Two Soups (and a beverage!)

One vegetarian, the other not so much.

Quick and Chunky Noodle Soup

Soups with broths scare me off because of the time constraints. HOWEVER, I figured out a way to make a tasty chicken noodle soup in less than an hour and a half, though it of course tastes better the next day.

1 whole chicken
bunch of celery
4 carrots
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
3 medium turnips (or parsnips! or both!)
cilantro! forget that nerdy parsley.
package of egg noodles
and salt and pepper, our good friends

Chop up the chicken as best you can, about five or six pieces, leave the fat on, and boil it for about a half hour, till it gets to falling apart. While that is going on, chop all your veggies up. When the chicken is done, drain most of the water, but save about three cups of the oily goodness. Add three cups of fresh water to the pot, salt the shit out of it, and then add your veggies all at once. While you have them cooking, pick apart your chicken and throw the meat in before the veggies are done. When things have about five minutes (you can tell by the turnips) add the egg noodles and cilantro. And when the noodles are done, that's it! Pepper to taste.

Even-Quicker, Extra Smoove Roast Tomato Soup
courtesy of my man crow.

tomatoes
garlic
cup of fresh basil (from our garden! yeah!)
salt salt salt pepper pepper pepper
olive oil
and half
*makes about four portions

Slice thin enough tomatoes to fill three cookie sheets, that have been doused in olive oil. Lay 'em out and thin slice a clove of garlic per sheet, setting those slices on top of the lucky tomatoes. Broil the sheets one at a time for about five-six minutes, until some of the tomatoes start to burn. Drop them in the food processor/blender, making sure to drain the leftover olive oil in. Then the basil, blending, and add the cream as you see fit.

My next recipe is going to be for the watermelon, tequila, lime and cayenne pepper cocktail I've been perfecting. Summer is ending, so it's time I solidify the recipe to my tribute drink. Or maybe now that you know the ingredients, you can mess around with them yourselves!

The Pink Crow

Hello! The crows are indeed back from Cali- rested full of culinary adventures to share. As previously shared by Miz. Holly we were all about the d.i.y. on this trip, although it is doubtful we would have been so successful without the amazing resources offered up by Lady Riane's wonderful Ma and Pa.

This cocktail I'm about to share is one of my favorites- and I should give a shout out to an unnamed restaurant in Boston's fenway where I worked for awhile my senior year of college. They invented the drink and I put my spin on it, but no matter who it is served by and where it is drank, it is truly delicious. Drinkers be warned- don't let the tastiness fool you- this bevy packs a punch.

The Pink Crow

1 1/2 oz ounces of vodka*

1 1/2 oz of grapefruit juice

splash of lime juice

splash of cranberry juice

Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass. Top off your cocktail with a healthy dash of champagne or other sparkling white wine (we used an inexpensive prosecco). Garnish with lime or a citrus (grapefruit or lemon) twist.

* If you are interested, I highly recommend a citrus flavored vodka such as Absolute Ruby Red (preferred) or StoliO. However, we used regular old Gray Goose and it was tasty tasty tasty. Just remember, if it comes in a plastic bottle, fly away.

Ramos House- Brunch Paradise

The Lady Crows are back from our California Vacation and are ready to share our food tales. In true crow fashion we cooked most of our meals and snacks, but the few places we did dine at were exquisite- this brunch cafe was definitely at the top of my list. Located in San Juan Capistrano, Ramos House Cafe epitomized all that is rustic- from the outdoor washroom, to the mason jar water glasses, this place conveyed a casual atmosphere with gourmet food.

All weekend Brunch meals are fixed price which includes your breakfast beverage, an appetizer and a main course. All of the meal descriptions sounded incredible, but if patrons still had trouble deciding each table had a cookbook at the center that listed all of the dishes with pictures and recipes- what a great idea! We indulged in bloody marys, mimosas, hush puppies, apple beignets, huckleberry coffee cake, duck hash, and red flannel hash. Pictured below is the epic bloody mary which came with a crab claw, pickled string beans and a deep fried quail egg. After that is a duck hash w/ wild mushroom egg scramble and herb sauce, and lastly was my dish- red flannel hash w/ deep fried poached eggs and goat cheese hollandaise sauce YUM.

