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.

Shrimp, Tuna, Kuchen, and Corn on the Cob

Tonight we had a heck of a good meal. Shrimp, Tuna, Corn, and Kuchen! Talk about a mismatched meal! We're traveling this weekend, so Grandma and Daniel hosted us. Daniel was born in France and my Grandmother is a fabulous cook as well, so good food was guaranteed.

The shrimp was cooked in a bath of olive-oil, tons of garlic, and a bit of salt and pepper. It was soft and salty, and very subtle. Local, fresh, shrimp is fantastic and is almost always good. A nice seafood dish, and was perfect on a summer day.

The tuna was basically a tuna filet with a wasabi sauce on the sides. It had a cool flavor and a tender texture. The wasabi was great as well, and perfect on the tuna. I like wasabi more than hot sauces because with hot sauces the flavor stays in your mouth throughout the rest of the meal, so I don't get to taste the other flavors. But, with wasabi, the spicy sensation is short so you can actually taste your food afterward.

The corn we had was just plain old corn on the cob. Salty and buttery, and delicious. Now, Kuchen is a type of cake, more like a crumble though. I made this with my Grandmother, which was very simple. And, the recipe was passed down from her mother, so it was interesting that it had a history. It had a nutty, almond smell, and a sweet flavor that made you sit down in your seat and go "ahhhhhhhhhhhh". Well, not exactly, but close. Topped with apples and cinnamon, this was a fabulous dessert.

So, total mismatch dinner a: train wreck or a wonderful meal? You tell me. Some say opposites attract, which in this case, was true. With flavors that compliment each other nicely, and a variety of foods, this meal was definitely love at first bite.

Fries, Tzatziki, Spanikopita, Who Could Ask For a Better Sunday?

On Sunday we had Fries, Tatziki, and Spanikopita, Greek Night! The fries were a beautiful golden color, the tatziki creamy and delicious, and the spanikopita was flaky and spectacular. Perfect for a hot summer night in May, and perfect for me.

The fries and tatziki were amazing, and wonderful together. These aren't fries that you would go get a burger king...those fries are a disgrace to the potato world. No, these fries are homemade fries straight from the oven! Crispy and crunchy and delicious in every way. Now, the tatziki was the COMPLETE opposite. It was creamy and had a cool flavor, like you just walked by a fan in the Sahara Desert, you want to stay there all day, and never move. So, tatziki and fries together were great, crispy and creamy and warm and cool at the same time. Simple to make, and wonderful to eat, tatziki is one of the most amazing foods...ever.

Spanikopita is a pastry with a delicious flaky crust on the outside, and a warm, soft, spinach filling. It is sort of like a mini, savory, turnover. Mmmm....Crispy and warm and yummy in every single way!

So, Greek night??? Was it επίθ. κακός or επίθ. καλός, αγαθός (bad or good)? Well, you tell me, but I think it was pretty επίθ. νοστιμότατος, υπέροχος (delicious). Surely, a love at first bite or αγάπη κατά την πρώτη φέρνει αποτελέσματα.