Green Horchata

You know the song Kermit used to sing,  "It's not easy being green"?  :)  Fortunately, I find it quite easy to be green- there is often spinach, kale, basil in my kitchen to name a few.

As part of the It's Easy Being Green Contest, MarxFoods sent me samples of some unique green foods- bamboo rice, dill pollen, green eston lentils, mint herb crystals and green cardamom pods.  My task was to use two of these ingredients in a recipe.

I decided to make a twist on horchata using the bamboo rice and cardamom pods.  Instead of the traditional almonds, I played on the green theme and used pistachios.  I threw in a handful of spinach when I blended it up to keep the drink true to its roots and it worked like a charm!

Pistachio Cardamom Horchata

Yield ~3c

If you're not sure if you love cardamom, feel free to use only 1 or 2 pods and add a cinnamon stick.  You could also switch things up a bit and use brown sugar instead of the sugar!  I added spinach for to enhance the green color and you cannot taste it one bit (promise!!), but feel free to leave it out.

3oz bamboo rice

3oz shelled pistachios (raw or toasted will work, unsalted)

4 cardamom pods, split and seeds coarsely crushed

1 1/4c hot tap water

1/3c evaporated cane juice
handful of spinach, optional

1c almond milk

1t pure vanilla extract

In a large glass jar, combine rice, pistachios and cardamom seeds.  Pour in hot tap water.  Set jar aside and let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

Transfer the contents of the jar (rice/pistachios) to a blender.  Add sugar and spinach, and blend on high speed for a few minutes until as smooth as possible.  Pour through a fine mesh sieve into a jar or other container.  Add milk and vanilla, mix well.  Taste and adjust with sugar or milk to achieve your desired consistency (I added about 1/2c more almond milk).  Refrigerate a few hours.  Serve ice cold.

This is definitely one to remember come St. Patty's Day :)

Disclaimer:  The bamboo rice and cardamom pods used in the creation of this recipe were free samples provided by Marx Foods.

Best of 2012

As we enter the second week of 2013, I wanted to recap some of the highlights from my kitchen last year.  It's always fun to browse through old posts and remember how many tasty things you've eaten :)

1.  The most viewed post here on Tri to Cook published in 2012 was my Kale Basil Pesto.  As kale has taken the place of spinach as my favorite green, it finds itself into many dishes here!  I enjoyed it on pasta as well as pizza, and know that it'll be made as soon as I have another prosperous basil plant!

2.  I finally crossed one item off my kitchen bucket list when I made macarons for a friend's baby shower.  These Red Velvet Macarons were filled with an amazing cinnamon cream cheese buttercream that was the perfect accompaniment to the cocoa-kissed shells.

3.  In the battle of the baby macarons, I have to say that the Lavender Macarons with Honey-Vanilla Mascarpone were my personal favorite, with a combination of flavors that are in perfect harmony.  There's not much else I can say about these, except that you should make them!!

4.  I combined a few more of my favorite things when making this Egg Roulade-  goat cheese, sweet potatoes, avocado and black beans make their way into an egg wrapper for one of my favorite brunch dishes this past year.  Easier than it looks, this makes an impressive dish to serve to guests!

5.  My Butternut Apple Bruschetta truly celebrates the cooler seasons and absolutely deserves to be on a Best-Of list.  Fabulous for parties, especially since the toppings can be prepared ahead of time!

Photo credit to Cara!

7.  Perhaps 2012 should be renamed the year of enchiladas, as these Butternut Black Bean Enchiladas were only one of the several varieties I made!  Stuffed with a mixture of black beans and kale, then smothered with a butternut squash-based sauce, these are definitely a way to ring in the new year. 

6.  When I dreamed up my Apple BBQ Sauce, I didn't imagine it to be as successful as it was, but it was good enough that I made another batch or two before tomato season ended!  This year I'll have to make a large batch and store some in the freezer so I can use it all year long.  I used it as a sauce for herbed turkey meatballs, pizza and even a few batches of enchiladas!

8.  Something happened this year that I never really dreamed as possible (at least not while I was in the 30-34 age group).  On a chilly morning at a sprint triathlon not too far away I finished first in my AG, qualifying me for nationals this year.  I knew my performance was solid during the race, but had no idea what was in store!

9.  This popular post could have had two titles- 'Ideas for your Superbowl Party' or 'How to Cater a Party for 40'.  Last holiday season I convinced my parents to let me cater the party they had for friends and my dads' colleagues.  I had fun planning and executing with the help of my family!

10.  Since I love all things almond, and go through cinnamon like there's no tomorrow, I couldn't wait to play with the concept of a horchata.  These Horchata Cupcakes, filled with dulce de leche were a delicious end to a dinner date with good friends.

11.  You guys love dishes that can do double-duty as much as I do!  I combined sweet potatoes and red lentils to create a party appetizer over the weekend and then morphed it into a soup for lunches during the week.

12.  I'm a huge fan of cocktails that work well both virgin and alcoholic, especially when it seems like everyone I know is pregnant these days ;)  This Pomegranate Vanilla Punch was absolutely delicious, no matter whether you added some bubbly or not!

