Month: January 2014

A Tale of Two Cities… Detroit, New York and [insert city here]…

My apologies for not posting yesterday, it is my goal to post daily on here, but that means that today I’ll post twice!

Yesterday I saw a tweet from Detroit-native and current New Yorker, playwright, Domonique Morriseau.   It was about gentriification in the city and specifically, about rising rents downtown.  Naturally, being from the city that filed for bankruptcy, I was interested and share this article from The Detroit Free Press. 
Are you a Detroiter?  What do you think about the “Tale of 2 Cities” that was mentioned in the article?
It immediately made me think of what is happening here in New York.  In fact, our new mayor, Bill de Blasio, ran his campaign with the theme “A Tale of 2 Cities”, targeting income equality in the city (a very real thing).
Growing up near downtown Detroit, it is nice to see the area thriving, but in no way do I wish for the artists and people who have lived in that area pushed out.  New Yorkers deal with a changing city daily.  Gentrification is part of our way of life.  It is nice for our neighborhoods to benefit, but can’t there be a way for those that have lived there to benefit as well.  In Detroit’s case, while the downtown seems to be thriving, if one goes a little further North, the story will change.  Detroit is a very large city, so how can the success of downtown translate to other areas, WITHOUT disturbing its residents…?

So whether you’re from Detroit, New York or other city in the a similar “2 Cities” Situation, I want to hear about it below!


An Olga and a Coney

Ok people, let’s get serious.  Pregnant women have their cravings.  I have certainly had mine this time around.  I jest that I must be carrying a linebacker because my daughter certainly did not produce the type of serious food cravings that my body feels it must have this time around.

I have quenched most of my very unhealthy cravings with healthier options based on the assumption that my body is craving something it is lacking… so I’ve used some different oils (grapeseed oil, coconut oil…) in my cooking and made some wonderful things from Latham Thomas’ book Mama Glow: a Hip Guide to your Fabulous Abundant Pregnancy.  

But… I think there are two cravings I might just have to give-in to or at least find some healthier substitutions.  Although, because these cravings have such feelings of nostalgia, that might be hard to do.

If you don’t already know, I’m from Detroit… home to the many things… Including… The Olga and the Coney Dog.

An Olga:

Olga’s Kitchen is a mediterranean fusion restaurant chain in Michigan and a few other states, but not in New York 🙁   For those of you who have not tasted the goodness of the original olga,  I can best describe it as a gyro.  That is the only equivalent that I have been able to find here in the city. BUT an olga is NOT a gyro… it is similar in how it appears….maybe, but Olga Bread is something very special and I find an Olga less greasy than what we New Yorkers find on many of our street corners.

An original Olga with an Orange Cream Cooler on Old Woodward in Birmingham bring back some pretty fantastic memories.

So if anyone knows of a way to get an Olga to New York… please… I’m here… ready and waiting.
Not that I’m desperate or begging or anything….

Next on my list…

A Coney Dog / A Coney Island:



I can just see my raw and vegan friends shaking their heads now.  I’m actually embarrassed to admit this.  Again, the nostalgia of anything “Coney” involves Leo’s Coney Island, also on Old Woodward in Birmingham…. There is absolutely NOTHING healthy, green, vegan, raw, vegetarian or nutritious about a Coney Dog.  But alas, something inside of me really wants one…. at least that’s what I keep telling myself…

I think I can find something similar at Sonic Dogs, here in the city or Gray’s Papaya…  I don’t even know.  I’ll have to investigate.  I’ve never been to either of those places and I think I’ve eaten one hot dog in my 7 years in this city.  So, I’m definitely NOT the expert.

But… if someone can lead me to a vegan / healthier version… there HAS TO BE someone in this city able to create that masterpiece…  or at least send me a recipe…  I’ll try anything once!  🙂

I found this recipe in my google search for olga’s…Olga-style Snacker Recipe

… and this recipe from Rachel Ray in my google search for Coney Dogs… 

But to be honest, making something you’re craving when it’s this specific is not at easy as it sounds…

oh gee…

Apple, Pear and Cranberry Crisp

I have a few posts I have been working in this week, but in the meantime, here’s a healthy dessert for your weekend!  
When I make a fruit crisp, I often use this recipe from allrecipes.com .   I found it one day over a year ago when I didn’t have enough apples for an apple crisp but I had pears.
You can virtually do whatever you want with this.  I’ve used raisins instead of dried cranberries and I actually usually use raw cranberries that I cook down, so I use that juice too.  The natural cranberry juice and the lime juice make a nice semi-tart fruit base that combined with the semi-buttery and sweet crumbly crust is delicious!
I have a few other substitutions: whole wheat flour is I use in all my baking instead of white flour and lime juice instead of lemon juice, because we usually have this instead of lemon. 
This time around, I sprinkled ground cinnamon on the apples and nutmeg on the pears that sat in lime juice before mixing everything together in the prepared dish.  However, my little almost two-year old helper was a little over zealous with the cinnamon and the taste was a bit much for my husband.  So go a little easy if it’s not to your liking.

