Picnic in the Park

So today was the Zilker Kite Festival, and we decided that since we were all actually off, we'd go.  Mom even picked up a kite from Costco so that, if we were feeling adventurous, we could partake in the kite flying instead of just watching.  We were hoping to spend a lovely day stretched out on a blanket looking at something like this:

Of course, it wasn't to be, because by the time we headed out, we spent 45 MINUTES sitting in traffic just to get over the bridge, and it became clear that there was nowhere to park within a reasonable walking distance.  We had duffel bags laden with food, PIMM'S, and wine, as well as blankets, and, of course, a kite.  Not to mention a Bean with a metal plate in her ankle, so we sat in another 15 minutes of traffic and decided to head back to the park - you guessed it - 2 minutes from Mom's house.

Except, along the way, we decided that there was a park we used to go to as kids (and which, apparently, later became where all of the stoners went - I was too straightlaced in high school to be able to confirm or deny this), and so we did a sharp left and ended up at Mary Moore Searight Metropolitan Park.

While I wouldn't say that this park is in a trashy part of town (Austin has been infiltrated by WAY too many hipsters for those places to exist anymore), but it's definitely in a lower income area, and is more functional (giant cement picnic tables, basketball hoops, etc.) than beautiful.  Still, we found parking right away, and so it was decided we would stay.

Except...when we parked there were definitely some people doing "hoodrat things with their friends" and we decided to go.

But then, luckily, we saw that THIS was happening:

This grown man, and this small child (along with about 20 other people) were LARPing!

and then there was really no way we were leaving, was there?  When we googled it later on, we found out that this is actually an organized activity and they call Mary Moore Searight Metropolitan Park...wait for it...The Shire of Slaughter Creek!  Needless to say, that is what we call it now as well.

As the day wore on, there were so many quotable moments, but one of my favourites has to have been this exchange between my sister and my mom:

Mom:  So are those girls (referring to a couple of girls strolling around the park, arm in arm, dressed in corsets, long braids, and floor sweeping skirts) with them? 

The Bean:  Yes, Mom,  those Medieval wenches are the spoils that the winning LARPer gets to fornicate with. 

Mom:  Oh, okay.

We waited and waited, but these guys never showed up to kick some Cacedonian ass...

Anyway, I think someone told me that this is supposed to be a food blog, so we'll move on to the delicious sandwiches we ate:  curried egg salad with arugula on cranberry pistachio bread.

This cranberry pistachio bread is so good that I often eat it without anything on it.

The Bean made a vegan version with tofu, which came out just like this tofu no-egg salad we used to get back in the day at Whole Foods, when it was just a tiny shop here in Austin.  I won't call this a recipe, since I feel like the perfect egg salad is so subjective:  If you like a crunch, but don't like onions, add celery instead.  If you like a super creamy egg salad, add more mayo.  Same goes with the curry powder and pepper.  I find that I like just enough mayo to hold the salad together, a good amount of curry powder, and an obscene amount of freshly cracked black pepper.  And while I don't normally like onions in my food, this is a sandwich where I think a bit of finely diced sweet yellow or spicy white onion does taste nice.

Curried Egg Salad

Ingredients

• Diced hardboiled egg whites OR Firm tofu (crumbled) if you're going vegan
• Hardboiled egg yolks
• Mayo (I know this is ridiculous, considering it's an egg sandwich, but I don't like mayo, so I use Earth Balance vegan mayo)
• Yellow curry powder (the kind you use is up to you)
• Diced onion
• Diced celery
• Fresh parsley (chopped)
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Salt
• Tumeric (only if making the vegan version)

Preparation

1. In a bowl, mix the hardboiled egg yolks, mayo, and of the spices together until creamy.  If making a vegan version, mix the mayo and all spices, including tumeric, together until creamy.
2. Fold in the diced egg whites or crumbled tofu until thoroughly coated.
3. Fold in the diced onion and celery until thoroughly coated.
4. Taste, and add a bit more salt, pepper, or curry powder if needed.
5. Slap that sucker on some bread, crackers, or, for a low-carb treat, some baby romaine/iceberg lettuce for a delicious lettuce wrap.

Crumbled, firm tofu and LOTS of parsley are the base of a good vegan, no-egg salad.

Don't by shy with the curry powder.  The flavour of most yellow curry powder is usually very mild.

For my sandwich, I added a bit of fresh arugula for a peppery crunch, and spooned the egg salad onto toasted cranberry pistachio bread from our grocery store's bakery.  I'm not a fan of egg salad on untoasted bread, because it's too much mush for me.  

