Quinoa (keen-wah) is in the Goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae), which includes beets, chard, and spinach, but looks like a grain and is prepared and used in a way similar to rice. Quinoa is gluten free, high in protein, low in fat and richer in vitamins and minerals than other grains. For example, a half-cup of cooked quinoa contains 15.5 mg of calcium and 4.1 g of protein.  Not only is quinoa good for you, it is also very easy to buy, store and prepare.  Quinoa can be bought in bulk, which is great for the budget, and can be stored in a container, jar or plastic bag.  To prepare quinoa, use 2 C of water to 1 C of quinoa: heat water to a boil, then add quinoa and reduce heat to low; let simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until there is little to no water left in the pot. Alternatively, it can be prepared in your standard rice cooker. From here there are endless opportunities—it is a great base for stir fry, salads or as a side dish for chicken, fish, tofu and much more.  This is one of my favorite ways to use this ingredient: Israeli quinoa salad…it’s so simple, filling and delicious!

Israeli Quinoa Salad

• cucumber, chopped
  
• pepper (red, green, yellow, orange, or any combination ), chopped
  
• tomato, chopped
  
• crumbled feta cheese
  
• garlic
  
• olive oil
  
• red wine vinegar
  
• basil
  
• quinoa
  

Amounts depend on how many you are serving. I would suggest keeping the ration of cucumber, pepper and tomato relatively equal. Combine vegetables, quinoa, garlic and feta in bowl. Add dressing of olive oil and vinegar (appx. 1 tsp olive oil to 2 tsp vinegar per half-cup of quinoa). Sprinkle with basil to taste. Yummy additions include a legume, such as edamame (soy beans) or garbanzo beans (chick peas).

The last time I had this I made myself a side of steamed broccoli and cauliflower…

Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower with Basil

• chop broccoli and cauliflower and place in sauce pan
  
• cover with water and bring to a boil
  
• boil with lid on for 3 minutes (depending on how crunchy you like your vegetables)
  
• alternatively, put in microwave safe dish with a little bit of water and cover loosely with lid…microwave for 2-3 minutes
  
• drain water
  
• sprinkle with basil and garlic
  

Information from http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=142&tname=foodspice

Upon the discovery of the of Zagat-approved restaurants in the Ann Arbor area, I immediately emailed my mother. The planets do occasionally align: we already had plans to go a dance show in Detroit! After much debate about locations, steak houses, and seafood, even a mom gawked at the prices.  A line of questioning produced the more accessible Small Plates, which proved a fine substitute. 

Small Plates is almost excessively centrally located, within walking distance of Comerica Park, the Opera House, the Fillmore, and the Music Hall (our final destination). It is billed as a tapas bar, which is a Spanish-style restaurant that serves appetizer-sized plates that you share with your tablemates. Spanish fare typically includes a variety of meats, cheeses, olives, seafood, tortillas de huevos, and sangria. Note that little word, “style,” back there? We must have been wrongly informed, but the impression that Small Plates serves tapas bar dishes is false. Imagine my surprise when the waiter informed us that they had run out of sangria! We also later discovered that over half of the promised dessert menu was unavailable! 

Enough negativity, already! A visit to the website clears up those pesky menu concerns and prepares you for a diverse sampling of American food with influences from Thai to Greek. I recommend sit at the back of the restaurant, right across from the enormous pizza oven, especially if you like watching the restaurant process, from the chefs’ skills to the work dynamic of the kitchen. The pizza from that oven is perfection: the thin crust and fresh toppings make everyone happy. We also tried the lettuce wraps and a plate of hummus and tabbouleh. The cocktail list was actually unique, even though that is hard to come by, and I enjoyed my cucumber-infused gin, even down to the actual pieces of cucumber at the bottom of the glass. 

The hand-cut french fries were the group favorite. With the peel left on, a medium cut, and served with garlic aioli and malt vinegar, Small Plates perfected this everyday food.

If you need a place to go in Detroit for a charming, cozy dinner to please a wide variety of tastes, check out Small Plates! 

