April 1, 2011

Jimmy Johns




The Jimmy John's franchise has made it's way to King of Prussia and Conshohocken.

JJ serves delicious gourmet sandwiches that for the price, quantity of food, and quality, should be putting Subway out of business any day now. My current recommendation is the #9, Italian Night Club with a bag of their BBQ chips.

As their slogan says, they are definitely freaky fast and freaky good!

What I like about the store is that it offers a young, hip atmosphere, yet, seems to fit in better in college towns. Regardless, it takes me to a more fun and more cool place, so I like it.

Bottom Line.. If you combine great food, in a fun atmosphere, and at a nice price, I'm a repeat customer for life.

http://www.jimmyjohns.com

*While Lee's Hoagies has been around the Philadelphia area for longer than JJ's, I've only recently discovered it. I haven't dared to venture too far down JJ's sandwich menu because the #9 is so tasty and so after a request I'm wondering if I should conduct a taste test.

Capogiro Gelato Artisans in Philly



Capogiro's is located on...
---119 South 13th Street,
---117 South 29th Street,
---3925 Walnut Street and
---1625 East Passyunk Avenue
all in Philadelphia, PA

Capogiro Gelato Artisans (www.capogirogelato.com)
is owned by Stephanie and John Reitano.
They were inspired on a trip to Italy and realized
there wasn't much gelato being served on the USA.

Capogiro makes 27 different flavors of gelato each and
every morning. Gelato being Italian ice cream.
Their ingredients come from local Pennsylvania farmers
who hand pick their produce and the cows are grass fed and
hormone free. You can ask for a sample of any flavor before
deciding which one you want that day. Some of the flavors are:
Champagne Mango, Dulce De Leche,
Macadamia Nut, Pistacchio Siciliano, Tiramisu,  
Caribbean Sunrise Papaya, Lime with Cilantro, Wild Flower Honey- 
just to name a few. It's a little pricey but worth the treat here and now.

March 31, 2011

Brown.... Ah! Use A Splash Of Citrus But SPRAY!

Sometimes you come across a time when you
need to cut apples or some pears ahead of time and you
want to prevent them from turning brown...

Many of us already know about how the acid in citrus fruits
like lemon help keep the apples fresher and from turning brown-




I've got 2 tips for you...
depending on what the fruit is for...
you might not want a lemony flavor on your apples
so instead of using lemon juice, you can also use a lemon-lime
soda which won't leave the lemony taste
and tip 2 is to have the lemon juice in a small spray
bottle and just simply spray or mist your apples, pears,
avocados and even lettuce for a salad. The light lemon mist
will keep your salad and fruit fresher!
If you squeeze fresh lemons into a cup and pour it into
your sprayer... the fresh lemon juice will keep for
2-3 weeks in the refrigerator!


Zestfully Let's Cultivate Food

March 30, 2011

How Much Have You Paid For Pajeon ?

Pajeon.....the "pa" prounounced "pah" for the Korean word scallions
and "jeon" pronounced "jun" meaning battered ingredients
Pajeon is a Korean style pancake that is usually eaten as a snack
or as an appetizer in restaurants.

How much have you paid for Pajeon?....
this dish that has really HIGH profit margins.

Korean style pancakes go for these prices...
$6.95, $10.95, $12.95, $17 and $18.95

You can easily make these pancakes at home with the recipe below.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups water
2 eggs
1 bunch scallions
shredded carrots (optional)
veggie oil to fry
S & P (salt & pepper) to taste

to make Hae-Mul (seafood) pajeon...
just add 1 cup of oysters
1 cup chopped fresh clams
1 cup of baby shrimp or larger shrimp cut into pieces
(try to use the baby shrimp tho)

Procedure:
Cut scallions about 1-2 inch long and mix with
all the other ingredients. Drizzle a little veggie oil in your pan
and ladle the mix into a big circle filling your whole frying pan.
After the one side cooks and you see the flour start to brown and
get a little crispy- use your flipping skills and flip the pajeon over.
Cook until it gets crispy. The skill is flipping the whole pancake
over without it breaking and having the pancake not too thick.
That's it! Don't pay $12-$15 for it.
Order something that isn't so easy to make at home.


A good dipping sauce for Pajeon is...
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 TBS on white vinegar
1 stalk of minced scallion
1 glove of grated garlic
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp of sugar or Splenda
sprinkle of sesame seeds

Roast Your Capsicum Annuum

Fancy name for bell peppers...
Eating vegetables fresh is great but,
sometimes you can do things to bring out more flavor
and of course have a little fun with it.

Roasting bell peppers separates the tough skin and brings out the
pepper's flavor by basically bringing out it's natural sugars.

You can use roasted peppers to top pizzas and salads, or add them to
Mediterranean-style sauces, make relishes, salsas for breads....
and that's only a few things you can do with them.

How can I roast bell peppers you ask.... ?

OVEN style
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Cut your peppers in half, place on a baking sheet and
drizzle a little olive oil on them
roast for 30 minutes turning a few times while roasting...
I like to turn it to broil for the last 5-7 minutes
to get a little char on it.
After you take the peppers out of the oven
you want to throw the peppers into a plastic zip lock bag
or container to keep the heat in and let them sweat in the sauna
for about 10 minutes or so.
The peppers being in a sauna will really let their skins loose.


GRILL style
Turn your grill on and throw the peppers that you cut in half- right on the grill grates.... again, drizzle some olive oil and cook until the peppers are tender and a little charred. Again, you want to let them sweat in a bag or container... cutting them into slices and throwing them into the container you want to store them is the easiest.
You can keep roasted peppers in the refrigerator
for about a week and in the freezer for about a month...

March 29, 2011

PICS of Delicious Couples or Threesomes


Brie cheese and sugar free apricot jelly
cut a slice, peel the white rind off and smear a heaping spoonful of apricot jelly
microwave for 30-45 seconds and eat with pita chips or water crackers!





Slices of tomato with slices of fresh mozzarella and basil leaves
Put all 3 together on a crusty piece of bread, mix it in pasta or put it on a
ready made pizza dough. You can substitute basil pesto from a jar if you'd like!






Good old peanut butter and jelly
on bread or crackers.... always good!





BBQ ribs and home-made coleslaw....
always wet and dampen 3-5 paper towels when eating this duo!





Coconut flakes plus Shrimp... battered in Panko (Japanese Bread Crumbs)
deep fried in vegetable oil equals.... coconut shrimp!




Cooked ham from your deli and white American cheese....
this combo is good with Pillsbury ready made crescent dough
folded into ham and cheese croissants!

March 28, 2011

Don't Cry Anymore Dicing Onions

Before you peel, cut and dice your onions.
Turn a candle on, onions contain a natural oil, yes, oil which contains
sulfur which is an irritant to both our noses and eyes. When we cut
an onion the gases within the onion propanethiol S-Oxide mixes with
the enzymes in the onion letting out a sulfur compound.
Basically, when it reaches our tear ducts and our eye lids,
our eyes start to water. Why turn a candle on?
The flame of the candle actually burns up the sulfur....
so it helps burn it up in the air before it reaches our eyes.


When you are dicing onions-
start with cutting it in half and laying the one side down.


and you want to cut in layers almost up to the end with the root...
almost in a grid like way...


and then when you slice it, the onion will cut in diced pieces...