Grocery Selections

If you are into food, cooking and recipes, you most likely enjoy grocery shopping. That might be presumptuous on my part, but I’m basing that on my own experiences. Grocery shopping is one of my favorite activities and probably my favorite kind of shopping. I like farmers markets but truly enjoy the stores. And although I don’t condone supporting the big conglomerates that drive the small mom & pop shops out of business, there is something to be said for having a large selection of products to choose from. I love going to the small personal stores just as much, but if they don’t carry the couple of items I need, I have to make one more trip. That again is totally fine, as it at least gets my butt to move (lord knows I need it). I just don’t like being confined to purchasing the one or two brands on the shelf that are not necessarily my faves. So, sometimes I prefer the huge display cases to satisfy my need for variety. This is the same reason I like buffets (if the food is of good quality) rather than ordering one meal I might not like. When I went to Romania, I saw plenty of small stores and a few of the huge kind, a more recent addition to the Romanian shopping scene. It’s all nice and good to get excited about it but most people can’t afford to shop there as the goods are monetarily out of reach.
I am fortunate enough to be able to buy food when I need it or want it, so I took my family shopping there. The variety was insane! As I mentioned in an earlier blog entry, Romanians eat pork, lots of it. The selection of pork products was unbelievable. If it was a healthy option, I would have purchased a new sausage or pork shoulder or smoked ham every day. Alas, we gotta get our fruit and veggies in as well….
The selection however did not end with the meat. There are numerous display cases filled with cheese, olives, pickled vegetables and pastries. And throughout the store, shelves are filled with basically the same types of products you find at your local grocery store, except multiply your store’s selection times ten. To a gourmand, you have reached culinary heaven. I only wished I had my own kitchen and about a month to spare.
Without further ado, here are some pictures of the offerings.

Almost all the meat below is some kind of pork product

Olives

Sour Cream 

Feta Cheese

Chocolate

 

Spice Rack

I was motivated to clean out my pantry and pulled out spices I haven’t used in a while, not because I have grown tired of them, but because I have been traveling so much, it’s difficult to tell sometimes what time zone I’m in. So I pulled out the oldies but goodies and am planning on making Chicken Lo Mein tonight.
I believe in keeping a good stock of various spices to spice things up. Maybe I should be writing this after I’ve had a break from the computer. I can tell my writing skills are about to crash and burn….
There are people who are known for cooking one type of cuisine or for having a signature dish. And then there’s me. I can’t remember how often I have repeated a dish, to the disgruntlement of my husband. He grew up with favorites his mom has always made. I grew up cooking mostly for myself, ergo, I had a lot of learning to do. I still try new dishes most of the time and come to find out, you need different spices for different recipes. Thus I have a very well-stocked spice rack and hardly ever make a panicked dash to the store.
If you read this, open your pantry, and all you see is salt, pepper and the large container of onion powder you haven't used in at least six months (or longer - check the expiration date!), print out the list below and head to the store.

Cardamom - the seeds inside the green pod are removed and smashed to produce a powder - great for exotic desserts

Cinnamon - use the powder in desserts and stews (for a fuller feeling) and use the stick to stir your hot chocolate or coffee

Coriander - powder or seeds - used in lots of Indian and Mexican cooking for stews and meat rubs

Cloves - you can buy these ground as well; a staple ingredient in making mulled wine for Christmas but also good with holiday hams and desserts

Cumin - the seeds are ground; use either one for Mexican or Indian recipes; great for chili

Curry powder - mostly used in Indian cooking but also Asian and Caribbean recipes; careful as there are various degrees of hotness

Fennel seeds - mmm, ground to a powder it's great as a meat rub on pork

Culinary lavender - not the household one from your pillow; I use it to bake cakes for wonderful perfume but it's also used for ice cream

Paprika - there is sweet or hot paprika and it comes from Spain and Hungary - I use only the sweet and put it into pretty much any stew I ever make

Star Anise - excellent with hot rum during the holidays but also good to make soup or stock

Review – Nueva Mexico Restaurant & Bar

Before I get started on today's entry, I want to point out that I noticed my ridiculous errors in the last entry. I mentioned that pasta and noodles are served in Romania (yes, they are the same thing) as well as lamp meat. I am a fan of lamb meat and have yet to try lamps. Sorry about that. Moving on...

