la paloma rosa

often in a relationship you're exposed to new things because of your partner's enthusiasms. i'm pretty sure that without me, mike would not have acquired quite so much information about weird animal facts, food, or health care policy (and he might have been better off for that). 

similarly, i wouldn't know as much about the horse-race intricacies of local and national politics or the publishing world, and i certainly wouldn't be watching football on a saturday afternoon. yet here i am. 

i grew up in small-town/rural texas, where high school football really does rule the scene on friday nights (surely you're familiar with Friday Night Lights, right? if not, FIX THAT IMMEDIATELY. you're welcome.). as a disaffected and contrarian teen, i only went to one football game in my entire high school career, and spent plenty of time bemoaning football's prominence and the lack of local culture (i was kind of a jerk about my hometown. although i live 30 minutes from it now and haven't been there in like 10 years, so i guess i haven't really changed my mind about it, actually. see you in hell, bastrop!). my undergrad years were spent at southwestern university, which at the time didn't even have a football team. it just reinstated football this year, actually, which is weird but i'm getting used to the idea.

anyway, my point is that despite being a native texan, i'm not much of a football person. but mike went to texas a&m, which has a ... robust football heritage. they take it seriously and they're very good at it. so thanks to his influence, i've started semi-watching games once in a while. i still don't really know what's going on (really, soccer's more my thing), but i'm happy to hang out and cheer when the aggies score and yell at the tv when the other team does something mean.*

*technical term

**

of course, all this moral support is thirstifying, so it's never a bad idea to have ingredients for a paloma rosa at hand. palomas are gaining a following here, after long enjoying popularity in mexico. they're dead simple and very tasty and just might become your favorite refreshment in the waning days of summer (at least, i really hope they're waning. it was like 100 degrees yesterday. IT IS MID-SEPTEMBER, WEATHER. COME ON.).

the paloma rosa differs from the original in that it includes pink grapefruit soda and some fresh grapefruit juice, instead of the regular grapefruit soda (squirt, fresca, etc) that normally goes into it. i found this pink ting (!) at our local liquor/food/awesomeness center, spec's, but i think similar things are found pretty much wherever. or use fresca, etc! then it wouldn't be rosa, but it would still be a paloma. 

and that's the important thing. that and spending quality time hanging out with your loved ones and learning more about the things they like. or at least getting more adept at nodding sagely when people talk about "incompletes" and "sacks."

** i had to include my la paloma magnet, which my friend beth gave me years and years ago and which to this day i cannot look at without saying out loud, "que maravilla de tortilla!" which i think is the best slogan ever. 

also, you may have noticed the ro*tel, velveeta, and chips in the background. i may not be as football-crazy as some, but by god i'm a texan and i know how to make queso. 

-ingredients- one drink

• 1/2 - 2/3 bottle pink ting (!) or 6 oz or so of your grapefruit soda of choice
• 3 tbsp or so fresh pink (or other) grapefruit juice
• 1-2 ounces tequila (i don't know much about tequila aside from that you absolutely have to get one that's 100% agave. i used a blanco one, but probably the more aged ones would be good, too - maybe a little more intensely flavored?)

stir gently, add plenty of ice and maybe a curl of grapefruit zest, if you think of it. 

listening to: explosions in the sky, now that i started thinking about Friday Night Lights. also lots of yelling from kyle field. gig 'em! i don't know football, but i  know that much.

double apricot & yogurt cake

well, it's been a difficult week and it's hard sometimes not to feel powerless and afraid of where things are going. i try to remember that worrying doesn't help unless it's accompanied by some kind of action. since i can't personally do anything right now about my great state's legislative war on women's bodies, and i certainly can't solve america's race problems, for now i'm baking a cake.

that's not to say, of course, that baking will solve anything of importance. as a lawyer, i do feel like i have some responsibility to use my training to work on some of those bigger issues. i'm currently working in the area of mental health, which could obviously use some improvements. i'm also trying to figure out where i should start volunteering my time. i'm thinking about The Innocence Project.

but in the meantime, closer to home, our dear neighbor had to put her house on the market and put her sweet elderly dog to sleep on the same day. i'm sure it's been a roller coaster for her and it's hard to deal with the open houses and having to be out somewhere while strangers tromp through your home, especially if you're missing your little furry companion. 

so, i decided to make her some cake. it's apricot season and i got a bunch recently. unfortunately, though they tasted good, their texture left a bit to be desired. luckily, any slight mealiness disappears when you bake them, leaving only soft jammy fruit. i also added chopped dried apricots to boost the flavor even more. 

to chop the dry ones, i piled 3-4 on top of each other and cut them into 5 or 6 sections, then turned them and cut again, leaving them in a small dice. the fresh apricots i just cut in half and then into wedges - maybe 5-6 per half. 

