Culinary Adventure: Istanbul Kebab House

For Mother's Day, we decided to bring my mother out to a fantastic Turkish restaurant, the Istanbul Kebab House.  The Hubby and I had been there before, and have wanted to bring my mother since our visit.  She and my father went to Turkey several years ago, and she said it was her favorite food of any of her travels.

My sister and her husband were with us as well.  We got to sit on the roof patio (and it only sprinkled on us a little).  We shared the food all around.

Turkish meze platter

Amazing lavash bread

Calamari

We shared some appetizers - a Turkish meze platter, crispy phyllo cheese rolls (missed a picture of those), and calamari.

I got a cucumber martini... it was .... weird.

My mother got a fig martini.  That one was delicious.

For main dishes, The Hubby got a spicy lamb (Adana) kebab.

My mother got lamb kofte.

My sister and her husband shared a mixed grill kebab.

I got a vegetable stuffed eggplant.

I didn't get pictures, but the kids got a meatball plate with rice, and a pizza on lavash (they shared).

For dessert, we all got maple apple baklava.  I also had a delicious Turkish tea.

Wonderful Mother's Day!

My beautiful mother!

It was an amazing meal, and the kids tried pretty much everything as well.  It was certainly a culinary adventure, and my mother said that the food was very reminiscent of what she had in Turkey.  That's a win for sure!

Culinary Adventures: Himalayan Restaurant

The Boy and I spent the day with my mother yesterday, and we were wandering around downtown Burlington trying to decide what to have for lunch.  I mentioned that I thought there was a Himalayan restaurant that I hadn't tried yet, and The Boy became unflappable in his determination to go there.

He heard there were dumplings to be had, you see.

So, we found our way to The Sherpa Kitchen. We were not disappointed.

They had a three part lunch menu, with a drink, an appetizer, and an entree for $8.99.  We all went for that.

The Boy had a homemade lemonade to drink, and I was pleased to see that it wasn't overly sweet.  He declared that it was perfect.  My mother had mango lassi, and it was thick enough for the straw to stick up in.  It certainly was not thinned with anything - just fruit and yogurt if we had to guess.

I decided to have the Tibetan chai, and I fell in love a little bit.  A lot of chai is too sweet for me, and is more akin to a pureed granola bar than anything else.  This chai was just slightly spiced tea with milk and was beautiful.

For appetizers, my mother had a lentil soup, and it was just lightly spiced with cilantro and cumin.  We all tasted it, and any of us would have been happy to have it as our appetizer.

I got pakora, which is a onion and vegetable fritter.  The presentation was beautiful.  It's sometimes hard to make a fritter look this pretty.

The Boy decided on a samosa, stuffed with potato and spinach.  He loved it and I was hard pressed to steal a bite.

For our entrees, we decided to each get a different kind of momo, or dumpling.  Each order came with six dumplings, in either vegetable, chicken, or beef.

They were served with a tomato based sauce.

Obviously, The Boy was a fan.  I don't think he has ever met a dumpling of any kind he didn't like.

We decided to spring for a dessert to share.  My father used to make a version of khulfi, but his was more like a pudding.  This was a frozen version, with mango and pistachio, and we all adored it.

The Boy made friends with our waiter, and declared that he wanted to go back all the time.

You never know what your kids will like.  I hope to go for more culinary adventures with the kids (and my mom!) in the future, and more exploration of the culinary world all around us.

Lunch: 2.11.13

The Girl has some applesauce in a SquishySnakPak for snack (not pictured).

Her lunch is some baby pineapple, half a kiwi, asparagus with dip in an Easylunchbox Mini Dipper, and a ham sandwich on homemade sourdough, packed in an Easylunchbox Brights container.

Lunch for The Boy: 2.11.13

The Boy has some applesauce in a SquishySnakPak (not pictured (15g).

Pineapple: 20g, sandwich: 20g, radish & dip: 2g, apple slices: 5g, Goldfish: 5g

His lunch is half a baby pineapple, apple slices, some homemade sourdough bread with liverwurst, radish slices with dip, and some goldfish crackers, all packed in his Easylunchbox Brights container.

Culinary Adventure: South African Baby Pineapples

A few years back, I saw baby pineapples online... but I've never been able to find them in person.  I was completely obsessed with them for a while, and called around to all of my local grocery stores to see if there was anyone who carried them.  Nothing.

Then I became a food blogger, and I became more intrigued with tiny things.  I think that much is clear to anyone who has been reading my blog for any amount of time. When some of my bento blogger friends were talking about mini apples they found last week, my mind returned to the mini pineapple.  I've become bolder and more resourceful through the years, so I went directly to the source.  I found a distributor of produce - Melissa's Produce - and I wrote them to see if anyone in my area stocks the mini pineapples.