To read a review of another of Rose's cakes,  click Here
To read what cookbook author Rose Beranbaum had to say click Here!
 
Looking to impress the family with the culinary skills you picked up “at school”? Rose Beranbaum certainly knows her cakes and makes it her mission to help you look like a pro in the kitchen. 
Rose’s Heavenly Cakes’ interior is riddled with photos of spectacular cakes that will make you wish you could eat the book itself! The contents cover everything from “baby cakes” to wedding cakes. Though most of us may not have the need to make a wedding cake over Christmas, we can definitely benefit from recipes like “Holiday Pinecone Cake” and “English Gingerbread Cake.”

Doesn’t this already just sound like we’re holiday baking experts? How many of our parents wouldn’t be dazzled by homemade gingerbread? While the ingredients for this particular recipe may be a little outside of the standards for a college student (dark brown sugar and orange marmalade are both available at Meijer), raid your parents pantry or ask if you can pick a few things up on their tab.
Rose also provides plenty of tips and tricks on how to make your cake taste and look great (for a few more check out our interview with her!) so don’t worry, you won’t be left entirely alone in the kitchen. The ingredients for each cake are presented up front in cups, ounces and grams and a baking time is listed for each as well as a list of any special equipment you may need.

Since this book is also an excellent recipe source for birthdays and other special occasions, I decided to make my father something special from Rose’s book for his birthday. Knowing his love of cheesecake and my personal obsession with all things mini I made baby lemon cheesecakes for the whole family. Though I had never in my life made cheesecake before in my life the recipe was laid out clearly enough for even a first-timer like me. It also helped that the picture was just too good to pass up.

So I set out to make my first cheesecake petite style. I learned very quickly that every word counts in Rose’s cookbook, including the notes at the beginning and the end. Read carefully or you just might miss that your cheesecake needed to be refrigerated 4 hours before serving, perhaps my only negative thought about this delectable cookbook is that prep time is not included in time count for each recipe, so though it may take 4 hours overall or overnight, you only see the 45 minutes baking time. 

I did run into one last hiccup, the oven temperature for this recipe was not listed in the recipe. I checked, and double and triple checked (I am a notorious at a glance reader) but the oven temp was nowhere in sight. Cook time and internal cheesecake temp were both present but I had to go back to another full-size cheesecake recipe to get a temperature and keep a close eye on the little cheesecakes to be sure that I didn’t over cook them. The end texture and appearance were well described in the recipe though so I managed just fine. (I used 350 degrees Fahrenheit by the way.)

The rest of the recipe was incredibly detailed and if I may say so myself allowed me to create absolutely adorable flower shaped lemon cheesecakes with lemon curd topping that my whole family devoured and left us some for later! 

I definitely succeeded in my mission to test the impress factor of this cookbook and the result? 6 out of 6 people ooh’d and ahh’d  over the appearance of my cake (nevermind that I made a cheesecake, that much alone stunned my whole family and extended family) and 5 out of 6 ate every last crumb, and finished off the remains of the sixth cake! 

My conclusion is yes, this cookbook will impress the whole family. If I can make something as intimidating as a cheesecake without any experience and have it be creamy, delicious and stunning to boot then I’d say anyone can. So on your way back home for the holidays stop in at your local bookseller and pick up a copy. It certainly won’t hurt, not to mention the cook often gets to skip dish duty!

Over Thanksgiving break, I brought a fancy cake recipe home to my parents’ house. The Banana Refrigerator Cake with Dreamy Creamy White Chocolate Frosting, of Rose’s Heavenly Cakes by Rose Beranbaum , has both bananas and white chocolate, which would surely be a hit with my family. Also, as a poor college student, I wanted to be in my parents’ kitchen, using their real vanilla extract and other ingredients. Not to mention, I got to use my own baking supplies, so the nice zebra print bowls, measuring bowls, magnetized measuring spoons, and pink spatulas that live in storage in my parents’ basement made an appearance. 

