International Delight
Last weekend Jim and I went to an amazing Lebanese restaurant that's just down the road from us called Ya Hala. It was hands down the best restaurant we've eaten at here. Of course, I forgot to take pictures. Anyhow, they have everything that's vegetarian on their menu marked with one palm tree and everthing that's vegan marked with two. How nice is that? We had the Veggie Mezza, which is a sampler plater of hummus, baba ganouj, falafel, tabouli, and a cauliflower thing that I can't remember, Veggie Kibbeh, which was a delcious bulgur pate and an olive plate. They kept us loaded with fresh-from-the-oven pita, still warm and puffed in the middle. We left with two pieces of baklava, a full doggie bag and two very full tummies, all for $19! Craziness. Anyhow, attached to Ya Hala is an international grocery that I went back to today to purchase a few specialty items that I eyed on Saturday, including pomegranate molasses, which was my missing ingredient for Isa's Pomergrante BBQ Tofu. I made with her Coconut Lime Rice and some steamed baby carrots and sugar snap peas.
I really enjoyed it, but I think my excitement at making the recipe exceeded my enjoyment of it. I was just so happy to play with that pomegranate molasses and then I couldn't taste it! I think next time I'm going to up the ante a bit. It was a delcious meal, though, and it left us with plenty of leftovers for work tomorrow, which is always a good thing.
For dessert I played some more with another recipe that I'm tweaking for quick, single size pecan pie bites. 5 minutes of work, 10 minutes of baking and 10 minutes of cooling and voila! Pecan pie! I made them in a jumbo muffin tin. I tried phyllo dough this time and Jim really liked it, but I feel like it's more of a puff pastry kind of recipe, which is how I've played with it before. So I think I'm going to stick to the puff pastry. But these were still good enough to scarf down! The only thing missing was vanilla soy ice cream. A la mode...
Bindhi threw herself at my feet while we were having dessert and she looked so cute and pitiful, what was I supposed to do but take her picture? She's our youngest and she's been really rambuncous, but she's really starting to mellow and become more affectionate. It's really nice to get kisses and to have someone waiting outside the bathroom door for you. She's a great little kid. Just don't touch that belly or you'll be sorry!
10 comments:
Kris, your kitty is too cute! Love that photo, way to capture the moment there!! Bindhi is in a blissful state, it seems. Nice how she's becoming more affectionate. What happens if you touch her belly? Or should i not ask?
I like this Ya Hala place you went to. How wonderful it sounds!! What a deal cost-wise too, that's super awesome, as is the fact that there's the attached international store. How cool!
The tofu w/pomegranate and the veggies, rice and lime there. Really looks superb! My dad is a pecan fanatic, he would "kill" for your dessert!!! It does look good even tho i'm not a big fan of nuts in general! A la mode... that really would put my dad over the edge! (in a good way)
I'll bet 18 claws imbedded in your hand :-)
Molly does the same thing when I get home from work... and so does Kaji. However, they both love belly scratching!
Do you have Noritake Colorwave dishes?
Yum. I haven't found pomegranate molasses yet, but I'm still looking. Bindhi is sooo adorable!
Killian lays like that all the time! He "shows off". He used to never let me touch his belly like that, he'd bite me or claw at me. Now he looooves it when I rub him.
Onto the food... I've been eyeing the pom tofu for a while too. It looks good, maybe you should use more next time.
Oh that pie! What heaven. With ice cream... I'm sold.
peacan bites looks brilliant
I love it when restaurants clearly mark veg*n options! And I love any Mediterranean type food, this place sounds awesome.
Your food pictures look like they belong in a food magazine. I love desserts with nuts, that looks soooo good. Ice cream really would be the kicker.
I heart Bindhi <3
Oh God, with a tummy as inviting as Bindhi's, I'd be bitten like crazy. How in the world can you resist such utter cuteness?
Great idea for the bite sized pecan pies!
Kleopatra- thanks! Bindhi becomes a hand shredder if you touch her belly. Beware!
Kaji's mom- So cute! Our cat Linus loves belly rubs. And he's so fluffy that I love giving them.
Jacki- our dishes are by Sango, but I'm familiar with Noritake, very similar styles.
primaryconsumer- if you have any international grocery stores, they'd be worth a look. Otherwise, I'd give it a whirl with just regular molasses, I don't think the pomegrante is really noticeable anyway.
Leslie- maybe Bindhi will grow into having her belly rubbed? Who knows, she's a little on the psycho cat end of things, so I can never trust her too much. :) Next time I'll be upping the pom molasses for sure.
Megan- thanks! They tasted great again tonight. That's the true test, shelf life!
Shananigans- I love Meditteranean food alot, too. Definitely my favorite region to eat from. Thanks for the pic compliments. I have much better lighting my new kitchen. That mixed with figuring out some better settings on my camera= better pics.
Crystal- don't think I don't press my luck. If I can visually distract her for a moment I can get a few belly pats in!
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