The latte at La Colombe Torrefaction

I’m standing in line at La Colombe Torrefaction in Tribeca. The baristas act blasé, as if you’re interrupting their coffee break. They haven’t taken on the “overly sweet because of the economy” attitude I’ve experienced elsewhere. No, they just assume people will love their coffee, and indeed they do, as proven by the long line at 2pm. I order a latte (and a pear tart), both of which are perfect, and find a seat next to a friendly woman who smiles at my daughter S. Being a mom and running a business, I need my daily caffeine fix and lattes are my drug of choice. La Colombe Torrefactions and the following are my favorites.

At the cozy Joe The Art of Coffee in the West Village, you may find yourself sitting across from an Oscar winner like Philip Seymour Hoffman or Jessica Lange (as I have), but the real lure here is the coffee. It’s rich, creamy and consistent. A large latte gives me exactly the buzz I crave. Although it can be hard to find a seat, there are two benches outside. Either way, you might end up seeing the hilarious Amy Sedaris (sister to David) who used to drop off her cupcakes here.

Roasting Plant became my go-to coffee shop when Baby S was a newborn and I was living on little sleep, which means the coffee here is potent. Choose from a variety of beans, and then for a dose of science fiction, watch them shoot through a tube on the ceiling, after which the beans are ground to order—i.e. the freshest cup in town. (You can also see and smell the beans being roasted in the Roasting Plant Javabot at the Greenwich Ave location.) With only 4 seats, you’ll probably have to get your cup to go. But if you’re get there at the right time, and you happen to have your laptop, each seat has an outlet—and there’s wireless. And if you buy a pound to take home, they’ll give you a free cup of coffee. I’m addicted to their Block Party Blend which, sadly, isn’t always available.

When you feel like you can’t make it through the day, or when you need to be up all night working, writing, whatever it is that inspires you, stop by Abraço (which means embrace on Portuguese) for a fix. The creamy lattes at this minuscule coffee shop, whipped up by co-owner/barista Jamie, are all the fuel you’ll need to stay alert for many hours. If you’re hungry, try two standouts: homemade olive oil cake or the custard fritatta. Since there aren’t a lot of seats, this is another place where you may need to drink your coffee on the go. But trust me, you won’t want to relax after drinking Abraço’s strong brew.

La Colombe Torrefaction
319 Church St at Lispenard/212-343-1515
270 Lafayette St between Prince & Houston

Roasting Plant
81 Orchard St between Broome and Grand/212-775-7755
75 Greenwich Ave near 7th Ave

Joe The Art of Coffee
141 Waverly Place (west of Sixth Avenue)/212-924-6750 (other locations, too)

Abraço
86 East 7th St (west of 1st Avenue)/212-388-9731

Christy and Scott started their blog, Ordinary Traveler, “to inspire ordinary people, like ourselves, to take life by the reins and fulfill their dreams of travel no matter what situation they are in.” And this is why I admire them. They are doing what they love with no excuses, and documenting it by writing and photographing their adventures then sharing it with others who would love to do the same. Their motto, “Make it a Great Adventure,” is inspiring to anyone who wants to write, travel and enjoy life.—Tracey Ceurvels

Christy and Scott of Ordinary Traveler

Tracey: How do you fit in travel around your ordinary life?
Scott + Christy: We make travel a priority. Otherwise, it would be easy to get caught up in our day to day lives and before we know it a year has passed and we haven’t left our little bubble. We also tend to go a little stir crazy when we haven’t traveled for a couple of months, so that gives us motivation to plan another trip. We take a lot of weekend trips and take advantage of all holidays, sick days and vacation time. It’s not uncommon for us to take two to three week long trips a year and at least one weekend adventure every month.

Tracey: What was your first overseas destination together and where did you go?
Scott + Christy: Our first overseas adventure together took place about 8 months after we met and we decided on Costa Rica. We are both surfers, so we wanted to experience Costa Rican waves as well as the cuisine and beautiful scenery. Costa Rica will always hold a special place in our hearts. Even though we generally don’t visit a country more than once (because there are so many we want to see) we almost booked a second trip to Costa Rica this year, but decided on Panama instead.

Tracey: You are also photographers. How does taking photographs enhance your travel experience or indeed hinder, carrying heavy equipment, for example?
Scott + Christy: I love taking photos and I also love that we have hundreds of photographs to remember our trips, but sometimes I can go a little overboard with it. I find myself spending a good portion of our travels snapping photos instead of just enjoying the moment. I also notice that most of the photos I have of myself include me with a camera around my neck or a camera backpack on my back. I never go anywhere without it, but sometimes I wish that I could leave it back at the hotel.

