Moving Day!

Q's Eats is moving. (I know. I just got here. I'm fickle. Deal with it.)

I'm in the process of transitioning to my new home, so feel free to visit me HERE.

See you at the new place!

Taqueria National

A new lunch option on Capitol Hill: Taqueria National. Owned by the same folks who run Johnny's Half Shell, the Taqueria only serves breakfast and lunch and closes at 3 every day. (Sadness!)

Fish Tacos: $2.95 each. Online reviews of Taqueria National complained of their corn tortillas being too dry. I, however, had no such complaints. These were fabulous! I got a couple containers of the red chili salsa (medium heat). I'm happy to report - it's good stuff.

Today I went crazy and got a REAL Coca-Cola in a glass bottle - but not just any Coca-Cola! A Coca-Cola made in Mexico! It's Amazing how much better things taste when they're sweetened with real sugar and not corn syrup.

Cupcake One-Upmanship

Josh Short, the pastry chef at Buzz Bakery, just keeps outdoing himself.

Last month's cupcake of the month was the 9:30 Cupcake, named after D.C.'s popular live music venue, The 9:30 Club. (I had one. It rocked.)

I wasn't sure chocolate ganache-covered chocolate frosting on a Devil's food cupcake could be topped.

This Short guy just took it to the next level. According to Metrocurean, the new cupcake of the month has PEANUT BUTTER BACON FROSTING on a DEVIL'S FOOD CUPCAKE. (OH MY GOSH, WHY AM I SCREAMING?!)

Joe's Stone Crab Key Lime Pie

Cooking one of my best friend's favorite desserts in her kitchen. We were going to bake it together but her 6-month-old had other ideas in mind (ie. playing with the Microplane...)

Joe's Stone Crab Key Lime Pie

1/3 box of Graham Crackers
5 tbs. melted unsalted butter
1/3 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
2 tbs. lime zest
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 c. fresh key lime juice
1 c. whipping cream, chilled
2 tbs. powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven 350.
2. Crush graham crackers, add melted butter and sugar. Press into bottom and up along the sides of a pie plate. Bake for 7-8 minutes. Leave oven on.
3. With wire wisk attachment, beat egg yolks and lime zest on high speed - about 5 minutes, until very fluffy. Gradually add condensed milk and continue to beat until thick - about 3-4 more minutes.
4. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add lime juice, mixing just until combined. Pour mixture into crust.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until filling has just set. Cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate. Freeze for 15-20 mins before serving.
6. Whip cream and sugar until stiff. Serve with pie.

Nikujaga: This stuff is money

Recipe here.

Eating Well for Less $$ (and fewer calories...)

My goal for August is to drastically reduce the number of meals I eat out. Two reasons:

1) Eating out wastes a ton of money

2) Eating out wreaks havoc on my body

I'm not talking about giving up great Saturday night dinner dates or trying new restaurants. What I do intend to cut out are the mindless morning trips to Starbucks for a Grande Coffee (half of which I never finish) and a $2 shot of empty calories, usually in the form of Reduced-Fat-So-I-Can-Pretend-It's-Good-For-Me Cinnamon Coffee Cake. Occasionally I throw caution to the wind and go for a scone and in those instances, I should really just rub a stick of butter on my backside and get it over with...

Another bad habit I'm trying to break is going out to dinner once I get home from work and realize I don't feel like cooking. This means making a sushi run with my roommate or going to Chipotle, which is pretty ridiculous when we have a packed fridge and well-stocked pantry. Last week, I ate out Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday nights. I wish I could tell you I was sipping lemon water and gazpacho and nibbling on light summer salads, but that would be a big fat lie. By Monday morning, I felt like there was a brick in my stomach. My 8 hour work day felt like 12. The BodyCombat class I taught Monday night was tough to get through.

But the start of a new month always feels like a clean slate to me. And this month - August - is hereby dedicated to fiscal and caloric discipline. I've already made a good start:

-No Starbucks

-Made a ginormous batch of Roasted Corn and Poblano Chowder (something tells me my Texas coworkers are gonna be all over that...)

-Made a ginormous batch of Nikujaga (that's Japanese Beef Stew - and it's AMAZING.)

So here's to tightening my belt and spending less, and perhaps even losing a few pounds in the process. Losing weight is a really great side-effect of cooking for yourself. You don't realize how many extra calories you're consuming by eating out; even when you think you're being "good", restaurant kitchens are throwing heaps of butter and oil into EVERYTHING they serve. When I cut back on restaurant meals, I have a much easier time maintaining my energy level and my weight. And as Lucille Bluth told her daughter Lindsay, "You want your belt to buckle, not your chair."

My First Hummus

This was my first time making hummus. It was inspired by a trip to Aladdin's Eatery, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Shirlington, last week. I never EVER buy hummus at the grocery store because I think it's too thick and gritty and frankly, the thought of it gags me. But Aladdin's hummus is creamy, smooth and thinner than the kind you buy in tubs at the supermarket.

A recipe popped up on Tastespotting just yesterday promising "Hummus in 2.5 minutes!" - and I knew it was a sign! :) NOW wer're making hummus! (And I say that last line in my best G.O.B. Bluth voice....)

I had some educational moments at the ole' Harris Teeter tonight while shopping for my ingredients. Wouldn't you think they would keep the Tahini (sesame paste, which is crazy-high in protein by the way) with the international foods?
Yeah no. It's with the peanut butter. I know I should let it go and move on, but I'm pretty annoyed about this and probably will be for quite some time. (Prepare yourselves.) I became so consumed with the Tahini search that I forgot other ingredients for things I'm making this weekend. But I digress...

Moving on.

The hummus I made was loosely based on this recipe from a blog I found called "Kiss My Spatula." Her recipe calls for Turmeric (which I don't have) and Cumin (which I couldn't find in the spice cabinet.)
My version was a little more like this:
1 can chickpeas, drained (liquid reserved)
2 tbs. Tahini
1 clove of garlic, peeled
Juice of one lemon
3-4 tbs. olive oil
Sea salt and fresh black pepper
Paprika and fresh parsley for garnish ("garnish"...that always reminds me of "You've Got Mail." Meg Ryan telling Tom Hanks, "What - what are you doing? WHAT are you doing? You're taking all the caviar. That caviar is a GARNISH.")

Dump it all in the cuisinart and snap the lid on. Press the "on" button.

I let mine run for several minutes b/c I like hummus completely smooth. I added back 2-3 tbs. of the chickpea liquid and blended it some more.

Then I ripped off a chunk of Mediterranean Flatbread, taste-tested my hummus and declared it good.
Try it. It's super-fast, inexpensive and easy. Bonus: it's good for you. Hello protein, fiber and monounsaturated fat (the kind that's good for you.) Knock yourselves out.

And please join or become a fan of (or at the very least - "like") my new Facebook movement to have Tahini relocated to the International Foods aisle at Harris Teeter.