Donkey Punch

Ingredients:

3 parts Orange juice
2 parts Ginger ale
1 part Pineapple juice
1 part Light rum (Bacardi)
1/4 part Grenadine

Mixing instructions:

Mix all ingredients in a punchbowl and float orange slices on top.

Creator/contributor's comments:

Favorite punch of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. The name originates from the fact that when drunken everybody becomes stupider than a jackass!

October 2009: 6 Year Anniversary

Six years we have been at this. Six fun filled years of cooking, eating, drinking, talking, laughing and making fun of Bonnie. Some have left and some will hopefully be back. Others have joined. And we keep going strong, with more ideas and endless possibilities for our little cooking club. I’m still holding out for Oprah and maybe even an exotic getaway cooking club one year. Italy girls? One can dream.

In honor of our happy anniversary and keeping with tradition, we opted to dine out for the big day in the big city.

We went to RN74 for dinner. We were all excited to try the award winning chef Michael Mina’s new restaurant in SF. The atmosphere was simple and elegant. I liked the touches of red.

Cheers to us.

For firsts, we started out with the Slow Roasted Beet salad........
Prawns........
Ravioli's. We also ordered the Hamachi Sashimi, not pictured.

For seconds, a couple of us had the Halibut.

Some had the Grilled Prime Beef.
Janet had the Sea Scallops.
And here is what Bonnie had. Chickpeas and Romano Beans. This is why we make fun of her. Here are the Chickpeas with some sausage for the table. Much better.
We talked. Told funny stories.
And of course, had dessert.
Walnut Bread Pudding.
Warm Pumkin Beignets. We also got the Frozen Chocolate Souffle, no picutre of this one.
We had a wonderful time and it was great that we almost had everyone together. We were missing Hiedi.

While we had a great time, I think the consensus was that the meal left us a little underwhelmed. The food was good, nothing really impressed us all that much. Especially with this being a Mina restaurant. I think most of us agreed that we would probably not go back. The service was also sub par. And that was too bad.

Girls, please leave a commet for your take.

After dinner some of us headed out for drinks at a new bar/club - Eve. Where they made a very tasty French 75. Ashley, also had a great drink. We encounter strange service here as well.

As always it was great time.

Happy Anniversary, Cooking Club!

More Deliciousness...

CSA Box #3!

I lucked out this time with a bag of mixed potatoes and immediately thought of potato salad. Unfortunately, I realized that I had run out of veganaise at the last minute. I scraped what was left from the jar and then mashed the potatoes a little to make the salad a little creamier and it worked.

I decided to roast the fingerling potatoes and some peppers for brunch alongside a Mexican tofu scramble. I also roasted some Anaheim chilies and corn and threw those in along with tomatoes, tortillas,and garlic.
Here's a cute sandwich with yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, basil, and homemade white bean hummus. See the dish of watermelon in the back? That came in box #2. Try eating an entire watermelon by yourself. Practically impossible so part of the melon was donated to the Fantasy Football Draft. Also-I advise against transporting watermelons unsecured in your car. Mine rolled off the backseat onto the floor of the car and split in half. Next time the sucker is wearing a seat belt.



This stew was both easy and delicious. I searched through my cookbooks looking for a way to use up the collard greens from CSA box #3. I found a stew in Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker and substituted butternut squash for sweet potatoes along with a few other ingredients and was pleasantly surprised with how well it turned out. I leave you with the recipe:




Spicy White Bean and Butternut Squash Stew with Collards
1 TBSPN olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
i small butternut squash, chopped
1 fresh hot chili (I used a jalapeno)
1 TSPN fresh peeled, grated ginger
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with their juices (I used a bunch of fresh ripe tomatoes)
3 cups of cooked white beans
1 TSPN light brown sugar
1/2 TSPN allspice
1/4 TSPN cumin
2 bay leaves
3 cups vegetable stock
salt & pepper
2 cups chopped collard greens, cooked in simmering water until tender & drained

1. Saute the onion, garlic, & pepper in the olive oil for 5 minutes.

2. Transfer the mixture to your slow cooker. Add the squash, chili, ginger, tomatoes, beans, sugar, allspice, cumin, bay leaves, & stock; season with salt & pepper, cover, and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

3. Close to serving time, stir in the cooked collard greens. Taste, adjust seasonings, remove bay leaves, and serve.

Community Supported Agriculture-CSA-Delicious

See that? That deliciousness? Not only does is taste pretty damn good but it makes you feel good. Let me explain.

