Spice and Happiness With Demitri’s

Posted on May 11, 2018 by makemendgrow

There are a few things that I know-

There’s nothing better than a sunny day in Seattle
Happiness is a house full of friends gathering to cook, drink and chat while a herd of small children occupy themselves.
A Bloody Mary and Margarita bar makes the first two things, well, even more perfect.

Recently, I had this trifecta come together perfectly when I gathered a few of my chef friends together. Our kids were antsy from all the rain and being cooped up indoors for way longer than any parent can handle. We had been craving a chance to get together with the need to celebrate the sunshine with a good cocktail (or two). I sent the solution in text form: “Come over to my house. Margaritas, Bloody Mary’s and steak tacos. I’ve got you covered”.

Like a moth to a flame (or an over tired parent to a chance at a break), my friends flocked. We laughed, as we ate salsa and guac – “Do you remember the days we used to hit Capitol Hill, and get a proper drink?” We all nodded, recalling our days at any of the local dive bars, before kids, long hours and the gentrification of our favorite haunts changed our social calendars. We paused, and before any of us could get out a grumble or mutter something that made us sound like one of our parents, I came to the rescue. Well, me and Demitri’s, and I started mixing up a storm.

Who is this Demitri’s and why should you stop what you’re doing and seek them out? Demitri’s is a Seattle based purveyor of gourmet cocktail mixers founded by Demitri Pallis, who like most of us, was tired of inconsistent cocktails, so much so that he started making his own mixers. That’s right folks – when you can’t get what you want, you do it yourself. What started as a need 30 years ago, turned into a hail mary for those of us who just want a good cocktail without leaving home.

Why else? They aren’t just local, but actually in my neighborhood – I see them hiring my neighbors. That kind of community approach is important to me. Plus, they use ingredients I can actual pronounce, with organic options and for those of you in the need – there’s gluten-free options, too. Also, since I can never commit to one flavor of anything, they have me covered with a variety of mixers like original, chilies & peppers, extra horseradish, and chipotle habanero. Still not convinced? Two words: Pepperoni. Straws. YES – a meat straw, It’s perfect! Lastly, you can find them almost everywhere, and if you can’t locate them close by, Amazon carries them too!

I put together my garnish skewers in advance – combining olives, pepperoncini’s, pickled cauliflower, and pickled okra. I’ve added blocks of cheese in between the pickles – it’s up to you, although a cube of blue cheese goes SO well with the extra horseradish mixer. I also coated my glasses in advance with Bacon Salt Rimshot – their rim salt, to cut down the amount of waiting we’d need before enjoying.

Momma’s Bloody Mary
We made ours to order, so this recipe makes 1

8 ounces tomato or vegetable juice
1 teaspoon Demitri’s mixer (more if you like a stronger flavor)
1-2 ounces vodka (or an equal amount of tequila for a Bloody Maria)
Juice of a quarter of a lime
A few cubes of ice

The key to this is make sure your ingredients are all chilled in advance, there’s nothing worse than a warm cocktail. Mix all ingredients up, and pour into your glass, add in the pepperoni straw and your garnish. Stir, sip, nibble. It’s super simple!

Since I know that once the Mary’s are gone, you’ll need something a little sweet, I have you covered there too.

Tangerine Dream Margaritas
Makes 4

2 cups fresh squeezed tangerine juice (approximately 8 tangerines)
6-8 ounces tequila
16 ounces of Demitri’s Organic Traditional Margarita Mixer
Juice of 2 limes
4 glasses, rims coated with Demitri’s Pomegranate Pineapple Lime Margarita Rim Shot (y’all need this stuff)
Garnish with tequila and chili powder marinated pineapple chunks (see below).

Spicy, Boozy Pineapple.
My pal Lauren came waltzing into my kitchen, eyes sparkling, like they do when she’s done something amazing. She held up a jar of something swimming in clear liquid and spices. “Here”, she said, “Smell!”. It was sweet, spicy, pungent and just what our cocktails needed. She had cored and diced a small pineapple, popped the pieces into a mason jar, added a 1/4 tsp of Tajin (a spice blend of salt, chili powder and dehydrated lime that you often find on grilled street corn), topped that whole thing with tequila and let it marinate. When you’re ready to use it, pull out a piece of pineapple and skewer it.

