Adieu for Now

Not like I need to tell anyone, but um…I haven’t been posting anything here for awhile.

Thing is, I got accepted to a Master’s program for Marriage and Family Therapy, began school, and began volunteering at a youth shelter all since my last post.  So, needless to say, my free time for the fun food stuff that I enjoy no longer exists and my relaxing evenings at home trying out recipes from a new cookbook are well….few and far between to say the least.

Unfortunately that means that there won’t be any new posts from me on this particular blog as I’ll have to put some of my extracurricular activities on hold for the time being.

If you still wanna check out what’s up with me, you can certainly do so at whatsupwiththejoneses.wordpress.com.  

Thanks for checking out my blog and I hope that at some point you found something here that you liked. 

Until later…

Southwestern Chickpea Patties

In realizing that it’s now officially shorts and t-shirt weather, I decided I really need to go a little more lo-cal on some of my favorite dinners.  Falafel is something that D.Jones and I both love, as is anything Mexical and/or southwestern.  I found a Weight Watchers recipe that is sort of an interesting combo of the two.  I added my own spin  to it and came up with this…

Southwestern Chickpea Patties

1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup low fat sour cream

4 garlic cloves

2 tsp cumin

1 to 2 tsp hot sauce (Tapatio is what I used)

1/4 white cornmeal

fresh salsa (homemade or store bought from the dairy area, which tastes much fresher and usually has more cilantro and onion to it.  Yum!)

Combine chickpeas, sour cream, garlic, cumin and hot sauce in a food processor.  Scrape bowl and stir to combine.  Form mixture into 5 medium sized patties.  Heat small amount of olive oil in skillet, or to reduce calories, spray skillet with olive oil spray.  Cook patties on medium heat until browned.  Turn and brown on second side and remove from heat to serving plate.  (If you are using olive oil spray, spray the top of the patty before flipping so it will brown better on the second side).

Serve topped with a spoonful of salsa and a small dollop of low fat sour cream.

You can make these as spicy as you like by altering the amount of hot sauce in the recipe or using a hotter salsa for topping. 

Served with a side salad, these made a delicious, low calorie, spicy and perfect dinner.   And really, they couldn’t be much easier!

Banana Nut Muffins for Health

My parents have both been laid up with some nasty cough and upper respiratory thing.  I’ve refused to go near their house for fear of catching it, but I did bake up a warm breakfast to run over to them this morning.

I thought I’d try to get as much nutritional benefit into them, so I made some slight changes to a basic banana bread recipe.  The result was pretty tasty…and pretty good for you. 

Banana Nut Muffins for the ‘Rents

1 stick of butter, softened to room temp (or softened slightly in the microwave, which is what I did)

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 c. pure maple syrup

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

3 ripe bananas

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 c. chopped walnuts

olive oil spray for prepping the muffin tin

____________________________________________________

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients together.   Fork mash the bananas in a large bowl.  When they are mostly smooth, add the stick of butter, maple syrup, eggs and vanilla and beat with hand mixer.  When well-combined (it may still be lumpy or look weird, that’s okay), add it to the dry ingredients.   Mix with spoon until well-blended, but still lumpy.  Stir in walnuts.

Spritz muffin tin with olive oil (or you could use a non-stick spray…I just don’t like them).  Spoon batter into muffin cups about 3/4 to full. 

Bake approximately 40 minutes or so, until they are beginning to brown on the top and a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from muffin tin to cool slightly before serving.

Cooper and I delivered them on the above pictured plate while they were still warm and my Dad had eaten two with his morning coffee before we left, so I think they were a hit.

Brew Review – Robert the Bruce from Three Floyds

D.Jones has been a huge fan of everything that has come out of Three Floyds brewing in Indiana.  He hasn’t yet found a beer from them that he doesn’t love and on a recent trip to Illinois, he was able to pick up quite a selection from them to bring home to sample.

We couldn’t wait to check out the Robert the Bruce Scottish Style Ale, and it doesn’t disappoint.  The first thing we noticed after the pour, which was very dark amber with a nice head, was the apparent aroma of pipe tobacco.  The flavor is full of caramel malt.  It’s thick and hearty and creamy.  The tobacco again shows up in the taste, along with hints of roasted malt.   6.5% A.B.V and 35 I.B.U.s.   This one is sweet and yummy.  I call this dessert.  Cheers!

Two thumbs way up for Robert the Bruce.

Sunday Pizza Apologies and a Double Brew Review from Buzzards Bay

First, a quick apology for the absence of a Sunday pizza review.  My pizza partner, aka my husband, was out of town, and didn’t want to miss out on any of the places on our list, but it will resume shortly….we promise.

Upon D.Jones’ return from out of town, he brought with him a mind-blowing assortment of various brews from around the country that we intend to try in short order…beginning tonight with two selections from Buzzards Bay Brewing in Westport, MA.   This place was a recommendation from a friend in Boston so we were eager to open ‘em up and check ‘em out.

