Your Own Favorite Restaurant

People are even getting paranoid and understandably so about eating out. Yet, for many it's the highlight of the week or month. The food is tasty and fun. However you don't have to eat out. There are recipes for some of our favorite restaurant and fast food dishes. Why go out when you can bring the eatery to you.

Fast food is always a hit. Who doesn't love a burger with the works or a filled burrito? Yet you can easily make these at home. It's so easy to recreate the special sauce. It's just mayo with a dab of French dressing along with white vinegar and granulated sugar.This can be made healthier with using the vegan Nayonnaise and dark wildflower honey. Add sliced tomatoes , pickles and lettuce on a bun for the full effect. As for fries and onion rings use your air fryer.  You could get the bagged , frozen kinds but you can also buy already freshly cut crinkle potato and sweet potato fries.. Liven it up with some ground garlic and rosemary. Homemade onion rings are another easy make, thanks to panko bread crumbs and an egg wash. Love Taco Bell? Their bean burritos are so easy to whip up - as I know. It's easy to cook up kidney beans and chopped onions in a mix of vegetable and olive oil.Red wine vinegar gives it tang while chili pepper and cumin add flavor. Serve it on steamed tortillas. Have a side of melted nacho cheese  - basically a jalapeno cheese sauce. It's creating a roux of milk and flour and then adding chopped cheddar and butter. Diced jalapenos are then stirred in for fire.

Pizza and pizza sticks are always easy to recreate.The dough is a simple recipe of flour, water and yeast, along with olive oil, a touch of sugar or honey and salt for flavor. Top with already made pizza sauce also used for dipping with the pizza sticks  and a variety of veggies and meats. It's a fun way to teach the kids how to bake as well as create breads. Making a pizza can also be a great method of teaching nutrition and which is the best and healthiest to eat. Kids can learn about using vegan mozzarella and what veggies are the most nutritious and the tastiest for finishing a pizza. Another Italian classic that's always a take out is the hero. Yet these are so much fun to make at home.Take a good Italian or French bread, cut in half, and add slices of your favorite meats , cheeses and veggies.What really makes any hero sing is the dressing.it's just a mix of olive oil and red wine vinegar with a dash of oregano. So many chain restaurants have loaded potato skins.It's baking Russet potatoes and then scooping out the flesh so that there's a quarter of potato left inside. Then you can fill  them with anything you want, from bacon to pulled pork or shredded roasted chicken with taco spicing. You could also try topping them with  pizza sauce and mozzarella for a different spin.

Eat in if you have qualms about eating out. It's easy to recreate favorite recipes at home. You might even improve on them.

Leap Into Good Health

This is Leap Year Day - the perfect day to leap into good eating habits. One of the best defenses we have against the corona virus and anything else is solid nutrition. If we eat healthy we'll be healthy.

The first step is assessing what you eat. Too many processed foods - out. The last thing you need is a diet rich with high sodium and high fat along with over processing. Instant or microwave meals can be handy but they can also be deadly too. I know it's easy to pop something for five minutes and then gobble it down. You can still have microwave dishes but try steamed ones. There are many microwave steamers out there where you can cook an entire meal.Start looking into steaming salmon steaks with a wide variety of veggies. Of course we all know about those omega 3''s but few know about their ability to increase white blood cells, vital for fighting off foreign agents such as flus and viruses. They also produce antibodies , sort of like a natural vaccine. what pairs well with a nice piece of the fish? Lightly buttered green beans which are loaded with Vitamins C and K. Asparagus works too.A few stalks will provide you with chromium useful for transporting glucose through the body.  Another healthy meat is chicken but skip the fried, as delicious as it is. Stick to grilled and roasted.

Snacking on the wrong foods can also wreck your immunity.  Again, as with fast food it's so easy to grab the tasty and the quick. One of the best and most flavorful is a small tray of mixed veggies with spiced up Greek yogurt. Have a good mix of broccoli and cauliflower florets.Broccoli is rich in the essential vitamins along with choline, a nutrient essential to a healthy diet. Choline aids in creating a strong gastrointestinal barrier  which keeps bacteria safely confined to the gut.Cauliflower also has its' life saving pluses.The florets are known for their anti-inflammatory properties and also choline. Of course don't forget the carrots. These perfect crunchers (and teeth cleaners) are abundant in beta carotene and their nutrients help to support the body's mucus membrane which lines both the respiratory and intestinal tracts. This makes it hard for bacteria to enter the blood stream. If you want sweet then consider Greek yogurt drizzled with maple syrup or dark wildflower honey. Even these two sweeteners have antioxidant properties that help strengthen the immune system.

Leap into a diet that boosts your immune system. It will help you deal with whatever germs that are out there. You can protect yourself while still eating tasty foods.

Chinese Restaurants - A Go Or No Go

The coronoavirus has affected everything , from how we live to how we conduct business. Even eating out can be seen as risky. Now the focus on Chinese restaurants since the virus originated in Wuhan, China and everything Chinese is suspect. What should we do?

