Let Them Eat Carbs: Cook Less, Stress Less, Live More
There are so many people out there who are phenomenal cooks.
I'm not one of them.
Sure I enjoy going to the market. ("They" know me at the local neighborhood Whole Foods.) But cooking an actual meal is another story, that frankly does not interest me whatsoever. I mean I can make toast, scramble an egg or brew a pot of coffee with no trouble, but beyond that, I'm done. Done-s-ville.
My secret/not-so-secret solution has been to order take out, transfer it onto 'regular' plates (Those cardboard, or plastic, containers are a dead giveaway.) and then, surprise - pass it off as my own (cooking). Most of the time I've perpetrated this food-based hoax, it's gone over pretty well. The key to making it work seamlessly though is finding a restaurant or restaurants that have takeout that doesn't look or taste like takeout from a restaurant. One place that's high on my list of faves (and saved to the Favorites on my I-Phone actually) is Culinary Affair on Oaklawn Ave in Cranston. (Again, "they" know me there.)
Their ingredients are always fresh: Their eggs are free range and local, by way of a nearby farm. And they even make their own Italian bread right on the premises, which to my knowledge, very few restaurants do anymore. If you're eating in, they'll serve it to you with olive oil, not butter. That's #TheItalianWay (You also get bread with your takeout order btw, so don't freak.)
Everything on their menu has a homemade look and more importantly, a homemade taste to it too. As a mostly vegetarian/sometime pescatarian, my favorite things to order include the warm white bean salad (True Story: I usually ask to substitute the argula with romaine, but I live for everything else in this salad!) and the grilled (tomato) pizza, cooked well done. For anyone out there who enjoys chicken, ham and turkey, there is the chicken with rabe appetizer, the lentil (with ham) or chicken escarole soup or one of their brucshettas (aka, grilled sandwiches).
Now, I hope you take the extra hour or two that I've saved you (that would have spent cooking) and use it to do something nice for yourself, like get a mani pedi or a massage or buy yourself something new to wear this summer (The warmer weather will be back soon - pinky swear!).
Click here for the full Culinary menu.
Click here to see their Facebook Page.
Ciao for Now,
Patty J
Photo Credits: All photos, except for the Italian Bread one, courtesy of the Culinary Affair FB Page.