Hot Lunch: February 2008

Vegetarian Cassoulet

That recent beef recall totally disgusting me and reminding me why I became vegetarian in the first place nearly 18 years ago, I have decided to end my sojourn into carnivorism and go back to being vegetarian (with three exceptions: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Europe). So I was very excited to see this recipe for vegetarian cassoulet in the March 2008 issue of Gourmet.

I will definitely substitute the water for broth next time, and add a splash of wine, for some more flavor. My favorite part of this recipe was toasting the breadcrumbs:

I bet these would taste really good baked onto some homemade mac and cheese!

Sophia Mini

This was an impulse buy as I'd never seen these in a store before. It's sparkling wine named after Sophia Coppola, and I'd read about it before and thought it was such a cute idea, champagne in a can with a little straw attached! I love the pink and silver packaging, and yes, the cans are so cute!

Unfortunately, I didn't care for the taste so much. It's not horrible, just a little too sweet. I guess I prefer actual Champagne. But whatever - it's perfect for dancing around the house and listening to some French pop music!

Chocolate Martini

Chocolate martini! I decided to invest in a bottle of creme de cacao since we had everything else in the house to make these. G helped me figure out what exactly constituted a "shot," and thanks to his mathematical expertise the drinks came out perfectly. Oh, so good. Look at that creamy color! I'd like to note that these glasses are on the small side, not those obnoxiously large martini glasses found in chain restaurants and cheesy "martini bars." And thank God, because these things pack a chocolate punch!

Work Food Round-Up

Here's some food I brought to work one day last week:

Graham crackers and peanut butter snack. I got a box of the cinnamon graham crackers from Whole Foods, but they are too crumbly. I won't buy them again.

Spicy chickpea soup with green onion and a dollop of sour cream. It said to top with a dollop of plain yogurt, but I wanted sour cream instead. I got that cute little glass jar at Crate and Barrel.

I think I also brought a Tofurky sandwich, but I must have inhaled it before I took a picture. And finally, my afternoon snack:

Chocolate! Every afternoon, without fail. I get kind of twitchy without my chocolate break! I have three big bars in my desk drawer right now. I decided to try one of those new Hershey Cacao Reserve bars, and it was actually pretty good. Won't replace my beloved Lindt, but yummy nonetheless. Kind of amusing how they mimicked the Lindt bar package:

They both have that little corner you rip off in the upper right-hand corner.

Winter Strawberries

I've never had such red, juicy, flavorful strawberries in the middle of winter before! I picked these beauties up at Whole Foods. They are from Astin Strawberry Exchange in Plant City, Florida, which, according to the website, is the "winter strawberry capital of the world." I believe it! Doesn't look like the farm is organic, but I'm willing to overlook that. I had just seen a show on Food Network about strawberries, and they very simply said, if they don't smell like strawberries, they won't taste like strawberries. I cracked open a container, took a whiff, and lo and behold, my nostrils filled with the lovely odor of strawberries. I usually do not buy strawberries in winter as they tend to be white and flavorless. But not these. Definitely pick some of these up if you can find them!