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Halloween Time: Times Scare, Minar and Evil Dead

Posted by roodonfood on October 31, 2013 in New York City

I didn’t come to really enjoy scary things until well into adulthood. While never averse to horror in book, movie or haunted house form, we grew up mostly with comedies and fantasy books. These last few years I’ve made up for lost ground consuming a steady diet of classic stuff like Nightmare on Elm Street and Hitchcock. In books I really enjoyed Salem’s Lot and the Shining by Stephen King.

Groupon was having a deal on a local haunted house called Times Scare. Located on 42nd and 8th avenue, it’s the only year round haunted house in NYC. We arrived around 6:30. Despite being Halloween eve, there was no line to get in. I won’t give away anything away but will mention that there is….a chainsaw. The attraction took about 20-30 minutes. It did not disappoint.

Afterward, we picked up some amazing Indian food at Minar located on 46th St to bring back home. We settled in and checked out the Evil Dead reboot which came out last year. Sticking close to the original, it wasn’t awful but not as entertaining as we’d hoped. I did appreciate the references to the first film including the same camera tricks, the fast zoom on the weapons and of course a chainsaw. Unfortunately it wasn’t scary or campy which was the beauty of the first series.

Are there any films or books you recommend?

Here is a short list of recommended movies and TV that are either fun and or deliver a good scare:
Movies
Poltergeist
The Birds
Nightmare on Elm First
Halloween
Exorcist
The Orphanage (Guillermo Del Toro)
Bhoot (Hindi Film with English Subtitles)
Drag Me to Hell
Paranormal Activity 1
Night of the Living Deal

TV

Buffy’s Halloween Episode
My So Called Life Halloween Episode
Any of the Simpsons Halloween Episodes

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Halloween: Trick of Treating Memories

Posted by roodonfood on October 28, 2013 in Pop Culture

As a kid, if you grew up in one neighborhood, you could get a rough sense for which houses gave out the good candy and which ones didn’t. On the good list were any kind of chocolate, candy corn and Nerds. My favorite was Charleston Chews since I only got those during Halloween. On the bad list were the lame people who gave peanuts, raisins, pennies or those weird honey candies. In retrospect, it was nice for people to give us anything at all but that’s not how my kid mind worked.

I made it a point to bring a pillow case rather than getting one of those pumpkin shaped candy holders to maximize my payload. Thankfully the case was never close to capacity but certainly enough to last for months. The first drawer ended up full of candies to be munched on with and without parental consent. My favorite costume was a skeleton. It was actually a mask plus pants and a shirt. I kept wearing the mask long after outgrowing the rest. In 4th grade a friend went as Freddy Krueger. His mom made a flour dough and pasted it all over his face knowing it would begin to separate giving him that pock marked look. Pretty freaky but it did begin to come off by the end of the night.

I’m embarassed to admit this now but I went as late as 9th grade trick or treating and didn’t bother to wear a costume. When folks asked, I’d say something like “I’m dressed a guy in a green shirt.” People didn’t seem to mind though.

What were your favorite Halloween memories and candies? 

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Meatless Monday – It’s Working

Posted by roodonfood on October 26, 2013 in Pop Culture

Created jointly in 2003 by Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and an ad exec, Meatless Monday was invented to encourage gradual dietary change (and help the environment). Monday was chosen because people are more likely to make lifestyle changes like quiting smoking or begin exercising at the beginning of the week.

While Americans still consume on average 270 pounds of meat a year there is some evidence to suggest the Meatless campaign is working:

It can be extremely tricky to measure the impact of any campaign aimed at changing behavior. But The Monday Campaigns tried to do so in 2012 by hiring the FGI Research firm to conduct an online survey of 1,000 American adults. Some 43 percent said in the survey they were aware of Meatless Monday. And among those, 36 percent said the campaign has influenced their decision to cut back or consider cutting back on meat.

But the survey’s most significant finding, according to the campaign? Some 62 percent of respondents who said they were influenced by Meatless Monday report that they’ve tried to incorporate it into their weekly routine. Source:  NPR

In general people are eating less meat. Since 2008, American meat consumption has been dropping. According to an NPR poll 39% said they eat less meat than they did three years ago.

