Falafel

Well, it certainly has been a while…

Over the last year, I graduated, took (and passed) my boards, and got a job that I love. I’ve had a hard time managing my work vs. home life, but my New Year’s resolution is to spend more “me time”… which, of course, means more cooking.

Nick and I are trying to do more meals that we can make in advance and eat over the course of the week. His Mother got us a great America’s Test Kitchen cookbook that we have been stealing ideas from. I love Greek food, so we decided to try doing make-ahead falafel.

We make a ton in advance, bake them, and then freeze them. Whenever we’re craving them, we pull a bag out of the freezer and just defrost it. They’re pretty easy to make and taste great on a salad or in a sandwich.

What you’ll need:
2-15 oz cans of chickpeas (or one large can), drained
1 white onion
10 tbsp chopped parsley (roughly 2 bunches)
5 garlic cloves
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400.

Using a food processor, blend the chickpeas, the onions, and the seasonings. Add olive oil, and stir until the mixture starts coming together.

Take a cookie sheet with aluminum foil on it, and spread a little bit of olive oil on it. Form patties using your hands (ours were more like pucks, but we’ve also done ball-shaped ones before). If you find that the patties aren’t staying together well enough, add more olive oil.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes on each side… they’re ready to flip when the bottom side is brown (otherwise, the patty won’t stick together when you go to flip it).

Let cool, and then put over a salad or on a pita with some tzatziki sauce.

Craisin Almond Chicken Salad

I like to make a big chicken salad at the beginning of the week so I can A) make lunches off of it, and B) eat it cold while standing in front of the fridge looking for real food to eat. I typically will make between 4-8 chicken thighs if I’m doing it this way, or if I’m just making it for one meal I’ll just use one breast. This recipe is just my best guesstimate – I change it up every time I make it. Just a heads up – this makes a large amount of food! You can always scale it down to be a more… manageable? appropriate? not-so-ridiculous amount? Whatever. Have fun.

 

What I used:
8 chicken thighs
2 green apples, cored/seeded and chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 oz craisins
4 oz slivered almonds (any nuts will do, but I like almonds)
¼ cup greek yogurt
¼ spicy mustard (or regular… but I like to live adventurously)
salt, pepper, basil – I tend to do it to taste

Cook the chicken thighs in slow cooker until cooked through – usually 3-4 hours or so. Pull off the bone and discard any remnants of fat or bone. Pop in the fridge until it’s cool. You can really cook it any way to your liking – especially if you’re scaling down. I think it’s a little ridiculous to slow cook one thigh!

Combine chicken, apples, celery, craisins, and almonds. In a separate bowl, combine yogurt, mustard, and spices. Pour over the chicken and mix in. If you find that you do not have enough sauce for your liking, you can always add more! That’s just the amount I like to start with.

I like putting this chicken salad on wraps or on a sandwich (especially if the bread is toasted… yum).

Chive Butter

Earlier this year Nick built me a planter so I could grow some herbs – it was going well until recently when my thyme, chives, parsley and oregano absolutely exploded.

I didn’t know what to do with all of my flavorful greens… I started drying some and putting them in mason jars, cooked with some, and threw some in olive oil (foreshadowing for another post coming soon!). While the thyme, parsley, and oregano dehydrated well, I knew that the chives wouldn’t do too hot just drying. I had to figure out what to do with my pounds and pounds of chives!

In the main office at work we have a large poster of Paula Deen. Every day for the last few months those blue eyes just pierced my soul… it was like she was trying to communicate with me. And then, finally, it happened. Paula quietly whispered “butter” in my ear, and I knew what I was going to do.

I started by pulling a stick of butter out of the fridge before bed one night, to let it soften (cue major debate on whether or not you’re supposed to refrigerate butter… I do, get over it). Early the next morning, I cut about a handful of chives from the garden, and diced them finely – it turned into between ⅓ cup and ½ cup when chopped.

In a bowl, I combined the butter, the chives, and I added about 1/2 tsp of sea salt. I mixed well with a spoon, put into a tupperware container, and then instantly started putting it on everything! Spreading on toast, caramelizing onions, and our next step is to throw it on steak.

Easy reading version:
1 stick butter, softened
~½ cup chopped chives
1/2 tsp sea salt

Combine! Put in a nice container and pop in the fridge.