I have no idea what 2013 has in store, but I know it'll be quite the ride!!

Pomegranate Lemonade

If you're still looking for a sassy cocktail to ring in the new year, look no further.  A little sweet and a little tart, this pomegranate lemonade is ready to be made sparkling!

Pomegranate Lemonade
recipe by Shannon

1c water
1/4c honey
3/4c meyer lemon juice
1/4c lemon juice
1c pomegranate juice
2-6c seltzer
sparkling wine, if desired
pomegranate seeds, for garnish

Begin by making a honey simple syrup.  Add water and honey to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until the honey dissolves.  Remove from heat and set aside.

To a pitcher, add lemon juices (strain if necessary), pomegranate juice and honey simple syrup.  Begin by adding 1c of seltzer, mix and taste.  Adjust to taste with more seltzer, as desired.  Serve with sparkling wine, if desired.  Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds.

May 2013 be filled with tasty eats and fitness milestones!!

Horchata Dutch Baby

When looking for a sweet component to my egg-centric brunch, I was lucky enough to come across Alisa's recipe for a wheat and dairy free dutch baby.  With some horchata in my fridge, my plan materialized: an horchata dutch baby with sauteed bananas and cajeta.

I followed Alisa's recipe for the dutch baby, using oat flour and vegan horchata as my milk alternative.  The recipe was easy enough, but I found it to be quite thick and heavier than the dutch babies I've had before.  (Something sounds wrong with that last sentence, but hopefully you realize I'm not eating children from the Netherlands.)  As the dutch baby is very lightly sweetened, bananas sauteed in a little coconut spread with 1-2T brown sugar and cajeta were the perfect accompaniments and a great ending to the brunch!



Horchata (Vegan)
adapted from Kelly

I was missing a couple of ingredients and apparently patience, as mine retained some texture.  I was fine with this as I was using it in cupcakes, but if you prefer a smooth drink make sure to strain it well.

3oz brown rice
2.5oz whole almonds (or blanched, if you have them)
1 cinnamon stick
1 1/4c hot tap water
1/2c evaporated cane juice (or granulated sugar)
1c almond milk
1t vanilla extract

Add rice, almonds, and cinnamon stick to a bowl.  Add hot tap water and set aside, letting it cool to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Pour the mixture into a blender and add sugar, then blend on high for several minutes until the mixture is as smooth as possible.  Strain through a fine sieve, pressing out as much liquid as you can.  Cheesecloth works well here, if you don't mind the wait.  I was a little impatient and just strained it through a hand held strainer, which gave some heft to my horchata.  Your choice!

Add almond milk and vanilla, mix well.  Refrigerate a few hours.  Serve ice cold.




Are you a fan of the dutch baby pancake?  What's your favorite way to fill it?


This recipe was featured in my "EB Mine" menu, a brunch I hosted along with Eggland’s Best to raise awareness about the importance of a healthy diet to reduce the risk of heart disease. I have a sweet giveaway going on, where the winner will receive a swag bag full of my EB Goodies. Check out my EB Mine Brunch post to enter, today (Feb 29th) is the last day! 

POM Vanilla Punch

Unfortunately I don't have great pictures of this punch, but it was party time.  You can understand, right?  I made two batches of this and it was gone before the guests, so you don't have to take my word for it that this was delicious!!  Perfect for kids and adults alike, I served it with some bubbly on the side for those who wished to imbibe.

Pomegranate Vanilla Punch
adapted from How Sweet It Is
yield ~ 10-15 glasses

1 lg orange, sliced
1 lg apple, sliced
1 lg pear, sliced
airls of 1 large pomegranate
2 cinnamon stick
seeds and pod of 1 vanilla bean (optional)
1T vanilla extract
48oz pomegranate juice (not from concentrate, I used POM Wonderful)
1L vanilla seltzer
prosecco, optional

In a large pitcher, combine all ingredients except prosecco.  Cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Serve with prosecco on this side!

This one's a keeper folks!

Rosemary Ginger Fizz

One cannot live on cookies alone (or can they?), so when I was planning my cookie swap, I wanted to provide a drink option...  besides water and almond milk.  A make-your-own drink sounded like fun, so I prepared some simple syrup and sugared cranberries  (perfect as they can be done ahead of time!) and let everyone serve themselves.  Sweeter, not so sweet, your choice!

Drink Station:  assembly required

I actually forgot the lemon slices at the cookie swap, but I liked the dimension it added when I went to try and take another photo the following day, so I'm including it in the recipe.

Rosemary Ginger Fizz
Recipe by Shannon

for the rosemary ginger simple syrup:
1c water
1/2c evaporated cane juice (or granulated sugar)
3 sprigs of rosemary
2" knob of ginger (or more), peeled and sliced into thick coins

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower the temperature a simmer for a few minutes.  Remove from heat and let steep 10min.  Strain out the rosemary and ginger, then transfer to a jar and refrigerate.

to prepare the drink:
rosemary ginger simple syrup
ice
seltzer
lemons, cut into wedges or slices
sugared cranberries, for garnish if desired

Add seltzer to a glass with ice, then mix in your desired amount of rosemary ginger simple syrup and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Stir and taste, then adjust as you see fit.  For the wine glasses shown below, I was using ~2T simple syrup and the juice from 1 slice of lemon.

