Favorite Things Friday (ish): Flavored Simple Syrups

Yesterday, I didn’t have to be up for anything in the morning, so I decided to not set my alarm and allow myself an extra hour of sleep or so. I’m naturally up by 7:30, but it’s better than the 6am alarm that has been greeting me all week. That extra hour and a half of sleep totally threw my day into a tailspin. It was too light when I got up and my coffee was not strong enough and the rest of the day continued that way. Everything was turn over. It wasn’t a bad day, just one where I couldn’t quite get my barrings.  

It came as no surprise that my photo editing software was on the blink (it’s free and web based, so I  really can’t complain).  This morning it still is not functioning in the way I need it to, so I’m still posting some late to the party Friday fun and you will just have to make some yourself to see what it looks like!

This week’s favorite thing:

Flavored Simple Syrup

We’ve all heard of simple syrup right? That basic mixture of sugar dissolved in water with a little heat, slightly reduced, to add to cocktails to give them a sweet finish.  Well, this is BETTER!

I know I’m not the first person in the world to add flavoring to simple syrup, and I won’t take credit for it. I am going to share a few of our favorites and what to do with them though.

Future Hubby and I first made a flavored syrup one evening last fall when we were having a crazy hankering for a Dark and Stormy with some Jamaican rum we were gifted but the grocery store was sold out of Vernors (If you are from Michigan you know Vernors, if not, once you have had Vernors ginger ale, you will never accept anything else again). We came home empty handed, but still wanted those cocktails! I rough grated a finger of ginger into some near boiling simple syrup and the results yielded the BEST Dark and Stormy ever. Move aside Vernors, there is a new mixer in town!  

Our three current favorites:

Ginger Syrup  - Our favorite. Make a Dark and Stormy, or add seltzer for homemade  ginger ale.

1 c water

1 c sugar (white or natural)

1 2inch chunk of fresh ginger

Roughly grate or finely chop ginger. Add ginger, water and sugar to pan and heat until simmering. Allow to simmer until slightly reduced and syrup lightly coats the back of a spoon, but still quickly drips from the end. Remove from heat and strain into a pint canning jar. Refrigerate.

Lavender Syrup – Beautiful and floral, lovely with seltzer,  in a cup of black or green tea, mixed into lemon-aid or in a cocktail.

1 c water

1 c white sugar

3-4 tbl dried lavender (MUST be food grade)

Rough chop lavender. Add lavender, water and sugar to pan and heat until simmering. Allow to simmer until slightly reduced and syrup lightly coats the back of a spoon, but still quickly drips from the end. Remove from heat and strain into a pint canning jar. Refrigerate. (This syrup gives a much clearer floral flavor when white sugar is used. Natural sugar has a subtle flavor that will compete with the lavender)

Basil Syrup – This is surprisingly satisfying with seltzer on a hot day, would also be great in lemon-aid or in a variety of cocktails.

1 c water

1 c sugar (white or natural)

18-20 large basil leaves

Rough chop basil. Add basil, water and sugar to pan and heat until simmering. Allow to simmer until slightly reduced and syrup lightly coats the back of a spoon, but still quickly drips from the end. Remove from heat and let come to room temperature before straining into a pint canning jar. Refrigerate. (I find that letting this one come to room temp with the basil still in the syrup gives a much bolder flavor. If you want a mild flavored syrup, strain the basil out when the syrup is still hot).

We are having fun thinking of ways to use these syrups and more flavors, outside of the expected. If you try these and find a great use for one or come up with another great flavor, please share it with us in the comments!

Happy weekend!!

Potato Substitute

I literally just put down my fork, and am thinking “MUST…. BLOG…. RECIPE…NOW!” Yes, it was that good! 

For the last two months, as you know I have desperately been banging out my thesis and I am SO CLOSE to being finished. I’m on my LAST round of edits and I defend in 9 days! What does this have to do with potatoes you ask? Well, they are one of my big comfort foods (along with mac & cheese).  I like mine loaded with sour cream, sharp cheddar and smoky bacon (who doesn’t, right?). One of the other things I have been doing for the last two months is going to the gym. I’ve been really dedicated to my strength training classes and working up on my cardio. While I would love to eat potatoes (or mac & cheese) every day while I sit at home and pound away on my computer, it would not point me in the direction of my health goals (bummer). We need a substitute! Quinoa burgers to the rescue!! 

