Sexy Summer Scallops

Ok, so I'm sorry I've been neglecting the blog scene for the last week.  It was my birthday!  I was just working and celebrating and now I have so much to catch up on!  I wonder if you bleaders (blog readers, did you know that?) missed me.

Lately, I've been in the mood for light, refreshing, "summery" meals.  By "summery" I mean flavors that come out in the summer.  There is nothing like the highly anticipated fresh and flavorful produce, such as strawberries and watermelon.  

Eat seasonally!  Its a foodie thing, a restaurant thing, an environmental thing, a nutritional thing and a heathy thing to do.  There's a reason why mangos are 99 cents and on 5 different oversize carts in the supermarket, right now.  They're in season!  Along with lots of other mouth watering produce that is harvested in the summer.  Living in the city we can get any fruit or vegetable we want all year round.  Corn on the cob in the middle of winter is bitter and tasteless compared to the juicey and sweet corn that arrives in the summer. And they're less expensive because there's more of them (Supply and Demand people -- Economics major shining through).   There is nothing like finally getting the juicy and plump Jersey corn and tomatoes in the summer.  (If you didn't know, New Jersey is know for its corn and tomatoes and we're damn proud of them!)

So speaking of my Economics major, I graduated from Holy Cross.  At college, I met my friend Anoo, who I joke with as having two personalities:  School-Mode Anoo and  Summer Anoo.  School-Mode Anoo is extremely disciplined and studious and we love her, but when Summer Anoo comes out to play we're very happy.  On Thursday, I invited Summer Anoo over for dinner.  Both fresh flavors of summer that leave you feeling satisfied and healthy, as well as "Summer Anoo" inspired me to make my "Sexy Summer Scallops."  The fresh and vibrant produce not only looks "sexy" but it is light and leaves YOU feeling sexy!

Sexy Summer Scallops with Mango, Cucumber Salad and Cous Cous (inspired by Summer Anoo):

Ingredients:

Summer salad:

1 Mango - small cubes

1/2 Cucumber - small cubes, without seeds

1/2 avocado

1/2 sweet red onion - diced small

pinch red pepper flakes

1 tbsp cilantro - finely chopped

1 tbsp mint  - finely chopped

juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 tbsp)

about 1 tbsp fresh orange juice

splash of white wine vinegar

salt and pepper

Sea Scallops - about 5 per person

Evoo

White Wine - about 1 cup

Fresh orange juice - about 1/2 an orange

White Wine vinegar - about 1 tsp

Cous cous

pine nuts

For the salad, prep ingredients and mix together.  

After cutting the avocado, squeeze lime juice directly on them and make sure they are all well coated to prevent oxidation (or they'll turn black!).

Season with S&P and crushed red pepper.

Refrigerate until use.

For the scallops,

Heat EVOO in skillet - just enough to coat the pan.  

Remove muscle on the scallop, clean, dry thoroughly and season with salt.

Sear scallops in skillet until the outside is a deep golden caramel color and cooked half way through.  (You know the scallop is cooked through because it is no longer translucent and it becomes more white.)

Then flip the scallop and cook on other side.

Deglaze pan with white wine, the juice of half an orange, and a splash of white wine vinegar.

Season with S&P, and red pepper flakes.

Remove scallops if cooked all the way through.  You want there to center of a scallop to be slightly translucent.  (DO NOT OVER COOK!  Nothing worse than an rubbery, over-cooked scallop! Not so sexy...)

Let pan sauce reduce for a few minutes until it has thickened

Follow directions for fast cooking cous cous.

Boil 1 cup of water with EVOO and salt.

Add cous cous, turn off stove and cover pot.

Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in separate pan and set aside.

After about five minutes, take cover off pot and fluff cous cous with a fork.

Season, SP and RP (salt pepper and red pepper) and add toasted pine nuts.

Serve with scallops on top of cous cous.  Drizzle pan sauce on top.  