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher, pour equally into the 4 glasses. For your lushier pals, you can float some of that spicy tequila you used to marinate those pineapple pieces on top for an extra kick. Go on, we won’t judge you.

Sit back, sip and smile – You’re welcome.

So there you go! Easy, right? The great thing about those mixers? You don’t need to use them solely for cocktails. The chipotle habanero was an awesome addition to a marinade for the asada I used for my tacos. Two teaspoons of mixer, a 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, a drizzle of oil a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of cumin and I was good to go. It’s truly versatile.

Of course, the disclaimer! I did receive compensation for this post – that being said, I will never recommend any product that I do not wholeheartedly trust and enjoy. Additionally, I may receive compensation through affiliate links, which keeps me in bacon and happiness.

Yours in your momma happiness, fueled by some pretty darned amazing cocktails,

Raina

To the pumpkin patch!

Posted on October 24, 2017 by makemendgrow

It’s fall again here and I couldn’t be happier! This is one of my favorite seasons and with it comes changing leaves, cool weather, cozy fires and my very favorite, trips to the pumpkin patch. Each year we drive down to Carpinito’s to play in the hay mazes, throw corn and play with the animals. Izzy leaves tired and happy and I get to take pictures and pick up pumpkins. I love supporting local businesses and farmers, too, so it’s usually a win-win and this year was no different! I’m convinced that these traditions are my favorite part of parenting; I love watching her explore and play.

We ran from one animal pen to the next, squeals of happiness coming from all of us (ok, mostly me). We giggled at the frizzle chickens, cooed over the week-old piglets, and fed the goats. When the skies darkened and hard rains arrived, we ran into the barn to play in corn and hay; the screams of happy kids filling the air. An hour later, the rain had been replaced by sunny skies allowing us to make our way back outside to do rubber duck races and rope cows. We sipped lemonade, and ate chili and talked about how great all of the animals were.

We made our way past the corn stalks into the muddy fields on the hunt for the perfect pumpkins. Green ones, orange ones, speckled ones were all inspected by my tiny pumpkin hunter until we found 5 that met her expectations. More pictures were taken as we headed back to the car, holding hands and excitedly talking about which ones we’d carve first.

My sweet girl. I wish every day could bring as much magic as my time with her this weekend. These are the days that make my heart happy.

Hunger

Posted on September 21, 2017 by makemendgrow

I’m just back from Feast 2017, and am trying to find the words to describe my weekend away. Just like last year, I am in awe. I went with an empty belly and one goal: To try as many things as I possibly could. Good goal, right? I had a hunger in me for adventure, food and drink and dear reader, yet again Feast did not disappoint.

Was it the reuben from Tasty N Sons? Was it the Bubbles from A to Z Winery? The well earned French 75 after ending up in an Lyft on an accidental drive 45 mins outside of Portland in an attempt to get to a karaoke bar? Maybe it was the antelope tartar from Nicky Farms at the Grand Tasting, or dancing late into the night to 80’s music with caviar and more pinot noir than you can shake a fist at during an after party.

Whatever it was, and as crazy some of it was, it was perfect. I can show you pictures, I can regale you with tales of late nights, early mornings, and I can walk you through every slurp of perfectly fired oysters, but unless you go a piece of that magic will be missing for you.

So stop what you’re doing, right now, and block out the 13th-16th of September 2018 in your calendar. You’ll thank me later when you’re smiling deliriously from all that you’ll experience.

Let’s chat about what I did, so you know what you’re in for next year! I’ll pop in my disclaimer now: I did receive complimentary tickets to all events, but the opinions are still my own. My belly never steers me wrong!

