Author Archives: meg | ginger-snapped.com

thoughts on meat-eating

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before i get into this post, i want to say a huge thank you to all of my new readers! i’m honored that my recent post on copenhagen and sweden was selected for wordpress’ freshly pressed page, and it’s been so wonderful to get new perspectives and kind words from photographers, travelers, and foodies alike. (and if you don’t know what i’m talking about, check out this hilarious blog post for more insight.)

the past few weeks have been absolutely beautiful here in budapest, and as steve and i have traveled through sweden, copenhagen, and dublin, i’ve continued to wrestle with the plant-based diet and its ramifications for my daily life. since my puppy is living with my parents in the states and my current projects have wrapped up, i have a lot of free time to wander the city, snap photos with my camera, and think about food.

it’s so fascinating to me that as americans, we are absolutely obsessed with our looks and weight, yet our food and lifestyle choices rarely reflect that – fast food chains and doughnut shops on every corner, grocery stores filled with instant foods and preservative-filled snacks, and public transportation that stops every 100 yards so that no one has to walk more than a few steps to get where they’re going. but the foodies in america and around the world are getting louder, whether they’re champions of vegetarian and vegan diets or are instead pushing the paleo/caveman diet, and they’re all saying the same thing: we need to pay more attention to what we’re putting into our bodies.

having just completed a masters of liberal arts in gastronomy, i can honestly say that i’ve spent some serious time thinking about what i eat, where it comes from, and how my eating patterns affect the planet. i even took an entire course devoted to meat with the wonderful warren belasco, and obsessed over the ethics of eating meat for an entire semester.

the arguments for and against meat-eating are complex and involved, and there are enough well-written and exhaustively researched works out there that i won’t bother recreating them here. i’m not going to try to explain how i feel about every issue – i find the subject incredibly draining, particularly after so many conversations in class about the issues. it’s a topic that everyone has an opinion about, and is one that brings out strong emotions in just about everybody. after all, everyone eats, and everyone likes to talk about food. it isn’t just the nerdy foodies or the gastronomy professors or the celebrity chefs or the smarmy nutritionists – we all love food, and we all want to believe that the way we’ve chosen to eat is the best.

well, i’ll admit it here and now: the way i eat is probably not the best, in spite of my expensive gastronomic education. i love to eat, and cook, and bake, and talk about food. i love to write about food, and i love to photograph food. i love to know where my food comes from, whether it’s a raw vegetable or a pre-assembled cookie dough. but i’m not rich, and i don’t always have unlimited time to prepare my food. i can’t always afford to buy all of my produce from the farmer’s market, especially when it’s only once a week – sometimes i’m cooking and realize i’m out of garlic, and i cheat and just run to the stop & shop because it’s half a mile from my house. and not every restaurant that i eat at serves exclusively local meats…but sometimes i still order the steak, because i’m in the mood for it.

does this make me a bad person? maybe not, but i’m not proud of it. i want to be more responsible in my eating. i want to support local farmers as much as i can afford to. and i desperately want to eat in a way that’s healthy, but still gives me all the foodie satisfaction of a delicious meal, prepared beautifully from fresh, amazing ingredients. this is not a change that i’m pretending will happen overnight – i’d rather take my time and find solutions that i can stick with.

my first goal? stop eating so much meat, especially at home. and keep an eye on how much dairy i’m really consuming.

avoiding meat and dairy in eastern europe is no easy feat. since i’m just starting my journey and am more concerned about my meat intake than my dairy intake (mostly because my “dairy intake” is really just a lifelong love affair with cheese), it’s been fun to find satisfying substitutes for the chicken and duck that are present at most hungarian meals. there certainly aren’t as many grocery shopping options here as i’ll have when i’m back in the states (boy, do i miss whole foods…), but i’ve been doing pretty well so far. and i don’t miss meat quite as much as i thought i would, which is a wonderful thing.

feeling inspired? try this refreshing, satisfying, power-food-packed lentil salad for an easy meat-free option that doesn’t feel like you’re giving anything up. lentils are fantastic for you, and this recipe (a variation on alice waters’ delicious original) showcases them beautifully. if you’re avoiding dairy, just leave out the cheese – and if you fall more on the caveman diet side of things, cold shredded chicken would be a delicious addition.

