Paris: A Foodie Perspective

Food. A topic on which I could ramble forever. It's just so dang good.

In the months leading up to my trip to Paris I was really strict about what I ate.

Tryin' to make room for some Parisian food, y'all.

And boy have I made up for it in these 6 days.

One important point, though: Paris does not love vegetarians.

I'm making do, but most menus don't include any just veggie options at all.

crepes, sandwiches, macarons,

oh my.

my favorite thing so far was the croque madame sandwich (directly above) without the ham.

i got it after my orientation at a cafe right down the street from my school.

guess where i'm going tomorrow.

also, new goal for the trip: eat at least one crepe or macaron per day.

it will be a miracle if i haven't gained 300 pounds by the time i get back.

Lunch on the patio

Today the weather was finally nice enough to be outside!

Paige and I dined on the patio for lunch. We had salad, carrots, and fruit.

Isn't the salad beautiful? We mixed lettuce, cucumbers, olives, banana peppers, and jalapenos, topped with salsa as dressing. SO GOOD, and even better that we were outside in the sun.

Hope everyone is having a lovely Monday!

Restaurant Review: Saturn Cafe

I'm a vegetarian and a foodie, which means I'm always on the hunt for restaurants that serve good vegetarian food. Ladies and gentlemen, I've found my mecca. Saturn Cafe in Berkeley is the first entirely vegetarian restaurant I've been to, and I almost immediately fell in love.

First off, the decor is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's 50s/space themed, so everything is neon colors and all the columns are covered in glitter. The table tops are DIY collages of photos of 50s stars (I ate my veggie burger on top of Audrey Hepburn) and memorabilia, like false eye lashes and bobby pins. It was so cute and definitely felt like one of those diners that you just have to love.

Second, the food was bomb. I had the California burger, which is exactly what I get at every restaurant I go to, but it was even better knowing the patty hadn't even come into contact with meat at all. Even though it was veggie, it was still greasy and tasty, just the way I like it. :) My friend Jasmine and I shared a Chocolate Madness for dessert (which can be made vegan, but we opted not) which was equally incredible.

The last thing I loved about this restaurant was actually something I learned in the process of compiling this blog post. The restaurant (which also has a branch in Santa Cruz) is entirely green: they shop locally, don't use trans fats, and only opened in Berkeley because the city matched their ideals of sustainability. I'm not always the greenest, but I felt good knowing that I had a green, delicious meal for dinner.

I cannot wait to go back, and cannot recommend Saturn Cafe highly enough!

**I wish I had taken pictures of my meal!

For future restaurant reviews I promise photographic proof.

Recipe: Polenta Gnocchi

I recently told you about my wellness journal, in which I cut and paste work outs, recipes, and tips for success for my new, healthier lifestyle. Since I'm home for spring break, I decided to try out some of the recipes (so expect more in the coming days!). The first one I tried was from Health magazine, for Roman-Style Polenta Gnocchi. I'm a vegetarian,so I love any unique meatless dish. The original recipe can be found here, butI made it a little more blogger friendly below.

Ingredients (in order of use):

1 16-ounce tube of polenta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 crushed garlic clove

1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

4 ounces fresh chopped mozzarella

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

To make:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly coat a 10-inch baking dish with olive oil.

Slice polenta into 1/2 inch thick slices; arrange slices in a single layer covering pan.

Heat saucepan over medium heat.

Add olive oil and garlic to pan. Cook until the garlic is soft (2-3 minutes) and make sure to watch it so it doesn't burn!

Add tomatoes to saucepan, then oregano, salt, and basil. Bring to a boil and stir.

Reduce heat, then cook until thick (which was about 10 minutes for me).

Spoon sauce over polenta (and actually use a spoon! It'll be messy if you pour).

Sprinkle cheese over the sauce.

Bake around 20 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

Add some more basil for flavor and fanciness. :)

This was my first ever homemade meal, and I'm pretty proud of myself! My family really really liked it, and best of all, I did too--and I'm always my harshest critic. The total prep was about 20 minutes, but could be around 10 if you know your way around a kitchen, and it turned out great. If you like polenta, I'd recommend it!

More recipes coming your way soon :)

Be well!