I had some beets and I saw a chef make beet chutney on Food Network TV. I usually don’t do Food Network TV recipes so I looked up other vegetable chutney recipes and got ideas on how to make the dip a little more complex. I have to say this came out amazing. You will want to try this. It came out so good that I will in the future use this as a filling in pastry or another creation. This is NOT an authentic Indian chutney recipe but is Indian Inspired. Serving size may differ. This make around 8 small servings.
Ingredients for around 8 small servings
1 lb beets – peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium sized red onion – diced
2 red hot peppers – minced
2 bay leaves
2 branch curry leaves
2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek
1/2 teaspoon nigella (also called black cumin seeds)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
5 garlic cloves – ground to paste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 Tablespoons tamarind paste
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar – (or to taste)
sea salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh cilantro – torn or chopped
optional – pomegranate seeds
Directions
Set oven to 400 degrees f.
In a pan that you can cover add the beets, onion, hot peppers, bay leaves, curry leaves, sugar, ginger, fenugreek, nigella, cumin seeds, brown mustard seeds, garlic, turmeric, & tamarind. Cover and put on middle rack of pre-heated 400 degree f oven until beets are fry tender. ( I left mine in for one hour)
Next when done – remove the bay leaves and curry leaves and add a splash of apple cider vinegar and blend. Add salt and pepper to taste. Finish with some fresh cilantro. Add pomegranate (if using) Serve with something to dip.
Dining out with dogs in metro Phoenix is just a “FLUFF” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started when my dog Louie came down with aggressive cancer. We were told that he only had three months or maybe up to six months to live. Louie was already elderly and couldn’t do a lot but he always enjoyed eating and also always enjoyed going out to eat. I took Louie out to eat as much as possible and Louie made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat.
There are some things that you need to know about dining out with dogs. One thing is that not all patios are dog friendly. It’s always best to call a restaurant and ask if it is ok to bring your dog (even if it is dog friendly because the patio could be booked). It is also best to dine out with dogs at off times. It’s always best to avoid as many people and other dogs as possible. Many people don’t share your love for dogs and other people might be allergic. It is also best to avoid other dogs because dogs enjoy barking at each other and you could be asked to leave.
You also need to be aware of safe and non-safe food for dogs. Most people food can be dangerous or even toxic to dogs. You need to get a food safe list and foods to avoid list from your veterinarian. Usually a small lean sauce free piece of meat is safe for your dog. Here in Arizona weather is an issue for dining out with dogs. All dogs are less heat tolerant than people. Dogs wear fur coats and absorb heat up their paws. They also can’t sweat. Usually 90 degrees and over is too hot to dine out with dogs. Leave your dog home if unsure.
There also are some rules to dining out with dogs. Dogs must be by your side at all times. Dogs are not to sit on restaurant furniture or to eat off restaurant plates.
Our first dining trip out was Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They offer around a dozen different Banh Mi Baguette sandwiches and many of your usual Vietnamese favorites EXCEPT FOR PHO.
Today I had the lotus root salad (It’s only $5.00) and potstickers ($4.00).
I don’t eat shrimp so I give it all to my dogs and small parts of the tasty potstickers.
My husband got a grilled pork Banh Mi today.
We all always enjoy Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
Next trip out with the digs was at Phila-Deli in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide. Phila-Deli is a small sandwich shop. They offer a variety of cheesesteaks, sandwiches, wraps and more. The salad they offer is one of the best deals in town. It’s only $7.49 (avocado is 75cents extra) I have no idea on how they can make money serving this great big salad. The owners are extra nice. They usually run out water to our dogs and make a big deal about them.
I have plenty of chicken to share with the dogs.
My husband always likes to get the cheesesteak with extra American cheese.
I think my dog is smiling from the food from Phila-Deli.
www.PhilaDeliAZ.com
During lent Culver’s (a national fast food chain with a nice patio) offers hand battered walleye that I enjoy. We came just for that the first week walleye was on the menu and already missed the walley special.
