Author Archives: kiwiandpeach

Venice Food Guide

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The Kiwi and I are getting so pumped about our Tour of Italy. {We leave in 4 days!} I cannot stop thinking about all the delicious, delicious food we are going to be eating. I’m just a little excited. Can you tell?

Since I have Italy and traditional Italian food on the brain today, I thought I’d share a few of my tips for where to eat in Venice. The Kiwi and I have both been to Venice pretty recently {him for the 2011 Biennale, me in April with my mom}, so we are not including it on the Tour. However, I do think that Venice is a must-see town if you’re in the area. Unfortunately, apart from the squid ink risotto, Venice is not necessarily known for great food, but I’m going to fill you in on a secret. Venetians love their cicchetti and they do it very, very well. This might as well be called “A Cicchetti Guide to Venice,” because every place on my list in a cicchetti bar.

Cicchetti bars were traditionally where folks stopped on the way home from work for a glass of wine and a bit of socializing. Here’s the rub though, folks didn’t want to be drinking all this wine on an empty stomach because they might end up in the canal before the dinner bell even rang. So cicchetti are small bites that you can have with your wine, but that won’t spoil the dinner that is waiting for you at home. Or you can do what we did–order several and make it your meal. {We saw Venetians doing this too. It’s kosher.} The best part about this is that they are generally pretty cheap and you get to try lots of different things!

So here is how it works. You walk into the bar and give the folks behind the counter your best ‘Salve!’ Most cicchetti bars are family run and the person you see behind the counter has probably been there since 5am. Smiles are nice. There will be a glass case full of cicchetti. Have a look at what they have to offer and get to pointing. “Uno {point}, due {point},” you get the gist. They will hand you your food and wine, and then you can find a spot to eat standing up with all of the other locals. I’m not going to lie, this is not for the faint of heart. You probably won’t have a clue what you are eating and it might not look like something you want to put in your mouth, but do it anyway. I never had a bad cicchetti. Not once.

Enoteca Al Volto
Calle Cavalli, San Marco

This was our first cicchetti experience and the owners were so incredibly sweet helping us figure out what to do/order. There is a restaurant part as well, but I can’t vouch for it as we just had cicchetti. The food was delicious {try the marinated artichokes, or the crostini with a big hunk of blue cheese drizzled with balsamic} and the atmosphere cozy. The whole ceiling is covered in wine bottle labels. A great first experience.

ProntoPesce
opposite the Fish Market, San Polo

Right opposite the fish market, the offerings change daily based on the catch of the day. It is pretty much a one man show. The owner gets the fish from the market fresh each morning. Then he cooks up some incredibly tasty bites and when it’s gone it’s gone. I think it’s safe to say that the bites here are a bit more of a modern take on traditional cicchetti recipes. I am not a I know little and less about wine pairings and usually defer to the Kiwi on that front. That said, I can remember that white wines go well with fish. This place has some great local whites that were just perfect with our little bites of brioche with smoked swordfish, mascarpone, and cherry tomatoes and a lemon marinated anchovy couscous that tasted like no anchovy dish I’ve ever had before {meaning that it was good and not crap}.

Cantina do Mori
just off Calle Arco, San Polo

This is said to be the oldest cicchetti bar in Venice. It used to be where people would go to refill their bottles of wine from these huge ‘kegs.’ {That’s not what they are really called. I can’t for the life of me remember their proper name, so I’m going with keg.} Anyway, it is now a bar that offers some heavier cicchetti. There were lots of sliced meats on crostini and fried veggies. Along with these bites they have some great wines that are still served from the ‘kegs.’

Another anecdote… In each square in Venice there is a old well. Each well is different. Way back when, if folks needed water they’d go to the well and fill their copper pots with water to take home. The walls and ceiling at Cantina do Mori are completely covered with those old copper pots.

All’Arco
also just off Calle Arco, San Polo

This is family run cicchetti bar is part of the slow food movement. I found it really interesting because they cook and prepare your food right in front of you when you order. The cook in me really enjoyed seeing how all of these spreads and bites are made. It takes a bit more time, but it’s definitely worth the stop. This is a lunch place and closes at 2.30, so get there early.

