Summertime Sweetness

 Summer is here and that means wonderful things for food. It means fresh vegetables, the best fruits, better local produce and ... lemonade. Lemonade doesn't have to be the powder from your grocery store - don't get me wrong, I grew up on the stuff and love it. But it's so simple to make fresh lemonade! It is, at its core, a simple sugar syrup with lemon juice. To create a more interesting version of a classic drink, why not mix it with another, lighter juice...say, watermelon juice? I first had watermelon juice in India and was stunned by the subtle sweetness of the thick, smooth juice. Lemonade mixed with other fruit juices is apparently an "in" thing (see: McDonald's Frozen Strawberry Lemonade, Dunkin Donuts anything, etc), but I think combining it with watermelon juice is great because the subtle flavor and high water content cuts the sweetness and tart flavor of lemonade.

What You'll Need:
- 1 Watermelon, cubed so you have about 4 cups of watermelon
- About 2-3 Lemons (amount depends on how tart you like your lemonade; remember 1 lemon = 1/4 cup of juice)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water

What to Do:
1. Cube the melon, so you have about 4 cups. Blend it, strain it (bye, bye, seeds!), and put it aside for now.
2. In a sauce pan, boil the water and sugar together, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the water is something of a thin sugary syrup.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and squeeze in the lemon juice - about 1/2 cup in total, a little more if you like your juice on the tart side...mix it and you have just made homemade lemonade.
4. Pour that fresh lemonade into that fresh watermelon juice and mix it up. Voila!

There you have. I would give a yield (as in, makes "x" number of glasses) but I don't remember because my friends and I drank it so quickly! It is so refreshing - not as tart or sweet as lemonade but not as watery or subtle as watermelon juice. It's going to be an instant classic for my summertime recipes! 

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

So I just got back from Beantown, aka Boston. Now, normally I really don’t like Boston for some reason, but going to a Celtics game, seeing the State House, and having delicious diner food can alter your perspective. Also, something about attractive men on the T after the game late at night might have a little something to do with it.

Last post I made mention of two things that are simple, fresh, and tasty, though very far apart on the food spectrum. First were those thin delicious Swedish pancakes…yum! And second was the spicy chickpea sauce that I mentioned I used as a salsa substitute with my quesadillas. Let’s start with the second recipe…

Spicy Chickpea-Tomato Sauce

This is a great recipe that yields a lot of sauce – and it’s great because it is a thick, creamy, protein-packed sauce that can be used in a lot of ways: a dip for pita, on pasta or rice, over steamed veggies. It’s a wonderful way to get cheap protein – a 16 ounce can of chickpeas is faster and much less expensive than meat. I love cooking with chickpeas in place of meat sometimes. The American diet could do with a legume-boost. I use canned beans and tomatoes because they are reduced the amount of time and prep involved; also, tomatoes are expensive in winter!

You’ll need:

• A small sauce pan and some oil for sautéing
• 1 small onion – chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic – chopped
• 14 ounce can of diced or chopped tomatoes
• Herbs of your choice (Fresh or dried - use what you have on hand!)
• 1-4 tbsp of red pepper flakes*
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 16 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup of water.

*DO NOT under-estimate the heat that red pepper flakes can pack. I think I used 2 to 2.5 tbsp and the sauce was plenty spicy. In fact, I would recommend using the minimum amount unless you like the heat.

To create the sauce:

1. Over medium-high heat, sauté the chopped onion and garlic until the onions are translucent and the garlic cooked through, but not burnt.
2. Add whatever herbs – fresh or dried – to the sauce pan. Cook for 2-4 minutes more.
3. Add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to the mixture, until the tomatoes are warmed and softened.
4. Add about 2/3 of the can of chickpeas to the mixture, along with the 1 cup of water; heat through.
5. Turn off the stove top and remove the tomato-chickpea mixture.
6. Blend the mixture in a food processor or blender until smooth, like a puree. Add the remaining chickpeas to this sauce, and serve over pasta or rice.