Have you ever had a quinoa burger before? I never had before today, but I had a few magazine clippings with recipes and a few things on pinterest and decided to give it a go. I looked at a dozen recipes and nothing was quite what I was looking for. I should use this moment to add that quinoa burgers are a great vehicle for lots of veggies or legumes, just mix them into the mixture and enjoy. That was not what I was going for today. Here you will find a super simple, pared down version of the quinoa burger that offers a million ways to mix it up, change the spices, change the toppings, add some veggies or chick peas (Sorry, Amy! I do love them so!). I found that a cast iron skillet gave me the best crunchy exterior and you really can’t skimp on the oil in the pan. It makes a huge difference and I promise it will not leave your burgers tasting or looking greasy. 

 

I topped mine with the old baked potato stand-bys of sour cream, sharp cheddar and bacon. I’ll even let you in on a little secret: I keep a little packet of Black Label Bacon Pieces in my fridge. It’s one of the few “convenience foods” I love, perfect for those times when you just want a bit of bacon without all the hassle (and since it’s REAL bacon, I don’t feel as guilty about it, as I would about buying Bacon Bits). These “baked potato” quinoa burgers are heavenly (and full of protein)! They are moist on the inside, they hold together nicely for cooking, and have an irresistible crispy exterior. The best part is, this recipe makes a huge batch, so make a few for lunch today and then put the rest in your fridge and you can enjoy these babies all week! You know I will be!!

Quinoa Burgers 

1 c Uncooked Quinoa

2 c Water

¼ tsp Sea Salt

½ tsp Garlic Powder

¼ c Wheat Germ

1 egg

½ c Sharp Cheddar Cheese

First bring water to a boil, add salt and quinoa (make sure to wash your quinoa well, in a fine sieve before boiling, or it will turn bitter). Put the lid on the pan and lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes covered. All the water should be absorbed when it is cooked. When the quinoa is cooked combine quinoa with the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Make quinoa mixture into patties and fry until dark golden brown on each side. Remove from pan and top as you please! 

(I Used ½ tbl Sour cream, 1 tsp bacon and a large pinch of shredded sharp cheddar on each patty.)

The Honest Truth

UPDATED: I honestly thought today was Friday when I wrote this post, so just go with it… okay?

I would love to tell you I’ve been away for two weeks to an exotic local or that I’ve been so busy building/crafting/making cheese that I just haven’t sat down at the computer. That would be an outright lie. 

The truth is I’ve done nothing but drag my computer around for the last two weeks. I’m getting precariously close to finishing my master’s thesis and it’s beginning to occupy every spare brain cell, every minute of my day and every spare inch of floor and table space at our house. I have an entire shelf of books in my living room that I have purchased (because the library didn’t have them) in addition to the library ones that were returned last semester (oh happy day!).  Most of what has taken over every flat surface in my house is stack upon stack of printed research articles from tier 1, peer reviewed journals (the creme de la creme of research articles…. the good stuff). 

The most domestic thing I’ve done in two weeks is make pizza and sweep my floors (it’s been done more than once… promise). Since its Friday, and at our house the Friday night tradition is pizza, I’ve decided to share my super simple pizza crust recipe with you! Make pizza for your family tonight and remember how great it feels to be in the kitchen. 

The Red Homestead Official Pizza Crust Recipe

This produces a very soft dough that is pushed out on a seasoned baking stone (or cookie sheet) that yields a crisp outside and soft , delicate inside.

