measuring everything down to the last 5/9ths of a teaspoon,” he said. “Just breath.”

He has a point. Even though I think that it’s good for novice cooks and bakers to follow recipes (and even non-novice cooks if you’re dealing with a difficult dish), there’s something to be said about just following your instincts. That’s what I did with this French toast and I’ve never been happier.

Still, I’ll try to remember what I did in case you decide to recreate this dish at home. If you want the brioche bread, you’ll have to come to Un Je Ne Sais Quoi in Dupont Circle. I’d recommend getting there before 1 p.m…we tend to sell out fast;)

Here’s a song that reminds me of this French toast.

Chocolate Chip Brioche French Toast (from me, to you)

Ingredients

1 loaf of chocolate chip brioche bread
2 eggs
1/2 cup almond milk (or another milk of your choosing)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of cinnamon
powdered sugar and strawberries for topping

Directions

Cut the brioche bread into about 1/2 to 1-inch thick slices. Crack the eggs into a shallow baking dish. Add the milk, vanilla extract and cinnamon and whisk to combine.

Place the brioche bread slices into the mixture and let them soak about 5 minutes on one side. When the egg mixture has seeped in, carefully turn over and let the slice soak on the other side. Make sure the bread doesn’t get too soggy–you don’t want the slices to fall apart as you transfer them to the frying pan.

Melt some butter in a frying pan over medium high heat. Carefully place the brioche into the pan and let it fry in the butter until one side is golden brown. Flip the bread and let the other side get golden brown.

Remove the slices from the pan and serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and sliced strawberries. Enjoy!

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Vegan Banana Split Smoothie

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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When I was walking home tonight, I looked up at the temperature sign on the SunTrust building in Dupont Circle. Why are there two zeroes after a one? I asked myself. Then I realized that it was 100 degrees outside.

After that low point, I decided to go home and make this vegan banana split smoothie. I had the recipe on tap for tonight anyway, but the heat made me even more excited to make it.

It’s the perfect dessert for a hot, humid summer night: the kind that D.C. does best. And this coconut whipped cream…let me tell you. It’s light and fluffy, and if you have an electric mixer, it comes together in minutes. You can save the leftovers (if you have any) for waffles, smoothies or oatmeal.

I’ve been jamming out to this song lately. It’s good for walking down the sidewalk with the sun beating down on you. Or, you know, whenever.

Vegan Banana Split Smoothie (slightly adapted from Minimalist Baker)

Ingredients

for the smoothie:
2 medium-large bananas, ripe, peeled, sliced and frozen
2 tbsp (6 g) cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
1 tbsp (16 g) salted almond butter (if unsalted, add pinch sea salt)
1/4 cup (60 ml) unsweetened almond milk (more depending on preferred thickness)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
optional: 2 pitted dates (for extra sweetness)
toppings:
1 just ripe banana, peeled and sliced lengthwise
coconut whipped cream
ripe cherries
1 tbsp (3 g) shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tbsp (4 g) cacao nibs

for the coconut whipped cream:
1 14-ounce can (414 ml) coconut cream, or full fat coconut milk
1/4 – 3/4 cup (28 – 84g) icing/powdered sugar
optional: 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

for the coconut whipped cream (make in advance):

Chill your coconut cream or coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight, being sure not to shake or tip the can to encourage separation of the cream and liquid.

The next day, chill a large mixing bowl 10 minutes before whipping.

Remove the coconut cream or milk from the fridge without tipping or shaking and remove the lid. Scrape out the top, thickened cream and leave the liquid behind (reserve for use in smoothies).

Note: if your coconut milk didn’t harden, you probably just got a dud can without the right fat content. In that case, you can try to salvage it with a bit of tapioca flour – 1 to 4 Tbsp – during the whipping process. That has worked for me several times.

Place hardened cream in your chilled mixing bowl. Beat for 30 seconds with a mixer until creamy. Then add vanilla (optional) and powdered sugar and mix until creamy and smooth – about 1 minute. Taste and adjust sweetness as needed.

Use immediately or refrigerate – it will harden and set in the fridge the longer it’s chilled.

for the smoothie:

Add frozen banana, cacao powder, almond butter, and almond milk to a blender and blend on low until thick and creamy, scraping down sides as needed. You are looking for a soft serve consistency.