the rest of the cake was based on this one from Dorie Greenspan (although i actually have that cookbook, so i could have just used that). i brought the sugar down a bit, added a little ginger and left out the lemon zest, but otherwise mostly left it alone. i didn't have almonds for almond meal, which is offered as optional, but i think it would be good here, as almonds and apricots go well together. 

this is almost a one-bowl cake, which is my favorite kind. as it is, it only used two and required no mixer, so that's pretty good. just whisk the dry ingredients, mix the wet, add the dried apricot bits to the dry ingredients, using your fingers to separate the little stickies a bit so they don't clump together, then add the wet. mix until just combined and add the fresh apricots. fold them in gently so they don't go to pieces.

then just bake in a loaf pan buttered and lined with buttered parchment paper. mine took about 45 minutes or a bit more, but i also was using a 9" x 5" pan instead of the 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" that the original calls for. so just keep an eye on it. let it cool for maybe 10 minutes in the pan, then take it out to cool fully on a rack. it will be tempting, but i wouldn't cut it before it's cooled if you can help it. 

obviously cake's not going to solve any of the major problems facing the world today, but it can make your friends' lives a little brighter and sometimes that's all you can do on a weekend afternoon.

*double apricot & yogurt cake*
adapted from Dorie Greenspan's French Yogurt Cake

preheat the oven to 350.

5 small apricots (280 g/ almost 10 ounces)
9 dried apricots (100 g/ 3 1/2 ounces)

1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (i would actually use more next time - it doesn't show up too much - maybe 1 teaspoon instead?)

whisk dry ingredients together and add the dried apricot pieces, using your fingers to get them incorporated so they don't form a big lump

1/2 cup plain yogurt (i used 2%, but you can probably use whatever, honestly)
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar (you could probably use 2/3 cup - it was still pretty sweet)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mild oil (i used canola)

whisk wet ingredients together and add to dry or vice versa. mix gently until just combined, then add the fresh apricot pieces and fold in, trying not to break them up too much. in the original recipe, you're supposed to add the oil at the end, but i forgot and put it in too early and it was fine.

put in 9"x 5" loaf pan that's been buttered and lined with buttered parchment paper. bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes, or until it's a nice dark toasty brown and a knife stuck in the middle comes out clean. let it sit on a rack for 10 minutes or so, then remove from pan and let cool on rack.

this would be really good with some ice cream or some barely sweetened whipped cream, but is perfectly nice with some coffee or tea as well. it's the little things...

*i should probably also note that i didn't give her quite all of the cake because i had to cut it and then we had to eat a little to make sure it wasn't gross. luckily, it wasn't.

listening to: ravishers - portland, poppy, boy-girl harmonies - what more can you ask for?

rye thyme for a collins

the name of this drink is further along the spectrum of ridiculousness than i'm normally comfortable with, but after a weekend which included the unwelcome discovery of a discomfiting little visitor from the past in our car's a/c vent, it seemed fine for now.

after all, it's after 5 on a hot summer sunday - it IS high time for a drink of some sort, and it might as well be this.

i usually think of whiskey as more of a fall/winter drink, but when you add citrus and herbs and sparkling water, all of a sudden it makes sense as a summer pick-me-up+cool-me-down. a tom collins typically uses gin, but all we had was rye and silly old texas doesn't allow one to purchase liquor on sundays. 

other things that were handy included thyme and grapefruit, whose bitterness made it seem like they would go together. i've since looked up the combination and both marcus samuelsson and martha stewart have cocktails that use it, so i'm in illustrious company, i guess? the peppercorns were an attempt to complexify it and respond to the pepperiness of the rye.

just peel a grapefruit, taking care not to dig deeply enough to get the extra-bitter white pith with it. i ended up using maybe 15 sections that were about 3/4" x 2" or so, but it's not an exact thing. then add it and some thyme and peppercorns to 1 cup each of water and white sugar and bring to a boil. let it boil for 3 minutes or so, then turn it off and let it cool. 

i like making simple syrups with lots of things in them. i think it gets to the same childhood idea of cooking that making chicken stock brings out - just toss things in a pot with water and voila! it's magically something much better. 

once the syrup is cool, strain it and mix a couple of tablespoons with an ounce of rye and 1-2 tablespoons of grapefruit and/or lemon juice in a short highball or old fashioned glass. as per usual, this is all to taste. then add a couple of ice cubes and fill the rest of the way with sparkling water or club soda. we often get that water that has pink grapefruit flavoring (it's not sweet - just grapefruity), so if you have that you might as well use it. 

then just kick back with a magazine and let your cares lift away. try not to think about how hot it is or how gross that mouse in your a/c vent probably definitely was. 

