A Life in Food Carts

They are a staple of many cities and office campuses. They can provide a variety of tasty foods, from breakfast to even dessert that are cheap and quickly cooked. These are the food carts or lunch boxes and owning them as well as working them is as difficult as owning and working in any restaurant. Yet, they are one of the most popular occupations, especially of immigrants.

Food contributor and former restaurant reviewer Tejal Rao wrote about this little known but ever growing segment of the food industry in yesterday's New York Times Food section. For hipster foodies thinking this is a great life, having a food truck is more than hard work. They represent a dedication to a job that is back breaking and bone wearying. Bad enough the day starts off with hiring someone to drop off the cart or worse  hitching the carts to their cars if the vendors own them and looking for a parking spot big enough for both vehicles.Then there are the turf wars with other vendors.Another problem is the bathroom. One vendor, Kabir Ahmed, a Bangladeshi immigrant has to wait until his partner arrives to reileve him so he can escape to the Target across the street. Then there's the labyrinth of health codes and violations to avoid or that's the end of the business. The end of the day may provide profit but it also provides an aching back and sore feet.

Does owning a food truck have any benefits? It is a great way of getting one's cuisine out to the masses along with catering to loyal regulars.Mr. Ahmed creates twenty dishes from Biryani to all American hot dogs. To make the first he fries onions until they're translucent. He drops a variety of herbs and spices, from star anise to bay leaves into the mix along with a spoonful of garlic paste and ghee. The chicken is the last to go into the savory stew and then the rice is cooked. This too is created an extra special with dried papaya and plums added to the boiling water. Mr. Ahmed adds a soda to the meal , with all it costing only six dollars.It would cost double if it were served in a nearby restaurant. His take home pay at the end of the day is $125 or $625 a week. A yearly salary is only a little over $32,000 - not much for living in the New York metro area. There is the cautionary tale of a cart owner making a whopping three grand a day but he worked himself into sickness and has no one to take care him.Mr. Ahmed would rather have colleagues to help him out. while making less money

A food vendor's life may seem like a dream to any creative foodie or even young chef.Yet it's a dream with a few nightmares.attached. If you want it ,go for it, just be warned.

The ABCs Of Pasta

One of the most basic kitchen needs is pasta.It is versatile as a main dish or as a side. Yet many home chefs have qualms about making their own.Yet this basic is so basic to make.

The mechanics of pasta making was featured in today's New York Times Food section.Samin Nosrat walked readers and pasta lovers through the ABCs. It's pretty easy and can be made with or without a pasta machine. The ingredients are basic, having been used by the best pasta makers for centuries.It's all purpose flour , two large eggs and three egg yolks along with the semolina for dusting on afterwards.It is a matter of mixing and needing to make a manageable dough.You can make it with herbs. This requires a half cup of finely chopped herbs such as parsley, chives chervil, tarragon a d basil in any combination or just use one such as basil. Whole grain pasta is a tasty and healthy alternative.Use spelt, whole wheat or farro sifted in the white flour (match a cup for a cup).Saffron .s big right now and it would be amazing with a sauce of chicken livers, similar to risotto Milanese.It does require a large pinch of saffron ground into hot water to make a saffron tea. The tea then has to be cooled and the eggs whisked in.The flour is then added into make a paste. Green pasta can also be created , simply by adding spinach leaves.They needed to be wilted first and then pureed.

Creating the sheets is super easy and fun if you have a pasta machine.Yet it's also easy if you have to use a rolling pin.It's first lining three baking sheets with parchment paper and semolina. Cut off a quarter of it, rewrapping the remaining dough.Use the heel of your hand to flatten the dough into a circle.Now use a rolling pin to stretch it.Continue rolling it, moving the rolling pin a quarter of an inch after every roll out.The finished sheets can be stacked on top of each other.Just dust each one with the semolina flour before layering. Cutting the sheets is easy and fun, with all the possibilities ahead of you.Invest in a pasta roller if you are planning on making a lot of it.It's just a matter of slicing the sheets The next step is separating and fluffing the noodles and then seprating them into nests.You can also use a very sharp knife. Just remember to cut in half inch increments for tagliatelle and fettucine and three quarters of an inch for papperdelle. Homemade pasta can be refrigerated and even frozen. Store pasta in single layer sheets on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap/ For freezing, do the same, with putting nests of pasta on a parchment line baking sheet until rock hard. Then transfer to freezer bags . They can be cooked in boiling salted water for four to seven minutes.