{Other Venice Advice}

I am not usually a big fan of organized tours. {My exception is bike tours, but we can talk about that another day.} However, I wholeheartedly recommend the Cicchetti Tour. Our guide, Cecelia, was a local whose knowledge of food culture and slow food blew me away. Plus it’s nice to be told what you’re eating one in a while, yea? Cantina do Mori and ProntoPesce were on our tour, but, as we were there the week after Easter, we apparently were not going to the usual places because they were closed for the holiday. So they may or may not be on yours.

If you’ve had enough of cicchetti bars and want to actually sit down to eat your food, Lauren over at Aspiring Kennedy has some great restaurant recommendations too.

Stay in one of the residential areas {the Dosoduro, the Cannaregio, or the Castello neighborhoods}. We stayed in an apartment in the Dosoduro and it was great! Nothing is really that far of a walk in Venice, but if it is, hop on a vaporetto.

Put down your map, get off the main route, and get lost. You see so much more that way!

Linked with Travel Tuesday

Chicken Pesto Pizza

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When I was growing up, Friday night was pizza night. My earliest memories of Friday Pizza Night was scarfing down Pizza Hut while glued to Boy Meets World on TGIF. This later evolved into scarfing down Dominoes on my way to football games, but I think we can see the trend.

Not all pizza is made for scarfing though. While granted Pizza Hut and Dominoes are not the kings of culinary sophistication, pizza can be so much more than just a “junk food.” It’s a blank canvas that you can fill with all your favorites in creative and tasty ways. It can even be…healthy.

The Kiwi and I can do some damage to this size of a pizza. I usually only end up with one piece for lunch the next day. However, if you were to have a nice side salad with it, I’m sure you could eke out a few extra slices to get you through lunches for a couple of days.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

The Base
pizza dough
½ cup pesto

The Toppings
½ of a red onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 chicken breast
pinch of salt and pepper
½ cup of grated cheese {I used gouda, but parmesan or mozzarella would be good too.}

Preheat your oven to 475°F/240°C. {The longer your oven preheats the better. You want a really hot oven!}

Start heating a pan on medium high heat. While it’s heating up, slice your onion. When it’s hot, melt the butter in the pan and add your onions and brown sugar. Give it a good stir and let them cook for about 5-8 minutes or until they are nice and caramelized, stirring frequently. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Return the pan to the heat and add the olive oil.

While the onions are caramelizing whip up your pesto. Then get to work on the chicken. Cut it into bite sized pieces and sprinkle with some salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Pop the chicken into the pan and cook on each side for about 3 minutes.

Spread a healthy layer of pesto on your rolled out pizza dough. Then layer on the caramelized onions and the chicken. Finally top with grated cheese, and pop it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the crust is a bit brown around the edges and the cheese is all melted. Slice it up and enjoy!

Friday Links

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Happy Friday folks! What mischief are you getting into this weekend?

The Kiwi and I will be dividing up our baby tomato plants. We had no idea so many would actually live! We were a little late in getting them planted {since the weather had been so crap}, but I think we are getting the hang of this urban gardening stuff.

We will also be doing some last minute preparation for our 2 week Tour of Italy. {We leave in a week!} I am on the hunt for a hat {and maybe a few other treats} this weekend.  I’m not a hat wearer per se, but I think that I might need one to keep that hot Italian sun off my face.

Have a great weekend friends!

A great reflection about being present.

So many hat options. {No. 6 is my favorite!}

Travel snacks.

A hilarious BuzzFeed about Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.

Hipster hotels.

Peace of mind about that Chunky Monkey you’re eating.

5 ways to use almond meal

A packing tip I’m thinking I’ll try for our Tour of Italy.

A lovely photography campaign.

Why bees are important.

A great travel prep tip.

And in case you’ve missed it… the Finnish baby box.

The Green

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I’m going to fill y’all in on an embarrassing little secret. Up until about 2009, I ate everything in layers. By everything, I mean everything. Sandwiches obviously, but burritos and pizza too. My family has no idea where this little neurosis came from, but from the time I could feed myself that is how I ate. I’m sure it has something to do with them trying to trick me into eating carrots, but ever since I can remember I ate things ingredient by ingredient so that I knew exactly what I was putting in my mouth. {Hi. My name is Lauren, and I am a bit of a control freak.} Thankfully, I got that under control, and I can now can enjoy and appreciate all of these exciting ‘new’ flavor combinations with minimal angst.