 *ingredients*

grapefruit/thyme/pepper syrup

peel from 1 medium grapefruit

7-10 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons dried (my thyme plant is a bit sad right now, so i augmented the 5 or so fresh sprigs i had with a couple of large pinches of dried lemon thyme)

12-15 whole black peppercorns (just grab a large pinch. sichuan pepper might be really interesting here, too, though i'd probably use less)

1 cup water

1 cup white sugar

rye thyme, etc., collins

2 tablespoons syrup

3 tablespoons rye whiskey (we usually get old overholt or bulleit rye)

2 tablespoons grapefruit and/or lemon juice

sparkling water or club soda

listening to: beirut

3-2-1 pomegranate!

the pet gods have not been smiling upon us here at chez livingawesomely these past few months. first maeby decided to eat something she shouldn't have and ended up in a cone of shame, then the dogs en masse decided to attack their cat housemate, which resulted in a cone for her PLUS a feeding tube and wired jaw (Not Fun + Very Expensive). finally darwin, above, has developed his first hot spot of the year and requires his own much larger cone.

so i guess basically if you need to borrow an elizabethan collar in any of several sizes, we've got you covered. also, we will be paying off vet bills for the foreseeable future. but i guess it'll still be cheaper than college, etc., for a kid, so i shouldn't complain.

to help me refrain from boring complaints about the pets and the weather (which, OH MY GOD it's so hot and humid already), i have taken the liberty this Memorial Day to fix a drink before the socially-accepted hour of 5 pm. but what's the point of having a monday off if you're not going to have a drink during the day? (aside, of course, from thinking about the sacrifices people have made for our freedom and other solemn and important things)

pomegranate molasses is what happens when you boil pomegranate juice down with some sugar until it's quite thick. it's not really molasses - it's more like cooked-down grenadine (real grenadine, not that fakey pink stuff). it isn't that sweet and definitely has a molasses-y rich flavor that i find very appealing. you can use it in any number of things - last night we had some in a dressing for grilled eggplant and zucchini and it was quite good.

i've never really seen it in drinks, but i try not to let that stop me. this is a very simple cocktail that i like to serve in a tall glass with lots of sparkling water - this makes it refreshing and not-too-strong, which is perfect for when it's hot.

which it is. TEXASSSSSSSS

i used tangelo juice, as this tangelo has been lumping and bumping around in the fridge for a while now. oranges or grapefruit would also be good. or maybe meyer lemon, although i don't think it's currently the season for those. something fairly sweet and citrus-y is what you want.

then it's really a 3-2-1 kind of deal - mix 3 tablespoons (aka 1 shot) gin, 2 tablespoons juice, and 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses, then fill the rest of the glass with sparkling water. get out a straw, if you have one, and sip up while trying not to think of going back to work tomorrow.

at least it's a short week! (if, of course, you're in america. if not, you're probably going about your monday as per usual. sorry.)

you can also do a little folderol of citrus zest if you feel fancy.

*ingredients*

1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons citrus juice (if you want to use lemon or lime, they'd prolly be fine, but you might want to add a little sugar or honey or simple syrup to taste)
3 tablespoons gin (1 shot/1.5 ounces)
sparkling water to fill

listening to: oh god, i love aesop rock so much and was moderately excited about his new album with kimya dawson (of moldy peaches fame-ish), but i tried to listen to it and it was not my thing. for instance, there's a song that just lists a bunch of sandwiches - Turkey! / Montecristo! /  Grilled Cheese! / Meatball! / Liverwurst! / Shrimp Po'boy! / Fluffernutter! / Shawarma! / Reuben! / Cuban! / BLT! / Eggplant parm! / Chicken! and etc. ad infinitum.

indian summer

and now we've come to the weird interstitial time between summer and fall. here in texas, summer doesn't really give up the ghost until november sometimes, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to get out the scarves and start wearing boots again. this year, however, i'm trying to stop and enjoy whatever weather we actually have, since it's been a few years since i've experienced a texas fall.

the greatest thing about autumn in texas is cold fronts. the air will be still and sticky and you can't believe it's late september and then all of a sudden there's an electrical charge in the air and the wind starts blowing briskly from the north and the temperature drops 20 degrees in 20 minutes. it's very exciting.

this drink kind of reminds me of that, since it's full of summery gin and citrus and warming spicy ginger. it's refreshing, but not too light. the ginger and the use of the rinds of the citrus gives the whole thing some heft that's usually lacking in summer cocktails. thus it's perfect for this weird liminal time when you don't know what kind of weather the day will bring.

basically you probably need a food processor for this. all you do is cut the citrus into medium-sized chunks, cut the ginger into coins, and blend the whole thing up with some sugar. process it for a minute or so or until everything's well-blended.

then put the delicious sludgy mass into some cheesecloth to strain it. gather up the edges of the cloth and bring them together (if you don't have cheesecloth you could use a really fine strainer, probably).

then just squeeze the juices out as hard as you can. it's quite therapeutic. 

mix a little gin and some club soda and a few tablespoons of the citrus-ginger syrup (it's pretty thick and intense, so go with your tastes), and you have a friendly but assertive drink to keep by your side as we wave goodbye to summer and hello to fall.