Thin Swedish Pancakes

Now that you’ve gotten your protein and a little bit of spice at dinner, you’ll want something sweet to wake you up. Just recently I have fallen in love with breakfast, and this is a sugary but beloved way to do it.

Sweet way to start the day

You’ll Need:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk

Such simple ingredients! These are staples of any kitchen.

1. Blend the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt)
2. Add the milk and egg
3. Mix until the batter is smooth

Batter is done!

1. Heat a griddle or iron frying (I buttered mine because I do not have non-stick pans, and the butter made it easy to flip the pancake)
2. Pour a small amount of the batter onto the center of the griddle (5-6 inches in diameter)
3. Cook on one side; flip and cook on the other.

So, that’s all there is to it. These pancakes don’t have baking powder or baking soda, so they don’t rise or get fluffy. This was my first time making these family-loved pancakes, and I found them hard to flip. Because they are small and thin (only 5 inches in diameter or so), a fork worked great to flip. Chances are you will burn the first couple and you may need to play around with how you flip them or keep them from sticking. Also, turn on your fan and open your windows…you wouldn’t want to set off the fire alarm and wake up your roommates like I did. 

Recommendation: Syrup is good but it isn’t the healthiest thing in the world…it’s really just sugar being poured atop a flat sugary cake. So, a healthful substitute is frozen fruit! I took half a cup of frozen fruit and heated it in the microwave. Because the ice on the fruit melts, you end up with a fruity syrup with chunks of the fruit itself…a GREAT topping for pancakes 

Eat well!

<3 katie kate

Fruit for Dinner?

Fruit for dinner? Ever consider it?

It never ceases to intrigue me that Americans don’t cook with fruit more. Fruit is reserved for breakfast (anyone want some strawberries with their cereal?) or after dinner (think fruit salad on a summer night). There are some notable exceptions: Hawaiian pizza glorifies the ham and pineapple combo. Or what about some good old-fashioned pork chops and apple sauce? Though there are times and places in American food for a fruit-meets-meat meal, it is much rarer here than in other places of the world. What would South and South East Asia cuisine be without fruit in its meals? 

Never fear! Fruit for dinner is an interesting and quick way to bring a new flavor to your kitchen. Busy people – especially budgeted college students – get into a routine: cereal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, chicken/pasta/salad for dinner. Fruit brings different tastes, textures, and nutrients to your cuisine.

Some Examples of How to Welcome Fruit into Your Meals

Peanut butter and jelly, with bananas and strawberries on toasted wheat bread

• Sweet and salty, with a chance to vary the texture of the typical sandwich

Cardamom-infused rice with nuts, grapes, diced apples and raisins

Simple staple food made even better

• Heat some oil in a pot, heat the cardamom and any herbs, then cook the rice in the same pot. As the rice is nearly done cooking, add in your fruits: sliced grapes, diced apple, and raisins and nuts are a good choices. Play around, use what you have. 

Chicken with Green Apples Baked in a Brown Sugar-Apple Juice Sauce

• I just made and ate this for dinner, and it was a success. I browsed through a bunch of recipes and, with some ideas and inspiration, got cracking on my own adaptation on the chicken-apple combo. I’ve included an abbreviated version of my recipe below (for one whole chicken breast).

What you need:

• Chicken breast
• Butter or oil
• Sliced Granny Smith apple (or other tart apple) – about 1/2 will suffice
• Teaspoon of brown sugar
• Quarter cup of apple juice
• Quarter cup of plain yogurt, sour cream, or heavy cream (whatever you have on hand!)

