Joy of Gardening – Sweet Tangy Strawberries
May 16th, 2010
Growing your own strawberries is easy and rewarding. Fruits may be tiny compared to the chemical fed monsters you find at the grocery store but the taste of home-grown garden strawberries are undoubtedly thousand times better than the commercially produced. Do I dare say that they are better than the ones from the CSA. No, I don’t think it’s the mere pride — it really is that good.
33 days of snowboarding; what an amazing winter it has been, we are so blessed. Sad to see it all melt away, but I am ready to welcome spring. To pick up life where we left off, there is so much to do. I remember that sweet scent of strawberries, it always brought a smile to my face.
Rendering Duck Fat
December 25th, 2009
Many of you loyal readers who do not have direct contact with me probably have abandoned and written off WasabiBratwurst as another blogging failure. Well we are still here ticking, chopping, slicing, cooking and eating away but have neglected to share those pleasurable experiences with you. I will get in to why it’s been difficult to make updates on the blog another day, but for now I want to share the pure joy of unadulterated duck fat while we partake in gluttony which we call the Holiday season. Continue Reading »
You like Craft Beer? There is an app for that.
August 13th, 2009
Update on Wednesday September 9: 09/09/09 is the official launch date of the TapHunter.com iPhone app! Approved today. Come download it for free: http://bit.ly/INpCL
Well almost. I am very excited to share with all you beer advocates, tonight I had the pleasure of witnessing the beta version of Tap Hunter iPhone app. For those of you not in the know, Tap Hunter is a new online service that allows you to search for your favorite craft beer on tap at breweries, beer pub, local bars etc!
Although the service has been only available in metro San Diego during beta testing, Tap Hunter is gearing up for their multi-market debut at the Great American Beer Festival next month. Chief Tap Hunter Jeff has been working relentlessly with help of Chris, an experienced iPhone app developer to make the already cool service accessible from mobile device so that devoted beer lovers can catch their favorite brew while it’s fresh on tap! Jeff and Chris invited us to take the app on a spin so we joined for couple beers at O’Brien’s Pub in San Diego.
Pulled Pork Recipe
August 6th, 2009
Barbecue can mean different things to different people depending on where you live in this world. I like ribs and tri-tip; but my favorite BBQ is the pulled pork sandwich. Pork shoulder slow grilled with low indirect heat until the meat is so tender that it starts to fall off the bone, then pulled to shreds, slathered with vinegar based BBQ sauce, and topped with coleslaw in between warm bun — that North Carolina BBQ is hands down my favorite.
I have personally made pulled pork by slow roasting it in the oven and in a crock pot but never on the grill. I have been itching to do it the traditional North Carolina way by smoking the meat but it takes a long time to execute and as some of you know time is something I haven’t found enough of these days. To my surprise I had a full weekend at home so as I caught up with stuff around the house I tended to the BBQ grill.
Cherry Mojito
July 7th, 2009
Many San Diegan’s have been complaining about June Gloom, but turn the calender to July and just like that Summer is in full force. Perhaps my favorite thing about Summer is the resurgence of cherries! So last week when I had dinner guests it only seemed natural to treat them to something refreshing, a cocktail that screams Summer. So I decided to do something similar to Micheal Ruhlman’s rum cocktail with sour cherry and mint.
When making a classic mojito my sweetner of choice is normally a simple syrup or brown sugar. However, due to the cherry’s delicate flavor I opted for agave nectar; a sweetener that is almost neutral in taste. Agave nectar also rates relatively low on the glycemic index. It has lower levels of glucose and higher proportions of fructose which makes it a perfect sugar alternative, especially for those monitoring glucose intake. You can certainly use simple syrup if you don’t have agave nectar handy.
Orange Souffle French Toast Recipe
January 18th, 2009
After a recent trip to San Francisco to visit my best friend and her new baby I was reintroduced to french toast. Now, I’m not much of a sweet breakfast person, I much prefer a savory breakfast over waffles or the like, but french toast made with actual french bread is another story. Continue Reading »
Chicken Salad Recipe
December 17th, 2008
Being someone that cooks for a small household (there are only 2 of us), I know how uninspiring leftovers can be. Not to mention, I can’t stand the thought of eating the same thing two meals in a row. Okay, I’ll admit there are exceptions to that rule, but very few.
Having been raised by a frugal mother, I have always been very resourceful with what I have at hand. And in this economy I find myself even more conscious of using each and every ingredient to the fullest and not wasting anything. Continue Reading »
Homemade Applesauce and Apple Upside-Down Pancake
December 5th, 2008
The changing of the leaves that signify the start of fall remind me of Saturdays spent touring the apple orchards in Southwestern Wisconsin as a child. On a recent trip back home to Wisconsin, I had the opportunity to experience the fall foliage that I have longed for for the last 4 years since moving to Southern California. During that trip, my sister, mother and I made a stop at a local orchard on the way to my grandparents’ home to do some fall baking. When it was all said and done we had 6 apple pies, a pan of apple crisp and a pot of applesauce. Continue Reading »
Acorn Squash Soup with Apples and Roquefort
November 25th, 2008
Two of my favorite fall dishes are butternut squash soup and roasted acorn squash. So, naturally one of the first recipes that stuck out to me in the Google Cookbook was this acorn squash soup recipe.
For some reason, there seems to be this misconception that soups are difficult to make. This, however, is a very simple soup dish that any novice cook can easily execute. It starts with roasting the squash and apples, sautéing the aromatics and combining the ingredients for a quick stew with broth and wine.
Artichoke Orzo Salad
November 8th, 2008
As a last hurrah before the summers end, we gathered our good friends for a weekend camping trip to Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. As all of you loyal readers of Wasabi Bratwurst will know, we take camping very seriously and typically start preparing our food a couple days in advance. There are a few signature dishes that are regularly in rotation, like; caramelized onions, for the honey ham and blue bagel sandwich, also great as an accompaniment to cheese and wine. Larb, a Thai lettuce wrap that can be eaten warm or cold, best after a couple of drinks :) We also love the one-pot dishes like, Japanese curry or a recent favorite, the Guinness stew – always enough for everyone! Taking the time to prepare food ahead of time simplifies our camping life and gives us more time to enjoy nature and, of course, party. Plus, we get to indulge in one our greatest pleasures, turning our friends on to some of our favorite dishes.