*ingredients* (syrup for 6 - 8 drinks or so)

1 lime

1 lemon

1 small orange (i would spring for organic on all of these, since the rinds get included in the drink. no one wants a pesticide cocktail)

~3 inches of fresh ginger root

3/4 - 1 cup sugar

gin

club soda or tonic

instead of what i'm listening to, here's something else i wrote: http://thebillfold.com/2012/09/texas-london-texas-portland-texas/

it's about the many (many!) places i've lived over the last few years. also you should probably read the billfold and its friends the awl and the hairpin anyway, because they are good. 

creamy corn soup with zucchini & tomato

first off, please excuse the weird illustrations. i neglected to take any pictures of this delicious soup and so had to draw some things on my phone. this is not quite as easy as you'd think.

nevertheless, hopefully they won't put you off making this soup, because it's quick, easy, and remarkably delicious. mike said that i could make it every day and he wouldn't complain (the subtext of that being that generally he DOES complain. just kidding! he is very easygoing, though he will suffer neither mushrooms nor fools gladly).

the corn here is amazing right now, so it would be great to snap some up and make this asap. out of corn season, i think frozen corn would be okay, but fresh is the only way to go when it's as juicy and sweet as it is now. zucchini and tomatoes are also pretty terrific, making this the epitome of the seasonal! local! eating! thing that everyone's always yapping about.

i also added some leftover grilled salmon, but you could also use chicken or tofu to add protein and bulk it up a little. it's also great with just the vegetables. so adaptable!

first, cut the kernels off of 4 ears of corn. this post regarding a tasty corn salad has a thing about cutting up corn, in case this is foreign to you. then put the cobs in a large pan with about 4 cups of milk. i used 2%, since that's what we keep around for coffee, but whole milk would of course be more decadent and skim more ascetic, so go with your instincts. heat the cob-milk mess over medium-high heat until it starts edging towards boiling, then let the cobs sit in there while you do the rest of the things. i think this just gives the end result a deeper and more complex flavor, but obviously if you're using frozen corn it'll presumably not come with cobs and should still be fine, so if you don't want to mess with this step, just skip it! it's your corn soup party! do what you want!

it's not in the picture, but you should cut an onion into smallish dice. heat up a bit of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the onion. also chop some garlic into little bits. you can even cut the zucchini and tomato into bite-sized-or-a-little-smaller pieces at this point as well, if you're one of those fancy people with enough room on your cutting board to do so. 

so the onion starts getting translucent fairly quickly and then you can add the garlic and some herbs. i used a small bunch of lemon thyme stems that still had a few leaves on them. it was maybe like 1/2 the size of my thumb (i like to think that i have normal-sized thumbs, if that measurement was unclear) and i changed out the rubber band holding it together for one of those wire bread bag wrapper things from which i removed the paper. maybe you have some kitchen twine or something? just don't melt rubber into your soup and you'll be okay.

i also added a couple of big pinches of dried fines herbes, but pretty much anything not too weird would go well here - marjoram, chives, a little tarragon... (so, like, the things in fines herbes)

then throw the corn in, along with the milk in which the corn cobs have been steeping (sans cobs, obvs). probably some salt and pepper wouldn't be too out of place, either. bring it to a low boil and then turn the heat down to medium-low, so it keeps simmering. let it go for 20 minutes or so. 

at this point i like to blend some of it (like 2/3) up so that the soup has a thicker, creamier texture. you could blend the whole thing like crazy, but i prefer it with some whole kernels. an immersion blender would be best here (avoiding the thyme bundle), but i broke mine a few years ago in an ill-fated margarita disaster, so i made do with the food processor (a regular blender would be better than the processor, leakwise, but i don't have one). 

finally, brown the zucchini in a little olive oil, add some cumin and then the tomato, then add the whole thing to the now-blended soup. ta da! if you have some cooked fish or chicken you could flake/shred/chop it and add it so that it heats through.

don't eat the little bundle of thyme, if you used one.

somehow this ended up tasting almost kind of coconut-y - i guess maybe from the sweetness of the corn? i did use some really superlative corn, so that definitely helps the end result. 

