Lindsay's Candied Ale

Finally- a long overdue beer post! We have been really in to brewing seasonal beers over the past year, starting with our summer 2012 brew, Lobster Tale Ale. Last winter, Lindsay decided the beer would be one that incorporated the spices of the season. And so, Lindsay's Candied Ale was born. We found one of these tucked in the fridge, and it is just as tasty on a foggy San Francisco summer day as it was during the holidays.

Recipe for 5 Gallons: 

Adapted from the Brooklyn Brew Shop's Beer Making Book- Gingerbread Ale

4 cinnamon sticks
12 whole cloves
2 Tbsp candied ginger
2 whole nutmegs, grated
7 lbs malt extract
3 oz Cascade hops (1 oz @ 60 min, 1/2 oz at 30 min, 1/2 oz at 15 min, and 1 oz at 5 min)
English ale yeast

Seared Ahi Wraps

The past two months have been filled with wedding planning, save-the-date making, and an amazing trip across the pond (more on that in another post). For those that don't know, Kevin planned a surprise trip to Kauai for us back in February and it was on that trip that he proposed. Now, 5 months to the day,  I thought it fitting share a recipe that was inspired by that trip.

We ate a few of our meals at Dukes Kauai, and the seared Ahi wrap was incredible. When we returned to San Francisco, we of course missed the beach and the sunsets, but the Ahi wrap!, we missed that too. So, here is our attempt to recreate it. It is a pretty good copy cat wrap when the craving hits, but if you get a chance to try the real thing, we highly recommend it!

Ingredients: (for 2 wraps)

1/2 lb Ahi Tuna

2 whole wheat tortillas (brown rice work well if you are gluten free)

1 cup cooked brown rice (we use the pre-cooked frozen kind from TJs)

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup seaweed flakes (also from TJs)

Avocado, sliced

olive oil

salt and pepper

optional- wasabi paste

Directions:

Heat a pan and drizzle enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom. Season the Ahi with salt and pepper and place in the pan. Cook 3-4 minutes each side, until tuna is cooked to your liking.

While the fish is cooking, heat the tortillas and stir the sesame oil and seaweed flakes into the cooked rice. If using wasabi paste, stir together and set aside.

In each tortilla, layer the rice, fish, avocado and wasabi paste. Roll like a burrito and cut in half. We served with a salad of cucumber and carrots tossed with a little rice vinegar, salt and pepper.

If you make extra, these hold up surprisingly well for lunch the next day.

Enjoy!

Wasabi-Crusted Salmon With Soy Noodles

We love seafood. In 2011, Kevin went on a fishing trip in Alaska and brought home 50 lbs of it, so we got to try out a LOT of recipes. That inventory has long since run out, but we still cook fish a few times a week so it is about time we share one of our favorite recipes with you. It is an incredibly simple recipe that was adapted from the cookbook of the lodge that Kevin stayed at. I made it a bit healthier and quicker for a weeknight meal.

Ingredients:

2 salmon steaks

1 Tbsp wasabi powder, made into paste

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 package rice noodles

Assorted vegetables (we used carrots, broccoli and snow peas)

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Bring pot of water to a boil and cook rice noodles according to package. Drain.

Meanwhile, salt and pepper the salmon, then spread a thin layer of the wasabi paste and press breadcrumbs on top. Place breadcrumb side down in a heated skillet with a little olive oil to prevent sticking. Cook until browned, then flip and continue cooking until cooked through.

While salmon is cooking, sautee vegetables in a little olive oil for a few minutes, then add in the soy sauce and vinegar and cover. Once the vegetables are cooked to desired tenderness, add noodles to the pan. 

  

To serve, place noodle-vegetable mixture on plate and top with Salmon. 

Our Urban Garden

Over the past year and a half, we have taken on a joint interest in gardening. It started with building a plant stand outside our kitchen window to improve the view (which is of the building directly next door). We bought the supplies and a few plants at a local hardware store and built it in a few hours. It has been a bit of trial and error to find plants that survive in the mostly shaded area, but here is a picture of the garden today.

We love looking out the window and seeing these plants.