I couldn't get my head around the concept of a deep fried poached egg where the yolk was cooked to a perfect golden color with a crispy outer crust so we had to ask the waitress. They informed us that the eggs were poached in water, chilled, dipped in batter, then flash fried- what a brilliant idea. It's definitely going to be hard to go back to the regular ones but this was a great vacation treat. Special thanks to the Welch family for treating us to such a memorable meal!

The Host

I'll take my summer with a side of political turmoil

This was an interesting weekend that lacked the normalcy of weekends past. Sunny weather, goodbye parties, and a sighting of someone who looks like me reading the book I'm reading (In Defense of Food) on BART.

....and I feel asleep last night to a room of 3 boys trying to explain why they can't just get their hands to go through the table : /

Thanks Whiskey. More thanks to the Monks Kettle.

I don't know how I have let this place slip my sight until last night- I'm guessing it is because the average beer price is somewhere above $10. I suggest checking out the beer menu now so that when you(I'm looking at you crows and family members) come out to SF you know what you'll order before walking in the door!

Also of note- I saw several patrons ordering very large pretzels served with country mustard as their bar snack! I will defiantly check that out next time I go.


******************

On the food front I just made the delicious summer squash gratin c/o the New York Times, and, Wow. Wow. Wow, it was so delicious (gracias crow Vanessa). I used fontina and Parmesan, and ate it with a fresh salad and some yummy chopped peach.

Now I am off to try and make myself some smashing aprons! The fabric store by my house has incredible sales on dress fabrics...Polka dots and flowers anyone?

When liquor gives you lemons, make lemonade!

Lots of happenings in this crows kitchen this afternoon. The gorgeousness of the day inspired me to create a project so, I plunged into making homemade limoncello. Making limoncello is something I have been meaning to do for years and it will be an ongoing project that I will have to keep everyone updated on; unfortunately, it seems like it is going to be a minimum of 6 weeks before anyone will be able to sip on my brew. But, I am none the less excited.


I researched a bunch of recipes and went for it; the zest of 16 lemons is now soaking in a handle of Absolute Vodka in a 5-gallon brewer's bucket ("The Ale Pail") in my pantry. Apparently the only real trick to this is to use clean, fresh lemons and not let any brine (the white stuff on the peel) into the mix. You can use vodka or everclear (grain alcohol)- I went for vodka because everclear is hard to find.



The vodka/zest mixture needs to sit for a minimum of 10 days to 3 months, and apparently the longer the better. I'm aiming for a month. Then it will be strained, mixed together with simple syrup and water and then left to sit for another 2 weeks. So hopefully, come mid-July, there will be limoncello. I'll keep you posted.


A surprise side-effect of all of this was 16 whole lemons, minus the zest. So, not wanting to waste resources, I made another tasty, if less potent, beverage- lemonade. Equipped with a new hand-juicer from Gadgets, Mark helped me extract the juice, which turned out to be way more in volume than I would have expected. We now have a LOT of lemonade. I added two cups of sugar reduced as simple syrup and and a couple of cups of water, but is is still very tart. In retrospect, I think honey instead of sugar would have been delicious. We threw a little Bombay Saphire in the lemonade as a little pre-dinner cocktail. Yumz.


Also, I made a super yummy dinner of grilled shrimp and veggies in the thai-lime marinade with a side of spanish rice. I also grilled a lime sliced in half and used the juice all over the shrimp and veggies- an awesome trick Emily showed me last summer.
So good for a summer day.

Memorial Day Picnic in the Arboretum

Perfect weather for Memorial Day- not too hot (around 75 degrees) and not too windy. It didn't take us long to find a nice secluded area in the Arboretum to lay out our blankets and start mowing down on some tasty snacks and refreshing drinks. Vbar made a delicious guacamole and brought along some salsa and tortilla chips. I brought some leftover pizza, baguette and...

Tuna and White Bean Salad
(this is one of my favs because it doesn't use mayo!)

Ingredients:
1 15oz can of White Beans (drained and rinsed)
2 6oz cans of Tuna, drained
1 large tomato- seeded and diced
1/4 C finely diced red onion
1 large garlic clove- put through a garlic press
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/4 C olive oil
Fresh chopped Basil
Salt and Pepper to taste

-Toss beans, tuna, tomatoes and onions in a mixing bowl
-In a measuring cup whisk together lemon juice, mustard, garlic, s&p
-Gradually whisk in the olive oil and pour over the tuna and bean mixture and add freshly chopped basil