I work for Solano County and because we are the largest employer in Solano County we have a wellness program. Every year the wellness program makes this deal with the local farmers in the area to provide Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes to Solano County's employees beginning in July and ending sometime in October. We pay a few months in advance so they know how much to plant and then the boxes are delivered directly to our office for pick-up.

Now some people at work are dumbfounded by the produce box and ask me ridiculous questions such as what if you don't like what they give you? What if they give you stuff that you don't use because you're cooking something else that week? Don't you think that is a lot of money just for some fruit & vegetables?

People-it's the challenge that I love. I've never met a vegetable I didn't appreciate (mushrooms-albeit the kind that will get you in jail-not my fav. but they do still hold a special place in my heart). Eating a wide variety of natural foods work to not only get you all the nutrients and vitamins you need, but it adds some nice variety to your plate. And think about all the $$$ you put into getting your hair done, your vacations, sand for your kid's sandbox that won't give her cancer. Shouldn't you be spending a little extra money on what goes into your body?

Look forward to a few more posts over the next few weeks about what came in my box and what I decided to do with it. Oh-and before I go, here's the no-bean hummus recipe so Angela will get off my back:

Sun Dried Tomato Hummus

• 2 cups zucchini chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon parsley-fresh
• 1/3 sundried tomatoes chopped
• pinch of paprika

Food process everything except the sun dried tomatoes. put chopped tomatoes in bowl and stir in mixture. Drizzle with olive oil right before serving along with a pinch of paprika.

Baba Ganoush

• 1 large or 2 medium sized eggplants
• 2 large garlic cloves, slices
• 1/3 cup tahini
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 TBSPN olive oil
• salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. make several deep cuts in the eggplant and place the garlic slices inside. Place on baking sheet & bake until soft, about 40 minutes until the skin is easy to peel off.

2. Transfer eggplant flesh & garlic to a food processor. Add the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, & salt to taste and process until smooth.

3. I added parsley but the recipe calls for mint which is better. Sprinkle herbs on top and serve at room temperature.

July 2009: Summer Celebration

Thanks to Heidi's parents for offering up their beautiful back-yard we were able to have this month's CC here! A summer celebration - poolside.
Annmarie made an appearance and enjoyed the pool. However, she also proved to be a handful. I love her to pieces, but it may be awhile before she makes another appearance.
Simon of course was a little angel.
Tina (pictured above) provided the drinks as seen in this picture below. The drinks were served in very fine Thomas the Train plastic cups. Keeping it safe for the pool. Not sure if the drink had a name, but I saw that they contained, strawberries, pineapple, champagne, and club soda. They were delish! And AM looks very confused.
Bonnie made an awesome no bean hummus recipe. She ensured us that she will post the recipe to the blog. I think we all agreed that we will be making this one for ourselves. Great for your next dinner party. And her portion size was more than sufficient.
I made a citrus, orzo and arugula salad.
Heidi provided the main dish; these wonderful grilled chicken and vegetable kabobs.....
and tofu ones too!
And finally, Michele made these awesome chocolate, toffee and macadamia nut cookies. Yum!
As always a wonderful cooking club day!

Ubuntu

For my recent dining experience at Ubuntu with Bonnie see this post over at Jams' House!

Japanese Tofu Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1 (14 ounce) package firm tofu, drained
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin (sweetened rice wine)
2 teaspoons sesame oil, or to taste
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

Place tofu between two plates, and weigh down with a heavy book. Allow tofu to drain for 1 hour, pouring out the expelled liquid every 20 minutes.
Whisk together the soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, and rice vinegar in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat, stir in the garlic and ginger, and gently cook until lightly golden; stir into the soy sauce mixture.
Cut tofu into bite-sized pieces, and toss together with the tomato, onion, and cilantro. Pour in the dressing and toss to coat. Garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.