Friends on Food - Fancy on the Inside

Today has been highly unmotivating and pretty boring, so I thought I'd post a little Friends on Food to raise my spirits! 

Season Two: The One with Two Parties

MONICA: So, I'll get candles and my mom's lace tablecloth, and since it's Rachel's birthday, I mean, we want it to be special, I thought I'd poach a salmon.

ALL: Ohhh.
MONICA: What?
ROSS: Question. Why do we always have to have parties where you poach things?
MONICA: You wanna be in charge of the food committee?
ROSS: Question two. Why do we always have to have parties with committees?

JOEY: Really. Why can't we just get some pizzas and get some beers and have fun?

ROSS: Yeah.
PHOEBE: Yeah, I agree. You know, I think fancy parties are only fun if you're fancy on the inside and I'm just not sure we are.

***So are you fancy on the inside?!***

Restaurant Review :: Common Roots

This weekend was jam packed with Pet Project Rescue events.  Sunday I went to Urbanimal in Uptown to show off my foster kitty, Storm, and cuddle with some other cutie puppies and kitties who need to find homes.  My foster was adopted by a wonderful family, but it was still a bit of a heartbreaker for me!  My friends met up with me afterwards at Common Roots on Lyndale.  I'd never been there before so I was expecting some warm beverages and maybe a scone or something....I was NOT expecting the plethora of delicious foods they had waiting for me!

First of all, the menu totally rocks.  They have everything from bison tacos to pizzas to soups to desserts.  And after a brief convo with one of the workers, I learned that everything in the entire cafe is made from scratch.  (I tried to get a cookie recipe but was totally denied.)  And after checking out their website, I learned that they rely on local farmers for their produce and use all organic and naturally grown ingredients.  It doesn't get much better than that.

I was starving after a long afternoon so I ordered the Wild Rice Burger.  All I have to say is WOW.  I've had some wild rice burgers in the past but nothing compares to the one at Common Roots.  The wild rice was perfectly cooked and formed into a patty that was dripping with melty cheese.  The burger is served with arugula and an aioli.  The inside of the poppy-seed topped roll is grilled to add a bit of a crunch.  And the burger is served with a side of greens topped with a homemade vinaigrette.  Holy cats this was to die for.  My friend Tasha tried one bite of my burger and she was off to order her own! 

My other friend Rachel tried their soft pretzels.  Mmmmmmm so tasty.  They were hot, chewy, and salty.  The peppery cheese on the side added a welcome kick to these salty morsels.  The pretzels are also on their happy hour menu (yup, they serve beers!). 

But the highlight of our meal?  The chocolate cookies.  O.M.G.  We ordered one to share and it simply was not enough.  It was a chewy, almost brownie-like cookie with chunks of white chocolate and maybe dark chocolate.  The outer edge of the cookie had a bit of substance...almost a crunch...and the inside was just melt-in-your-mouth amazing.  I went back up to the counter and ordered two more.  They were devoured. 

I had no idea that I was missing out on such a wonderful cafe.  The food is amazing and I loved the coffee-shop atmosphere.  I cannot wait to come back for happy hours and for their fab sounding brunch!

Food for a Good Cause :: Quinoa Muffins

This weekend I volunteered with Pet Project Rescue at the first No-Kill Walk for Animals.  The walk was around Lake Como in St. Paul and participants walked to benefit a local animal rescue of their choice.  I helped out at the Pet Project Rescue booth giving out information and trying not to screw things up.  The weather was NOT going to be good -- rainy and cold -- so the night before I thought I'd bake up a little snack for the fellow volunteers who joined me at 8am!

Oz - a PPR foster pup -- braving the weather with his stylish rain jacket!

Papi enjoying his bone on his muddy blanket!

I found this recipe on Big Girls Small Kitchen and adapted it to meet my refrigerator contents.  The quinoa adds a healthy punch and an amazing texture to these otherwise normal muffins.  I also threw in some raisins for a chewy and sweet kick.  I tripled this recipe to make 24 muffins, but this original recipe makes about 8.

Ingredients

1/4 cup canola oil*

1/2 cup sugar, minus 2 tbls
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 egg
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup raisins

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine the oil, sugar, vanilla, almond extract, and egg.  Beat or whisk until the mixture is smooth and slightly thickened.  Add the milk and mix again.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Pour this over the wet ingredients and stir together.  Add the quinoa and raisins and stir to combine.

Divide the batter evenly among 8 muffin cups.  Fill the remaining cups with water to protect your pans.  Bake for about 20 minutes.  Eat and enjoy!

*Food Tip: For a richer, denser muffin, substitute all or some of the oil with apple sauce.  And while any neutral oil will work with this recipe, canola oil is rich in Vitamin E and has the lowest amount of saturated fat among all of the cooking oils.  Bonus!