Vetiver

Vetiver seems to be in all of my favorite fragrances all of a sudden.  Tom Ford has his androgynous scent Grey Vetiver, Chantecaille has Vetyver, Guerlain has Vetiver pour Elle - even Avon's mark brand has White Vetiver - and I have seen the fragrance is lesser known perfumes, lotions, and candles as well.  The perennial grass, from the lemongrass and citronella family (though decidedly less citrus-y) started use in India as an essential oil that represented tranquility, before becoming a popular men's cologne ingredient, but lately it is making the leap from men's to women's scents. 

The scent itself comes from the roots of the grass, which are soaked and distilled to create the deep, earthy, rich odor of Vetiver.  It's especially lovely smelling when layered with a spicy, woody fragrance like Tom Ford's Santal Blush.

Kowloon Dairy

This local Hong Kong dairy's bottles are some of the best packaging for milk I have ever seen.

Australia Dairy Company in Hong Kong

I recently visited Hong Kong, and had a number of amazing culinary experiences, dining in Michelin star restaurants and top hotels.  It's funny, though, how sometimes the simplest and most basic meals are the best. 

The Australia Dairy Company in Hong Kong's modest Jordan neighborhood, on the Kowloon side, serves British colonial breakfast food that's very popular with locals.  One of their features is the Hong Kong style egg sandwich:  two thick slices of white bread, toasted for a small fee, filled with eggs and your choice of cheese or meat.  I elected to have mine with cheese, which was white and processed similarly to American.  The eggs were scrambled and incredibly light and fluffy, perfectly balancing out with the bread and cheese.   


The sandwich could be ordered a la carte, or as part of a set breakfast with a bowl of macaroni and ham in a savory broth.  The first time I went, I had just the sandwich with a cup of Hong Kong-style milk tea.  I like my tea brewed strong, but this was by far the strongest, darkest tea I had ever tried, even cut with the evaporated milk it comes mixed with.  I followed the example of a man at my table, and added copious amounts of sugar, which made it absolutely delicious. 

The second time I visited the Australia Dairy Company I decided to splurge a bit, and I ordered both the egg and cheese sandwich and the Hong Kong-style French toast.  The French toast used the same thick white bread as the sandwich, and it was heavily sauteed in butter and served with an extra slice of butter on top.  I covered it in syrup and loved every bite.

Australia Dairy Company, 47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan, Hong Kong

Shoe Obsession: Tory Burch Eddie Watersnake Flats

I always hated flats, until I finally broke down and bought a pair of Tory Burch's Eddie flats in black patent for a trip to London last year.  I needed some sort of practical and comfortable walking shoe, but I didn't want to sacrifice style, and wanted a variation from my usual boots (London in October is no place for my other preferred footwear, the sandal).  A friend recommended Repetto, but those did not sit well on my feet, and I tried several other brands that tended to either hug too much, or slip off my heel far too easily.  I liked the construction of the Eddie because it's elastic all around, but not too tight, and it comes in real leathers that breathe and adjust to fit to the foot.  I wound up wearing the shoes all of the time, both in London and in my day to day life, and added a tan patent pair to my shoe wardrobe last spring.  Now that I have two practical, wear with everything colors, I am starting to look at some of the other colors and materials the Eddie comes in - I don't want to deviate from the style, which I know to be a perfect fit, comfortable enough for a few hours of walking, and of a simple design with minimal branding.  This fall the Eddie came out in watersnake leather, and I am obsessed.  The green shade of malachite is my personal must - a color like this is bright enough to pop, while still muted enough to go with everything.

Christmas Traditions

The BBC America Blog is currently running a series on Christmas traditions in Britain. So far they have talked about minced pies, Brussels sprouts served alongside the traditional roast (which for the upper classes once involved such exotic meats as peacock and wild boar), as well as music and pantomime... It got me thinking about about American Christmas traditions, of which there are many - this is such a large country with so many different regional and cultural customs. America is also not a Christian country (despite what many people want/seem to believe), while Britain has a strong history and ties to the Protestant Churches of England and Scotland, as well has to Catholicism, so in addition to Christmas we celebrate a variety of other days as part of the Holiday Season.