Are you familiar with the campaign? If you’re a meat eater, do you follow this routine or something similar?

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Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Loaf Via TastyKitchen

Posted by roodonfood on October 25, 2013 in gluten free, Recipes, vegan
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Loaf

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Loaf

In the fall, coffee, donuts, pies – everything turns to pumpkin. Perhaps my favorite pumpkin recipe though is this gluten free chocolate chip loaf. It comes from the site TastyKitchen. I made the following modifications: Instead of all brown rice flour, we used 1 ¾ brown rice and ¼ cup potato starch. I also reduced the amount of sugar to 1 cup and replaced the eggs with flax seed making it vegan. It tastes rich and decadent especially right out of the oven. It’s best eaten within 3 or 4 days.

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A Good Cake Is Hard to Find (in Manhattan)

Posted by roodonfood on October 24, 2013 in Brooklyn, New York City
Leske's Bakery To the Rescue

Leske’s Bakery To the Rescue

Cupcakes! Cupcakes! All I see are cupcakes! An old friend of mine and his fiance flew up all the way from Tennesee to elope in New York. After 8 years it was wonderful to catch up and finally meet his better half. Yesterday we met up at the NY Marriage Bureau located on Worth and Centre.

After a brief wait, the Justice of the Peace delivered the vows with enviable panache. He emphasized “if there is anyone here who objects,” pausing to look around the room to a response of many giggles.  The newly married couple went off with the photographer for a few hours which gave my friend Amir and I ample time to find a cake. Finding a cake the day of is oddly difficult in Manhattan. Using Amir’s phone we came across many bakeries – from Crumbs, to Baked By Melissa, even Balthazar, none of which had cakes but cupcakes galore (and pastries). We were about to purchase a gigantic cupcake when J called and asked where we wanted to meet for dinner.

Amir suggested Park Slope. Back in Brooklyn We told the couple (J&J) that we’d meet them at Rice Thai an excellent restaurant located on 7th avenue between 8th and 9th. The fates helped by putting us on an express train. Leske’s had a beautiful strawberry shortcake available and the even wrote Congrats J&J for us. We arrived with enough time to pick up the cake, walk over to the restaurant and request  they store the cake in the fridge.

We ordered individually. I got the drunken noodles with chicken which was delicious with just a touch of heat. I love the way those flat noodles trap in the heat. The couple got Pad See Ew and Drunken Noodles. Amir checked out the Seafood special which had a nice tang. He and I texted secretly to decide when the best time was to get the cake. I went to the bathroom and requested the waiter bring out the cake. The cake was a hit and they had plenty to bring back to the hotel on their first day of wedded bliss.

Seafood Special

Seafood Special

 

Sorry officer. Just drunk on noodles. Heehee

Sorry officer. Just drunk on noodles. Heehee

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Chinese Inspired Pork Loin Recipe

Posted by roodonfood on October 23, 2013 in Recipes
Pork Tenderloin

Pork Tenderloin

With the intention of making a few recipes from Jen Lin-Liu’s book Serve the People I’d purchased the pork tenderloin. Unfortunately I was missing a few basic ingredients so I improvised this recipe for a Chinese 5 spice mini pork pot roast to delicious results.

Servings: 3
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Suggested Marinade Time: 1+ hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
1.5 pd pork tenderloin
1 T Shanxi black vinegar
1 T tamari
1 T Chinese 5 Spice
1 t garlic powder
1 t salt

Method:
Place pork and seasonings in a non-reactive pan and mix well. Transfer to the fridge and allow to marinade for 1+ hours depending on how much time you have. When ready, preheat oven to 350. Place meat on a pan and place in oven. Flip it once. Cook for about 45 minutes. Meat should have little to no pink inside when done.