I rolled into Portland, and immediately made my way to Tasty N Sons for an AMAZING reuben which paired oddly well with a cremant and was the perfect way to start the vacation. Plus, look at my face in that first pic (and the photobomber!) it screams happiness! I ran to a quick happy hour checking out some delicious Oregon pinot noirs before meeting up with a friend for a tour of a few food truck pods and ciders at Schilling Cidery. One of the things I love about Portland is the collection of food trucks and the people watching that come along with them. Happy to see my friend, but ready to get Feast kicked off, I made my way to an opening night happy hour celebrating ham (jamon) and eggs (caviar) and all the 80’s music I could shake it to. There were cocktails served in colorful beakers and blue umbrella adorned rum drinks and I was hell-bent on sampling all of it.

Full and happy, I headed back to my Air bnb, only to be woken shortly by a party that would go on for hours and met by construction an hour after that. I made my way to the Starbucks in the lobby and cursed those damn delicious cocktails, the construction people, and the lack of sleep.

Not to be deterred, I powered through fueled by coffee and a desire to eat even more. I meandered around the city on my way to the Friday Grand Tasting where I would continue to eat. I had the best apple fritters from Nola Doughnuts (sorry, Voodoo), paired along side pFriem Brewing’s Beligian Strong Blonde Ale (you NEED this combo), poke, and so much of the bubbles from A to Z Wineworks. Hours passed, and more calories were consumed, but it was time to make my way to the Night Market.

Flag streamers were strung across each of the paths, with various booths pouring drinks and chefs pushing out plate after plate of food; music blared from speakers above, the bass and beats making people dance, strangers becoming fast friends. Sake was had, along with braised oxtail, and Bulleit Bourbon cocktails adorned with hibiscus flowers flowed well into the night. One more bite, my body begged, as I picked up a bowl of ceviche and a little dish of chilaquiles. My eyes heavy, my heart happy, and my belly full, I knew this was the last stop for the night. There would be no after party, or after-after party. My day was done.

The construction at the Air bnb may have ended, but the late night parties and tweakers screaming had not-after 5 hours of sleep in 2 days, I called it quits, emailed the host at 3:30 and booked a hotel. I made my way to the hotel and crashed out for a few hours-I had 10 hours (at least!) of eating ahead of me and coffee wasn’t going to be enough this time. A few hours later, I woke up grabbed some eggs benedict and a mimosa and I was ready to roll. I went back to the Grand Tasting event to have more wine from Elizabeth Chambers Cellar and Domaine Drouhin Oregon, and some AMAZING antelope tartare from Nicky Farms, and of course, since I was walking by, one more bite of those decadent apple fritters. The night continued, and it was time to hit Smoked.

Walking in, you’re instantly hit with the smell of wood smoke and meat. The air is thick, and your belly grumbles. I grabbed a glass of pinot gris from Archery Summit and made my way over to see the folks serving up Hama Hama oysters, slurping down a few of them before moving on to the next grill station-more oysters were eaten, as well as a chunk of bone the size of my arm (mmm….marrow ). I nibbled on tomahawk steaks like a good carnivore, and salivated at game hens sizzling away over flames. Hours would pass, and more wine would be had. Plates of sausage on polenta with duck fat gravy were passed, spam sandwiches, and more of that marrow, and even more oysters. There was laughter, there were glow sticks and even a party in a tee pee.

The event would come to an end, but the night would go on-more after parties, an after-after party, more talks, more dancing, singing into the night in a failed attempt to find a karaoke bar, eventually slipping into my bed well after 3 am.

And dear reader, that is where the story ends. Full, happy, and ready to do it all over again next year. Won’t you join me?

Lemon Blueberry Jam

Posted on September 11, 2017 by makemendgrow

I’ll say it now and a million times again,

I. Love. Jam.

This is the time of year in the Pacific Northwest where berries and stone fruit are ripe and ready to be picked and savored immediately, or prepped to be set aside for the cold, dreary Seattle winters where you need to see some color. That time of year, you’re not going to be getting it from the sky, so it may as well come from the warm glow of something delicious!