I wrapped our sandwiches up in parchment paper, and tied them up with kitchen twine (which prompted a head shake and, "Douche" from the Bean, but LOOKED absolutely lovely).  Apparently I didn't take pictures of that, because - I am relatively certain - by the time we had everything together, it was much later than we had planned.  Just know that it really is nicer to unwrap a quaintly wrapped sandwich, and the parchment paper is durable enough to act as a plate, so MEH, Bean!

We washed this down with plenty of PIMM'S Cups, which makes just about anything you're eating outdoors a bit more classy.  To cut down on the fuss, I made a couple of bottlefuls at the house, so we just had to pour once we got to the park.  If you've never had a PIMM'S Cup before, I highly recommend it.  It's an easy spring drink that's different than the usual shandy, mojito, or sangria, and, let's face it, if your park doesn't allow alcohol, a heckuva lot less conspicuous than a tallboy.

PIMM'S Cup

Ingredients

• 1 Part PIMM'S No. 1
• 3 Parts Ginger Ale (or Lemonade - which, to Americans, is what you'd consider Sprite)
• Ice
• Cucumber to garnish

Preparation

1. Fill glass halfway with ice
2. Add one part PIMM'S No. 1
3. Add three parts ginger ale
4. Garnish with cucumber
5. Guzzle - pinkies up, of course!

I used a glass, swing top bottle (which I'd recommend stocking up on the next time you go to IKEA - they're great for infused oils, large batches of vanilla extract, infused vodkas, and inconspicuously carrying mixed drinks to the park) to make a large batch, and didn't bother with the cucumbers since we were swilling them out of plastic cocktail glasses.  You could just as easily drink one part out of the ginger ale bottle and pour the PIMM'S in, though that seems to spit in the face of everything a PIMM'S Cup represents.  

I feel like Sandra Lee!

It's true!  I got bored and combined store-bought ingredients (vodka) with some fresh ingredients (cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans) and BAM!  I somehow ended up with Aftershock.  

The Devil

For real.  If you're not British, you're probably not all that familiar with this syrupy, cinnamon liqueur, but I remember ferreting it back from London for my little brother-in-law out in Australia.  It's expensive as hell in the UK (£26), and I recently found it here stateside (B and his little brother were thrilled) for about $20, but I was aftershocked (wah wah) by how similar this ended up tasting!

Aftershock is no joke.  It makes you do questionable things.  Like take another shot of Aftershock...

Look how happy everyone looks before the Aftershock! 

And I think the Bean's face says it all...This was her first shot of Aftershock ever.

It's really not a terribly difficult concept, but I'll tell you, what, little bottles of flavoured liquor certainly do impress!  Basically, you take a bottle of vodka (I used this because it's clear and takes on other flavours really well) and stick in some of whatever flavour you want.  I did this cinnamon vanilla bean one, thinking it would be a nice addition to egg nog, and a spicy chili one, which makes a great shot or a delicious addition to Bloody Marys (and helped me to utilize the heaps of cayenne peppers and serranos that our garden was kicking out).

One thing that surprised me was how quickly the cinnamon and vanilla bean turned the clear vodka into a caramel bourbon colour (this change started immediately, and piqued about 36 hours later):

Still, my favourite is the chili vodka, because I love that you can see the peppers and I love how it elevates a regular Bloody Mary.  Plus, it looks fantastic in smaller bottles as a gift.

I think the possibilities for this are limitless, and I definitely want to make a Meyer lemon or Satsuma variety now that citrus is in season.  Let's not lie, I'm probably going to make a Jolly Rancher or Sour Patch Kids infused vodka any day now as well.  :/  The funny thing is that I don't like vodka.  I have friends that drink vodka tonics, vodka waters, etc. and it makes my stomach turn.  It tastes like paint stripper to me on its own, but the flavours definitely make it tolerable and, dare I say, enjoyable?  Well, I still wouldn't choose to drink it on its own, but it's definitely great for cocktails.

Bottoms up!

Quick and Elegant Side: Roasted Dill Carrots

While making chicken soup for the B, I began to think that the carrots I'd sliced on my mandolin (I'm a sucker for uniform thickness, and I kind of suck at doing it myself) were a bit too thin and might become mushy in the soup.  So...what to do - at nearly one in the morning, on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion - with two cups of carrot chips?  Make the Bean the happiest girl in the world, of course!