And to wash it all down we sipped on some of these:
Clean Out your Booze Cupboard Cocktail
This recipe varies from household to household depending on what's hiding out in the depths of your liquor cabinet or freezer. The only ingredient that is common amongst these cocktails is a Massachusetts Law that Prohibits the Sale of alcohol on a Holiday (how do we all still forget about this!)- Otherwise you would be sipping on the cocktail of your choice rather than a cocktail of desperation. The liquor supplies in my nest were all dried up, but thankfully Carolina Place had some surprise goodins on reserve and VBar threw together a refreshing cocktail from her eclectic array of leftover booze. I do not have the exact measurements because the cocktails were already made by the time i got there (i'm guessing all of the bottles were more than halfway depleted) but I do know the ingredients: Svedka Vodka, Peach Scnhapps, White Wine, lemonade, lime slices- topped off with seltzer.

The real Hero of this picnic was Matt Studner, who was on his A game and purchased a 12 pack of Coronoa and bottle of wine the night before- thanks Matt, you really saved the day!

Summer Sipping

Day-drinking.

What better way to enjoy those hot summer afternoons than by sitting back and enjoying a delicious cocktail with your fellow crows? Whether on the beach or in the backyard, a refreshing booze beverage is sure to cool you down and sauce you up.

Last summer, as we prepared for the Milky Way's last days in Hyde Square, we were all about their JP Iced Tea.




Lovingly referred to as "The Mind Eraser", this drink packs quite the punch without letting you know it. I could barely handle two of these delicious and dangerous beverages before the dance floor sucked me in for the rest of the evening. Drink at your own risk...

JP Iced Tea

1 shot Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum
1 shot Svedka Citron Vodka
fresh brewed iced tea
ginger simple syrup

Sometimes if I'm feeling saucy, I may add a splash of tequila!

Bottoms up.

nom nom nom.

The crows have been quiet in the absence of Miz Holly! And there hasn't been much activity on my part lately, due to a voyage to the nest of Mama Crow who keep me full and happy all weekend long.
Last night was a return to the nest for the Cock (male crow people) and I and we celebrated with a delcious summer meal of:

Thai Lime Marinated Tilapia
Ginger and Sesame rice (from the box)
Citrus and Fennel Salad

accompanied by:
Raspberry Lemonade Gin Drinks: Hereby dubbed the "Citrusberry Chiller."

The fish was delicious, although not much to brag about since I used Drew's Organic marinade. The rice, which was NearEast Brand went well with the meal, but was overall too sweet.
But the salad, my friends, was delicious. A last minute inspiration upon realizing that my collard greens had wilted over the weekend and I had no other fresh veggies in my house save a fennel bulb and half a red pepper. It was simple, fresh, bright-flavored and an excellent accompany to marinaded white fish. I look up similar recipes for inspiration, but this salad and the dressing are ultimately my own.

And here it is:

Vbar's Citrus and Fennel Salad (serves 2-3)

½ of a Large fennel bulb, with the core cut out and sliced thin
1 orange with peel cut off and sliced into wedges
small amount of very thinly sliced red onion
thinly sliced ½ of red bell pepper
a good handful of fresh curly parsley, roughly chopped

Dressing:
Juice of 2 limes pharmaceutical
zest of ½ a lime
1 ½ tbsp. olive oil
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
tsp. of fresh grated ginger
Dash of red pepper
Toss all together and serve. So good, So good!

Citrusberry Chiller:
tanquery
raspberry lemonade
slice of lime


Pictures to come when I am not in the office!

The Lady Crows fly down Huntington

Sunday, in celebration of this blogger's birthday, a few of the Lady Crows flew away from the nest and perched for the afternoon at the end of the Savant Project’s bar. Nestled next to Flann's and across from The Mission, the Savant project is frequently overlooked in favor of saucier locations. Fortunately, after the exciting culinary adventure we were brought on during the few hours we spent at the Savant Project it is unlikely that the lady crows will ever ignore this gem again.

Led by Captain (bartender) Daniel, we began our tasting journey with a round of champagne cocktails (after all; it was mid afternoon). Holly and I opted for the "Chuci Coo"; champagne served with mango juice and green tea. The drink was refreshing, but Miss Mo's choice was the clear winner; the "Old Wise," a ultra refreshing combination of champagne, lychee and fresh mulled mint. Bonus points for serving champagne cocktails with their own individually portioned small bottle; nothing is worse than a flat mimosa after the bottle has been opened for the entire brunch shift!