The dilemma is a double edged sword. If you boycott Chinese or any Asian restaurant, you're seen as racist and xenophobic. Staying away is understandable  since COVID-19 , the official name for the virus - is highly contagious. Families with young children along with the elderly and  autoimmune compromised are especially nervous and again, it's understandable. I hate to say avoid until the virus is eradicated but that may have to be the case. What about Asian markets? Again the answer may be stay away until everything is OK again. Keep in mind that also applies to grocery markets and other ethnic restaurants.Mall food courts are out too, since they're hangouts for all sorts of germs. Maybe the best bet is signing up for Peapod or any food delivery service.  Pick out what you need , by brand and quantity and have it delivered to you. Many swear by these and are satisfied with the quality of produce and meats they receive.

This brings up the question of take out. Can we order Chinese take out by phone or computer? Again, this sounds racist and xenophobic but if you can trust your restaurant, then the answer is yes. They know you and probably realize your fears. Maybe they'll wear plastic gloves when cooking. Face masks may help but they also hold in humidity which breeds germs. Yet all take out should be suspect as well. Can we trust our pizza delivery people or our Panera drivers just as much as we trust our Chinese take out deliverers? They too are human and just as susceptible to the coronavirus as any of us. One accidental sneeze or cough could contaminate our order of pizza sticks or tomato soup. Maybe the healthier choice is the unhealthy choice of frozen and processed foods. We can still get a variety of different ethnic choices.They may not be fresh made but they're just as easy to prepare as ordering  take out. If you do have the time, then you can create some of your take out favorites.

There is no easy answer to eating out right now. Be brave if you want to. Support local businesses. Just b e aware of what's going on in your neighborhoods and towns. Be aware. Be cautious.

Brownsville Texas The Taco Town

For Mexican food lovers,the border town of Brownsville, Texas is heaven. There you can buy different , fresh made varieties , full of a wide spectrum of spices and fillings.It is one of the best places in all the US to eat the best of the spiciest best.


Regular contributor, Priya Krishna, wrote about this Texas border town in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Brownsville is not an easy town to get to, yet it's attracting all sorts of attention.The town is a relatively poor one, despite its' proximity to the chichi Texas resort South Padre Island. Things are looking up, thanks, in part to Elon Musk, breaking ground for the world's first commercial orbital launching site and the darker Casa Padre, a detention center for immigrant boys. The city's Southmost section, is the place for delicious and famed Mexican dishes. It is supported by Brownsville's robust population of Mexican immigrants, many who arrived thanks to the Bracero Project. This was a collaboration between the US and Mexico that allowed millions of guest workers between the years 1942 to 1964.  This brought in skilled cooks whose taquerias served as models for the ones we eat at today.One of the oldest is Vera's, opened in 1955 by Armindo Vera. His is the most traditional, with him smoking cow heads for barbacoa, until it's tender and falling off the bone. He serves it with corn tortillas, onions, cilantro and several different kinds of salsa.

The good food isn't limited to just the US side. The town across the border, Matamoros hosts Marcelos, a family owned restaurant. It, too, is extremely popular, drawing guests as far away as China and Germany. The reason for it's worldwide popularity is the way its' food is cooked. These are family recipes created by Evangelina Rocha and her husband, Abel Mondragon. They and their sons , Adan and Isai create their famed chicharrones verdes, pork skins bathed in tomatillos,green chilies and cilantro, then served inside plush corn tortillas.Their tacos are famed, thanks to the tender loving care put into them. The meat has to be cleaned. The dried beans have to be high quality while the salsa should be made exactly to the recipe.Back in Brownsville there is competition with Sylvia's and Easy To Go Tacos, the last serving flautas, fried rolled tacos stuffed with meat. They also serve tostadas and fajitas too along with borrachos, spicy tamales. Has politics affected the restaurants in this border town? ICE agents do eat at these places. There is the wall being built yet there have been tension between Mexico and Texas for decades, long before Trump came in.

Politics aside , Brownsville will always be the taco capital of the world. It has the best taquerias that serve family recipes , full of good ingredients. This border town knows there are no sides when it comes to delicious Mexican food.

Lent And Fish

Today is Ash Wednesday which starts off Lent. It's when some Catholics and other Christians give up meat completely,Fish is allowed by the church so it's also a good time to try a pescatarian diet.

Alison Roman gives us a good fish recipe in today's New York Times Food section,It is salmon with whole lemon dressing.It's an easy dish to make on any fasting days like Wednesdays and Fridays.The fillet is dressed with a blend of lemon, white wine vinegar, shallots and olive oil. Herbs such as oregano, marjoram and thyme give the salmon a lovely green flavor.It's mixed and then poured  over the fish . After the fillet is baked for fifteen to twenty minutes or until the flesh is an orange-y pink.It's served on a bed of butter or Little Gem Romaine lettuce. Ms. Roman also has sliced cucumbers and radishes for crunch but you can omit these if you want.

