Memorial Day

A  holiday to honor all the Americans soldiers. An extended weekend where families and friends get together having barbecues, picnics, watching fireworks and weekend with massive shopping sales...

My kitchen renovation is almost over so I hope I will be able to do some cooking and have a picnic on the beach. Not sure yet what to prepare, maybe a Niçoise salad with a twist to make it "americana". I like how fresh it is plus its perfect for the beach.

By the way he is Sebastian always enjoying eating good food.

But talking about sales, I could' t let the online store stay behind. If you are at home this weekend visit http://shop.lolalobato.com and take advantage of our 25% off each product.

The Fat Radish

In a hidden location in Chinatown between Canal St & Hester in NYC is The Fat Radish, a British gastropub loft like  with a hip ambience and farm tables.

We went for a late brunch. Esteban ordered a cheeseburger with duckfat chips and pickles.

I had a Bloody Mary and they had cocktails with green vegetables, fruits vodka & rum. 

Sebastian had the British breakfast eggs with sausages, bacon, beans and roasted tomatoes. The eggs are from a farm in Greenwich.

Laura had a sauté veggies plate and a red beet drink. The whole menu is seasonal with ingredients from  local farms made in a vibrant way.

I had a spaghetti squash with candied bacon and crispy eggs which I had never tried before the combination was really delicious....

Couldn't leave without having a cappuccino. The place had the feeling of a little Covent Garden, we sat in communal table and had very interesting people setting next to us. The waitress was extremely nice and the whole atmosphere was very friendly with good vibes. The location made it more intriguing and adventurous to reach. Next time I'll have the pumpkin pancakes with walnuts and maple mascarpone.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking in Chinatown. 

Cabbage Rolls

This is a continuation post of Eating at my friends house 

A request for Kerrie

2 big cabbage

11/2 cups of  white rice

Finely chopped: 1 onion, 2 tomatoes, 1/2 of cup parsley and 1/4 cup of mint.

2 table spoons of olive oil, 1 spoon of  butter, 1 lemon ( juice )  salt 

4 cups of vegetable broth

Sauce:

In a frying pan add little olive oil and saute, finely chop

1 small onion, 1 tomato, 2 garlic cloves

Prepared the cabbage, remove the core and stick.

Bring to boil , until leaves are softened to be removed one at a time as they start to loosen

Stuffing: combine all ingredients and a juice of a lemon and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil 1 spoons of butter

Place one spoon of the stuffing over a leaf, fold over the filling and roll

In a large pot line the bottom with some remaining  leaves drizzle with olive oil and place rolls close together seam side down and keep doing it layer after layer add the sauce on top add a little of broth  just to cover the rolls top cover with a plate up side down that fits over the rolls. Place to boil keep adding the rest of the broth little by little ounce is boiling  reduce heat to low cover  with a lid and cook for about 45 minutes to an hour rice should be fully cooked.

eating & walking

Let's move! This week my concern is about moving myself, exercising and eating right.

I am not very fond of gadgets having to do with exercise, but thanks to my pedometer given to me from a friend I can now count my steps daily giving me an awareness of my active or at some cases non active lifestyle. It is really easy to use, you just clip it on to your hip and it will automatically stat detecting all your steps. My friend told me that to be healthy and fit we would have to complete 10,000 steps a day which only made me realize the large amount of time I spend sitting at the computer, or driving which I have to change to have a total balance in my style of life. So I have decided to stop what I am doing everyday and for at least an hour or more walk on the beach, park, street... no matter where but walk! It is great you just put the pedometer in the morning and don't take it off until you go to sleep and you will be so surprised of how active or sedentary your lifestyle is. It really is a way to motivate your physical activity.

Of course I have been stressed out with my kitchen remodeling and not being to cook properly since January (when we moved) has made it hard for me to keep up a balance routine. Especially having a food blog and reading my fellow colleague's blogs which immediately make me hungry with their appealing images and delicious comments. I am getting fed up of eating raw foods like salads and trying not to eat much carbohydrates which would really be easy during the remodeling process. I wish my kitchen is ready soon so I can start cooking properly and posting some yummy recipes...

el Sr y la Sra

El Señor y la Señora invited us for tapas and Arroz a la Marinera. They made Sangria and had Manchego cheese which I could eat everyday with Rosemary bread. We also had antipasto which you eat a lot and never feel guilty.

This salad with no name was so refreshing and perfect for a summer day. It reminds me a little bit of the moroccan salad my aunt used to make at my grandmother's house, with black olives and bitter oranges. 