lentil salad

1 cup french green lentils (i had to use brown lentils, which are still very healthy but don’t hold their shape as well after cooking)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or red or white wine vinegar, if you prefer)
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 medium cucumber, diced
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
4 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp lemon juice

sort and rinse lentils. place in a large saucepan and cover with water about 3 inches, then bring to a boil. lower heat until simmering and cook until tender, 25-30 minutes. drain, then transfer to a bowl and add vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. allow to sit for at least 5 minutes, tasting to adjust seasonings.

add tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, feta cheese, bell pepper, parsley, and lemon juice. if lentils are dry, add a bit more olive oil or a tablespoon of warm water. 

luck o’ the irish

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while my family isn’t actually irish, my super pale skin, auburn hair, and green eyes mean that everyone assumes that i have a coat of arms* and a castle somewhere. but since my favorite beer is guinness and my preferred drinking experience is sitting in a pub with friends, going to ireland has always been a dream for me. i have always dreamed that i would fit right in.

i don’t think i was wrong.

having lived in boston for almost ten years, i can say with confidence that i know my way around an irish pub. spending saint patrick’s day running around in dublin truly felt like being at home, and made my husband incredibly homesick. i admit to having a few pangs myself. (hello, family and friends! we’ll be back soon!)

but a fair warning for my fellow travelers: while i was thrilled to be in dublin, and it was a blast to see the gorgeous, colorful streets and sights like saint patrick’s cathedral and trinity college and (naturally) the guinness factory, spending st patrick’s day in dublin isn’t exactly the ideal setting to enjoy ireland. for one thing, pretty much all the irish people leave.

can’t say i blame them. the streets were absolutely overrun with drunk tourists, wearing all manner of red beards, leprechaun hats, and shamrock paraphernalia, shouting at their friends and shoving their way through the crowd to get a better view of the parade. the best times for sight-seeing were in the morning, while everyone was still sleeping off their hangovers and we were free to wander the quiet streets without interruption.

one thing we didn’t get to do nearly enough of is eat irish food. traveling to a foreign country and back is a lot to do in a weekend, and this was our shortest trip yet – we only had one full day in ireland, which really limits the number of meals (especially when lunch is basically just a lot of guinness). it seemed appropriate, upon arriving back in budapest, to put together a simple irish dish to enjoy with our evening meal: irish potato torte. this (non-photogenic, but delicious) dish is like a cross between a lasagna and a gratin – layers and layers of potatoes, cabbage, cheddar cheese, bacon, and onions, baked to bubbly perfection.

need i say more? the only adaption i made to this recipe was adding a diced white onion and sauteing it in butter, then adding it to the bacon and cabbage mixture. feel free to omit this if you’d rather follow the original, but the onions give it a touch of sweetness that i really enjoyed with the bacon.

enjoy with corned beef and a perfectly-poured glass of guinness – and i hope you had a wonderful (and safe) saint patrick’s day.

*jones does have a coat of arms – because it’s welsh. but that sort of ruins my point.

sweden, denmark, and the plant-based diet

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this weekend, steve and i were fortunate enough to be able to visit two countries i never thought i’d get to see: sweden and denmark.

i did not bring warm enough clothes. but these countries are absolutely gorgeous, particularly the city of copenhagen, where we met up with a few of steve’s friends and got to view the city through a local’s eyes.

of course, on our way to copenhagen (taxi, plane, bus, train, metro, train), we stopped in the swedish city of malmo for lunch at a little place called victors, and had a chance to wander around a bit before our train to copenhagen arrived.

when we finally arrived in denmark, we were fortunate to be able to stay with two different and wonderfully kind couples, who showed us around the city, brought us to fabulous restaurants, and put up with my constant photo-taking.

copenhagen is beautiful. buildings can only be built to a short height of six stories, so the city has an open, breezy feel to it. every street has wide bike lanes that are slightly raised from traffic, and absolutely everyone seems to ride their bicycle around town. while this dynamic makes things a bit hectic when walking for hours, it also gives the city a delightfully charming feel.