Bringing professional camera equipment does get heavy and it doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for clothes or other items.

Tracey: Do you have advice for someone with limited time who wants to travel?
Scott + Christy: Our advice would be to take small trips close to where you live. You can cover a lot of ground in a couple of days and many times people overlook destinations close to home. Start there and then if you can manage to get a week off from work, that’s all you need to take an overseas trip.

Tracey: How do you write? Do you keep notes and type it up later or do you remember your experience and write it up later?
Scott + Christy: I guess it depends. Sometimes I’m really inspired and words are flowing during a trip and sometimes I don’t get the inspiration until I come home and let everything soak in.

Tracey: Is there a single destination that has inspired you more than any other?
Scott + Christy: Nepal definitely inspired me as a photographer and a writer. I was continually amazed at the kindness of the Nepali people. I went there to challenge my portrait photography skills and came back extremely happy with the photos. It’s been a dream of mine to visit this country ever since I was a child. It’s like a force was pulling me there, but every time I looked up flight prices they were in the $2,000 range. It seemed expensive unless I could stay there for a month or longer.

I happened upon a $1200 flight from the US in early 2011. Scott couldn’t go on this trip, so I decided to go on my own. The trip challenged me on many different levels, but I am grateful for the lessons and experiences. I wrote a post about the Nepali people if you are interested http://www.ordinarytraveler.com/articles/i-see-the-light-in-you

Tracey: Is there a destination that has not met your expectations?
Scott + Christy: Hmm.. that is a tough question. We try not to have expectations when traveling because travel is full of surprises. Especially budget travel. If I had to choose a destination that surprised us the most, it would be Vietnam. We met a lot of travelers throughout Southeast Asia who warned us not to go to Vietnam. They said the people are not friendly and they will try to rip you off everywhere you go. Luckily, we ignored their pleas and ended up encountering some of the most friendly and helpful Vietnamese people during our stay in the country.

Tracey: What are your favorite meals around the world?
Scott + Christy: I’m not as adventurous as Scott when it comes to food. I love trying new things, as long as they are not bugs or weird animals, but I’m not always impressed with food from different parts of the world. Thai, Vietnamese and Caribbean cuisine are some of our favorites. I am always down to try a new fruit though, especially tropical fruits.

Tracey: What do you have planned next?
Scott + Christy: We have a lot of weekend trips planned as well as a surf trip to Panama.

Scott and Christy are surfers and photographers who run an inspiring travel blog where they provide tips to others who want to fulfill their dreams of travel, no matter what situation they are in. You can find them on Facebook, Twitter or view their travel photography portfolio.

I was 17 when I took my first trip away without my parents. I went to Kyoto, Japan, on a Boston/Kyoto sister city exchange program for high school students.

I was aways an adventurous spirit so it was easy for me to board the plane and take a 17-hour flight with other students and a couple of teachers. (Conversely, it would be hard for me now to leave my 3-year old daughter for such a flight.)

I loved Japan, the bustle of Tokyo, the beaches of Kamakura, the temples in Osaka, the Grand Shrine in Ise, the noodle shops and the shabu shabu that I devoured.

I loved every second of the trip. That is until we got to the top of Mount Fuji.

I was doubled over in pain and couldn’t step off the bus to see the view, to see anything. I attributed my severe nausea and stomach ache to breakfast: tonkatsu, pork cutlets, which my host family had served for breakfast. My American stomach was used to Cheerios, yogurt and toast.

Someone called an ambulance. The next thing I knew, I was at a small hospital where a doctor with a long beard told me to remove my shoes as was customary. Through intermittent conversations with a translator, the doctor diagnosed me with appendicitis.

Next I was in another ambulance. This one was taking me to a major hospital where I’d have an appendectomy. I remember sirens and throwing up. I started missing my parents and wishing they were there. But time sped by. Soon I was in an operating room but felt like I was in a science fiction movie. Doctors and nurses, all dressed in blue and speaking Japanese, stood above me preparing me for surgery.

Then I woke up, in pain and not able to feel my legs. I told a nurse I had to pee. In her broken English, she kept saying, “You go, you go.” I didn’t understand. What she meant was that I had a catheter and I was already going. My legs felt like elephant legs, so heavy I couldn’t move them.

I could communicate with no one except for the anesthesiologist who’d studied in Boston and spoke English. I asked him to please stop by my room, and he did a couple of times, but mostly he was busy with other patients.