This recipe follows typical cake procedures I am familiar with, but does involve some upgrades. I found myself using the cheapest and most available substitutes, as my college cooking has me wont to do. For example, I do not (nor do my parents) own a food processor or a stand mixer, as the recipe requests, so I made do with a hand mixer and the whisk attachment for an immersion blender. The first few steps are easy and recognizable: I preheated the oven, mixed the liquid ingredients, separately mixed the dry ingredients, and then gradually added them all together. 

The unique element is the set up of the baking pan. If baked as directed, I would have had to use a cake strip, but shortening on the bottom of the pan, then put parchment paper on top of that, and then line the whole pan with baking spray and flour. Most of my baking experience is confined to cookies, so I actually had to look up the cake strip online. Eventually, I decided that this was too much fuss and purchasing for a cake just for my family. I simply sprayed the pan and dusted it with flour. It still came out of the pan very easily. 

So, what’s the verdict, you ask? Well, only 1 out of the 5 people who tasted the cake loved it! I found it to be more like a muffin in taste; that is, it lacked sweetness. After a couple of days, though, it did become sweeter, and I was eventually satisfied with it. 

But then, there is the frosting. Everyone loves it! Made of white chocolate, cream cheese, sour cream, butter, and almond extract, it was easy to make correctly. I would put this frosting on anything: red velvet cake, chocolate cake, spice cake, lemon cake, pumpkin anything… I would even fill cookies with it. Overall, the cake is a B-, but the frosting gets a 4.0. 

Those of us at Wolverine CuiZine were lucky enough to get a few questions answered by the author of our most-recently reviewed cookbook.

Question 1: Mrs. Beranbaum we at Wolverine CuiZine have absolutely adored the recipes in Rose's Heavenly Cakes, you've also written at least nine cookbooks, won several prestigious awards, and with your blog (link will go here) you've become somewhat of a baking guru. What inspired you to make baking such a major part of your life?

Passion! There are so many gratifying aspects to baking that all fit the things I love most: crafts, science, technical and story writing, smell, taste, sharing with others. It’s a whole world.

Question 2: We're curious as to what recipe in Rose's Heavenly Cakes is your favorite and why? We can't seem to choose just one!

Golden Lemon Almond Cake. That’s why it appears in three forms in the book―a standard size bundt type cake, a small gift size cake and even a wedding cake. I love it because of the compellingly fresh flavor of lemon, the slight crunch from the almonds but moist and tender crumb and it has a longer than usual shelf life.

Question 3: What would you say is the most valuable tool or technique an aspiring baker could have?  


Number one a scale. After that an accurate instant read thermometer, and then a stand mixer.

The most valuable technique is knowing that 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar per egg white (30 grams, 1 ounce, 2 tablespoons) will prevent overbeating egg whites so that they will never become dry and break down.

Question 4: Do you think the culinary arts are/will benefit from the popular movement to digital resources? (websites, "Apps,")

Absolutely. The ability to have books as “enhanced e books” like Rose’s Heavenly Cakes makes it possible for people trying to reproduce the cakes to see exactly how they are done in a way photos or line drawings alone can never approach. Blog such as mine create a baking community, which provides an exchange of information, ideas, and often, immediate help when researching or in the middle of production.

Question 5: Last but not least, do you have any tips for us aspiring chefs in Ann Arbor on developing recipes of our own? Research!
 
See what’s out there, compare the different approaches, and modify them to your own taste.

Are your parents coming into town?  Are you looking for a very elegant restaurant with a friendly atmosphere?  Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar is exactly that.  From the aged prime steaks to the abundance of side dishes and delectable desserts, Fleming’s has it all for those special occasions.  This restaurant’s trick of the trade of cooking steaks starts with their use of the finest USDA prime beef; corn-fed and aged for weeks.  The aging process assists greatly in enhancing the flavors and ensuring the perfect texture.  Then the steaks are charbroiled at a whopping 1600 degrees.  Fleming’s also offers a wide variety of meats such as multiple sizes of filet mignon, New York Strip steak, veal and lamb chops, and what are dubbed as “Fleming’s New Classics.”  The classics are a Porcini Rubbed Filet Mignon (filet mignon in a gorgonzola cream sauce topped with asparagus) and the Peppercorn Steak (a prime New York strip steak with peppercorn cracked on top as a rub and their signature “F17” steak sauce).  Both of these dishes are delicious and I highly recommend them.  

