I recently had the pleasure of dining at "The Candle Cafe" a cozy, unpretentious restaurant in the Upper East Side specializing in vegetarian cuisine.  I have  been to several other restaurants around Manhattan but this cafe has been my favourite thus far.  Not only is all of the food organic and fresh, it is also very tasty and satisfying which is sometimes not the case when enjpying vegetarian cuisine.  My favourite dish was the paradise casserole.  The mixture of sweetness from the sweet potatoes and the savory black beans and gravy that comes with it was simply delicious and I have obtained the recipe for you in case you don't live in Manhattan.  Don't forget, the Candle Cafe also has a variety of delicious desserts such as banana cake with banana frosting, assorted wheat free cookies such as oatmeal chocolate chip and yummy fruit crumbles served a la mode but with organic soy ice cream of course!  Enjoy the recipe. 

Paradise Casserole

The sweet potatoes and millet can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated until you are ready to assemble the casserole.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the sweet potatoes for one hour, or until forktender. When cool enough to handle, remove the potatoes from their skins, place them in a large mixing bowl and mash them with a potato masher until smooth. Combine the miso, vinegar, and cinnamon with the potatoes. While the potaotes are cooking, put the millet and 8 cups of salted water in a large pot, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Set aside.

Meanwhile, combine the beans, garlic, onion, cumin, crushed pepper and salt in a medium bowl and toss to combine. Spread the olive oil along the bottom of a large baking pan or casserole dish. Spread the cooked millet over the bottom of the pan, then spread the black bean mixture in an even layer over the millet. Top with the sweet potato mixture and spread evenly.

Bake the casserole for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool a bit before slicing into six servings. You can also make the casserole a day or two ahead, store in the refrigerator, and bake before serving. Adapted from The Candle Cafe Cookbook (Clarkson Potter)

Summer is one of my favorite seasons as it is during this time that nature provides us with a bountiful selection of succulent fruits and vegetables for us to enjoy.

One of my favorite quick snacks to prepare during the hot summer months is the refreshing and delicious Insalata Caprese. This salad consists of only a few key ingredients for a truly satisfying snack or meal.

What you will need:

• Organic Roma or Hothouse tomatoes. (You can also use the colorful orange and yellow tomatoes. Basically any sweet and ripe tomato will work)
• Mozzarella di Bufala (Whole Foods & Specialty cheese shops)
• Fresh organic basil
• Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Organic Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Clean and slice the tomatoes about 1/2" thick
2. Carefully slice the mozzarella about 1/2" thick
3. Place the mozzarella on each tomato slice and arrange beautifully
4. Place a whole basil leaf on each piece of mozzarella
5. Drizzle with the olive oil
6. Add a bit of balsamic vinegar if you wish
7. Add salt and pepper to taste

Voila, a simple yet delicious snack or appetizer in a matter of minutes. Buon appetito!

P.S. You can also make this a vegan dish by substituting the mozzarella with a vegan mozzarella or soy cheese!

One traveling circus leaves New York, another moves right in. Even with a significant portion of the city's fashion crowd in Europe, Armory Arts Week's kickoff openings were buzzy. At fordPROJECT, curator Neville Wakefield unveiled a group show, Involuntary, for a crowd that included Rachel Weisz, Chlo Sevigny, and Leelee Sobieski. Heavy on multimedia installations, the exhibition features a hyper-slow-motion video of Wakefield's girlfriend, Olympia Scarry, in mid-yawn, not to mention works by Ryan McGinley, Kaari Upson, and other youthful art-world stars.

At the show's after-party at the Surrey hotel, Wakefield explained that the shockingly checkered past of the gallery's building at 57 West 57th Street"written in blood and sex and violence and haunting"helped him, if not viewers, process the idea of emotions beyond control. (Socialite Edna Champion and her French lover famously met their deaths on the premises, which have since been considered haunted.) Not your typical white cube space, in other words? "Not at all," Wakefield said. (Not much of a yawn, either.)

Same goes for the Art Dealers Association of America's fair, which takes place annually at the grandiose Park Avenue Armory. Last night, a special preview of this year's booths (proceeds from which benefited Henry Street Settlement) drew the browsing likes of the Yurman family, Mary Alice Stephenson, and Kelly Rutherford. Picassos and de Koonings mingled with contemporary offerings on display from purveyors like the Pace Gallery, whose staff got busy introducing Phillip Lim to the work of Zhang Huan, the Chinese artist known for his paintings painstakingly assembled out of incense ash reclaimed from Buddhist temples. (Zhang will be doing a portrait of Diane von Furstenberg for the Beijing opening of the designer's world-traveling Journey of a Dress exhibition on April 2.) "Amazing," Lim concluded, then excused himself. "I'm going to go look at some more."

Sir Elton John and David Furnish have had their hands full lately, producing a box office hit (Gnomeo & Juliet) and raising a baby boy. Last night, as co-hosts, the high-profile couple added the Elton John AIDS Foundation's Oscars viewing party to the list. Billed as the country's largest fundraiser, it's a reliable dress-up option each year for movie stars and deep-pocketed Angelenos who want to hobnob with them but don't have any particular reason to be at the main eventwhich is, naturally, shown on TV screens throughout the room. As Sir Ben Kingsley put it: "It's a spectator sport, and we're spectators."

"It's been a great night for Brits at the Oscars," John announced after dinner at the Pacific Design Center. (No argument from this crowd: Cheers went up when Colin Firth took Best Actor, and again when The King's Speech was named the year's best film.) "And it's a great night for Brits here, too," he went onreferring, in particular, to the evening's hit performer, Florence and the Machine. Somehow, lead singer Florence Welch managed to belt out a song at the Oscars, then come over and do an audience-rousing set that included "Tiny Dancer" with the Rocket Man himself.

She was far from the only musician in town for the events. Over at the Sunset Tower, singers and starlets both flooded Vanity Fair's annual post-show bash. There was no shortage of onscreen talentCameron Diaz, Jessica Biel, Elizabeth Banks, and Rashida Jones, among many othersbut they were joined by songbirds like Taylor Swift and recent VF cover boy Justin Bieber. In fairness, he's now a matinee idol, too: The Biebs doc Never Say Never hit theaters this month.