Then it was time to call my parents. In all the chaos, there hadn’t been a moment to call them. The teachers who brought us on the trip told me to be calm when I called, so I wouldn’t worry my parents. I bawled my eyes out but I assured them I was okay, that they didn’t have to come over.

I remember feeling alone, yet not completely alone. Somehow, continents away from my family and everything familiar to me, I knew I would be okay.

And I was. I felt this sense of being okay in the world. Of being safe and protected.

Have you ever had this feeling when you were traveling? Share your story over on Facebook.

Add a dash of nigella seeds to sweet potato chickpea dip

Admit, we all like to snack. My husband, especially so. He loves potato chips, tortilla chips, cookies and chocolates (well I like some of those things, too, though not on his frequency). Fortunately for him he has a speedy metabolism.

To counteract his snacks that sit around the house, I find myself nibbling on salads, hard-boiled eggs and raw vegetables. And because I work at home, I tend to nibble quite a bit instead of stopping to make myself lunch.(Bad, I know.)

But it’s winter and I remember an acupuncturist I knew long ago said not to eat raw vegetables and salads during the winter but to eat more root vegetables.

So I asked acupuncture goddess Jill Blakeway of Yinova Center, who is an absolute dear, the reason for this. (If you live in New York and need an acupuncturist, she’s the one to visit!)

Jill said that “Root veggies draw their energy from the earth and so are considered particularly nourishing and warming in the winter while salad veggies are cooling and draw their energy from the sun making them more suited to the summer.”

During these cold months instead of nibbling on raw vegetables, or worse, junk food like chips, I sometimes make this sweet potato/chickpea dip that I adapted from a recipe I saw in Oprah Magazine a while ago. I even make my own pita bread.

I’ve come to believe that homemade snacks are the best and if my refrigerator is stocked with a few great dips, I’m ready for a day of hunkering and writing.

What’s your favorite homemade snack food? Share it with us on Facebook.

Sweet potato and chickpea dip

Ingredients
1 medium sweet potato, scrubbed
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 small clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus a dash more for drizzling
fresh ground pepper, to taste
nigella seeds, to taste (optional)

Make the dip
Preheat oven to 425°. Prick sweet potato several times with a fork. Place on a cookie sheet and roast until flesh is tender, about 50 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Combine chickpeas, garlic, cayenne pepper and salt in large bowl. Mix with an immersion blender until smooth. Scoop out sweet potato flesh, and add, mixing for another minute. Slowly add olive oil and mix until combined.

Transfer to a serving bowl. Grind pepper over dip and drizzle with extra olive oil. Sprinkle with nigella seeds (optional).

And if you’d like to make your own flatbread (I highly suggest it; you’ll never buy store-bought again!) you can read this rather old article with flatbread flatbread recipe in Dean & Deluca.

Cheese—milk’s leap toward immortality.—Clifton Paul Fadiman

I am heading to a holiday party on Saturday. I’ve been going over in my mind what to bring, wondering whether or not to bake or cook. The party is with my group of wine-drinking, fine food-loving friends, friends with whom I’ve traipsed around Paris and dined out at zillions of NYC restaurants. Which is to say I want to bring over something I know they’ll like and appreciate: cheese, specifically cheese from France.

Among this crowd, cheese is something to be savored and so I am planning on choosing wisely. After perusing Cheeses of France, my mouth was watering. I love how they’ve created cheese plates: holiday plate, coffee plate (which includes breakfast cheese), sparkling plate (to enjoy with Champagne of course) and one that piqued my interest, the grand plate.

En route to the party in Brooklyn Heights, I am stopping into Stinky Cheese on Smith Street, one of my favorite shops in Brooklyn.

I plan on getting a mix of cow, goat and sheep in a variety of styles and flavors—something for every taste. Personally, if I’m at a party and there’s cheese, crackers, cocktails and wine (and great people of course), I am a very happy camper.

What are you bringing to your next holiday party?

Skip the cupcakes and instead bring some cheese. If you’re stumped on what kind of cheese to buy, Cheeses of France offers tips on creating the perfect cheese plate.

Happy Holidays!

xo
Tracey

I want to share some sweet discoveries with you, chocolates and other goodies I’ve tasted recently (some at The Chocolate Show a few weeks ago in NYC). They all make great gifts, whether you want to surprise a special someone with a box of chocolates or indulge a group of friends, family members or colleagues with a batch of cookies. For even more food-related gift ideas, check out my Top 10 Gifts for Food Lovers on The Gourmet Blog at Dean & DeLuca.

