Blog Posts - My Tiny Kitchen

My Tiny Kitchen

Millions of peaches, peaches for me!

11/1/2014

I found a secret stash of blog posts that I never published this summer. Dreaming of warm summer days already.

I could literally eat my weight in stone fruit but mostly peaches. I mean real peaches. Not peach flavored candy, seltzer, fruit cups, etc. Plain Nasty. Luckily I have living in peach heaven. They're everywhere!!!! I stopped into the Greensboro Farmers Market to see what was available. They were selling small buckets of gorgeous peaches for $8.00, score! As I was forking over my cash I saw buckets peaches for only $4.00. Apparently they were the less pretty, slightly banged up ones. They just screamed JAM! I walked away with WAY more peaches than I should have tackled but what the heck, you only live once. I peeled and chopped my way through my pile of goodies. Peaches look so pretty once they are peeled. They're glossy, golden hued and smell so good! Can I just roll around in a pool of peaches? J/K... or am I? I made some Peach Jam (a Food in Jars recipe) and some Peach soup. Before you knock it, try it. It's a cold soup, similar to gazpacho (my other favorite summer soup) It's refreshing and easy. The only sweetness in the soup is the peaches. I have paired it with steamed shrimp for an easy summer meal.

Peach Soup
from Cooking Light

Seviche: (I have never made this part of the recipe)
8 ounces chopped cooked shrimp $
1 cup fresh lime juice (about 6 large limes) $
4 ounces lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion $
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon minced seeded jalapeño pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil $
1/4 teaspoon salt
Soup:
3 pounds peaches, peeled, pitted, and chopped $
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 large limes) $
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion $
1/4 cup matchstick-cut radishes
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper $
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon minced seeded jalapeño pepper
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Preparation

1. To prepare seviche, combine shrimp and 1 cup juice in a medium bowl; chill 1 hour. Add crab; toss gently to combine. Drain thoroughly; return shrimp and crab to bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons onion and next 4 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon salt). Chill at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours.
2. To prepare soup, combine peaches, 1/3 cup juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place half of peach mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Pour pureed peach mixture into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining peach mixture. Stir in 1/4 cup onion and next 4 ingredients (through 1 tablespoon jalapeño). Cover and chill 30 minutes.
3. Arrange 1/4 cup seviche in each of 8 small shallow bowls; ladle about 1/2 cup soup around seviche. Sprinkle evenly with sea salt; garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Amelia Saltsman, Cooking Light
JUNE 2010

Chowdahhhh

10/31/2014

No, I'm not from Boston. EEEWWWWW (as Jimmy Fallon would say. Actually he probably wouldn't say that because he's from Boston). I was making my grocery list and dug into my Pinterest food board for some inspiration. Low and behold I have whipped up a batch of Chipotle Corn Chowder. But first let me mention...

MAJOR LIFE UPDATE: I know this isn't Facebook official but in case you haven't heard. My sweet boyfriend Nathan has moved down to NC to be closer to me!!!! Everything happened pretty quickly. He moved down in literally 2 weeks. Unfortunately we're still living kinda apart. His job is about 2.5 hours from Winston Salem where I work. He has moved to the little town of Morganton which is WAY cooler than Mocksville where I live. Luckily the distance between Mocksville and Morganton is only an hour. So I am spending lots of time checking out Morganton. I decided to trek out to see what the food supply was like around this place. Let me tell you, NC is the land of Walmart. I loath Walmart for a variety of reasons. But it is one of the few places I can snag food around here. There is a grocery store chain down the road called Ingles. I don't know if I should pronounce it IN-GLAZE (in my best Spanish accent) or INGLES (rhyming with tingles) who cares. Either way, the food shopping around here is pretty limited. As much as I hate to say it, Walmart had a surprising organic selection, crazy variety of produce and everything is way cheap. I got a box of organic kale for 99 cents. I can see why it's so alluring. It's essentially the devil of grocery stores. Somebody loan me a cross? Yet again I digress...

