Drinking while drinking? Making Beer

Drinking while drinking? Making Beer.

Drinking while drinking? Making Beer

So it has been awhile.  I have been busy, more than busy.  I have a bunch of awesome food to post soon but need the time to edit the photos and write the posts.  In the meantime, it was my birthday.  My mother-in-law got me a home brew kit; no complaints here.  Here are the photos from the process; cooking to drink, while drinking, while cooking drinks?

Enjoy!

Check out brooklynbrewshop.com

Vegetarian Egg Rolls and Soba Noodles with Cilantro and Cucumber

So it has been a while, anyway over the weekend I made some Vegetarian Egg Rolls, with Soba Noodles.  It hit the spot even  though I always eat between 2-3 more egg rolls than I should.  Check it out, and enjoy!

Ingredients/Directions:

Egg Rolls -

Fill with some White Rice (Jasmine used here), some Shredded Carrots, Sautéed Onions, and Shredded Cabbage

Roll them up, it’s not that hard

Repeat until you have made enough, or ran out of one of the ingredients

Heat some Vegetable or Canola oil, and pan fry until golden brown

Soba Noodles -

Cook the Soba Noodle per the instructions

While cooking, chop some Cilantro, Green Onions

Toss the Onions and Cilantro with Oil and cook over medium heat for a minute or 2, add some Sliced Water Chestnuts, and some Seasoned Tofu

Remove from heat

Combine 1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper, 1 inch cube of Fresh Ginger, 1 Clove of Garlic, 5 Tbsp of Soy Sauce, 1 Tbsp of Sesame Oil, and 1 -3 Tbsp of Olive Oil to a chopper and combine – This is the sauce for the noodles

Combine the Veggies and the Noodles in a bowl, and toss with the Sauce.

Make a 2nd drink, serve and enjoy.

Pesto Pasta & Salad

It has been awhile since the last post but I have been super busy.  Made some delicious Pasta with Pesto, Cherry Tomatoes and Black Olives.  Both easy and  tasty.  The best part is the homemade pesto.  Olive (the dog) helped with the giant bowl of Salad. Check it out, cheers!

Ingredients/Directions

Take a bunch of Fresh Basil, Juice of One Lemon, 3-4 Cloves of Garlic, a Handful of Roasted Almonds, and a heathy amount of Olive Oil (enough to give the consistency you want) and combine and in a food processor

Make whatever kind of Pasta you want

While the pasta is cooking chop 20 or so Cherry Tomatoes

Combine Cherry Tomatoes and a Can of Chopped Black Olives in a bowl

When the Pasta is done, drain and add to bowl with Tomatoes and Olives

Add in the Pesto

Bam – Delicious

Sweet Potato Vegetable Chili with Cornbread

Another rainy day in the Bay…so veggie chili was on the way- my favorite cold weather meal.  It is pretty simple to make and you can’t really do it wrong, mainly take a bunch of veggies, add some beans, mix it together with some spices, out comes chili.  The big surprise here is I like to add some Sweet Potatoes to make the chili a bit more filling.  Also, tried a new brand of Malbec with this one, Tripiche.   Not bad at all.

Ingredients/Directions

Take 2 Peeled and Chopped Carrots, 2 Peppers (Yellow and Orange Bell here) Chopped, and 1 Red Onion and add to a large pan

Cook covered over medium heat until soft (5 minutes or so)

Add in 2 Squash Chopped, 3 Garlic Cloves Chopped, A couple of Mushrooms, and 2-3 Sweet Potatoes cut into small pieces

Cook for another 5 minutes

Add in spices:

3 Tbsp Cumin

1 Tbsp Garlic Powder

Pepper/Salt

2 Tbsp Chili Powder (More if you would like)

1 Can Tomato Paste

Add 2 Cups Water

Simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes or so

There you have it…Cheers, now eat and drink!

Pizza Night

In the Summer I usually will bust out some BBQ cooked pizza, being that it is still Spring and consistently raining, I kept it in the kitchen.  Tonight I made two cheese-less (Soy Cheese)Pizzas, Homemade Pesto and Tomato and a Artichoke, Kalmata Olive, and Red Onion pizza.  Both are super easy to make and are actually pretty decent for you.

Ingredient/Directions

Pesto:

1 Bunch of Fresh Basil

Small handful of Raw or Roasted Almonds

Juice of 1 Lemon

2-3 Cloves of Garlic

Salt/Pepper

Combine in a food processor, and add 1/4 Olive Oil

Blend until creamy (or however you like your pesto)

Spread on Pizza Crust (Whole Wheat used here)

Add tomatoes and Soy Cheese

Bake for 10-15 minutes at 400°F.

Artichoke, Olive, and Onion

Use 1 Jar of Pitted Kalmata Olives and 1 Jar of Marinated Artichoke Hearts

Combine on cutting board and chop

Chop 1 small Red Onion

Spread on Pizza Crust (Whole Wheat used here)

Add Garlic Powder, and Soy Cheese

Bake for 10-15 minutes at 400°F.