The patio is usually empty
Since they were out of walleye already early I got the hand battered cod that they always offer with steamed broccoli and cheese sauce. I thought one side would be broccoli and I thought my other side would be cheese sauce?????
The cod is actually pretty good. Even my dogs love the cod. They also liked steamed broccoli with cheese sauce.
They also got to eat some of my husbands butter cheese burger. He surprised me by getting a spicy chicken sandwich….I tried a few bites. It contains spices that are not dog friendly. I wouldn’t come back for this particular hot chicken sandwich but I would come back for the cod.
The dogs enjoyed everything they tried.
www.Culvers.com
Bruster’s Ice Cream was nice enough to treat our dogs to free Pup Cups.
Look how happy the dogs are anticipating the pup cups.
I got a blueberry cobbler for myself. My husband got something I think was called coffee cake.
www.Brusters.com
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all this delicious food”
That was Dining Out With Dogs in Metro Phoenix for March 2021. We hope that you’ve enjoyed and we hope to see you next month.
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
I was gifted with many bunches of parley. So far I made tabbouleh, parsley pesto, chipotle lime chimichurri, Jamaican jerk inspired parsley salad (like tabbouleh but jerk flavored). Now here is sun-dried tomato and walnut parsley pesto. Everything I made with parsley is delicious so far. Had no idea that parsley can be so great! Portions are difficult to judge because you will use a lot if you are using this pesto to dress pasta. But you will only use a little if you are spreading this on bread. I think it will be at least 4 pasta servings and 8 or more servings for bread.
Ingredients for around 6 servings
4 cups parsley leaves – packed tight hand chopped fine
3/4 cup crushed walnuts
1 teaspoon garlic confit – fresh garlic might turn too strong (roast garlic cloves in olive oil covered for about an hour at 350 and blend…..I make a big bath every time I buy a bag of garlic)
3 oz sun dried tomatoes – chopped
1 cup parmigiano reggiano – shedded
1 Meyer lemon – zest and fresh squeezed juice
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon course sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
optional – a splash of Calabrian chili oil (or Calabrian peppers)
some water or oil to thin to desired consistency
Directions
All above ingredients get blended together. Thin with water or oil to desired consistency. Adjust salt and pepper.
The Golden Pineapple is a bar and restaurant located in Tempe Arizona. They offer craft beers, cocktails and a limited chef crafted menu that includes a few children’s dishes. The foods offered are casual like tacos, burgers and hot dogs but are high quality that have ingredients like Chula Seafood and Noble Bread in them. Much of the foods offered have a southwest accent. You can sit inside at a table or the bar.
There is also another big area inside for seating but the lights were out so I didn’t photo it. It was a nice day today so almost everyone was seated outdoors. There is also a patio with a veery old very large tree. Something that you don’t see very often in metro Phoenix.
Parking is easy because they have their own parking lot with plenty of bike racks.
They offered an interesting brunch special today but I went with the AZ hot fried chicken sandwich with seasonal greens.
I go and take a bite. WOW the exterior of the chicken is shattering crisp with lots of paprika, a little sweetness and other spices and the white meat chicken is incredibly juicy. This is a very flavorful detailed sandwich that is also very delicious but it isn’t spicy (I wonder if they forgot the cayenne or other hot pepper that it should have?). The Noble Bread Bun is nicely toasted. It’s spread with avocado aioli and adorned with house made crisp pickles. The slaw is fresh made and crunchy. It’s really good but isn’t spicy….I am very picky….too picky……… for me this would be a perfect sandwich if the bun was a little smaller and the sandwich was made with some heat……….but…….Can’t be mad…It’s darn good and better than most chicken sandwiches so I am very happy with it. I think anyone would enjoy this sandwich. The greens are great too. Lightly dressed with pickled onions that just brighten it up.
