Eating: Coxinha de Galinha

Summer 2015 was all about eating out, but I did try to make a few things in my kitchen, especially since I had gotten the fiancé a brand new fryer. Knowing my gluten days were near an end, I decided to make a Brazilian staple called “Coxinha de Galinha”, which is like a chicken croquette. So delicious! I made so many I had enough to share with an international group dinner I went to. Here’s is one of my last gluten-full meals of 2015!

Coxinha de Galinha

Coxinha de Galinha

 

Coxinha de Galinha – Brazilian Chicken Croquettes

Ingredients for the Filling

1.5 lbs chicken, boiled, shredded

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 onions, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 small can tomato paste

½ cup parsley, chopped

Salt and pepper

The filling

The filling

Ingredients for the dough

2.5 cups chicken broth

1 cube chicken bouillon

2.5 cups flour

Water or Milk for coating

Breadcrumbs for coating

Peanut Oil for frying

The dough

The dough

 

Once chicken is cooked in water, save the chicken water for the dough. Shred the chicken and reserve.  Saute onion in a large pan with the olive oil. Add garlic and all the filling ingredients, together with the chicken. Cook until hot and reserve.

For the dough, bring 2.5 cups of the chicken broth to a boil and dissolve the chicken bouillon cube in it. Slowly add flour, stirring constantly until it forms a dough. Keep kneading until smooth.

Before frying

Before frying

To make the coxinha, take a golf size ball of dough and form a disk. To the middle of the disk, add a tablespoon of chicken filling. Close the dough, making a teardrop shape. To coat your coxinha, quickly drop it in cold water or cold milk, and then roll it on the breadcrumbs (or you can use an egg wash, but at the time the fiancé couldn’t have eggs.)

New fryer

New fryer

After you make all your coxinhas, it’s time to fry them. I used peanut oil and fried them at 350 F until they were golden brown. Serve warm! They also freeze really well!

After frying

After frying

Eating and More: The Fiancé’s Birthday 2015

It was a week-long celebration for the fiancé that involved a lot of eating, knowing that after Labor Day he would start an elimination diet. We had brunch at Arrowcreek Country Club, a place we were considering for our wedding, and dinner at The Depot with many of his friends. We also went o Red Lobster, his favorite chain restaurant, and participated in a puzzle room that was super fun for the fiancé, but really annoying to me since I couldn’t figure anything out.

Running, Eating, and Traveling: Summer 2015

Yes, I know. Summer 2016 is just around the corner, but I’m still talking about Summer 2015! It was a great one, so that’s why I have been behind on my posts… it seems I was always busy running, eating, traveling, and eating again.

I actually had a list of restaurants to try, but didn’t make through all of them. Here are a few though:

Great Full Gardens – again. Always healthy salads available. Love their rewards program too.

Laughing Planet – again. Another healthy favorite.

Hummus Fresh – with B. and a surprise visit from my friend K. They have salads, wraps, and juices.

Suite 103 – great food (tofu green curry, lamb shank, Mediterranean shrimp), lots of hiccups with service, but food was amazing.

Z Bar – My favorite 1944 Mai Tai (rum and orgeat syrup).

Centro – again. They were out of some items… Awesome waffle bananas foster.

Reno Provisions – meatloaf and polenta again. Can’t go wrong. (Unfortunately, they closed in the fall…)

Jus – juice bar. Great on a hot summer day after a run.

The Depot – okay food, okay service, nothing to rave about. The building, however, is pretty cool.

Villa Donato – great Italian food, but service was horrible.

Sushi Pier 1 – buy 10 get 1 free. Love all you can eat!

Moo Dang – good Thai place in Midtown, but there are better ones.

Café Deluxe – amazing café with lots of healthy options.

Asiago’s – new pizza place in Tahoe. Awesome Greek salad with mint dressing.

Latin Soul – this Lakeside Inn restaurant in Tahoe has an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse night!

With all the food, I had to keep active, but sometimes it was too hot to run, so, instead, I went to the beach in Lake Tahoe, on hikes on Mount Rose and Tunnel Creek, to the river with the dogs, and even swimming at the public pool. Plus, got to try acro yoga again with the fiancé.