Sunday Morning Flap Jakes and Coffee

Woke up to a cloudy Bay Area Sunday.  On the bright side, every Sunday, I make the same amazing breakfast, which never fails to satisfy my gullet. These are flap jacks, made with rolled oats, flax seed and a Granny Smith Apple.  Also, being that it is a little early for adult beverages, I am sticking with some fresh brewed coffee.  As you can seeI had some help from the red dog Pixie.

Ingredients/Directions

1 Cup Rolled Oats added to blender

Add 1 Tbsp Cinnamon and 1 Tsp Baking Powder

Blend until fine

Add to a bowl

Add a 1/4 Cup Flax Seed Meal

Peel a Granny Smith then use a grater to add to the bowl

Add 1 Cup Rice Milk

Stir (add a little water if to thick)

Cook like normal pancakes

 

Chana Masala and Limeade Ginger Fiz

Last night decided to make Chana Masala, with steamed broccoli, and basmati rice. After trying 10-15 different recipes, I took the best parts from all and now make it with what I would call my own. While I was cooking the better half wanted one of her favorite beverages, a Ginger Limeade Fiz; I was sticking with my usual Vodka Soda. Anyway, it was a delicious meal, and the recipe is below. Cheers!

3-5 Tbsp Garam Masala

1-2 Tbsp Cumin 1 Tbsp Cinnamon

2 Tbsp Curry Powder 1 Tsp Garlic Powder

1 Can Tomato Paste (only use about 80% of it)

1 Red Onion Chopped

1 (1/2 inch square, chopped) Piece of Ginger

3 Cans Garbanzo Beans

Combine all the spices and tomato paste in a bowl

Add a small bit of oil to a large pan, and add the ginger and onion

Heat over medium heat, until onion is soft

Add the bowl of spices and tomato paste

Add the 3 cans of drained garbanzo beans

Stir for a minute or two

Add two cups of water, stir well over high heat

Once everything begins to bubble, reduce heat to simmer

Simmer for at least 15 minutes to allow the spices to absorb

It’s done when it is at the consitency you want, the longer you simmer the thicker the Chana Masala will be

Here is the Ginger Limeade Fiz:

Large Glass with ice

1-2 oz VodkaSqueeze a lime into the ice and vodkaAdd a 50/50 mix of fresh squeezed limeade and Reed’s Natural Ginger AleEnjoy and refill…

Broccolini, Cherry Tomato, and Butter Bean Chinese Noodles with Spinach Salad

Here is something I tried from Veganyumyum.com earlier in the week.  It was supposed to be made with Udon Noodles, but I used Chinese noodles instead; still came out rather good.  It is very simple and really doesn’t have any other spices other than basil, oregano, and olive oil.  I also made a Spinach Salad, that had some amazing Feta Cheese from the Marin Cheese Company, very tasty.

To change it up a bit I added some fresh basil and added additional tomatoes.

 

 

1 to 1 1/2 Bundles Udon Noodles
Oil, about 2-3 Tbs
3-6 Stalks of Broccolini, depending on size
1/2 tsp Red Pepepr Flakes
Black Pepper
Salt
10 Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
1/2 Cup Butter Beans/Lima Beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 tsp Italian Herbs
Balsamic Vinegar, for drizzling

Sweet Chili Lime Tofu with Quinoa and Collard Greens

So here is the first food post. I made this earlier this week, before the idea for this blog was around. It was god damn amazing. I could have eaten a couple of pounds of the tofu. I got the recipe from veganyumyum.com; it was rather quick and easy to make, even while drinking.

Sweet Chili Lime Tofu with Wok Steamed Collards and Quinoa
Serves 2-3

1 Block Tofu, extra firm, 14 oz

Sweet Chili Lime Sauce
3 Tbs Sugar
3 Tbs Reduced Sodium Tamari (or soy sauce)
1 3/4 Tbs Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 Zest of the Lime
1/2 tsp Red Chili Flakes (or 1-2 fresh hot chilies, minced)
1 Clove Garlic, pressed, optional
1/4 tsp Salt
4 Mint Leaves, chiffonaded

Quinoa*
3/4 Cup Quinoa, rubbed/rinsed in cool water, drained
1/2 Zest Lime
2 Bruised Cardamom Pods, optional
1 Tiny Stick of Cinnamon (a broken piece of a larger stick), optional
1/4 tsp Salt
1 1/3 Cup Water

*Other options: For brown rice, adjust water to 1 1/2 cups, for medium/long grain rice, water measurement is the same. Noodles can be boiled, drained, and given alight splash of soy sauce and lime juice for some background flavor. The tofu is very flavorful, so whatever base you choose, it needs only subtle additions, if any at all.

Wok Steamed Collards
1 Bunch Collard Greens, middle veins removed, washed
2-3 Tbs Water
1 Pinch Salt
1 tsp Lime Juice