To accompany our meal of Eggplant Stacks, a side of bread or pasta seemed too heavy.  However, something in the carb-based category sounded appealing.  With flour tortillas in our pantry and knowing the grill would be in use, I created my own light version of bread.

This side was prepared in approximately 2 minutes and was an instant hit with both my fiance and me.  It has become our new multi-purpose side dish.

Tortilla Wedges

flour tortillas

parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat grill to medium heat.  Place tortillas on grill, and cook for 30 seconds on first side.  Flip tortillas.  Immediately sprinkle with grated fresh parmesan, and close lid.  Allow to cook for 30 seconds.  Remove and cut into wedges.

On a warm summer Monday I was debating what to make for dinner. Our twelve and ten year olds each had a friend staying for dinner and a sleepover, so trying to find a meal that would please all four and us seemed impossible. The children were happy to hear that dinner for them would be hot dogs, which made for easy cooking.

My fiance had a long day at the office, so I knew I had time to prepare a different meal for us. Having shopped at a farmer’s market in Boston the other day, I had some eggplant that could be used. With it being a summer day and both of us watching what we eat in preparation for our nuptuals in a few weeks, I wanted the meal to be on the lighter side. I didn’t want a heavy sauce, but I needed to add some other flavors to the eggplant.

Grilling the eggplant seemed the best and healthiest option for cooking it. Layering it with mozzarella and basil would give it a variety of tastes and textures. For a final touch, I would drizzle a balsamic vinegar reduction over it to add more depth to the flavor.

With a message sent that my fiance finally was on his way home from work, I was able to get the dish prepared almost in perfect timing for his arrival. Served with Tortilla Wedges and a glass of cabernet sauvignon, this was a perfect late dinner for two.

Eggplant Stacks

3 small eggplant, cut into 1/2″ rounds

4 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4″ rounds

fresh basil, finely chopped

salt

pepper

extra virgin olive oil

balsamic vinegar reduction*

Preheat grill. If using a gas grill, turn heat to medium-low. Brush one side of eggplant with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on grill, and cook for 2 minutes. While cooking, brush olive oil and add salt and pepper to second side. Flip eggplant slices and grill for another minute. While this side is grilling, sprinkle fresh basil (amount depends on your taste preferences) on eggplant. Top each eggplant slice with a mozzarella slice, close grill cover, and let cook for 1 minute. Remove stacks from grill.

Drizzle balsamic reduction on each stack, and serve immediately.

*Balsamic Reduction

1 cup balsamic vinegar

Place in small saucepot, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir continuously. Once the vinegar has thickened to the consistency of a syrup instead of a liquid, remove from heat immediately.

Makes approximately 1/3 cup.

Serves 2 - 3.

People that know me, know that I love sushi. I have been known to eat it 5 and 6 days per week. And in the southern New Hampshire area, Takumi Japanese Restaurant is one of the best in the area. On a weekday of running errands with my son, JP, I decided to take him for a treat of lunchtime sushi.

I had been to Takumi for dinner and evening drinks many times. They offer sushi and Japanese hibachi style meals. They also have a large lounge that makes for a decent meeting place to watch a game and have a drink. But this was my first try for them for lunch.

Not realizing it until we entered, Takumi offers a buffet for lunch. JP and I went over and took a look at the buffet before we made our decision to stay or go. In my book Asian buffets are where you go when you are 79 years old and are looking for the early bird special. But this one looked pretty good so we decided to give it a whirl. The buffet was filled with Japanese and Chinese dishes, like fried rice, lo mein, and steamed dumplings. But a few of the standouts were the shrimp tempura and chicken tempura. The sushi offerings were a little light with only California Maki on the buffet.

JP and I sampled everything (I know that is no surprise) and found it to be tasty and one of the better Asian buffets I have tried. In addition to the buffet items, we each got to choose a mini main course. I chose chicken teriyaki, and JP had salmon teriyaki. A side salad and miso soup also came with the meal.

All in all, we were in and out of the place in 35 minutes and were stuffed to the gills with a very respectable assortment of Asian foods. For two of us and a total bill of $25, it felt like a very good value.

While walking the Freedom Trail with my fiance, we stopped to have lunch at Florentine Cafe. Having eaten pasta and some bread, dessert did not seem a likely option. However, as we were walking through the North End of Boston, we noticed the sign for Mike’s Pastry and could not pass on the indulgence of a treat.

As is typical of this bakery, there was a decent-sized crowd in line to purchase pastries. Seeing an open table, we decided to have a seat and enjoy our baked goods inside the bakery. Of course, before we could enjoy some decadent dessert, we would need to decide what each of us wanted, which is no easy feat!

Each of us took a turn squeezing through the crowd to view the huge assortment of baked goods. Among our choices were cheesecake, carrot cake, cookies, biscotti, cannoli, tiramisu, and gelato, to name just a few. With neither of us being big fans of chocolate, some of our choices were eliminated. Being in an Italian bakery, we decided to stick with traditional Italian treats and chose a cannoli and a piece of cheesecake.

However, ordering a cannoli has options also. There are different fillings, different ways of making the pastry, and plain or chocolate-covered cannoli. We asked our waitress about the Florentine cannoli, and when we heard her answer (honey and nuts added to the shell), knew exactly which cannoli we wanted.