Although after I came back from Ireland and Texas, there wasn’t much traveling for a while, we did have a lot of fun in Tahoe and Reno. Fourth of July was spent barbecuing with friends and watching the fireworks in my neighborhood. I went to an Elton John concert in Tahoe, and did many outings with my Little Sister such as to the Rib Cook-Off, Art Museum, Circus shows, etc.

Other summer adventures included making candles, going to a Paint and Sip night that inspired me to paint even more, celebrating birthdays with friends, the annual Shakespeare Festival in Sand Harbor, and a rope’s course in Tahoe with work!

Traveling: Houston, Texas

This past summer I also spent time with my friend S. and my goddaughter E. in Houston, Texas. So much fun to hang out with a (well-behaved) toddler! Lots of eating (great gourmet places!), swimming (it’s hot in July!), and museum fun (so much fun, it’s worth to be a member!). And since toddlers can also be exhausting, we also had a spa day 🙂

Running, Eating, and Traveling: Belfast, Ireland

The last stop of my summer vacation was Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. However, summer doesn’t really mean nice weather in island of Ireland. Most days it was cold and rainy, but I went on a jog anyway. I went by the City Hall, the many sculptures and building near River Lagan, and the beautiful Botanical Gardens.

A very cosmopolitan city, Belfast has great nightlife, with an Opera House, and many pubs with live music, like the famous Crown Bar. By the end of my trip, I had found my favorite drink: Jameson with Ginger ale. However, still looking for good Irish food…

Belfast was also part of the Troubles, so we took a “black cab tour” to see the neighborhoods affected and the many political murals. There was also a peace wall where people still write messages of hope.

Lastly, I went to the Titanic Museum, since Belfast was where the infamous ship was built. It is a state-of- the-art museum with interactive exhibits and lots of information about the shipyard and the sinking. Highly recommended!

Traveling: Slea Head Drive and Dingle, Ireland

It was a beautiful day for a drive around the Wild Atlantic Way! Slea Head is a circular drive around Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. The drive is pretty scary since the road is very narrow, but on a nice day, the views are spectacular.

Slea Head Drive

Slea Head Drive

Slea Head Drive

Slea Head Drive

Slea Head Drive

Slea Head Drive

We stopped along the coast to visit some Beehive Huts, small little stone houses built by hermit monks probably in the 12th century. From the road, you can view Slea Head, and the Skellig and Blasket Islands.  We went on a short hike and rubbed our butts on a fertility stone for good luck and stopped by a couple of beaches, including Coumeenole where the movies “Ryan’s Daughter” and “Far and Away” where filmed as well as Inch Beach with its spectacular 7 miles of sand. Although some people were swimming and taking surfing lessons, I just enjoyed the scenery. The cliffs of this westernmost part of Europe are unbelievable!

The small fishing town of Dingle is also very cute. It was very lively with families eager to see the mascot dolphin Fungie who sometimes show up at the bay. After exploring the many shops, I enjoyed a lunch at “Out of the Blue”, a seafood-only restaurant that has a changing menu everyday. I tried their oyster and a potato crusted Pollock with a glass of wine. Delicious! For dessert, I stopped at Murphy’s for the creamiest of ice creams.

Out of the Blue Restaurant

Out of the Blue Restaurant

Running, Eating, and Traveling: Dublin, Ireland

And my big summer trip was… Ireland! It was a last minute trip as I had first planned on going to Mexico to save money, but then I couldn’t find a travel partner and drinking at an all-inclusive resort by yourself is not that appealing, so on 4th of July I changed my plans and bought a flight to Ireland for pretty much the next day. I just figured that since I will have an Irish last name next year then I should get to know my future kids’ roots. Although the last minute flight was pretty expensive, I found a bus tour and hostels for the whole 2 weeks I was there and the trip ended up being very affordable.