My husband got the green chile burger with egg with hand cut fries as his side.
It’s a brisket patty with chilis, colby jack cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, pickled tomatillos, avocado aioli and hand cut fried that were nicely stacked. It was prepared to a perfect medium rare. He said it was one of the best burgers that he has had.
Both sandwiches were very good.
That was a little taste of the Golden Pineapple in Tempe AZ.
The FANTABULOUS Dish means top of the line, marvelously good, peachy keen and Dynamite!
For lunch and sometimes for dinner I enjoy ordering salads at restaurants even if I’m at a restaurant that is well known for making great pizzas. I do love pizzas too but sometimes I feel like I need a salad. I like to save a little stomach room for that dessert that I go for sometimes. We found ourselves at Pomo Pizzeria in Scottsdale and I ordered the Salmon Salad. I did not expect to receive something even better than fish house worthy but I did! I noticed that the salmon came from Chula Seafood so I knew that it would be better salmon and probably very fresh but I didn’t expect that I would be receiving perfection and a really great salad to boot.
This salmon is as perfect as perfect gets. It has a crisp skin and the flesh just melts in the mouth. It seemed like it was slow cooked because of how moist and succulent it was. It was also finished with tasty grill marks. My salad was adorned with this grilled juicy lemon. WOW the taste of the sweet lemon and pink peppercorns on the fish sort of popped. WOW! What a great combination. Under the fish was a bed of spring mix, gold beets, fennel and grape tomatoes. And did I mention how great the salmon really was?
It was a pleasure to eat.
P.S.
I was able to save some room for their amazing house made Luna Gelato.
Fish House Quality Fresh Salmon Salad and Delicious Gelato from Pomo Pizzeria in Scottsdale AZ.
I’m always looking for new ways to do cauliflower. So here is something new and different that is flavorful and easy to prepare. Serving size may differ.
Ingredients for around 6 servings
1 cauliflower – break down to florets
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
fresh crushed sea salt – to taste
Aleppo pepper – taste ( you can substitute black pepper or Urfa pepper)
1/4 cup black olive puree
1/4 cup poppy seeds – ground
1/4 cup black garlic – ground to paste
1 Tablespoon reduced balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
4 oz feta cheese – crumbled or cubed
2 Tablespoons barberries (I bought mine at Asiana Market) (when barberries get old they turn sweeter. you might want to add a little lemon or sumac if your barberries turned sweet)
2 Tablespoons chives or scallions
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts – lightly crushed
Optional sumac or lemon to taste if too sweet
Directions
Set oven to 400 degrees F.
Get the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet and drizzle or spray with the olive oil. Put them in the middle rack and cook until they get tender and a little brown. Timing will differ mine took 25 minutes.
While the cauliflower is roasting mix together in a small bowl the olives, black garlic, poppy seeds vinegar and honey. Spread this on bottom of cauliflower plate for serving.
When cauliflower is done sprinkle it with salt and pepper. then top the black garlic sauce with the cauliflower and top the cauliflower with feta, hazelnuts, barberries and chives or scallions.
Cauliflower Feta Barberries Hazelnuts and Black Garlic Olive Poppy Seed Sauce
I found some different foreign snacks from Asiana Market in the Deer Valley part of Phoenix Arizona. Here are Surati Cheddar Jalapeño flavored potato tubes. I found them in the India aisle but this snack is from Canada.
The front of the bag is marked suitable for vegetarians.
The ingredients are a mix of mostly natural and some chemical.
I open the bag and take a sniff.
It smells sort of cheesy and I do also smell chili powder.
I spill some out.
They are shaped sort of like French Fries but with. slightly hollow centers. They are dusted with seasonings.
I taste one.
It’s very spicy but it doesn’t burn with a natural cheesy flavor. It’s actually very tasty but the texture is unlike anything I ever tried before. It’s ultra light and airy. It’s so darn light and airy it would be easy to woof down this 3 1/2 ounce bag.