That said… I am a big fan of open faced sandwiches. Why? Well first of all, you can fit twice as much yummy sandwich goodies on there so they are more filling. Secondly, much to no one’s dismay, I like it because I can see what all is happening on the bread, so I enjoy it angst free without fear of carrots. Needless to say, I make these a good bit. They are perfect for weekend lunches, but if you want to make it a meal, throw some roasted veggies on the side or whip up a salad.

I’m curious. Did you have any weird eating habits as a kid? The Kiwi swears he didn’t, but I question his recall.

Kiwi+Peach: The Green

The Green

4 slices of bread
1/4 cup pesto
4 large basil leaves {or spinach}
1/2 of an avocado
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Spread the pesto on each slice of bread and top with the basil leaves and avocado slices.  Grate the parmesan cheese and sprinkle a healthy bit on each slice.  Pop it in the oven on broil for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the leaves have wilted a bit.

Summertime Staple Granola

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Now that summer has finally made its appearance here in Deutschland its time to switch up my breakfast routine. In the winter, I opt for hearty oats with a little bit of honey that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and prepare me to venture out in the frigid wasteland that is Munich.

But summer is here! {Rejoice people!} Bring on beer garden season, runs in the park, and the granola. My absolute favorite summertime breakfast is granola and yogurt sprinkled with fresh summer berries. Life doesn’t get much better than that. Except, maybe, if its homemade granola you’re sprinkling on your yogurt.

The Kiwi and I are a bit picky when it comes to our granola. We want it toasted, but we don’t like the hard clumps that feel like they are going to break your teeth. We weren’t really finding a granola here that was to our liking, so I thought I’d whip up some of my own. There is a ton of refined sugar in the supposedly healthy granola we buy at the shops {in Germany and in the States}. By making our own, I was able to eliminate the highly processed refined sugars and berries that don’t even resemble berries anymore and replace them with just the goodies we like best. The Kiwi says that there is no going back now.

The best thing about making it yourself is that it really is completely customizable to your taste {or to whatever you have in the pantry}. Not a fan of apricots? Try dried apples. Love crasins? Add extra. Go wild y’all, and share your granola combinations in the comments down below. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Kiwi+Peach: Homemade Granola

Kiwi+Peach Homemade Granola

The Wet Stuff
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup honey
1 tbsp vanilla

The Dry Stuff
5 cups spelt oats
1/2 cup dried berries {mix of cranberries, cherries, and blueberries}
10 dried apricots, quartered
1 cup seeds {pumpkin, flax, sesame, sunflower}
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp nutmeg
2 tsp allspice
2 tsp ginger

Preheat oven to 300°F/150°C.

Over medium heat, mix your liquids together in a small pot and bring to a boil.

In a large bowl, mix together all of your dry ingredients. Add the boiling liquids and mix well.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the granola out. Bake for 20 minutes. Get the pan out, give it a stir, and then put it back on for 20 more minutes. Remove, stir and then return to the oven for 5 more minutes. Remove it from the oven and let it cool.

Orange Chorizo Man Salad

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A rule of thumb in nutrition is the more colorful your plate the larger variety of nutrients you’re getting from your food. Following that logic, this salad is the king of nutritional variety. With lots of dark leafy greens, bright red peppers, black olives, and juicy chunks of orange, its as full of nutrients as it is taste, and the chorizo adds that savoriness {and protein} that many salads lack. I lovingly call this the man salad because its salad that even your carnivore can get on board with. In fact, this was actually in the Kiwi’s rotation long before he met me. What good taste he has.

Orange Chorizo Man Salad

{adapted for two from the Company’s Coming 30 Minute Meals cookbook}

The Protein
1/2 of a large chorizo sausage {about 4 ounces/125 grams}
5 or 6 walnuts {or pecans}

The Goodies
8-10 leaves of romain lettuce
1 orange
1/2 of a small red onion
1/2 of a roasted red pepper
2 Tbsp olives

The Dressing
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
dash of salt

Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C. Shell your walnuts and pop them in the oven to toast for about 5 minutes.

While they are toasting start heating a pan on medium heat. Peel the casing off of your chorizo and slice it into 1/2 inch chunks. Toss it in the pan and cook for about 15 minutes or until the outside has crisped up. When it is finished cooking, transfer the chorizo to a paper towel and blot the grease off.

While the chorizo is cooking you can prepare the rest of the goodies for the salad and make your dressing.

