Food Experiment #1 + Austin in Miami

Hi everyone.

I want to welcome you all to Food Experiment #1. Remember the game rules? Well if not, my 4-ingredient, 5-minute prep veggie burger tacos are the jumping-off point in ease and deliciousness. I can make these in my sleep, and have since grad school. So now, I want more easy and delicious things (which yield the added benefit of warding off soy toxicity since veggie burgers are, in my personal diet, taking more of a backseat. Figuratively speaking. Wouldn't it be funny if veggie burgers actually took backseats?)

Today, I present to you: "Pizza" and O-rape Juice!

These items are brought to you by R., my husband, and my lovely friend from high school, Courtney DiSabato. Thanks guys!

Ok, let's start with "Pizza" first. Ready?

INGREDIENTS = 6

PREP + COOK TIME = 15

As you can see, the ingredients for "Pizza" are simple. I didn't even have to go shopping for these. We (thanks to veggie burger tacos) happened to have all of the essential ingredients already: tortillas, tomato sauce, feta, soy cheese, spinach, and tomato.

I preheated the oven to 375 degrees, and got out the Pyrex glass baking thing. Cake dish? I wouldn't know! Just kidding - I actually did make R. a carrot cake with it...once. Anyway, back to the task at hand: "Pizza" is fortunately pretty intuitive.

Bread + sauce + cheese + toppings

Put in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Donezo.


It looks pretty, right? (And are you noticing how the plate matches the spinach?) The only prep involved was cutting up tomato slices, which, had an actual grocery store trip been involved, would have been replaced by sundried tomato pieces I think.

So the verdict: pretty yummy flavor combo, with the provolone soy cheese and feta cheese on there. But texture-wise and falling apart-ness, I may have to tweak this one a little bit. Namely in the "crust" department. (I think the "crust" may be the whole catalyst behind the ironic punctuation marks in "Pizza." Tomato sauce, cheese and vegetables are things you would actually use in a pizza, but not a tortilla, and that's the experiment part of this, see).

I thought "Pizza" might pair well with an R. classic, O-rape Juice.

INGREDIENTS = 2

PREP TIME= 2?

Behold:

O-rape was born of Ross's two favorite juices: orange and grape. It's the wholesomeness of OJ with the sexiness of wine's close cousin, grape juice. Isn't that fantastic?

Next up next week: We're thinking a yogurt Food Experiment. And then we're fresh out of ideas. Thoughts?

Lastly: Austin, Texas has invaded Miami, Florida y'all! Check out my friend Jenny Adams' awesome feature article about our city at the Miami Herald. It's a round-up of the three coolest upscale, middle-of-the-road, and dark dive bars downtown. Can you guess this one?

"The bar is carved from a massive tree, and in the upstairs private dining room, guests can sip underneath a skylight and the glow from the Frost Bank building. Request a Phaedra cocktail. Created by in-house mixologist Ben Craven, it's muddled kiwi, light rum, dry vermouth, Lillet Blanc and Kaffir lime syrup, shaken and served up for $8. The best day to attend is Monday when Happy Hour runs all day."

I believe I'll be paying you a visit soon, Mr. Craven.