Get your orders in soon!

Pizzelles from Bella Pizzelle
I recently received these is a gift, and devoured them with my daughter and husband in one sitting. When you order a batch of pizzelles, they’re made fresh by the DiNorscia family in Philadelphia. One bite and you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to an Italian grandmother’s kitchen.

Available at Bella Pizzelle

Truffles from Kee’s Chocolates
Kee’s doesn’t ship but if you’re in NYC, these chocolates (and French macarons) make an exquisite gift for the chocolate lover in your life. Owner Kee Ling Tong, who left her corporate job to pursue her dream of making chocolates (a woman after my own heart), makes all her confections by hand and with all fresh ingredients. Earl Grey, Champagne, fennel, black tea with rose petals…the fillings and infusions of Kee’s truffles are unique and incredibly satisfying.

Available at Kee’s Chocolates

Chocolate Chip Cookies from Salt of the Earth
If you’ve yet to come across a perfect chocolate chip cookie, please run, not walk to Salt of the Earth. Their chocolate chip is just about the most perfect I’ve tasted. The dough is a balance of chewy and crisp; the chocolate chunks are from E. Guittard Chocolates and the finishing touch, Maldon Sea Salt from England, turns the cookie into a masterpiece.

Available at these stores in New York.

Bonbons + chocolates from Chocolate for the Spirit
The bonbon/truffle assortments not only taste good, but they look great, making an assortment a beautiful gift. I enjoyed the beautiful chocolate Buddha I tasted at the Chocolate Show as well as one of their most popular items: the Dark Chocolate Mayan Spice bar, which contains cinnamon, chipotle and ancho chili.

Available at Chocolate for the Spirt

Treasure Chest from Jacques Torres
Want to see a huge smile on a chocolate lovers face? This treasure chest from Jacques Torres containing 50 pieces of bonbons, Champagne truffles, hot chocolate and loads of other goodies could make the most miserly person smile.

Available at Mr. Chocolate

Gratitude Cookies from Zen Rabbit
What are you grateful for? Isn’t that the true spirit of the holidays? An attitude of gratitude is the surest way to success, so these classic butter cookies make a perfect gift to anyone who needs a reminder to be grateful for what they have.

Available at Zen Rabbit

MOHO Chocolate Bars
For the socially-conscious chocophile in your life, send a bar of single origin chocolate from the Moho River in Belize made by the owner of Cotton Tree Lodge. It’s socially-responsible, direct-trade—and delicious. I’ve melted down the bars for some mighty-fine hot chocolate.

For more information, visit MOHO Cocoa

Nasrin and I had met decades ago, when songs like Madonna’s Borderline and David Bowie’s Let’s Dance were infiltrating pop radio stations and the roller skating rink in Boston where we first became friends. I remember my eighth grade classmate at Boston Latin School, Rachel, and her new friend Nasrin coming off the green line trolley in Kenmore Square to meet me, Nasrin’s roller skates hanging off her shoulder, looking fun and sassy—and so different from anyone I’d ever known. Getting to Nasrin, who is Arabic, was like watching a foreign film for the first time.

On the weekends when we first became friends, Nasrin and I sometimes sat in her bedroom in Brookline talking about the boys we liked, making incisions on our t-shirts and tying lace in our hair to achieve the rumpled look of Madonna. Meanwhile, scents from her mother’s kitchen floated around the house and into Nasrin’s room like a bewitching incense that mesmerized me.

Walking into her mom Khatija’s kitchen for the first time was like stepping into C.S. Lewis’ make-believe world, Narnia, the spices and scents of Arabic and Indian food percolating from the stove. Khatija made food that was as foreign to me as some of the Arabic plaques that hung on their walls. In my home, food was meant to nourish and satiate the appetite, but I wanted to venture into new territory, food and otherwise, and it was in Khatija’s kitchen that I began my quest.

We didn’t attend the same school, live in the same neighborhood, take ballet or tennis lessons or anything else that might have brought us together, but soon after roller-skating on that spring Saturday, Nasrin and I melded like only best friends can, sharing secrets, crushes and the vivid dreams of how we imagined our future weddings and lives. We had no way of knowing the milestones we would encounter together: the graduations, family deaths, first loves and broken hearts, or how our close friendship would span decades and continents.