one of steve’s triathlete friends, david deak, was even kind enough to cook a few meals for us with his girlfriend, sharing his plant-based diet and food philosophy with us. one of our meals were these absolutely delicious buckwheat and quinoa pancakes. you must try them, immediately.

despite the cold wind that refused to die down, we were able to see all of the major copenhagen sights: the little mermaid, the opera house, the royal palace…

…and the free town of christiania, one of my favorite sights from the trip. there’s nothing quite like seeing hash and marijuana for sale in a display case. of course, i couldn’t take pictures inside this autonomous, rebellious little community, but i did get a photo of the gate separating the commune from the rest of the city:

love it.

we even visited the carlsberg brewery, and saw the largest collection of unopened beer bottles in the world.

as we took our hundred and one trains, buses, and planes back to budapest, steve and i couldn’t help talking constantly about how many animal products we consume on a daily basis. it’s easy to think that i eat a well-balanced diet because i like fruits and vegetables, but i’ve realized just how many quick sandwiches and bowls of pasta i often eat in my hurry to get out the door and explore the city. as much as i love veggies, i’m not consistently eating in a healthy way.

as a girl who finds it hard to imagine a day without smelly cheeses, crusty bread, or rare steaks, i was intrigued by the idea of plant-based eating. and while i’m not sure that i could completely give up meats, fish, and dairy for good, it seems like my diet could use a change. hungarian food is mostly chicken, with serious amounts of pasta, dumplings, and cream-based sauces on the side, and i’ve been struggling a lot with finding a healthy balance between the veggies i love and the rich, delicious local cuisine. but i think it’s time for me to stop eating meat and cheese at every single meal and get healthier, especially if i’m serious about eventually completing a marathon. it may even help my knee to heal completely and let me finally start running on a regular basis. and if limiting my intake of meats and cheeses will also help me lose weight, how can it be a bad thing?

so we’ll see what the future holds. going fully vegetarian over the summer wasn’t a completely successful experiment, but it did show me that if i want to try limiting my weekly intake of animal products, i need to spend more time and research planning my daily meals – something i tend to avoid. perhaps something as simple as meatless mondays is just what i need to get me on track.

would love to hear thoughts from some of my fellow foodies! how much meat, fish, and dairy products do you typically eat during the week? would you ever consider a vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based diet, or have you ever followed one? and am i nuts to think about starting this while still living in europe?

roman holiday

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is there another place as beautiful as italy?

we’ve taken a few weekends away to travel so far while we’ve been here (and we have a number of weekends planned), but this was the first where i felt like i barely scratched the surface of what the city had to offer. two days isn’t long anywhere, but in a city as ancient, historical, and enormous as rome, it’s hard not to feel like we didn’t see anything.

but in reality, we saw a lot. much of our time was spent walking around the city, trying to soak in as much italian culture as possible without being trampled by herds of tourists. we had pizza and handmade pasta and plenty of wine, wandered through wide piazzas and tiny alleys, made friends with lots of (very friendly) italian dogs, and walked about 15 miles in two days. and how can you not love a city that greets you in the morning with this view from your hotel window?

of course, we also did the obligatory tourist things, visiting the vatican museum, st. peter’s basilica, the colosseum, roman forum, etc. and though we were in awe much of the time, it was just as incredible to simply walk around, since around every corner there would literally be ancient ruins, just sitting in the middle of a hillside or city square. to quote eddie izzard, “there’s tons of history, just lying about the place.” ridiculous.

the vatican museum and sistine chapel make you feel a little crazy – there’s just so much to see. we looked until our necks cramped, and then looked a little more.

and the colosseum is absolutely staggering, inside and out. there aren’t words.

we may have gotten lost a few times…but it meant we got to see some great hidden corners of the city.

i loved everything, but my favorite thing (naturally) was the food! i had the most incredible veal-stuffed ravioli, delicious street cart panini sandwiches, crispy margarita pizza, tender lasagna on handmade noodles…and of course, tiramisu gelato. it’s a good thing we did so much walking.

arrivederci, italy. i promise, i’ll be back.