So I was gathering my supplies to make a feast of food for the next few days. Nate has been surviving on PB&J, raisins, nuts and milk. I don't know how that is even possible. I think he likes when I come around and make food. I can't imagine why...

So I dug up a recipe off Pinterest and made it. It was really easy, very tasty. I hope Nate eats it for dinner tonight. If he doesn't I will eat if for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I LOVE SOUP. It is a major staple of my fall and winter diet (diet as my daily food selection, not that i'm on a soup diet, can you imagine...lol).

I've also included some pics of Nate's new place and one of the cool breweries that's literally 5 minutes from his place. It's not Pinnochios but it will definitely do.

Chipotle Chicken Corn Chowder

INGREDIENTS:
1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 poblano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2 cups chicken stock
6 small red potatoes, peeled and diced small
4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
4 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
2 cups diced, cooked chicken
1 (30-ounce) can sweet corn, drained
1 (15-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
Juice from 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
Chopped cilantro, to garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Remove one chile from the can of chiles and mince it. Remove 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce and set it aside to be used later. You can save the remaining chiles and sauce for another use.

2. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Add the poblano pepper, red bell pepper, the chile from the can, cumin, thyme and oregano, and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the peppers become soft. Add the garlic, stir and cook for an additional 30 seconds, or until fragrant.

3. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon and cook for 1 minute, or until there is no longer any visible raw flour. Slowly stir in the milk and chicken broth, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan as you stir.

4. Add the potatoes, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced with a knife.

5. Add the shredded cheeses a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until the cheese is completely melted.

6. Finally, stir in the chicken, both cans of corn, the tortilla chips, lime juice and the reserved 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until the soup is completely heated through. Serve immediately.

Note: If you have leftovers that have been refrigerated and reheated, you may need to thin out the soup with some extra chicken stock, as it may thicken up in the refrigerator.

*** I strayed from this recipe a little bit to make it my own. For starters, I didn't have any of the herbs, so I left them out. I added a whole chopped red onion in with the peppers and I left out the tortilla chips. .All I could imagine was soggy chips, EEEWWWWW! I substituted frozen corn for canned. I think it's fresher, maybe that's all in my head. I also used 2% milk to shave some calories. ****

Tomato Jam

7/31/2014

I found a bunch of old posts that I forgot to publish. This one is from a few years ago when I had first moved to North Carolina. Looking back on some of these posts makes me laugh. HAHAHAHAH I was so lame, but not really.

It's a good thing I like jam because Nathan barely makes a dent our stock of jam/jellies/pickles. I was horrified to discover he had gone to the grocery store and bought a jar of Smuckers Strawberry Jam for his PB+J. Apparently I jam I make is "too fancy for PB+J". I transformed into the hulk, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! I SLAVE OVER A HOT STOVE TO MAKE HOMEMADE JAM AND YOU BUY THIS CRAP!" Let's just say I made my point and there is no sign of that garbage anywhere in the apartment. On a positive note, when Nate does like something he will gobble it all up. I made some of Marisa McClellan's tomato jam last summer and have been slathering it on toast with cheese, sneaking it on burgers, basically using it anywhere you would stick ketchup. He was a bit resistant but eventually tried some and thankfully liked it. YAY!!! Since I knew it was a hit I added it to my list things to put up this summer. I got some great looking tomatoes for 1.50 a pound and made quick work of this jam. What I like most about it is how easy it is and you don't have to peel or seed these 'maters. Just chop everything up and let it cook down into a sticky, jammy mess.

Tomato Jam with Smoked Paprika
from Food in Jars
Ingredients

12 cups chopped orange tomatoes (I use red)
2 1/2 cups sugar (I only used 1 3/4)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon red chili flakes
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a large, non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce temperature to a simmer. Stirring regularly, gently boil the jam until it reduces to a sticky, jammy mess. Cooking at a fairly rapid pace, it should take about an hour of cooking.
When the jam has cooked down sufficiently, remove from heat and fill jars, leaving 1/4 inch of head space. Wipe rims, apply lids and twist on rings. Process in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes.
When time is up, remove jars from water bath and allow them to cool. When jars are cool enough to handle, test seals. Store jars in a cool, dark place for up to one year.

