been eatin' chaat and cookin' with garlic

i haven't eaten out in a few days. i just spent way to much money at rainbow which i always seem to do. so for the next few days i am taking it easy. ok, whoops... i just remembered i did actually eat out today for lunch. i had a super huge craving for the Chaat Cafe. they have a great paneer wrap there. if you haven't had the experience of indian food in a wrap then you should go check out the chaat cafe. my favorite is the paneer wrap. the grilled paneer is warm and just ever so slightly tough on the outside. you also get a side of either potato salad or cucumber salad. my only complaints are, i think the paneer wrap could be a little spicier and sometimes the naan is not warm enough. as a side note, i had a wrap similar to this in bombay that had way more kick to it and was a bit smaller and used roti instead of naan, so wraps similar to chaat's really do exist in india. one other thing, i have only eaten at two chaat cafe locations: sf and berkeley. the one in berkeley is way better than the one in san francisco. once i got the paneer wrap at the sf location and it was gross and runny. no good at all.

when i haven't been eating a huge paneer wrap i have been eating my favorite standby, the tempeh sandwich. i buy the fakin' bacon brand tempeh and pan fry it in a medium amount of oil (i like to fry). the strips get just right when they get sort of dark but not burnt looking and that also means they will be crispy. i put fresh tomatoes on the sandwich which i make with toasted sandwich bread. also, fresh basil and some mayo. you have to eat mayo with the fakin' bacon; the two go together like milk and cookies.

just so you know i do eat some healthier stuff. monday i made fresh pasta sauce with heirloom tomatoes. it was complemented by sautéed onions, basil, oregano, garlic, fennel, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. i have been eating a lot of garlic lately and i do think i put a tad too much in but whatever, garlic is always good!

speaking of garlic, i also put a ton in the fresh salsa and guacamole i made last night; i made enough to munch on for about three days! for the guacamole i halved some sungold cherry tomatoes (which plain make a very nice sweet snack) and put them in. they added just the right amount of sweetness i wanted in the guacamole and helped to put some of the garlic in it's place. i still had some pretty icky breath in the end though.