“gluttonous thursday”

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other countries may celebrate fat tuesday before lent, but in hungary, things are done a little differently. today is torkos csütörtös, otherwise known as “fat” or “gluttonous thursday.”

and how does one honor this most joyous of holidays?

by cramming as many restaurant reservations into one day as possible, obviously. and then, if you’re me, by walking around budapest for hours, taking random pictures and praying that all the walking will counteract two ridiculously cheap restaurant meals.

enjoy some extra city photos, and happy fat thursday!

 

 

stuffed paprikas

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hungarian cuisine is starting to take over our lives.

we’ve now visited several different old-style hungarian restaurants, as well as some more modern ones. i’ve had chicken paprikas (naturally, i had to try one that wasn’t my own!), goulash (recipe coming soon), venison, veal, and a lot of duck. i just love eating duck. plus, i even made my chicken paprikas for some of my husband’s coworkers, and they seemed to enjoy it along with the fresh spaetzle, in spite of the fact that i trashed a friend’s kitchen in the process. spaetzle is delicious, but not the neatest, most elegant thing to make when you have people watching you.

but one of my favorite recipes to date, the one my husband can’t ever stop talking about, is a delicious, not-too-complicated, soul-soothing dish: stuffed paprikas.

in case you’re not aware – i’m not afraid to admit that i wasn’t until i got here – the word paprika is used in english to refer to the bright red spice, created by grinding dried peppers. but in many european languages, including hungarian, paprika refers to a fresh pepper. muddling the waters further, the dish called stuffed paprikas refers to a stuffed bell pepper (or paprikas pepper, as they’re labeled in the markets) that contains paprika (the spice) in the stuffing mixture. confusing, if you’re an ignorant american like myself, but you figure it out pretty quickly when a native hungarian tells you that you absolutely must make stuffed paprikas and you try to figure out how you could possibly stuff something into a ground spice.

insomnia is rough. it makes me easily confused.

anyway, the following recipe is from a native hungarian, who kindly emailed me instructions after taking me to the biggest market in the city to help me shop for ingredients. köszönöm, jutka!

hungarian stuffed paprikas

1 lb ground pork
1/2 cup rice, partially cooked
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp hungarian paprika, either sweet or hot
4-6 bell peppers, with tops and cores removed
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
15 ounces tomato sauce or puree
1 cup boiling water (optional)
2 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste 

in a large mixing bowl, combine ground pork, rice, egg, and paprika, adding a bit of salt and pepper. using your fingers, gently stuff the cored peppers with the meat mixture. if you have any remaining, add a bit of flour and create meatballs. place peppers and meatballs side by side in a large saucepan or stock pot.

in a saucepan, saute chopped onion in olive oil until lightly browned. add tomato sauce and, if it’s very thick, boiling water, and allow to come to a simmer. carefully pour tomato mixture over peppers and meatballs, then put over medium heat. top with chopped parsley, salt, and pepper, and cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until peppers are just soft.

this dish is traditionally served over potatoes, either roasted with oil and seasonings or mashed. for a healthier alternative, try with sauteed winter greens or brown rice. for a hungarian touch, top the whole thing with (you guessed it!) sour cream.

and for all of you who keep complaining about the lack of dorky vacation-type photos, here’s a quick shot of us on our way out the door for our valentine’s day dinner:

i promise to put some shots of us up in my next post, once we get back from our next weekend trip – to rome!

minestrone & the alps

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even on a cloudy day, there’s nothing quite like the alps.

i spent this past weekend following my husband and his coworkers around for a corporate training in a little village in germany, and then we all headed to another little village in austria to do some skiing. while waiting for the consultants to finish their training wasn’t particularly exciting, the little ski lodge nestled in the beautiful mountains more than made up for it.

i don’t ski. however, it’s impossible to resist riding up the lifts, simply to see the views that many of these people seem to take for granted – and, of course, to join the freezing skiers for the après-ski on the mountain after they finished the day. especially after being in new england for so many years, i wanted to spend as much time as possible near the mountains, in spite of how cold it was.