Limoncello

Although I had originally made this three different posts, it’s easier to read as one. Just remember: there are three distinct steps, each taking place at least a couple weeks from each other.

Long story short, you take the rinds off of lemons, steep in grain alcohol, add sugar, and drink. Sounds easy enough, right?

STEP ONE:
What I used:
1 handle of grain alcohol (or the highest proof alcohol you can find)
25 lemons
a sharp knife or veggie peeler
a large container that you can close up tight (large tupperware works well)
recommended: citrus juicer

What I did:
Start by peeling all the lemons, being sure to get only the rind with no pith (so just yellow, with no white parts). Throw it in a giant tupperware container (or whatever you’ll be using), and pour in all of your alcohol.

Cover and put in a cool, dark place. Shake it up every once in a while, about once a week or so. The booze should sit in the tupperware for about 6 or 7 weeks – you’ll know it’s ready when the lemon peels get crispy and snap when you bend them.

 

STEP TWO:
What I used:
The aforementioned grain alcohol with lemon peels
Funnel (or some type of funnel-y apparatus)
Coffee filters
Bottles
Water
Sugar

Only do this step when your liquid is now bright yellow and the rinds are brittle.

Start by making a simple syrup. For the amount and strength of alcohol we used, we’ll use 8 cups of water and 5 cups of sugar. Feel free to scale up or down if you prefer tart or super-sweet drinks, or if you use a different strength alcohol. You’ll definitely want to scale if you used a different volume of booze.

Heat 8 cups of water in large pot until boiling. Turn the heat off, add sugar, and stir until dissolved. Let rest until cool enough to handle.

As you’re waiting for the water to cool, take a minute and sanitize your bottles and funnel. We have a sanitation powder we mix with hot water that Nick uses in brewing, so I just used some of that. I didn’t know if our funnel could stand boiling water… but that’s always an option.

Pour the lemon mix into a large bowl through a colander to remove large lemon peels. Add sugar water and stir well until everything is fully combined. If your funnel has a filter, that’s great, but if not use a coffee filter in there and filter/funnel the booze into bottles. Some people like to filter it several times… but I am partially too lazy and partially too impatient for that. I find that one pass through the filter is enough for my inexperienced palate. Warning: this will take longer than expected so be ready to wait for a while! You may need to change/clean the filter out a few times during the process.

Once the bottles are full, throw them in the freezer!

 

STEP THREE

Assuming you followed steps one and two, you should be left with a couple bottles of stuff in your freezer. I’ve seen some sources that say you can drink it right away and others saying you should wait between 30 and 45 days for it to mellow and for the flavors to come together. I am personally of the belief that it is just sugar, water, alcohol, and lemon, so let’s not waste more months waiting around.
I’d say I waited about two weeks before I became too impatient and started drinking it. I’m going to try and wait another month before enjoying the rest… but we’ll see what happens. You can enjoy it alone, or make it into a mixed drink. Just watch out – even though it tastes like candy, it is super duper potent. Enjoy!

Rosemary-Infused Lemonade

Whenever it gets really hot out I just absolutely crave lemonade. I had a bunch of lemon juice leftover from the limoncello, it was like the drink gods were calling to me! We had recently tried a rosemary-infused lemonade at a sandwich shop, and I wanted to see if I could copy the recipe but also cut down on some of the calories. I used Stevia instead of sugar and it tasted pretty delicious.

There are a couple different brands of Stevia with different conversions. It typically tells you on the package what it is – mine was 1 Cup=6 TBSP, so I used 12 TBSP for this recipe. As this amount isn’t true for all types of Stevia, I put in the sugar equivalent and you can do the math yourself.

What I used:
2 cups of lemon juice (probably about 12 small lemons worth)
12 cups of water
2 cups of sugar (or an equivalent – I used stevia)
4-5 sprigs of rosemary

Heat 4 cups of water and the sugar (or substitute) in a medium sized saucepan on high, stirring until it’s dissolved and the water is clear again. Turn the heat off, put the rosemary in, and let sit until cool.

Combine the lemon juice, rest of the water, and the cooled water/sugar mix. If not drinking immediately, discard the rosemary and garnish each glass with a new sprig.

I think the hardest part about making this was resisting the urge to drink it all in one day!

Limoncello, third and final step!

Here it is… the third (and final) installment of the Limoncello series. It’s my personal favorite part – the drinking!

