Philly Days

Been trying to get out and explore now that it is beautiful out. Jacket weather is the best weather. You can walk around without shivering or sweating! Today M. and I decided to try some shops in the Northern Liberties area, and we found some goodies:

 

The pins and the recipe cards are by boygirlparty.com and the cupcake plate was $8. I got it all at Art Star, a shop that sells indie craft and art stuff. They have a cool website with an online shop!

We smelled something delicious when we got out of the shop so we followed our noses down the street to the Green Eggs Cafe. It seems like it's really new. They had a lot of choices for breakfast and lunch. M. had the lox and bagel, I had the crab cake sandwich:

Both were yummy.


We got home and I got busy cleaning. Tomorrow we are celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday by spending the afternoon at a pumpkin patch and then going to dinner. The pumpkin patch is the same one M's family has been going to since he was little, so I'm super excited to go! I will bring the camera, so pictures are forthcoming. After the pumpkin patch, we're coming home to relax a bit and then meeting at Distrito, one of Jose Garces' restaurants. Then, we're retreating to our place for cupcakes and watching her open presents. So that's why I spent much of today cleaning. I will be having guests! It is surprising how messy the place gets when you spend all of your time there.


The Phillies are in the playoffs, which is a big freaking deal here. Across from our building there is a small street that has blocked off the street and a neighbor has projected the game onto the wall of the Perleman Museum, so you're hearing the game no matter what. The streets were relatively empty tonight because everyone's indoors watching the game.


We, however, moseyed on down to the Eastern State Penitentiary. No, we didn't go in. They are doing their haunted house and I don't want to go in until it's back to normal. We walked down there because the Cupcake Lady was parked across the street, and I had to try one of her cupcakes.

For those that don't know, the Cupcake Lady sells cupcakes out of a truck. It's one of the few food trucks that Philly has, and she's pretty popular. A lot more popular after her truck was impounded when she parked it somewhere she wasn't supposed to (though it seems she didn't have clear instructions about where it was not OK to park). That's right, she parked her truck to sell cupcakes, and cops came and didn't just ticket her, they towed the truck. With cupcakes inside. Totally ridiculous. As a result, the incident was covered in the newspaper and I started following her on Twitter. When we heard she was in Fairmount, we went over.

We both got red velvets, and they were really, really tasty. Light and fluffy, and the cream cheese frosting was rich and sweet, a perfect complement to the cupcake. And I got to use my new cupcake stand. Pretty awesome day, don't you think?

Chana Punjabi

I wanted Indian food but I knew if I got takeout by myself I'd get way too much and toss my diet to hell. Then, I happened upon The Wednesday Chef's Chana Punjabi. She said it was so good she was rendered mute by the dish and basically wants to eat it over and over again. That's a good dish! Wednesday actually got the recipe from Heather Carlucci Rodriguez, who runs a restaurant called Lassi in NYC. I made it tonight and it was heavenly. I made some adjustments, which might annoy purists, but hey, I indicate where those adjustments are, so go organize your records alphabetically or whatever.
Chana Punjabi Serves 2-4, depending on your side dishes
1 tablespoon canola oil or other vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 small Thai bird chili, chopped or 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped or a 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon salt, or as needed
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (you can buy spice or make it yourself)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (I added lemon zest as well)
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained
2 tablespoons minced cilantro (i'm not a fan of minced cilantro, so I just did a fine chop)

Garam masala already has cumin in it, but I needed more! Do what you will.

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, heat oil and add onion. Sauté until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and chili, and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook until tomatoes are very soft, about 5 minutes, then remove from heat.

2. Purée mixture in blender or food processor until smooth. Return to pan and place over medium heat. Add paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, coriander, the garam masala, turmeric and lemon juice. Add chickpeas and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.

3. Cover and simmer until sauce is thick and chickpeas are soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir pan about every 10 minutes, adding water as needed (up to 1 1/2 cups) to prevent burning. When ready to serve, sauce should be thick. If necessary, uncover pan and allow sauce to reduce for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until desired consistency. Stir in cilantro, adjust salt as needed and serve with cooked rice, if desired.

Ok, here's how I changed the cooking method. Instead of pureeing the onion/tomato/spice mixture, I waited until after adding the chickpeas. Once the chickpeas had cooked about 30 minutes, I then scooped out about a 1/2 cup of the mixture and pureed that. I added it back into the mixture and let it simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

My kitchen smelled glorious.

I paired it with rice, but this would be great on top of samosas or served with naan, or even as a side for a meat dish. I wanted a vegetarian dish since I was going off diet. At room temperature it would make an excellent spread for toasted baguette slices if you wanted to make an appetizer out of it or serve at a party.

A Request

Ok, folks. I had a bit of drama with my trip reservations because I went to the hotel website and it turns out they are undergoing a bit of noisy construction in the lobby (noisy from 8am until 8pm according to the site). So I had to call Travelocity and hope that they would change it. They did it without even raising a fuss, which was cool. My new hotel is actually a lot nicer and has a mini bar, iPod dock, and free WiFi, which rules! I am packing my comfiest shoes and softest socks.

I'll be staying on Ellis & Powell (ish). So here's what I want to know. I am probably not going to subsist on room service, and they don't even offer breakfast, so I would like to know:

a) a good place to get a quick coffee and breakfast
b) a good place for lunch (preferably not burgers)
c) a good place that can do take out for dinner.

I like all kinds of food (except pickles), I am trying to be relatively thrifty, and I will be eating alone. I don't want to walk a ton of blocks. Don't pretend that it's only a "10 minute walk." You mean a 20 minute hike? All uphill? After which I look gross and sweaty? Oh cool. Thanks! Remember, I'm from a place where you drive even if the grocery store is only a few blocks away.

I have stayed in Union Square about 5 or 6 times in the past few years, but I usually had someone with me with either "preferences" or a vast knowledge of the city and thus willing to travel further for choice spots.

If you comment and I actually go, I will promise to post photos of what I ate and review the place as well.

Please comment!