How delighted was I when they wrote back and said that no one in my area currently carries them, but they'd be happy to send me a free sample.  Yes, there was dancing involved.  Perhaps some squealing.  I had a bit of a rough week, so this was the bright light that I needed.

I received the box of South African baby pineapples on Friday.  Four delicious looking, tiny, beautiful fruits about the size of a large apple.

I brought one out to my parents' house to share with my family.  It was perfect timing - Winter Storm Nemo had just dropped over a foot of snow on us, and we could use a little tropical cheer.

We are all in love.  They are slightly less acidic and more sweet than ordinary pineapples, and you can even eat the core!  It's a little harder than the rest of the flesh, but certainly not a deterrent to eating it.

I cannot wait to pack them in lunches - and I kind of want to bring one around to all of my local stores to see if I can sway any of them to carry these little beauties.  I am going to be very sad when my four are gone, and I will continue looking for them in stores.

Have any of you tried these adorable baby pineapples?

Lunch: 10.15.12

Monday!

The Girl wasn't feeling tip-top this weekend, so I don't know if she'll be enjoying this snack and lunch at school, or at home... she said she wanted me to pack it, whether or not she goes to school or stays home.

Her snack is some mini pumpkin doughnuts that I made with this recipe from King Arthur Flour, in my mini doughnut pans.  Her snack is in a container I found at Michael's craft store a couple years ago.

Her lunch is some ham sandwiches in bat shape, in a silicone spider cup, some applesauce in an Easylunchbox mini dipper, grapes and kiwi berries (see The Boy's lunch post for more information on kiwi berries!), and a homemade granola bar, all packed in an Easylunchbox.

Lunch for The Boy: 10.15.12

Happy Monday!

Mini doughnuts: 10g each (4 doughnuts = 40g)

The Boy's snack is some mini pumpkin doughnuts that I made with this recipe from King Arthur Flour, in my mini doughnut pans.  His snack is in a container I found at Michael's craft store a couple years ago.

Sandwiches: 20g, yogurt with maple and sprinkles: 15g, applesauce: 8g, melon & kiwi berries: 6g, wafer cookie: 4g

His lunch is some Jack-o-lanteren ham sandwiches (made with this press), in a silicone pumpkin cup, some Cabot Greek yogurt with maple syrup and a small amount of Halloween sprinkles on top in an Easylunchboxes Mini Dipper, blueberry applesauce (also in a mini dipper), kiwi berries & watermelon balls, and a taro wafer cookie, all in an Easylunchbox.

How adorable are these things?

A note about the kiwi berries.  I first saw them over on Molly's Lunch Box, and I knew I had to try to find them.  Imagine my glee when I stumbled upon them in the store today!  They were not cheap, and I will not be making them something that I let the kids eat my the handful, but they are super cute and absolutely lunch-worthy.  They are tiny, as you can see, and you can eat the skin (which is not furry).  The Boy doesn't like regular kiwis, but he is super excited about kiwi berries!

I looked up how to grow them yourself, and they are hardy, and sound like they would grow well here in Vermont, but... they can take up to 8 years to bare fruit.  Add to that fact that I am a kind of terrible gardener, and I think that's something I will leave on the dream list.  I wonder if anyone local grows them?

Culinary Adventure: Dragonfruit

I went to an Asian market the other day and saw dragonfruit.  I couldn't resist.  I've never had dragonfruit itself.  I think I've had dragonfruit "flavored" things, but you know the dragonfruit is pretty far down on the list...

So, I decided we should embark on this culinary adventure as a family.  I'd like to do this more often - pick something we've never tried and try it. 

From what I read on the internet, dragonfruit has a mild flavor, almost like a mixture between pear and kiwi, and have plenty of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, potassium... and on and on... some claim some serious health benefits.  I don't think it's magical.  I do think it costs $5/lb, so it isn't something we'll be enjoying very often, but...

When it came time to try it, I sliced it open to reveal the beautiful black spotted, white flesh of the fruit.  Alas, the most gorgeous part of the fruit, that glorious skin, is not edible.  Into the garbage it went.  I also have read about using the skin as a serving dish for the fruit.

Each of us took a small piece to taste.

The Hubby was not impressed.  He thought that the flavor would be more ... something.  For being such a bright fruit, he expected a bright flavor.  The Boy agreed with The Hubby.

The Girl and I liked it.  It does have a very mild flavor, almost grassy in the aftertaste.  I cubed up the remaining fruit and put it in a container in the fridge.  It should keep for a while.  I made a little fruit salad for The Girl with dragonfruit, kiwi, and a little honey and cinnamon.  That went over very well. 

What is the last new fruit or vegetable you tried?  And I wonder what I'll find next for us to try...