In my family, we have never had a set menu for Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve we have a lasagna dinner with our extended family (a nod to my grandmother's distant seeming Italian heritage), but otherwise we are lacking in Christmas food traditions... We have made everything from cassoulet, to latkes, to paella for the actual day. This year, though, I am leaning toward the British-style roast with all of the trimmings. Prime rib, Yorkshire puddings, and plenty of vegetables, but I think we'll skip the fruitcake and have a Sticky Toffee Pudding instead - I will definitely be making mine from scratch though!

BBC America Christmas coverage: http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/tag/a-very-british-christmas/

Hello...

This never fails to make me laugh... So happy that it's Friday!!

Food Fortunes

I recently stumbled across Food Fortunes, a site which combines astrology with cooking. Each month it provides a fortune based on your star sign, as well as recipes to go with your current emotional, financial, and romantic states. As a Pisces, I may be bypassing my December food fortunes of roasted yams and seaweed soup (not my favorites), and am instead going to turn to the recipe recommended for my rising sign, Taurus:

Oaxacan Black Mole with Braised Chicken

11 medium (about 5 1/2 ounces) dried mulato chiles

6 medium (about 2 ounces) dried chihualces chiles (see note in Variations and Improvisations below)

6 medium (about 2 ounces) dried pasilla chiles

1 dried chipotle chile (preferably the tan-brown chipotle meco)

1 corn tortilla, torn into small pieces

2 1/4-inch-thick slices of white onion

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

About 2 cups rich-tasting lard or vegetable oil (for frying the chiles)

1/2 cup sesame seeds, plus a few extra for garnish

1/4 cup pecan halves

1/4 cup unskinned or Spanish peanuts

1/4 cup unskinned almonds

About 10 cups chicken broth (canned or homemade)

1 pound (2 medium-large or 6 to 8 plum) green tomatoes, roughly chopped

4 ounces (2 to 3 medium) tomatillos, husked, rinsed and roughly chopped

2 slices stale bread, toasted until very dark

1/4 teaspoon cloves, preferably freshly ground

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, preferably freshly ground

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, preferably freshly ground Mexican canela

A scant teaspoon oregano, preferably Mexican

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 ripe banana

1/2 cup (about 3 ounces) finely chopped Mexican chocolate

2 or 3 avocado leaves (if you have them)

Salt, about 1 tablespoon depending on the saltiness of the broth

Sugar, about 1/4 cup (or a little more)

2 large (3 1/2- to 4-pound) chickens, cut into quarters

1. Getting started. Pull out the stems (and attached seed pods) from the chiles, tear them open and shake or scrape out the seeds, collecting them as you go. Now, do something that will seem very odd: scoop the seeds into an ungreased medium-size (8- to 9-inch) skillet along with the torn-up tortilla, set over medium heat, turn on an exhaust fan, open a window and toast your seeds and tortilla, shaking the pan regularly, until thoroughly burned to charcoal black, about 15 minutes. (This is very important to the flavor and color of the mole.) Now, scrape them into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse for 30 seconds or so, then transfer to a blender.

Set an ungreased skillet or griddle over medium heat, lay on a piece of aluminum foil, and lay the onion slices and garlic cloves on that. Roast until soft and very dark (about 5 minutes on each side of the onion slices – peel it off the foil to turn it; about 15 minutes for the garlic – turn it frequently as it roasts). Cool the garlic a bit, peel it and combine with the onion in a large bowl. While the onion and garlic are roasting, turn on the oven to 350 degrees (for toasting nuts), return the skillet to medium heat, measure in a scant 2 cups of the lard or oil (you’ll need about 1/2-inch depth), and, when hot, begin frying the chiles a couple at a time: They’ll unfurl quickly, then release their aroma and piquancy (keep that exhaust on and window open) and, after about 30 seconds, have lightened in color and be well toasted (they should be crisp when cool, but not burnt smelling). Drain them well, gather them into a large bowl, cover with hot tap water, and let rehydrate for 30 minutes, stirring regularly to ensure even soaking. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid.