1 c hot tap water

2 ½ tsp dry active yeast ( I like Red Star)

2 tsp sugar

2 tbl olive oil +more for hands

2 ½ - 3 c all purpose flour

Combine the first 3 ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer and let set until it produces a foam (5-10 minutes depending on your yeast). Attach the dough hook to your mixer. Add 2 ½ c flour and olive oil. Mix on medium until combined. Reduce to kneading speed (that’s  speed setting 2 on my machine) and slowly add flour until dough no longer sticks to the bowl (you want to add as little as possible). Kneed for 2 minutes. Place towel over bowl and let rest 45min – 1 hour, until doubled. Punch down and scoop out onto a lightly greased baking sheet or seasoned baking stone. Cover your hands in olive oil and push dough into desired shape and size. Pre-bake at 500 degrees until edges just begin to brown, 5-7 minutes. Top any way you choose, put a little butter along edge of crust, sprinkle with a little salt and garlic and put it back into the oven until the cheese is bubbly. Yum!!

Snow Storm Scramble

We are at the end of a brilliant three day weekend, which means it feels like Sunday, and I’m pretty disappointed that Downton Abbey isn’t on tonight…. because it’s not really Sunday.

Anyway, Saturday was my birthday and Future Hubby took me to Grand Rapids to see the Great Lakes Shipwreck exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum and then out for dinner at HopCat. If you are anywhere near Grand Rapids, MI, go to HopCat, order the ultimate mac and cheese with your favorite add-ins and a local beer. Do it!  So, long story short, there has been threat of a mighty winter storm, so we ate dinner with the early crowd to make it back home before dark . 

Dark came and so did the storm.  Fifty mile-per-hour winds and snow. The winds were so strong they were rattling every window in our old townhouse. It was so loud that Matt ran around our house about 10:30pm stuffing foam insulation into the window tracks to quiet things down enough so we could get to sleep. 

And Sunday it snowed. And today it snowed. Which put a real kink in my usual schedule…that includes buying groceries for the week on Monday morning, meaning things in our pantry are meager at best. What is a girl to do?

Use what you’ve got and make galette! Alana Chernilla (my food hero… everyone needs one and I would recommend her) has a great post about one here. I use the crust recipe in her post and it works beautifully every time. So boogie on over there, read the post and get the crust recipe. I’ll be here waiting….  go on… 

Great, you’re back! So let’s talk about how I made the galette that saved my butt during a dinner crisis during a winter storm. When you last were here, we had almost no rational food in our house. 

So I whipped up a crust, filled it with odds and ends and made this:

You too can make one with what you have on hand!

(Sorry the photos are a bit wonky.. there hasn't been any natural light all day)

First, the crust. 

Mix the flour and salt and cut in HALF of the butter (I did this in my food processor, because I was lazy tonight… you can do it with a pastry cutter or a fork too). 

Gently toss in the rest of the butter. You want it to stay in big lumps (I transferred to a bowl at this stage).

Slowly add water and mix with a fork. 

Carefully put the dough together with your hands. The warmth of your body will help it meld together, but not too much handling, this is a pastry crust. Then pop it into the fridge while you prep your fillers. 

This is the fun part. My formula for these is always cheese + root vegetable + something else. Tonight that looked like this Ricotta (extra from lasagna last night) + Yukon gold potatoes (on sale at the grocery last week) + bacon (6 strips left, looking sad in my freezer). 

Future Hubby said that this was his favorite filling combo ever and I should buy ingredients to make it again on purpose, not because I was desperate. 

Spread your cheese on the bottom leaving about 4 inches around the edge. 

Layer on your root veggie (I added some parmesan cheese on top of the potatoes). If you slice them thin they don't have to be pre-cooked, but if you have leftovers cooked potatoes or yams would be fine.

Sprinkle on your something else (this could be ANYTHING…nuts, veggies, bacon, sausage, chicken… you get the idea, right?).

Fold up the sides and press down to seal it together a bit. 

Put it on a baking stone or sheet and bake at 400 for 30-45 minutes. Make sure that if you are using a baking stone you put a cookie sheet on the next rack down. This crust is FULL OF BUTTER and it will fill your kitchen with smoke if it drips onto the bottom of your oven (and then you will have to clean your oven.. making this the worst dinner ever). Trust me, I know. 

Remove and let cool for about 10 minutes (molten cheese is bad).

Then do a little dance, because you made dinner when there was NOTHING in your house!