Pickle Renegade

7/31/2014

I went a little wild and bought 9 lbs of cukes at Produce Junction. *** this tale of massive produce buying will haunt in the future too. It was only last summer (2015) that I walked to the local farmers market for some eggs and came home with 10lbs of cukes because it was a great deal but also because I felt bad for the poor old farmer guy that everyone was ignoring. I will never learn.*** I only had 6 hours left in my mini vacation before I had to head back to work for 6 days in a row.*** Another side note, I have no fricken idea how I managed to work 6 nursing shifts in a row. I must have been Wonder Woman because now I only work 3 in a row at most and it literally kills me. Maybe I was high on New Grad knowledge or I was almost killing people without realizing it. *** It was now or never. Plus I had a bunch of peaches, tomatoes, peppers and meals for the week to cook up. Afterwards I am glad I got it all done but it was a mad dash to the finish line. I now realize I might have bitten off more than I could choose. In those six hours I made

Peach salsa
Pickled Peaches
Pickled Jalapeños
Tomato Jam
Ham and Cheese grits
Salads for lunch
Corn Chowder

Afterwards I was L'exausted. I had to do something with all those cucumbers so I made 2 different recipes. Hop Pickles and Old Bay Pickles. I love scoping out different kinds of pickles and then trying to find a copy cat recipe on the internet. At Whole Foods they sell some tasty looking pickles but I'm not paying $7-10 for a jar of artesinal pickles. ARE YOU CRAZY! So when I saw that Brooklyn Brine Co. was teaming up with Dogfish head brewery for beer pickles I knew I needed to figure out how to make these. I was a little bit of rebel and didn't dunk my pickles in a hot water bath to process them. Before you freak out listen to my reasoning. After canning for awhile you develope a certain sense of comfort in fiddling with recipes. I have read in the past that for cucumber pickles they don't necessarily need to be processed as long as you are using hot jars, hot liquid and maintaining a 50/50 water to vinegar ratio. There is so much vinegar and salt in the brine that it is nearly impossible for anything to grow. That being said it is something you have to decide for yourself. This is the first time I have done cucumbers this way but I knew that I would be the only one eating them (Nate hates pickles) and I still give everything I can a close look before I gobble it up. You can still process them if you like. I was just looking for another way to make my pickles crisp and save some time.

Hop Pickles
from Cupcake Rehab

MARILLA’S HOP-PICKLES MADE WITH IPA

MAKES ABOUT 4 PINTSIngredients:

8-10 small pickling cucumbers (about 3 pounds)
2 cups white vinegar, 5%
2 cups water
2 tablespoons pickling salt
4 sprigs fresh dill, 4 dill heads or 4 teaspoons dill seeds
1 teaspoon pickling spice (divided into fourths)
a little sprinkle of mustard seed per jar
half of a medium sized white onion, caramelized (done beforehand, allowed to cool & patted “dry”) I omitted this from my batch.
1 chili pepper, seeded & sliced
a dash of cumin seeds
2 medium cloves garlic, each cut in half
1 bottle Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA (or the IPA of your choice)

*** I omitted the 2 cups of water since you need a 50/50 ratio of acid to water/beer. It's always better to go a little heavy on the vinegar and skimp of the water instead of the other way around.****
Directions:

Cut a thin slice from the ends of each cucumber. This prevents a “mushy” pickle, as the ends of cucumbers contain an enzyme that makes them mushy. Place jars in canner to sterilize them and place lids in hot water to soften seal. Keep jars hot.
Meanwhile, combine vinegar, water, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off heat. Add the bottle of beer (you will end up with leftover brine, it’s almost certain).
Remove hot jars from canner. Divide the fresh dill or 1 tsp dill seeds, 1/4 teaspoon pickling spice, chili peppers, cumin seeds, onions and garlic among the jars (they should be still hot); pack in cucumbers.
Pour the hot beer brine mixture over cucumbers to within ½ inch of rim (head space). Place lids, then bands, turning only to fingertip tight. Let sit in a cool dark place for 24 hours. Check seal. If not sealed, put the jar in the fridge and enjoy right away! If sealed, allow jars to sit for one week before opening for optimal flavor.