Step One

Step Two

Assuming you followed steps one and two, you should be left with a couple bottles of stuff in your freezer. I’ve seen some sources that say you can drink it right away and others saying you should wait between 30 and 45 days for it to mellow and for the flavors to come together. I am personally of the belief that it is just sugar, water, alcohol, and lemon, so let’s not really waste more months waiting around.

I’d say I waited about two weeks before I became too impatient and started drinking it. You can enjoy it alone, or make it into a mixed drink. Just watch out – even though it tastes like candy, it is super duper potent. Enjoy!

Limoncello, part 2!

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while… my computer is (temporarily) not working so it’s been hard to post. Expect an onslaught once it’s back!

Anyway, welcome to step two of making limoncello! Assuming you’ve already completed step one, you can now take your lemon booze and make it something delicious (and actually drinkable!).

Step One

Step Three

This recipe is assuming that you followed my step one, and are left with lemon peels in grain alcohol that has been sitting for about 6 or 7 weeks. Long story short, you’re going to mix this with simple syrup to make it something drinkable. You’ll need a funnel, some bottles, water and sugar.

So we started with a handle (1.75 liters of alcohol), and added the rind of a bunch of lemons, right? We let it sit for a while, until the alcohol was bright yellow and the rind becomes so brittle that it cannot bend anymore, it just snaps. That’s how we know it’s ready!

Let’s start step two making a simple syrup. Note: this amounts are specific to the volume of alcohol we used, if you are using more or less it is important to scale up or down, respectively. Heat 8 cups of water in large pot until it is just about at a boil. At this point, turn the heat off, and add 5 cups of sugar. Stir until dissolved. Let cool so you can handle it.

(Not a very interesting picture, I know)

As you’re waiting for the water to cool, take a minute and sanitize your bottles and funnel. We have a sanitation powder we mix with hot water that Nick uses in brewing, so I just used some of that. I didn’t know if our funnel could stand boiling water… but that’s always an option.

The next step is to get all those rinds out of there – I poured the lemon mix into a large bowl using a colander to remove as many of the big pieces as possible.  Add the sugar water and stir very, very well, until everything is entirely mixed. If your funnel has a filter, that’s great, but if not use a coffee filter in there and filter/funnel the booze into bottles. Some people like to filter it several times… but I am partially too lazy and partially too impatient for that. Warning: this will take longer than expected so be ready to wait for a while! You may need to change/clean the filter out a few times during the process.

Once the bottles are full, throw them in the freezer and wait for step three!

Limoncello, step one

Life has been pretty crazy since we got back from Ireland. We have been traveling to New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut to visit friends and family; we have prepared (and successfully thrown) my college graduation party; and we have been preparing for a summer full of weddings. All in all, it’s been a pretty crazy and I haven’t had a ton of time to cook (or write about cooking).

Although – I have had something wonderful and delicious going on. I decided to make some boozy Limoncello. I set it up a few weeks ago as an experiment and it is going much better than anticipated. It’s a three step process, and it takes a couple months all in all. Long story short, you take a high proof alcohol (preferably grain, but literally whatever the highest proof you can), steep some lemon rind in there, take them out after a while, and then throw some sugar and water in there. Sounds simple, right? It is.

Here are links for:

Step Two

Step Three

First step:
What I used:
1 handle of grain alcohol (or the highest proof alcohol you can find)
25 lemons (yup… thats right.)
a sharp knife or veggie peeler
a large container that you can close up tight
recommended: citrus juicer

What I did:
Start by peeling the lemons, being sure to get only the rind with no pith (so just yellow, with no white parts). Throw it in a giant tupperware container (or whatever you’ll be using), and pour in all of your alcohol.

Cover and put in a cool, dark place. Shake it up every once in a while, about once a week or so. The booze should sit in the tupperware for about 6 or 7 weeks – you’ll know it’s ready when the lemon peels get crispy and snap when you bend them.

Optional: juice the lemons and save it for your next cooking adventure. We probably had a liter when all was said and done!

 

Our Final Nights: Galway

We left Ring of Kerry with the intention of getting dinner and heading to Galway that evening. We realized that Bunratty Castle (and more importantly, Durty Nellys) was on the way. For those of you who don’t know – Durtys is a bar in Boston, and Mike Barrett (guy who plays at the pig -where Nick and I met) plays there, too. We figured we’d head in to pay a homage to Boston, just in time to find out that they stop serving dinner at 10 (it was 10:15). We sojourned on to Galway, keeping a lookout for any open restaurant – nada. Nothing. Zip.

