francis

Mencius Gourmet Hunan: Chinese Cuisine With a Modern Twist

February 11, 2014 by francis

When Mencius Gourmet Hunan opened in 1983, owners Horace and Cindy Ng were already armed with tons of traditional Chinese recipes inspired by the Hunan province. But now more than 30 years later, their slate of recipes has grown even more—because they're never satisfied with the status quo. They and their chefs continue to create new recipes beyond the traditional, much to the delight of customers and food critics.

The innovative recipes include original sauces that chefs make in-house, as well as fresh ingredients. Some specialties especially beloved by regulars include wonton soup, dumplings, and pork-fried rice. While you wait for your order, enjoy a glass of wine from the list personally curated by Horace himself.

Mencius Gourmet Hunan serves lunch and dinner Tuesdays through Sundays. A prix-fixe brunch is served on Sundays. The restaurant is closed Mondays.

Mencius Gourmet Hunan
1379 Kingwood Drive
Humble, TX 77339
(281) 359-8489
http://www.menciushunan.com/index2.html
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mencius-gourmet-hunan-humble

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/The Culinary Geek

Find Fresh Local Produce with a CSA Share

February 4, 2014 by francis

A CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, a community of individuals who monetarily support a local farm in exchange for fresh, seasonal produce and goods throughout the growing season. CSAs are wonderful ways to support local farmers and to ensure that you and your family eat locally grown vegetables. These sites can help you find a nearby CSA:

National Agricultural Library
The National Agricultural Library of the USDA offers a complete guide to CSAs on its websites. Here you’ll find information about how CSAs work, explanations of where food comes from, and educational literature about farming and agriculture. The site also offers a list of websites that can help you locate a CSA in any area across the country.

Local Harvest
The Local Harvest website offers informative tips and frequently asked questions to help visitors make informed decisions about becoming CSA members. It also features a map of CSA farms across the country, with a space to search by your own state or zip code.

Farm Locator
Not only does Farm Locator connect visitors with CSAs, it also connects farmers with other farmers, farmers to local businesses, and businesses to buyers to help improve the exchange of produce and goods from all sides. The detailed search bar even allows you to browse the site by product, type of market, or area to find the best farms for your needs.

Public Domain/Freeimagescollection

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: CSA, Food, Harbor Cove, Organic

RC’s Pizza: Everything’s Made In-House

January 28, 2014 by francis

Even before he graduated from high school, RC Gallegos was interested in helping others to discover the joys of great pizza. After partaking in too many subpar pies, he and a friend started making their own specialty pies at home. Today, he continues the endeavor he began back then at his very own Kingwood pizzeria, RC's Pizza.

In RC's kitchen, there are no frozen crusts or toppings. His chefs make everything from dough to bread fresh and in-house—that includes their pizza sauce and dressings. So the thin-crust, New-York-style pies are anything but cookie-cutter. Try the signature Kennedy pie, a white pizza with chicken, baby spinach, garlic, and fresh tomatoes, or one of the traditional pasta dishes or subs.

RC's Pizza
1202 Kingwood Drive, Suite A
Houston, TX 77339
(281) 358-4663
http://www.rcspizza.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/rcs-pizza-and-pasta-houston

CC-BY-SA-3.0/Flickr/deapeajay

Filed Under: Dining Tagged With: Kingwood Dining, RC's Pizza, Restaurants in Kingwood

Improve Your Health in 5 Minutes or Less

January 21, 2014 by francis

Running a mile or cooking a nutritious meal require a chunk of time, but there are a number of other things you can do to improve your health that take less than five minutes. These simple tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can help you feel safer and healthier:

Wash your hands, and not just before meals. It only takes 20 seconds!
Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator – it only takes about 2 minutes per flight.
Schedule a doctor’s appointment, whether it’s for a check up or to look into that pesky pain. You can call them on the phone in 2 minutes without even leaving the house.
Put on a helmet any time you ride a bike! This quick tip can help save your life in the case of a fall.

You can find more of these tips at the CDC's website!

Five Minutes for Health [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]

Public Domain/Public Domain

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Apartments in, Fitness, Harbor Cove, Health

Our New Facebook Sweepstakes Has Started! Enter to Win an iPad Mini!

January 15, 2014 by francis

To enter the Sweepstakes, Like our Facebook Page and then look for the Sweepstakes tab (image shown below) located on our Facebook Page to enter. Sweepstakes ends February 28th, 2014.

For mobile users ONLY, like our Facebook Page, and then click here to enter!