This year I made a few jams-huckleberry, chipotle cherry, and my favorite lemon blueberry to have on hand over the winter. All have their place, whether it’s the huckleberry swirled into a cheesecake recipe I’ve got on the ready for this Easter, or the chipotle cherry slathered over a pork roast, with a splash of bourbon before roasting in the oven in the fall; but the lemon blueberry….it’s good on everything. Rich purple color, smooth and shiny texture; it screams summer. It comes together quickly and maintains it’s zip well into the doldrums of winter. You’re intrigued, right? Sure, but I can hear you now though, but “Rai….canning is scary”!

Spoiler alert: it’s not. The key is to keep everything clean and hot and you’re good to go. Honest.

Ingredients:

2 lbs blueberries** washed, stems removed, and dried out ones removed
3 large lemons, juiced**
1 cup white, granulated sugar

**Shoot for organic where you can, and if you can hit up a blueberry patch and pick those bad boys yourself, you’ll save some money.

Equipment
4 pint jars with rings and lids, sterilized
Heavy bottomed pot, large enough to hold all of your berries and lemon juice
Large pot, tall enough to cover the cans by at least a few inches.
Jar grabbers
Kitchen towels-1 for clean up, one for setting your hot jars on
Pot holders
Ladle, or a deep spoon

Method:

Start by prepping your canning supplies-a tip: if it’s going to touch your jam, wash it. Easy, right?
Next, Fill your pot up with water, shooting for at least 2 times the height of your jar. When you process these bad boys, the water will need to cover the jars fully. Turn the heat on high. You’ll use this to sterilize your jars and bands.
Now, clean your jars! Even if I just opened the box and even if I washed the jars, bands and lids before storing, I wash them all again with a clean washcloth with hot and soapy water. Washing everything is a great time to make sure your jars do not have any chips or cracks-this could prevent sealing of your lids (no one wants mold or botulism), or cracking during processing.
Rinse your jars, bands, and lids to remove all the soap.
Set your lids aside in a clean bowl and place the jars and the rings carefully in your pot. **You don’t want to boil your lids. This can prevent the lids from sealing.
Now that you’re sterilizing everything, it’s time to make that jam! In a heavy bottomed pot, combine the lemon, sugar, and blue berries and cook over medium-low heat for approximately 30 mins, stirring every few minutes to avoid sticking (and the dreaded burning), until most of the berries have fallen apart and turned into what resembles syrup.
You have a few options on what to do from here (yes, jam making is like a Pick Your Own Adventure book). You can keep going, letting that jam cook down even more or you can get ready to can it. I personally like little bits of fruit in my jam and less of a jelly texture. If you’re happy with the consistency, you’re ready to move to filling your jars; if not, continue cooking your jam down another 10 minutes, or until it’s the consistency you want. Keep in mind though, the more you cook it, the less you’ll have as a finished product!
By now, your jars have been bubbling away in the hot water and are all ready for your jam, so it’s time to prep your canning area. I lay a towel on the counter, which keeps my jars from moving around, but it also catches the spills I inevitably make. Set your pot of jam on a pot holder next to the towel. This makes for faster work pouring everything.
Remember that bowl with the lids? Get ready to pour hot water over them.
With your jar grabbers, carefully lift the first jar out of the hot water and pour some of that hot water over the lids until they are fully submerged.
Pour the rest of the water out of the jar, back into the pot and set your empty jar on the towel. Empty the other jars back into the pot and set them all on the towel. It’s ok if there’s a few drops of water in the jars, it won’t do anything to your finished product.
Slowly ladle or spoon the jam into each jar until they are filled up with 1/4 inch head space (room) from the top of the jar.
Take your other towel (or a paper towel), get it damp and wipe off the tops of the jars to remove any stickiness. Stickiness prevents a good seal folks.
I like to give a gentle tap to my jars, once filled, to get rid of any air bubbles. Be gentle though, you just heated that glass up!
Drain your lids from the bowl of water and place them on top of the jars and place the rings on, and finger tighten. The jars are going to be pretty hot still, so use a pot holder to avoid the hot glass.
Using your jar grabbers, gently place your jars back into the hot water filled pot and process (boil) for 15 minutes.
Once done, lift them out of the boiling water with your jar grabbers and let rest for 24 hours. The center of the lid should not bounce if pressed.
Store for a year with the rings removed, and eat whenever you’re ready!

