Galactic Pizza

Friday nights during Lent are usually reserved for pizza or a good-old fish fry. I made a tasty tuna salad for lunch, so it was time for pizza. We headed over to Galactic Pizza in the Lyn-Lake neighborhood (sandwiched between The Lyndale Tap House and Tiger Sushi) and quickly realized that it's a pretty darn unique place. Just about everyone is familiar with their super hero-styled delivery drivers and the corresponding electric cars, but you may not know that they've created other initiatives such as leveraging wind energy and creating an extensive waste reduction program.

You'd think all these extras would lead to some sort of gong show that limited the end product, but I don't think that's the case at all. Galactic leverages fresh, local and organic ingredients whenever they can and the ingredients are often coupled to make eccentric and unique combinations. Take the "Thailander" featuring green onions, bean sprouts, shredded carrots, crushed peanuts, cilantro, marinated chicken and mozzarella as an example. It's like pad thai woven into a pie. The "Paul Bunyan" features a unique blend of MN ingredients including morel mushrooms, wild rice and bison sausage. Sounds interesting for sure, but you definitely get the vibe that this place is run by some pretty free spirits - as illustrated by the 5 minute break our waitress took. Hmmm, what could one accomplish in only 5 minutes? Needless to say she seemed very relaxed (but still attentive) when she came back.

Jess and I ordered the "Organic Veggie" featuring mozz, button mushrooms, roma tomatoes, green peppers and onions in accordance with my vegetarian experiment. The veggies were fresh, but lacked any true excitement - pretty common for produce this time of year. However, the mozz was fresh, evenly melted and incorporated just the right hint of salt as it mingled with the zesty, but balanced sauce. Thankfully, Galactic didn't go overboard on either the cheese or the sauce -- a critical mistake in several MN pie shops. Thankfully, the crust was relatively thin for the "hand tossed" variety and was prepared at a temperature that creates a nice char and crackly edges amounting to a more flavorful crust. I'll definitely head back to the friendly folks at Galactic, but hope to try one of the more exciting pies on my return trip.

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

Epic Sandwich: The Good Earth's Planet Burger

The Epic Sandwich feature may be a bit more difficult than usual with my new diet habits, but I'm also viewing it as a bit of an adventure, or an opportunity to try things I normally wouldn't. Take the Planet Burger at the Good Earth for instance. Never would have tried that on my own! Full review here.

Holy Mostaccioli!

I've been running with this vegetarian experiment for over a week now and things appear to be going well. I can't notice any physical changes - I doubt those would happen that fast. I seem to have the same energy levels. I seem to be sleeping the same. No noticeable weight loss or gain has been observed to this point, so things seem to be going well.

The biggest difference has easily been the culinary creativity. I made a vegetarian baked penne the other night, and despite the fact that pasta al forno is a staple in my Italian-American repertoire, I think that this version was the best. Instead of sausage, I substituted roasted red peppers, capers, Sicilian olives and kept in the mushrooms. I think it was a real hit and the part skim-ricotta and sauce mixture seemed to incorporate the salt and spice of the additional veggies well. Although, the five cheese blend and whole milk mozz baked on top certainly added to the success.

I also made an awesome Thai gyoza soup yesterday with edamame, ginger, shitakes and watercress. I added a bit of Sriracha to the vegetable broth and it really paid off. I always use chicken stock when constructing my soups and I was very fearful that I would taste a serious fall off, but it ended up really nice. I'm starting to incorporate a lot of new ingredients and am really enjoying it.

I did have some weak moments, though. My family suffered a huge loss and I was down in Des Moines for the funeral last weekend. Times of mourning are often times of eating in my family and I found myself surround by a wealth of amazing meatballs, spicy capicolla, dangerous stew meat and piles of Italian beef. It was tough, but I made it through with the help of some awesome antipasti, marinated veggies and mostaccioli. Thank the good Lord for the Latin King!

I'll be back with more updates and tales of my experiment.