During those early days of our friendship, we used to sleep and eat over at each others’ homes. I’d already begun my experimentation with trying new food, transforming my mom’s iceberg lettuce salads with cucumber, tomatoes and Wishbone Italian dressing into my own mixed salads that I created with various vegetables I found in our refrigerator. Back then, exotic food involved trips to Boston’s Chinatown. My parents and I liked ordering the pu pu platter comprised of various fried Chinese delights, and that was decorated with colorful paper umbrellas that I collected.

While Nasrin was dismissing her heritage in order to fit in more, even giving herself the moniker “Nicky” so as not to explain her unusual name, I was a detective trying to define the enigmatic customs and cuisine of Nasrin’s family. Being a Muslim, Nasrin
didn’t celebrate the Christian holidays that I did, although she has spent time with my family eating turkey dinners on Thanksgiving and Christmas over the years. I was curious about what she ate during her holidays, and learned that she had to fast during the month-long Muslim holiday Ramadan. During this holiday, Nasrin and her mom can’t eat during daylight, but then eat light meals at sundown. The Shah’s holiday culminates with Eid, the Festival of Breaking the Fast, when Mrs. Shah would set the dinner table with their finest cutlery, their fanciest tablecloths, the way my mom set the table during holidays, too.

Nasrin’s mother, Khatija (or Mrs. Shah as I called her), would call us for dinner, and explain each dish to me, making them sound like treasures I couldn’t wait to unveil: Prism-shaped samosas, lamb simmered in spicy curry, basmati rice with cloves, and warm charred paratha. I took bites of Mrs. Shah’s food,apprehensive at first because her cuisine was so new to me, but then amazed at these new tastes that were spicy and so flavorful in my mouth. Flavors like cardamom, curry and coriander, fragrant, colorful and abundant, surprised my senses, and were completely different from the dried green herbs in my mother’s kitchen drawers. Mrs. Shah’s spices, sitting nameless in clear jars on the counter, were like an artist’s paints and supplies, bright orange and stars that she mixed and melded into kaleidoscopic meals. And what was surprising to me was that Mrs. Shah never consulted a cookbook when preparing dinner. Nasrin recently told me that her mother has never written down a recipe either. When Mrs. Shah was in her kitchen, she made her curries, rice dishes and chutneys according to taste, instinct and memory, according to what her mother had learned from her mother.

For dessert, Mrs. Shah often brought out galub jamun, small round, sweet cake-like milky cheese balls,sitting in honey syrup scented with the essence of rosewater. It was during those dinners, and desserts served with homemade chai, that my eyes and appetite for food and cultures different from my own first blossomed.

Even though we live in different continents, Nasrin and I are still like two attached teenagers, talking on the phone all the time (thank you Skype!), still discussing our fears and dreams, and becoming surrogate therapists to one another during our constantly evolving lives. We are like sisters who share the indelible memories of our younger selves, sisters brought up at the same tables. I hope our young daughters, only nine months apart, will experience the same.

Our little ones at the Public Garden in Boston

Serve with whipped cream (homemade of course) or ice cream

If you’re looking for a new way to cook with apples, why not try a French version that was created by mistake.

Here’s an excerpt from my post on Dean & Deluca’s Gourmet Food Blog:

My first job was at a 4-star French restaurant in Boston and one of my most vivid memories of working at Maison Robert was the tarte tatin that sat in full view of all the diners, enticing anyone who walked by to order it for dessert. It was kept warm on some sort of hot plate, waiting to be topped with chantilly cream.

Click here to read more about Tarte Tatin and for the recipe on The Gourmet Food Blog at Dean & Deluca.

DiPalo's Fine Foods in Little Italy is one of my go-to spots for this must-have staple:Parmesan

I’ve found that if I have the following ingredients I can make a dish or dessert on the fly no matter what fresh fruit and vegetables I have sitting around. So my suggestion to you is: stock up your pantry and refrigerator. It makes cooking dinner (and even an easy dessert) a simple task.

Here’s my go-to list:

Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Tamari sauce
Chicken stock (I make it fresh and keep it frozen)
Fish stock (ditto)
Wine, both red + white
Sea Salt
Fresh pepper
Parmesan cheese
Mustard (great to add to homemade salad dressings and sauces)
Champagne vinegar
Sesame oil
Spices, so many, from Herbs de Provence to saffron to Chinese 5-spice
Quinoa + rice
Eggs
Butter (European)
Flour, whole wheat, unbleached all-purpose and cake flour
Milk + cream
Chocolate, especially Sharffen Berger
Vanilla, particularly Nielson-Massey