Then serve sexy salad on top of the sexy scallops and drizzle more pan sauce on top of the salad.

(I served mine with a side of super quick sauteed spinach with golden raisins).

 

Enjoy with a friend in the summer, feel sexy, go out and dance to Michael Jackson!  Food is meant to make you feel good, and these scallops may just make you feel sexy!

And don't forget to enjoy the summer, with all the wonderfully fresh produce it brings us every year.

xoxo, Cosmo Chef

The Sumo Wrestler Diet

I'm on it.  I am on, or was previously on and trying to take myself off, the Sumo wrestler Diet.  This diet consists of eating one large meal a day like the sumo wrestlers in Japan, in order to gain a ton of weight.  This is exactly the opposite of what all nutritionists tell you to do.  This diet can happen to people for 3 main reasons: 1. You're a sumo wrestler 2. You have an unusual/ hectic schedule and can't/ don't find time to eat throughout the day or 3. You try to avoid eating anything during the day  (please don't do this, your metabolism will pay for this later) and end up binge eating from starvation.  

I've been unwillingly but consistently subjecting myself to the Sumo wrestler diet.  I work in a restaurant and consequently have a schedule with very odd hours -- which would categorize me under reason 2 for being like a sumo wrestler.  I go in at work in the late afternoon and get out of work around 1 am.  Although I'm surrounded by food throughout the day rarely do I have time to eat a meal.  And if I do snack it will leave me unsatisfied.  Then I go home and its like Starvation Nation.  Let me just warn you that this type of behavior will lead you to over-eating and doing this right before you go to bed will result in what resembles a sumo wrestler.  Have you ever wondered why huge 300-something-pound sumo wrestlers wear thongs when they fight, in front of hundreds or thousands of viewers?  It's because that's all that was left in their closet that would fit them.  I know because I can relate. 

OK, so I'm not exactly a sumo wrestler but this is one bad habit that needs to go.  Eating after 12am is going on my "demons" list.  Especially as a single girl, I know it's hard to adjust to a weird schedule and live on your own.  When faced with a stressful and odd schedule you deal with it as a Type A or Type B personality.  Type A is represented by all the Felix Ungers of the world, who would react naturally by waking up early to work out, get a breakfast in, and make sure they get to sleep right after work.  I relate more to the Oscar Madisons who do not like waking up early, don't feel like eating in the morning, think the best part of working out is when you're finished and like to eat ice cream in bed.  

I have to force myself to do things in the morning.  But, once I get up I'm usually really happy I did and in a much better mood during the day.  Who knew?  As much as I have natural tendencies towards being a "Type B" I know that getting enough sleep, eating right and exercise are good for me.  So that's what I'm trying to do.  This morning I had a smoothie with the Acai berry in it.  Have you heard of this?  It's suppose to be a powerful antioxidant that promotes weight loss -- Lauren Conrad lives by it so it must be real, right?  Tonight I came home from work, poured myself a glass of water and wrote on this blog -- you are my replacement for chocolate ice cream!  Trying to replace bad habits with good habits.  And I'm trying pilates for the first time tomorrow morning, wish me luck!

So maintaining a healthy schedule for eating and sleeping is essential for weight loss and a healthy lifestyle in general.  That is one big "mouthful" to handle, especially for the single, workin' city girl.  But if you can take control of it, you will be way ahead of the game.

Eating a healthy breakfast is one of the most important elements in maintaining a healthy schedule and jump starting your metabolism.  Oatmeal with fruit and skim milk is one of my favorites, especially if you're hungry.  Yogurt drizzled with honey and topped with berries is also really good.  

Eggs!  Eggs scrambled, poached, boiled, as an omelet, sunny-side-up, coddled, over easy, fried and baked  are all egg-cellent ways to prepare an egg.  But I love eggs in a frittata.  Add any veggies or filling that you want and have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Frittatas are friggin' fantastic! 