Here is la Sra fixing the table with their adorable Sushi. Remember I am still without kitchen due to the never ending renovation. In this moment it is wonderful to count on friends and enjoy a meal all together. 

El Sr made the marinated rice, which was so tasty and yummy, drizzled with Jerez. I had been craving for Paella or any seafood with rice all month.

La Sra made a classic plate of melon and prosciutto. She wanted to splash them with Porto like she used to have it in Paris. In Paris, they cut a little cantaloupe in half, remove the seeds and add 1/2 glass of Porto.

Laura was still tired and had muscle pain on her legs from her intensive walk along the big apple

The salad without a name was perfect for this hot weather specially in Florida. The black olives they used were marinated with cinnamon so they had an aromatic and sweet flavor which matched beautiful in the salad.

Ingredients:

Arugula

Fennel 

Shallots

Celery

Black olives

Orange 

Black Olives.

Trim the arugula. Then slice the fennel, peel and cut the oranges into segments, mince the shallots, and slice the celery and olives. Combine all ingredients and toss, make the dressing   seasoning with a olive oil, rice vinegar salt and pepper. 

The first shot

The breakfast before breakfast: this is what I decided to have today as my first shot a bowl with berries and nuts, a cup of coffee and a toast. A simple fruit salad becomes a special delight just by adding the mixture of nuts and dried fruits. I like the flavor of the dried coconut over the fresh  fruits, I usually add pistachio too. 

And on the top dried (unsulphered) diced pineapple, papaya, coconut and nuts: walnuts, pecans and almonds. I added a scoop of natural Greek yogurt.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

This is my mom in Spain beautiful as always.
Wishing all moms a Happy Mother's day! Eat with family, have flowers at home, celebrate without the stress of cleaning up, appreciate what you have, observe with enjoyment the small details, adore and be proud of the little ones and the the big ones, go with the flow, spoil yourself and live with passion! love you all 

Just Married!

   

The morning after the wedding in NYC.

At Lyon, a French restaurant in Greenwich Avenue, everyone was waiting outside to have breakfast.

                       

Even the Mexican restaurants were celebrating the wedding with tacos and burritos.

Fish & Chips could not be left out and they were playing one of my favorite songs "Benny and Jets" by Elton John.

The people were eating fish & chips on the street with malt vinegar.

Most of the places couldn't miss the opportunity to expose themselves with decorations. If you couldn't make it to Westminster Abbey and you were in the Big Apple, at Trinity Church in Wall Street they hosted a large screen viewing event even with royals guards dressed up with their British red uniform (Yeoman Warders). Trinity Church was founded by the Royal Charter of England as part of the worldwide Anglican Communion and so is Westminster Abbey.

The little store carries all British goodies candies and sweets. I love Maltesers, Digestive cookies and orange marmalade from the store. I even bought some little British canape flags to decorate my cucumber and salmon sandwiches at home.

This is Nicky Perry, the owner of Tea & Sympathy an English restaurant and shop. The menu is fantastic you can have the perfect afternoon tea with scones, finger sandwiches and cakes.

Shepherd's pie, Roast beef and York pudding......

The tea room was packed with people waiting outside to have breakfast, of course they had the famous Welsh Rarebit: English cheddar with mustard on toast topped with tomatoes. 

     An authentic Royal Fish & Chip experience

Before leaving Greenwich Avenue, I was interviewed by a TV network called Telemundo asking about the Royal Wedding. They asked me about the dress, the kiss and I answered about the food....

NAM

    

From Vietnam in Tribeca NYC

    

Grilled shrimp wrapped around sugar cane with angel hair noodles

    

Shrimp dumplings wrapped in banana leaves

The place is very simple not trendy at all, I was tired and I wanted a quiet meal where I could have a pleasant conversation with not much fuss around me.

What could be best than Vietnamese cuisine.. it's like a peaceful meal, healthy and fresh. I love the combination and taste of mint, basil and lemongrass.

I liked the Banh La, they are very thin shrimp dumplings almost like a paper wrapped in banana leaves, very delicate because of their thin texture and flavor. It came with a nice sauce almost like a tamarind vinaigrette.

The Chao Tom, are grilled shrimp wrapped around a sugar cane with a peanut sauce, they must be great to order for delivery or for an exotic dinner party at home. 

I am not much of a meat eater but Laura order the Bo Lui and it was really good, grilled spiced sirloin. They have green papaya salad with roasted peanuts, coconut rice crepe filled with shrimps and bean sprouts and grilled eggplants with ginger and lime which I liked too.

The menu is very affordable and service very friendly.