Here’s the recipe (substitutions in bold):
  • 2 Rome Beauty apples – peeled, cored, and cubed  / I used 1 Golden Delicious and 1/2 of a HoneyCrisp

  • 2 Comice pears – peeled, cored, and cubed  / I used 2 BOSC Pears

  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries / I used fresh cranberries that I boiled in some water.

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour /  Whole Wheat Flour

  • 2 tablespoons honey 

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice 

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour / Whole Wheat Flour

  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 

  • 1/2 cup quick cooking oats 

  • 1/4 cup ground walnuts / I DID NOT use Walnuts … Didn’t have any

  • 1/2 cup butter . / I used Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks 
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8 inch baking dish.
  • Mix the apples, pears, cranberries, 1 tablespoon flour, honey, and lemon juice in the prepared dish.
  • In a bowl, mix 1/2 cup flour, brown sugar, oats, walnuts, and butter to the consistency of coarse crumbs. Sprinkle loosely over the fruit mixture.
  • Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until brown and crisp on top.

Let me know if you liked it, what substitutions did you use?  Do you have a favorite fruit crisp recipe?  Share it!  I’d love to try it! 🙂

    Happy Weekend Baking!

    3rd Time’s the Charm!

    I’d hate to lose the people who follow me here, so I’ll be linking all the posts for the time being!

    Thanks for reading and following along 🙂

    http://garliacornelia.blogspot.com/2014/01/3rd-times-charm.html

    Arctic Freeze… No problem

    I’ve been sick and literally in my house for 8 days.  The last time I was out, my daughter and I went grocery shopping… I know… Exciting… But when you’re pregnant with a toddler and your main source of transportation is public transit, stairs and strollers can be a major turn-off.

    I’ve been home with our daughter since she was born.  A choice I made.  I have learned a lot and value the time we have had.  I was hoping to work from home, which is not as easy as it sounds.  Like many women, I had this image of me sitting comfortably in my office while my baby, quietly sat in her highchair and played or read a book, occupying herself until I was finished.  Completely logical… Right… 
    Having worked since I was 17, I was somewhat taken by surprise when my income was severely lacking.  It was very strange, and in another post, I will talk about all the things I attempted to do to make a living while home with a baby.  It’s pretty funny…
    But as usual, I digress… I have been home for 8 days, sick and am now finally feeling better (infecting our daughter and my husband on the road to recovery) and today I was out doing the grocery shopping.
    I was so excited.  

    Of course, my husband put up a fight.  But he’s not feeling well because of me and the below freezing temperatures we are experiencing.  PLUS, I thoroughly enjoy it (I’m from Michigan, and laugh in the face of the cold!…).   In all seriousness, he knew I wanted to go… So go I did…
    My husband often wonders what my fascination is with being out of the house.  I think for me, it is because I love human interaction. (Some might say adult interaction, but doesn’t matter to me).  I crave it.  I met him in a cafe for goodness sakes…. I am very much a people person.  Shy on one side, but lively on the other.  I’m a playwright… a creator of character, which for me often happens based on my surroundings and my observations of the world around me.  
    Not that I’m going to find much human interaction on the empty snow-filled, yet sunny streets of New York.

    The bright sun is pretty misleading…. It was colder than you know what…

    My excursion was not at all disappointing – I made it home going to and from Whole Foods on the train.  I figured Trader Joe’s was a little too ambitious for my condition and the weather without my wasting money on cab fare.  
    I ended up taking a green taxi once back in Harlem a couple blocks, mainly because of the spilled soup I discovered when the train car began smelling like Lobster Chowder.  I could only imagine a stream of warm orange-colored soup littering the snowy white streets on my walk home… :/
    All in all, the day was peaceful out in the city that never stops moving, but I was of course happy to come home to a warm apartment and smiling toddler to help me with the bags! 😉
    Have you ever been stuck someplace and you just had to get out?…

    3rd Time’s the Charm!

    This is the 3rd time I have attempted blogging and I think this time it will stick!  I’m much more determined and now that I’m half-way through 30, I might as well…

    I’ve moved the contents of my old blog here.  Sometimes you just need a fresh start!

    2013 was a Learning Curve year… Needless to say, although I turned 30 halfway through the year, it wasn’t the fireworks explosion of success I was expecting… Like I said, it was a Learning Curve year.

    Looking forward to sharing with you here.

    🙂