Fleming’s caters to its customers with steakhouse style dining with family-style flair.  This true American steakhouse offers 11 side dishes that can all be shared with the rest of the family.  The two really unique and signature side dishes are the “Fleming’s Potatoes” (potatoes with cream, jalapeños, and cheddar cheese) and the “Chipotle Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese” (with smoked cheddar cheese topped with chipotle bread crumbs).  These two dishes are favorites amongst my family, so much so that my mom even learned the macaroni & cheese recipe.  In addition to the sides, Fleming’s concocts excellent soups such as lobster bisque, New England clam chowder, and French onion soup, and fresh salads such as a crisp wedge salad and their own house salad with walnuts and cranberries.  The appetizers also offer some flair, especially the sweet chili calamari, which is a different, yet very satisfying taste on the common seafood appetizer. 

Every meal needs to end with dessert.  Fleming’s has its guests in mind when they bake their delicious sweets.  The top two on their list are the Walnut Turtle Pie and the Chocolate Lava Cake.  Both are very decadent and rich, and should not be overlooked (even if you are too full from the steaks and sides).  These desserts are so good that you will not want to share, as my little sister makes sure to point out every time we go. 

Since Fleming’s is a steakhouse, the prices are a little high as one can expect.  But, for a special occasion or an overall fine steakhouse, Fleming’s is the place to go.  Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar is just twenty minutes from Ann Arbor on Haggerty Road between Six and Seven Mile Road on the Livonia/Northville border.  So, when your parents come into town, have them take you to Fleming’s.  After all, University of Michigan students deserve a good meal after all the hard work they put in during the school year. 

I need to start learning from my mistakes It was nary more than a few weeks ago when I saw a bacon-infused chocolate bar sitting on a store shelf and thought: That’s so crazy, it’s gotta be good! Then I tried it, and I realized that sometimes things that are crazy are merely crazy and nothing more. “Mo’s Bacon Bar” was one of these things, and so is Chocolatemint Water by Metromint. 

Apparently I have a weak spot for things with the word “chocolate” on them, for how else does one explain my impulsive purchase of such an item? Up to this point, I had been completely resistant to the whole flavored water scene, and, for the most part, the whole bottled water scene, as well.  But something about the utter strangeness of combining water with chocolate tickled my buying bone, and before I knew it, I had already paid for it and was out the door. 

Now, it may come as the surprise of the century, but Metromint’s Chocolatemint Water tastes like water. Who would have thought? Despite my better judgment, I gave Metromint the benefit of the doubt and thought perhaps (or hoped) that they had produced the holy grail of chocolate lovers—a liquefied chocolate drink with all of the flavor but none of the calories. I was wrong. They just took a fancy bottle, filled it with water (from a fancy mountain, no doubt), slapped the word “chocolate” on it, and went on their merry way. The water smells like Andes Chocolate Mints, which is nice, but it tastes just like bottled water. There might be a slight, miniscule hint of chocolate flavor, but hardly enough to justify the product’s claims, which are both many and ridiculous. 

On their packaging, Metromint says their product “revives your soul” and “instantly opens your senses to send a fresh, cool feeling throughout your body.” I can understand the cool feeling, since that is what water is supposed to do, but “revives your soul?” These are mighty big claims from Metromint. Yet sadly, these claims remain unfulfilled—my soul is just as crepuscular now as it was before I drank their water, and my senses are just as dull as they have always been. I was highly disappointed by this, to say the least.

In fact, since I drank their water, the only obvious difference that I am aware of is that I am $1.50 poorer than I was before. Now, I know this is not exactly breaking the bank, but the fact of the matter is that when one buy’s Metromint’s product, what one is paying for is a nice smell, a slick bit of packaging, and little more. The label is hipper than a Frank Stella painting, and the bottle’s sleek, space age design (which I actually like) might make it appear as if some magical water potion from the future ought to be contained within, but this is not the case. Chocolatemint Water, by Metromint, is just nice-smelling water dressed up to look fancy, and that is all. 