Easy enough, right? This is delicious over ice cream, in yogurt, or on toast. Ok, it’s really good eaten with a spoon, right out of the jar.

So there you are! A bit of sunshine in a jar, ready whenever you are.

Yours in a jam,
Raina

As 40 creeps closer…

Posted on August 20, 2017 by makemendgrow

It’s been a year since my 40 by 40 list post was created and I am slowly getting through the list! I still have a lot of work to do, but have ticked off quite a few big items. One more year to go to as 40 creeps closer!

38 was the year of bills and home improvements. I paid off a small left over mortgage loan, and paid for a chimney rebuild and a new roof. That will be a lot more money in my pocket in the long run, but it sure was hard to say good bye to all that cash. It’s also really nice not to have a failing roof, and a leaking chimney (hooray for maintaining structural integrity of this money pit…um, house!)

It was also the year of pushing myself-to learn more, do more, be more. You know, without getting all sorts of overwhelmed.

I also traveled alone, including business trips to Portland for Feast and Vegas to eat and for the Vegas Food Expo. I’ve never really been somewhere by myself, and so this was pretty huge for me! Feast was my first time away from Izzy and while I was both terrified to be without her, I was so excited to be away and treat myself to a weekend away. Turns out taking a bath by yourself after eating a few thousand calories and then not sharing a bed with a tiny, raging octopus/toddler all night is AMAZING. That trip really prepped me for Vegas, where I hit quite a few of my goals-eating an amazing dinner, getting my first tattoo, singing loudly in front of strangers, and dancing in a huge sea of people.

I wrote more and collaborated with brands while not losing out on any of my creative desires. I spent more time learning herbal medicine and did a lot of wild crafting. I spent time nurturing my heart by making herbal goodies for friends, which reinforced how much I enjoy chemistry, biology and botany!

I built up the farm, too! I brought in 2 rabbits, which led to even more rabbits (see that whole thing here), and worked hard to not screw up growing carrots and peas. My corn thrived and grew taller than my house. I fed neighbors with the extra vegetables, and ripped up my lawn for more gardening space. It felt good to get up and out and push myself physically to make my home what I wanted it to be.

I participated in activities that fed my soul, more than fed my bank accounts. Let’s look at what I’ve been up to this year…the bold, italicized items are completed!

1. Do something that scares me, often!
2. Go to a ridiculously fancy dinner
3. Finally get that tattoo!
4. Pay off a large bill-not super exciting, but getting rid of any bill is more cash for fun
5. Be more accepting of my body, strengths and flaws
6. Go overseas again/travel more
7. Continue to get in shape -eehhhhhhh. A work in progress.
8. Skate more
9. Learn to knit
10. Make sourdough, actually keep it alive for more than 1 week
11. Do 5 push ups, well. Yeah, I said it. 5.
12. Do more karaoke
13. Make a blood orange olive oil milkshake like the one at the Olive Pit, in California-so good!
14. Fix up the garage and make it into a studio
15. Raise rabbits
16. Make more quilts
17. Finish up my herbalism classes
18. Eat fewer processed foods
19. Rock climb again
20. Hunt a deer and properly butcher it
21. Write more (hmmm…check?)
22. Make cheese
23. Go clam digging
24. Set up a friend version of Outstanding in the Field.
25. Teach Izzy to fish
26. Find more happiness-actively seek it out, and hold it tight
27. Successfully grow peas and carrots, and not little dinky ones
28. Bring Izzy backpacking
29. Take a photography class
30. Dance more
31. Build the fence that has been sitting in raw materials in my garage for 10 years
32. Kayak on Lake Washington
33. Ride in a hot air balloon
34. Go to Disneyland
35. Camp on a beach
36. Buy more nice knives
37. Teach more
38. Hike to a hot spring
39. Take a train ride
40. Read more

So what’s on tap for 39? More travel, more food and more finding and keeping what makes me happy. I’ll continue to tick things off of my above list and keep reporting back on all of my adventures!

Yours in squeezing all we can into life!