Explanation from someone else on skipping the hot water bath...

Before anyone gets on my ass, no I didn’t process them. I figured the salt & vinegar was enough to ensure safety, not to mention the fact that I had a feeling they’d be opened & eaten fairly quickly. If you want to process them, then go right ahead. An experienced canner should know exactly how long, etc (as a general rule it’s 10 minutes for pint jars, 15 for quart). However there are a lot of pickle recipes (like this one) that don’t require processing, the lids seal as soon as the liquid/jars cool. I’ve never had a problem with doing pickles this way now & then, but obviously you need to make sure all of your produce is 100% clean and that your equipment is 100% sterilized, and that you’re using white vinegar with 5% acidity. Yes, yes, yes, I know the USDA would have my head for that. But whatever. I’m nothing if not a rebel.

Old Bay Pickles
From Coconut & Lime

Ingredients:
4 medium zucchini, cut into forths and to fit pint jars (I just swapped cukes for the zucchini)
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons pickling salt
2 tien tsin dried peppers
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dillseed
2 teaspoons Old Bay
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seed
2 cloves garlic

Directions:
Bring the vinegar, water and salt to a boil. Prep the lids/jars. Evenly divide all of the ingredients between 2 wide mouth pint jars Pour in the vinegar mixture. Close the jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. Allow to sit 2 weeks before eating.

Yield: 2 pints

Summer Bounty

7/31/2014

I got real lucky when I found my current roommate situation in Mocksville. Not only is she really laid back but her Dad has a farm down the road from the house. One of the perks is that we get produce from the farm. Last time Kim went over she asked if I wanted any veggies. I said I would take whatever. Well that ended up being a whole bucket of beets, 8 heads of cabbage, 3 bags of kale, mushrooms and a bunch of onions. SCORE! I made quick work of the cabbage and made a second attempt at making kraut. This time I made sure if was submerge in brine and checked on it daily. But then I went to PA for a long weekend… when I returned the kitchen smelled REALLY funky. I know fermented stuff takes on an odor. When I checked on the kraut there was some colorful blooms of mold growing on the top of the brine (totally normal, just skim the funk off) but then I looked closer and saw a bigger problem. MAGGOTS! Ewww!!!!! Make my skin crawl! Lots of time little while worm things crawling everywhere. I called up my Mom to see if I could salvage the kraut and just skim them off. She said NO WAY! Throw it out. You need to watch kraut EVERYDAY, lesson learned. As I tossed the batch into the compost head I could smell the lovely scent of the sauerkraut from the bottom of the jar that was maggot free. Bummer. Luckily I had some kraut brewing in different jars that had not been affected.

I had to do something with the rest of the produce. I made kale pesto, stuck it into ice cube trays and froze those bad boys for a rainy day. The mushrooms were made into barley risotto Trader Joes style (apparently Nate says it’s one the the best things I have made in the past) and some oven roasted beets. It took me all afternoon to cook up this stuff but I am set for the week. All I need to do is nosh on my prepared meals. No cooking!!!!

Kale Pesto

This recipe is pretty loose. Feel free to add or delete whatever you like to suit your flavors.

Big bunch of kale (stems removed)
5 cloves garlic
½ c. nuts (I used pecans)
½ c. parm
¼ c. EVOO
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
A couple good shakes of crushed red pepper flakes
S&P

Pulse everything in a food processor, slowly add EVOO in while the processor is running.