This could certainly be made alcoholic, if you're into that kind of thing ;)  Which alcohol would you pair with this?

Peach Sangria

A couple of weekends ago, I happened upon a large basket of peaches.  Topping out over 20lbs, I had fun trying to figure out what to do with them all (fun, in a stressful kind of way when they all ripen at once)!

Halfway through!

There was a request for Brown Sugar Peach Ice Cream, so that was done.  And there had to be pie.   Joanne's Peaches and Dream Pie of course!  I used a frozen pie crust from my last baking adventure and baked it right up, my only other change being 4 egg whites instead of 2 eggs (I had them after ice cream making, recipe to come).  Light and peachy, everyone enjoyed :)

And then there was something I've had in mind ever since I visited Bishop's Orchard last summer.  We did a wine tasting there and I picked up a bottle of wine I thought would be perfect for sangria.  I planned it out before realizing it was, in fact, a peach wine (Blushing Beauty)!

Peach Sangria
Recipe by Shannon

The mint isn't overwhelming in here, but I think it adds a little something-something!

1 bottle peach wine (or other semi-dry white wine)
1c vodka (Absolut Acai Berry)
1c mint simple syrup*
3 peaches, thinly sliced
1 orange, sliced horizontally
club soda
frozen mango cubes
frozen raspberries

In a pitcher, combine wine, vodka and simple syrup.  Stir to combine.  Add peaches and oranges, and refrigerate a few hours, or overnight.

When ready to serve, pour sangria into wine glasses (~3/4 full) and top off with club soda.  Drop in a few frozen mango cubes and raspberries and serve!

*Mint Simple Syrup

1c water
1/2c evaporated cane juice  (or granulated sugar)
large bunch of mint

Bring water and sugar to a boil over medium heat.  Once sugar has dissolved and mixture comes to a boil, turn off heat and add mint leaves.  Steep for ~30min, then strain out mint leaves.  Store simple syrup in the refrigerator until ready to use.




It sure was a tasty way to pass the time through Hurricane Irene!

Strawberry Lemonade Cocktails

Shula attempting her own version of cornhole

I don't know that the .75mi swimming, 66mi biking and 4.5mi of running I did compensated for all of the eating and drinking that happened this weekend.  But it was absolutely delicious, so I'm not complaining :)

Crazy Feta, Cilantro Lime White Bean Hummus and Strawberry Mango Salsa

We're talking things like chocolate chip cookie-stuffed cinnamon rolls, homemade veggie burgers, no-bake smores bars with homemade marshmallows, chickpea salad sandwiches, crazy feta, cilantro lime white bean hummus, strawberry mango salsa, a zucchini ricotta galette, an arugula potato green bean salad, cherry pie and blueberry balsamic meatballs w/goat cheese to name a few.  And did I mention I didn't do a whole lot of cooking?  Rebecca did the heavy lifting this weekend with a little help here and there from the rest of us!

Rebecca and Mike with their cherry pie!

I was spoiled, no doubt about that!!  Hopefully my beverages provided some refreshment for those doing the hard work ;)  First up was Jessica's watermelon float, with a scoop of homemade vanilla bean coconut milk ice cream in a sea of watermelon mint soda.  Incredibly refreshing, and a great way to cool off after an afternoon of kayaking!!

Watermelon float

And then there was, dare I say it, the star of the two drinks I prepared...  a Strawberry Lemonade Cocktail.  It all started when I saw Dave's post about Strawberry Vodka.  Immediately I thought of the Absolut Wild Tea in my pantry and knew it'd be amazing.  I was right.  Perfect on its own, in ginger ale, or homemade strawberry meyer lemon juice.

Oh yes, I made some strawberry meyer lemonade to go along with the infused vodka.  I must have had some foresight when freezing down extra juice during my meyer lemon craze this year, because it created an amazing lemonade and probably one of the best drinks I've ever had.  No joke.  Dangerous, too, if you know what I mean ;) 

Srawberry Lemonade Cocktail

Strawberry Meyer Lemonade

Recipe by Shannon

A great summer drink in its own right, this is a great addition to strawberry infused vodka!  Regular lemon juice could be used as well, just taste as you might want to add more sugar.

1/3c evaporated cane juice (or granulated sugar)

1c water

1c meyer lemon juice (fresh or frozen, thawed)

1lb strawberries, washed and hulled

16oz seltzer

Prepare the simple syrup by combining water and sugar in a small saucepan and cooking over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat and let cool.  This can be done ahead, simply refrigerate until using.

Blend strawberries and then pour through a fine mesh sieve (I used a hand held strainer) to remove the solids/seeds.  Mix with simple syrup, lemon juice and seltzer, then serve!

Edited to add:  This is also delicious when made with a basil simple syrup.  Simply add a bunch of basil leaves after bringing the simple syrup to a boil.  Let steep for 15-30min and then strain out basil!

How was everyone's 4th of July?  Any delicious eats you'd care to share??