Pork Tenderloin

Pork Tenderloin

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Food Superstitions

Posted by roodonfood on October 22, 2013 in Pop Culture

Every culture has food superstitions. When my parents were returning from India I requested a bottle of table mustard called kasundi. People use to believe that this type of mustard, along with boris (dried lentil dumplings) and achar (pickled relish) are bad luck for travel.  I had no idea I’d risked my parents lives for a condiment!

Check out this great list of superstitions via Huffington Post. I recognize three: tossing rice at a married couple, eating Hoppin John for good luck and salt over the shoulder. Many on this list will cause bad luck if not followed. Considering how often I’ve cut my noodles I’m doomed. In China you’re supposed to not cut your noodles because that will cut your life short.  Also do you have control over bread with holes?

If you cut open a loaf of bread and see a hole (a.k.a. a large air bubble), that means somebody will die soon. The hole in the bread represents a coffin (spooky!). You should also cut a cross into the top of your loaf before baking, otherwise the devil will sit on it and ruin your loaf. Now “hot cross buns” makes more sense.

Do you follow any superstitions? Do you recognize any on this list?
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Snack Reviews: Swad Farali Chivda Sweet (10oz, Product of India)

Posted by roodonfood on October 21, 2013 in gluten free, indian, New York City, queens, Snacks, vegan
Farali Chivda Sweet

Farali Chivda Sweet

I am a sucker for slick packaging. Most of the Swad brand stuff isn’t this glossy. The word farali means fasting. Chivda (AKA chewda/chanachur) is a catchall for a crunchy mixture. During the religious festival known as Navatri, many people fast (though beverages are okay) until the daily puja is done.

There is a bit of odd text on the front which reads “sweet potato based snack with nuts, ideal when fasting.” To clarify: It’s eaten after you break fast. Also it’s not made from sweet potatoes but regular potatoes. It actually wouldn’t make a bad trail mix because it features peanuts, cashews, raisins and potato. The overall flavor is sweet and spicy. The potato pieces are matchstick thin with a mild crunch. The taste is a touch sweeter than I’d like but there is some spicy after taste which helps to balance it out. It’s a satisfying snack but might work better mixed with a more savory snack like aloo bhujia. They did warn us on the package that it is sweet. Note that this snack lists no gluten ingredients though isn’t explicitly labeled gluten free.

Farali Chivda

Farali Chivda

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Farmer’s Market Treats: Blueberry Scones

Posted by roodonfood on October 19, 2013 in Brooklyn, New York City, Sweet Beat
Blueberry Scone

Blueberry Scone

It officially feels like early fall when a light jacket becomes necessary. I particularly enjoyed the walk this morning through Prospect Park to the Grand Army farmer’s market for two reasons: The fall colors are well under way. And as an added bonus it was off-leash hours so scores of cute dogs were out playing.

After picking up regionally grown eggplant, green beans tomatoes, broccoli and a few other items, my end-of-market treat this week was a fresh square blueberry scone. Do you have a treat you like to pick up at your farmer’s market?

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Squash with Coconut Recipe (Lau Ghanto)

Posted by roodonfood on October 18, 2013 in gluten free, indian, Recipes, vegan
Lau Doodhi Bottle Gourd

Lau Doodhi Bottle Gourd

Chopped Up

Chopped Up

Lau aka Doodhi is a long green gourd you can find in Asian markets. It’s mildly sweet tasting and the seeds remind me a bit of those in cucumbers. This preparation is called a ghanto which means mixture in Bengali. Ghantos are generally lightly spiced veggies that are cooked down until the gravy is absorbed. This recipe uses coconut to give it a sweet touch. It’s great mixed with rice.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: ~30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 bottle gourd, chopped into small pieces (shredded is also great)
1 t Cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
2 oz shredded coconut (sweetened coconut is preferrable)
1 t mustard oil
salt to taste
chili powder to taste
butter to taste

Method:
Roast cumin seeds and bay leaf in mustard oil for a minute or two. Next add in all ingredients except for coconut. Cook on medium-low for 20 minutes. Now add in coconut and mix in well. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until the lau is cooked through. Serve hot with rice.

Lau Ghanto

Lau Ghanto

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