Tear up your lettuce and put it in a large salad bowl. {For crispier lettuce, wash your lettuce the night before. Pat the leaves dry on paper towels and then layer them between the now damp paper towels. Put it back in the fridge over night in the crisper drawer.} Peel the orange and cut each wedge into thirds. Thinly slice the red onion and roasted red peppers. Rinse your olives. Then toss them all into the salad bowl with the lettuce. When the chorizo and walnuts are finished toss them in as well.

For the dressing, break out the food processor.  Toss in all of the ingredients and process until the garlic is in tiny pieces and its well mixed. {If you don’t have a food processor, mince your garlic and then you can just throw all the ingredients in a jar.  Pop the lid on and give it a shake.}

Pour the dressing in the salad bowl and toss the salad well. Serve it up and enjoy your colorful man salad.

Spicy Baked BBQ Hot Wings

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The Kiwi and I are big fans of the spicy stuff. We like that added kick of flavor, and the fact that it gives us an excuse to pair whatever we are eating with cheese {you know, for the casein}. We aren’t that crazy though. This one time, in the States, we went to this wing joint where you had to sign a release form to order their hottest level of spicyness. Insane! There is a point where things stop being flavorful and become straight up painful. {I’m looking at you Mr. Habenero.} This sauce is the perfect mixture of flavorful spicyness  and savory sweet–the way that BBQ sauce should be. {Sorry Carolina style fans.}

Seeing everyone on Facebook getting their football tickets for next season {sob} reminded me of the first time I made these. We were ‘tailgating’ in our living room for the first UGA game of the season. We started in on the wings and naturally, once we had the sauce all over our hands and faces, the video feed freezes and continues to do so every couple of minutes through out the game. {face, palm} Moral of the story? Don’t eat these wings when you’re going to have to tinker with fancy electronics.

82 days people. Go Dawgs!

Spicy Baked BBQ Hot Wings

The BBQ Sauce {makes 1 cup of sauce}
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1 tsp paprika
2 Tbsp hot sauce

The Bird
10 pieces bone in chicken wings

Preheat your oven to 400.

Combine everything in a large sauce pan and bring it to a boil stirring constantly. Once the mixture starts getting darker {from the sugars caramelizing}, turn the heat off and keep stirring. Let it cool and then taste test it. Add more of any of the ingredients you think it needs. If it’s too spicy, add more ketchup.

Line up your wings on a lined baking sheet and brush the sauce on the top of each wing. Flip it over and do the same thing on the other side.

Put it in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Get the pan out, brush the tops with more sauce, flip, brush the other side with more sauce, and put it back in. Repeat until they have cooked for a total of 30 minutes.

While the wings are cooking, whip up a blue cheese dipping sauce because you’ll want something to cut the heat {or at least I do}. I usually pair the wings with a green veggie side like steamed broccoli or green beans, so I feel better about the fact I’m eating wings. But sometimes we have it with fries too.

Fried Egg BLT

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Today was mad crazy for me. Most days I really look forward to cooking dinner. My evenings in the kitchen are my me time, and I love that I get to create something everyday. But we all have off days. Today was one of those days. I needed something quick and easy that required minimal brainpower because it’s Friday and I’m running on severe sleep deprivation. Today’s recipe is the perfect dinner for a busy day, and, bonus, you probably already have all of the ingredients in your fridge.

Fried Egg BLT

The Goods
4 slices of bacon
2 eggs
1 tomato, sliced
2 lettuce leaves
2 buns

The Dijonniase
2 Tbsp mayo
1 tsp whole grain sweet mustard
1 tsp whole grain spicy mustard
pinch of salt and pepper

Fry the bacon on medium heat. If you can get maple or peppercorn bacon, do it! It’s super tasty. Since the only bacon we can get here in Munich seems to be the basic stuff {or in large chunk form}, I always add a couple of grinds of pepper and a bit of maple syrup to the pan when I’m cooking the bacon, but I’ll leave that to your discretion.

While the bacon is cooking, prep for the rest of the sandwich. Slice your tomato, grab your leaves of lettuce, slice the bread, and make your dijonnaise.

We don’t use dijonnaise very often, so there really is no point in taking up valuable space in our tiny fridge with a jar of it—especially since it is just a combo of mayo and mustard, which we are going to have in the fridge anyway. You can whip this up in a fraction of a minute. Promise. Just mix it all together.