Basic frittata recipe:

1. Prepare veggies, cheese, meats for filling.
2. Beat 6 eggs together with a fork in a large bowl until the yolks and whites combine.
3. Add the filling to eggs.
4. Heat a 7 1/2 inch non-stick skillet with (Classic frittata recipes say butter but I'm going to replace with) non-stick spray.
5. Add egg mixture and let cook until bottom has firmed and is golden brown.
6. Put a plate on top of the pan, invert pan so the frittata slips onto the plate, and slide frittata, soft side down, so the top can now cook in the pan.  Cook until golden brown.
7. Eggs should still be soft but not runny on the inside.

Eggs are very nutritious, filling, and full of vitamins.  This brings me to the Yolks vs. Whites fight in which the poor yolks always seem to lose.  But as a yolk lover and advocate, I will add that all of the egg's vitamins A, D and E are in the yolk.  It also contains more phosphorous, manganese, iron, iodine, copper and calcium than the white and all of the zinc.  It contains a little less than half of all the protein in an egg and is about 59 calories for a large egg.  So don't ditch the yolk when you order an omelet, they're the best part.  

So eat an egg for breakfast and take yourself off the sumo wrestler diet.

Vivere Comme Gli Italiani!

Live like the Italians!  (Today was my first lesson back with my italian language teacher, and my parents just called to tell me that we are seeing Andrea Boccelli tonight at the garden, oh and having dinner at an italian restaurant first, so today is molto italiano!)

When I was in Italy last year, as part of the Italian cooking program I completed at the ICC, I not only learned the fabulous traditional Italian recipes, but I tasted the difference in their raw ingredients and experienced the love affair that Italians have with food.  The importance of flavour and the experience of sharing a meal is molto importante to the Italians.  That is how food should be all the time.  Americani (che schiffi!  (how gross!)) have the reputation and tendency towards over-indulgence.  We also obsess about food way too much (especially young, single women living in NYC).  One important thing about food is that you shouldn't be afraid of it, you should learn to love it and share it.  It is a pleasure that we are meant to enjoy, or else we would be eating the sloodge they serve on board the ship in the matrix that has just the right amount of amino acids and vitamins needed to exisit.  

So slow down and enjoy the flavor of each bite and you will realize you don't need to eat a pound of pasta to feel satisfied, if you make it full of flavor and love.  Mangia mangia!

One delicious,  healthy, Italian stand-by that my family made growing up is our summer veggies  with tomatoes and zucchini.  When they cook together they release so much liquid that it almost becomes a soup, but it is a little heartier.  The flavors are simple, delicious and classic italian, like summer in a bowl.

Una Ciotola D' Estate

(A Bowl of Summer)

ingredients:

One large white onion, sliced into thin half moons

6-8 Roma tomatoes, cut into half moons

3 summer squash (yellow zucchini), cut in 1/2 inch rounds

3 small green zucchini, cut in 1/2 inch rounds

Fresh herbs: finely minced rosemary, thyme, oregano

Or use dried italian mix of herbs

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (the italians live by EVOO (sorry about the Rachel Ray reference (RRR) but its shorter to type).

1 clove whole peeled garlic

Salt and Pepper

crushed red pepper flakes

1. Heat olive oil in large pot with garlic until the garlic has browned slightly.  
2. Add onion and sweat until it becomes translucent.  Add a little salt to help sweat.
3. Add zucchini and a pinch of salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Sautee about 5 minutes until zucchini become tender.
4. Add tomatoes and herbs and cover pot.
5. Cook at a simmer until zucchini are soft (not mushy) and the tomatoes have released their juices.  About 20 minutes.
6. Add S&P, red pepper flakes to taste.
7. Serve hot with a drizzle of EVOO on top and a sprinkling of parmeggiano reggiano cheese se voi.  Delicioso.

