Rye PA

Yesterday was brew Sunday! Even though the calendar says it is summer, the weather here in San Francisco feels like fall (bordering on winter!) so we decided to brew a rye IPA. Our last few beers have been Belgian-style, and we wanted something a little more hoppy. We can't wait to taste this beer!

Recipe: 

Grain:
1 lb Moris Otter
1 lb Rye
1/2 lb 60 L
1/2 lb 20 L

Hops:
1 oz German Northern Brewer @ 60 min
1/2 oz  Willamette @ 30 min
1/2 oz German Northern Brewer @ 15 min
1/4 oz Willamette @ 10 min
1/4 oz Willamette @ 5 min
1/2 oz German Northern Brewer @ end of  boil

7.5 lbs Malt extract
Yeast- Safale #5

Shrimp Tostadas

I saw an idea on Pinterest to make cookie shells for ice cream using the back of a cupcake pan. I thought I would give it a try for a savory dish, using corn tortillas and turning them into baked taco / tostada shells. It worked out great, though a little messy to eat.

Ingredients:

4 corn tortillas
1 dozen large shrimp
1/2 bell pepper, sliced in strips
Lettuce, avocado salsa and sour cream (or greek yogurt!) for topping

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Position the tortillas on the back of the greased cupcake pan and place in preheated oven. Bake 10 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

While the tortillas are baking, cook the bell peppers in a heated pan with a little olive oil for a few minutes until they start to soften. Add the shrimp and cook until pink.

Once the tortillas are done, fill them with the lettuce, avocado, shrimp, peppers, salsa and sour cream. These would be so fun to fill with other taco fixings- such a versatile dish!

Garden Bounty!

We are so proud of our garden! It really is the little garden that could. It started as a bunch of dirt that we were certain would never let things grow. But with a little TLC, we were able to produce so many yummy veggies, greens and herbs. Kevin harvested the cucumbers, zucchini (blossoms too!) spinach, tomatoes and beets pictured above and we turned it into dinner. Gardening is such a rewarding hobby!

For an appetizer, we stuffed the squash blossoms with goat cheese, rolled them in an egg wash and bread crumbs, and browned in a pan. Talk about melt-in-your-mouth goodness!

Next, we roasted the beets and added them to the spinach, cucumber and tomatoes to make an unbelievably flavorful salad.

Finally, we steamed our zucchini, and seasoned with a little lemon pepper and Parmesan cheese. We served this along side some salmon burgers from Whole Foods, and voila! Dinner is served.

And yes, some homebrew to round out the meal :)

Two-in-One Recipe: Meatballs and Meatloaf

It is pretty typical for us to be making dinner around 8pm, so having things ready to heat up makes things much easier. About  a year ago, we posted our Meatball Potpies, which are still a favorite in our house. If we make them on a Sunday, when we have more time, leftovers on Monday are a great way to kick off the week. To keep things easy later in the week,  we have learned that while we are taking the time to make the turkey mixture for the meatballs, we may as well double the recipe and use the rest to make a turkey meatloaf.

To mix things up, once the meatballs are rolled and in the pan, we add some diced bell pepper and BBQ sauce to the turkey, then place in a covered loaf pan to bake later in the week. I have also frozen the meatloaf both cooked and uncooked to have on hand for another time. If you freeze uncooked, just be sure to thaw in the fridge for a day or two in advance so the baking time is quicker.

Ingredients:

2 lb ground turkey (I use 1 lb extra lean and 1 lb lean for added flavor)
1/2 small onion or 2 shallots, diced
1- 2 eggs
1/2 - 3/4  cup bread crumbs (depending on how wet your mixture is)
Salt and pepper
Sprinkle of nutmeg
follow the rest of the recipe for the meatball potpies

Once the meatballs have been made, add 1/4 - 1/2 diced bell pepper (any color) and BBQ sauce to taste (about 1/4 - 1/3 cup) and press the mixture into a greased loaf pan. drizzle more BBQ sauce on top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, until cooked through.

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