It has only taken me a year and a half to find a decent Mexican place in NY, and it turns out, it’s just about ten minutes or so from my house. I read many good Yelp reviews online about this place and decided to try it out.
My husband and I started the evening a bit apprehensive after having tried other Mexican spots here and being disappointed, so it’s safe to say that we walked in with low expectations. I won’t beat around the bush but will come right out and say that the service was great, the food was delicious and the prices were awesome. We paid for dinner and one margarita $27, plus tip. It’s hard to find prices like that in NY, much less for dinner.
So I had a shrimp taco, which was delicious although a tad on the salty side, and a carnitas (pulled pork) taco, which was perfect. No complaints. Both were huge and topped with guacamole, which was great.
My husband ordered the beef fajitas which is a hot skillet of beef strips, bell peppers and onions, served with a side of refried beans, salsa, guacamole, rice and tortillas, so you can make your own taco basically.
We shared of course and agreed that everything we had was very good, especially since we know good Mexican food from San Diego. The margarita tasted sweeter than usual and for once did not remind me of cough medicine.
This is a short review because there was nothing bad to say about this place. We’ll be back very soon and are planning on taking friends there as well.

Romanian Food

At the beginning of this month, I had the chance to visit Romania for a week. My visits there tend to be hectic as I’m rushing from one place to another, but they are so worth it. I can usually count on being spoiled by delicious food every day I’m there.
My family sits down to breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and cake as well as dinner together. Breakfast and dinner are similar, consisting of bread, cheese and salami. During breakfast there are also boiled eggs, jams, honey and yogurt and during dinner those things are omitted for sliced veggies (bell peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers), pickled veggies (olives, cucumbers, bell peppers, etc.) and lots more dried and cured meats. Sometimes even hot dogs make it onto the table.
Lunch is the big meal of the day offering soup and an entrée of meat and starch. Always filling and nap-inducing.
In the afternoon there is always, and I mean always, cake or dessert with coffee or tea, depending on which one you drink.
A few times we ate out as well and indulged in shawarma, a Middle-Eastern gyro, and traditional Romanian cuisine at an underground tavern. Everyone asks me what traditional Romanian food is and to sum it up, it is pork, pork, pork, and starches. Mashed potatoes are a favorite but also pasta, noodles and of course the staple, polenta or cornmeal. With pretty much any main meal people eat pickled veggies, the same way someone would eat ketchup with fries for example.
Desserts consist of everything from fancy cakes to custard-filled pastries and cookies. I was there during Lent, which meant that about half to a third of the population was fasting for Easter. At every food establishment you could pretty much buy regular food or food for Lent. Very considerate of them. I ended up liking the apple dessert best which was meant for those religious folks.
Food prices at restaurants tend to be affordable for tourists, although high-priced for locals. That explains why most people eat at home and know how to cook. Traditional recipes are passed down from generation to generation and the kitchen is mostly a women’s domain. I always have the good intention of watching my family cook when I’m there to learn those precious recipes, and inadvertently I end up eating the outcome more than learning the making of it.

The first cafe we went to - almost everyone got the eclairs

Meatball soup made by my aunt

Custard-filled puff pastry - also home made

Table set for afternoon coffee

Stuffed cabbage roll as big as my head

The much-loved pickled veggies (bell peppers, cucumbers, jalapenos and cabbage)

Another tradition - sausage links made out of beef, pork and lamp meat

When in Romania, do as they do and get the links

The apple dessert for Lent (covered with powdered sugar)

Most desserts are filled with some kind of cream

Got hungry inside a huge store and thankfully they had food - the bottom, middle item is stuffed bell pepper which is one of my favorites there

Polenta with pork stew - restaurants don't skimp on the portions

Meat and potatoes - a staple

Beef and noodle soup - home style

Dumplings with chicken stew - we eat lots of stews there

Food and Competition

I used to watch Food Network and Cooking Channel religiously. I also seemed to have a hell of a lot more time on my hands. A couple of years ago the shows on both of those channels took a turn for the unbearable. In the past, there were numerous shows about actual cooking, showing you techniques and recipes that you could recreate at home.
Nowadays, the only crap you see on TV is people doing everything possible to win some sort of competition. The whole reality TV thing became old very quickly, at least for me. If I watch a channel about food and cooking, I do it because I want to learn how to cook and maybe learn a new recipe. I certainly don’t turn on the TV to watch a group of idiots run around madly in search of ingredients and create Lord knows what ridiculous dishes in hopes of winning money. Last I remember I didn’t turn the channel to Money-Hungry-Contestants, but to Food Network.
What happened to regular shows that have a host and instruct you how to cook? There are maybe a handful left if you watch an entire day of the said channel. And the rest is all BS and cupcake wars. Cupcake wars, for crying out loud! Because network executives could not think of something more gripping than a bunch of youngsters creating unappetizing cupcakes.
And forget about the weekend. Saturday or Sunday night is nothing but competition galore.
I have switched to other channels as I was flipping and discovered that they have regular cooking shows that I crave, rather than mediocre reality TV that is supposed to suck in viewers.
There is the Create Channel that has no commercials and focuses on all sorts of shows about creating something, whether that’s food, art, construction or even travel. And channels like PBS always have the traditional cooking shows as well. And they have variety to boot.
Cooking Channel started out with new shows that were not featured on Food Network, with new talent and multi-cultural aspects. Now you get mostly reruns of the Food Network cast-offs, with ancient episodes of Giada and her Italian dishes I’ve seen ten years ago and Rachel Ray. Not to sound offensive but I liked seeing new peeps on the Cooking Channel. They have however been removed and replaced by the old money makers of Food Network.
If both networks don’t make drastic changes, I’ll be making a permanent switch.

