Sub Rosa Vodka - The Madrid Mule

sub-rosa, adjective:
Designed to be secret or confidential; private.

In a world being overtaken by sameness, i.e. Walmart, McDonalds, Starbucks, etc., it's nice to know that regional producers are alive and kicking. I heard about Oregon-based Sub Rosa Spirits and their infused vodkas a few months ago, right before a trip to the Pacific Northwest. Their distillery makes two culinary-inspired infusions: Tarragon Vodka and Saffron Vodka. Produced one batch at a time, each bottle is hand stamped with the year produced and the batch number.

I snagged a bottle of the saffron version in Portland before heading out to the coast and an amazing beach-front rental with some girlfriends. For our cocktail hour post hot-tub and pre-dinner, we took inspiration from the traditional Moscow Mule, which combines vodka with ginger beer, lime juice and simple syrup. My Michigander friends were excited to find Vernor's ginger ale at the local grocery store - surprise! - so all we needed was a bit of sugar and some limes. The flavor of this cocktail is pretty unusual. It's refreshing, spicy and tart. The saffron flavor comes through, but with a hint of the other spices Sub Rosa uses for this blend, like toasted cumin and coriander.

Sub Rosa is currently only available in a few western states, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Internet orders are available from a few distributors, but expect to pay for the privilege. Doesn't that just make it extra special though?

The Madrid Mule
Substitute ginger beer for the Vernor's if necessary.

1 1/2 oz. Sub Rosa Saffron Vodka
1/2 tsp. simple syrup
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
Vernor's Ginger Ale
lime wedge or mint sprig for garnish

Combine vodka, simple syrup and lime juice in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake it up. Strain over ice in highball glass and top with ginger ale. Garnish with lime or mint.

Jones Soda Company's Halloween Mini-cans

So. Freakin'. Cute.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to...Target? Yes, Target! Seattle-based Jones Soda Company has their adorable (and scaaary,) 8 oz. cans available in Target stores just in time for Halloween. I haven't had any of these flavors, (Lemon Drop Dead, Spooookiwi, Candy Corn and Buried Pomegranate,) but Jones is known for pushing the envelope in soda-land. One year my friend's mom bought her the Thanksgiving pack, one bottle each of these holiday meal flavors:

* Turkey & Gravy
* Brussels Sprouts with Prosciutto
* Cranberry
* Wild Herb Stuffing
* Pumpkin Pie

About five of us sat down for a tasting. My friend poured a shot sized portion of the Turkey & Gravy soda into each of our glasses. We all took a sip... and blech! Nasty stuff! It just got worse...we had to set up a spit bucket. I can't even describe the awfulness of Brussels sprouts flavored soda. At least the Halloween flavors will taste good! Look for new flavors for Thanksgiving '09 and check out more Jones products here.

Eating New York

I've fallen off the eating well wagon. Or in other words, I haven't been cooking - I've been going to restaurants, ordering delivery, or getting fed by friends. Not that these can't be reasonable indulgences in an otherwise healthy diet. Just not all in a row for a month.

Why the wagon? A few years ago, I was 15 pounds heavier than I am now. One year ago, I was about 10 pounds lighter than I am now. I'll give you a minute to do the math... It means that I lost a whole bunch of weight and I've started to put it back on. People have all kinds of ideas about how to lose weight. Irritatingly, almost all of them involve eating less. This is frustrating, because of my life-long devotion to food and the eating of it.

How did I lose the weight back in 2007? I usually refer to it as the break-up diet, or nature's way of preparing me for a dip back into the dating pool. When I was heartbroken, I actually couldn't eat. This phenomenon has rarely occurred in my life. I subsisted for several weeks on frozen grapes (side note: delicious if you freeze really crisp, sweet red grapes,) and yogurt, which I forced myself to eat. Once my appetite came back, I was feeling skinnier and sassier, and I wanted to stay that way. I started cutting out dairy, carbs and sugar and eating more protein and whole grains. Yawn.... Oh, sorry I just bored myself to sleep. The thing is, I'm a hedonist at heart and I want to eat delicious food and do things that feel good. My brain says no most of the time, but it's ultimately not the boss of me.

I'm pretty sure this recent happy binge of eating whatever and wherever is because of a dude. See, over the past 8 months or so, I sort of gave up on dating. I had been dabbling in Internet dating and found that aside from some great stories, it was pretty much a waste of my time. I know lots of people have great success with this, but it was not happening for me. I decided to stop trying and see what the universe would throw my way. Dear Universe, I'm sending back all the gays, the married guys and the young'uns.

