Last month, Sara and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary by taking a class together at the Kitchen Window. The class was called “Happy Hour Ice Creams and Sorbets”, and we did very well by that theme with vanilla stout ice cream, cherry merlot ice cream, chocolate whiskey ice cream, and peach champagne granitas. Our group also came up with this great slush recipe, and since it seems to be the Summer of Slushies, this should fit right in.
Pomegranate Lime Slush
2 1/2 C water
1 C sugar
1/3 C fresh lime juice
1/2 C vodka
1 C pomegranate juice
1 tsp grated lime zest
1. Bring water & sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Simmer, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes.
2. Stir together sugar water and remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Freeze mixture, flaking the crystals with a fork every hour or so to keep it slushy. (In our class they froze it in 9×13 pans so it would be easier to flake — this isn’t absolutely necessary, though)
Note: we didn’t actually do the fork-flaking every hour part. If you’re not worried about having perfect, big ice flakes, it also works to just let it thaw a little before serving.
One great thing about our CSA is that they send a newsletter every week that includes recipes. Being new at this, I appreciate having something to help me start thinking about how to use everything (not that I ever stop thinking about food. To diverge, here’s a typical Megan/Sara conversation: M-”why do you have that look on your face?” S-”I was just thinking about how much I love you” M(ashamed)-”Oh, I was just thinking about potatoes”). This week’s newsletter featured a frittata recipe that I adapted to use even more vegetables.
Kale & Sunchoke Frittata
8 eggs
4 Tbsp parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 bunch chives chopped
1 tsp butter
1 bunch of ramp bulbs sliced
1 bunch red kale leaves chopped
3 sunchokes sliced into 1/2-1/4 inch slices
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together eggs, 3 Tbsp parmesan cheese, salt, and chives. Set aside.
3. Melt butter in a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Add ramps and saute until soft (about 3 minutes).
4. Add sunchokes and saute for 4 minutes more.
5. Add kale and saute until wilted (the kale I used was small and tender so this only took a couple minutes. Saute longer if you’re using a heartier kale).
6. Pour egg mixture over the vegetables and remove from stove.
7. Put the pan in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until middle is fully set.
8. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining Tbsp parmesan cheese, and more chives if desired.
I have one rule that has done a lot to preserve my sanity thus far in the work/grad school grind: I don’t do homework on Friday night. Also, I don’t cook. Friday is date night. Fortunately, Sara was pretty easily convinced that this was a good idea too, so we keep this night for each other. We don’t have to do anything fancy — often it’s just going out for dinner, biking around a lake, or renting a movie. And sometimes we drink fancy cocktails and play board games in our dining room. Here’s a picture from last Friday: mojitos, tiramisu, and Monopoly.
I should note that I also don’t make cocktails — I bought Sara ingredients to make a Sidecar, and the book The Craft of the Cocktail for her birthday a couple years ago, and she’s been the resident expert ever since.
It’s a simple thing, but spending time together when we’re not working or running errands means a lot these days.