The best niece ever

7/25/2014

Warning, this post might be a little sappy

I'm sure everyone says this but I have the cutest niece. I’m lucky to have a real cute niece who is turing 3 TODAY. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 3 years since she made “Christmas in July”(she was born on July 25th) I do remember I was in the midst of driving back and forth to Philadelphia that summer lugging all of my personal possessions for my final move at the end of the summer. Melissa was as big as a boat and I got the call that things had started to move. Luckily it took some time for Nora to make her appearance so I was able to see Melissa before the final labor process began. I was the FIRST of the Socha clan to get my hands on her. She was so tiny and cute I could have died! I soaked her up for the next month and then I had to head out to Philly to start my adventures in being a Nanny and hopefully get into a nursing program (Luckily I was accepted AND passed). The night before I left I went over to Lissa and T-Pet’s casa for some last bits of snuggles. I must have looked like a crazy person. Melissa is in the kitchen taking a break while I was with Nora crying. Melissa was alarmed, “What’s wrong?” I started balling that Nora wasn’t going to know who I was since she wasn’t going to be seeing me as often. Psshhh, I was freaking out over nothing. Skype dates gave me the chance to see Nora and I drove home as often as I could to see as much as I could. I love to go home but the real reason I go back as often as I do is to see Nora. I want her to know who I am. I wish Melissa didn’t have to feed her so much because she grew at an alarming rate. I guess that happens with kids. As Nora grew she became more and more exciting. It was fun to watch her roll around, then she was clapping, watching her starting to walk was fun too (like a drunk sailor) and then she started to talk. I could have died when she started to say my name. (Even though she still gets me confused with Emma, I don’t know how…) Every time I go home we get to do more and more things. Last time I went to VT we hit up Duke’s creemee stand, our first unsupervised outing. It took her FOREVER to eat her cone. It was only filled to the brim, not even a full baby creemee. Melted, sticky mess everywhere. While we were sitting there she was chatting away “ It’s a beautiful day, tomorrow we go to the library? Baby brother can’t eat ice cream, makes his belly sick” I just love her too much. Now when we Skype she asks me “ Whatcha doin Ashee?” and jumps around like a Mexican jumping bean. She says crazier and crazier things. She recently is really into “boobie shows”, I don’t even know what that is. She is just the best little person. My sister and T-Pet have taken the hard job of parenthood and molded such a wonderful little person. Now not only do I have the most wonderful little niece to love, I ALSO HAVE A NEPHEW! I can’t wait to see what kind of a person Henry turns into. I just know I can’t wait to go home and spend time with both of them, oh yeah and I guess I should probably see the rest of the fam too.

Hankering for something sweet

7/7/2014

I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. In fact I have more of a salt tooth. Mom and I joke that we want to be buried with a salt lick around our necks when we croak. For the insane amount of salt I consume I have somehow been fortunate to have low BP but I know I’m living on borrowed time. When I do have the occasional pang for something sweet I usually have nothing in the house to eat and it’s usually fueled by raging lady hormones. I was having a major craving for my Aunt Val’s Black Bottom cupcakes. (Mom don’t kill me for sharing this wonderful recipe)

Mom would make these for holidays and special occasions. I remember them the most around Halloween. Mom tried to make up for not letting us go trick or treating by making baked goods to compensate. No trick or treating for the Socha girls? Yep, Mom and Dad said the neighborhood wasn’t safe enough and we weren’t supporting “The devil’s holiday”. Eventually I wore them out and was able to go trick or treating for the first time much to Mom’s dismay when I was in 7th grade. She assured me that Aunt Val was rolling in her grave at the thought of me trick or treating. Mom’s guilt trip obviously didn’t work. Since we were lacking in the costume department and Mom wasn’t going to buy me a costume I went as a scarecrow. I went with my gal pals to Woodcrest Circle, which was THE place for Halloween. There were tons of houses in that development. I couldn’t believe all the candy I got. All the excitement was followed by a slumber party at Kristina Steves. BEST NIGHT EVER (for a 7th grade girl)

These cupcakes are super easy to make which is good because I hate to bake. You have to be exact with baking, not my strong suit. I was feeling cheap and didn’t want to buy cocoa powder since I saw a can in the cupboard and Kim is more than happy to share pantry supplies with me. After whipping up the batter and sticking these puppies in the oven I noticed the color of the batter was a bit off. That’s when I checked out the expiration date on the cocoa powder. November 2010. Whoops, a little bit old but the cupcakes were already in the oven. Oh well, I can’t let good food go to waste. I ate them anyway. In fact I ate them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is one of the pitfalls of living without Nate. I have to eat everything I cook. I offered some to my roomie but she obviously declined. She had a whole cake to eat, which I helped a little bit with that too (I hope she didn’t notice/care).