My husband went out to the supermarket to pick up one thing. He came home with a pack of Impossible Meat (vegetable based plant meat). I was really surprised because he isn’t into plant based meats. He is usually anti to them. I said why did you pick that up and he said it was on sale and you cooked Impossible burgers really well (not to brag but…I did….better than Impossible burgers I ate out). I happened to already have a bunch of those yellow guero chile peppers that they use in Mexican Foods so I thought I’d stuff them Tex Mex Style hoping that they would come out good and they came out FORKING DELICIOUS! I make various meatballs and meat loaves all the time so I had an idea on what I was doing. The big surprise to me was that the Impossible meat doesn’t need as much binder or liquid as the other real meats out there. The big secret for these stuffed peppers coming out great is that you have to make them. Let them cool and refrigerate them. When you reheat them the pepper is well cooked and the Impossible meat is just like real beef. You can’t tell the difference. Serving size is difficult to judge. All the different peppers out there come in all different sizes. I used 14 assorted peppers of different sizes and my little 12 ounce Impossible meat package gave us 6 meals.
Ingredients for around 6 portions
14 peppers -*******AMOUNT OF PEPPERS CAN DIFFER ******(You can use any pepper that you feel like stuffing that you like…I used mostly yellow chili peppers. Anaheim, bells, poblanos, milder jalapeños would be good too)
1 onion – (medium – small) diced
1 bell pepper (I used red) diced
I Tablespoon canola oil
2 Tablespoons garlic confit (I buy bags of garlic from Costco and roast up half the bag with olive oil and make garlic confit. but you can substitute fresh garlic cloves ground to paste…..you will need between 3-5 cloves depending on size and taste)
1/4 cup scallions – sliced thin
1/4 cup cilantro – chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon mild chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground achiote also called annatto (Asian and Mexican Markets sell this or buy on-line)
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle powder (Sprouts sells this or substitute around a teaspoon of chilies in adobo ((mince any chili)
2 eggs – lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon low sodium vegetable base (this is instead of salt but with more flavor)
12 oz Impossible Meat Package
1/3 cup masa flour
1/3 cup peas
oil for spraying.
Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees F and oil a baking sheet.
The rest is pretty easy.
In a fry pan on medium high heat add the canola oil. When the oil is hot add the bell pepper. Let it go around 5 minutes and then add the onion string occasionally. Lower heat to medium and cook till lightly caramelized. Take off heat. When room temperature add to your big mixing bowl.
In a big bowl mix together the onion, bell pepper, garlic, scallions, cilantro, pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder, achiote/annatto, chipotle, eggs, vegetable base, IMPOSSIBLE meat, masa flour, peas and mix well.
Prep the peppers.
Before the peppers get stuffed you have to make a “T” shop slit at the top of the chili shaped peppers. You have to remove the core and membrane and seeds so you can fill them. Then pack in the filling the best you can.
These go the preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes.
Then let cool on the counter.
Refrigerate over night. (they will have a better texture this way)
Reheat at 350 degrees F covered for 30 minutes to serve.
Maybe ten minutes before you take them out of the oven you might want to melt shredded pepper jack and cheddar cheese on them?
You also might want to top the peppers with fresh cilantro, scallions, pickled onions and a little chopped pickled jalapeños? ………..Maybe some sour cream?
Athens on Easy Street is a Greek Restaurant located in Carefree Arizona. At this time they are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have indoor dining.
They also offer a dog friendly patio.
We decided to try a few things and I noticed that they offer many different dips that you don’t come across very often at most Greek Restaurants. We wanted to try the lentil dip but they were out of that so we went with the eggplant dip.
Our eggplant dip was extremely delicate with the seasonings. It tasted like just eggplant to me. The pita bread was very average. It taste like they buy the bread.
We had to try the saganak (flaming kasseri cheese).
Opa!
I don’t know why but our cheese taste burnt.