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

A good start and a SW Tragedy

The largest hurdle for my vegetarian experiment may very well be variety. We all have our favorite dishes that we make in a pinch and know that we'll be satisfied, but I've lost some of those crucial meals given the new restrictions. Despite the concern, I'm looking at this as an opportunity to really expand on my skills and hopefully I'll generate some new favorites. Last night started off strong with veggie tacos. I made fajita-style poblanos and onions and also cooked up some black beans with a bit of jalapeno. Everything got a good dash of cumin, ancho chili powder, Mexican oregano and a squeeze of lime (s & p are a given as well). A little jack cheese, some salsa verde and a few corn tortillas made for a pretty nice meal that didn't compromise on flavor. Tonight's menu includes roasted broccoli, greens eith homemade vinaigrette and spaghetti with pesto, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms. Tomorrow night? Tiger Sushi for a good friends birthday. I think I'm doing OK on the variety thing thus far.

Also, the name of this blog wouldn't be very significant if I didn't mention the fire that took out Blackbird Cafe and Heidi's this afternoon along with a few other local businesses. This is a tragedy both for the neighborhood and for the proprietors. I really hope they are able to resurrect their establishments and promise I will be one of the first to walk back through their doors or lend a hand (or tummy) if possible. Thankfully all the employees made it out safely.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite images from Blackbird.

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

57,600 Minutes

I'm horrible at math, but I believe 57,600 minutes is how long I will have to go without eating a speck of meat. No, I'm not a vegetarian, and likely never will be, but I have decided to give up meat for Lent. I will allow myself to eat fish (it aligns with the church) and eggs but that's it. I'm not going to go vegan or take it that far, but giving up meat for 40 days is no small deal for a guy as obsessed with food as I am.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have always dreaded Fridays during Lent because good Catholics (which I am, obviously ;-) abstain from meat. It used to be a big deal to me, but after expanding my culinary horizons, I was able to find ways that made the experience more enjoyable. Make no mistake about it though, I am doing this because I think it is a good sacrifice and reflects well on the season and what it means to us. I think it also represents a great opportunity to further expand my recipe base and cooking skills. I know I will get very tired of this at some point along the 40 days (Day 2?), but I'm committed to getting through it. I felt the same way when I gave up soda and sweets, and I made it through just fine and actually consume far less of each category for having done this. However, I can promise you there's no way I'm going to abandon my precious proteins forever. There's just no way.

My survival strategy is to make sure I'm eating the right foods, but balancing the diet to offset the difference from my regular diet:

1.) LOTS of fruit and veggies - I'll need the extra fiber and natural sugar to feel full and for energy

2.) Beans and legumes - a good source of protein (needed since I'm a beanpole) and a key component of my usual diet. I think they offer one of the better bastions for variety and take on flavors well.

3.) Whole grains - I need to get back to baking my own bread on a regular basis and eating filling grains lower on the glycemic index such as couscous, brown rice, whole grain pasta and quinoa

4.) Soup - I'm a huge soup buff this time of year and will need to hit the stock pot on Sundays so I have plenty of meals ready to go. That way I don't even need to think about what I'm missing out on

5.) Salads - offer the perfect vehicle for lean protein (tuna, salmon, eggs) as well as fiber rich veggies

6.) Whey Protein - I think I'll need to mix in smoothies with berries and peanut butter to help keep some weight on

The above will help offset cravings for pizza pasta and an entire ball of whole milk mozzarella, while keeping my diet not only diverse, but healthy. I'll be taking pics and writing posts about my experience to keep you informed but could really use some help on the following:

1.) Any vegetarian recipes that you really cherish/celebrate - I'd sure appreciate it

2.) A few good tips for restaurants that offer some good veggie options, but also offer a full menu for my companions

3.) Most importantly, a great spot for me to grab dinner on Fat Tuesday - I might as well go out in a protein-rich blaze of glory. I'm thinking 112 Eatery, Saffron and Sapor Cafe as of right now

More to come and happy Eating,

-Teddy