*ingredients*

4 ears corn

4 cups milk

1 small bunch thyme - lemon thyme is particularly good (or some dried thyme)

other herbs

1 onion

3 or 4 cloves garlic

1 zucchini

1 tomato

1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional)

cooked fish or chicken (optional)

listening to: my kind of dumb/kind of awesome spotify mix of 90s-ish hip hop/r&b, so like GZA's shadowboxin', 2pac's california love, destiny's child's say my name, and tlc's waterfalls.

ratatouille cobbler with cheddar biscuit topping

did you know you can make savory cobblers? 

i mean, i am definitely on board with all kinds of sweet cobblers, slumps, grunts, and whatever other semi-icky name people come up with for fruit cooked under a sweet biscuity top layer. for instance, i am currently mourning the loss of the blackberry forest in our old backyard, since a blackberry-lime cobbler is never an unwelcome guest at the table.

but things change and we move on and deal with it. here in texas, late summer means tons of zucchini, tomatoes, and eggplant, so, inspired by memories of cobblers past, i decided to brave the oven and make a ratatouille-type dish with a fluffy, cheesy biscuit topping. 

aren't those eggplants darling? i think all eggplants are pretty lovely, as far as vegetables go, but the color variegation and petite size of these made them especially fetching. apparently they're called antigua eggplants, but i just call them presh. you could use a regular big old purple one, too, although make sure the skin isn't too thick (if it is, you could peel it).

other old friends in the cast of characters include zucchini, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and herbs. apparently traditional ratatouille also has bell peppers, but we didn't have any and i'm not hugely into cooked bell peppers anyway, so i didn't miss them. you could certainly add one or two to the mix if you like.

basically just chop everything into smallish bite-sized pieces (except the garlic. that should be more minced-y). mine were probably all less than 1/2" square. you don't have to be too methodical about it, though. first, heat up (over medium-high heat) a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large oven-proof pan. an enameled casserole pan is perfect for this (i used the rachael ray one that i got at goodwill and am somewhat embarrassed by, even though it's actually pretty great). 

you don't want to skimp too much on the oil because it adds a nice velvety mouthfeel (sorry, "mouthfeel" is kind of a gross word) to the finished dish. once it's shimmery, add the onion and let it cook for perhaps 5+ minutes, stirring occasionally, until it gets translucent and a little bit brown. then add the garlic and cook for about 30 - 45 seconds before adding the zucchini. once that's cooked down a bit (4 or 5 minutes, maybe), add the eggplant, then the tomatoes. at this point you can also add some salt, which will help the vegetables release some of their juices. 

you should also add some herbs now - i used fresh lemon thyme and italian parsley, along with a big pinch of dried fines herbes. herbes de provence are more traditional, and fresh basil would be more than welcome as well. a few chili flakes and some grindings of pepper aren't a bad idea, either.

at this point, the vegetables should be pretty tender, but not completely cooked to mush. take the pan off the burner and let it hang out while you make the biscuit topping. this is also a good point to start preheating the oven (450 degrees).

these biscuits are dead easy. i modified my normal biscuit recipe slightly, adding cheese and using milk alone, since we didn't have any yogurt. also, instead of rolling them out, i just dropped them in dollops across the top of the vegetables.

you can grate the cheese, but i like chopping it into little bits (as above) so that you get little tasty pockets of cheese in each bite. this is a great way to use up random bits of cheese that may be knocking around your refrigerator - i used a couple of kinds of sharp cheddar, but pretty much any not-too-soft, flavorful cheese would be good - gruyere or gouda, etc.

mix the dry topping ingredients, cut in the butter (with your fingers, a pastry cutter, or in a food processor), then add the cheese, then the milk. try not to mix it too much at this point so they don't get tough. then just dollop the biscuits over the vegetables as above. 

bake uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the biscuits are browned and cooked through. the vegetable mixture will bubble up while it's baking, so it's not a bad idea to place the dish on a ridged sheet pan to keep your oven from getting too messy.

be sure to let things cool down for at least 20 minutes or so before eating - it'll be super-hot. i actually liked it best at just a little warmer than room temperature - that way you can taste all of the flavors better. plus, who wants to eat a hot dish when it's 100 degrees out? no one, that's who.

*ingredients*
filling:
1 large onion
lots of garlic (i used about 3 tablespoons, minced)
2 large zucchini
3 small eggplants (or 1 large)
3 medium tomatoes (or 2 large)
herbs (3+ tablespoons fresh +/or a couple of teaspoons dried)
(**if you like a thicker sauce around the vegetables, you could add a slurry of ~ 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water to the vegetable mix before putting the topping on. i thought it was fine with a thinner sauce)

topping:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
~ 1/3 - 1/2 cup cheese, chopped or grated
1 cup milk (or buttermilk or milk/yogurt mixture)

listening to: bishop allen + the rosebuds

multi-herb ad hoc pesto

wow, the last few weeks have been intense. at the end of july i flew to austin, took the bar exam, and flew back to portland, only to immediately pack up our whole house, say some flurried goodbyes (including a really fantastic happy hour(s) at victory bar with a bunch of the portland people that i already miss the most), and drive the almost 2000 miles back to austin.

