Steve’s Pizza for Christmas Dinner?

Christmas day is a little odd in our house since it’s usually just my husband and myself (and sometimes his sister).  We don’t have a very long drawn-out gift opening like I had as a child.  Instead, we take about 5 minutes and open our gifts and then go out for breakfast and maybe dinner later in the day.  I admit it’s fairly boring; I’m looking forward to the little one being old enough to enjoy Christmas so we can have a little more fun!

This year, we went for dinner at a pizza joint- yes a pizza joint.  Nobody was open yesterday so we ended up at Steve’s Pizza south of Aventura.  Apparently this place is famous and has a lot of buzz around it so we were eager to try.

Walking in you’re bombarded with graffitti all over the walls, chairs, booths which would be fun if it weren’t a little dingy and dirty.   Mind you, they were pretty busy for a Christmas afternoon so we overlooked the napkins on the floor and the dust balls hanging on the lights.  I ordered the veggie stromboli which was HUGE and extremely hot but I was disappointed by how bland it tasted.  The marinara sauce is a little sweet and served on the side.  I guess to make sure it wouldn’t get soggy?  Either way, it wasn’t a good mix- sweet marinara with veggies and cheese.

I realize that it’s not the cleanest of meals but I was so disappointed in it that I kept pulling it apart and this is what I came up with right before I stopped eating it.

My sister-in-law ordered a red stripe beer and cherry cheesecake which came out completely frozen and she had to wait till she got home to eat it because her plastic fork barely cut through it (we were there for almost 30 minutes and it was still frozen when we left).  Who serves frozen cheesecake?

I don’t like giving out bad reviews but because this place gets rave reviews from everyone else, I felt it was ok to be completely honest, I don’t think we’ll be hurting their business any.

Bottom line, if you like some flavor and hate sweet marinara sauce, this isn’t the place for you.  Oh- and if you want a desert you can actually eat at the table, it’s probably better to go to a lesser-known restaurant that has to work harder for their customers….

Kitchens of India Black Gram Lentils Curry (Dal Bukhara)

Affordable, quick, nutritious and delicious – when I need to whip something up fast for lunch, dinner or even a snack, Kitchens of India’s Black Gram Lentils Curry (Dal Bukhara) is one of my favorite options. Even my meat-loving better half loves this as a snack with warm naan.

A 1/2 cup is only 150 calories, and the preparation couldn’t be simpler. Cut the package open, heat in a pan or microwave, and serve with bread or rice. Garlic naan is my favorite combination.

Once opened, store in the refrigerator in a sealed tupperware – I like to take some for lunch the next day.

South Florida Farm Share: Bee Heaven/Redland/Pikarco Organics

I’m so excited – I just joined a farm share! I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of years, but just never made a final decision. Jessica was a member of one for a little while, but she decided it was too much having to pick it up each week on a weekday.

Bee Heaven seems to be one of the most popular farm shares in South Florida. It serves Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties, has tons of options when it comes to extras. Aside from the regular CSA vegetable and fruit share, they also offer eggs, honey, tilapia, rice, cheese, Mediterranean dips, Florida sea salt and even more things.

My first pick up is next Saturday, so I’ll post a picture of all the things they give me. I got a half share for now, and signed up for the wait list for eggs (apparently the egg and fish shares are VERY popular).

Here are links for more on the Bee Heaven CSA farm share:

http://www.redlandorganics.com/CSAapp1.htm

http://www.pikarco.com/

And if you aren’t in the South Florida area, you can see what CSA might be close to you here:

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Vegan Kofta Curry from Tandoor Chef Frozen Meals

With the piquant tastes of India, Tandoor Chef has quickly become one of my favorite fast meal options. Healthier than normal Indian-American restaurant fare (no cream, less oil), yet with the same flavors and textures, Tandoor Chef has done a great job with their frozen meal lines. Even the rice tastes fresh, which is hard to find in a frozen meal. The portion sizes are great, and while the calories are a little higher than your normal frozen diet meal, they are also a lot more nutritious. I also love that the company is based here in the United States.

A fair warning for anyone not used to curry or Indian cuisine – the food has quite a spicy edge to it. I think it’s great, and I usually am sensitive to spice, however it can make my eyes water just a bit when biting into the Kofta. Great for awakening the senses, which can help beat my after lunch lull at work.

This particular meal, the Kofta (Vegetable Dumpling) Curry comes with channa masala (which is chickpeas in a tomato sauce) and spinach basmati pilaf. The pilaf is the savior to your taste buds after biting into the deliciously spicy Kofta. The ingredients are simple, with extremely few preservatives.

INGREDIENTS: KOFTA CURRY – water, tomatoes (tomatoes, tomato juice, sale, calcium chloride, citric acid), onions, squash, spices, olive oil, chickpea flour, canola oil, wheat flour, carrot, soy protein isolate, wheat farina, salt, garlic, turmeric, sugar, cabbage, green peppers, baking soda, paprika oleoresin. CHANNA MASALA – onions, water, tomatoes (tomatoes, tomato juice, salt, calcium chloride, citric acid), chickpeas, olive oil, spices, garlic, salt canola oil, mango powder, turmeric. SPINACH BASMATI PILAF – water, basmati rice, onions, spinach, carrots, olive oil, spices, garlic, sugar, turmeric.

There are 400 calories in the 283g meal, with 19g of fat and 10g of protein.

*I purchased this product directly from Publix and have not been asked nor paid to write a review for this company.