Friday, May 30, 2014

Spring (Grilled) Chicken

Sometimes, fate works in mysterious ways.

And sometimes, fate does its work in unusual places, like, say, at Binny's Beverage Depot.

Maybe I should explain.  Give a little background.  You see, the hubs and I have had a lot of fun visiting local distilleries, but obviously, we can't buy everything at every distillery.  Sometimes there are gems that we leave there for another visit.  And sometimes, the flavors of some of those spirits left behind stick in my head.  Haunt me, if you will, in a good way.  This is the story of one of those.

One of the distilleries that we have recently visited is Journeyman Distillery in Three Oaks, Michigan.  They make some fantastic whiskeys, gins, rums, and other spirits.  We walked out with a bottle of their Ravenswood Rye Whiskey, which my husband really enjoyed.  But the drink that stuck in my head was their Humdinger Jalapeno Spirit.  It had really surprised me!  I'm usually pretty sensitive to spicy, and tend to prefer things on the mild side, which jalapeno is usually not.  The Humdinger had all the clean, fresh flavor of a jalapeno, but somehow avoided the burn that I usually dread.  It sounds cheesy, but after that day, I continued to play back the flavor in my head, imagining the possibilities.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

CSA Share - Spring Week 2 and Bok Choy Salad

Week two of our spring CSA, and things are looking pretty green around here! 


See what I mean?  This week's share brought us potted thyme (We could have chosen oregano, but I got that last week, so I decided to switch it up!), bunches of bok choy, spinach, pea shoots, beet greens, Harukei turnips, and another ginormous bag of lettuce.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Cheers! Root Beer for Grownups only!

There are several things, culinary-wise, that blow my mind.

This weekend, at Old Sugar Distillery, I had a drink that falls smack into that category.  Root beer.  But not the soda pop kind...a fully adult, packs-a-punch cocktail.  I couldn't wait to try making my own version at home!  I still can't wrap my head around the idea that the ingredients that you put into it end up creating the taste sensation that it does.  But somehow, they do. 


3 ingredients, plus ice.  Go for quality here.  If you, in any way, can get your hands on Old Sugar's Americanaki Ouzo, do it.  It is the smoothest, most delicious ouzo that I have ever had, and I'm pretty sure it contributes to how fantastic this root beer turns out.  The hubs is not a fan of ouzo, and even he enjoyed sipping on the Americanaki.  

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Discovery World, Milwaukee

In case you don't know, I'm a Chicagoland gal.  And, for as much as I love the farms and my soul is bonded to the land, I also completely adore the offerings of a city as great as Chicago.  I'm also a bit of an experience junkie, and I love exploring museums with my kids.  Chicago has a ton of great museums, including the Museum of Science and Industry, which we visit so often that we have a family membership.

One of the great parts of our membership is that it gives us reciprocal privileges at many other science museums around the country.  So, when we found ourselves looking for something to do in Milwaukee, we decided to check out one of those museums: Discovery World.

Discovery World is located right on the shore of Lake Michigan in downtown Milwaukee.  It's 120,000 square feet of amazing discoveries.  From the moment you step inside, you are immersed in innovation.  Science and art combined to create an intriguing environment that you can't help but explore.  Interactive exhibits are practically falling over each other to draw you in, to teach you their lessons, to let you experience their offerings.


Monday, May 26, 2014

Soup or Salad? Why Not Both?

If you read my CSA post for this week, you know that I said I had a TON of lettuce in our share.  I may have been exaggerating.  It was not an actual ton of lettuce.  That would have been crazy.  But it was a huge amount of lettuce.  Just over a pound of lettuce leaves.  Which may not sound like a lot, but after serving salad to my family of 5 twice and still having more than half the bag left, I realized that a pound is quite a bit of lettuce.

So, what to do with an excess of lettuce?  It doesn't keep forever, and it doesn't freeze well.  But, surprisingly, it does make a delicious soup.


Friday, May 23, 2014

CSA Share - Spring Week 1 and Quick Stir Fry

I can't properly put into words how excited I get when it's time for our CSA to start again.  We're lucky to be able to get CSA shares from spring until fall, but there's still a long 5 months that we go without it.  Well, not exactly without it, because I have a lot in my freezer to stretch it out.

But by the time spring comes around, resources are running low, and my family is usually pretty desperate for vegetables that taste like true vegetables.  This week was the first week of our spring CSA with Green Earth Institute, and after the long, cold winter we had, I couldn't have been more ready for it!