Raina

Day 1: The BEST Eggs Benedict with Power Couple Life!

Posted on May 1, 2015 by makemendgrow

Oh man you guys. We are kicking Brunch Week off with a BANG! Tiana from Power Couple Life is here to get us started with the BEST Eggs Benedict. After you check out this awesome recipe, please go check out their blog: http://powercouplelife.com/

Enjoy!

We are Eggs Benedict obsessed. The endless search of the perfect runny yolks and fully cooked whites is what my Sundays are made of. Traveling the world has given us the chance to try them in many places, but nowhere is quite like our very own kitchen.

Restaurants make this dish look like a work of art, but you don’t need to be a trained chef to whip this perfect brunch dish up.

What is Eggs Benedict? Traditionally, a poached egg, slice of ham, on a toasted English muffin, covered in Hollandaise Sauce. Ours is a bit different. Why? Bacon.

What you’ll need:

Hollandaise Sauce

4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
Pinch cayenne
Pinch salt

Eggs Benedict
4 slices Canadian bacon + 4 slices of cooked, crispy bacon
4 English muffins, split
1 teaspoons white vinegar
4 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Hollandaise sauce, recipe above
Fresh chives, for garnish

Yield: 2 servings

Instructions:

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together until the mixture is thickened and doubled in volume. Place the bowl over a saucepan containing barely simmering water (or use a double boiler,) the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Continue to whisk rapidly. Be careful not to let the eggs get too hot or they will scramble.

Tip: If you over cook, add a drop of milk to the eggs to save them.

Slowly pour in the melted butter and continue to whisk until the sauce is thickened and doubled in volume. Remove from heat, whisk in cayenne and salt. Cover and place in a warm spot until ready to use for the Eggs Benedict. If the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a few drops of warm water before serving.

Tip: Consistency should be similar pancake batter. Brown the Canadian bacon in a skillet and toast the English muffins.Fill a 10-inch nonstick skillet half full of water. Add white vinegar to the cooking water. This will make the egg white cook faster so it does not spread. Bring to a slow boil. Gently break each of the eggs into the water taking care not to break the yolk. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook 3 1/2 minutes until the egg white is solid white and yolk remains soft. Remove with a slotted spoon, allowing the egg to drain.

To assemble: Lay a slice of Canadian bacon on top of each muffin half. Break or cut your bacon into halves. Place 2 halves on top of the Canadian Bacon. the bacon slices with a poached egg. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon hollandaise sauce over the eggs. Garnish with green onions.

Tip: Hollandaise Sauce does not reheat well. Make only what you will eat right away.

Enjoy your perfect Eggs Benedict, and let us know how they turned out!

In A Jam

Posted on December 21, 2014 by makemendgrow

I love jam.

I love it even more when it’s cold and rainy out, and I am missing summer and spring and all of the fresh fruits. Luckily, fall and winter means that cranberries are everywhere, and I can make a quick jam that brings a little sunshine my way. It’s a little jar of tart, sweet, and a great combination of winter from the warming flavors of cinnamon and vanilla, but bright like summer from the oranges and Cointreau. It comes together quickly and makes a great last minute gift, too!

2 packages (24 ounces total) rinsed organic fresh cranberries, soggy/bad ones thrown out, any remaining stems removed
2.5 cups sugar
1-2 large very ripe orange, juiced (approximately 1 cup juice)
1/2 c Cointreau or other orange liqueur
1 Tb vanilla bean paste, I use this one (affiliate link)
1 tspn cinnamon

In a dutch oven, or heavy pot with a thick bottom (I prefer my dutch oven), add your cranberries, orange juice and liqueur, and turn the heat onto medium. Once your mixture is warmed through, add your sugar, vanilla bean paste and cinnamon, stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook slow and low, keeping the heat at medium low, until your cranberries start to break down and quickly pop when you poke them with a spoon. Continue to cook, approximately 20 minutes until you have a nice chunky, delicious smelling pot of tastiness.

If you’re canning this prefer a thick well-set jam, add 1/2 packet of liquid pectin and cook for 5 more minutes at a low simmer. Process jars according to the jar manufacturers directions and enjoy! If you’re canning this, it makes 6-1/2 pint jars.

