agua de jamaica con limón y naranja

Today I made agua de jamaica which is basically a tea made from dried hibiscus flowers and served chilled.  I had some leftover limes and an orange so I decided to incorporate as much of that flavor as well.  I ultimately used 6 limes, 1 orange and 2 cups of jamaica for this recipe.

I started  by placing the jamaica in a saucepan with the zest of 1 orange and 2 limes with about a cup of sugar.  To this mixture I poured about 4 cups of boiling water and let steep for about 10 minutes.

Though not necessary, I later transferred the mixture to a large mason jar to show the color of the mixture after steeping, it becomes a very deep vibrant red color.

In a pitcher I squeezed the lime and orange juice over about 2 cups of ice.  I strained the jamaica mixture and poured over. At this point the ice will melt a bit but there should be enough to cool it down.  I added a few ice cubes to a glass and poured myself a drink.

The flavor of the drink is tart and herbal in a way, very reminiscent of a tea drink with a tart berry flavor.  Though I have never made this at home I definitely can see this as a fixture during cookouts this summer.

Agua de Jamaica con Limón y Naranja

2 cups jamaica (dried hibiscus flowers)
Zest and juice of 1 orange
Zest of 2 limes, Juice of 6 limes
2 Cups Sugar

1. Start by placing jamaica, sugar, orange and lime zest in a sauce pan.
2. To this, add 4 cups of boiling water and let steep for 10-15 min.
3. Add about 2 cups of ice to a pitcher along with orange and lime juice
4. Strain Jamaica mixture into pitcher, serve in a tall glass over ice.

meals for work

For as much as I enjoy cooking at home, I still have the horrible habit of buying meals while i'm out at work.  In many cases this is for both breakfast and lunch. People have been telling me for years that it is a huge waste of money but it it just a habit that I have not been able to break. 

Starting last week I made it a point to always have breakfast at home before heading to work, this has helped me focus in the morning and feel less rush to grab something quick.  It is also infinitely healthier to eat a bowl of cereal and have a piece of fruit than to grab a breakfast sandwich on the go.

My challenge this week is to make sure I have a different lunch item packed every day.  This is where the Zojirushi Mr. Bento comes into play.  It basically is the same idea as packing a bento every day except each stackable containter comes in a insulated carrier. I bought this a couple of months ago and have not used it a ton unfortunately,  this week I am changing that and hoping to make this a frequent routine.

The sizes of the containers are the perfect size for me to pack both breakfast and lunch while being able to stagger meals throughout the day.  This is what I brought with me to work today:

In the front right is my breakfast: steel cut oats that I simmered in some coconut milk and skim milk and added mixed frozen berries to finish.  To the left of that is a morning snack: fresh strawberries and walnuts.  In the top left container is sandwich of turkey, ham, and cheddar on whole wheat.  Finally, in the top left container I have simply mixed greens topped with a few pickles.

I've been getting ideas from the Mr. Bento Flickr group which is very active and has new interesting combinations every day.It was pretty fun and relaxing to put together the bento, it didn't take too much time and already I can see this is a very good way for me to take my lunch every day. 

a quick and healthy pudding

After trying several chia drinks at the store I wanted to by my own chia seeds.  When I got the package home one of the suggested recipes was a pudding that is made by adding the seeds to coconut milk and letting it sit in the refrigerator for several hours.  This sounded amazing so I decided to put the drink idea to the side and make a pudding.  I didn't have coconut milk on hand but I did have kefir.  I enjoy drinking this in the morning so I was hoping it would work out nicely.

I started by combining 1 cup of plain lowfat kefir with 1/4 cup of chia seeds.  I added some agave syrup and cinnamon to the mix to add some flavor.  I would imagine any flavoring as long as it doesn't change the water content would work fine.

Though it is ready in 3 hours, i didn't eat mine until the next morning and it was excellent.  Very creamy with the chia seeds popping in your mouth.  This is a very nutritious breakfast that I think I will be going back to.  This would be very nice with some berries on top.

hummus

This is a version of hummus that I've been making recently.  It is not a super smooth hummus but it is a combination I have enjoyed so I wanted to share it.

I used 2 cans (15 oz) garbanzo beans, 3 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons tahini, juice of 2 lemons, zest of 1 lemon, 1/2 jalapeño, and 1 cup of parsley. 

I threw everything into a food processor, added salt and pepper, and blended with 2 or so tablespoons of olive oil. I blended all the ingredients for about two minutes then scraped the bowl and blended for several more minutes.  I figure that longer it goes the smoother it can potentially get.

The end result is a green hummus that I like to use for dipping vegetables or serving under roasted chicken and pita.

Cooking With Drew, part 2

This is somewhat of a follow up to the corned beef post a few weeks back.  As I prepared the brine for the brisket he took many wonderful shots that I feel really speak to our time spent in and around the kitchen. Below is some never-before-seen footage of that day! I hope you enjoy looking through these as much as I did.

 

turkey burgers

This is a quick and healthy recipe I made up at home.  I initially made this recipe last summer using zucchini in place of the spinach and carrots.  The recipe is straightforward so I took pictures for most of the steps in the process. Each captions has instructions to follow.



I started with 1 cup spinach, .5 cup diced carrot and .5 cup of onion. I sauteed until the carrots were slightly softened. I cooked this with garlic and chipotle powder but any spices you like work great.

To the vegetables I added 1 cup of cooked quinoa.  I let this combination cool before adding the turkey.

I added 1 lb. of ground turkey and formed into 4 large patties.  I think these were all 3/4 burgers but they can definitely be made smaller.

A burger sauce I made by mixing 1 tablespoon horseradish sauce, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard , and a diced up dill pickle spear.

I added a slice of ham and placed on a much too small bun.  I would recommend heftier buns for the size of the patty.

The burger was very enjoyable and the veggies/quiona kept it moist.  I made extra for tonight, I'll continue trying different veggie/spice combinations but this is definitely going to be something I will be revisiting.

Cooking with Drew

Two years ago I wrote this post in relation to corned beef in cabbage.  Back then I said i wanted it to become a tradition of sorts.  I did not make one last year unfortunately so Drew and I have been talking about having some more corned beef for the past couple of years.  He was a big fan and was very excited to have some more.  He wanted to take photographs of the process and it was a pleasure to have him there with me as we relived this experience.

I started with 5lbs of beef brisket I picked up from Paulina Meat Market. To make this into corned beef I brined the brisket in a combination of 1 gallon of water, salt, pickling spice, garlic, sugar and curing salt.  I brought this combination to a boil and let it come to room temperature before chilling in the refrigerator.

Once the brine was cold I added the brisket and let it sit in the liquid for 6 days, the salt and spices worked their magic during this long wait. This is what the brisket looked like days after going in:

on day 6 I removed the brisket from the brine and rinsed it.  I placed the corned beef in a large stockpot and covered with water and boiled slowly with carrots, celery and bay leaves.  I added potatoes part way through.  After a few hours I served the corned beef simply with boiled potatoes and carrots.  

                                   
As an extra side dish I made a quick soup by cooking down cabbage in a combination of caramelized onions and the cooking liquid from the corned beef.  I added mustard and vinegar to compliment the richness of the meat.  This is very good the next day reheated with chopped up pieces of corned beef added in.

Coming back to this meal was significant in many ways.  2 years ago making this corned beef was a very important and enjoyable learning experience. Having Drew in the kitchen with me documenting one of his favorite dishes also served as a reminder that cooking truly is a labor of love and why I feel inspired to continue learning.