While the chiles are soaking, toast the seeds and nuts. Spread the sesame seeds onto a baking sheet or ovenproof skillet, spread the pecans, peanuts and almonds onto another baking sheet or skillet, then set both into the oven. In about 12 minutes the sesame seeds will have toasted to a dark brown; the nuts will take slightly longer. Add all of them to the blender (reserving a few sesame seeds for garnish), along with 1 1/2 cups of the chicken broth and blend to as smooth a puree as you can. Transfer to a small bowl.

Without rinsing the blender, combine the green tomatoes and tomatillos with another 1/2 cup of the broth and puree. Pour into another bowl. Again, without rinsing the blender, combine the roasted onion and garlic with the toasted bread, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, banana and 3/4 cup broth. Blend to a smooth puree and pour into a small bowl. Finally, without rinsing the blender, scoop in half of the chiles, measure in 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid, blend to a smooth puree, then pour into another bowl. Repeat with the remaining chiles and another 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid.

2. From four purees to mole. In a very large (8- to 9-quart) pot (preferably a Dutch oven or Mexican cazuela), heat 3 tablespoons of the lard or oil (some of what you used for the chiles is fine) and set over medium-high heat. When very hot, add the tomato puree and stir and scrape (a flat-sided wooden spatula works well here) for 15 to 20 minutes until reduced, thick as tomato paste, and very dark (it’ll be the color of cinnamon stick and may be sticking to the pot in places). Add the nut puree and continue the stirring and scraping until reduced, thick and dark again (this time it’ll be the color of black olive paste), about 8 minutes. Then, as you guessed it, add the banana-spice puree and stir and scrape for another 7 or 8 minutes as the whole thing simmers back down to a thick mass about the same color it was before you added this one.

Add the chile puree, stir well and let reduce over medium-low heat until very thick and almost black, about 30 minutes, stirring regularly (but, thankfully, not constantly). Stir in the remaining 7 cups of broth, the chocolate and avocado leaves (if you have them), partially cover and simmer gently for about an hour, for all the flavors to come together. Season with salt and sugar (remembering that this is quite a sweet mole and that sugar helps balance the dark, toasty flavors). Remove the avocado leaves.

In batches in a loosely covered blender, puree the sauce until as smooth as possible, then pass through a medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl.

3. Finishing the dish. Return the mole to the same pot and heat it to a simmer. Nestle the leg-and-thigh quarters of the chicken into the bubbling black liquid, partially cover and time 15 minutes, then nestle in the breast quarters, partially cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

With a slotted spoon, fish out the chicken pieces and transfer them to a large warm platter. Spoon a generous amount of the mole over and around them, sprinkle with the reserved sesame seeds and set triumphantly before your lucky guests.

See the recipes and your own fortune here: http://foodfortunes.com/

Mexican Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love a good chocolate chip cookie, a little on the crispy side, and not too sweet. I am also not a big fan of nuts in my cookies (although sometimes pecans or peanut butter are just right), so I like to find a little extra flavor in other ingredients. Mexican chocolate, with its addition of cinnamon and a little pepper or chile, is perfect to me. These cookies, adapted from an old Bon Appétit recipe I found on Epicurious, came out wonderfully, with a nice bit of cinnamon spice and a subtle black pepper finish. They also benefited from the unsweetened chocolate to cut the sugar a bit, and the chocolate chips have a softness that juxtaposes the crisp cookies.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably of high quality such as Scharffen Berger
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Black pepper to taste
  
• 10 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chips, Ghirardelli makes great ones

Cream the butter and sugar in large bowl, beat in the eggs one at a time, then add vanilla.

Sift the dry ingredients directly into the bowl, combine until blended, and add chocolate chips and black pepper to taste.

The dough is very fudgey, so it should be refrigerated for about an hour before baking.

Bake on buttered baking sheets (about 9 cookies per standard sheet) for 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Let stand 3-5 minutes before removing the cookies to cool on a rack.

The recipe should make about 50 2 inch cookies.

