day one hundred seventy four

tasty lavender iced coffee, spent some time with mister B, and started round two of LOST watching (obsessed)

Here's how I make cold brew French press, because it's great and you should make it, too.

In a French press, add 2/3 cup fresh ground coffee and 3 cups cold water. Let sit for an hour or so, stir. Sit for 18-24 hours. I usually start this in the afternoon on the counter, stir it once more and put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, press and pour over ice. 

I like mine with milk and honey or simple syrup (recipe below)

Wonderful for spring/summer mornings, especially if you drink it outside :)

Simple Syrup:

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 cup water

- something to flavor it; herbs, spices, extracts, fruit... (lavender buds are my favorite)

Stir everything together in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat right away and let sit until cooled. Easy easy.

day one hundred sixty one

greek yogurt, fresh thyme from the garden, honey, berries, almonds. this is my new favorite breakfast.

day eighty seven // ginger miso ramen

If I had to pick one type of food to eat for the rest of my life it would probably be Asian food. I have especially been a fan since becoming a vegetarian four years ago, as it is simple to make Asian meals meatless if they aren't already. Chicken Ramen noodles used to be a common lunch for me (both before and after vegetarian-ism, because that flavor packet has no chicken in it whatsoever. This kind of grosses me out now. mmm, chicken flavor. No thanks.) The taste doesn't appeal to me now. Despite this, today for lunch I was wanting some Ramen. So I pulled out a package of noodles and threw out the packet, used miso instead and added some other yummy things to make this healthier - and better tasting in my opinion - Ramen noodle bowl. It may take a little more work this way, but it is still so simple and delicious.  I took some photos just in case it was tasty enough to share, and alas! :)

GINGER MISO RAMEN
makes two servings

- one package dry ramen noodles, pitch the seasoning packet
(you may be able to find plain ramen noodles somewhere, I'm not sure. I used the ones from the packet because we had some in the pantry. you could probably use soba noodles here as well if you wanted.)

- 1 1/2 tablespoons red miso

- 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger

- 4 large leaves napa cabbage, thinly sliced

- 3 oz firm tofu, diced into about 1/2 inch pieces

- pinch Chinese five spice powder (I use this one)

- about 1 teaspoon soy sauce or liquid aminos

- chopped green onion to garnish (optional)

Start by preparing your tofu; Press with a kitchen towel to dry it out a bit, then sprinkle with salt and a little Chinese five spice. Place a small pan over medium high heat with about a teaspoon or so of peanut oil (or olive, coconut, etc). Add tofu and stir-fry until the edges start to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add 3 cups of water to a medium saucepan over high heat. Stir in miso, ginger, and cabbage and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and boil until they are done (around five minutes or less). Turn off the heat and stir in a splash of soy sauce or liquid aminos and the tofu.

Divide between two bowls and top with green onions.

Get out your chopsticks! :)

TIRAMISU

This is my version of one of my favorite favorite desserts, Tiramisu.
Italian for "pick me up" or "make me happy" :)

I like to use homemade ladyfingers, but you could use store bought if you prefer to. Pure cane sugar and honey are also used instead of white sugar.

hint: you can buy natural cane sugar super cheap if you look in the spanish section of the grocery store!

TIRAMISU

adapted from this recipe from Cooking Light

36 ladyfingers (I use this recipe from Pastry Affair)

1/2 cup kahlua 

or 

1/4 cup strong coffee, 1/4 cup vodka, and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder whisked together

1/4 cup cream cheese

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup pure cane sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, or half of a scraped vanilla bean

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon honey

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

-

Before you start, place the bowl of your stand mixer, along with the whisk attachment, in the freezer for a bit. Having a cold bowl and whisk will help your cream whip up faster.

Blend the cheeses, sugar, and vanilla in a food processor until smooth. This will take a couple minutes.

Take your bowl and whisk out of the freezer and whip the cream and honey until stiff peaks form.

Arrange half of the ladyfingers in the bottom of a 11x7 inch casserole dish, and drizzle half of the kahlua on top. Sit for a minute or so and top with half of the cheese mixture, then half of the whipped cream. Repeat the layering process with the remaining ingredients and sift the cocoa powder on top. For a little extra fun you can use a vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls to sprinkle on. :)

Let this sit in the fridge for at least a couple of hours; it is best after refrigerating overnight.

yum. yum. yum.

