Hurricane prep by The General

I automatically assume that my house will lose power if anything more than a stiff breeze is forecast.  The defenses provided by a heavy treeline have their disadvantages.  My roommate has had to replace the fence on multiple occasions, which seems to upset her, and in my opinion, she usually ends up a little too comfortable with walking around in sweatpants and a headlamp.

I blend in with the trees.

Hurricane prep is a tightly run exercise in this household.  First, you take a look at your surroundings to identify any potential problem areas.

I like to teach the youngsters as I go.

Next, problem solve before the problems arise.

What if we need to keep warm?

Then, obtain your survival supplies.

Food - protein for strength

Food - carbs for energy.

Toilet paper.

"water" (it's clear and wet, isn't it?)

Create a safe sleeping area away from windows.

I test beds on dogs.

Security is also important, since hurricanes bring out hoodlums.

My middle name is Security.

The point is, hurricanes are more fun than people typically give them credit for.  Hunker down and quit your bitchin'.  Pansies.

Crack pockets

This Easy Eats recipe is brought to us by a very dear friend, cohort, and drinking support group member of mine.  (Clarification: the group supports drinking among its members).  Lauren embodies all that I love in a friend - hilarious, gorgeous, loyal, and an impressive set of cooking skills.

This particular recipe was introduced to a ravenous group of hungover 29ish year olds, and instantly became a hit.  They were quickly dubbed "crack pockets" due to their addictive qualities.

What you need:
crescent roll dough of any variety - how much depends on how many pockets you want.
chocolate peanut butter or nutella
cinnamon
granulated sugar (NOT powdered)




Step 1: Mix 1/3 cup sugar with about 1.5 tbsp cinnamon.  Pour some of the mix into a bowl.

Step 2:  Unroll the crescent dough, and put a dab of the chocolate PB at the fat end of each triangle.

Step 3:  Fold the dough around the pb and push shut the edges to seal in the PB.

Step 4:  Place the dough pocket into the cinnamon and sugar mix, and roll it around to coat the dough.

Step 5:  Place pockets onto a cookie sheet and bake per the instructions on the crescent package.  The seems will poof out, so you will be able to see some non-cinnamony dough in order to check for when it is "golden brown."  Typically, it takes about 10 mins at 375.

Before

After

Serve warm and enjoy!!!  I also recommend that you yell, "THANK YOU LAUREN!" after your first bite.

THANK YOU LAUREN!

Double trouble: Creamy pesto sauce / caprese quinoa

Why stop with plain pesto?  Now that you have a simple presto pesto recipe, let's see what we can do with it to change it up a bit...

I took on creamy pesto sauce, which is great for pasta, fish, and chicken.

Step 1:  Pour 8 oz. of cream into a saucepan.  I personally like to use light whipping cream to cut down on fat and calories, but heavy cream also works.  Turn the burner on to low-medium.

Step 2:  Add 2 tsp. of light butter, and whisk as it melt into the cream.

Step 3:  When the butter is melted, pop out 2 frozen cubes of presto pesto, or use 2 tbsp fresh pesto and add it to the pan.  (Cook's note:  Taste, as usual, and adjust to taste.  I usually go with more pesto for a stronger taste).  Whisk it in evenly, and turn the temp up to bring it to a light rolling boil.

Step 4:  Once the sauce comes up to a boil, turn it down to low and continue to whisk occasionally.  Keep the sauce simmering until it begins to thicken and then turn off the burner.  It will continue to thicken as it cools down, so use it once it reaches your desired consistency.

I served the sauce over grilled wild-caught salmon, with a side of caprese quinoa salad.  I must admit, after tasting how awesome the sauce was, I ended up pouring it over the quinoa as well.

To make the caprese quinoa, cook quinoa at least a few hours ahead of time, and refrigerate the quinoa.  (For cooking instructions, see http://ataps-easyeats.blogspot.com/2011/08/delicious-quinoa.html).  Slice cherry or grape tomatoes to the desired size, chop up fresh basil, and obtain fresh mozzarella (cook's tip:  a lot of grocery stores have it available in various sized balls, so I found some smaller than marbles, which was perfect, because I didn't have to cut it down to size!).  Mix all of it into the quinoa and serve cold.

Presto pesto

Looking up for squirrels.

So this is a little late in the season, because I totally forgot to update the blog (in all fairness, I was distracted by a trip to Alaska).  Can you really go wrong with pesto?  No.  It goes in sauces, on pasta, on sandwiches, with veggies, mixed with goat cheese, on crackers...you name it, you can make pesto work with just about anything.  So, before I go into more complicated things like sauces, let's begin with the basics:  Making pesto.

Step 1:  Locate basil.  Cut some basil from your garden, or pick some up from the grocery store or farmers' market.  I like to mix different kinds of basil to get a more deep flavor profile, but I always use sweet basil as the majority of the stash.  Basil is super easy to grow...I usually grow it in large over-railing flower boxes on my deck, because squirrels love it and the dogs provide a very minimal (albeit much needed) level of protection.

Not even pretending to look for squirrels.

But how much basil do I need?  Answer: as much as you can find, because I will share with you a well-kept secret on storing up pesto for the dry season.

Step 2: Wash the basil.  Fill the clean sink with water and gently stir the basil around to get off any dirt or bugs. 

 Step 3:  Pick off the basil leaves from the stems, and dry them either with a paper towel or in a salad spinner (this method is way more fun).  Load them into a food processor, as much as can fit.  If you do not have a processor (I didn't til I stole my mom's last year), then use a blender instead.  Everyone has a blender...if you don't, go sign up for a bank account and I think the bank will automatically give you one.

Step 4:  Run the food processor on pulse until the leaves are finely chopped, but not pureed.

 Step 5:  Collect your other ingredients:  Garlic, parmesan, extra virgin olive oil, water, salt/pepper, and lemon juice.

Step 6: Add each ingredient to taste.  Per one processor full of basil leaves, I typically add 1/4 cup parm, 1.5-2 tbsp minced garlic, 1/8 c oil, 1/2 tsp lemon, 1/8 c water, and a few shakes each of salt and pepper.  Run the processor to mix everything together, and TASTE TASTE TASTE to adjust the flavors as you prefer.

Good time garlic.

Step 7: The awesome touch = pignolia nuts, aka pine nuts.  What the heck are they???  Not nuts, according to grocery stores.  According to my googling prowess, they are actually seeds. You can find them in the pasta section (what? mind = blown).  Add in 2 oz. per processor (ie if your pre-chopped basil is only half of a processor, add only 1 oz).  Chop chop chop goes the processor.

Seeds.  Apparently.

 Now, you have pesto sauce.  Delicious, green, refreshing pesto.

"Thanks, Amanda, now what do I do with this lifetime supply of pesto?" you ask.  Easy.  Take the amount you plan to eat within 2 days, and pop that into the fridge.  Load the rest into an ice tray.  "An ice tray?!  Are you CRAZY?"  Yes, and yes...crazy brilliant.  Cover the tray in cling wrap and pop that sucker into the freezer.  Now, you have single serve supplies, at the ready.  Pop them out as needed...they melt quickly in hot food, or you can pop them into the fridge to defrost.