it got pretty cloudy by the time my fingers thawed enough to get my camera out, but i’m grateful that i got at least a few photos to remember the alps by.

also? four days eating nothing but deep fried meat, french fries, chicken cordon bleu, and beer really makes you grateful for winter vegetables. i plan on eating nothing but soup for the next week, and this is a delicious place to start.

my minestrone is thick and hearty, rich, and very filling. topping it with crunchy croutons and serving with crusty bread only makes it better. as always, feel free to play around with ingredients and amounts to get the proportions and flavors you like (for example, this really should have celery, but i’m at the mercy of the little market near our flat). and you may have noticed that basically every soup recipe i post contains bacon – i shouldn’t need to justify this, but i feel that any soup or stew benefits from this salty, fatty, delicious treat. don’t pretend you don’t agree.

winter minestrone

2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3-4 slices bacon, chopped, or 100g unsmoked lardons
2 large carrots, chopped
1 large potato, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped or pressed
1 15 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 5 oz can tomato paste
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup red wine
1 cup water
1 cup chopped kale, spinach, or your favorite winter green
1 15 oz can cannelloni or kidney beans, drained2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
1 cup shell or pipe rigate pasta, cooked
salt and pepper to taste 

in a large, heavy stockpot, warm olive oil over medium heat and add onions and bacon, cooking for about 5 minutes until onions are starting to brown. add carrots, potato, zucchini, and garlic, and allow to cook for 2-3 more minutes.

add chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock, and wine. if vegetables are not covered, add water. allow to come to a boil, increasing heat if necessary. reduce heat, partly cover with a lid, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. add kale, drained beans, oregano, basil, salt and pepper, and allow to simmer for another 15 minutes.

when ready to serve, spoon several tablespoons of pasta into bowls and add soup. top with grated cheese and, if you like, crusty croutons – rip or cut several slices of bread into small chunks, and place in a bowl with salt, pepper, and several tablespoons of olive oil. use your hands to coat bread, then spread onto a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

for best results, make this a day or two in advance. if you don’t have enough time to do this (or are like me and don’t plan meals out very far ahead), at least try to make this in the morning so that it can hang out all day. the longer it sits, the better it will taste – trust me.


paprikas & spaetzle

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we’ve been living in budapest for a month (!!!), and while i’ve eaten out quite a bit, i haven’t had the opportunity to eat nearly enough hungarian food. this cuisine is delicious and flavorful, but has a tendency to be a bit heavy. in winter this is great, since this food is warm and incredibly comforting, but there’s only so much sour cream i can consume in a day before i feel a bit sick.

however.

chicken paprikas, served with fresh homemade spaetzle, is something i could probably eat daily and not get tired of. if you’ve never had this dish, stop what you’re doing, go to the store for the ingredients, and start cooking the recipe below. i can wait. go ahead.

see what i mean?

spicy, crunchy, creamy, soothing, addictive, delicious. this is what hungarian cuisine is all about. i’m not going to lie, it’s not the most attractive dish i’ve ever made, and i kept remaking it and postponing publishing in the hopes that it would look prettier for these photos – but don’t worry about it. just grab a beer and a fork and dig in.

there are a number of recipes out there for chicken paprikas, and i’ve already made at least 3 of them. for the money, i like sheryl julian’s recipe from several years ago the best – while some complain about the use of tomatoes, i find it gives the sauce more depth and a better consistency. play around with ingredients and let me know what you like – i love adding a finely chopped paprikas pepper to this, since they’re so easy to find here.

you don’t have to serve the chicken with spaetzle…but it’s so easy and absolutely delicious that you’re really missing out. it can be a bit messy to make, which is why i love smitten kitchen’s recipe (and photos!) – she also explores the many ways to create these twisty noodle-shaped dumplings, meaning that even if you haven’t tried it before, you’ll get a delicious end product.

i may be training for a marathon in barcelona in march, but if i keep eating this daily like i threaten to, i may come back roughly the size of a house.

wochenende in wien

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nothing like a weekend in vienna to give you a new perspective on budapest.