I love this with cream cheese on crackers or spooned over french toast!

What is your favorite holiday jam?

Best,
Raina

Farm(str) Lovin’

Posted on October 8, 2014 by makemendgrow

There’s few things I love more in life than delicious food. What could make it better? Having that food be locally sourced and delivered straight to my house.

Intrigued? Hungry? Let me introduce you to my new friend Farmstr. Oh yes.

So what is Farmstr? If you check out their site (here), you’ll read that Farmstr is an online marketplace that helps people like you and I find and buy direct from local, sustainable farmers. So you get delicious food, and because you’re connected directly to the folks with the tasty goodies, it’s something you can afford. Goodbye middleman! Better yet is their goal, which is “to help local farmers succeed – specifically those with organic quality and better practices/food. Our goal is to help consumers have unlimited access to clean sustainable local food at fair prices”.

So there you have it: It’s you getting amazing food, from real people. It doesn’t get much better than that.

So, what did I pick up? Oh, dear reader, you’re in for a treat! I picked up this beauty, the Coho Salmon. Line caught, frozen at sea, and sashimi grade. This salmon is melt in your mouth tender, sweet, and it comes in at an even better price than at your local fishmonger. Now, for what I did with those beautiful fillets…

The Menu

Starter:
Salmon Sashimi

Main:
Soba Noodle Salad
Roasted Kabocha squash
Korokke
Sauteed pak choi and bok choy with garlic chili paste
Roasted salmon with a sweet hot glaze

Dessert:
Roasted Asian pears with cinnamon, ginger, and honey
Prosecco with ginger simple syrup

I was in foodie happy-land guys and I want to share the love! Read on! This may look like a lot of work, but it really isn’t. Its a good amount of prep time, but if you do it right, you’ll be sipping tasty drinks and snacking your way through cooking this meal. You’ll also note that I didn’t use much salt in addition to the recipe-the soy and other seasonings add enough. When I could, I used low sodium products and added salt here and there-you can always add more, it’s a pain to figure out how to make things less salty! I also kept the flavors similar. Each ingredient brought it’s own flavor and the theme of seasonings helped to add continuity to the meal, but I found that things didn’t all taste the same-they just tasted like they belonged to each other.

The sashimi was by far the easiest-we sliced the most delicate strips of tender salmon-half we ate plain and half we splashed with mirin, ginger, and a little soy-we let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Both were amazing-the salmon just melted in our mouths. Look at how pretty it is!

Soba Noodle Salad

I love this salad. It’s easy, tasty, and goes well with so many different foods. It’s best served cold.

3 bundles (10 total ounces) soba (or buckwheat) noodles
1 large bunch green onions, chopped
1.5-2 Tbspn honey
2-3 Tbspn soy
2-3 Tbpsn mirin
2 Tbspn + 1 Tbpsn sesame oil
1 Tbspn garlic chili paste
3 Tbspn rice wine vinegar
1 Tbspn roasted sesame seeds
1/4 tspn fresh ground black pepper
A dash of ground ginger

Boil the noodles according to the package directions, adding 1 Tbspn sesame oil to the water (it helps flavor them AND will prevent them from sticking together later).

Once the noodles are done-they should be al dente, run under cold water, until they are cool to the touch. Strain thoroughly.

Add 1/2 of the remaining sesame oil and stir to prevent sticking and place in the fridge until the noodles are cooled through. *Pro tip here guys. If you add your tasty ingredients to hot noodles-they suck up all the goodness, and you don’t have any yummy liquid later. Sauce is good, guys*

While you’re waiting for things to cool off, mix up your remaining ingredients (minus the onions and sesame seeds).

Once your noodles are cool, pour the ingredients and mix – I use my hands – until thoroughly mixed.

Add your green onions and sesame seeds and let marinate for at least an hour.

As with all of my recipes, this is what I find tasty. If you like more of a particular flavor, please add more!