Great for this side dish, but a bit too thin for a hearty chicken noodle soup...

We've had roasted dill carrots a number of times at one of our local markets, and the Bean absolutely loves them.  However, the last time we went, she paid almost $5 for a small container of them and they were overcooked.  Needless to say, she was pissed and complained how it was ridiculous that every time we came in, the quality was worse, the prices higher, and the portions smaller.

As I mentioned, I was dead on my feet, so I needed to get these carrots done and dusted ASAP.  A quick toss in olive oil, chopped fresh dill (the very first harvest from our little garden!), and a sprinkle of sea salt, and into the oven (at 375° F) they went.

Ready for the oven!

Just ten minutes later, they were barely curling at the edges and ready to come out.  Once they cooled a bit, I popped them in the fridge and hit the sack.  Now you can certainly eat these warm, but we prefer them chilled - the carrots are wonderfully crisp and the dill really has a chance to release its flavor.  

Either way, you have a beautiful side dish that takes about 2 minutes of prep, and 10 minutes of cooking.  It's a fantastic alternative to boring, blanched green beans or bagged salad if you're making a steak, or just as good straight out of the bowl (which is how the Bean ate all of it, in about five minutes).

Less than 15 minutes from start to sleep, thank goodness!

Taste of Home

My favorite part of coming over to my mom's house is that you never know what kind of food will be on the stove.  I have no idea what perceptions people have of what Guyanese vegetarians eat for dinner every night, but it certainly can't be what I walked into last night!

I was immediately greeted by the warm smokey smell of charred bell peppers, which made my mouth water just thinking of my mom's roasted peppers.  I don't care how much you pay at Whole Foods for a tiny jar - nothing beats the oily, vinegary, slightly smokey taste of freshly dressed peppers that have just come off the flame 20 minutes ago.

Garlicky, peppery, vinegary goodness!

I didn't know whether she was bulk roasting the peppers (since Sprouts had an amazing 3/$1 special on giant red bell peppers) or making just a few for dinner, but, thankfully, a quick look at the stove told me that it would be the latter.  In a big pan, Mom was sautéing zucchini and garlic and I thought that one of my favorites, pasta gagutz, was on the way.  However, the zucchini was cut in chunks (my favorite part of pasta gagutz is the thin, slightly crispy rounds of zucchini), and, having just bought my mom a mandolin, I tried to excuse my seeming brattiness by demonstrating how easy the device made cutting the zucchini "really thin!" (as my dad would shout from the living room).  

She indulged me and let me set up another pan on the stove so that I could duplicate the "something new" she was making with my thin slices of zucchini.  After those thin slices of heaven became golden brown and started to curl around the edges, I ground in a couple (okay, several) turns of black pepper, added the cooked linguine, and some minced black olives (straight from the can - no knife work needed) and capers.  

What would you add?  Kalamata olives?  Grilled eggplant?

I'll be honest - sorry, B - I took a few delicious forkfuls straight from the pan before being sent on my way with a steaming bowl of simple deliciousness, a container of roasted peppers, and two small loaves of ciabatta bread.  B was waiting at home because I was only over to drop the Bean home since some jerk had destroyed the whole driver's side of her car earlier that day by mashing it with his truck.  Normally I don't like to eat and run (and this is a dish you MUST eat hot, or else it just seems greasy), but when I walked in the door and B was moaning about what to make for dinner, it was all I could do not to squeal in excitement as I unloaded the delicious Mediterranean feast we had.

I added some of the oven-dried tomatoes I'd made earlier in the week as well as a good amount of parmesan cheese and a little drizzle of hot chili oil before reheating it (like I said, you MUST eat it hot).  This gave me time to slice open the ciabatta loaves and top them with slices of mozzarella cheese before sticking them under the broiler.  Throwing some roasted red peppers on top after taking them out of the oven completed the meal.  It was rustic, sophisticated, and comforting all at once.  So simple, but something that would certainly impress at a dinner party.

The creamy, broiled mozzarella is the perfect compliment to the acidity of the peppers.

I think some thin slices of mushroom would have been great in this dish as well, but that's the beauty of it - add whatever you want and toss!  I have no doubt that this would be exquisite with a bit of spicy salami or sausage if you have guests or a spouse who is always asking, "Where's the meat?"  You can make it all in one pan, and then separate it at the end and just let the oils of the meat infuse the dish.  If you use sausage, the fat left over from cooking it would be a great addition during the final toss.

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