taste @ Cedar Creek

Last week, I was looking for a place to relax, hang out, and catch up with friends. I hadn't been to Cedar Creek in a while, and I knew it was going to be the right spot to do all three things. I jumped on one of their comfy antique couches (the kind of seating you would find in a wood-paneled basement with a deer trophy), and I waited for my fries and sipped on my pink lemonade.

The best thing about this "Creek" location is the beautiful scenery. This one has an actual real creak, AND it is the closest one to my house. It is conveniently located along the White Oak Bayou bicycle trail. Making it a popular destination for my bike rides. (Mental note: I need to repair my flat. So, I can come back via bike.)

On Monday nights, they have these delicious wings for $.50 and a burger with beer special for $10. The atmosphere is laid-back and the bartenders are pretty friendly. The seating outdoors reminds me of an afternoon relaxing in Austin after a fun swim in Barton Creek. You really don't feel like you are in Houston.

So, the next time you need a place to chillax' I would strongly consider Cedar Creek.

Shop @ Canino's Farmers Market

On my day off yesterday, I decided to take the short drive over to Airline Drive and check out the vegetables and other goodies available at Canino's. It is a large open-air market where you can pick up seasonal fruits and vegetables. Since I was trying to detox from my eating/drinking fest in the country, I decided I was going to get some ingredients for some chili with veggies and lean meat and other healthy items. I picked up some fresh kale, eggs, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, red potatoes, and green beans. I also grabbed some peanut brittle to share with my office mates.



The display for the pumpkins were too adorable. So, I picked up a couple of small pumpkins for Jacob and myself. We will be carving these little cuties after our post-spin class dinner. Lately, my friends in years past have been really excited about carving pumpkins and we've jumped on the bandwagon, too. And, nothing like Martha to give some inspiration! The mini jack-o-lantern faces look adorable. I was told to spray the insides with bleach in order to prevent rotting. It will be interesting to see if that works.



Since I served as a volunteer chili judge over the weekend, I got really motivated to pull together my own style of chili last night. I sliced up two garlic cloves, one small yellow onion, one green bell pepper, some cilantro, fresh cherry tomatoes, and two stalks of celery. I cooked them in a pot with olive oil and some spices (montreal steak, Tony Chachere, parsley, salt and pepper). I created the same spice treatment with some lean beef chunks and ground chicken breast and cooked the meat in a separate pot. Once the veggies got watery, I added a cup of red beans and slowly added my spiced meat. I slowly let it simmer for about an hour added more spices (chipotle and cinnamon). I let the chili sit overnight in the fridge and packed some for my lunch today. Yum-o! I enjoyed the chili with a sprinkling of parmasean cheese and a side of cauliflower and brussel sprouts. Very, very delish!

If you are in the northern Heights area, I challenge you to stop by Canino's and make your own special fall dish soon. Here's to good eatin'!

taste: Breakfast and Cooking Class with Chef Monica Pope

It's one thing to be able to enjoy watching Top Chef or the Food Network from the comforts of your own home, but it's a whole other experience to be able to eat breakfast with a celebrity chef. Over the summer, my friend Yushan invited me to meet with Monica Pope for breakfast, a tour of her restaurant T'afia and Farmer's Market, and snag front row seats at her complimentary cooking class.

On this very hot summer day, we gathered early at T'afia and enjoyed a delicious breakfast featuring locally grown foods. I had a savory breakfast enchilada with a piping hot cup of coffee. Monica shared with us her thoughts on good slow cooked food. She recalls her Czech grandmother teaching her how to cook and how she went to London to improve her culinary skills. She returned to the states, and started her career as a chef. She talked about the challenges of serving up new and different kinds of foods here in Houston especially to a town that was used to large servings of the standard meat and potatoes. She also spoke about the importance of slow food and eating locally. She challenged us to eat one meal a week with just food that was sold near our city.

We were also able to take in a tour of T'afia and the Midtown Farmer's Market. The best foods I sampled were the Texas Cheeses from the Houston Dairymaids, the chocolates from Brown Paper, and the ready-made paneer from Nisha's Quick and Ez Indian food. Monica told us how the concept grew from just a simple table at the farmer's market at Onion Creek to the Midtown Farmer's Market just outside of T'afia. I would advise you to bring plenty of cash because good food doesn't come cheap. Fortuantely for us, Monica gave each of us a bag of treats from each of the farmer's market booths. It was pretty awesome!

Afterwards, we went upstairs to the cooking class where she make crab claws and a pave. Watching Monica cook, teach, and entertain was very educational and fun. The visit was very inspiring and a good reminder that good food takes time. It makes me sad when I see people eating frozen entrees. What have we resorted to? I hope that I can incorporate more newness and adventure in the foods that I cook and taste.

Cheers for Healthy Bites!

Tough decisions! Jacob and I were getting ready to go to Boot Camp yesterday morning, and he asked me what our lunch plans were. I mentioned the Brunch and Bowling at Lucky Strike with friends. For $15, you get bottomless mimosas, game and shoes, and one entrée. Yay! But, the wise boyfriend told me that we would be totally negating our workout. Boo! So as I was grunting, sweating, and suffering through my burpees, the thought of fried chicken and french toast just didn't sound so appetizing.

I kept thinking about the prospect of a tasty Morningstar black bean burger with some baked sweet potato fries. Have you ever tried those black bean burgers? Damn! They are so good. They taste nothing like hamburgers, but they are spicy and dee-licious. You can have the patties and the fries baking in the oven while you take care of other business. Jacob steamed some cauliflower, and I sautéed them with canola oil and sprinkled a little bit of sea salt and parmasean cheese. The lunch meal ended up being quite lovely.

After our meal, I did end up meeting my friends. And, it was definitely more guilt-free. I had a couple mimosas and bowled a couple of games. Balancing out the little demons is a good thing. And it was much much more enjoyable.