My first stop was at the capital Dublin. I arrived at the airport and took a bus that dropped me off downtown near this big silver spire called The Monument of Light. I knew my hostel was somewhere in the vicinity and I did have a map, but I am just horrible with directions, so all I did was walk around towards one direction and, just by luck, I found my hostel a couple of blocks away. I hadn’t stayed in a dorm for over 10 years, but as soon as I got to my room, my roommates were super nice. They were all a little older and staying in Dublin for a couple of weeks to learn English. Since I was off to explore the city right away, I didn’t see them again… until that night when everyone was snoring…

As I mentioned, a map on my hands is not much help, so I just walked and walked in Dublin until I got somewhere. Luckily, there are street signs everywhere, so first I found the Liffey river and all its bridges. The most famous one was Ha’penny Bridge. Then walking past O’Connell Street there was the compelling Famine Memorial and a replica of a famine ship that took Irish immigrants to the US. My goal now was to get to Trinity College since that’s where the Book of Kells is and that was the only thing in my must-see list of Dublin. Trying to find my way there, I walked a lot and passed St. Andrew Catholic Church, but I finally made it.

Trinity College, Ireland’s oldest university founded in 1592, is right downtown, but has a nice open campus. Its Old Library has over 5 million books and you can visit part of it any day if you are prepared to stand in line. It’s definitely worth it since the main room is beautiful with books from top to bottom and moving stairs. The most important document in the library is the Book of Kells. An illuminated manuscript written in Latin, it has the first four Gospels of the New Testament. Since it’s believed to have been made in Ireland in 800 A.D., it is a national treasure and very important to Christians. It comprises of almost 400 folios, but only 2 of them are displayed at a time to visitors. The pages were beautiful: the calligraphy work and the drawings were very well preserved for such an old book.

My walking tour of Dublin continued and I passed Grafton St. and its many shops and street artists, and the parks Merrion Square and St. Stephen’s Green. I tried stopping at a 5 star restaurant to have lunch, but the hostess looked at me and said “Sorry, we’re closed for lunch today”… As I walked away, I saw some people seated. Maybe it was just because I was all sweaty and in yoga pants instead of being dressed up for a 5 star place? Luckily, Merrion Square was having some festivities and I had a burger from one of the food stalls.  I then walked to the free National Gallery of Ireland to take a quick peak at the impressionist artwork they have there.

My next stop was Dublin castle and its medieval surroundings dating from 1169. Really cool to have a medieval castle in the middle of the city, but inside there are 18th century decorations since it has been the seat of the parliament for many years. The Chester Beatty Library is on its grounds, but I had to leave it for the next time I’m in Dublin as I had more medieval buildings to visit. Christ Church Cathedral was founded in 1030 and it’s absolutely impressive. The crypt is also very interesting with all the historical artifacts, such as a Magna Carta, the burial place of invader Strongbow and a mummified cat and rat. The last church I visited was St. Patrick’s Cathedral from 1191, which was also very beautiful. It still has the well used by St. Patrick to baptize his followers.

On my way back to the hostel, I found, by chance of course, the Temple Bar area. Lots and lots of pubs and live music, but since I’m not a beer fan, I just strolled the streets and watched the street performers. All was very lively! Although I had gotten back to the hostel at almost 10 p.m., I decided to add a run to my itinerary since it was summer and the sun was still out! I jogged for a few miles all the way to Phoenix Park on the other side of town. The sun was setting but the huge city park was still had some people walking their dogs. When I looked at my pedometer, it said I had walked for 14 hours, over 40,000 steps, and 16 miles! Well, I think I covered Dublin very well by foot on my first day there!

The next morning I met my tour mates and we took a bus tour of the city. It only lasted a few minutes and that’s when I realized Dublin is really small and that the only reason I walked so much the day before was because I kept getting lost! As a group we went to Guinness Storehouse, which besides a factory for the famous beer, it is also a high-tech museum. We watched them make beer, all the way from choosing the ingredients to bottling, shipping, and advertising. We had smell and taste samples and spent hours learning. Who knew a beer museum could be so entertaining! The last floor is where Gravity Bar is and had a 360 degree view of Dublin – that’s where I sipped on my one and only pint of Guinness for my Irish trip. I knew my trip was off to a good start!