Back to the dude. One silly night of hand-holding, squeezes, giggling and a few kisses. It wasn't love. It wasn't sex. It just felt good and sort of scandalous - but in a good way. It made me want to feel good all the time. Suddenly I found myself skipping the salad bar in the cafeteria and heading out to Hing Won Express for roast pork noodle soup - salty, fatty and satisfying. The next day I went to the Jamaican Dutchy cart for jerk chicken over peas and rice with cabbage. That weekend, I dined at Motorino with some friends where we had a festival of meat, cheese and bread. It felt good to say yes to what I wanted. Yes, yes, yes.

Some other highlights from the binge:
The Brooklyn Cheese Experiment - I didn't actually make it to the cook-off portion of this event, but I did come to the after party where I ate a large amount of cheese and the best butter ever: Vermont Butter & Cheese Company's salted cultured butter. Amazing and decadent.

Szechuan Gourmet - 242 W. 56th St, NY - the best, BEST Kung Pao Chicken I've ever had! It had a perfect balance of spicy and sweet with an amazing smoky flavor, tender chicken pieces and crisp water chestnuts. The mini steamed pork buns and the shredded beef with spicy Asian green chili leeks were both good, but the Kung Pao, oh my!

Pho V858-8 - 858 8th Ave @ 51st St., NY - bad name, decent pho, overpriced - but, hey, it's pho in midtown!

Buddha Bodai -
5 Mott St, NY - All vegetarian, kosher Chinese food. The General Tso's "chicken" was so good we ordered a second one - crisp, sweet, tangy.

Huaraches at the Brooklyn Flea - Not the sandals, the double-plate tacos, as my friend calls them. They're not tacos, but in the same vein - long oblongs of masa, too big for one plate, topped with your choice of meat, lettuce, onion, salsa and cheese. It was hot that day and I sat on the steps behind all the food vendors, ate every bite and licked my fingers.

Kegs & Cluckers at the Queens County Farm Museum - Tom Mylan, Brooklyn's indie butcher, made 40 beer can chickens slathered in bbq sauce for this camp-out and party event. There was also chorizo cornbread, potato salad, corn on the cob and baked beans. Oh, and pie by Sweet Deliverance!

Joloff Restaurant - 930 Fulton St, Brooklyn - I was excited to try Senegalese food for the first time, but I was disappointed. The food seemed bland and greasy, sort of like the African version of diner fare. It may just be that I need to try it again, so I'm withholding further judgment.

Fonda - 434 7th Ave, Brooklyn - An off the map venture by a well established chef, Roberto Santibañez, the former culinary director of New York's Rosa Mexicana restaurants. I was ready to be blown away, but I was barely blown at all. Granted, my group only ordered entrees and sangria. The guacamole that went to almost every other table looked tasty but who knows?

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Of course, you can't say yes all the time, right? Romance failed to bloom for me from that encounter and after almost a month of indulgence the scale is shouting NO! I'm back to salads and fruit and cooking at home. I'm interested in the connection between food and sex and dating, so we'll see what happens next. I'm hoping to find that happy middle ground, but so far it's been peaks and valleys. Stay tuned and I promise to share all the juicy details!

Cucumber and Avocado Soup

My mother makes an avocado soup almost everyday for breakfast as part of her raw food diet. She uses chard or kale and other green vegetables like zucchini along with the avocado. Because she's my mom, and she's trying to get me to eat it, I automatically dismiss the soup as "gross." Yes, I'm still a surly teenager at heart.

Trying to grow up and keep an open mind, I did try mom's green soup. It wasn't bad. Avocado helps all the healthy stuff go down easy with it's rich, buttery flavor. When a recipe for cold cucumber and avocado soup arrived in my inbox from The Splendid Table, I decided to give it a try.

This recipe uses a balance of lemon juice, cucumbers, avocado and jalapenos. I tweaked it a bit because I wanted more of the avocado thickness, but because I used the optional cilantro I ended up with more of a guacamole-like soup. For something a bit more refined, use watercress or arugula instead.

Cucumber and Avocado Soup:
Adapted from a recipe by Anna Thomas' Love Soup: 160 All-New Vegetarian Recipes from the Author of The Vegetarian Epicure, excerpted by The Splendid Table.

2 lbs. cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup cilantro leaves (or 6 oz. watercress or arugula)
2 cloves garlic, peeled & roughly chopped
1 small jalapeno, seeds and pith removed or to taste
2 avocados, peeled and cubed
salt & pepper to taste
1 tomato, diced
olive oil

Put half of the cucumbers and half of the citrus juices into a blender and puree to a liquid. Add the rest of the cucumbers, the cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, avocado, salt and pepper and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and add more salt and pepper, lemon or lime juice as needed. Chill the soup and serve with the diced tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil over the top.

