Dishing Up Buffalo

Every summer, hundreds of culinary samples are served on the streets of downtown Buffalo, NY by the area’s best restaurants.

Taste of Buffalo, sponsored by TOPS, is the largest two-day food festival in the United States, according to the Taste of Buffalo website. This year, close to half-a-million patrons roamed Delaware Avenue and Niagara Square, in the July heat, to get a taste of WNY’s premier outdoor festival.

Common vendors made their presence known, but there were also a few new faces. Sakura Sushi (3719 Union Road, Cheektowaga 14225) was serving both traditional and contemporary dishes, including the freshest dumplings in town. Fresh, thin skin on the outside led way to a chicken center. Dipping sauce was not even necessary. These little balls of goodness were perfect on their own.

Healthy and delicious

The mid-July heat did not stop foodies from tasting the Beer Cheese soup at Eddie Ryan’s of Lancaster. Made with local cheddar cheese and “cheap” beer, just a sample was a hearty dish and the perfect way to settle into an afternoon of eating. Thick and creamy, there was a hint of beer but cheese lovers won’t be able to get enough of this hot dish–no matter what time of year.

Ed Beck of Williamsville, NY can't get enough of Beer Cheese soup

The closest Dinosaur Bar-B-Que may be in Rochester, New York but a summer food festival would not be complete without BBQ. Rows of ribs, coated in Dinosaur’s well-known sauce, was the perfect backdrop to eat a mini BBQ sandwich. Pulled pork, fresh off the barbie, drenched in traditional BBQ sauce and on a fresh bun.

Nothing says summer like the smell of BBQ

The day would not have been complete without dessert. Bravo! may be a chain but their crème brulee is a creamy homemade custard with fresh vanilla bean and caramelized sugar, and uniquely worth the calories.

A sweet touch

Local wines, on crushed ice, were served up at the Icy Sangria Wine Slush tent. A chillaxing way to end a hot and full day.

Local, chilled wines draw a crowd

Taking the Practice Off the Mat

It seems like I am always “inquiring”. Asking questions, gathering information and trying to come to a rationale conclusion, is a formula I’ve been administrating in my career for over a decade, but it wasn’t until recently, when I refrained from getting on a boat, did I start to second guess my life.

Coby Kozlowski, M.A., E-RYT, is a yogi, artist and life coach. At her recent Yoga Leadership class at Hand to Heart Yoga in Buffalo, NY’s Elmwood Village, I was awakened to the fact that I would not fight for my survival. Call it my open and calm energy mixed with a know-it-all sense (a work in progress) or just a resistance to role-playing; my laissez-faire attitude shocked me. It could also be exhaustion from embarking on my 14th move, but energy is life.

I never wanted to move to the “forgotten part” of Massachusetts last year, but I felt that I had to. Ironically, Kozlowski hails from the tiny town in Western Massachusetts where I lived.

Not one to shy away from a challenge or newness, I took the plunge and left New York for an area where I knew no one, but realized it was a mistake from the start. I appreciate the amazing friendships and a love for practicing yoga that came out of my time there, and like so many things in nature I came to the realization that life is self-correcting.

Remove any belief system; what society says and accepting the self-inquisition of what feels correct can be very empowering. Hearing the nay saying demons that creep into our inner thoughts, or those that come from someone else, can take a toll. What is important to recognize is, many times it’s that other person’s “stuff” not yours. But how do you take those thoughts that aren’t your own? We simply recognize this and don’t have to believe them. Certainly if more than one person is giving the same critique, it may be time to pause and take action.

Yoga is the practice tolerating the consequences of being you, according to Kozlowski, and finding that equilibrium is the challenge. While it is also about full expression, with twists and turns, so is life or else it would be a flat line.

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony,” Mahatma Gandhi, Indian philosopher and political leader

Knowing when to stay, is when your call to something is that strong. Being authentic and accountable (a process), calm, pausing for the urges, are all going to surround your “calling”.

As humanity evolves, so do our individual lives. So, what are you and what do you want to be? What is the impact you think you have on this world? What is your actual impact?

Coming up with a self-mantra can help one start to answer these questions. It can take time or it can hit you all at once. I would like to leave the world better than how I inherited it. How do I achieve this? No idea, but it’s comforting to know that I have this whole “wild and precious life” to figure it out.

It’s the Journey, Not the Number

The past two weeks I met stress and the verdict is still out on if I conquered it. Over-scheduling and multi-tasking are nothing new but a new job, a new home and a new age can be a bit cumbersome at 33.

No longer are schlepping boxes, meeting new people and waking-up in unfamiliar territory easy tasks to feel comfortable in. The body just isn’t as flexible, despite all the yoga, Pilates and dancing. Perhaps the memory needs to be worked on. For those of us that are sensitive, maybe leaving a house because there is one better suited does not always mean it’s easy to uproot.