Auntie Val’s Black Bottom Cupcakes

Makes 18 cupcakes

8 oz cream cheese room temp
1 egg
pinch of salt
6 oz. chocolate chips

1 ½ c. flour
¼ c. cocoa powder
1 c. sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. water
1/3 c. oil
1 tbsp. vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix cream cheese, egg, salt and chips together and set aside.

Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Mix fluids. Next mix wet and dry ingredients together by hand. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Add 1 tbsp of cream cheese mixture to top eat cupcake. Bake at 350 for 30-35 mins.

Epic Fail

7/2/2014

Bourbon and BBQ are kind of a big deal around here. I'm trying to acquire a taste for bourbon. Mostly because I have a bottle of it back in PA that I have leftover from a bacon jam recipe. I found bourbon lemonade cocktail that I AMAZING. It’s refreshing, strong and let’s me taste a little bit of the bourbon flavor without being overpowering. It was so good that I bought a handle to have here in NC so I can have a cocktail at either house. A popular shot at the bars around here is the pickle back. It’s a shot of bourbon/whisky followed by a chaser of pickle juice. It sounds right up my alley. Since I eat pickles insanely fast I always have leftover pickle brine that is so jam-packed full of my favorite flavors that often ends up down the drain because I don’t know what to do with it. I was surfing the web for suggestions on what to do with this flavor packed pickle brine. I came across a blog with a recipe for pickle back ice lollies (popsicles). This sounded right up my alley. I was starting to like the flavor of bourbon in small amounts and I LOVE PICKLED anything. I filled my Popsicle molds with 2 tsp. of bourbon per mold and topped it off with spicy lemon cauliflower pickle brine. I stashed these puppies in the freezer overnight and couldn’t wait to try them out the next time after a long day at work. Alcoholic popsicles are a genius idea.

These popsicles are VILE. Don’t make them, EWWWW! It’s not the pickle juice that’s bad, they’re just so strong. I feel like I'm sucking on a rubbing alcohol ice cube. I tried multiple attempts to enjoy it but after 3 good licks I have to trash it. Luckily I only made 4. I’m thinking about taking the remaining ones and sticking them into a bloody Mary as a chiller. Too much concentrated bourbon flavor for me.

Instead I will enjoy my bourbon in this lemonade. I have also used rhubarb syrup from Food in Jars as my sweetener.
Rhubarb Syrup Recipe

BOURBON GINGER FIZZ
makes 1 glass
From http://www.henryhappened.com/recipe-bourbon-ginger-fizz.html

1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
2 slices fresh ginger
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 oz bourbon
1/2 cup club soda

First make a simple syrup with the sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer them together until the sugar dissolves. Take the pan off the heat and add the peppercorns and ginger. Let it cool and then strain. Fill a glass with ice, add 1 tablespoon of the syrup and then the remaining ingredients. Garnish with a slice of lemon.

Winston Salem Adventures with Jana

6/30/2014

I've been living in Mocksville since March and Heather has finally graced me with her presence in the booming metropolis of Davie County. She can now report back to home base (Mom and Dad) that I am living in suitable conditions and she even met my roomie (Who has yet to make me into a human shish kebab). While she was here I gave her the tour of the house and revealed that there was a door that I believed went to the basement but had yet to explore it. Mostly because I was too much of a chicken. This house was built pre Civil War and I'm afraid there's something creepy down there. Kim never included the basement on the grand tour and I have yet to see her go down there either but it definitely exists. Heather having a sense of adventure suggested we get flashlights and explore. I put the kibosh on that. I don't want to find something that will make it harder for me to sleep in this house when I"m by myself. I already think I hear music when I"m all alone at night. I don't need to find skeletons to further fuel my imagination that ghosts may live here or agitate anything that does float through the soul of this house. YIKES!