Bon Appétit's recipe on Epicurious can be found here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mexican-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-4808#ixzz1f7JggtD2

Tomato Eggplant Sauce

As summer turns into fall, I love to take my ripe tomatoes and eggplants and turn them into this sauce... I first started having a lot of similar sauces at restaurants, and then decided to make my own. This version, based on a Lidia Bastianich recipe, is a beautiful balance of flavors, with just the right amount of sweetness. I balance the vegetables out with a bit of fresh ricotta cheese when I serve it over penne or a similar pasta.

Ingredients

One 16 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes, or 2 cups of fresh peeled tomatoes
One medium eggplant, chopped into half inch cubes
Three tablespoons of olive oil
One medium yellow onion, finely chopped
One garlic clove, finely chopped
Two sprigs of fresh basil
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil over low heat in a medium or larger cast iron pot, then add the onions with a pinch of salt and allow them to soften before adding the garlic as well. Next, add the eggplant and mix it with the other ingredients, then continue to cook it on a low-medium heat for about fifteen minutes, adding water at any time to prevent it from burning. Once the eggplant has softened, you can crush the tomatoes by hand and drop them into the pot - you should also add about two cups of water using the tomato can or bowl to get the extra juices and prevent the eggplant from drying out. You can add the basil, plus another pinch of salt and some pepper at this point, along with the pan's lid, and allow everything to cook covered for about 45 minutes on low-medium heat. Be sure to check on it and lower the heat if the sauce begins to boil, it should be at a steady simmer. Once the vegetables seem to be mingling together, you can remove the lid and cook uncovered for another hour. Be sure to check on the sauce and stir it regularly to make sure the eggplant doesn't stick to the pan. Once it is finished, toss it with a bit of pasta finished with butter, and add a dollop of fresh ricotta right before it's served.

Makes abut 4 servings.

456 Shanghai

Earlier this year I took a class on dim sum preparation (more on that later), and just this week I had a friend visiting from Shanghai, so I have had a lot of inspiration for finally getting down below Canal Street. While my friend was in town we ate a lot of American and European foods, but once she left I wanted to go and have a taste of what she eats when she's back in China.

So, tonight I went out to try 456 Shanghai, in New York City's Chinatown, recipient of Sam Sifton's recent glowing review in The New York Times, in which he bestowed the restaurant with a star. I have eaten at many Chinese restaurants in the city, and live only about a fifteen or so minute walk from Chinatown, but I had never dined in the area before tonight.

At 456 Shanghai, I did not push my comfort zone too much - largely because of my companions. We went for a fairly basic, American friendly meal of scallion pancakes, braised vegetable noodles, General Tso's chicken, and a vegetable dish consisting of eggplant, green beans, and broccoli in a garlicky basil sauce, along with pork soup dumplings and vegetable dumplings. The vegetable dishes were by far the standouts for me, with the mixed vegetable dish having incredible flavor in the sauce, and the vegetable dumplings were not simply a mush of sauteed vegetables, but well blended and seasoned with a variety of tastes inside. The quality of the meat was surprisingly good - many places will give you the tough pieces in a dish like General Tso's, but each bite was moist and chewable. The soup dumplings, however, were rather bland, as were the noodles.

I'm happy to have made the trip... Next time I would lean more toward an all vegetarian meal at 456, but I like knowing that the chicken is a safe bet as well.

456 Shanghai Cuisine
69 Mott Street
New York, NY
212.964.0003

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/dining/reviews/456-shanghai-cuisine-nyc-restaurant-review.html?pagewanted=all

A Very Royal English Breakfast

This morning, two friends and I got up at five to watch the royal wedding coverage. It was lovely, the bride was beautiful, she and the groom obviously adore each other, and it all went off without a hitch. I was happy to get up so early to watch a live, historical event, but I decided we needed to add another way to celebrate and better enjoy all of the British pageantry: A full English breakfast. The traditional meal is a fry up of tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon, sausage, eggs, toast and baked beans, but with swimsuit season coming so soon, we did a slightly healthier but equally delicious version. Vegetarian baked beans, scrambled eggs (although poached would have been a bit lighter), chicken breakfast sausage, and roasted mushrooms and tomatoes on the vine made a perfect accompaniment to watching the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge take their vows. Of course, we had some Earl Grey tea and a bottle of pink champagne to complete the meal!