Homemade pasta is not that daunting to make.It's fun an a snap to create.Try it and enjoy.

Hole In The Wall Cuisine

You see them  in strip malls and on city corners.They look inviting - even enticing.What are these seductive eateries? Hole in the walls. Do they serve good dishes? Surprisingly , yes.

For the fussiest foodie, dodgy joints are the absolute no-no.However, if the restaurant has a good health rating an A or even a B to B+, then it's perfectly OK to visit. Even if these aren't convincing enough, study the traffic coming in and out.If there are many people going in and staying then you know it's good.Of course, you've probably checked out Yelp too, however some restaurants are not on it.If that is the case, then ask diners what they ordered and if they liked it. Many diners are neighborhood regulars who eat at the restaurant three to even five times a week. They will tell you what they like, what to avoid and what specials are good. Your nose should be another indicator of what to order. If it smells good and makes your mouth water, then order what ever's on the grill Some even have buffets where you can choose what looks tasty. Follow other diner's cues and choose what they're putting on their plates. Bakeries are a lot easier, because all the goods are on display and the help is always eager to answer any questions about the cakes and cookies


One of the benefits in hole in the wall cuisine is that it expands your palate. Many Thai restaurants are, like DD Thai of Rochelle Park NJ, situated in small strip malls.They may look like nothing, but once inside, they're little gems of glamour.There are plush banquettes and glittery chandeliers, while serving a varied and delicious menu.It's where I fell in love with their pad se ew, along with their traditional Thai salad with that mouth watering peanut dressing they put on their salads.I've eaten at strip mall Italian restaurants where they feature gnocchi and risotto, and they're made just as delicious as the same dishes cooked in fancier Manhattan restaurants.  yes, you can get pizza , spaghetti and calzone here but then they offer more sophisticated fare to more adventurous diners. Strip malls can also hold such exotic fare as Ethopian and Ghanian restaurants along with Indian buffets where biryani and naan is served.These prove a boon to those tired of the usual hamburgers and fries or pizza and soda. Another fun facet of these "hole in the wall places" is that they're not afraid to experiment, There are many "fusion restaurants" that feature Chinese and Mexican on the same plate or soul food married to Jamaican cuisine. These definitely expand a diner's palate and introduces him or her to a wider variety of dishes and tastes.

Home in the wall cuisine is an adventure. Fnd the right restaurant and you go on a culinary adventure. Try it. It'll be a fun visit.

A Quick Herb Guide

Spring brings the urge to plant an herb garden .Home chefs want to add a sprig of this or a few leaves of that .Yet many have no clue as to herb usage. The will add bay leaf to pizza or dried rosemary to ice cream.A good knowledge of herbs is vital to cooking good meals.

Rosemary and oregano are the most popular and most used.Rosemary is a fragrant plant with a variety of uses, from cooking to the medicinal.It is one of the pillars of Italian cooking, going into everything from sausage to pizza.A flavorful tomato sauce relies on its sprigs for some depth.It can also add zing if added to pizza or calzone crust.Oregano is another staple of not just Italian but also  Greek and Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.It gives marinades an earthy green flavor.It can also be put into olive oil for a fragrant oil , perfect for drizzling over slices of French and Italian bread.it can also be used in Eastern Mediterranean dishes too such as the trendy za'aatar along with savory and thyme.Surprisingly these versatile sprigs can also be used in various desserts.Imagine a coffee cake sprigged up with both oregano and thyme.Honey paired with it makes an awesome ice cream, both subtly sweet and herbal.They can even be baked into lemon cupcakes for a jolt of fresh springy flavor!

Tarragon is the herb most used by the French.It is one of my favorites and I use it in both my chicken and egg salads.It's flavor is a milder version of the stronger anise.It also is vital in creating the perfect Bernaese sauce along with herb rice and broiled fish such as tilapia and halibut.Cilantro is an easy herb to grow as well as being versatile.The sassy green leaves add dash to any salad and would be great in a chicken marinade.It can also add some zing to grilled veggies too as well as being a staple in Mexican cooking.Cilantro is actually the younger version of coriander, another versatile and necessary kitchen herb.It's excellent in exotic cuisines such as Indian and Morroccan, giving color and zest to curries and tangines.One of the sweetest and most delicious is chive. This is the season for them, as they grow abundantly in yards and even parks. The wild variety has an onion-y sweet taste . Yes , freshly chopped chives are good on baked potatoes , add color and flavor to sour cream but they're also good mixed in with cream cheese and dressings. Try cooking them with carrots in a yummy butter sauce.

