Cumbres Ecuatorianos, Madrid

This is very near the piso we are staying in... The food is delicious and the people there are very sweet! Definitely worth your time and money. Here's what we had...

Ensalada de la casa - house salad

Seco de chivo - goat in an amazing sauce

Pollo asado con menestra y ensalada - roasted chicken with a bean stew and salad

Tarta de queso & tarta de whiskey y helado - cheesecake and whiskey cake with ice cream (in the back)

Gino's, Madrid

Salad with smoked salmon.

Maccheroni al forno in the front & bolognese in the back.

Vermont-y Dinner & Visitors from the North

Super Vermont-y dinner tonight -- delicious chorizo sausage from Jericho Settler's Farm, a new kind of spinach from Half Pint, and a Revolution flatbread pizza (on the grill!) from American Flatbread.
Some Canada geese we saw on the way out to see our new apartment. The little guys were making quite a racket!

tomatoes & mozz :: tomates y queso mozzarella

La Nicoletta (Madrid)

Nat and I had lunch one day at La Nicoletta (C/ Orense, 4). It was the fourth or fifth time we had eaten there so we already had a favorite.

We started off with the insalate florentina (mixed lettuce, emmenthaler, edam and ricotta cheeses, walnuts and cherry tomatoes, all dressed with sherry and honey vinaigrette). Delicious!











For our main dishes, we both ordered pasta. At La Nicoletta, you can choose from a list of more than 20 pastas (dry, fresh, or filled) and more than 15 sauces (including amatriciana, carbonara, vongole, provenzal, and pesto).

I ordered orecchiete and Nat ordered gnocchetti di patate, and we both ordered salsa salmone (salmon sauce).

Microgreens :: Tiny but Trendy

Thinking back on 2008's rainy summer, I continue to be surprised by my lack of localvore consumption. The weather definitely hindered our Vermont farmers this year, as described in the Burlington Free Press' "On the farmstand" column a few weeks ago.

Although localvore hotspots (aka Healthy Living, City Market, etc.) continue to stock produce from Vermont growers, I can count on one hand the number of times I had mesclun this summer, and don't need any hands at all to count the number of times I had heirloom tomatoes. One thing I did manage to cram into the second half of August were a few handfuls of microgreens.

Microgreens are delicious, smaller-than-bitesized versions of our beloved greens. My favorite microgreens come from Half Pint, and can be used in a variety of ways (dressed simply with a lemon vinaigrette and served over crabcakes, or as the base of a feta salad). More and more restaurants are incorporating microgreens into their menus these days, and let me say, this is a delicious trend.











I find radish and beet microgreens to be especially delicious, but you may be able to find any of the following minis: mizuna, mustard, sorrel, rapini, kohlrabi, daikon, endive, collards, celery, cabbage, cress, arugula, broccoli, basil, flax or clover.

And if the summer season has already passed you by, have no fear. You can grow these delicious bites in your own kitchen! All you need is a plate or dish, a moist felt pad, some seeds, and some light! The Sprout People offer a Micro-Greens Kit as well as a Miniature Garden.

Don't give up on summer flavors just yet!

chopped salad

I started with a bowl of romaine, topped it with chopped cukes and tomatoes, leftover seasoned avocado bits, sweet mini shrimp, and finished it off with a spoonful of salsa and a drizzle of ranch. Refreshing and a great way to get some veggies in your world!

cold salads

Since it is so dadjim hot out there, I've been totally hooked on cold foods -- cold soups, cold sandwiches, and cold salads. I've been working with different combinations, but what I've done so far is only the tip of the iceberg...

Start with your favorite pasta or grain (cooked), add bite-sized bits of your favorite cheeses, meats, and/or veggies. You could also add herbs, dried or fresh fruits, or nuts. Dress it all up (use bottled or make your own -- and don't forget salt & pepper!), and you're good to go!

A few combinations I do:

"confetti" pasta (bulk bin in my health food store) + sundried tomatoes in olive oil + roasted red peppers + balsamic vinegar & olive oil

barley + crunchy red pepper bites or strips + caramelized onions + shredded chicken + lemon juice + olive oil

orzo + chickpeas + feta + garlic + dill + olive oil + lemon juice

tri-colored rotini + sundried tomatoes + slices of greek-style grilled chicken + chopped parsley + lemon juice + olive oil

my latest:

fusilli pasta + feta + puréed green peas + parsley + pine nuts + lemon juice + olive oil

Pix from Mario

Sometimes a chef's salad can save the day...

During junior year of high school, I ventured to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Liechtenstein with a group of fellow students. Of course, we did the necessary tourist-y activities, including a trip to Schloss Neuschwanstein (pronounced "noy-shvon-stine"), a castle in Bavaria. To get to the castle, you have to walk up this long (and sometimes very steep) road. Of course, once you get there, there are no elevators, so one must walk up and down the stairs to get to all of the famous rooms. Since we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the castle, I have scanned a postcard that I purchased in the gift shop.

Anyway, learning about crazy King Ludwig (and of course, all of that walking) really helped me work up an appetite. In fact, I was starving. After finishing our tour of the still-unfinished castle, we retreated to the bottom of the hill for some lunch.

At the closest restaurant, I chose the chef's salad because I couldn't bear to wait any longer for my food. As expected, it came out incredibly fast from the kitchen, and I think it was the best meal that I had in Germany. I know, it's odd to give such credit to a salad, but I hadn't eaten a salad yet that week, and I was feeling a veggie deficit...

The salad was incredible!

Mixed greens, micro-greens, herbs, radicchio, endive, tomato, pepperoncini, hard-boiled eggs, German potato salad, and tuna (the Italian kind that comes canned in oil)... All dressed with oil and vinegar. What more could a girl want?