the drive back was long, but pretty awesome on the whole. utah was way more gorgeous than i expected it to be and the animals (FIVE, plus the two or us, in a toyota matrix piled high with our stuff!) were actually very well-behaved. i think in the end, though, it was the mix cds mike made and the endless quoting of arrested development that got us through the rougher stretches. 

we've been here for almost two weeks now and things are finally starting to feel more normal. we still don't have much furniture, but the internet works and the gas (finally we have a gas stove again!) is hooked up, so i'm happy. 

after the weeks of being without a functional kitchen, it's great to be able to just whip something up on a whim, like this ad hoc pesto. i got a giant bunch of basil at the farmers' market last week and it was starting to get a little frazzly, so i'd been thinking of pesto anyway, but this post on food52 was just the impetus i needed to actually put it together.  

some of the basil was getting pretty scroungy-looking, so i used what i could salvage and added cilantro and parsley to bulk up the green quotient (and add some extra complexity). i just put a few washed handfuls in the food processor with some garlic and a little olive oil and blended it up. 

once it was getting smooth, i added some parmesan cheese and some toasted almonds. i like pine nuts in pesto, too, but we more often have almonds around and also i've read those things about pine nuts making your mouth all weird (PINE MOUTH!!!) and no thank you. finally, i added some lemon zest and juice and a little water (maybe this is sacrilege?) to brighten and thin it out.

using multiple herbs in pesto makes it more interesting (although i love regular pesto as well) and ensures that you don't have to have giant bushels of basil every time you want to make it. some arugula (of course, an all-arugula pesto is also nice) or other herbs like tarragon or marjoram would probably be good additions, too, and you could also try adding things like celery leaves or carrot tops or really whatever kind of greens you have around. i'm not promising it'll be good, but it will be yours. live a little!

you can use this on pasta (or a cold pasta salad) or fish or in a sandwich or on pizza. you can thin it even more with extra lemon juice and some more water and call it salad dressing. it was fantastic on the simple romaine salad with little sweet tomatoes and shavings of ricotta salata above, for instance. using it in a composed salad of heirloom tomatoes and burrata or mozzarella wouldn't be totally crazy, either.

now that we're edging toward the end of a long and fairly rigorous summer, it's nice to be able to slow down a little and enjoy some of the season's great produce. it's also nice to be home.

*ingredients* (approximate - this is really flexible)

1 big handful cilantro (like a cup?)

1 big handful parsley (i used flat-leafed, but you can probably use whatever)

2 big handfuls basil 

1-3 medium cloves of garlic (depending on your tolerance/love for raw garlic)

1/4 cup or so olive oil

1/3 - 1/2 cup toasted almonds

1/3 - 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (~1 ounce or so? again, to taste)

zest and juice from 1/2 lemon (~ 1 - 2 tablespoons juice)

water, to thin to taste

salt, to taste

garlicky green beans, almonds, hard-boiled eggs

this is a quick post for a very quick and easy dish. seared green beans with blackened-y bits, lots of garlic, crunchy almonds, and just-right hard-boiled eggs come together in no time flat to make a hearty side dish, potluck favorite, or a light dinner for these summer dog days.

of course i shouldn't complain, living in relatively cool portland, but even 90 degrees feels hot when there's no a/c and fuzzy animals insist on wrapping themselves around you at all times. we've been keeping cool by eating lots of salad dinners and refrigerator scroungings and thinking cooling thoughts of arctic breezes. 

i don't even want to think about how i'm going to deal with being back in texas (in AUGUST, no less). lots of complaining and praising of central air conditioning, i guess.

anyway, this is simplicity itself. heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan on pretty high heat (like 8 out of 10 high). the heat is important because you want to get the beans nicely singed - it makes them way more flavorful. once the oil's shimmery, add about a pound of trimmed green beans.

let them sit for a minute or two, then you can stir every minute or so. don't get too crazy with the stirring - you want them to develop those nice black spots. they'll take 5 -6 minutes total. while that's happening, you can start the eggs. i don't know where i heard this, but the best way i've found to cook hard-boiled eggs is to cover them with about an inch of water, put them on high, let it boil for 1 minute, then take them off the heat and let them sit for 10 minutes before cooling them off in an ice bath. it's always worked really well for me and avoids that chalkiness and grey yolk layer that makes people hate them.

when the beans are just about tender (grab one out and nibble it, if you like), add a few big pinches of salt and 3-6 minced cloves of garlic. we are huge garlic people, so i err on the side of lots. you can go ahead and take the pan off the heat and just stir the garlic and beans around a bit so that the garlic loses its rawness. then after a minute or so, put them in a bowl with the juice of half a lemon and a handful of chopped italian parsley. or regular parsley. i'm not sure there's much of a difference.

this is best at room temperature, so once you're ready to eat, add perhaps 1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds, more salt if it needs it, and some chopped up eggs. you can make it look nicer if you make each plate up individually, but i also like adding the eggs to the bowl because the yolks add kind of a creaminess to the whole thing.

regardless, it takes about 15 minutes total and it's actually really filling and tasty. you could also add like grilled chicken to it if you wanted, but personally i think it's kind of creepy to eat chicken and eggs together.

but maybe that's just me.