OATMEAL CREME PIES

I've never really liked oatmeal creme pies.

that is, the little debbie sort. but a couple weeks ago we bought a homemade one from our farmer's market, and man it was good. 

"this would be easy enough to make" I say

mom exitedly agrees and after reading the ingredients and seeing shortening on the list, 

"you could even make it better"

so I took on the challenge.

at first attempt I ended up with a mess

"cookie leather", I'd like to call it.

because I "followed" a recipe but didn't really follow it because I don't like following recipes (I should work on this, I know, mom)

after messing with it some more I came up with this one. it's perfect and delicious.

  

OATMEAL CREME PIES

adapted from blooming on bainbridge

makes 30 2-inch sandwiches

cookies:

2 sticks salted butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups quick oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

creme filling:

1 stick softened, salted butter

2 tablespoons whipping cream

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

In an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs (one at a time) and vanilla. 

Using a food processor, coarsely grind oats. (Should only take a few pulses) Add, with flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, + cinnamon, to bowl with the butter/sugar and mix together. 

Spoon onto parchment lined baking sheet (I use a tablespoon size scoop) and flatten. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Let cool on a rack while you make the creme.

Beat butter in an electric mixer until smooth. Add whipping cream and mix to combine. Add sugar and vanilla, mix on low until combined, turn up to medium speed and whip for about 2 minutes.

To assemble, spoon about one tablespoon of creme onto half of the cookies and top with a second cookie.

 

ARUGULA SALAD + THOUGHTS ON NEW YORK CITY

I love New York.
there's just something about it, you know?
the sights and the sounds and the smell (okay, maybe not the smell. home did smell very odd when I got back, however.) and that "Am I in a movie?" feeling you get every time you walk outside. It can't be beat.

every time I go, I feel like I leave little pieces of my heart there.
(I left my voice there, too, but that's a whole 'nother story)

this summer I got the chance to go with a great group of friends. It was amazing (of course)
we were only there for 48 hours, but every bit of it was perfect.
we all left ready to go back and live there.
maybe someday :)

after a whole day of walking the city, and before seeing wicked on broadway, we had dinner in times square.
what a dream.
we ate at Carmine's. let me tell you, YUM.
first we were served a salad. I loved it so much that I got out my phone and made myself a note of what was on it so I could recreate it.
(it is Wicked good. ha.)
the pasta was also delicious..and because a waiter spilled sauce on my friend Mychael, they gave us free tiramisu.
oh, the tiramisu. best ever.

but anyway...the salad. It's an arugula salad with lots of veggies and feta. My favorite part is the roasted carrots. I never would've thought to put roasted carrots on a salad..but I'm glad someone did. When I got home I made this for my parents and they loved it just as much as I did. Hope you love it as well!

on to the recipe!

 

ARUGULA SALAD
serves about 4 as an entree

feel free to mess with the amounts. I stay pretty light on the onion and mushrooms, just because I'm not a huge fan of either. the toppings:greens is about 50:50.

half a pound arugula 

5 largeish carrots

8 baby bella mushrooms, whole

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

1 roasted red pepper

1/4 large red onion, very thinly sliced

1 large tomato, diced, sliced, however you like

about 1/4 cup kalamata olives

crumbled feta

dressing:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsalmic vinegar

juice and zest of 1 small lemon

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon agave or honey

salt + pepper to taste

if you're roasting your own red pepper, you'll want to do that first. 

preheat oven to 500 or it's hottest setting. cut red pepper in half and pull out the seeds and stem. place skin side up on a foil lined baking sheet. put it in the oven and turn on your broiler. broil until the skin starts turning black and getting blisters. let cool for a minute or two and put it in a closed zipoc to steam for about 10 minutes. after this 10 minutes peel and dice your pepper.

turn your oven down to 425. peel carrots and cut into same sized pieces. (I cut mine in half and the thicker side in half again.) wash mushrooms and cut into fourths. place everything on a baking sheet, toss with olive oil and thyme, and bake for about 30 minutes or until soft.

while that is roasting, whisk together your dressing ingredients, and chop your remaining toppings. 

layer everything in a large bowl and pour dressing over just before eating.