Life’s a Beach

It’s finally summer which means…beaches, ice cream, ice pops, excursions, traveling, sunshine, not being pasty, eating stone fruits and other summer wonders like TOMATOES, picnics, fireworks, getting caught in a warm rainstorms, cute outfits, and so much more. Can you tell I’m pumped about the season? I love warm weather. The hotter the better… okay I’ll stop hyperventilating and get on with it.

To kick it off, I began the season of joy with a grub crawl. When my cousin Asia (who’s essentially my sister and partner in eating everything we can in the world) wins tickets to the Bon Appétit Grub Crawl, what does one do? They take off of work, eat and drink from morning until night and then pass out! It was a Brooklyn Grub Crawl starting at Habana Outpost in Fort Greene and ending up at No. 7. I ate some awesome elote (Habana Outpost), some buttery steak (Speedy Romeos), drank some outstanding cocktails (Sisters on Fulton Ave.), had one of my new favorite drinks of all time called the Bergamonster (The Finch), and ate some bomb broccoli tacos ( No. 7). It was fab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***Need a restaurant recommendation in NYC or Brooklyn? I’m you’re lady! Message me at mschwim8@gmail.com for any info on restaurants , recipes, or food recs!!***

After my day of gluttony and intoxication I decided maybe I should take it easy. So what do I decide to have for breakfast? I cooling, refreshing, and summery breakfast of strawberries, cream and cookies….

Alright, alright, cream and cookies is not what sounds like “taking it easy” BUT I have been waiting to make this recipe all winter and for the record it is way healthier than it sounds. There’s yogurt, fruit, whole grain and honey.

I used this recipe and I was beaming with excitement because it’s finally strawberry weather and I can make this beautiful breakfast. And if you don’t follow mynewroots you totally should. Because she’s beautiful and her recipes are extraordinary.

http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2014/06/strawberries-and-danish-summer-cream/

Let me just say the smell of cardamom and lemon biscuits in the oven is intoxicating and the mix of sweet, ripe strawberries with “cream” is luscious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And just to add insult to injury I spent my next day in the city eating as well. I went over to Nom Wah Tea Parlor for some dim sum and let’s just say their bean curd roll are super and the tea not so much (was pretty weak for a tea parlor). Asia and my summer goal is to eat at as many dim sum, dumpling, hand pulled noodle, and ramen places as humanely possible. I think we’re on our way for fulfilling our goal. Stay tuned for a detailed Chinatown, Flushing and Sunset Park Map of great eats.

If you’re also excited about summer and all it’s possibilities RAISE YOUR HAND! I know I am.

P.S- You can follow my summer eating/adventuring on Instagram @realschwimshady

Breakfast Bowl

I love breakfast. One of the best websites to gander at is :http://whatshouldieatforbreakfasttoday.com

So many breakfast ideas…give me a croissant and a coffee or some salmon with eggs and I’m a happy camper. But recently I have been eating (besides my usual yogurt,fruit,granola) something new. Breakfast Bowls.

Breakfast Bowls are slowly creeping into first place as a favorite morning meal. They are fulfilling, hearty and you can put basically anything you want in it. You have room to stretch your breakfast  legs and run away from simple eggs and toast to ancient grains with vegetables and possibly even kimchi! A few weeks ago I started the day at my cousin Asia’s house and she treated me to a kasha, salami, and onion bowl with a fried egg on top and some cheddar cheese. I mean it’s salty, crunchy, savory, creamy and rich…how can you go wrong? It also filled me up the entire day a which was great because it has been busy season over here. Breakfast kasha with salami…turns any schmuck into a mensch…oy vey.

 

 

Now that I got some kiddish out of my system with that bowl I’ll talk about is my  latest creation. Re-constistuted beet and brown rice burgers with swiss chard, fried egg and some parsley goat cheese. The night before I made these awesome beet burgers as you know from previous post, well, all I did was crumble them and heat them up. I threw them in a bowl with sautéed swiss chard, a fried egg, and the goat cheese on top, plus a few spice sprinklings and VOILA.

 

Does soup count as a breakfast bowl? I’m going to say yes and run with it because I’ve had Pho and kimchi soup for breakfast in the past few weeks and they were in a bowl. Hanco’s in Park Slope not only has some pretty great bahn mi sandwiches but also some really nice and clean Pho. We got the tofu pho and let me just say it’s not some dull, mushy tofu but rather perfectly seasoned and stand out on its own and in the soup even better.

Go to Hanco’s they are in downtown brooklyn and park slope…get the bubble tea, bahn mi, pho and summer rolls…so basically everything there is good.

 

Orange is the new black bubble tea edition? Crazy eyes likes almond bubble tea..who would’ve known I would’ve pinned her as more of a honeydew or mango person.

 

 

 

 

And an honorable mention,although it’s not a bowl but it is breakfast. I got an almond croissant at Konditori the Swedish Coffee house and it was so yummy. Super buttery with exceptional almond flavor and copious amounts of marzipan in the center. Yes please. Breakfast done right.

What’s your favorite breakfast?

FOOD DESIGN

Hi there! My name is Melissa Schwimmer and I have been sober…wait wrong intro. I’m actually a woman on a mission to learn, cook, eat and be the best person I can possibly be. I want to spread love through wise words and food. I love anything that has to do with art, fashion, music, and FOOD! I won’t use the term “foodie” but rather “fatass”…no ummm, what’s a good word? Well let’s just say I love food a lot and I want to share it with the world so let me get back to you with the proper terminology and begin here.

   There are very few things I despise in this world (I’m a generally very positive person that harbors no hatred) but frigid winds that turn my nostrils into frozen passageways, cold so severe my car won’t lock simply because my fingers refuse to bend, and plainly written FREEZING COLD. Little bodies of five feet two inches with minimal blubber do not fair well in this weather. My only saving grace for this weather is hot beverages, cuddling, and my Brooklyn industries down jacket that allows me to resemble a hobo marshmallow that has seen some shit in its life. It’s days like these, with no classes to sit through, no urgent matters to attend to, and frigid weather that allow me to casually wake up make some green tea and a fancy ass breakfast. What’s an ass breakfast you ask?

                                                                                 

Well, I’ll have you know this is no ordinary breakfast nor does it have anything to do with donkey or hind quarters. It’s a Melissa original I like to call the Minimalist Breakfast. Simple and fresh ingredients turned into artwork…voila ass breakfast!…Anyway bouncing off of “dat ass” and moving on to eggs.

The easiest and most delicious over easy eggs took me 21 years to figure out but they are so simple to make. Crack eggs into a buttered, coconut oiled, pam-ed (or whatever your preference is) frying pan on a medium heat. Let the egg white turn from translucent to white. Add your seasoning, in my case I’m a pepper fanatic. Take a hand full of water in both your hands and while running from the sink to your pan some will spill out between your fingers, THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT, and splash the water on top of the eggies. Cover the pan with a dish and let sit for about 1-2 minutes depending on how well done you like them. Less time for more ooey gooey eggs. Put on a plate after this step and devour with some crusty bread to soak up the eggy goodness. Or in my case I had half an avocado lightly salted and turmeric roasted tomatoes. Side off with some parmesan and Sriracha and BAM a simple yet FANCY ASS BREAKFAST.