The Brooklyn Star

The Southern style barbecue restaurant Brooklyn Star recently re-opened off the L Train's Lorimer stop in Williamsburg. I was really anticipating it, since I only ate at the original once and remembered enjoying it, and I was excited to go last night. I went with a group, which seemed perfect, as we were able to order a large chunk of the menu items... But, sadly, many of the dishes were really disappointing. I was especially surprised that some of the worst dishes were meat based. The Dr. Pepper ribs were bland, the fried chicken wings were soggy and covered in a flavorless buffalo sauce, and the bacon did nothing to elevate the macaroni and cheese - the cheese in which was so mild I could barely detect it. The only dishes we all loved were the jalapeno and bacon cornbread, the biscuits, and the superb brussels sprouts. We also had the shrimp and grits, which had nice seasoning, but was undercooked, and the passable romaine wedge salad. I was sorry to have made the trek for such an unremarkable evening - one member of our party commented that it was the worst barbecue he'd ever eaten, and I had to agree.

Bread Making at Del Posto

A few months ago a friend graciously passed on a ticket for a bread making class at Del Posto. She was unable to attend the event, part of the New York Food & Wine Festival, and she thought I might enjoy it. It was amazing. We got in the kitchen with the fabulous head baker, Ernesto Gonzalez - formerly of La Brea Bakery, and watched him make beautiful focaccia rolls, kalamata olive rolls, mini baguettes, and multi-grain rolls. At the end of the class he served them to us with whipped, unsalted butter and rosemary-lardo spread. The focaccia alone was life changing, and though I have been back for a full meal since, the bread at Del Posto still stands out as one of the greatest components of their dining experience.

Del Posto
85 Tenth Avenue
New York, NY
212-497-8090

Dos Toros

My all time favorite type of cuisine is Mexican food, and it has been for as long as I can remember. It's what I crave when I am tired, or stressed, or sick, or just really hungry. My favorite item is the burrito, specifically the Mission Style burrito served in San Francisco, and when I moved to New York one of my biggest challenges was finding something that tasted that good. I found some not quite right substitutions over the years, but never anything close to the real thing until Dos Toros opened off of NYC's Union Square. Dos Toros uses the same recipes as the Bay Area's amazing Gordo Taquerias, and it was started by two brothers also missing the tastes they grew up with. Their beans, rice, carnitas, cheese, tortillas, guacamole, pico de gallo and hot sauce are by far the closest to Mission style that I've had anywhere outside the Bay. I'm craving a burrito right now... Sadly they do not deliver, but a meal there is always worth the trip.

Dos Toros
137 Fourth Avenue
New York, NY
212-677-7300

It's It

For me, the real San Francisco treat has always been the It's It, the delicious ice cream sandwich available in the Bay Area since its invention in 1928. The It's It is two oatmeal cookies surrounding a scoop of ice cream (chocolate, cappucino, vanilla or mint chip) and then the whole thing is dipped in chocolate. My favorite flavor has long been mint chip, but unfortunately these treats are not sold anywhere East of the Rockies - unless you want to buy them buy the case online, which the Brooklyn bar Pacific Standard does.

The It's It was invented by George Whitney, one of the original owners of San Francisco's Playland at the Beach (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playland_%28San_Francisco%29) and it was only sold there until it closed in 1972. At that point the It's It changed hands a few times, finally expanding in the 1980s. Still, the product is not very widely available outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. Be sure to try one if you're ever out there, or, if you can't wait, order a case of your own...

http://www.itsiticecream.com/

Recipe - Banana Bread

Banana Bread has always been one of my very favorite things to bake, ever since I was very little. One of my earliest memories of baking it was with our babysitter when I was probably four or five, and she added too much baking powder, giving it a really terrible taste. I learned from that error, and many other subsequent versions I have made since. I'm constantly trying to improve my baking, to make it as delicious and healthy as possible. I've gotten pretty good at the banana bread, my latest recipe goes as follows:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Mix the following ingredients in a large bowl until very well blended. You can combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl first, but I don't think that's necessary for this bread. It's easiest to start with the wet ingredients and then add the dry, following the order in which they're listed.