Add vanilla extract and dates (optional), and a bit more almond milk and blend once more until thick and creamy and well blended. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more almond butter for nuttiness, vanilla extract for vanilla flavor, salt for flavor balance, or cacao powder for more intense chocolate flavor. Set blender in freezer or refrigerator while preparing serving glasses.

Cut a banana in half lengthwise and peel. Then slice in half lengthwise again (so you have four pieces). Slide banana wedges down into two serving glasses (or 1 large serving glass, as pictured), and press with a spoon to “adhere” to the sides.

Add smoothie and top with desired toppings, such as coconut whipped cream, cherries, shredded coconut, and cacao nibs.

Best when fresh, but can be covered and frozen up to 2 days. Let thaw before enjoying.

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

Vegan BLTA

Posted on July 3, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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I’ve been meaning to tell you about this sandwich, but I had trouble getting a good picture of it. BLTAs are not the most photogenic sandwiches.

Tonight, though, I finally got a a good shot.

This sandwich should be in everyone’s repertoire. It’s in mine because I started craving a BLTA a couple months ago. I ate one at a restaurant for dinner one night after work, and it was the perfect antidote to a long day. The bacon was warm and crispy, the bread was toasted and soft, and the toppings to bread ratio was on point. (Thanks, Duke’s, for that memory).

I started craving the sandwich again a couple weeks later. But instead of eating out, I decided to make it at home. I also subbed in vegan bacon for real bacon because I don’t cook a lot of meat at home. But feel free to use the real thing if you want.

I knew that today would be a long day at work, so I bought all the ingredients to make this sandwich last night. It was nice knowing that no matter what happened during the day, I could come home and enjoy it afterward.

Motown was on the radio toward the end of my shift. This is one of my favorite songs of all time. It also kind of reminds me of this sandwich.

Vegan BLTA (from me, to you)

Ingredients

1 pack vegan bacon strips (I used Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon in Hickory and Sage)
2 slices of whole wheat bread (or whichever kind you like)
lettuce leaves
1 beefsteak tomato, sliced
1 avocado, pitted and sliced thin
vegan mayo (I used Just Mayo in sriracha flavor)

Directions

Toast your bread. Set aside on a plate.

Heat a little oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegan bacon strips and cook on both sides until crispy and charred. Set aside to cool.

Slice the tomato and avocado. Spread some vegan mayo on the two slices of bread and layer with the lettuce leaves, avocado, tomato and vegan bacon. Enjoy!

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No-Cook Recipes: Spaghetti with No-Cook Tomato Sauce

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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Blee blee blee dooo. That was me trying to make one of those trumpet noises that they used to introduce the king/royalty/someone else important during medieval times.

Well, times have changed, and I’m introducing my new semi-weekly column, No-Cook Recipes, to this blog.

I decided to create this after my friend Tanvi commented on my Instagram that she would copy me if I had a weekly blog of no-cook recipes. I don’t know if I’m willing to go that far, but I’m happy to devote space every week to featuring new recipes that don’t require much stove or oven time.

This week, I bring you spaghetti with no-cook tomato sauce. It’s from Bon Appetit, but I tweaked it a little.

My favorite part about this recipe is the sauce. I’ve never thought about grating zucchini into a sauce before, but it adds some much-needed texture and pizzaz. It also pairs well with the tomatoes and hazelnuts.

This dish comes together relatively quickly, which is always good during the week when you get home from work after a long day and don’t feel like cooking. It also involves using the food processor, which can be pretty cathartic sometimes.

I forget when I first heard this song, but every time I listen to it, it reminds me of summer.

Spaghetti with No-Cook Tomato Sauce (slightly adapted from Bon Appetit)

Ingredients

½ cup blanched hazelnuts
1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
12 ounces spaghetti or linguine (I used gluten-free)
1 beefsteak tomato, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup basil leaves, divided
2 small zucchini (about 8 ounces), coarsely grated
¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce shaved Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Toast hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Place cherry tomatoes in a large bowl; season with salt.

