City, O' City - Vegitarian

Take a look at that picture.... Burger and fries, standard bar fare. Would you believe me if I said that this was all vegetarian? For those of you that think vegetarian food is boring, look no further...City, O' City in Denver is where it's at! That is the 'Maximus burger' ($10 with the fries) quinoa and pinto bean burger, lettuce, tomato, onion, special sauce, cheddar jack, sweet potato kaiser. The texture is so spot on that it is scary. The taste is not quite like beef, but I prefer the taste of this quinoa and pinto bean burger more anyway. Bonus: packed with protein. The 'Ranch' on the side was even vegan...which gets me thinking, what the heck is it made out of?!

Jeff ordered the Gaza Grinder ($9.50) hummus, greek salad, french fries, feta, sriracha aioli, flat bread and the soup of the day which was coconut curry.

What a beautiful little soup!

Here is a look at the inside of my burger. You also get a great view of the toasted sweet potato bun (YUM!)

The food here is awesome! They have a large variety of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free food including 'chicken' wings, 'meat' lovers pizza, wraps, sandwiches. One of the best things on the menu (not pictured) the fried PB&J on banana bread (quite possibly the best sandwich I have ever tasted).

The great thing about this place is everything is at a minimum vegetarian. It is really nice for my vegetarian friend, Kori, to be able to go into a restaurant and order ANYTHING off of the menu.

And the drinks....great selection of beers and a variety of 'not your average' cocktails. My favorite is a Ginger-Lime cocktail.

Sauce for a Cause

How does your ketchup taste? Does it taste like high fructose corn syrup, tomato paste and Red #5? If you would like to have your ketchup taste like honest to goodness tomatoes check out Sauce for a Cause. This company, created by Alex Mitchell, produces four sauces that are natural, gluten-free and gourmet. Fifty percent of the proceeds are split up between five causes: Life Straw, Friends of the World Program, Leave no Trace, Cancer and Flight for Life Colorado. Sound good so far? Plus the packaging is eco-friendly and easy to store in small places (great for camping or hiking).

I tasted each of the sauces….

Not Your Traditional Ketchup - Guess what? It tastes like tomatoes! Also has that vinegary ketchup taste we all love

Mango Mint - Sweet and fresh with a hint of spice. This sauce is great to cook over chicken and shrimp

Tangy Tangerine BBQ - A light citrus BBQ that has just the right balance of smoke and sweet

Gourmet Mustard - Swimming with whole mustard seeds, goes great on sandwiches, wraps and hot dogs

Restaurant Review: Snooze

I LOVE BREAKFAST! There, I got that out. Breakfast is my favorite food and I am guilty of going out to way too many breakfasts on weekend mornings. I had been dying to try Snooze, the best rated breakfast place in Denver. Jeff's parents were in the area for the morning so we all went out to get some A.M. food. Since this place is so awesome...there is ALWAYS a wait. So get there early and make sure you aren't too hungry.

Jeff and I shared this creative pancake, "Machu Picchu Pancakes Quinoa and cornmeal pancakes with fresh blueberries, sunflower seeds, agave nectar drizzle and whipped butter. Naturally Gluten Free… the Incas were on to something." Healthy pancake? That just might be a reality....okay, maybe minus the butter.

"Corned Beef Hash Snooze’s signature shredded hash mixed with locally made corned beef, caramelized poblanos and onions. Topped with two eggs your style & toast or tortillas. "  Irish breakfast anyone?

Ever feel that vegetarian food is always a little small? Not here.... "Snooze Breakfast Burrito Filled with scrambled eggs, hash browns, veggie black beans, cheddar & jack cheese, topped with salsa fresca and your choice of green chili or ranchero!

And finally a picture that will always  make my mouth water. I ordered Egg's Benedict as always. This Benedict was far from normal though and I thank the chefs for their ingenuity...."Bella Benny Thin slices of prosciutto, brie cheese, and perfectly poached eggs on our house made English muffin, topped with cream cheese hollandaise, balsamic glaze and arugula. Viva la Benny!"

Okay, here is one more picture because I am OBSESSED! Excellent benny.

Even though the wait is sometimes long enough to make you want to chew your own arm off, it is worth it. The cute morning/old time diner decor welcomes you into a place where you will want to order everything on the menu.