Review – Afternoon Tea at The Plaza

I decided to be fancy and have afternoon tea at The Plaza hotel in Manhattan. It was my first time there and I’m sure I won’t be paying for a room there anytime soon.
The lobby and few hallways I saw were beautiful. The Palm Court dining area was superb. After a renovation some time ago, it was restored to its former glory, or so I read.

The ambience was fantastic and I was excited to have my first afternoon tea experience. It was probably not the best idea to start at the most expensive place in the city, but oh well. The tea costs $50 per person and comes with food.

I had reservations because otherwise forget being seated. Was shown to my table promptly and had a waiter assigned to me that seemed to lack any kind of facial expression known to man. After reading reviews online, it seems that all wait staff follows that rule.
I placed my order and waited a long time for my tray to be brought out. I asked for chamomile tea and received jasmine. They exchanged it once I pointed out the mistake. I should say that you get an entire teapot to yourself, so if you come with someone else, each of you has a teapot with whatever tea you choose.
My chamomile tea was good and I should have remembered that it also works as a laxative. I remembered that later at home. Enough said.
The tray contained a tier of small finger sandwiches, a tier of two scones and the top tier packed with pastries.
I finished the sandwiches and scones and was too stuffed to eat any of the desserts, but I got a box to take them home. It wasn’t a lot of food but I’m assuming the entire teapot I consumed filled me up as well.
The sandwiches were good but not spectacular. The first one I had was filled with smoked salmon and was the most delicious one. Wish I had five more of that one alone. The cucumber one was refreshing, the quail and egg salad one was ok, and the lobster and roast beef were nothing to write home about. In fact, the lobster one was pretty darn awful.
The scones were surprisingly delicious, helped along by lemon curd, blackberry jam and Devonshire cream, which I finished completely, to the horror of my ass, I’m sure.
I was offered an orange flavored scone and a cranberry one, so topped with the sweet creams and jam, that was dessert enough for me.
All the pastries seemed to be some sort of chocolate creation, except for one lemon cake cookie. I am very particular about chocolate and when I tried them all at home, found them way too rich and sweet for my liking. I would probably choose the New York tea option next time, instead of the Classic one, which comes with other non-chocolaty desserts such as cheesecake.
After an hour, I sat back, full and content, taking in the glorious surroundings and live piano music that recited the birthday song every ten minutes or so. There were tourists all around the place taking photos, making me more comfortable to take my own and also making me less self conscious about not being some sort of big shot at this swanky place.
Overall, the service was lacking, the ambience pretty near perfect, the food good but needs improvement and the price could be lowered. And here are pics of the hotel and the offerings.

Review – Schaller & Weber Deli

A couple of weekends ago I had the chance to go to a German deli/grocery store called Schaller & Weber, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It’s a small place dedicated to all things German and has been featured numerous times on TV and in newspapers or magazines. I was there on the weekend so the store was packed. Of course, it also seems that way because it’s relatively small and can only fit about 25 people at once. There is a deli on the right side of the store, offering cured and smoked meats and cheeses, and on the left side, you’ll find refrigerated imported goods. In the middle are the candies and cookies.
That day, I walked in with every intention on loading up on salamis and cheeses, and I walked out with a filled bag full of cookies instead. I am still eating my way through the batch and will probably do so for another six months.
I happened to find a few holiday items on sale which I was thrilled about since holiday gingerbread goodies from Germany are my favorite. Guess I’ll be enjoying the holidays for a few more months.
Customers can order the meats online and the store ships nationwide I believe. I’ll have to go back and actually get what I came for the first time.
For now, I’m sharing my take-aways. If you are in the area, check out the store and try these.

Layers of biscuit, gelee, marshmallow, chocolate

Wafer covered in chocolate - similar to Kit Kat

Peanut flips or chips

Gingerbread filled with jam and covered in chocolate

Whole grain cookies

Wafers filled with apricot jam

Banana marshmallow covered in chocolate