Roasted Kabocha Squash

1 medium sized Kabocha Squash, cut in half, seeded, half cut in moons with skin on and half, chopped into cubes, skin removed.
Olive oil
sprinkled with salt, pepper and cumin (yep, you read that right, cumin).

Coat your slices and chunks with olive oil and lay on a cookie sheet, sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper and cumin, and roast at 425 until tender, about 15 minutes.

Korokke

Oh, Korokke. You delicious pillows of fluffy goodness. I won’t lie. This is where the bulk of the time was spent and it is 100% worth every delicious minute that Nick spent cooking them for me 😉 Even more exciting? You can get them from Farmstr, here.

The half of the kabocha that was cut into cubes and roasted
3 or 4 medium golden potatoes, peeled and quartered
Half of a large yellow onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic minced
1 bunch of green onions sliced thin
1 Tblspn of butter
salt and pepper, to taste
Egg, flour, panko and black sesame seeds
Olive oil-enough to coat the pan and drizzle on the korokke

Start by boiling your potatoes. While the potatoes are boiling saute the onions and garlic until they are translucent. When the potatoes are soft, drain the water and mash the potatoes and stir in the butter. When the potatoes are mostly smooth, add the kabocha and mash them together until there are still small chunks of squash. Now add the sauteed onions and garlic as well as the green onions and and stir them all together. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cool the mixture in the fridge until cool enough to handle.

When the mixture is cooled, form into whatever size and shape you like. We made patties. As you form them, place them into a container of flour. Coat the patties in the flour, then the beaten eggs, then the panko with some sesame seeds thrown in. When they are breaded put them on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and drizzle the tops with olive oil. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes then flip the patties and bake for another 10. They should be golden on both sides.

Let cool slightly and enjoy. We ate them with sriracha aioli.

Sauteed pak choi and bok choy with garlic chili paste

1lb each-various greens. I used pak choi and bok choy
2 Tbspn garlic chili paste
Juice of 1 large lemon
Splash of white wine (more if you want a glass 🙂 )
Hearty pinch of salt
1/4 tspn of fresh ground pepper.

Again, super easy-take your greens, and wash them-no one wants gritty nibbles and shake them out slightly. Add them to a deep pan, add your paste, lemon and splash of wine and cover. Seriously. That’s about it. Toss every few minutes until suitably wilty. I like my greens to have a little bit of a bite on the stems however. Another tip-these greens can be bitter, so avoid a bitter wine or just use chicken stock.

Roasted salmon with a sweet hot glaze

1 fillet of salmon, approximately 1-2 lbs
Marinade:
2 Tbspn honey
2Tbspn mirin
1/4 black pepper
drizzle of sesame oil
1 Tbspn garlic chili powder
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Pour the marinade all over that pretty salmon and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Roast for 15 minutes at 350 or until flaky.

Roasted Asian pears with cinnamon, ginger, and honey
Do you sense a theme? Roasted and easy! I prepped this ahead of time, and let them roast up while I enjoyed dinner.

2 large Asian pears cored and sliced in quarters
1 tspn cinnamon
2 Tbspn cup ginger simple syrup
1 Tbspn raw honey

Toss all of your ingredients and place in a glass baking dish and bake at 400 for 45 minutes or until golden brown and tender. Add some ginger whipped cream and enjoy! May I suggest some Molly Moon’s Wild Honey or Ginger ice cream to pair? Mmmm….

Prosecco with ginger simple syrup

1 bottle prosecco
Ginger simple syrup

Add 1 tspn syrup to a fancy glass and top with prosecco. Sip happily, as you look over your bounty (and possibly your super full tummy).

And that’s it! It was a lot of eating, a lot of laughing, and a lot of fully bellies, even that belonging to my kiddo.
Are you ready to try Farmstr?! Well, now you can with your very own $10 OFF promo code: MakeMendGrow10 – my way of saying THANK YOU for being a great reader! You can also sing up for the Farmstr newsletter to learn about new local farmers, in season food for sale!

What’s your favorite farm-fresh ingredient, and how do you use it?

Yours in food,
Raina

Make, Mend, Grow.

Making A Happy Life, One Craft At A Time

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