Quick Quesadilla

Uff. It wasn’t even 9:30 a.m. when I set off my fire alarm today. You know when you see something about to happen but can’t stop it? I was making my mother’s thin Swedish pancakes when I could tell that my stovetop fan was about to fail…Luckily two of my roommates were already awake, and God bless my 4th roommate who came out of the room with her jacket on. “It’s the whole building!” Nope, not a fire-drill … just a Thursday morning failure! I was pretty embarrassed honestly (hey! these are hard pancakes to make!) but one of my roommates made me feel better: “Hey, at least now it feels really nice in here with all the windows open.” Nothing like pancakes burnt pancakes to offer some fresh air to the apartment.

Sometimes you screw up, even multiple times (R.I.P. 3 burnt pancakes)…but sometimes, you don’t. Things go how you expect and look pretty and taste good and fill you up. Simple quesadillas are an example of how simple, tasty ideas can go right. Now, in college there are levels of eating: cooking for yourself, using your microwave for meals (mac n cheese, Lean Cuisine, popcorn), using the caf, and ordering in. Now, don’t get me wrong: I don’t want to say you ever NEED crab rangoons…but it comes close to that. So ordering in or getting over-priced food from the caf is necessary. But it gets expensive, especially since most college students don’t have cars and/or are too lazy to drive to pick up food. Also, the $6 you pay for the quesadilla at your campus center is waaaaay too much considering you can spend that money and get the tortiallas and cheese for at least 3/4 homemade plain cheese quesadillas. Cooking at home is often much more cost-effective (not to mention, personally satisfying).

Making a quesadilla is pretty simple, quick, and filling. You can add whatever your heart desires…peppers, onions, anchovies.

Quick and tasty meal, easy enough for a college kid

I kid you not: this is a filling meal that requires minimal skills. Do you have a skillet, frying pan, or wok of some kind? Tortilla? Cheese? A little smidge of butter or oil? Good to go. Wanna get fancy? Grab a knife and veggies.

To make one filling quesadilla, you’ll need:

• A frying pan/skillet/wok
• A little bit of butter or oil (just enough so that the tortilla doesn’t get stuck)
• Grated or shredded cheese: you could get a block of something like cheddar or monterey jack and shred it yourself, or, as my lazy self prefers, just get a bag of shredded cheese. I use the Mexican blend variety…it’s got cheddar, monterey jack, and a few others)
• Large (8-10 in. usually) tortillas (a single one is actually quite filling, especially if loaded with veggies/meat/beans!)
• Optional: onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, shredded beef or chicken…etc. etc. Possibilities are endless, really.

To assemble the quesadilla:

Prep: If you are adding ingredients beyond the shredded cheese (veggies, meats), get that ready first. It pays to be prepared. If you like, sauté veggies beforehand for the filling. It’s not necessary, I love cooked onions and peppers in a quesadilla. However, this is really personal preference; if you like raw, keep it raw.

1. In a large frying pan or skillet, heat a little oil over medium-high heat. Use enough so that the pan gets coated well, but not so much that the tortilla will get overly oily and greasy.
2. Place 1 tortilla in the hot pan. Using a fork or tongs and good judgment, flip the tortilla every 10-20 seconds. You want the tortilla to get a little golden-brownish and toasty; you’ll notice air bubbles forming in the tortilla. Don’t worry —you’re doin’ it right!
3. Once you notice the air pockets, begin adding the cheese to be melted. Again, it’s up to you how much cheese you wish to use; I use somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 of a cup. (If you are adding more fillings, keep in mind that you have to close the tortilla, so you don’t want it to be too stuffed). Make sure the cheese is evenly distributed.
4. As the cheese starts to melt, add any other fillings you have.
5. Use a fork or whatever utensil seems workable, fold the tortilla in half. I like to give it a good push with the back of the fork so that it really sticks together.
6. Turn off the stove, slide your quesadilla onto a plate, and cut it into a few nice slices. Eat and enjoy with some salsa or sour cream. 

Not so hard but packed with lots of flavor and nutrients. Hooray! I made my own spicy chickpea sauce for dipping, but I’ll save that for another day!

Four slices, a full meal

<3 katie kate