Tag Archives: Food

Travel Guide

Travel Guide: St. Louis, MO

4 Comments

“Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair . . .”

Reference? Get it? Get it? Yes? No? Look it up.

Teehee.

Last weekend, my friend Lucas and I visited Ally, another friend, in St. Louis, Missouri. Ally has lived in St. Louis since we started college many moons ago, and now that we’ve been out of college for a few years, we decided that it was high time to visit her. Lucas lives in California now and I’m moving to Malaysia in August, so it was a “now or never” kind of trip. Ally was an excellent tour guide for the four days that we were there. She took us to fun places and great restaurants and introduced us to her life in the Midwest. There’s a LOT to do there and I would definitely go back.

I wasn’t entirely responsible with taking pictures when we were away; Lucas took on most of that responsibility. Here’s a little taste, though:

Thursday night Cardinals game
Thursday night Cardinals game
St. Louis Arch
St. Louis Arch
Did you know it's as wide as it is tall?
Did you know it’s as wide as it is tall?
Delicious, refreshing, summery beverages
Delicious, refreshing, summery beverages
The outdoor area of the City Museum, a magical place where people of all ages can run, jump, climb, and exlplore
The outdoor area of the City Museum, a magical place where people of all ages can run, jump, climb, and explore
One last hurrah
One last hurrah

If you’re intrigued, here’s a list of places we went (in the order that we went to them):

  • Cardinals Game
  • Kemper Gallery at Washington University
  • Washington University
  • St. Louis Arch
  • Missouri Botanical Gardens
  • Climb So Ill (this is the climbing gym where Ally belongs – LOVED THIS)
  • City Museum

And for those inclined in the food direction, here’s where we ate and drank (in the order that we tried them):

  • Broadway Oyster Bar
  • Hartford Coffee Company
  • Cafe Osage
  • The Royale
  • Pi Pizzeria
  • Rise Coffee
  • Sassy Jack’s
  • Cafe Mochi
  • HandleBar
  • Oceano Bistro
Recipes

Recipe Box: Tuna and White Bean Salad

Leave a comment

It has been brutally hot and humid here for the last few days, so eating anything even moderately warm has been out of the question. I adore summer salads and that’s been my answer to the dinner question for the past several days. Today I made a tuna and white bean salad. It’s very quick, very easy, and more than adaptable. Once I added broccoli and basil because I had some in the fridge. I’ll give you general measurements that I use, but please don’t worry about following them. They’re just a guideline.

Tuna and White Bean Salad

You’ll need . . .
4oz green beans
1 can tuna packed in water, drained and flaked
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 red pepper, diced
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 c. parsley leaves
2 green onions
Juice of two lemons
Kosher salt
Black pepper

In a pot of boiling salted water, cook green beans until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking. Add next 7 ingredients. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.

Enjoy and stay cool!

 

Recipes

Recipe Box: Tzatziki

6 Comments

Tzatziki is a dish of Middle Eastern origin that is often served as a side dish with pita, as a topping to other Middle Eastern dishes, like falafel and shawarma, or as part of a mezze selection. I made tzatziki tonight to accompany vegan shawarma (made with seitan), homemade dill pickles, and a chickpea-based Israeli-style salad. If all of that means nothing to you, try this: I cooked with a bunch of fresh vegetables and Middle Eastern spices, which is probably my favorite way to cook.

As an educator, I’m a process-oriented person, so my photos for today depict the process of making tzatziki rather than the finished product. Tzatziki is made with yogurt and dill (in my version) among other things, so it looks prettier unfinished. For the finished product, picture white yogurt with green flecks. (….Yum….)

On the way to becoming tzatziki
On the way to becoming tzatziki

What are all those ingredients, you ask? Good question.

You’ll need . . .
6oz plain Greek yogurt
1 cucumber, grated and drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of one lemon
Juice of half a lemon
2 tbsp freshly chopped dill
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Whisk together first 6 ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill and serve.

Kitchen gadgets that I used while putting this together
Kitchen gadgets that I used while putting this together

Enjoy!