My last night in Dublin was devoted to eating. Not that Ireland is known for gourmet food, but I felt I had to try a Guinness stew and an Irish coffee, so I chose one of the many pubs with live Irish music to enjoy some dinner. The stew was okay and the coffee wasn’t very good since I don’t really like coffee, but I devoured the soda bread! The music, however, was top-notch.

 

 

Running, Eating, and Traveling: Bay Area, CA

The fiance and I went to the Bay Area in June to see some friends. First we stopped by to see my friend J. who lives in El Cerrito. We had lunch at Bistro 1491 where I had a salad with duck comfit. Then we went for a walk by the Richmond waterfront where the Rosie the Riveter Museum is located. Very interesting part of history: we learned about Richmond’s role in WWII. J. and A. have a beautiful garden with artichokes, pumpkins, carrots, kale, etc. We grilled burgers and some items from the garden and had a wonderful time with them. We finished the night watching Game of Thrones for the first time to see what the fuss is all about. I will have to watch a few more episodes to see if I really like it or not.

Then we were to off to San Francisco for a couple of days, but the first stop was at Emeryville’s Public Market – one of the fiance’s favorite places to eat because of all the different world foods. To keep my running going, we went to Golden Gate Park, but upon seeing Ocean Beach, I decided to run on Land’s End trail because of the amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge. The fiance just chilled by the beach while I did my 6 miles. The best part of the trip was the food, of course. With my friends J. and J., we went to a French restaurant called Chez Maman. It was quite the feast: roasted garlic, cheese,  fries, escargot, ratatouille, mussels, and lots of wine. The next day we stopped by  Zachary’s Pizza to pick up a couple of Chicago style pies. I don’t think 6 miles was enough exercise for all that food!

Eating: Baked Turkey Meatballs

My favorite recipe of the Spring was this super healthy turkey meatballs. It makes so many that you can use them for different things or even freeze them. Because of the fiancé, this recipe has no eggs, but with lots of veggies and no frying, it is healthy, easy, AND delicious!

Turkey Meatballs ready to be baked

Turkey Meatballs ready to be baked

Baked Turkey Meatballs

½ tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup mixed greens

1 cup tomato sauce

1 lb ground turkey

1.5 cups bread crumbs

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix it with your hands. Make golf ball size meatballs and place them on a cookie sheet with tin foil. Bake them for 40 minutes. For a crispier outside, bake them at 425 degrees for the last 10 minutes.

You would never know there are 3 cups of veggies in here!

You would never know there are 3 cups of veggies in here!

Makes 24 meatballs of 65 calories each.

Eating: Chicken Marsala

The fiancé bought mushrooms the other day and when I asked what I was supposed to do with them, he said “chicken Marsala”. When I looked it up, I was thinking he was crazy to give me such a difficult task, but when I tried to make it, it was actually not too bad and I even flambéed for the first time! He totally approved of my chicken Marsala, even though I used white wine and brandy instead of Marsala wine.

Chicken Marsala over Pasta

Chicken Marsala over Pasta

Chicken Marsala (adapted from Tyler Florence)

2 chicken breasts (about 1 lb, cut into cubes)

Flour (about ¼ cup)

Salt and Pepper

¼ cup olive oil

10 ounces crimini mushrooms, stemmed and halved

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup Marsala wine (or 1 cup white wine + 1 shot of brandy)

1 cup vegetable (or chicken) stock

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoon cornstarch

½ cup chopped parsley

Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound with a meat mallet until they are ¼ inch thick. Put some flour on a dish and season with salt and pepper.

Heat oil over medium heat in large skillet. Dredge both sides of chicken in the flour and fry them for 5 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken to another platter.

Lower the heat to medium and sauté the mushroom with the onions for 5 minutes. Pour the Marsala wine and tip the skillet a bit in order to flambé the wine and cook out the alcohol. Add vegetable stock and simmer for a couple of minutes. Stir in the butter and return chicken to the pan to reheat. If needed, add cornstarch or flour to thicken the sauce, but Marsala sauce can be runny. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley. Serve over pasta.

Makes 4 servings of 375 each (without pasta).

Restaurant worthy meal

Restaurant worthy meal