After driving through the heart of Mocksville (which took about 2 minutes) we decided to head into Winston Salem (The big city as described by some people around here). Our first stop on the day of fun was Hills BBQ. This is one of the spots on the NC BBQ that Heather and I are hoping to check off our list (She pointed out that she was the one that discovered that there was BBQ trail and that I was her original idea but that I could sponge off her coolness if I so please, Thanks Jana) Heather also pointed out that I could use some practice parking my car. I guess I leave too much space between my front bumper and the curb. Whatever... Onto the good stuff. Heather had her first Cheerwine, my new favorite drink. It's a cherry flavored cola with a nice red tint. I don't even like soda but I'm hooked on this stuff. It's a NC product and readily available throughout the South. The BBQ was tasty, the hushpuppies a delight and slaw. In NC I have discovered when you get coleslaw you always have the choice of red or white slaw. White is traditional mayo based and red slaw is not mayo based with a red tinge but it's not hard to describe. It's got a horseradish tang and maybe ketchup gives it the red tint but it doesn't taste like ketchup. Either way we were stuffed to the gills.

Next stop where 2 roadside attractions that I read about online. The first being a Shell station. It's in the shape of the clamshell. It's not functional as a gas station anymore but was made into a visitor info center. If you want to know a little bit more about it click here.
The second roadside attraction is a huge coffee pot that was used as an advertisement piece for a tinsmith. When I read about it the coffee pot was described as huge ( around 7 feet.) When Heather and I found it I will admit it was big but not as big as we had hoped for. Heather was thoroughly disappointed, I was tickled pink to have my photo taken with it. Here's a little more info on the coffee pot if you're interested.

Since we were in the downtown area we decided to check out what we could on foot. There is a pedestrian walking path that was a little deserted with a lot of trees/shrubs/underpasses. As we were walking Heather is looking all around and acting like a goof. "What the heck are you doing?" and she says just like my Dad "I'm just being aware of my surroundings!" Then I whip out my kitty claws, I tell her I will protect us and she tells me she's scared that I'm the one in charge of the claws. Psssshhh! After we exit an area full of bushes and shrubs we emerge into the BB&T plaza with lots of cool water fountains. It's at this point I ask her if she saw the homeless person. "What homeless person?" I then tell her they were covered up in blankets behind the bushes that we were just walking past. Look who's aware of their surrounds now! (score 1 for Ashley, 0 for Jana) I know it was Sunday but the downtown section of WS is pretty beat. There wasn't much going on there. I don't think going during the week would make it much better.

To continue our afternoon of fun I took Heather to my favorite Goodwill. She is the best and worst to take to thrift shops. Bad because I never find anything when she's around but good because I don't spend any money. To wrap up the afternoon we made a pit stop to Sonic since she had yet to experience the drive through with roller skating attendants and we got some sweet frozen treats. It essentially took the place of my dinner. Heather got a food baby and I was stuffed to the gills. We headed back to the house and spent the rest of our time watching our favorite Jimmy Fallon Youtube videos and cracking up (Heather has the most infectious laugh)

The Continuous Adventures of Ashley

6/23/2014

I've been a bit busy, I feel like that is how I start all of my posts lately. I have been lucky enough to spend some serious time in Pennsylvania over the last 2 weekends, unfortunately I have to drive 8 hours to get there so that bites into some of my free time. But overall it was nice to do normal errands with Nate and eat at our favorite places and sleep next to a warm and familiar body without worrying if someone was going to make me into a kebab while I slept. Here are some of the super cool things I've done...

I finally upgraded my phone and went a little wild and crossed to the dark side. I got an Android. I am still not sure I made the right choice. There are some cool things about it but I am still in Apple mode. I constantly complain to Nate, how come this phone doesn't do this? or How can I make the phone do this? ( Nate is a lover of Android stuff) I'm slowly picking up the basics. One of the pros of this new phone is the pictures taking quality is way better.