First up was their Pilsner, which poured light golden and well carbonated with a nice head. 

It’s hoppier than a traditional pilsner which gives a nice bite at the back of the tongue, and finishes dry.   This beer is not particularly complex, but offers more of a bitterness than may be expected from a traditional pilsner.   It’s drinkable and the A.B.V.  of only 5.1% includes it in the “session beer” category for the hopheads amongst us.

Next up we poured the Gold Medal Lager…

This one also poured light golden and highly carbonated.   Their website describes this beer as a “hearty, easy drinking brewski” and we would concur.  D.Jones called it thicker and almost creamy, which I guess I can see a little bit.  The very end offers perhaps a hint of caramel and overall it has a good mouth feel to it, for what is essentially their self-proclaimed session beer.  A.B.V. is 5.4%.

Two thumbs up for both of our first selections from Buzzards Bay!

Garlicky Tomato and Basil Couscous

If you’ve read any of my prior posts, you probably get that I love couscous.  In particular, Israeli couscous.  So, with that in mind, I try to incorporate  couscous into many of our meals at home.  It helps that our three year old is also a fan.

You also may have read in prior posts that my husband is a pickier eater, at times, than said three year old.  He tries very hard not to criticize anything that I make, but sometimes it’s apparent that he’s not overjoyed….the other night being one of them.

The other night he announces that he doesn’t really like Israeli couscous.  Ooops.  Oh well.  He could have said something like a year ago….

Today though, he’s out of town, so out comes the Israeli couscous!  That, added with one of my favorite combos of tomato and basil, and I have one totally yummy salad for lunch.

Garlicky Tomato and Basil Couscous

1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous

2 cups water

15-20 grape tomatoes

fresh basil leaves (8 to 10 leaves or so)

1/3 c. pine nuts

3 to 4 cloves of garlic, finely diced or put through garlic press

olive oil (1/3 cup plus 1 or 2 T.)

1/2 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Cover bottom of medium saucepan with olive oil (1 to 2 T.).  Add 2 cups Israeli couscous and toast on med-low heat, stirring constantly until beginning to brown.  Add 2 cups water and increase heat to bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Let simmer for approximately 10-15 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Remove couscous from pot and let cool in large bowl.

While couscous is cooling toast pinenuts in skillet over low heat, just until warmed.  Then add to couscous.

Cut grape tomatoes in halves or thirds and add to couscous.  Wash basil leaves and tear into small pieces.  Add to couscous.

For dressing:

Whisk together 1/3 c. olive oil, juice of 1/2 lemon, 3 to 4 garlic cloves put through a press, and salt & pepper to taste. 

Pour over couscous, tomatoes, basil and pinenuts and toss.

**Add-ins**

I love the crunch of onion in cold salads, so I also added about 1/4 of a red onion, finely diced.  The salad is wonderful without it,  and some may find the onion overwhelming, but I like it with the onion.  Also, right before serving, I added a little bit of freshly shaved parmesan to the bowl.  I also found that to be a nice addition. 

Pizza Sunday (on Saturday) – Birchwood Cafe

Today’s Pizza Sunday is a day early for a very good reason….it’s Birchwood Cafe’s Saturday pizza party!  On Saturdays after 5pm at Birchwood a mere $30 gets you two small pizzas and a pitcher of beer or a bottle of wine.  Tonight our choice included a cheese pizza and a veggie pizza, plus a pitcher of Surly Furious.  It doesn’t get much better than that, folks…especially on a Saturday night when it’s warm enough to sit out at the outdoor tables.  As we sat outside tonight, the happy voices and laughter from other tables floated on the evening air as we munched on tonight’s veggie pizza selection, which was a chewy homemade crust topped with basil olive oil (no red sauce), cauliflower, sauteed spinach, diced local tomatoes, scallions and mozzarella.  D.Jones was not looking forward to it because he often reads the less common ingredients on Birchwood’s pizzas and turns up his nose, but once he gets a bite of it, he loves it every time!

The options we didn’t select from tonight included a sausage pizza made with wild rice pork sausage from Fischer Farms or a 1,000 Hills grass fed beef pizza with poached garlic spread, roasted mushrooms, sweet onions, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and cheddar.  Though we didn’t try them, I have no doubt they, too, would have been delish.

The cheese pizza is always good and even a hit with the 3rd person in the Jones party, who is definitely the pickiest of our bunch.

Usually I talk D.Jones into splitting a bottle of wine with me and Birchwood usually has a couple of great offerings of both red or white to enjoy with your pizza of choice.  Tonight, Doug wanted beer and I gave in, though then we argued about whether to get the Surly Furious or the Saison from Lift Bridge in Stillwater.   I caved and put my stamp of approval on the Furious, but as they filled our pitcher, the keg blew about 3/4 into our pitcher, so the awesome guy running the counter gave us each a mug of Lift Bridge’s Farm Girl Saison.  Furious is always delicious and the pitcher on our table definitely added to the perfect little springtime evening we were enjoying…

We sat and chatted and sipped as we waited for our pizza delivery.  Our discussion centered on how much we don’t mind paying to dine out when it’s at a place as fabulously conscientious as Birchwood, and how no matter what we order there, it just feels healthier than eating someplace else….even the pizza.