But the shared backyard in our apartment building is a different story. We have been working on it for the last year. An afternoon here, a weekend there, and we have finally managed to turn the over grown ivy covered yard of unknown into a pretty organized and functional outdoor living space. We used bricks that we uncovered while weeding to build the border of a path, while Kevin chopped old tree stumps to fill in the path. We have a designated garden where we have been growing a selection of fresh herbs and lettuces year-round, and harvested broccoli, Brussels sprouts and chard over the winter months.

There is something so gratifying about eating something that you grew. It inspires us to try new recipes, and also to use fresh herbs in almost everything we eat. I can’t remember the last salad we ate that didn't include fresh parsley or basil, and I love that.

Here is a picture from right after we planted our winter garden.

We tried to keep all the plants we encountered, which included breaking up an old planter box filled with jade and geranium plants, and planting them around the perimeter of the yard. Calla lilies that we didn't even know were back there are now cut weekly and replace the fresh flowers I used to buy at the store.

But it’s not all work! We inherited some outdoor furniture and hung some string lights, and find that it is a perfect place to enjoy a glass of wine and the view when we are not getting our hands dirty.

This is just a little of what we have been up to lately. More to come soon!

A beer for the ladies

Buzzerkeley caught my attention in a Draft magazine article because Calicraft Brewing Co. used Champagne yeast to ferment a Belgian style ale.

Pours a light golden amber with buttery nose. First taste reveals a sweet honey and light citrus flavor. Sweet throughout with a biscuity aftertaste.

I certainly recommend giving it a try. It will expand your definition of beer. It's light Belgian ale meets champagne.

7% alcohol. 750mL. $9.99 at Whole Foods San Francisco

Chicken and Dumplings

The other night we were craving comfort food. We had just returned home from a weekend with my mom... funny how visiting your mom can make you crave things you ate growing up. After tossing around a few ideas we settled on homemade chicken and dumplings. In an effort to keep it easy, quick, and healthy, we used boneless skinless chicken breasts, whole wheat flour in the dumplings, and some veggies and herbs from our garden (post coming on this project soon!). I baked the dumplings like biscuits, then added them to the chicken soup before serving to keep them from becoming too dense or soggy. The batch made enough for dinner and lunch the next day for both us.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
1 shallot
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup Swiss chard
1 Tbsp fresh sage
salt and pepper
Parsley for garnish

Dumplings:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter, cut
1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a baking sheet with non-stick spray.

In large pot, cook shallots with olive oil until they start to become translucent. Add chicken and cook until browned on all sides. Add chicken stock, scraping along bottom.

Add the carrots and bring to a boil. Add chard and sage and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, or until carrots are tender and chicken is cooked through.

While soup is simmering, make the dumplings. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Then blend in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (your hands work best). Stir in buttermilk until you have a thick batter. Spoon the batter into 6 mounds on the baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Spoon soup into bowl and place dumpling on top. Top with parsley and enjoy!

Banana Pecan Whole Wheat Pancakes

We are so excited for the holidays this year! The house has been decorated since Thanksgiving, and on Saturday we went to get our Christmas tree. We rented a ZipCar and drove to a local tree farm to cut down our own tree, something I haven't done since I was a kid. Our tree is definitely the prettiest tree I've ever had (not that I'm biased) and it brings such a cozy feeling to our apartment.

Sunday morning I woke up early and was in the mood to make something yummy, healthy, but sweet (shocking, I know). Banana bread sounded perfect, but I was too impatient to wait an hour for it to bake. So I decided on banana pecan pancakes, with whole wheat flour and flax seed. Let me tell you, these little gems were so delicious and very satisfying. Best of all, we froze the leftovers so we can enjoy them any day of the week.

Ingredients:

1 cup + 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 egg
1 cup skim milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup chopped pecans
serve with chopped pecans, sliced banana and maple syrup

Directions:

In small bowl, combine flour, flax seed, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, mash the banana then add the egg, milk and vanilla and mix well. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in pecans.

Heat a skillet and spray with non-stick spray. Pour 1/4 cup of batter per pancake and let cook until small bubbles form. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Top with more pecans, sliced banana and maple syrup.