Here's what we got: a HUGE bag of lettuce, Harukei turnips, pea shoots, beet greens, potted oregano (we could choose either oregano or thyme, and as much as I love thyme, I already had a bunch of it planted), and a ton of bok choy.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Gingery Gingered Ginger Cashews

Do you like ginger?  I mean, really REALLY like ginger?  Here's yet another variation on easy candied nuts: Ginger Cashews.

I knew I wanted to make some candied cashews with candied ginger, and I was trying to figure out what liquid I wanted to use to make the syrup.  Then, something clicked.  Ginger beer!  How many ways could I slip ginger in?  I could use fresh ginger in the syrup too!  And why not just go for the gusto and add powdered ginger as well?  


Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Rhubarb Cake with Cornmeal

I don't consider myself much a a baker, but that doesn't mean that I can't bake.  I just prefer simple recipes, and most of the things I like to bake are very straightforward and rustic.  In my mind, bakers are the ones who make complicated confections that are meticulously decorated...not that that's true, but in my headspace, that's what I think of when I think "baker".

This rhubarb cake is a perfect representation of my kind of baking.  It uses rhubarb right from my backyard.  It takes only a short time (with a little prep) to throw together.  It might not be the prettiest cake on the block to look at, but you will melt into a satisfied puddle of goo after tasting it.  It's a very moist cake, but the cornmeal gives makes it more interesting for your mouth, and the pops of tempered rhubarb tartness...wow.


Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Great Lakes Distillery, Milwaukee

So, the hubs and I have been on a bit of a distillery bender lately.  I just find it so cool that there are so many people so passionate about making their own spirits!  And it's amazing to see the heart and soul that each distillery shows in their product, their atmosphere, even their employees.  Every distillery we've visited, I've walked away thinking, "Wouldn't it be amazing if everyone loved their job THAT much?".

In the midst of a quick 24 hours in Milwaukee, we took a quick lunch break from the museum we were exploring with the kids to head over to Great Lakes Distillery for a tour.  Kids are allowed to join you on the tour, free of charge.  Ours grabbed a quick kiddie cocktail (with house-made grenadine!) from the tasting room bar before we headed on the tour.  Adults are encouraged to grab a drink on the way too, but since we had just had our *actual* lunch and I knew the kids would leave me juggling their half-finished sodas, my hubby and I held out for the tasting part of the tour.

Great Lakes is serious about their craft.  It's small batch, with a lot of attention to detail put into each run that they do.  Their tour takes you into the lower level of the building, where you can see that all their production is basically done in one big room.  They've got their still, storage for ingredients, space for bottling and packaging, a storage cage for kegs to age, and a tasting bar area.

It was really interesting to hear our tour guide talk about their process, especially because we could compare and contrast it what we learned when we visited Koval Distillery.  Some things were similar, and some were quite different.  While Koval focuses on whiskeys, Great Lakes, while they do make whiskey, has a number of other spirits that they make, including vodkas and (the one I was most excited about) absinthe.

Honestly, I was so caught up in what the tour guide was telling us that between that and kid-management, I forgot to take photos during that part of the tour.  But if you visit their website, you can actually get a virtual look around the distillery!

I learned a lot of interesting tidbits on the tour, but for some reason, the ones about tax laws stood out in my head.  We were told that around a third of the price you pay for spirits is tax...can you believe that?  It's almost enough to drive me moonshinin'!  And the cage where they store the kegs plays a role in that, because the distillery doesn't get taxed on them until the moment they exit the cage, even if they are staying in that room.  That just fascinated me.  Maybe it's because I'm always extra money-aware on vacations, who knows.  The kids were very into learning about prohibition and the history part of the business.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Garden Mint Honey Caramels

There may be a crack in the universe.  I feel like a kid who was told by a friend that Santa's not real.  One of my culinary beliefs has been shattered.

It's not hard to make caramels.

Mind you, I have probably spent hundreds of dollars over my lifetime on delicious, expensive, artisan caramels.  Not all the time, mind you, I'm not crazy.  But as a once-in-a while indulgence?  Absolutely.  I love the texture of a perfect caramel, how it melts away, but slowly, so that you can linger in it's decadence.  I'm drawn in by unusual flavors like bourbon-walnut and Earl Grey.

And now I can make my own.

