Month: May 2013

Sea Pearl Restaurant, Mosaic Center

The new Mosaic Shopping Center in Merrifield, VA is super cool.  There’s a Target, an indie movie theater, a gym, boutiques, and cafes.  Sea Pearl is one of the larger, less casual restaurants in the center.  The website describes it as “Asian inspired modern American cuisine.”  The main focus is seafood – they have both cooked dishes and sushi – but they also have some meat dishes and a pretty good brunch (on Saturday, too, which I love).  It’s quite large and the decor is really lovely.  It’s a little on the feminine side, which would make it perfect for ladies’ brunch or girls’ night out (the drinks are good, but with DC prices).  I’ve never seen it packed, so large groups could be seated easily.

Let’s start with Brunch, because that is what I go for most often.

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Cinnamon churros with warm chocolate dipping sauce: these are super awesome – hot, fresh, crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside.  Love it.

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Ricotta fritters with honey and seasonal fruit (this time it was apple): these are good too, fluffy and rich.  If you had to choose only one pastry though, I’d go with the churros. (more…)

Fresh Homemade Pasta!

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I have been wanting to learn to make my own pasta for years, so I was super jealous when my friend Melissa (you know her by now) got a pasta roller for Christmas.  I had been thinking about getting the Kitchen Aid attachment (versus the hand crank kind) but it is very expensive and I had read reviews about them breaking and being hard to clean.  Melissa said that her manual roller was very easy to use, and invited me over to try it out / teach me how to use it.

Our first experiment was Spinach Ravioli with a Creamy Tomato and Veggie Sauce – yum!

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The first step is to make the filling.  Saute diced onion in butter, then add in frozen spinach (thawed and drained) to cook out any liquid.

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Add in ricotta, Parmesan, and an egg yolk. (more…)

Juicing

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About a month ago I got really excited about juicing after watching a documentary called “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.”  The man in the film goes on a 2 month long juice fast, which I was definitely not prepared to do.  I wasn’t even prepared to do the more standard 7-10 day juice fast.  But I did like the idea of using juices to consume large quantities of raw vegetables in a more palatable manner.  So I bought a ton of veggies and went to work.

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I started with a recipe from the doc’s website and added a little to it, using carrots, bell pepper, apple, ginger, golden beet, fennel, and mango.

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Gorgeous color!  I used too much ginger, though, it had quite a kick. (more…)

Grilled Halloumi & Quinoa Salad

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Halloumi is a salty, dense Greek cheese that is super amazing when grilled.  My friend Melissa, from Smells Like Brownies, is a big fan so she was pretty excited when I showed her this recipe.  Hearty quinoa mixed with lettuce and veggies and topped with warm cheese – delish!

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We didn’t end up having the cucumbers the original recipe called for, so we used tomatoes instead and they were great.  I do really like cucumbers, though, so I would say to use both.  The more veg, the better, right?  The dressing includes red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, mint, and scallion – yum!

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We also discovered (by oiling one side and not the other of an electric grill) that the cheese gets better grill marks when the grill is not oiled.  Don’t worry, though, it won’t stick!

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This is a very satisfying (and light!) vegetarian lunch that is sure to make even meat eaters happy. (more…)

Moroccan Meat Pies and Afghan Pumpkin

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This post got lost and forgotten somewhere, so it’s not very seasonal and I apologize.  But you can look forward to making it next Fall.

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And you should look forward to it.  Sweet, caramelized pumpkin with spices, creamy yogurt, and tangy tomato sauce?  Yes, please.  This is one of my favorite Afghan dishes, called kadu bouranee.

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And these delicious Moroccan inspired meat pies made with phyllo, ground beef, and spices are the perfect main to complement the pumpkin.  You could also make the Afghan meat dumplings called mantu, of course, but they require a little bit more work. (more…)

Barley Risotto With Asparagus – 2 versions

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On one of our weekly lunch adventures, my friend Melissa and I decided to try out a risotto made from barley.  Barley is a whole grain that (unless you have a wheat allergy) is better for you than rice, even brown rice.  The grains are larger and chewier than rice, but they make a very good substitute.  I actually like barley better than rice because the chewiness gives the dish more body. (more…)