-2 eggs
-2 bananas
-1 cup applesauce
-1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
-4 tablespoons butter, melted
-1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp nutmeg
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-3 tbs ground flaxseed

Bake for about 40-50 minutes, or until your knife tests clean.

Enjoy!

An Afternoon in Naples at Pulino's

I'm starting to become a regular at the latest Bowery hot spot restaurant: Pulino's. So far I have been for brunch, dinner, and cocktails. I've picked a couple of favorite items, and I can't wait to end my next big night out by heading over there for burgers (they're only available after midnight). Two of my top things there so far are the sweet breakfast pizza topped with only a bit of extra virgin olive oil and sea salt, and served with a side of apple butter for dipping, and the Afternoon in Naples cocktail, which I enjoyed this afternoon here in NYC. It's a Campari cocktail (I am a huge fan of the apéritif and Pulino's devotes an entire section of its cocktail menu to it) and perfect for daytime - refreshing, not too strong, and completely delicious with a nice, tart finish. The recipe is:

Afternoon in Naples:

1 ½ oz Campari
3 ½ oz fresh pink grapefruit juice
½ oz simple syrup (ginger infused)
½ oz lime juice

Garnish: Lime peel
Glassware: White wine glass

Salute!

Starting the Day with Lemon Juice

I'm on a bit of a health kick at the moment, and have added drinking the juice of a full lemon in a 12 ounce glass of water to my morning routine. There are many claims people make about lemon water's detox and digestive benefits, and I've found it to definitely ease my bloating and to help me feel much more energetic and less hungry in the morning. I drink mine at room temperature but there is some debate over whether it out to be hot or even mixed with honey - to me that's for a sore throat though. I'm happy with my simple morning boost!

Kitchen Remedies

There are a multitude of ways you can use your kitchen basics to solve household, health, and beauty issues - be it baking soda to unclog a sink, ginger ale to soothe an upset stomach, or lemon juice to fade freckles. Today, though, I was wondering what I could find in my cupboards to help my parched hair rehydrate. Many of the remedies I found required a mayonnaise base, but I do not want my hair to smell anything like cole slaw, so I decided to go a different route, mixing two parts olive oil (for moisture) to one part natural honey (for shine) until my hair was thoroughly saturated. I then wrapped my head in plastic wrap and dampened the inside of my shower cap with a bit of warm water before I put in on - better to help create a humid environment for my hair. I left the mask in for an hour and then shampooed twice. It was a bit tacky the next day, but after the next wash my hair looked quite a bit better and the effects lasted for over a month.

Healthy Wrap Ideas

Memorial Day is fast approaching and I am looking for simple, healthy breakfast and lunch wrap ideas to help keep me from feeling deprived as I try to slim down a bit in preparation of swimsuit season. I always love a curried chicken wrap, but many of the other wrap combinations available to buy are disappointingly bland. I've been doing a bit of research and some thinking and have come up with the following ideas:

Sweet:

-peanut butter, banana and raisins
-peanut butter and apple slices
-apple butter, raisins and slivered almonds
-almond butter and chopped dates


Savory:

-pesto, sundried tomatoes, ricotta, arugula and pinenuts
-goat cheese and roasted vegetables
-hummus, cucumber, tomato and feta
-a fried egg, salsa, jack cheese and plain yogurt
-avocado, black beans, jack cheese, plain yogurt and salsa
-avocado, lettuce, tomato and crumbled bacon
-tofu, bean sprouts, shredded cabbage and sweet chili sauce
-chicken, chipotle mayonnaise, grated parmesan and lettuce
-chicken, artichoke tapenade and grated parmesan

There are so many other possibilities too... They can be rolled right up in a whole wheat tortilla as a to go breakfast or packaged in a lavash bread and cut on the bias for lunch.