We basically tore each other’s heads off all the way to Galway (two MORE hours of driving????) and made it to a B&B that we had booked ahead of time (to avoid a night like Thurles from happening again). I eagerly tore into a bag of cookies in the room, and finally took a second to look around – this place was incredible. It was technically in Salthill, which is known to the locals (apparently, so we heard) as the “Gold Coast of Galway.” The room was gigantic, with a huge, plush California King sized bed… oh, and a second bed in the corner. The bathroom rivaled the one at Graceland, and the carpet was so plush I thought I was walking on marshmallows. Our windows looked out over the bay… and I’m sure I would have noticed more, if I hadn’t immediately sprawled out on top of the bed and fell asleep.

The next morning we woke up to the sweetest woman cooking food – we got in after she had already fallen asleep, and she wanted to know how our trip was. We wanted to say “please, we haven’t eaten in 12 hours, we are about to knock you over to get at some yogurt. Try me after breakfast,” but we were able to muster polite conversation – for about a minute. Toast came and I shoved a piece in my mouth as fast as I possibly could – no regrets.

We spent our time in Galway relaxing. We had such a crazy week that we wanted our last few days to just be simple and easy. We explored the city, including Eyre Square and Church Street. It finally rained for real, so we escaped the weather in a little bar with some beer (and my first Irish Coffee).

We did a lot of shopping while we were there – there was a pretty touristy open air market that I got some jewelry from, and Nick finally bought a sweater.

We explored the Latin Quarter, the Spanish Arch, and Nick FINALLY got his Shepherd’s Pie. FINALLY I DON’T HAVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT ANY MORE.

I think 1 week is a good limit of vacation. I think after that you tend to… get sick… of people.

Anyway, we spent the next evening in Galway, too. We went in search of good music, but we found out that it was the football finals (disclaimer: not a sports fan), so a lot of bars were showing that instead of live entertainment. Stupid.

We did find a wonderful place to drink and listen, and we did just that. ~15 Guinness and 5 whiskey gingers later, we had to leave and head back to our final night in Ireland. After probably the scariest cab ride of my life (I kept forgetting that they drive on the left side of the road…), we finally made it home.

We were leaving the next morning, but not after Nick got his last full Irish (and I fell in love with smoked salmon). We packed up, took some Excedrin, and dragged our hungover butts to the airport. It was a very, very, very bittersweet moment – especially once we realized that once you pass through security and customs, there were no bars in the airport! We grabbed a little bottom on wine and quickly chugged it before our flight – nothing like a little hair of the dog to set you straight. It was the perfect way to leave Ireland – sort of drunk, a little hungry, and ready to watch Dallas Buyer’s Club on the plane.

 

Connemara

We spent one night in Connemara while we were in Ireland. Nick has some family up there, so we spent some time visiting and exploring the area. The house we stayed in was on an island in Carna, which is an absolute gorgeous area. It was so quiet and empty – it seemed absolutely barren and such a change from the cities we had been spending our time in.

We went out for a nice seafood dinner, spent a ton of time catching up (and skyping with the rest of the family!), and drinking some beer. We went to sleep pretty early and slept in late – the rest of our trip had just exhausted us.

The next morning we got up, had some breakfast, and headed out. We noticed how much smaller the roads were in this area compared to others… the roads were perfectly sized for one car, and every quarter mile there was an area to pull off so cars could pass each other. The main roads were a little bigger, but still barely big enough for two cars.

As we admired the scenery, we realized something terrifying – we were in the middle of a bike race! It wasn’t so bad because they were in the other lane – the bikers were good about moving over so the car could pass. And then something terrifying happened: two cows walked out into the street. They started charging towards the bikers, got spooked, turned and charged towards us. We were absolutely convinced they were going to run straight into us when at the last second they turned and ran off the road.

After a little panic attack, we got back to driving. We passed the bike race – only to see them a mile later, this time going our direction! It was terrifying considering what would happen if one of them were to fall and get hurt.

They turned off to the left pretty quickly, thank goodness. But about a mile later, they crossed our paths again – this time, coming from the right and going to the left! We had absolutely NO IDEA where they were coming from or where they were going.

As soon as we were able to get away from them, we took off and headed to Galway.