*ingredients*

1 pound green beans (asparagus would also be good!)

3-6 cloves garlic

handful parsley

1/2 cup or so toasted almonds

3? eggs (i don't know - maybe like an egg per person?)

tomatoes would not be half bad, either

listening to: now that chicken and egg together thing made me think of paul simon's mother and child reunion. so that. 

zucchini & corn fritters with herbs and cotija cheese

tasty at room temperature, these little pancakies are perfect for zucchini season, when (possibly) well-meaning neighbors sneak up to your house and leave giant bags of them on the doorstep and you can't face one more chunky zucchini pasta thing. 

they are totes simple and work well for potlucks or a quick dinner. also you can make them teensy and pretend they're fancy appetizers. they were inspired by a recipe from the delightful nigella lawson (although, being british, she probably calls zucchini "courgettes"), but instead of being feta-y and mediterraneanish, i added corn and used cotija cheese, cilantro, and mexican spices for a more south of the border feel. i left the mint, though, because it really works here for some reason. 

the first thing to do is to get some water out of the zucchini. grate them (i used a food processor and it was so easy!), set the gratings in a strainer or colander over the sink, and sprinkle with a couple of pinches of salt. then let it sit for 20 minutes or so while you get the other stuff ready. 

i ended up using some leftover corn that we'd already grilled, but i think some nice fresh sweet corn would be fine to use raw. cut the kernels off and put them in a bowl with a couple of ounces of crumbled cotija cheese (you could also use feta or ricotta salata) and 5 or 6 sliced scallions and a handful each of cut-up mint and cilantro. 

is your zucchini done yet? after the 20 minutes (or longer), use all your might and squeeze as much liquid as possible from the grated shards. i find it mildly therapeutic. 

then mix the vegetables, herbs, and cheese together and add another pinch of salt, the zest from one lime, a minced clove of garlic, perhaps 1/4 teaspoon of chipotle powder if you have it, and 1/2 teaspoon or so of cumin. it'll still be good without the spices, but if you have them, you might as well throw them in there. 

finally, add 2 eggs, beat them a little to get things going, and then add ~ 1/2 cup of flour and mix until it all comes together. try not to go crazy with the mixing at this point, though, as you don't want the fritter-pancake things to get too tough. the batter will be quite thick, so don't freak out. it'll be fine.

i like to have two pans of these cooking at once to make it go faster. add perhaps a tablespoon of oil to a largish pan and let it heat over medium until the oil shimmers. you can use less oil and/or a nonstick pan, but the oil helps them brown and crisp up better, so keep that in mind.

then dollop the batter into whatever size you prefer. i like to flatten them down a little to ensure that the middle cooks before the outside burns. but if you like that sort of thing, by all means...

cook over medium to medium-low (depending on your stove - ours runs hot) until the outer edges are getting a nice burnishy brown. you can edge a spatula underneath to check them, but i wouldn't make a habit of it. flip and get the other side nicely brown (maybe 4 -5 minutes per side), then set them on some paper towels or a rack or something. serve with limes for squeezing over and, if you want, a simple yogurt sauce. they're good with just the lime, though. and they really are oddly great at room temperature, which is nice because you can make them ahead of time and get all freshened up before company comes over or whatever.

we have them as a side for roast or grilled chicken or fish, but they would also be a good lunch with a salad or, if tiny, as little blintze-y things to eat with a kalimoxto, some gin & elderflower, a pink greyhound, or a fruity tequila & tonic. and if you still have zucchini left over, you could try this delightful salad with corn, zucchini, tomatoes, and goat cheese.