Grow herbs.Just understand their uses and what foods they'd enhance.Use them correctly and you'll create deliciously tasty meals.

The Easter Cupcake Exravaganza

Easter is here and I wanted to do something fun yet familiar. Of course I chose cupcakes with that sinfully yummy cream cheese icing that I got from All Recipes' web site. Here's how it went down :

I used Duncan Hines' Devil's Food cake mix which is a little more intense than their average ones I 've previously used. The cupcakes had to be baked  five minutes more because of the batter's density.

I used the cute bunny and chick cupcake papers from Target.

This is raw

This is baked.

Here is that great icing being made.

I added two tiny drops of McCormack's food coloring red, (looks like the icing got cut and bled)

More blending with the electric mixer to get this blushy  shade of pink.

And voila! - Sprinkle on candy bunnies also for Target!!

HAPPY EASTER, EVERYONE!!!

A Thoughtful Good Friday

Good Friday is a day of reflection about life and what one should do with it. It's also a day to think about improving other's lives and the surrounding world.

One way is, as always, donating to your local food pantry .This could mean buying cans of food and boxes of cereal, but they more obvious is apportioning your garden and growing extra fruit, vegetables and even herbs This way families, especially those with children will get the nutrition, vitamins and mineral they so desperately need for growing.  There is also nothing like the taste of fresh produce to improve any dish or dessert too.

  The way to improve your world is to try to buy local and shrink your carbon footprint. Luckily, we are coming into the Spring growing and summer harvesting season. It will be easier to buy fruit and veggies from local farms and farmer's markets. Also joining organizations to help clean up land and waterways is another good deed. We can also push for turning our abandoned factories and warehouses into urban farms, where not only is there food but also jobs.

Today is a day of reflection. Think about what you can do to improve the lives and world around you. Then act on it.

An Ambrosial Cake

One of the best warm weather salads is ambrosia.It's a sweet concoction that usually finds it way to backyard barbecues and picnics. Take it one step further and transform this classic dish into a cake. It then becomes truly worthy of its' name - ambrosial food for the gods.

Melissa Clark wrote about it in her A Good Appetite Column in yesterday's New York Times Food section. I think it would be an excellent end to an Easter dinner, the cake's sweet fluffiness being a great foil to a salty ham and potato salad. Ambrosia, for those not familiar with this American classic, is a sweet salad that can be served before, with or after a meal. It's mostly made during barbecues or family buffets and every family has their own spin on the recipe. It's made with a heavy dose of tropical fruit, some kind of frosting and plenty of flaked coconut.Some go heavy with the  fruit, going  heavy with the orange slices and pineapple chunks along with adding extra banana slices. A few home chefs like the idea of crunch so pecans are thrown in while others turn their ambrosias technicolor with the addition of maraschino cherries Whipped cream is usually blended in but yogurt can be used as well. Of course, there's the flaked coconut that's added in by the cup (or cups).Imagine all this  modified in a cake with a tangy curd filling along with a slug of coconut rum.It's iced in a fluffy meringue and then doused with sweetened coconut flakes.

The ambrosia element is modified. Ms. Clark decided on fewer elements and uses them with a slight difference than from the original recipe. She skips the cloying pineapple and banana but keeps the zingy citrus, going for seedless clementines over mandarins and oranges.She juices them to go into a tangy curd that will be used as the cake's filling. She suggests if you like the pineapple and banana, then add them but only to the filling to get the taste, The flour used is all purpose  and there's only a tablespoon of baking powder added for leavening. It's a rich, eggy cake employing four of them.There's also a stick and a quarter of unsalted butter to give the crumb a  golden color.The filling is again a curd, zested up with clementines and a third of a cup of lemon juice. the filling is butter rich too  with a stick of unsalted butter used .The whites from the filling's yolks can go into making the frosting, a sweet fluff made over a simmering water bath.The frosting has to be immediately put on the cake and then press the coconut flakes on the sides and  top. You can decorate with sliced clementines and strawberries.

Ambrosia cake is the perfect cake to serve on Easter Sunday. It's a rich blend of butter cake, fruit and curd, wrapped in a sweet and light marshmallow coating. Serve this dish  - that's worthy of the gods/