Strawberry Power!

Our Bucket 'O Strawberries

Yesterday morning a couple of friends and I ventured out to Loganville, GA to pick fresh strawberries from Washington Farms. About 45 minutes outside of Atlanta, Washington Farms produces strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and pumpkins throughout the year. We had a fun time picking the sweet, juicy berries and it was nice to get out of town, even if only for a little while.

Kimberly and Calvin picking Berries

Fresh Strawberries, right off the vine!

Calvin Holds the Perfect Berry

A Close Up!

Kimberly Keeps Her Berries Cool!

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday to You!! Cousin Joanne blowing out her candles.

I decided to bake a chocolate buttermilk cake for my Cousin Joanne's birthday this week. I've made this cake for several years (from scratch, of course) and it is always a crowd pleaser. It was fun surprising her on Thursday evening and she and Cousin Craig enjoyed the rich chocolate cake with chocolate frosting! I enjoyed some, too...

AJC Worthy

Amy and Grandma Sarah, April 2008

Check out the article in the Thursday, May 1 Edition of the Atlanta Journal Constitution detailing my Grandma Sarah's life story and her recipe for slaw.

Thai It Up!

Lemon Sea Bass and Spicy Eggplant with Chicken

Little Bangkok on Cheshire Bridge Road is one of my favorite hole in the wall ethnic restaurants. I was first introduced to it by my cousins Joanne and Craig, and as it's quite near where I live and where I work, I've been a regular there since I moved to Atlanta. One of the keys to dining here is to recognize the small specials list that stays on each table. The lemongrass steamed sea bass is like a flavor explosion in your mother - really a unique and tasty dish. Little Bangkok will tailor the spiciness of the dishes to your taste and thankfully, if you ask for it spicy, it really is hot!

A JCT Birthday!

Fried Chicken under a JCT Kitchen Salad

Our office dined at JCT Kitchen to celebrate Lori's birthday. We had a most enjoyable meal, beginning with homemade pickles and wonderful bread with sweet butter (maybe peach flavored?). I talked one of my co-workers into sharing her cheeseburger and fries with me - very tasty. I ordered the above pictured fried chicken salad, which is my favorite salad of the moment. The chicken was so fresh and the salad, with candied pecans, green beans and a light buttermilk ranch, really hit the spot. Others in our group ordered the avocado shrimp salad, the "grown-up" grilled cheese with a cup of corn chowder on the side and the grilled chicken BLT sandwich with avocado - that one was a HUGE sandwich that looked quite tasty.

For dessert we shared the rum soaked coconut cake on which the staff had kindly written "Happy Birthday" in chocolate, lemon doughnuts with espresso ice cream and ginger bread pudding (my personal favorite). JCT Kitchen now offers a special family style Sunday supper for $24 per person. I definitely want to come try that as well as their regular dinner menu.

Homemade Pickles

"Grown-Up" Grilled Cheese with Corn Chowder (usually served with tomato soup, but you can substitute). The bread was a brioche toasted with LOTS of butter!

Grilled Chicken BLT with Avocado and Fries

JCT Burger with White Cheddar and Calorie-worthy Fries

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Lemon Doughnuts with Espresso Ice Cream

Ginger Bread Pudding with Lemon Curd Sauce - my personal favorite!

The Birthday Girl with Rum soaked Coconut Cake

Dancing Lebanese Men!

Mediterranean Delight Platter

Falafel

Yesterday I had a group meeting at Nicola's, an entertaining Lebanese restaurant where, if you're lucky, you might see the owner balance a bottle of wine on his head while doing a bit of a fully clothed belly dance. The food was pretty good - I enjoyed the hummus and the eggplant with rice. I thought the falafel was overspiced, though. Our waiter insisted we try the Turkish coffee, which went quite well with the baklava. On weekends they have belly dancing and apparently the whole place gets up to dance. This I'll have to see, but I may need a drink, or two...

My Addiction

Green tea yogurt with blackberries, strawberries and mango

For awhile now I have been addicted to the short menu available at Yoforia, an Atlanta frozen yogurt chain. Catching on to the healthy fro yo craze that already hit LA and New York, the flavors available are simply: original, green tea and pomegranate, although I believe they are making a new chocolate flavor that will be available soon - that I'll have to try. Then you choose your toppings (up to three). I usually go for the fruit, although the availability of mochi is always tempting and, surprisingly, Oreo cookie crumbles are very good with green tea yogurt! The fact that each ounce of yogurt is only 25 calories makes it even more difficult to curb the craving!

Exodus

Grandma Sarah and Amy enjoy the Festive Meal

This weekend I returned to the region of my birth to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover with a traditional Seder and dinner. It was great seeing the family and the food was as good as ever. We had matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish (from Alon's), eggs & onions and brisket with all the fixins. I am so glad my Grandma Sarah was able to host us again this year, even though it is a huge amount of work to prepare for this dinner. For dessert we had meringues and a special chocolate passover cake...Yum.