Anyone who knows me well (or even just met me) know that I LOVE BEER. One of the issues is that I sometimes have a beer that I love and then I can't remember what is was when prowling the bars. Even worse is when I hate a beer and then can't remember it's name and have to make the mistake of ordering it a second time. I'm not one to be wasteful, I"ll still drink it even if it's gross. I'm no fool. Nate's bestie Doug introduced me to the app Untapped where you log beers that you drink while you are out. You get extra badges for taking pics with your beer and checking into bars. GENIUS! I'm loving it already.

I attended my first Katie Herzig show this past weekend with Doug and Nate who are SUPER FANS. I like her as well but not with the same passion as these two guys. They snagged posters off the walls to have her sign them after the show, I even snapped a few pics of them together as they made awkward banter with her. I felt like I was with 2 high schoolers who were at their first dance. LOVED IT! Plus the venue had some delightful beer. Chocolate peanut butter stout? Yes please!

Nate and I did what we love to do best, thrifting (get your brain out of the gutter...) we hit up some community garage sales which here hugely disappointing. What is the point of participating if you're only going to put out one table of junk? And almost everyone had the same theme: Baby clothes, kids toys and exercise equipment. NO THANKS. It got to the point that Nate would drive by real slow and I would just look at the spread and be like "Nope, just crap". We did hit a jackpot of sorts. It was more like an estate sale in this cool mansion that was pretty much picked over but anything without a sticker on it was free. I was still able to find some mason jars in the kitchen and a first'ish edition of Gone with the Wind (I think it's a first edition, second printing). For some reason all of the GoodWill's we hit up in PA were pretty bare this past weekend but I hit the jackpot at HomeGoods. New swimwear and an apple peeler. SCORE! I wasn't even looking for those things and they just jumped off the shelves and yelled "please take me home with you". While we were shopping we spotted as what I can only describe as NJ housewives gone wrong. 2 ladies with their 6 guido kids. The boys had gelled coifs, loafers and polos on and the baby girls had gold hoops and styled hair as well. The Mom's were what made us do a double take. Mom #1 had 3 inch stilettos, skin tight black jeans and a black lace peplum top. She was coated in make-up, very frosted lips and bleach blond. Mom #2 was wearing a thin peach tube top with a black bra and it was sporting an unflattering muffin top to go along with her gobs of make-up and bleach blond hair. The weird thing is all those kiddos were brunettes with dark features...They were the annoying clan in the store who let their kids run amok while they're busy chatting, unaware that they're causing everyone else a bit of distress. GET OUT OF MY WAY, I NEED TO BUY THIS APPLE PEELER/CORER COMBO! YOU"RE KIDS ARE BLOCKING THE AISLE!

In other thrifting news, Nate and I got bored and decided to drive an hour over to Vineland NJ to check out their flea market. It should be called a crap market. It was filled with all the items I could purchase at a dollar store, plus any automotive accessories or tools I may need, an endless supply of bootleg DVD's some questionable women's fashions, produce booths and more garbage. On top of all this, Nate and I were probably the only non-Latinos there. Who would have thought we would be the only Gringos there. We did get some good people watching in and soak up some delicious smelling food. I would have gotten some but was intimidated by the Spanish only signage. Luckily I know what tacos and quesadillas are but my other food vocabulary is a bit rusty. Yo quiero that (and points) It's bad enough I was already attracting stares, I didn't need to make it worse by utilizing my Spanglish skills.

Author

I am an aquarius who likes long walks on the beach and the flicker of candle light. If you haven't noticed yet, Just kidding! I'm a Vermonter who has left my beautiful home state in search of adventure. This blog contains all of my favorite things, mostly food so that my family back home can keep tabs on me. Mom & Dad I'm still alive!!!! Side note: I am terrible at spelling and grammar. There are bound to be typos all over this blog. It's like Where's Waldo. If you look hard enough you will find an error.

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