Celebrating the Veg in All of Us

I love my birthday month - cherry blossoms, baseball, Earth day, and the beginning of another year on the farm. How cool is that? It just seems that the world is so much more alive after the twenty first of the month, right Kaleb?

What better time to celebrate the brightest lights of the culinary world - vegetables, than April? It's a great time to scout out local farmers and produce markets. This week marks US Veg Week. 

Sure the creators would love it if we swear off yardbird forever, but chicky - that ain't gonna happen. However, a much more doable compromise is to up our overall consumption of the colorful, fibrous little wonders in our daily diets.  Take this as an opportunity to go veg for seven days and see what a difference it makes in your life. You might even shed a pound or two.

Sunday Dim Sum Happy Hour @ Modern China Cafe

Vegetarian dumplings, Har Now (shrimp), crab cream puff, siu mai, bbq pork buns, and an Asian pear cocktail (Pear Xante brandy, champagne float).

Yup, i'm happy, happy.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre 2

1525 N Main St  Walnut Creek, CA 94596 (925) 988-8008 All Day Happy Hours! Bonus! Menu

Made my day!

Multi layered chocolate wonderful-ness with ganache from Pastries By Randolph, Arlington, VA.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre 2

Ooosnahhhs

Blackened catfish & grit with cheese,peppers, onions and gravy.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre 2

What To Do With A Boatload of Daikon Radishes

Clagett Farm CSA has Daikon radishes as a cover crop, so we've got bushels of the long, white, crunchy veggie right about now. Add the bunches of Mizuna greens to the mix and we've got the makings of  great homemade Japanese salad.

I found this recipe - Daikon Salad (Radish Salad) | Salad Recipe | Just One Cookbook - on the Just One Cookbook web page. Some of the ingredients are optional, whereas several are pantry staples like sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. You may or may not want to add the fishy garnishes: salmon roe and bonito flakes.

The Plum Dressing calls for Japanese Pickled Plum (umeboshi) and Ponzu. I may just look for a bottled version of plum sauce at the grocer. Depending on my level of laziness this weekend, I may seek out the ponzu sauce ( a mix of rice vinegar, mirin, seaweed, and dried,smoked tuna. The Shiso leaves are optional so I'm going to leave that out.

With or without the traditional Japanese garnishes and sauces, this looks to be a quick and easy way to use the tasty radish.

'via Blog this'

I told you I was coming . . .

Dinner @ the diner called 'The Coupe': We had garlic & parsley fries (killer with cheese curds, short rib "debris", and gravy), Tunisian Baked Eggs, & Omelet H & C with grits of course, an pale amber Outta Brooklyn (Sorachi Ale), and a daquiri.

Whew, we are going have to roll out of here. We will have to try dessert & frog legs next time.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre 2

The Diner I've Been Looking For Since I Left NYC/NJ . . .

Is a totally tight all night food hangout fit for a foodie. Stomach cramps and crazed cravings don't end 'cause it's after 2 am. Hell, after dancing (or 'ahem' some other activity) for six hours straight, a body's gonna need a little nourishment.

A few weeks back, I was having trouble finding anything but breaded bar food on an early Sunday morning. My adopted home of Washington, DC has been decidedly light on the 24/7 food tip - until now.

Enter The Coupe, a new block long diner in the expanding Columbia Heights neighborhood. Opening softly this week, it's bound to get the attention of hungry, federal insomniacs.

It's close enough to my Howard U. digs for me to check it this evening and I'm ready. The Coupe menu promises some serious pork fat options (what's up with eating a pigs' cheeks?) along with lots of vegetarian and vegan choices.

I can't wait to try out the Jalepeno Crepes and - can you believe it - Buffalo Style Frogs Legs. Yup, gonna jump on that (okay, shoot me now). And grits. Grits. GRITS. With a Smoke House H&C or Farmer's Market omelet. Yeah. Save it for me, will ya?

The Coupe opens tonight at 5pm in Columbia Heights. No doubt, this lil' chicken will definitely be coming here to roost many an early DC morn.

The Coupe

3415 11th St NW; Columbia Heights; 202.290.3342
http://thecoupedc.com/
http://www.facebook.com/thecoupedc