The Seder Plate

Our Seder table.

Brisket, green beans, tsimmes and salad.

Finger Lickin' Good

Catfish, tater tots and hush puppies

Chopped brisket sandwich with onion rings

Yesterday a friend and I dined at Fox Bros. BBQ. The restaurant was one of several participating in the "Dining Out for Tornado Relief" effort aimed at raising money for victims of the recent Atlanta tornado. As a result, the place was packed for a Monday night, and we waited almost an hour. Nevertheless, my brisket was tasty and my friend's catfish was good, too. I liked the large, flavorful hush puppies as well as the wonderful dessert of peach pound cake with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream on top (it was so good I forgot to take a picture!) I did feel bad, though, for the couple dining next to us who came in specifically for the catfish special only to find out they were all out - apparently they do not eat any other kind of meat so there wasn't much for them and they left after having waited for a table. So sad... motto of this story is GET THERE EARLY!

Frank Ma's (Dinho)

So today I had the chance to check out Frank Ma's Chinese restaurant, located in Atlanta's very own Chinatown, which is more like a shopping center than a neighborhood.

Fortunately, I was with a big group so we tried several wonderful dishes including the famous Shanghai soup dumplings, chive filled pancake, shrimp (basic dish), 3 cup chicken with great garlic, and a few more things... My favorites were the fish cooked in hot oil and the eggplant with garlic sauce. Shamefully I did not take any photos, but I am going to get back to blogging on a regular basis... I promise!

Afterwards a few of us went into the food court where freshly steamed ducks are for sale. I might have bought one if I hadn't been stuffed but I did save room for a snowcone from SunO.

Seafood Galore - a Cooking Class

Amy with Virginia Willis

Yesterday I took a cooking class at Cook's Warehouse in Decatur, Georgia. The instructor was Virginia Willis, who has recently published a cookbook called "Bon Apetit, Y'all." She is also soon to star in two episodes of Martha Stewart's TV cooking show. It was really fun watching Virginia cook and I hope to take another cooking class soon!

Mussels with Herbed Garlic Toasts

Trout, Scallop and Salmon

Beleza!!

Assorted chips with salsa

Finally, I was able to try Beleza with a friend of mine the other night. The food is organic, mostly veggie Brazilian (sorry you carvinores, no giant skewers of meat!), and I really enjoyed our meal. Portions are small and it's not cheap, but it was definitely unique and I enjoyed the various tastes. Their cocktails are rumored to be delicious, too, as they use a variety of exotic juices.

Papaya Salad with Tofu (instead of beef)

Best raw salmon EVER!! With a little olive oil and sea salt.

Greens with red curry sauce and Forbidden Rice

Chocolate sorbet with grilled banana - Beleza uses only natural sweeteners and does not use white sugar.

Truffles - very dark and very delicious!

I could see myself going back to Beleza again, but probably not before I try Cuerno, the new Spanish place next door under the same ownership.

Southern Sweets!

Carrot Cake

On Saturday I lined up with a bunch of soccer playing kids to get a piece of excellent cake from Southern Sweets in Decatur. Dad was visiting and we went with the cousins to try a piece before going to the DeKalb Farmer's Market - that's quite a find, too if you haven't been there. The farmer's market has foods from around the world and a clientele to prove it.

I definitely want to go back to Southern Sweets - great looking desserts and their lunch menu looks delicious, too.

Update: I've been back here several times and enjoyed a piece of red velvet cake over the weekend (3-28-09).

Red Velvet Cake - very tasty - I love the cream cheese frosting.

Queen of Sheba

Look at my hand compared to that plate!

Yesterday I went out with a group of friends to Queen of Sheba, one of the better Ethiopian restaurants in Atlanta. Luckily we had enough people to order the GIANT platter of food, getting tastes of beef, chicken, lamb and vegetarian dishes. Ethiopian cuisine is one that I cannot eat often, but when I get a craving for it I can't stop myself. You use your fingers to hold pieces of injera (sourdough-like flat bread made from a grain called teff), which you use to eat the various stews that come on the platter. Afterwards, you eat the injera soaked with all the yummy juices.

My favorite is usually the lamb, especially with the red awaze sauce that you can get mixed in or on the side. The collards are also notably good as are the potatoes, cabbage and carrots.

On Thursday evenings, Queen of Sheba has live jazz beginning at 8 PM.

The plate was HUGE!

Zaytinya in DC

Hummus, Baba Ganooj and Fattoosh

I had some lovely mezze with my cousins and my mom in DC. We were able to get the restaurant week menu so we tried lots for a low price.

Falafel, Calamari and Sauteed Shrimp

Lamb kabob, chicken kabob and salmon

Dessert!