Colorado Cookin'

After a lovely trip to the farmer's market with my friends Amanda and Sarah, I was prepared with the necessary items to make an all local, Colorado meal for Jeff and I. It is so exciting when you get to cook a meal that you know was grown and raised right in your backyard....or, I guess, someones backyard in Colorado. Eating local not only supports local communities but also does a little something for the environment.  Yea for little somethings for the environment!

The Peaches: So these peaches were amazing! I was trying my best to keep costs low so I tried to walk past the peaches and ignore them. It was futile! Who can ignore soft little balls of summer. If you haven't tried it, trust me....local. organic, in season peaches are way better than middle of February from who knows where. I mean look at them! Definitely the center-fold of fruits.

The Steak: So I talked with the guy selling this meat a little and he assured me that his farm was happy little cows eating grass and chillin. Although I still feel a tinge of sadness for the little big guy...I gotta eat and the beef was calling my name. Jeff made a coffee and cayenne rub to top off this steak.  With Jeff and my terrible coal lighting skills we were forced into using a skillet on the stove but it tasted wonderful anyway.

The Corn: MMMHMMM, I smothered these little guys in butter, salt and pepper and baked them. The corn husks held the flavor in and they turned out wonderful.

The Wine: Grapes can grow in Colorado? Why yes they can. Not only was the wine fabulous...but the label was a cute little tree. Win-win situation. Most of their grapes are shipped and then made into wine here in Colorado, but the Cabernet shown below uses grapes grown in Colorado. The Blue Mountain Vineyard's website is here.

We also had organic, steamed green beans and some crazy pumpkin sourdough bread from Udi's (toasted with butter of course). Udi's is a Denver bread company that has a large line of Gluten-free bread. Their GF breads as well as the normal stuff all tastes pretty delish.

Colorado...thank you for feeding me!

Gluten Free Pankcakes

What is the best dinner when you are not really feeling that good, when you are tired and just want to be a bum and lay around?...PANCAKES! I exercised a little patience and was able to produce that golden brown look. Usually my pankcakes end up runny in the middle and burnt on the edges...but NO , not TODAY! I used Bob's Red Mill pancake mix and they tasted wonderful.

What is your favorite food when you are under the weather?

Gluten Free Brownies, Black Bean Casserole, Tandoori Tofu, Margaritas

Ingredients for the brownies

Gluten Free Brownies, Black Bean Casserole, Tandoori Tofu, Margaritas

I cooked up the Gluten Free Brownies the night before we were to have Dan and Serena over for dinner and Wii games. Jeff had gotten all of the groceries together except Amaranth flour, which needed to be purchased at Whole Foods. After driving to Littleton and back to take advantage of 5 cent photo prints at the Kings there; I stopped by Whole Foods. I got a little carried away….along with the flour I left the store with 4 spice plants (chives, basil, parsley and catnip). I am going to attempt to keep them growing on my porch. I also made a stop at Lowes to get pots to plant them in, cilantro and soil (which I now have a huge bag of…anybody need some soil?). I digress. So anyway, I made up the brownies which are gluten free, egg free and dairy free (I assumed they would taste like crap) and got them in the oven. I was cleaning up my mess and putting chip clips on all the different kinds of flours I had to buy. Oh, lookie here, the Amaranth flour doesn’t need to be clipped, good…..no not good! I didn’t open it; I forget it in the recipe! I had just put the brownies in so I pulled them out to try and stir in the flour. And it actually worked! (I know, I was just as surprised as you are). So the brownies were done and I thought I would give a little taste to avoid the embarrassment of serving cardboard to people and I was pleasantly surprised. The brownies were awesome! They tasted just like normal human food. Success!
So, the next day Jeff and I started to cook up dinner. The Black Bean Casserole (Gretchen) is really good, really easy and very balanced (rice, beans, salsa, tomatoes, garlic, onion, green pepper, cheese, and sour cream). Jeff worked on the Tandoori Tofu and rice. I suggested he cut the tofu into cubes and Jeff wanted to do it in strips like chicken (chicken is in the original recipe). I thought that was a little silly as it isn’t chicken; Serena suggested triangles and the crisis was averted…triangles it is! This Tandoori spice rub is SPICY. The kind of spicy that is near unbearable but you can’t wait to go back for another bite. Dan mixed up the Margaritas (ignoring the low recommendation of tequila amount, which I appreciated) and we ate dinner, drank margs and played Wii. The night ended in a game of Cranium that Jeff and I lost miserably, “come on honey, that looks just like a tambourine”. We finished the night with the brownies topped with ice cream and fudge for dessert.

