Sky Restaurant

On Friday, I spent most of the day in Astoria, Queens. I'd never been there before, but it turns out they have great food. I found one called Sky; I think the food is Ecuadoran.

For once, I got an address. They weren't that crowded for lunch, but I think they get really crowded at night. They have a great selection of alcohol and good music. I might go back on a Friday night to have a good time.

I love when places have cool cups. It shows imagination and keeps things interesting.

Free stuff is always a good thing. I wasn't sure about the creepy unidentified sauce, though.

It was spicy and onion-y, but really good. It only made my nose run a little.

The menu said panini, so I was not expecting this thing. I don't know what it is, but it was fantastic. Mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, roasted peppers.... other stuff. Oh, blood orange vinaigrette. Most of the "paninis" had that dressing. I guess someone who runs this place really likes it.

Any restaurant that offers fried plantains is my kind of restaurant. I'm used to seeing them cut up, but they were still good. Unfortunately, I was so full that I could only get halfway through. In the future, I'll have to make sure there's someone who can finish my food with me.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal!

It's November, so that means everyone is making everything with pumpkin. I love pumpkin pie and I love oatmeal, so when I found out the two could be combined, I was extremely excited. I used this recipe, but I had to leave out the cardamom. The stuff was just too expensive at the store I was in. I hear it's cheaper in Indian stores, so I'll have to check that out.

1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal, 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, 1 cup nonfat milk, pinch of ground cardamom, 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 tbsp sugar

Yeah, I've got quite a bit of heavy cream sitting around in my fridge. It needs to go away, so I substituted this magic weight gain serum for nonfat milk. Who uses nonfat milk, anyway?

Combine ingredients and cook for 20 minutes or until thick

I usually make oatmeal in the microwave instead of on the stove, but I didn't want to mess with the instructions too much.

This recipe supposedly makes two servings. I could have eaten it all, but I started to get nauseous near the end of the first serving. Note to self: heavy cream requires a lactase pill. Or maybe two. I'll try to remember for next time so I'm not sick for the whole day. The 1/2 cup of pumpkin was only about 1/4 of the can, so I'll be making this a few more times to use it all up.
I keep hearing about flax seed and flax meal and how it's good and oatmeal and good for you. I don't know anything about that, but once I find out, maybe I'll start using it. We'll see.

Easiest Dinner Ever

I spent quite a bit of time looking through some recipes today. At first, I was just a little hungry and wanted a snack. Then I looked at the clock and realized it was dinner time. Since my hands were shaky and I was getting dizzy, I knew I didn't have a lot of time to find some food. In one of the kitchen cabinets, I found a whole lot of rice. I mean A LOT. So I looked for recipes with Minute Rice and Uncle Ben's rice. I found a recipe for chicken and rice casserole that only requires 4 ingredients.

1 can peas, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 28 oz chicken in water, 1 pouch original long grain rice

Yeah, this is all I need. Pretty awesome, right? I mean, except for the Milano cookies, Ritz crackers, Rice Krispies and Mrs. Field's truffles....

Combine all ingredients and microwave 4 minutes

The recipe didn't say if I should cook the rice first. I didn't even think about that until I put the rice in the bowl. I couldn't break up all the clumps, but I've seen how this rice works. It should be ok after it cooks.
I didn't know whether or not to drain the peas and chicken, so I just did it. I don't like when things are too watery. I figured the creamy soup would make the mixture wet enough.
It doesn't look too appetizing, but that could change in 4 minutes.

Yeah, it looks a little better now. It's tasty, too. A little salty, but I really don't like salt. I think it would probably be better with more vegetables, so I'll try that next time.