When the bacon is done, set it to the side and get to frying your eggs. The bacon grease should be enough for your eggs not to stick, but if you want to add a bit of olive oil to be on the safe side go for it. Crack your eggs into the pan and let them cook until the bottom is pretty solid. Carefully flip them over. The goal is to not break the yolk. Depending on how you like your yolk {runny, completely done, etc.} cook them for a bit more. I like mine runny so I usually only do about 30-45 seconds on that side.

When your eggs are done, its time to build your sandwich. Spread the dijonaise on both sides of the bun and layer up your goodies. On days like this I serve it with salt and vinegar potato chips {my weakness} and tell myself we have enough veggies on the sandwich. If you’re feeling ambitious, whip up some sweet potato fries or green beans.

Cashew Pesto from Tupelo Honey Cafe

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I was late to the pesto party. Up until 2010, I probably couldn’t have even told you that there was basil in it. {Don’t hate.} Until… one of my roommates started having it every night {well that or Kraft Mac and Cheese}. I was intrigued, and then I was hooked. While I like the pesto in a jar just fine, it’s hard for me to use up the whole jar before I start thinking that the contents are getting a bit questionable {which probably explains why she had it every night}. If you have a food processor, making it yourself could not be simpler. Plus it is so much fresher and you can easy to control the amount you’re making so you don’t end up wasting money. Not convinced you should make your own yet? It you make your own, you can use cashews. I wish I could take credit for this pesto recipe, but I can’t. It’s from the Tupelo Honey Cafe cookbook and just like the name implies it is made with cashews instead of pine nuts. I love pine nuts, but these cashews take this stuff to a new level.

Kiwi and Peach: Cashew Basil Pesto

Cashew Pesto from Tupelo Honey Cafe

{makes about 1/2 cup}

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves {pack as much in there as you can}
1/3 cup salted cashews
2 cloves of garlic
juice from 1/2 of a lemon {1 Tbsp}
pinch of salt
a few grinds of fresh ground black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil

Add all of the ingredients to your food processor and process. Technically you are supposed to drizzle the olive oil in gradually as you process, but my food processor isn’t fancy enough to have a hole into which to drizzle. I’ve never had a problem just doing it all at the same time, but if you do, try the adding it gradually method. One of our favorite dinners is whole wheat pasta {fusilli, spaghetti, it doesn’t matter} tossed in pesto with these oven roasted tomatoes. Add a healthy amount of parmesan cheese and a bit of cracked black pepper and I call that dinner.

{This post contains an Amazon affiliate link. That means that if you head over to Amazon from the link and choose to buy the book, a tiny bit of the money you spent on the book will come back to me for the referral.} 

Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Blue Cheese

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I can not tell y’all how many times I’ve gone to check out at our local and the cashier will hold up the sweet potato I’m buying and ask me what the heck it is. It happens at least 50% of the time. It invariably leads to other questions which I can’t answer fully because my German is a bit limited. My fall back is always ‘Süßkartoffeln sind sehr gut für Ihre Gesundheit.” which sounds like something a third grader would say. The reason for their lack of knowledge of this magical root vegetable? Sweet potatoes, or kumara in New Zealand, have only been widely available in Germany for about 5 years, so they are relatively new to the German food market. Not everyone has caught on to and embraced the new potato in town. {Maybe they should though. I’m sure sweet potato Knödel would be infinitely better than its current form.}

However, when buying some the other day, I happened upon a little pamphlet in front of the bin from the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission describing why they were good for you {Vitamin A! Very important for this carrot hater} and how to use them, auf Deutsch of course. I actually considered taking a few with me so I could spread the public service announcement to cashiers at other stores, but I refrained. Well done North Carolina. Thanks for having my back. Just one more reason for me to love you.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

The Fries
1 sweet potato
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt {or garlic salt}

The Sauce
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
¼ cup sour cream
2 Tbsp cream
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp plain yogurt

Preheat your oven to 450°F/225°C.

Peel your potato and chop into slices that are approximately 4.25 inches in length and 1/3 of an inch in width and height. Just kidding. Chop them to look like fries. Put them in a medium size bowl, add the salt and olive oil, and toss to coat. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread your fries out on it. Pop them in the oven for 30 minutes. Give them a stir about half way through so they are evenly crispy.

While the fries are baking, break out the food processor. Add all of the ingredients for the sauce to the food processor and blend until its creamy and the blue cheese is in tiny chunks.

This is a great side if your making a burger or any sandwich for that matter. I also make them with wings and when I make buffalo chicken fingers {pictured} because then the sauce can serve double duty.