The Brooklyn Cheese Experiment

This is going to be an amazing cook-off. The theme is Cheese. Yes, capital "C" Cheese. Every contestant will be making a cheese-based dish of either a savory or sweet nature and then you, the ticket-buying audience, get to taste every one. But wait, there's more! You also get to try the home brewer's best beers. Once you've munched and sipped your way around the room, vote for your favorite in the audience-choice category. There will also be a panel of celebrity judges bringing their discerning taste buds to bear on the range of entries. Expect intrigue and drama at the awards ceremony, as chefs are honored for their cheesy creations with fabulous prizes and glory.

Nick Suarez and Theo Peck's last event, the Brooklyn Beer Experiment sold out, so get your tickets now for this fun and filling event.

The Brooklyn Cheese Experiment
Cheese Cook-off and Homebrew-off
Date: Sunday, September 13th, 2009
Place: The Bell House 149 7th St., Brooklyn
Time: Event 1-5 pm
After party in front lounge immediately following event!

Kegs & Cluckers - your Labor Day destination!

On the top of my list of things to do this weekend:
Revel
Eat
Drink
Sleep in a tent
Capture the flag
Make out with a stranger (optional)

How can I accomplish all these goals? Hey, I know! - Kegs & Cluckers at the Queens County Farm Museum! It's a party - bluegrass, a DJ and dancing, a camp fire, fun games, and fabulous food, including bbq pulled chicken prepared by local butcher Tom Mylan. Did I mention the ticket price includes beer all night from Brooklyn Brewery? And there's biscuits and Bloody Mary's for breakfast in the morning.




There's a lot of buzz about this event so get your tickets now!

Buzz:
FIPS
Serious Eats
SkimKim
Brooklyn Based
Tom the Butcher

Strawberry & Peach No-Bake Pie

Ok, the weather has gotten cooler this week, but when I made this pie with my baking-prone friend, Sara, it was hot as the dickens. And humid! We met at the Carroll Gardens farmer's market in Brooklyn on our bikes and ogled the piles of peaches, nectarines, tomatoes, corn and peppers. Sara had done some calculations involving oven temperatures, the angle of the sun, the percentage of humidity in the air and her apartment's lack of A/C and come to the conclusion that a no-bake pie was in order. We found perfectly ripe peaches and fresh mint at the market and then hopped on our bikes for a sunny, sweaty ride to her place.

It's Too Hot to Bake Peach-Strawberry Pie
recipe by Sara Dierck

By using a graham cracker crust that hardens up in the freezer, and a stove-top filling, this pie won't make the kitchen and house unbearable when the temperature climbs. For a final touch, we whipped up some heavy cream with Grand Marnier and a bit of sugar. Don't skip the mint - it's cool and fresh!

Graham Cracker Crust:
1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from 1 cellophane package plus about 2 full crackers)
6 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 sugar

Fruit Filling:
3 peaches
4 tablespoons butter, divided in half
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons lemon juice, divided in half
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
1 pint strawberries, washed and hulled
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Make the crust:
Have a 8 or 9 inch pie pan ready. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until fine. Combine in a small bowl with the melted butter and sugar, and mix with a fork until incorporated. Press into the pie pan with your fingers, evenly distributing, smoothing out with the bottom of a glass if you'd like. Put pie pan in freezer until ready, or for at least 20 minutes.

Make the filling:
Cut the peaches into slices. It's okay to leave on the skin. Melt half the butter (2 tablespoons,) in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sugar and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the peaches to the pan and stir to coat. Add the Grand Marnier and stir occasionally until the peaches are cooked, about 5 minutes.

Strain the peaches in a sieve, reserving the liquid. Set the peaches aside to cool.

Pat dry the strawberries if wet, and cut any large ones in half. In a food processor, puree the berries.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar and salt. In a saucepan, combine the cornstarch mixture with 1/2 cup of the reserved peach liquid. Add the strawberry puree with the remaining 2 tablespoons each of lemon juice and butter.

Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture reaches a simmer. Continue stirring for one minute more.

Pour a third of the strawberry filling into the chilled graham cracker crust. Arrange half of the peaches on top. Add another third of the filling, and follow that with the rest of the peaches. Pour the remaining filling into the crust, smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Serve with whipped cream and a small bit of mint.

photo by Sara Dierck