Our pastries and beverages arrived in a very timely fashion for such a busy place. I had ordered a cappuccino, and my fiance had an espresso. Both were garnished with a sugar-coated stirrer and were hot and tasty. The pastries were exceptional. The Florentine cannoli was the best cannoli I have eaten, ever. The addition of honey and nuts to the shell made for a sweet, crunchy pastry. The filling was creamy and perfectly sweet. The cheesecake was topped with a strawberry glaze and had a melt-in-your-mouth texture.

As we sat at our table, savoring our hot beverages and incredible desserts, we noticed that the line for purchasing baked good had grown even longer. Obviously, Mike’s Pastry is known for its treats, and we can vouch for them now. If you are in the Boston area, it is well worth the drive to Mike’s (and the wait in line) for some of the best pastries you ever will have.

After walking the Freedom Trail from the Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument, my fiance and I had developed huge appetites. Having passed through the North End of Boston on this walking tour, we decided we would stop for lunch in a restaurant there on our return. Though when we arrived at the North End, it was hard to choose a restaurant and decided to eat at the third restaurant we passed, which was the Florentine Cafe.

This cafe was visually appealing with hardwood floors and open air seating available. As it was fairly busy and we were hungry, we decided not to wait for a window seat. Once at our table, we were given water and menus immediately. The waitress appeared momentarily and asked for our drink orders. Having walked for a few hours, we chose to drink water but ordered Carpaccio as an appetizer.

While the waitress brought our order to the kitchen, we perused our lunch choices and wondered if we would receive bread. The appetizer was delivered within minutes of ordering, but we did have to ask whether bread would be served. The waitress assured us it would be coming, and a busboy brought it to us in short order.

The carpaccio was well-presented and tasty. Thinly sliced sirloin beef created a border along the sides of the plate. In the center was a bed of arugula topped with grilled asparagus and shaved parmesan cheese, all of which was drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

For our meals, we each chose a pasta dish. I chose the Penne Campagnola, which had great ingredients but lacked in flavor. Served over perfectly cooked penne pasta, this dish had peas, onions, and prosciutto, all of which were delicious. However, the tomato cream sauce was extremely bland. Even after adding parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper, it was lackluster.

My fiance chose the Veal Alla Crema, which had a similar issue. Described on the menu as, “Veal scaloppine with shrimp, onions, mushrooms and roasted peppers in a sherry wine cream sauce over linguine,” it also had a sauce that was bland. The veal was excellent, making the meal worth ordering.

Comfortably full from this meal, we declined an offer of coffee or dessert and continued our return trip on the Freedom Trail.

When the weather heats up, two things happen. The person normally in charge of preparing dinner declares that it is too hot to stand over a blazing oven and stove. The person not normally in charge of preparing dinner runs toward his or her grill at lightning speed and decides to see if it really is possible to grill lettuce.

Cooking tasty (but healthy) meals in the summer can prove to be quite the challenge, but it is possible! Remember, you don’t have to stand in a sweltering kitchen to make a good dinner. There are plenty of great meals that can either be cooked outdoors on a grill or require little cooking at all! Here are a few tips to keep you (and your family) fed during the hot summer months:

1. Invest in a raw foods cookbook. While these cookbooks are loved by vegans the world over, they can also be very helpful when you find that you can’t stand the idea of cooking or even eating food that is warm! The raw foods/no bake cookbooks will be full of healthy and tasty recipes that will keep your family fed and happy.

2. Let the grill do the work. Wrap your veggies in a tin foil packet and cook them over your grill! You’ll be amazed at how extraordinary the vegetables can taste when they are cooked over open (or propane) flames!

3. Sandwiches always are satisfying and often can be a meal all by themselves (depending on the sandwich toppings you like the best). Sandwiches are also a fantastic way to use leftovers from last night’s grilled dinner.

4. When all else fails and you can’t stand the idea of another night of barbecue, find an affordable restaurant and let someone else do the cooking for a night!

If you happened to have read my recent posts about beer reviews on our sister site, Parched No More, I mention a spot in Manchester I frequent to do my taste testing. Strangebrew Tavern, located at 88 Market Street, is a great spot to test some new beers and enjoy a fun night in the heart of downtown Manchester.

Boasting a tap list of over 60 beers, The Brew has the largest selection of beers in New Hampshire. The taps consist of craft-brewed beers and your assortment of Belgium, German, English and Irish beers. Nowhere on the beer menu will you find Budweiser or Miller on tap. You can have it in a bottle, but trust me when I say you’ll get evil glances from folks around you if you order one.

If you want more than a beer the food alone would be worth the trip. Appetizers like: Fried Pickle Chips, a Beer Cheese Platter, Buffalo Wings, or a Hummus Plate don’t sound like standard pub fare, but Strangebrew is better than your standard pub. Besides burgers and sandwiches, they offer salads, a weekend Prime Rib special, a selection of beer-battered fish, steak tips and a real meaning to soup du jour. There is certainly something for everyone’s taste at Strangebrew.

Besides food and beer, around 8:30 most nights, you can catch some great live local music from funk to blues depending on the night. Strangebrew offers nightly food and beer specials. Most notably: $2 Tuesdays when all beers are $2 a pint or bottle. I do my best taste testing on Tuesdays, since I don’t have to break the bank.

For some more research on this gem of a place, visit Strangebrew for a complete list of promos, beers, menu and directions. Maybe I’ll see you some Tuesday.