Nonetheless, a new position and deciding to move are two choices we can make in life. Turning a year older however . . . well, it’s better than the alternative. I was recently inspired by Karlen Chase’s article, in which she counts what she has learned in the past 33 years, not so much the number of moves or gray hairs. So I decided to reflect on where I’ve called home for the past three decades and what I took away from my stays as I globe trotted.

New York State: Where life began and dreams were sprouted. Imagination got its start and Western New York is always home to go back to.

Ohio: Middle America. A roller coaster summer of awesomeness.

Dublin, Ireland: The closest place to heaven on Earth. The farther from home I got, the more people I met that were like me. Rosie cheeks, pints and tiny cigars. Stumbling upon a cottage George Bernard Shaw lived in during my usual hike up Dalkey Hill and going past the tower where Joyce wrote Ulysses because it was on my morning commute.

Rochester, NY: A first real (and still favorite apartment). Roving reporter. Real relationship. Good practice for life.

New York City: “Came here for school, graduated to the high life, Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight, MDMA got you feeling like a champion, The city never sleeps better slip you a Ambien.” The Village and the Upper East Side, still a second home and where my heart is. Went there searching for life and got a story of a lifetime, friends forever and learned how to walk away.

Massachusetts: I didn’t want you. Serendipitous to have met certain people and two that moved there at the same time. Historical. Beautiful. Quiet.

Buffalo, NY: Apparently you can go home again, and pick up right where you left off. But this time, life is really fabulous and there are great friends, many laughs and expectations that I can’t even begin to map out because they are just going to be that good.

Single: Many aren’t afraid to tell me they always thought I’d be married by now. Sometimes I think it’s sad to admit I am incredibly happy because I am not, nor have I been, married. Perhaps it’s because I’m content and it’s hard to meet someone with the same life experiences. I’ve decided the latter is actually a great problem to have, because I’ve filled a life with lots of stories in a somewhat short period of time. I also have a hunch, what is around the corner will be worth the wait.

Gray: The plan is to age gracefully. Welcome gray hair because it will make me more distinguished and others will treat me with more respect. Wrong. The aforementioned is achieved in via mind and wisdom. Sure, presentation is important, but seeking that polished yet sexy Diane Sawyer look isn’t done by being natural. I recently went back to my roots – literally; and guess what, blonds do have more fun.

The Cookbook Club

Julia Child started cooking at 32, and she said, up until then she just ate. If there is anything we learned from her and other culinary greats, is it’s essential to have a love affair with your food in life.

A cookbook club was my idea. Having more creative thoughts in a single morning than some may have in a week, combined with energy, can be more of a curse than a blessing.

I accepted the members that showed interest. Some of us have been friends for decades, while others are new acquaintances. Devour this blog post to get a taste of what our monthly meetings or meals consist of. While we are a secret group, there is no hidden agenda to cookbook club, aka the Cooka Nostra.

The time following the holidays for me is always a downer, so I thought it would be uplifting to have the Initial Meeting of Cooka Nostra in early January. In compliance with the time of year, I chose the winter section of Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Parties! for the group. With two soups, an appetizer, ham for the main course, a side of sweet potatoes and apple crisp for dessert, we had an instant feast for seven.

Snacking on fresh vegetables with a crisp Tzatziki dip was a great way to start the night, brought to the dinner by Julie. This healthy and light snack, combined with Jason’s contribution of a refreshing Pinot Grigio, was a great palate cleanser.

Excellent to be served with drinks

Sitting down to a delicious steaming hot bowl of Fennel Soup Gratin and melted, freshly shredded Gruyere Cheese on top, is the way to any cheese lover’s heart; but while tasty, we soon learned Brad’s contribution was just a tease to our taste buds.

Not to be gluttonous, but we had two soups that evening. Matt’s Butternut Squash Soup soon followed. He altered Ina’s recipe by using just one Macintosh apple and added a little extra onion. Not only was it the group’s favorite dish, it was also the most surprising.

Many thought there was a secret ingredient to the soup

The main course was greeted with comments like, “When I eat ham it’s never this good.” That’s because Lynn, who never cooked a ham, also changed her dish with cranberry orange chutney, to bring out the orange flavor from the orange zest and juice. Like Lynn, I cannot stick to a recipe, which makes me a horrible baker. Nonetheless, I attempted the Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp. Making it healthier, I used whole-wheat flour and organic oatmeal. In the future, I’m going back to my own recipe, which is much more simple.

Ham and potatoes. It's important to keep them moist.

Jennifer made it to the table sans her fingerprints. The night before she was scrubbing potatoes and peeling, coring and cutting apples for the Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Apples, a perfect side dish to the meal.

Personalities were large, giving way to festive conversation. With a group like this, one must keep a marker and dry erase board on hand for recording quotes.

There should be a lesson learned from every meal and this time I was taught, for even the biggest control freak, planning a cookbook club meeting doesn’t have much pressure and a terrific time is guaranteed.

Dance the summer away

A couple swings to the music at a Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society event
on the Portico at the Buffalo Museum of History

As we say goodbye to summer today,
how did you celebrate the warmest months on record?