Snicker Doodle Crispy Snack and Caramel Bars

Sunday, I made Snicker Doodle Crispy Snack, a recipe from my mom and Caramel Bars, a recipe from Gretchen. And here is the recap…
I am tired, really tired today. It is snowing big flakes and will continue to all day. I am at the point where I am sick of cooking and sick of dishes. I am sick of grocery shopping and sick of going out in the snow. Maybe I can take a break this week? No…then I will have too many recipes for the end of the year. Fine, I will cook! I write down the ingredients I need (which gets smaller every week as my inventory increases), bundle up and head out. I decide to go to Whole Foods first and get as much as I can. It is out of the way and more expensive, but I feel so much better when I eat more natural things. Unfortunately, you can’t get instant Quaker oatmeal or 1 lb of caramels at Whole Foods, at least not that I could find. I don’t feel like wandering around to find anything and just commit to making a trip to Kings Soopers. I had no great adventure at either store today. I didn’t put food in any unsuspecting person’s cart, I didn’t have a panic attack, and I didn’t even get cheese samples. Just in and out as fast as I could.
I am home and I procrastinate for a while, organize my pictures, and watch some TV. Finally, I realize the food is not going to cook itself and I start with the Snicker Doodle Crispy Snack. The recipe calls for 4 cups of popcorn, which takes me a little longer than normal because I only have 100 calorie packs. I mix the popcorn with chocolate rice crispy cereal (I use organic EnviroKidz). I melt some butter, toss in some sugar and cinnamon, and put it in the microwave for while. Then I add some dried cranberries and presto! Done! This recipe is really easy and really good. It is crunchy, a little sweet and won’t totally break your diet. When my parents took Jeff and I to Las Vegas, my mom made this snack for me. I was gluten free still and she was worried that I would get hungry during the trip and wouldn’t have good choices around to snack on. Thanks Mom!
The next recipe was a little more challenging for me. I turn on CSI: Miami…not my favorite, but all I have to work with. The recipe calls for 1 lb of caramels…so that translates into sit down and unwrap 1 lb of caramels until your fingers bleed! Not really, but it took some time and a few samples. I melt the caramels with a little milk and work on the ‘bar’ part of the caramel bars. I open a container of instant oatmeal, which apparently is packed rather tightly. POW! An explosion of oatmeal covers me, the counter and the floor. I clean up right away so Max doesn’t eat any. This is a good time to mention…DON’T LET CATS EAT PEOPLE FOOD! I thought his cute little begging was enough to let a few things slide. Little did I know that onions cause anemia in cats. He appears to be okay, but I don’t want to risk anything else! Sorry Max, you are stuck with turkey flavored cubes in turkey flavored juice (NASTY)! So I clean up little pieces of oatmeal, trash them and continue to mix up the base. I don’t have a ‘1 cup’ measuring cup, so I use a ¼ cup measuring cup to add 1 ½ cups of brown sugar (was that enough math for you?) That should have equaled 6 scoops…by 5 or 6 though I got distracted and lost count. So if anyone tries these bars, they could be missing that little bit of brown sugar flare, or be too sugary….we may never know. Alright, next problem arises. ‘Place brown sugar mixture in a 9x13 pan’…I have a casserole dish (smaller) and a pie pan (round). Hmmm, perhaps I should have checked ahead of time? I put most of the mixture in the casserole dish and fill half the pie pan with the rest. This will work right? Not really…I sprinkle with chocolate chips and pour the caramel over. The caramel works great in the casserole dish, but spreads across my ‘unused’ portion of the pie dish. I just ignore that this might not work and bake them anyway. I pull out the pans after they are finished baking to my result: a beautiful looking casserole pan of bars and a lump of crap surrounded by burnt caramel. At least some of it worked! I try to cut out a caramel bar and it is just plain stuck! Was I supposed to grease the pan? Probably. Jeff comes home later and says that these are usually hard to get out. You really have to know what you are doing with a knife and I am too tired to even try. Jeff wrestles one free, however, and approves with a YUM.
My cooking was finished on my sleepy day and I watch the Canada-USA Hockey game. Maybe next week I will have more gusto to cook, more passion to bake, more energy to shop. But for today, I am glad to be done.