A Reprieve from Dairy

This Shabbos was my big chance to eat meat last week so I was really looking forward. In honor of the big day, I hosted Shabbat dinner to make sure that I got my fill of meat. The expert Shabbos host, Aaaron, went to Supersol with me to pick out ingredients for the meal.

Before I review my Supersol purchases, I'd like to comment on Supersol in general. I normally do not shop there because their prices are at least 30% higher than Fairway. But, Supersol is an easy place to go it if you're in a rush and need specific kosher supplies. Also, you can also get 10% off if you're a student or have a MJE Express card.

At Supersol, I bought beef, chicken, deli meat, and Iron Chef Orange Sauce glaze with ginger. The meat was fine quality- nothing special. The surprise great purchase was the sauce. Everyone loved it! It had a light flavor that is more more ginger than orange. The orange adds a nice sweetness and color to the chicken. The sauce was made in a peanut free facility, which worked out perfectly for my peanut allergic guest. I would highly suggest picking up the sauce for Shabbos or an everyday meal.

Kosher Picnic in the Park

I met my work friends in Central Park for a picnic, and I brought my new go-to side dish, Beet and Orange salad The salad is made up of beets, navel orange slices, roasted walnuts, and romaine lettuce. If you're having a dairy meal, I'd suggest adding some goat cheese. Trader Joe's has quality goat cheese crumbles for quite cheap.

Here is the basic salad recipe:

-Buy fresh beets, wrap them in foil, and bake them at 400 for about 45 mins (they're done when you can put a knife smoothly through them). Let beets cool, peel off the top layer of skin, and slice them.

-Peel oranges and slice them.

-Roast walnuts at 350 for about 6 mins and then roughly chop

-Add spinach and cheese if desired

-For dressing, I make a fresh summer dressing made up of orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar and salad. Have a heavy hand with the vinegar and beat in the oil slowly to taste.

Coffee chat at Edgar's cafe

I've been eyeing the new Edgar's Cafe on Amsterdam between 91st and 92nd street for a few weeks now, and I finally had the opportunity to go. We're interviewing subletters for our apartment so I convinced one of our potentials to meet me for a coffee at Edgar's. I've been drawn to the new Edgar's because of it's ambiance. It has large French style doors that are always open and inviting, and the little tables call out for me to sit down and have a coffee and a kosher cake. There was no kosher cake for me this time (I've heard that you should ask to see their products in the original wrapping before eating), but I did finally get that iced coffee. Unfortunately, the coffee didn't live up to the ambiance. It was fine, but it didn't come with enough ice and the glass wasn't anything special. I was hoping the coffee would be served in a cute chic mug. Our potential subletter ordered the hot chocolate- an aggressive choice for the summer but I was impressed. The hot chocolate got a better review than the coffee (thus, why it is pictured above). She enjoyed her treat and said the temperature and richness were just right. Maybe next time, I'll try the hot chocolate?

An American in India at Pongal

Last week, I met the effervescent Olivia for dinner at Pongal in Curry Hill (27th and Lexington). Olivia wasn't up to sharing this time so I was very nervous about ordering. I've been going to Pongal for a few years now, and I always order a few vegetable dishes (subji) and a bread to share. Thankfully, I actually looked at the back page of the menu and found the Royal Thali, which was described as the chef's selection of vegetable dishes. What I really got was Saag Paneer and Chana Masala, both which are great, but I wouldn't call them a chef's selection of vegetable dishes. I would call them an American's selection of vegetable dishes.

All this aside, the Royal Thali was very good. The vegetable dishes were flavorful and fresh. They serve their subji in deep bowls so you get good sized portions. The Royal Thali also came with bread, soup and a lovely, sweet rice pudding. My only criticism is that Pongal's dishes are quite mild. I've yet to find a spicy dish there.

In the end, I feel a bit embarrassed blogging about ordering the least authentic Indian meal ever, but I do feel proud for finding another quality, kosher, and cheap meal ($15)!

In Praise of Cabot Cheese

Transitioning from regular cheese to Kosher cheese has been difficult for me. There is less variety in the Kosher cheeses, and getting a good quality cheese costs significantly more money. Thankfully, my favorite Kosher cheese happens to be the same brand from before I was Kosher- Cabot cheese!

Cabot is rich, creamy and has a nice sharpness. I normally get the Seriously Sharp Cheddar, however, I've been throwing down at Shabbos meals lately so I needed to cut down my caloric intake during the week. I decided to try the 50% Reduced Fat Cheddar (check out the beautiful picture of the yummy cheese). I was pleasantly surprised. The lower fat cheese was still sharp with a good flavor and consistency. I made an egg sandwich with the cheese and it melted well, which is rare for light cheese. My favorite way to have the cheese is on a spinach salad with some chopped almonds, peppers, tomatoes, craisins and homemade vinaigrette.

I buy my Cabot from Fairway (http://www.fairway.com/), where the cheese is half the price of that at Zabars and Barzini.

Wild Ginger in Nolita

My friend, Amanda, and I went to see a movie at the Angelika (Cheri- it got good reviews, but frankly, I found it quite odd and NOT kosher), and we needed a dinner spot before the theatre. I went to my go-to listing for Kosher restaurants in NYC - http://www.kosher-ny.com/- and found Wild Ginger. Wild Ginger is an Asian/Thai Vegan cafe with vegetables, soy meats and the like- http://www.wildgingervegan.com/.

Here's the break down:
The Good:
-It's hard to find kosher food around the Village so the location was prime.
-The service was excellent. The waiter spent extra time helping me decide between Malaysian Curry Stew and Mango Soy Protein, and then followed up to make sure that I was happy with my choice.
- The food was reasonably priced. For Kosher food, I'd even call it cheap.
- The food had a lot of vegetables so must be healthy.
- They packaged my leftovers so cute and tidy! Honestly, there is nothing worse than messy leftovers.

The OK:
-The food. We started with edamame, which can't be ruined. Netty had Pad Thai, and I chose the Malaysian Curry stew (coconut curry with soy protein, potato, carrots, pumpkin and other veggies). Amanda is not fan of veggies so the Pad Thai did not work for her (she's such a trooper for even coming to the restaurant). My Malaysian Curry stew was good, but it was the kind of situation where you're not excited to eat your leftovers. The food just wasn't great.
- The Hashgachah is IKC, which is not a universally accepted hasgachah.

All in all, a good experience but I'm not in a rush to go back.