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving ¼ cup pasta cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, purée beefsteak tomato, garlic, red pepper flakes, ½ cup basil, 3 Tbsp. chopped hazelnuts, and 1 tsp. salt in a food processor until smooth; add to bowl with salted cherry tomatoes. Add zucchini, spaghetti, pasta cooking liquid, ¼ cup oil, and remaining ½ cup basil leaves and toss to combine; season with salt and pepper.

Divide pasta among bowls, drizzle with more oil, and top with Parmesan cheese and remaining hazelnuts. Enjoy!

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Caprese Salad

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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When it gets really hot outside, I start losing my motivation to cook. Luckily, there are a bunch of dishes that are doable without much cooking, including this caprese salad.

The only labor-intensive part of making this salad is cutting the tomatoes and mozzarella into thin pieces. Once you’ve accomplished that, you layer the pieces of tomato and mozzarella with some basil leaves and then sprinkle the finished product with salt and pepper, and drizzle on some olive oil. The whole dish comes together in less than 10 minutes.

When I was younger, I used to live down the street from a farm. I would always bike over to buy fresh vegetables. One day, the farmer sold me some zucchini and told me to bake it with olive oil, salt and pepper. “That’s all it needs,” he said.

That lesson has stayed with me. If you use fresh vegetables or fruit, they speak for themselves. You don’t need to complicate the dish with a bunch of spices or sauces.

When I bought the basil for this salad today at the farmers’ market, the farmer and I were talking about how good fresh basil smells. “It’s summer’s perfume,” she said. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Here’s a song to motivate you to cook (or, not cook) during the summer heat.

Caprese Salad (from me, to you)

Ingredients

1 Mozzarella cheese ball
2 large heirloom tomatoes
1 bunch of fresh basil
olive oil, sea salt and pepper for serving

Directions

Cut the tomatoes and mozzarella ball into thin slices with a sharp knife. Layer the pieces of mozzarella with a basil leave and a tomato, alternating so you get a circle. Top with another piece of tomato and a basil leaf. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Enjoy!

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No Bake (Vegan) Brownie Bites

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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This has been one of the roughest weeks of my life. On Tuesday, I found out that my good friend from my old job passed away. The news was shocking, but even more so because I just had dinner with her a week or so ago. We had beers and talked about going bookstore shopping.

My friend was one of those people who was there for you when you needed her most. She would come over to my desk at work and talk to me, and I’d always feel better afterward. She called me her “little French dumpling” after I started working at the bakery. She saw to the heart of me and appreciated me for who I truly am. She was extraordinarily gifted in the ability to love.

I was really depressed for a few days after hearing the news, but then, my boss (and friend) took me aside. Life goes on, she told me in French. You have to try.

Even though the words were difficult to hear, I knew that she was right. My friend who passed away would want me to be happy and do the things that bring me joy.

So yesterday night, I impulsively decided to make these no bake brownie bites. They’re not cloyingly sweet and have the perfect balance of salt and sugar. In a way, they’re a lot like my friend. She was sassy and no-BS, but she had the sweetest heart of anyone I’ve ever met.

These are for you, Caroline.

No Bake (Vegan) Brownie Bites (slightly adapted from The First Mess)

Ingredients

for the bites:
1 ½ cups raw walnut pieces/halves
⅓ cup raw cashews
¼ cup raw cacao powder
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup pitted Medjool dates
1 tablespoon coconut butter
1 tablespoon non-dairy milk (I used almond)

for the cacao glaze:
1 ½ tablespoons virgin coconut oil
1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
½ teaspoon maple syrup
two to three squares of 72% dark chocolate (omit if you want vegan bites)

sprinkles:
finely shredded coconut
goji berries
bee pollen (not vegan)
hulled hemp seeds
flaky sea salt

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the “S” blade, pulse the walnuts and cashews until you have a meal consistency. Add the cacao powder, vanilla extract, sea salt, and cinnamon. Pulse to mix evenly.

Add the dates and coconut butter to the food processor and run the motor on high, scraping down the sides of the bowl here and there. The mixture should just hold together if you pinch it with your fingers. Flip the motor on to high again, and pour the non-dairy milk in through the feed tube. The dough should ball up and appear glossy, but not too sticky and wet.

