Strawberry Lemonade!

I used to be a catering prep cook and would frequent a neighboring coffee shop on my breaks. One of my favorite drinks to get was the Odwalla Strawberry Lemonade. Nothing says summer to me like Lemonade and Limeade, so since Matt and I have taken to sunning ourselves like beached whales on our shared back yard area we decided last weekend to try our hand at homemade lemonade.


I made up a batch of regular lemonade, which was kind of hard for me to get just right since I like my drinks more tart and Matt likes his drinks more sweet. In order to infuse a little more lemon flavor into the drinks I zested the lemons and cooked the zest into the simple syrup. Then once everything was combined I strained out the lemon rinds. I think it was a smashing success!

Then after I made the regular lemonade Matt wanted to make peach lemonade, which I vetoed because I love to eat the peaches raw, and we agreed on making strawberry lemonade. I think that is came out perfect. The flavors just danced across my palate and were even great when mixed with some vodka for our weekly picnic. If you are like me and do not like pulp this drink is best served strained, but if you are a pulp lover like Matt just pour and enjoy!


Strawberry Lemonade Recipe:
(Serves 4) <--- I advise tripling this recipe because it is so darn good!

For Juice:
Juice of 2 Large Lemons
1 3/4 c. Water
6-8 Strawberries

For Simple-Syrup:
1/4 c. Sugar
1/4 c. Water

Zest lemons and then mix zest, sugar and water into a sauce pan and simmer until combined.

Juice lemons and once simple syrup is made and cooled, combine juice, water, simple syrup and strawberries in a blender. Chill and enjoy!

I advise taste testing this as you go along to make sure it is the way you like your lemonade! Not too sweet or not too sour!

My Love/Hate Relationship with Bulgogi

One of my boyfriend’s favorite meals that I make is bulgogi. I have a love hate relationship with bulgogi. It is like the irritating friend that you never remember is irritating until you are hanging out with them and they are braying like a donkey. I think of bulgogi fondly until I am standing there chopping carrots into matchsticks and going “why am I doing this???”

The carrots have gotten me so worked up before that I have seriously considered getting a julienne slicer just for this dish. I have spent at least an hour online reading julienne slicer reviews, looking for the perfect one, and when it came down to buying one felt it was a waste of money. Oh how I rued that decision last night when I was once again faced with those carrots that beg to be sliced into perfect matchsticks. So I whipped out my favorite kitchen tool and slowly sliced away… The only thing that keeps me from hating the carrots is the awesome monkey peeler I use!

The carrots are the supremely irritating part, but you also have to freeze the meat before you cut it and then marinate it for 1-4 hours. Now for some people that is not a big deal, and it usually isn’t for me either, but sometimes I forget about the freezing and the marinating and then at 7 pm am pissed off when I realize that to make the dinner it would not be ready until 10pm. Those are the nights I scrounge through the cupboards looking for a lost box of Mac and Cheese, and curse myself for being forgetful.

So last night I started my bulgogi at 6 pm, so I could get things done and not be totally rushing when Matty got home. I like to freeze my meat while I get the rub and the marinade for the meat ready. However, despite starting when I thought was perfectly early for dinner between everything dinner wasn’t served until 8:30ish. Oh well, it is all for the deliciousness that is bulgogi. I make ½ times the recipe below so that it feeds two people for 3 nights. The meat is always good the second night because the juices sink in even more, just make sure not to microwave it to death like I do sometimes….

PS. Sorry some of the pictures are stinky; by the time it was all done it was dark outside and hard to get a non-blurry and non-scary picture.

Recipe: Bulgogi- Adapted from the Boston Globe and Hak Joon Kim
Serves 6

Bulgogi begins with sirloin steak (or if you're me, any thin steak), which you freeze for half an hour, so you can slice the meat very thinly. After it's marinated, it cooks in a few minutes.