It's like finding out that I have a super power.  I can't explain how intensely exciting this is to me.  I'm like a mad scientist who has harnessed the power of lightning.  I'm the Nikola Tesla of my own kitchen, driven swiftly towards madness by my own potential.

Is that overboard?

Okay.  Power trip over.  I can create amazing caramels, but I still am barely holding on to a shred of control over the mint in my garden.  Combine those two, and you get...

Mint Caramels.


Friday, May 16, 2014

Caramelized Fennel

Fennel is one of those veggies that people tend to ignore.  You might know what it is, but not a lot of people have actually tried it, that sort of thing.  And, if people do have an impression of fennel, it's that it tastes like licorice...which is a well known "love it or hate it" flavor.

Belonging to a CSA means that sometimes I am faced with veggies that are a little odd, or new to our table.  Years ago, when we started in with the CSA, I had only had fennel a time or two, mainly in salad-type things.  Then I started coming across recipes that didn't try to shirk off fennel's sweet side, but embraced it, and wrapped it in a cozy, slightly spiced comforter.  I started to see a trend with nutmeg and sugar popping up on my culinary radar.

This caramelized fennel was life-altering.  For me at least.  I'll confess, I'm a Dutch-bred licorice lover.  It's in the blood.  My middle child and I can take down a bag of black salt licorice in no time flat.  There have been times in my life (ahem, pregnancies) where I would have cut someone for some fresh Good N Plenties.   So I don't mind things tasting like licorice.  That said, this way of preparing fennel brings that licorice flavor down to a light hum of a taste, and I've found that many people who aren't licorice fans enjoy this side dish.


Thursday, May 15, 2014

Brownies That Can't Be Beet...Or Can They?

Chocolate!


Do I have your attention?

Good.  I mean, it's hard (practically impossible!) to smell food over the web, but if you could, you'd be rushing to my kitchen right now for these brownies.  And I'd probably let you nosh down about 3 of them before I told you what was in them.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Sticky Chicken

I confess, I'm pretty lucky when it comes to feeding times at my house.  My kids are pretty open to trying new things (with the obvious exception of Mr. Picky), and they generally enjoy my cooking.  But it's not often that a new recipe gets a reaction like it did tonight.  My girls were practically fighting each other for more chicken...it was the Hunger Games From Scratch style!


Am I glad they enjoyed a good healthy dinner?  Absolutely.  But I'm even more thrilled because it happens to be a super-easy dinner to make.  Just takes a little planning ahead, and a little under an hour in the oven, and boom: dinner.  I've had this recipe for Sticky Bourbon Chicken with Rice on my Pinterest for a couple of weeks, and I was really looking forward to trying it.  I changed it up a little, cutting back on the soy sauce and upping the ginger, but it's a keeper for sure!

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Art + Nature + Indianapolis = 100 Acres

When you think of cities full of great art, I'd be willing to bet that Indianapolis isn't one of the top ten to cross your mind.  Maybe not even top 20.  But if you want a place to enjoy art and nature with your family, Indy has a fantastic place to go!

The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres is right off of 38th Street, not far from the highway, and connected to the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  It's simply amazing!  A park filled with art that you can interact with, connect with, and fully enjoy.  In fact, it's one of the largest museum art parks in the country!  

My husband used to have an annual show to attend in Indianapolis for his work, so the kids and I would tag along for the hotel room, and then have fun adventures in the city while he was busy working the show.  Unfortunately, that hasn't happened in a couple of years, but fortunately, we managed to get back there for a long weekend this past spring break.  100 Acres was on our list of places we loved and knew we couldn't miss visiting again.  In fact, my youngest (who was 3 the last time we were there), heard that we were going to Indianapolis and ran to pack his basketball...because he remembered this park.

So, what does basketball have to do with art?

Monday, May 12, 2014

Kahlua Spiced Mocha Nuts

Remember when I made Malibu coconut almonds and I told you that there are endless ways you can mix the recipe up?  And also how easy and quick it is?


Well, here's backup for my argument.  Kahlua spiced mocha nuts.  I timed myself making them, and they were, start to finish, 17 minutes.  And I also switched laundry in the middle of that!

Friday, May 9, 2014

May's Preserve Trifecta Part Three: Honey Lavender Apricot Butter

Okay, so we've gone over the Meyer Lemon Rosemary Marmalade and the Rosemary Rhubarb Jelly from the amazing cookbook Preserving by the Pint, so that means that it's time for the last one I promised you: Honey-Sweetened Apricot Lavender Butter!


