two 'pillars in a parsley pot

caterpillars. yesterday, i had a full, large pot of healthy parsley. this morning, i had a ravaged herb plant and two caterpillars that were busily eating. funny part is, when i peered in at them, they froze. this evening, all i have is parsley stems sticking up from the soil in a now vacant pot. hmmmm, wonder where those two are now?

indian style eggplant and potatoes!

recently, i’ve been happily exploring indian recipes. i was culinarily repressed up until a few months ago (a few is three to four). now that i am free, i winged a super delicious yellow squash curry meal and this week, i prepared an eggplant & potato dish. it turned out better than the one i order at Star of India. that means it was super yum. the eggplant becomes creamy, the potatoes give it texture and the tomatoes make it sweet. you too, can make indian style food at home. it’s easy. here’s how:

note: one secret to great cooking is salting each layer of food as you place it in the pan.ok, i didn’t write over salt. i wrote, salt each layer. try it sometime.

baingan-aaloo ki subji

huh? oh,

eggplant & potato indian style

you’ll need:

3 japanese eggplants, cut into rounds and soaked in water.
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 large onion, finely chopped (i used a food processor)
3 med-large tomatoes, cut into 1" cubes - reserve juice
½ pound of potatoes, cut into 2” to 3" pieces
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
salt to taste
chopped fresh coriander to garnish

you’ll do:
in a deep pan, heat the oil on a medium flame.
add the cumin seeds and fry until spluttering stops. add the onions, salt and sauté until soft.
add the eggplant and potato and mix well. salt and sauté for 2 minutes.
add all the powdered spices and the tomato. stir and add salt and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
sprinkle 1/2 cup water on the vegetables and mix all well.
cover the dish and cook until the vegetables are almost done - about 50 minutes. check occasionally.
remove the cover from the dish and stir. cook until potatoes are tender and sauce is reduced, about 10 minutes.
garnish with chopped, fresh cilantro leaves or not.
serve over quinoa or basmati rice or don’t.

bravo!

bravo! cucina italiana. an italian chain restaurant new to wlr. traditionally, i avoid chain restaurants like i avoid high fructose corn syrup...but, an invitation lead me here. the restaurant attempts to be grand, & it is huge. it has the same italian kitchen layout as a few other italian chain restaurants around town->think; a tiled half wall with a visible kitchen and busy cooks behind that half wall grilling. i started my night in chains with the chopped salad. iceberg topped with cucumber, red onion, feta cheese, a couple of tomatoes and olives. sounds like a greek salad but it came closer an italian deli style salad. next up was Frutti di Mare, a mix of shrimp, scallops, mussels, and clams in a flavorful broth topped with pesto bread crumbs over tender fettuccine. YUM. bravo!’s dishes are heavily spiced and more flavorful than other italian chain restaurants i’ve tried. i really enjoyed my meal and my evening. which brings me to this conclusion: a restaurant experience is improved by the company you keep. top that with good service and you’ve got one fun night. try bravo! you’ll like it.

Bravo! Cucina Italiana

Promenade at Chenal

17815 Chenal Parkway

Little Rock

501-821-2485

Sunday-Thursday 11-10

Friday & Saturday 11-11

hawaiian night

hawaiian night at Forty Two. the culinary adventure began with a couple of hawaiian~tinis and a ukulele playing in the background. great beginnings. an appetizer of cucumber salad and tuna sashimi was followed by a seafood stew topped with a perfectly-poached and perfectly tender, head-on, pink, jumbo shrimp. the main course was pork two ways: super succulent, fall-off-the-bone tender ribs, the other; fork shredded - both topped with bbq sauce. the chef explained the whole pig that was scheduled, turned up rancid. uh oh. dinner wrapped up with a yummy pineapple mousse and sponge cake positioned on super thin, mandoline shaved, pineapple wafers complimented with a wylie dufresne inspired, sugar encapsulated, pistachio nut. cool. all that & lei’d twice. mahalo!

legs!

alaskan king crab legs. feast your eyes on the legs. a mere andrew jackson gets you a full 2lbs of legs thanks to the thursday special at the flying fish. eat the smart way & use the correct tools. seafood scissors to zip through the legs and plier style shell crackers on the claws. nom. nom. nom.



The Flying Fish
511 President Clinton Ave
In the River Market
Little Rock 

(501) 375-FISH (3474) 

11:00am to 10:00pm
Sunday to Thursday
11:00am to 11:00pm
Friday and Saturday

vietnamese coffee, curry, cute girl and uh, art.

art. a super cute chick. vietnamese iced coffee. and, a perfect veg curry dish. yeah, you missed it. but lucky for you, Ai Lien agreed post her curry recipe on little rock bites. ok, not really, but she might! the iced coffee she lovingly prepared was perfectly sweet, and perfectly cold. the ancient chinese, uh, vietnamese secret is her phin filter. the iced coffee was a blend of community chicory coffee and sweetened condensed milk over ice -  YUM. i slurped it down in record time. her curry dish was absolutely the best i’ve ever eaten. better than star of india. i hope sami doesn’t hunt me down. her curry didn’t puss out in the spicy hot dept, it was perfectly seasoned and salted just right. see, you missed out...lucky for you, you can see here what you missed. enjoy.