2 1/1 pounds sirloin steak
8-10 scallions
3 carrots, cut into matchsticks
5 cloves garlic, chopped
3 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon mirin (i sub this for rice wine (sake))
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 teaspoons sugar
3teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1. Wrap the steak in plastic wrap and freeze for 35 minutes.
2. Trim scallions, removing stem and 1/4 of the green top. slice into rounds

3. Place the steak on a board and with a long flat-bladed knife held at a slight angle, slice the steak into thin strips. In a bowl combine the strips with the scallions, carrots, garlic, sugar, and rice wine. Toss well with clean hands, massaging the seasonings into the meat.
4. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. Pour the mixture over the steak and mix well. Cover the steak with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before cooking.
5. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat for 1 minute. Add the steak and stir-fry for 4 minutes or until the meat is cooked through. Transfer to a platter.
6. In a small skillet, toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan for 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl. Add salt and sesame oil and mix well. Pour the sesame seed mixture over the cooked beef. Toss well to coat it, and serve with white rice and steamed broccoli.

Mango Black Bean Salsa

Ok, so I spent the 4th and 5th of July celebrating...and not taking photos of food (i know, bad food blogger, bad!) But I did manage to take one good-ish picture of my mango black bean salsa which was a big hit! Within 24 hours of being made all 12-16 cups that I made were eaten by various people...but I would have to say Matt (the lovely boyfriend) and my mom probably ingested the most!

This recipe made a proverbial heap of food. I was amazed at how much was made, it would be perfect to take to a family reunion or the like. See the recipe below if you are looking for an addictively good time!

Mango-Black Bean Salsa - adapted from SmittenKitchen.com

2 20-ounce cans black beans, drained and well-rinsed

1 15-ounce can of corn, drained and rinsed lightly
3 bell peppers, a mix of colors, chopped into a small dice
1 large red onion, chopped into a small dice

2 ripe mangoes, chopped into a small dice
Juice of 2 limes
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 bunch of cilantro chopped

Mix beans, bell peppers, mango, and corn and in a large bowl. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk remaining ingredients into a vinaigrette. Pour it over the bean mixture and sprinkle on cilantro, toss it well and serve.

This is obviously best chilled and would be great as a chicken side dish, or on a salad. I served mine with hint of lime chips which were Oh So Good! This will keep in the fridge for a few days, if you can even keep it for that long before people gobble it all up!

Prep for the Big Day!

Nothing says good-bye diet like the 4th of July! Who can even imagine eating healthy when the option of ribs, steak-tips, and drumsticks are floating like sugar plum fairies in your dreams? I have always had trouble saying no to delicious grilled sticky meat treats, but this year I am on a quest to be moderately healthy so I can remain a little woman in my kitchen! (I have been venturing towards being a more medium sized woman in the kitchen due to all the heavy winter foods I love so much)

So this 4th of July I am making grilled chicken kabobs with onion, pepper, zucchini, pineapple, mushrooms, and chicken, all smothered in BBQ Hoisin Sauce! I decided to prep what I could today so that I can spend the day on the beach tomorrow, and then just prance into the kitchen and throw a few things together! Bada boom, bada bing...Chicken kabobs! (at least I hope it will work that way). I am including the recipe for the BBQ Hoisin Sauce below. I made a cute little label for it, because lets face it, i will do anything for cute-ness!


I will post more soon so you can all see how my little kabobs work out! You will also get to see more SmittenKitchen.com adaptions! I am making the blueberry crumb bars and I will be improvising a mango black bean salsa. Stay tuned!


Recipe: BBQ Hoisin Sauce (adapted from SmittenKitchen.com)

2 tsp. vegetable oil
4 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 c. hoisin sauce
1 tb. soy sauce
2 tb. mirin
1 tb. ketchup
1 tb. rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Heat the vegetable oil in a small saucepan and cook the garlic over moderately low heat until fragrant, about two minutes. Add the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sake, ketchup and rice vinegar and simmer over moderately low heat, stirring, until thickened, about three minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Let cool and serve. (do NOT lick the spatula when it is piping hot and burn your tongue, no matter how good it smells! - something I have not learned yet...)