Strangeness can come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors, as Vosges Haut Chocolate so adequately proves with their rather eclectic line of chocolate bars. I was drawn to sample their peculiar wares one day when I happened upon them in Zingerman’s Delicatessen, and what especially drew my attention was a product called “Mo's Bacon Bar.” 

Yes, that’s correct— “Mo's Bacon Bar.” It is a bar of chocolate with bacon in it. My first thought when I saw it was: That’s crazy. My second thought was: I’ve got to get me some of that! And so I did. In fact, I did myself one better and picked up a “Woolloomooloo Bar” to sample as well. The results were quite nearly as varied as their names were.  

“Mo's Bacon Bar,” was, I am sad to say, proof positive that some foodstufs just should not be mixed. Peanut butter and ketchup, salad and ice cream, chocolate and bacon—these all ought to stay as far away from each other as possible.  Separately, they are fine things, but together, they just do not work out so well. A food chemist could probably tell me why, but all I know is that the thought of drenching meat in chocolate sauce is pretty repulsive, and it is definitely not something that I would want to do on a regular basis, if at all. 

So why then would I buy a chocolate bacon bar? Mostly because it was so different, but partly because I had secretly hoped that Vosges had found a way to combine two great things into something even better. A sort of salty-sweet nirvana for my taste buds, perhaps. But alas, all I found in their product was a small piece of chocolate embedded with tiny chunks of bacon, and nothing more.. The chocolate itself had a salty tang to it, as one would expect from something that had been cross-bred with bacon, but the overall experience was nothing special. Quite simply, it tasted like unsweetened chocolate with old bacon stuck in it. It wasn’t bad, but it did not in any way transcend the sum of its parts, and that is a shame. 

On the other hand, the “Wooloomooloo Bar,” was everything that the Bacon Bar was not. The chocolate was noticeably softer and sweeter, and the flavor was as near perfect a marriage of salty and sweet as I have ever come across in my tasting days. The bar, which is made from deep milk chocolate, macadamia nuts, Indonesian coconut, and hemp seeds, had a much more prominent flavor than “Mo's Bacon Bar,” and yet all the ingredients seemed to be in perfect harmony with one another. They all combined to create a taste that seemed entirely unique to me, even in the realm of the nutted chocolates, and that definitely makes it worth a second try. 

So, in short, the “Woolloomooloo Bar” is something that I would definitely recommend to any curious cuisiners out there, while madman “Mo” and his “Bacon Bar” did not pass my taste test—it just did not have enough positives to justify paying two dollars for five ounces of chocolate. At that price, I probably would not make the “Woolloomooloo Bar” a staple of my diet, either, but it was delicious, and it did not disappoint me in any way. 

P.S.—If you like to stare at strange, exotic, and expensive foodstuffs that you will probably never buy, like truffles coated in edible pearl dust and encased in Lucite, the Vosges website may have what you are looking for. They’re not paying me to plug them, but they probably should.

After tasting my way through an impressive number of Ann Arbor restaurants over the last three years, I’m always impressed when I visit a restaurant that I’d previously overlooked. This also means that, if the memory of the dining experience lingers in my mind for weeks after the fact, I’m also highly bummed that I had overlooked the restaurant for so long. 

My most recent bout with this meal of confused emotions took place at Jerusalem Garden, off of East Liberty. I’d heard of the restaurant before but had never taken the plunge and given it a try. On this trip, my sister, a long time vegetarian, and I found ourselves seated at a cozy table in the warmly painted dining area of this small but crowded local establishment. 