Angels and Demons

As an Italian American Jersey girl (holla) I tend to go for my pasta, bread, wine, chocolate and ice cream when I indulge.  Oh and I love to eat at night and don't think too much about eating in the morning.  This is my "demon" side.  And then there's the "angel" side that says I should eat Greek salads (I actually love Greek salads) and work out all day.  Living to the extreme by the "angel" or "demon" side is unhealthy and just unrealistic.  Finding and maintaining a healthy balance between your angels and demons is the ultimate goal.  

In the beginning though, I, you, whoever's interested, have to eliminate all indulgences for a period of at least 10 to 14 days.  For me that would be:

1. eating at night.  Avoid eating 3 hours before going to bed.
2. carbs!  I'm going to eliminate carbs for two weeks because that is all I seem to be living on these days.  
3. alcohol.  not only is it fattening but it triggers all of my bad eating habits.

Now that I know what my bad habits are, I need to replace them with good habits.  

1. eating breakfast.  Training your body to eat on a schedule works wonders for your metabolism.  Eating a little throughout the day is really good but the first meal in the morning is definitely the most important.
2. lots and lots of veggies!  veggies and proteins are delicious but sometimes harder to come by when you're living the fast paced cosmo life style.  I'm going to share some of my ideas and recipes for my beginning no-carb detox.
3. water! drink some H20!
4. Get a healthy amount of sleep. 6-8 hours baby.
5. Wake up at the same time every day.  I think putting your body on a schedule, especially during these two weeks is really important.  Trying to maintain healthy habits is the goal for these first few days.
6. exercise.  Pick something that makes you feel good, switch it up.  Try at least 30 minutes every day.  I really like to get up and start walking.  It's good for my head and sometimes inspires me to start running. (oh I wish I was a good runner).

Now that I've shared my plan with you/ the Internet, (no followers yet,) I have to stick to my plan.  Maybe someone will do it with me.  Short term goal is feel better by my birthday.  Happy birthday to me!

Meltdown a la Mode

Last night at around 4:30 am I had a meltdown that involved a ridiculous ice cream sundae created from all the contents of my pantry.  Whole wheat toast with peanut butter, honey, mini M&Ms and chocolate fat free frozen yogurt (I love how I think the fat free will help at this point.) While I was eating it I remember thinking, besides how good I thought it was at the time, I'm glad you're doing this because when you wake up you will realize how wreckless you are being with food all the time.  And now I am having a food baby, feel so guilty that I had to make my first blog about it.  Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom to feel inspired to make a change in your life.  Oh I definitely hit rock bottom last night. 

I've been wanting to start a blog for a while now, based on (trying) to live a healthy lifestyle as a single girl in Manhattan.  I am also a foodie and want to share my thoughts, experiences and ideas about food as I continue to learn.  I've also been wanting to make a healthy lifestyle change.  This seems like the perfect time to start a blog because I have thoughts and new ideas about food, recipes, restaurants mixed up in my head and waiting to burst into a blog.  Unfortunately the first "recipe" I will be sharing on this blog is the "Meltdown a la Mode."  I don't recommend trying this one at home...

On a much more inspired, healthy and positive note, I hope to continue this blog as the Cosmo Chef.  "Cosmo" because I am a normal single girl in Manhattan attempting to live the ultimate cosmopolitan lifestyle -- aren't we all?  (Not Cosmo as in Kramer, as my friend Marissa first thought.)  And "Chef" because I am a foodie, working in a restaurant in Manhattan at this point, and always have new ideas, thoughts, and recipes that I want to share.

No one told us how hard it is to start a new life in the city.  And now it is time to take control, and have the "ultimate" cosmopolitan lifestyle I always pictured myself having -- being healthy, having fun, making money, and looking good doing it!  I think that by organizing some recipes and ideas I can maintain a healthier lifestyle and have some fun entertaining.  All of this can be accomplished in a normal city style apartment (tiny-prewar-nocounterspace-kindakitchens).  So here's to taking control and havin' some fun! 

xoxo, Cosmo Chef