Now our dinners arrive.
I got the Athenian pressed herbed chicken. WOW! The chicken is really great! It’s very moist and very flavorful. This plate also came with really nice spinach and nicely flavored orzo topped with some feta cheese. I thought that the orzo was a nice touch since most Greek Restaurants just serve rice with platters.
My husband got the pork kabob platter.
The pork had great flavors in it but was slightly dry today. It came with Greek salad, orzo and tzatziki.
That was a little taste of Athens On Easy Street in Carefree AZ
Barrio Queen is an Arizona Chain of around a half dozen Southern Mexican Restaurants. The website list only Gilbert, Scottsdale and Phoenix but I also noticed locations in Queen Creek, Tempe, Glendale and possibly one coming soon to Avondale? James Beard Nominated Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza is no longer working for this group of restaurants but she did work for them until some time in 2014 and added her famous guacamole, cohinita pibil, chile en nogada and possibly other items to the menu. She also started up Barrio Queen with some of her closest employees.
I went to the Glendale location that is located in Arrowhead Town Center around 75th Avenue and Bell Road. This location is very busy. I arrived around four o’clock and was hoping to beat the crowd but didn’t. The whole front patio at the moment is being used for a waiting area for waiting for your table. At 4 o’clock they were on a twenty five minute wait so we grabbed some margaritas to pass the time.
front bar (currently the seating here is closed due to covid)
I have to say that the El Don Margarita with Don Julio Anejo Tequila, lime, agave and Grand Mariner is really great and very strong….I tried my husbands house margarita and it seems very flat after the El Don I’m enjoying.
Twenty five minutes goes by and we walk threw the restaurant on the way to get seated on the patio.
We walk by a gift shop.
Here’s part of one of the dining rooms.
Here’s another dining room.
Here is a second bar that is also an indoor/outdoor bar.
Here is half of the patio.
I noticed someone nearby getting the table side guacamole.
The first thing they do is start you off with complimentary chips and salsa.
Our chips arrived fresh and hot. We also got fresh lime and a crock of extra mild but flavorful salsa.
I order the pescado del Barrio (Mexican sea bass)
One side of my fish is over cooked and dry but the other side is good. My fish was topped with chopped onions some garlic and cilantro….It all kind of dry and I squirt it with lemon. The grilled zucchini is good. The Mexican style rice is very plain.. I notice that I didn’t get my hand made corn tortillas that I was looking forward to trying. Someone walks by who might be a manager and ask how things are? My husband quickly tells him that I didn’t get my tortillas. I guess before the man can say anything I say that I have enough food and don’t need the tortillas and then he leaves. It isn’t until I start getting into the plate that the dryness of the fish bothers me. I’m half crocked from the strong margarita and I forgot that the fish is suppose to be in a garlic cilantro white wine butter sauce. That means my server didn’t know (or maybe care?) that she served me a plate missing the tortillas and my fish missing the sauce. I guess that it isn’t her fault if she wasn’t trained to learn the menu on the food that she serves.
My husband was much luckier than me and got the Sonoran Style Carne Asada Entree.
His plate was much better. He got medium rare, tender and tasty arrachera (marinated and grilled skirt steak) onions, Oaxaca cheese stuffed Anaheim chile, a chorizo quesadilla, chorizo refried beans, Mexican style rice and flour tortillas.
And I got a dry fish.
That was my trip to Barrio Queen at Glendale AZ.
As a slight update someone from Barrio Queen contacted me and said that this isn’t how Barrio Queen does things…They also apologized for…(their words) “Dropping the ball a few times on my visit and not taking my concerns seriously when I was there when my concerns could have been fixed immediately. The General Manager said that he would like to email me a gift card so I would come back. He said that he was emailing me the gift card March 8th 2021 and wanted me to let him know when I was coming. As of yet I haven’t received the gift card.
He sounded very sincere…? Did he forget? Or was this just talk?