You could easily make any kind of fish for this Lenten season. Cod is good and it can be prepared a variety of different ways. The simplest is buttered cod cooked in a skillet. The fish is first seasoned with paprika, salt, pepper and garlic powder then sauteed. Serve with a side of steamed spinach for a light, yet filling supper. Try it Greek style where it's lightly coated with flour spiked with coriander, paprika and cumin. It's first seared then baked with lemon  juice, olive oil and a lot of minced garlic.One of the best fish to eat during this Lenten season is salmon. It's chock full of Omega 3s and Vitamin B's along with reducing the risk of heart disease. Try them in steak form with a marinade of Worcester sauce , lemon juice and butter. You could also try air fried salmon patties for a different spin on the fish.

Lent is a time of fasting and giving up. It's also a time for discovering healthier eating and healthier foods. Try the fish diet during this period. It may be the first step towards better eating.

Lent And Giving Up

Today is Mardi Gras if you're in New Orleans and Carnavale if you're in Europe and South America. It's a night of wild drinking and feasting - because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. It's Lent and that means giving up the drinks and foods we love. Or will we?

Lent is the period of fasting between Ash Wednesday and Easter. It's always a time of giving up.  The practice started centuries ago as a way to extend the amount of vital products such as meat and dairy for the community. Some Christian religions like the Greek , Russian and Coptic Orthodoxy have strict fasting days when only vegetables are allowed. Everything else, from eggs to wine, meat to fish are strictly forbidden. The Catholics have relaxed the fasting rules tremendously and only two days , Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are restricted to total fasting. Then there's the practice of giving up one food or habit that you love. Many go for the first , not wanting to cut back on cigarettes or alcohol. Some do go dry for Lent, which is relatively easy. There are mocktails, made with fresh juice and seltzer and non alcoholic ciders and beers. Yet it can be hard, especially after a long hard day or week. A lot of people are into a glass of wine a day. It relaxes them, and helps them get through a rough period of hard work and bratty kids.It would be hard to give that up especially if someone does have a difficult life.

If you thought giving up a margarita or a Pinot Grigio for forty days is hard, then feel sorry for those that give up anything sugary.We're hardwired to eat sugar since our Neanderthal days. It was our way of discerning what was safe for us to eat (namely  naturally sweet things such as  non-poisonous berries and fruits). Yet unlike alcohol, sweet , sugary things are all around us. Can we really walk into our grocery stores and completely ignore those displays of freshly baked cupcakes and cookies? What about the cookie or candy aisle that's like an altar to our food desires? Lent is a good time to give those up and head on to the fruit section. An apple is just as sweet and satisfying as an Oreo, yet, there's something about that cookie and others that make us feel happy - especially after a rough day. The same philosophy with candy. Yes, those blueberries are fun to pop into our mouths but so are M&M's. Can we give up those? Maybe  - but not for forty days. Ice cream is another food to give up. You can, there are ways around it, namely having Greek yogurt with honey or maple syrup mixed in. This is a really good sub and healthy for you too. Still, it's a hard sell, especially with the wide variety of tempting iced treats out there.

Can we stick to our Lenten promises? The only answer is try.The best bet is see how long you can do it. Maybe you can this year.

Sweets For Mardi Gras

What better way to celebrate Mardi Gras than with sweets. It's a tasty way to celebrate all the bad for you treats before heading into austere Lent. There are so many different ones that you can have a feast of them.

One of the most famous is the King Cake. This is more of a bread, originating in France and also popular in Switzerland and Belgium. The sweet airy breads are actually made for Epiphany , hence the name, and continue well into the Mardi Gras season. The recipe does involve yeast as well as some kneading. Some recipes have cardamon and cinnamon along with citron and raisins. These last can be omitted. A vegan version can also be made. This involves subbing in cow's milk with almond milk and eggs with egg replacers (which can be found in the egg section of your grocery store). Vegan butter is also used and again you can use Country Crock's plant butters.The cake bread is braided and baked and then iced with a simple icing glaze. The fun part is adding the Mardi Gras colored sugars of green which represents faith, purple for justice and gold for power. Remember to add in a gold coin or plastic baby as the traditional "gift". You could also make mini King Cakes using Pillsbury Grand Cinnamon rolls. These are fun because you can add a gift to each mini cake so everyone wins.

Beignets are another Mardi Gras treat which can also be made all year round. Again this is basically a bread recipe, made with yeast and bread flour. Again it does require kneading along with another labor intensive step. Eggs and yeast are mixed together and then the bread flour is added. There's also shortening and frying in vegetable oil. They're then dredged in sifted powdered sugar. You could do a sprinkling of blended green, gold and purple sanding sugars to give them a Mardi Gras vibe. Vegetarians can enjoy their version. Again use egg replacers and vegan or vegetable shortening for texture.Use vegan evaporated milk such as Nature's Charm, made with coconut milk. It can be found at Wal-Mart and Whole Foods. Again, the vegetarian beignets are deep fried in vegetable oil. As for the powdered sugar, some vegans refuse to use it because there is animal bone char in it. You can create your own by mixing ground white sugar  or evaporated cane sugar and cornstarch. Can beignets be fried in an air fryer? Yes! They'll still be crisp and hot. They're cooked at about 390 F for three minutes each on each side.

Enjoy these sweet treats to be made for Mardi Gras. They're a great way to celebrate a decadent holiday. Enjoy them with a cafe au lait or Sazarec or Hurricane cocktail!