Summer Quinoa!

The other night my mother and I made Quinoa! It was, easy to make, fun to make, and made for a good meal! This is the first post I have where I will post a recipe, so listen up!

To make this, you will need:

2 cloves of garlic

half of a ginger root (sounds like a lot, but, is only a little)

6 sweet red and yellow peppers

1 cup chopped parsley

4 green onions (just the white part)

one cucumber

one box of quinoa (we used inca red)

vegetable broth (instead of water)

olive oil (optional)

one lemon

serving bowl

First, prep your ingredients. Crush the garlic, and finely mince. Mince parsley until fine, or place in glass and use scissors to mince. Chop the cucumber (after peeling) in small centimeter wide cubes, and chop the peppers in a similar size. Take a spoon, or knife, but I prefer spoon, and peel the ginger, by pressing down on the skin with the spoon, and scraping it along the side. Then, finely mince the ginger. When you put in your quinoa, there should be instructions on the packet of quinoa, based on what type you have. But, my mom likes to substitute vegetable broth instead of water, so when the instructions say water, use veggie broth. Once all your ingredients are prepared, put them all in a large glass bowl and mix them! You can add olive oil if you like, about 3 tablespoons in, add some salt, and squeeze you lemon juice in! Serve and enjoy!

This tangy dinner is yummy, and easy to make! I hope you try this out, and have fun making it.

Mate!

Mate (pronounced mah-teh) or chimarrão is a traditional South American drink. It is made with dried yerba leaves that are, like tea, soaked in warm water. There are specific things to drink mate out of, like gourds with steel or silver straws. Usually served in family gatherings, mate is served by a cebador

(in Spanish, a server), and passed around, everyone drinking out of the same gourd. When the gourd has been refilled about 10 times, and everyone one is considered "full", the ritual ends. Some people will put sugar or honey in their mate (in spanish mate dulce).

My mom makes mate instead of tea or coffee every morning because it is high in antioxidants, has a portion of caffeine to wake you up, and as much potassium as a banana. She gets the leaves at Whole Foods, and then brews it at home. She made me some mate so I could try it, and put a bit of honey in it so it wouldn't be as bitter.

The mate I had smelled herbal and...bitter. I know it isn't natural to smell a taste, but when you smell mate you will understand. It is a light green shade, and has a bitter and somewhat sweet flavor. It is really interesting to have a drink have a bitter and sweet taste. Sweet when you drink, bitter after. Take into account I am having mate dulce, so if you drink straight mate, like my mom, the taste would be grassy, herbal and bitter, as she describes it. Mate is an interesting drink that I have been lucky (or am I?) enough to try. Not a flavor I crave, but definitely a flavor that I am happy to have tasted. So not a great tasting love at first bite, but an interesting one.

Pasta Carbonara

Last night we had pasta carbonara, or fettuccine carbonara. It was made with some very special farmers market eggs, home cured pancetta, pecorino cheese, Italian parsley, olive oil, and a pinch of black pepper. Very simple to make as well!

First, my dad cooked fettuccine in a pot, until it was al dente. Then, he strained it and put it back in a pot. While the water was boiling, he made a mixture of eggs, olive oil, chopped parsley, and pecorino cheese with a bit of black pepper. He added the egg mixture to the pot. The heat in the pan and the heat of the pasta cooks the eggs, so it's safe to eat. Finally, he added in fried shallots and pancetta.

Of course, every super hero needs a side-kick. So, on the side we had some peas, farmers market strawberries, and, as usual, salad. They weren't a big deal, but, they were still delicious.

So, was pasta carbonara an Italian disgrace, or a wonderful luxury? Well, if you ask me, it was savory, soft, and a burst of flavors. In my book, pasta carbonara is a amazing dish, for once a year. I believe if you have it too much, it may not be special, and pasta carbonara, is a very special thing. Absolutely, positively, love at first bite.