two nights anywhere is hardly enough to say you’ve seen a city – it feels like we were barely even in austria. lots of walking/being lost, schnitzels, beers, and confusing subway rides – though we felt like pros by the end of it and even helped fellow tourists navigate the streets. hurried looks at gorgeous buildings, running by the opera house, a 30-second glimpse of st. stephen’s cathedral, and wandering through palaces. we even rode a gigantic ferris wheel and saw the whole city lit up at night, but i barely got any pictures and it all seems like a whirlwind.

vienna is gorgeous. it somehow feels cleaner and more modern, yet older and more established, than budapest. and you’d think that being surrounded by people speaking german would feel pretty much the same as being surrounded by people who speaking hungarian, given that i speak neither, but it feels surprisingly different. my few hungarian words and phrases get me pretty far in budapest, but the same knowledge of german got me almost nowhere. as much as i apologize in budapest for my ignorance, i said “i’m sorry” twice as many times in vienna.

my favorite part of the trip? definitely the huge market, filled with breads, spices, meats and fish, cheeses, oils, vinegars, mulled wine and cider, fruits, vegetables, antiques, fabrics…i even got a cute little hat. cafes and restaurants lined the center, and we had a delightful lunch of rolled crepes with prosecco and coffee. i could’ve sat there all day, watching people go by.

and while returning to budapest on sunday night wasn’t quite like coming home, it definitely felt nice to be in the shadow of the parliament building again. these little weekends away make me appreciate the beauty and history of budapest even more.

i may have been stuck in bed with a cold since we got back from vienna, but i still feel pretty blessed.

daily adventures

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besides the fact that i’m in this incredible city, the best part about my time in budapest is that i have nothing to do but wander around with my camera, watch people, and cook.

the city is so alive, and has such a different feeling than boston, new york, los angeles, san diego. these people fascinate me – they’re kind but not friendly, which means i can walk the city for hours and not make eye contact with a single person, but can get help as soon as i need it from a warm cafe server. this delights me for reasons i can’t explain. i love the feeling of strength and independence these people exude, but i’m relieved to know that if i ask, i can always get helpful directions or advice from a native. i’m not sure i’ve felt this way anywhere else before.

i’m fascinated by the blending of old and new, both in architecture and in business. brand new, modernly designed hotels sit amongst old, broken down buildings, and brightly colored american fast food chains compete with local restaurants.

steve and i have been trying to explore local restaurants, both hungarian and otherwise, which meant that we went out all weekend, and that yesterday i met him for lunch at his office and we tried out this absolutely delicious burger bar. my bleu-cheese filled, pepper crusted burger on ciabatta bread was delightful, but after we were finished eating and i asked steve what he might like for dinner, he simply said “vegetables.”

i can work with that.

the following recipe is so loose, it hardly counts as a recipe. use whatever vegetables you like and can find – this soup should be rich, flavorful, and full of comfort. i wanted to use celery and turnips but the lady at the market wouldn’t sell them to me for reasons she thoroughly explained…in hungarian. i imagine most of my readers won’t have this problem.

warming winter soup

2 tbsp olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
4 scallions, finely sliced
1 large potato, peeled and chopped
1 medium can cannelloni beans
1-2 cups water, chicken stock, or vegetable stock
2 strips bacon, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

in a large stock pot over medium heat, warm the oil and saute the onions for several minutes. when they start to develop color, add the garlic and cook for another minute. add butter and flour and mix well until mixture thickens, then add white wine, tomatoes, carrots, parsnip, and scallions. allow to come to a simmer.

in a separate pot, boil potatoes in water for several minutes until tender, then add potatoes to stock pot with cannelloni beans. add enough water or stock to completely cover vegetables, then add bacon, oregano, basil, bay leaf, and a bit of salt and pepper. allow mixture to come to a boil, stirring regularly, than turn heat down to low and cover, cooking for 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. you’ll probably need to add more seasonings but i like to start low and add as i go, so taste regularly to adjust. serve with crusty bread, a glass of wine, and (ideally) a crackling fire.

next up: chicken paprikas.