So…2 thumbs up on Birchwood for so many reasons I can’t list them, but tonight it’s all about the pizza.

Brew Review – Summit Horizon Red Ale

D.Jones had an opportunity to try Summit’s new beer before it was released to the public and he made me promise not to post any details until it was “officially released.”  The fact is, D.Jones has been a fan of Summit for many, many years.  I wasn’t so hip on Summit’s EPA until more recent years.  I suppose my love of Summit started about four years ago, or so, when we lived in downtown St. Paul and would often walk to Pazzaluna for late night appetizers and a cold beer or two.  They always had Summit on tap, and after many trips, the bartender knew that D.Jones was a huge fan…and I was starting to become one too.

On one particular night, we bellied up to the bar and the bartender came over, leaned in and said “Mark Stutrud is at the end of the bar….”  Enough said.  D.Jones ditched me faster than a frat boy running toward a keg.  Oh wait….he was a frat boy. 

Anyway, he introduced himself to Stutrud, and Stutrud made pleasant conversation with him for quite some time until D.Jones worried he was pushing the limits of friendly conversation and bordering on annoying fan, when he politely excused himself and rejoined me at my seat.  While he was gone, I sipped a Summit EPA myself, finding that it was fuller bodied and more delicious than I had ever given it credit for…in fact, I loved it.

Since then, we have continued to enjoy the EPA and wish Summit the best, all while being slightly disappointed in the missing presence of new brews, and getting just a little bored.  We were both thrilled to hear that Summit would finally be releasing a hoppier new beer.  That is, until D.Jones came home one night and announced he had an opportunity to try it and was a little disappointed.  I didn’t want to hear it, and certainly didn’t want to negatively taint my own opinion, so we didn’t talk about it much.

The other night he came home with a sixer so I could try it for myself.

The verdict?  It’s Summit.  It’s good.  It’s hoppier than the EPA, which makes it slightly different, but it’s so similar to the EPA that it’s…well…it’s Summit.  It tastes like Summit.  I don’t know what else to say.

In comparison, last night I ordered the Surly beer flight at Common Roots, where about $5 gets you 4 tastings of the Surly beers on tap.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I think it’s a mistake to compare Summit to Surly….I’m making a different point entirely.  My point is that this was an exercise to prove to ourselves that we were correct about the new Summit.  You see, when you taste Furious, Cynic, or Bitter Brewer, they taste like three distinctly different beers.  You’d never guess with a blindfold on that they are all products of the same brewery. 

Not so with Summit EPA, Summit IPA  and Summit Horizon Red.  They taste like Summit.   Make no mistake, we’re not saying we don’t notice and recognize the subtle differences….it’s just that they are very subtle.   And although they are good…the Summit Horizon Red doesn’t have the boldness we were hoping for and thus, the release was a little disappointing.  We will continue to love Summit but boy…I wish we had more to say about the newest addition.

Brew Review – Southern Tier Iniquity

Southern Tier’s Imperial Iniquity Black Ale is available for a limited time only at the Four Firkins.  A friend of D.Jones picked one up for him last night at the Summit Red Ale debut at the Firkins.  At around $8 for a 650ml, this 9% A.B.V. black ale is awesome.   It pours pitch black into the glass, as the name suggests, and the first sip is full of carmel malts and finishes with the hops when it hits the back of your tongue.  The more you sip, the more apparent the hops become.   This beer is dangerously drinkable, as the 9% is relatively unnoticed.

Now, my beer palate is far less refined than D.Jones’ and my first proclamation was that it reminded me of a stout.  D.Jones said he can see where I’m coming from, mostly due to the thickness and the roasted characteristics.

Another great beer from a great brewery…Southern Tier.

2 thumbs up from both D.Jones and myself!

Brew Review – Full Sail Slipknot Imperial Pale Ale

 Tonight as D.Jones and I devoured our Dulono’s pizza, he cracked open a 22 oz. bottle of Full Sail’s Slipknot Imperial Pale Ale.   It ran about $5 at South Lyndale Liquor, ABV 7.8%. 

When poured, it tops off with a nice white  foamy head.  When sipped it starts off bitter and hoppy and only intensifies.  It’s not exactly a balanced beer, as D.Jones pointed out, but I really liked the flavor.  The pine is apparent and it’s incredibly full flavored, as an IPA should be.  D.Jones says he doesn’t think it’s great because of it’s lack of complexity and isn’t a huge fan of the overriding taste of pine.  He says there are a lot better IPAs out there, but he liked it for the price as it was relatively inexpensive for an Imperial IPA.  I, however, like it alot and though I wouldn’t sit down and drink a few in a row, I thought it was a wonderful accompaniment to our pizza dinner.

Full Sail Slipknot revew from the Jones Fam – 1 thumbs up from me.