Scoop out the brownie bite mixture in 1 ½ teaspoon measures. Roll the portioned mixture into balls, set on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and slide into the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.

Make the cacao glaze: In a small saucepan, combine the coconut oil, cacao powder, dark chocolate and maple syrup. Whisk over low heat until combined. Set aside.

Retrieve the superfood brownie bites from the refrigerator. Dip each bite into the cacao glaze and set back on the parchment-lined baking sheet. While the glaze is still wet, sprinkle each bite with the sprinkle of your choice.

Store superfood brownie bites in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Zucchini Noodles with Pesto

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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I just got a spiralizer attachment for my birthday and I’m obsessed. I’ve been wanting to make noodles out of vegetables for so long, and now, the time has finally come.

I decided to make zucchini noodles with pesto for a birthday picnic that I hosted today at a park near my apartment. I got the zucchini from the grocery store, but I bought the basil this morning from the farmers’ market. And oh, what a difference that made.

The basil was fresh and it barely needed any coaxing from garlic or other ingredients. I just threw two bunches in a food processor, added some olive oil and sunflower oil, a couple handfuls of walnuts, some Parmesan and a clove of garlic. Et voilà: the best basil pesto of my life was born.

Making the noodles was a slightly more complicated process. It took me two out of eight zucchini (and some choice words) to figure out how to use the spiralizer attachment, but once I got the hang of it, everything went smoothly. Here’s a helpful video in case you run into problems like I did.

You might want to put the zucchini noodles between two paper towels and drain them for a little before tossing them with the pesto. Or, you can do what I did and make a slightly thicker pesto (with less oil) and then let the water from the zucchini thin out the sauce. Whatever works.

The noodles ended up being so good that I ate three bowls and didn’t save any for people who came late to the picnic. Whoops. I’ll probably make them again soon.

Here’s a song that reminds me of summer, picnics and chilling out. It’s also good to play while you’re spiralizing zucchini.

Zucchini Noodles with Pesto (from me, to you) 

Ingredients

8 zucchini
two bunches of fresh basil, leaves removed
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove
juice from 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions

Spiralize the zucchini and place the noodles into a large bowl. Toss with a little salt and let it sit while you make the pesto.

To make the pesto, put the basil leaves, olive oil, sunflower oil, walnuts, lemon juice, Parmesan and garlic in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add more oil with the blade running if the sauce is too thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the cherry tomatoes. Toss the noodles in a large bowl with the pesto and sprinkle on the cherry tomatoes. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

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Matcha Green Smoothie Bowl with Kiwi Flowers

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Emily Wasserman

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Last weekend I spent most of Sunday afternoon and night at my friends’ pool. As the French would say, ça fait du bien (it feels good).

After I finished doing nothing for a couple hours, I moved on to one of my other favorite activities: eating. We went inside and devoured leftovers from lunch, and after we were finished, my friend Melissa asked me to show her how to make a flower out of fruit.

I guess word about my smoothie bowls has gotten around because she had seen a picture of my kiwi flowers on Instagram. I showed her how to make a flower out of a tomato, and the whole experience inspired me to make a smoothie bowl with kiwi flowers for breakfast on Monday.

Making the flowers seems intimidating, but it’s easy once you get the hang of it. Maybe I’ll post a video here soon to show you.

I was a little wary about the vanilla extract in this smoothie bowl. I’m willing to take risks when it comes to food, but vanilla and spinach seemed a little out there.

As it turned out, the vanilla is what made the bowl. It added some sweetness and paired well with the blueberries, banana and granola on top.

This song has been popping up on my playlist a lot recently. It’s good for hot summer days when you’re walking down the sidewalk but it feels like you’re diving headfirst into water because of the humidity.

Matcha Green Smoothie Bowl with Kiwi Flowers (slightly adapted from The Healthy Hour)

Ingredients

handful of spinach
1 banana
1 cup mango
1 tsp matcha powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup almond milk
banana slices, blueberries, kiwi flowers, hemp seeds, coconut flakes and granola for topping

Directions

Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender or food processor. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes until creamy and smooth. Pour into a bowl and sprinkle your choice of toppings. Enjoy!

Posted in Breakfast, Smoothie Bowls, Uncategorized, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment