Homemade Ginger Syrup

The husband and I are big Mad Men fans and, as a result, we've become increasingly interested in cocktails. I'm not talking Cosmos or Appletinis though; we like old fashioned drinks, preferably made with gin, like Singapore Slings and Sidecars. One of my favorite cocktails at a new restaurant/lounge nearby is their Ginger Mayhem; it's a gin-based drink with a strong ginger kick, made with their own ginger simple syrup.

I've been experimenting with creating the Ginger Mayhem at home, and my first tries used store-bought Ginger Beer, which turned out good results, but not a strong enough ginger flavor. I figured it couldn't be too hard to make my own ginger syrup, and after a quick Google search confirmed this, I was in the kitchen, boiling chopped ginger, water, and sugar.

Ginger syrup is incredibly easy to make, results in a nice golden-amber, spicy syrup, that can be used in cocktails or in homemade ginger ale (just pour it over ice with club soda). I poured mine in the Ginger Beer bottle I saved once the store-bought soda was gone.

Homemade Ginger Syrup
Source: Imbibe Magazine

Ingredients
2 cups unpeeled ginger, roughly chopped
2 cups sugar
6 cups water

Directions
Place all of the ginger in a food processor and process until ground.

Transfer the ginger to a large stockpot and add the sugar and water. Bring to a boil.

Turn the heat down to medium and let simmer, uncovered, for an hour to an hour and a half. The liquid will reduce to half.

Pour through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a large pitcher. You may need to strain it twice. Once the syrup has been strained, pour through a funnel into a bottle or lidded jar. Store in the refrigerator.

Sushi Bowls

The husband and I love sushi, and we often go out for rolls on Friday night. I've even tried making sushi at home before, and while it taster good, the effort required to put it together wasn't worth it for me. But then I found these sushi bowls on The Crumbly Cookie; I liked the idea of all the sushi ingredients and flavors combined simply in a bowl, but without the hassle of making rolls. Because really, what I wind up making is a mess.

The husband loved these sushi bowls he asked me to make them at least once a week. He was impressed how easy it was to put them together and the lack of a mess in the kitchen (I cook, he cleans!). :)

Make sure to get good-quality, sushi-grade fish since you'll be eating it raw. We like to go to 99 Ranch Market and pick out what looks the best. I used tuna steak this time, but we're thinking of trying salmon belly next time.

Sushi Bowls
Source: The Crumbly Cookie



Ingredients
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice, rinsed well
3 cups water
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
4 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons wasabi
1/4 pound raw fish
green onions, chopped
nori, torn into small pieces
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds (optional: toast them)


Directions

Combine rice and water in a rice cooker and cook. Or cook in a covered pot on the stovetop. Once rice is cooked, remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.

Combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small microwaveable bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

Transfer the rice to a large wooden or glass bowl (I used a large melamine bowl and it worked fine) and pour the vinegar mixture over the top. Fold and cut through the rice with a paddle or spatula to coat each grain with the vinegar mixture. Continue folding, cutting and fanning until the rice is room temperature-do not put in the refrigerator.

Combine the soy sauce and wasabi and pour over the cooled rice. Add in the fish, green onions, nori, and sesame seeds. Gently fold together to combine with the rice.

Serve with additional soy sauce and wasabi on the side.

Beef Kebabs

I've posted this recipe before, but we really love these beef kebabs, so when I made them again recently, I took the time to take a photo that actually does them justice. These kebabs are not the shish-kabobs I grew up with, but instead, they're the Middle Eastern-style kebabs the husband enjoyed as a kid.

The husband's cooking skills leave something to be desired, but this is one meal he'll jump in and help me prepare without a second thought. The cilantro and chipotle chilies bring a nice flavor and slight heat to the meat, which pairs well with the smokey flavor from the charcoal.

I usually serve these kebabs with tzatziki or plain yogurt mixed with chopped onions (sounds kind of gross, but it works. Also, the husband insists it is authentic and it's not kebabs without it).

Beef Kebabs
Source: Martha Stewart's Everyday Food (June 2011)

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
2 Tablespoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Prepare a charcoal grill for direct heat. Clean and lightly oil the grates.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together with your hands until well combined.

Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. Shape each portion into an oval patty (about 4 inches long, 1 inch thick) with your hands. Insert skewers lengthwise.

Grill, turning occasionally, about 6-8 minutes, or until meat is cooked through.

A New Year

This blog has been sorely neglected for the past several months, despite my best intentions to blog more and increase the quality of my blogging in 2011. But, I am rarely home to cook anymore because I joined the coaching staff of a year-round competitive swim team in mid-September. Or should I say, re-joined. I was a swimmer on this team 7th grade through my first year of college, and then coached during my sophomore and super sophomore years, before spending several months in London, and then returning to the states to finish out my degree in San Francisco. It's been years since I hung up my goggles and stashed my stop watch, but funnily enough, right when I was feeling the itch to re-join the swimming world, I was asked if I wanted a position coaching the pre-senior level group.

Despite the fact that my group doesn't practice until three and a half hours after my teaching day ends, and I don't get home before 8pm anymore, I love coaching and being a part of these athletes' experience. However, because of these late evenings, I am rarely in the kitchen these days. I try to cook on the weekends, on days when the school I teach at is on break, or the rare evening we don't have swim practice, but I still come up short on blog-worthy recipes. So if you've been following me these past few months, wondering what my deal is, there you go. My plan for 2012 is to blog at least one new recipe a month--I think that's do-able and hopefully you'll still want to check in with me and see what I've been "cooking in Cucamonga". :)


My other blog, Janet From Another Planet, houses my non-cooking musings, vacation photos, and other aspects of my life outside the kitchen. It's a little more witty and a place to let my hair down and have some fun. Yep, I am that nerdy and just said that! :) Check out my recent list of 11 New Year's goals and maybe let me know some of your goals!

Psst...

My beer blog


Go read it. Try some new beers. Tell me about your favorite beers.
Mmm, beer.

Smoked Tri Tip

The husband and I were debating what birthday present I should get for my big 30th birthday last month, and we kept going back and forth between a new lens--L glass, drool-- for my camera, or the Weber smoker I'd been wanting for quite awhile. We'd go to BBQs Galore and stare and the smoker, then come home and I'd log into Amazon and oogle the lens. Decisions, decisions.

Well, I'm sure you can figure out what direction I ultimately went, based on the title of this post. The free prime shipping and the allure of smoked meats won beat out the new glass. (Though I still hope to get the lens for Christmas!) The smoker arrived a few days before my birthday, but with all my prior commitments it was a few weeks until we were able to finally smoke some meat. Finally, a Saturday arrived where I was only semi-busy with coaching swim practice, followed by presenting at a literacy conference, and since tri tip takes less than 3 hours to smoke, I had the husband pull out the tri tip on my way home and I lit the charcoal moments after stepping in the door. With the smoker holding steady around 240 degrees, the small cut of meat was ready in just about two hours.

We anxiously waited for the meat to rest once we pulled it off the smoker, and when it was finally time to cut into it, the husband and I kept eating small chunks of meat while I cut it into slices. Each piece was infused with a rich smokey flavor that enhanced it without overpowering the beefy flavor of the meat. We opted to just pour a little bit of BBQ sauce on the side, rather than directly on the tri tip, to allow the meat's natural flavor to take center stage.

Smoked Tri Tip
Source: Smoking-Meat.com, The Smoker King.com, and BBQBug.com

Recipe
1 tri tip
garlic salt
pepper
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup olive oil

Directions
Fill in chimney starter with crumpled newspaper and charcoal. Light the newspaper and let sit, about 20-30 minutes, until the top layer of charcoal starts to turn grey and ashy. I have a Weber Smokey Mountain-- I take the body off the smoker and set the
chimney on the charcoal grate for this step.

Sprinkle the tri tip liberally with the garlic salt and pepper, rubbing the seasonings into the meat.

Once the coals are ready, pour them onto your charcoal grate and re-assemble the body, if necessary. I added about 10 unlit coals at this point, to keep the fire hot throughout the cooking process. Once the smoker reaches 225 degress, add about 3-4 chunks of wood (I used apple) to the top of the coals, and then place the tri tip, fat side up, on the grill. Put the lid on and leave the smoker alone for the next 45 minutes. Be sure to monitor the temperature of the smoker, keeping it in the 225-250 degree range. If it gets too hot, close the bottom vents.

While the meat is smoking, mix the apple cider vinegar and oil in a small spray bottle. Shake it up well and spray it on the meat after about 45 minutes. Spray the meat again every 30 minutes; be sure to do this quickly to prevent too much heat from escaping. You do not need to flip the meat over; the fat will render into the meat, giving it a rich, moist flavor.

Test the meat's temperature after about an hour and 15 minutes; take the meat off the smoker at 130-135 degrees (this will be pink throughout).

Slogging Through

It's the last Sunday in September and I'm sitting here on the couch, trying to finish my thesis. This thing has become the biggest monkey on my back. I am so close to being done, but it feels like the finish line is still miles away. The quarter has already started, which means I need to be completely done-all 5 chapters written, earlier revisions completed, ready for editing done- in the next 2-3 weeks. Chapters 1 and 2 are done, with the exception of revisions. I'm up the my eyeballs in Chapter 3, writing out instruction of specific strategies. Only about 7-8 more strategies to go--that's probably another 5-10 pages. Chapter 4 is 75% done; I need to explain the instruction of specific strategies based on text type (cause and effect, etc). I haven't even begun Chapter 5. That's suppossed to be the "easy" chapter, but we'll see.
I have a full-time job, with hours of work beyond the workday, and I'm coaching swimming in the evenings. I keep telling myself I'll work on writing in the hours between teaching and swimming, but with grading, contacting parents, and helping kids after school, I haven't held true on that promise yet.
And now, Mustache Bash 2011 (aka my 30th birthday party) is fast approaching, followed by 4 days in Sacramento for a state writing test committee (awesome resume builder!), then a weekend coaching at a swim meet in Seal Beach, speaking at a reading conference in Pasadena...when will I find the time? I really want to take one more quarter, but the husband doesn't support that idea. ::sigh:: He's right though. It's another quarter we have to pay for and I probably could finish if I buckled down harder. But, isn't my sanity worth it?
I'm sure anyone reading this is wondering what the heck I'm doing blogging and not working on my thesis. You're right. But, I've been working for the past 2 hours, I'm stuck on finding information on teaching comprehension of main idea in text, and my brain needs a break.
It'll all be worth it when I receive my master's degree, something I never thought I'd do. They pay increase will be nice, too.
Someone please remind me of this when I start thinking about phd school...