simple syrups

You know what's delicious? Colorado Bulldogs. I got seriously hooked on making them several weeks ago. I decided that having a drink with alcohol and half-n-half on weeknights was probably too decadent. Solution? Tasty handcrafted beverages/cocktails/mocktails. Basically if you can commit to buying fruit, soda water, and fresh herbs you can make some pretty refreshing stuff. Now that the farmer's market is stocked with giant bunches of herbs for $1, I've been taking advantage of that to turn them into simple syrups.

Here's the inspirational drinks and/or syrup recipes:

• Simple Syrup: A one-to-one combination of water and sugar heated up on the stove until the sugar has dissolved. This is handy for sweetening iced tea and coffee. Or for mojitos!
• The Israeli Summer, or modern middle-eastern lemonade: Minty syrup, fresh lemon juice, and soda water. Proud to say this got me to commit to buying my first bag of lemons! This is totally key right after a hot sweaty run in the summer. Or really, anytime, what am I talking about?!
• A Tribute to Woody, or homemade ginger ale! You can't go wrong. No, I haven't tried it with ice cream... yet. This will happen.
• Lavender Syrup, because it used my rose water and the rest of my dried lavender and it made my apartment smell like perfume!
• I also plan to scheme up orange, rhubarb, basil, and sage syrups. Now I just need more glass bottles!

Also, if you're into baking your own cakes, these syrups can help you make really fancy flavors of frosting. The More You Know!

pea pesto

Believe it or not, I have another green veggie + starch recipe for you! This one recently came up and I knew it'd be a nice quick dinner. Peas and parmesan cheese -- such a crowd pleaser!

As I continue blogging, I want to better equip myself for it. First with camera work, then more camera stuff, then promising myself that I'll someday build a light box for my dim little apartment, buying fabric to make cute placemats, and now... plates. I want a whole pile of mis-matched plates. Yes, that's right, just to make the blog more fun to look at (Readers, I'm telling you, I care that much!). Problem: the cool ones are either a) expensive, or b) come in sets of four. Well, that won't do. I have been surfing the Etsy for options, but I think my plan of attack is going to involve some trips to the flea market. Step One: Find flea markets! Cheap cheap!!


Pea Pesto
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Linguine with Pea Pesto)

1 1/2 cups (from approximately 1 1/2 pounds peas in pods) fresh pea or a 10-ounce package frozen peas, defrosted
3 medium garlic cloves
2 tablespoons toasted almonds
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon table salt, plus more for pasta water
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
12 ounces dried pasta
Garnish: thinly sliced mint leaves

1. Cook your peas, let cool a bit.
2. Cook your pasta, don't forget to salt the water after it comes to a boil. Reserve a cup of cooking water. Once al dente, return pasta to the pot.
3. Once the water is boiling, skewer the garlic onto a bamboo skewer and blanche them for 30 seconds, then run under cold water.
4. Set aside 1/2 cup of your cooked peas. Whirl the remaining cup of peas in the work bowl of a food processor (Magic Bullet! I'm telling you people!!) with garlic, almonds, chili flakes, 1/3 cup parmesan, olive oil, and salt until smooth.
5. Over moderate heat, toss pasta with pesto, reserved peas and as much reserved pasta water as needed to smooth and distribute pesto; let cook for one minute so that the pesto adheres.
6. Adjust salt to taste, add freshly ground black pepper if desired. Serve immediately, garnished with mint and more parm.

cold sesame soba noodles

You know what makes a ton of sense? Eating cold food in the summer. I am so very bad at this, and will probably continue to insist that we make pizza in the broiler and ignore that it'll cost us buckets of sweat in our apartment. I decided I need to arm myself with tasty cold dishes for later this summer. This recipe was first on deck. I think I put it first because I'd just bought some wonderful tahini (and sesame candy with pistachios, yum!) at the mediterranean market down the street. How in the world I'd never been there in four years blows my mind! It was like walking into a little corner grocery in Turkey or Jordan.

So yeah, this recipe is pretty danged quick and won't cost you too many dirty dishes. It only seemed hard at the time because I was trying to bake complicated bread, feed the dog, feed the cat, use a tiny bit of counter space (because my complicated bread did indeed generate a lot of dirty dishes! But it was worth it!!), drink a beer, and make dinner at the same time. I recommend uni-tasking, whew! I also recommend chopsticks -- noodles are more fun to eat that way.

Cold Sesame Soba Noodles 
tweaked from appetite for china's recipe

12 ounces soba noodles (spaghetti-sized buckwheat pasta)
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons grated ginger
4.5 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
1.5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 teaspoons chili sauce
1 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced (as close to julienned as possible)
1 large bell pepper (red, orange, or yellow), thinly sliced
pinch of salt
roasted sesame seeds (for garnish)

1. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook noodles until just done and still firm, or the minimum amount of time according to package instructions. Drain immediately, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Toss with 1 tablespoon peanut oil and set aside.

2. Prepare carrot and bell pepper.

3. Heat the other tablespoon of peanut oil in a small pan. Stir-fry the minced garlic and grated ginger until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame paste, peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, water, Chinese rice vinegar, chili sauce, sugar, and salt until smooth. Stir in the garlic and ginger.

5. Pour the sauce over the noodles, add carrot and bell pepper, and toss. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with sesame seeds if desired.