*ingredients* serves 2-3-4 as a major side dish, more if making as appetizers
2 zucchini
1 1/2 - 2 ears of corn
~ 1/4 cup cilantro
~1/4 cup mint
~ 2 1/2 ounces cotija cheese
5 scallions
2 eggs
1 clove garlic
zest from 1 lime
1/2 cup flour
~ 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder or hot smoked paprika (optional)
~ 1/2 teaspoon cumin (optional)
pinch or two of salt (optional)
lime

*yogurt sauce* (optional)
1/3 cup greek yogurt
1 tablespoon mayonnaise (or more, to taste)
pinch salt
maybe 1 tablespoon or so lime juice, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder or smoked paprika (optional)

frozen ice cream-yogurt with cherries & yogurt-covered pretzels

 okay, real talk: if you have an ice cream maker, you owe it to yourself to make this right now. unfortunately, there are some steps involving cooling things, so it's not like you can just eat it right away, but at least you'll have it started, which is the main thing.

the base is essentially like if ice cream and frozen yogurt got together and had an adorable and tasty child. actually, it's more like frozen custard + frozen yogurt, because eggs. the important thing, though, is that it has the soft creaminess of ice cream and a little (but not too much) of the tangy-ness of frozen yogurt together in one delicious spoonful. then you gild the lily by adding lots of cherries and (meta!) chopped up yogurt-covered pretzels. the sweetness, saltiness, and crunch may just make this your new summer favorite.

there are a few different steps to this, but none are difficult or really that time-consuming. the main thing is that once you make the base and the cherries, you have to let them chill for a good long time - preferably overnight. so it's something to plan ahead for. but the anticipation just makes it better. 

i got the notion for the base for this from a recent rhubarb ice cream recipe in the ny times. i actually first used the base in a rhubarb-blackberry crumble ice cream, which was delicious but for which i forgot to make any note of amounts of things, so i can't really tell you how to make it. maybe i should revisit that soon. 

although that recipe was sort of an inspiration, the main thing i took away from it was the use of sour cream. but i never have sour cream lying around, so i used yogurt. if you've never made ice cream with a custard base (i.e., using egg yolks to thicken it), it might be somewhat intimidating. but it's really not hard. first, separate 4 eggs so they're ready to go (here's a video) - put the yolks into a bowl big enough to hold at least 3 cups. you can save the whites for something else (pavlova?!). then heat 1 cup each of milk and heavy cream with 3/4 cup sugar (in a saucepan over medium heat). stir it pretty diligently. once it's hot and the sugar has dissolved (you'll see steam, but you don't want it to boil), add it verrrry slowly to the yolks while whisking them heartily. this tempers the eggs so they don't scramble. basically i usually start with pouring it in a very thin stream for at least the first half of the milk/cream mixture, then going a little faster once the eggs are a bit heated. you can certainly find videos of this if it doesn't make sense. once everything's mixed, put it back in the pan and let it cook, stirring assiduously but not too speedily. as the custard (look! you just made a custard!) cooks, it will thicken up. most recipes say it's done when it coats the back of a spoon. here's what it looked like when i took it off the heat:

pour it through a strainer into a largish bowl. you don't absolutely have to use a strainer, but it's nice just in case there are a couple of bits of egg that have congealed. then just add a cup of greek yogurt and a teaspoon or so of vanilla, mix it up, and put it in the fridge for at least 3 or 4 hours and preferably overnight. it needs to be nice and cold before you freeze it.

you can also go ahead and make the cherries now. they need to chill, too, so you might as well get it over with. i used this recipe by david lebovitz. it was easy and worked a treat, although they didn't get as candied-y as i was expecting them to. but they are simple if you use frozen cherries and only a little less so if you use fresh and have to pit them. i am no great fan of pitting cherries (which is why i usually just eat fresh ones or use them in something like clafoutis, where they don't have to be pitted), but this was worth it. though i think frozen would be just as good. so yeah, make those and put them in the fridge.

now it's the next day and you can finally make ice cream! first, chop up ~ 3/4 cup (~ 7 ounces) of the cherries and drain them over a bowl or something (the juice is good, but you don't want it in the ice cream) for at least an hour. it would be good to do it in the fridge if you can, so they are cold. ice cream is sometimes temperamental and it's best if all of the components are cold. 

then just freeze the base in whatever ice cream maker you have according to the directions. in my kitchenaid bowl thingy it took about 15 or 20 minutes. while it's going, chop up about a cup or so (~ 5 ounces) of yogurt-covered pretzels. you don't have to be super-obsessive in chopping them - just get them roughly in bite-sized pieces. 

 when the ice cream's cold, use a sturdy utensil to mix in the pretzels and cherries, then pack it all in some airtight containers and freeze for a couple of hours. you can also eat it right away - it'll be almost soft-serve-y. you might want to make it to bring to a party or something, though, because otherwise you will want to eat. it. all. 


summer!

*ingredients*
ice cream base
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
3/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 cup full fat greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

cherries (by david lebovitz)
1 pound cherries
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

~ 5 ounces yogurt-covered pretzels (maybe you could use regular pretzels, but yogurt ones are where it's at)

listening to: this insane and hilarious mix of songs sent in as demos in the 90s. also a preview of grizzly bear's upcoming album. and santigold. always santigold.