Our service was impeccable from the start. Our waiter appeared with ice water, patience, and definite opinions about the menu items. I love it when a waiter is passionate about the food he serves. How am I expected to enjoy my meal when the waiter acts blasé about the food? He immediately steered me in the direction of the falafel wrapped with yogurt, cucumber and mint, declaring the falafel to be “the most special item by far at Jerusalem Garden,” when I exhibited uncertainty. I was sold. My sis also ordered a falafel sandwich but had it stuffed with baba ghanoug. Our waiter also explained that we had to try the hummus and pita, which he brought out before our sandwiches, free of charge. Wow, am I glad he recommended the hummus!  I’m used to a milder hummus and this was not that. Spicy, garlicky and creamy, the dip was more tasty and unusual than I had expected. A must-order!

When our sandwiches arrived, my initial reaction was, “Nooooo I’m so full from the hummus and pita and this sandwich is massive!” My biggest meal wrecker is not being hungry enough when I go out to eat. In this case, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to eat even a full half of the sandwich. Ha. After complaining about being full the whole time I was eating (which must have really annoyed my sister) I somehow managed to finish off my whole plate. Needless to say I didn’t have an appetite for a few days after that. But who could have blamed me? The falafel silky and soft and tasted better than any I had ever tried. The yogurt and cucumber salad that was stuffed inside the pita sandwich was a necessity.  Fresh mint, creamy yogurt, and crunchy cucumbers, worked perfectly with the saltiness of the fried falafel patties. Heaven in a pita. My sister’s, with the baba ghanoug, was also tasty, but I am still partial to my order. I can’t believe that anything else on the menu can compare!

So, even as my sister and I sat there at the end, staring at our empty plates in front of us and clutching our stomachs as we announced to each other the fullness level in our stomachs, we agreed to each order a dessert, “just to try.” She ordered the mamoul, stuffed with dates and a sprinkling of pistachios, while I ordered the namoura. Both were sweet and considerably light. From the description, I actually expected mine to be a soupy cream of wheat concoction, but was extra happy when my dessert came out in a dense form, more like a coconut bar. Incredible.

As we paid the bill, we commented on feeling as if we had cheated the establishment because the bill was so terribly low considering the amount and quality of the food we had just consumed. But, oh well. We decided that Jerusalem Garden would just have to be a place that we pay back by visiting as often as our stomachs will allow.

Thanksgiving is almost here! But we all know what that means…stuffing, pumpkin pie, and a whole lot of calories. The holiday season is notorious for packing on the pounds. So, before you overindulge, follow these simple tips and recipes to rein in consumption:

Turkey = protein, so be sure to get a mouthful and if you prefer dark meat to white meat, go for it. Joy Bauer avers, “Dark meat contains greater amounts of iron, zinc, riboflavin, and thiamin.” Just be sure to take off the skin to eliminate a significant portion of the fat. Use plenty of herbs, such as thyme and sage, when roasting your turkey to add some guilt-free flavor.

Cranberries offer a great deal of Vitamin C and health-supportive phytonutrients. The fruit’s anti-inflammatory properties are also an added benefit. Try making a salad topped with dried cranberries, goat cheese, and toasted pecans. Or if you’re looking to replace your grandmother’s traditional, calorific stuffing, try Whole Food’s version made with wild rice and cranberries. Theirs is packed with fiber and plenty of anti-oxidants. If you can, avoid the cranberry sauce—it’s often loaded with sugar.

Sweet potatoes’ orange coloring comes from high amounts of beta-carotene. This nutrient can be converted to vitamin A, which is essential for maintaining good eyesight and healthy skin, and can lower your risk of cancer. New research has shown that including at least 3 to 5 grams of fat in your meal will increase your body’s absorption of beta-carotene. Just add one tablespoon of olive oil when cooking the sweet potatoes and after a few servings, you’ll easily reach the minimum recommendation of fat. 

If you can’t shake that sweet tooth, even after a delicious meal of turkey, rice-based stuffing, and plenty of root vegetables, cut yourself a slice of that pie. After all, you only live once. Just stop when you’re about three-quarters of the way full (to avoid reaching the point of no return). 


References:
http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/b/joybauernutrition/25107/white-or-dark-which-turkey-meat-is-healthier/
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=145
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/beta-carotene/NS_patient-betacarotene