My family goes nuts for the short apricot season, and every spring, when I see those first apricots hit the markets, I know that they're going to be tough and tart, not sweet and squishy like they should be, but I almost always end up buying them anyway.  Those fuzzy little flirts.  This recipe is fantastic because even if your apricots are less than perfect, they cook down into a nice fruit butter.  The sweetness of the honey and the floral notes of the lavender round it out nicely, making it a perfect early summer spread to enjoy on your back porch.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Rhu The Day! Rhubarb Sorrel Crisp

Pssssssst...did you know that it's rhubarb season?

I may have mentioned that before.  Like when I made Meyer lemon rhubarb marmalade.  Or rosemary rhubarb jelly.  Or rhubarb compote with Pimms.

And, if you've been following along, you know that it's also time for sorrel.  Like in these sorrel cardamom muffins.

Rhubarb and sorrel don't scream for each other, in my mind.  But, fortunately, someone was bonkers enough to try them together.  In a crisp.  A delicious, tart and sweet crisp.  I found the recipe in the Simply in Season cookbook, a gem that I picked up at an event through our CSA.  It's a great book for eating seasonally, and it definitely thinks outside the box with many of its recipes.  Actually, if you're looking to eat healthier, or more local, or more seasonally, I would highly suggest looking for a seasonal cookbook of any sort.  They tend to be about making the most out of each item for what it is, and the recipes are often simple with fantastic flavors.

But I digress...


Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Traveling Tuesday: Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee

For several years now, my kids and I have enjoyed tagging along when my hubby has business trips, making the most of the hotel room, whenever we can.  It just so happens that he has an event in Milwaukee annually, and we've found a ton of fun things to do in this city.

One of our can't-miss Milwaukee moments is the polka fish fry at Lakefront Brewery.  Well, the fish fry and the brewery tour, that is!

Lakefront Brewery started in 1987 when one of the founders gave his brother a "Beer Brewing for Dummies" book.  Which makes me love it that much more.  They worked on their beers, started and grew production, gained fans, and eventually ended up where they are now, in an old Power Plant building on the river in Milwaukee.  And as grungy as that may sound, it's actually a gorgeous place.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Banana Lavender Honey Cake

So, it happened again.

Against my will, a culinary worm entered my brain and refused to be ignored.  "Banana lavender honey cake," it whispered.  "Dooooooo iiiiiiiiiit."


We did have really brown bananas sitting on the counter...and lavender and honey in the pantry...so it was pretty much meant to be.

Friday, May 2, 2014

May's Preserve Trifecta Part One: Meyer Lemon Rhubarb Marmalade

Eating locally and seasonally is a hot topic these days, and while I like it in theory and the intentions behind it, it's much hard to practice than it seems on the surface.  I mean, Illinois has a relatively limited growing season, and there are just some things that will never grow here, even in our sweltering summers.  Bananas, pineapples, pretty much any citrus...if I strictly ate locally, these would be off limits.  Then there's the tricky issue of seasonality.  I try to store, freeze, and preserve as much fruit as we can hold, but there's some times when nothing will do except for some fresh blueberries, or a real strawberry.

But I do try to make the most of seasonal foods while they're here.  I'm just on the start of my canning journey.  I've been canning a couple of years, and while no one's gotten botulism yet, I still am not super comfortable with my canning skills.  Following a recipe, possibly making small alterations to the flavoring?  Cool.  Making my own up out of the blue?  No way, Jose.  Enter Preserving by the Pint, by Marisa McClellan, a great cookbook that my family gave me for Christmas.


Thursday, May 1, 2014

Crunchy Millet Muffins

As someone who enjoys cooking and eating, I have a lot of bizarre stuff in my cupboards.  One time, a friend of mine counted 8 different kids of rice in my pantry.  Which, for me, is not an oddity.  One of the things in my pantry that is usually there but that I have a mental block with using is millet.  I love the taste of millet, and the crunch of it, but I don't have a lot of good recipes that use millet, and I have a hard time finding ways to incorporate it into the family's meal circuit.

Millet is a grain, most popularly found in...well...birdseed.  I know, I know.  But it's also a staple crop in many parts of the world.  It's also kind of a "superfood".  Millet is full of iron and calcium, as well as B vitamins, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, and potassium.  It's also gluten-free.  Oh, and Koval distillery makes a mean millet whiskey.