For apps (half price every afternoon!) we indulged in tuna sashimi, three cheese and pickled jalapeno empanadas and tempura veggies with mustard peanut sauce. The tuna was fresh but the salad and lime-wasabi vinaigrette fell a bit below expectations with the wasabi being represented only by the peas that topped the salad and the dressing's flavors disappearing almost entirely in the greens and not adding anything to the fish portions. The tempura veggies were done perfectly with juicy on the inside, crisp on the outside, bite-sized chunks of zucchini and a good portion of a fresh and complimentary sauce. Only complaint is that I feel there could have been more variety in the veggies offered. The empanadas were flawless though- light and savory with an excellent fresh salsa on the side.

The Savant Project scores major points for being exceptionally creative with their limiting cordial license. They infuse their liquors themselves right behind the bar and we were lucky enough to get a sampling from Daniel while we snacked. We tried their lychee infused vodka, the pear-infused dark rum and the peach-infused bourbon as well as their house red and white sangrias. All were delicious (although the rum and the bourbon made this crow breath fire). I particularly enjoyed the white sangria, which was crisp, fruity and light; perfect for summer sipping. We probably would have ordered the sangria for round two had there not been a chilled bottle of sparkling white already propped on the counter in front of us. Daniel tried to tempt us with whole lychees, pulled straight out of the vodka jar, but even the most hardened of us crows found them impossible to swallow.

All in all, the Savant Project left us with no reason to Caw. The service was top-notch (thanks Daniel!) or bar companions friendly, the food inexpensive and satisfying, and the drinks creative and free-flowing. The crows will definitely be seen roosting on this bar in the future.

Riane's Mom is here! Let's eat shrimp!

Major mowing last night in honor of Riane's Mom's arrival!



After plans for the Lady Crows to fly downtown for the night fell through we decided to pull together some last minute snackbites to satisfy our (and the accompanying gentlemen's) hunger.

Because we started brainstorming so late we didn't actually eat until almost ten, but this meal made for a fabulous but casual late-dinner nosh, with all of us standing around the table chatting with Riane's fresh-off-the-plane Mama.


The Menu included:


-Cajun Lime Tiger Shrimp, skewered and grilled
-Veggie pouch!
-Fresh Bruchetta with Grilled baguette



And to wash it all down:

-A few well chosen wines, picked by Mr. Fresh

-HollyCollins Cocktails: Holly's take on the very seasonal TomCollins (which I will leave for her to explain, with pictures)



We cleaned the shrimp ourselves and marinated it for about an hour in:

-2 heaping tablespoons Cajun seasoning
-Juice of 1 lime
-Olive oil
-salt and pepper



The seasoning was bought by Riane at the Saturday (or Sunday?) Market in Portland, OR and brought the heat to the meal. I am personally an enormous fan of blow-your-face-off spicy and I was totally satisfied, and even Miss. Riane who often likes her spice on the milder side was lovin' it.

After the shrimp was done marinading we put them on skewers with wedges of lime. Grilling lime really brings out the flavors and the juices and those grilled slices were absolutely wonderful to squeeze over the cooked shrimp before eating. Plus, the Cajun seasoning helped to perfectly blacken the shrimp and when combined with the outdoors flavor from the grill was total perfection.


For the bruchetta we used chopped fresh tomatoes mixed with basil, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic. We served this on top of fresh iggy's baguette, which we sliced in half, brushed with olive oil, salted and grilled before cutting up.



After a long winter, tomatoes are starting to taste good again! The ones we got from harvest and Boston Organics were sweet and juicy.



Sides of veggies pouches with zucchini, mushroom, onion and broccoli....





A delicious meal, perfect for sharing and mowing with friends and family.




If any of you kiddos are going to be around JP tonight, keep an eye out for the lady crows burin' off these meals on the dance floor of the MilkyWay; we're making our debut at the new location and plan on establishing our status as Queen Crows!

Free World Wide Web Goodies

I haven't lived in Maine since the Summer of 2007 but that doesn't deter me from reading the Portland Press Herald every Wednesday. Why you ask- well Wednesday happens to be the day they feature a Food and Health section. It always features an article on wine, "on the lighter side" recipes which shows healthy alternatives to gut-bombing dishes, and usually has a couple good features on food in the community.
Taking after my father, who is sometimes referred to as King Crow, I love to hunt for the deals so this Morning I was pleasantly surprised with an article entitled Fun with Freebies. Who doesn't dig a bargain, but free stuff- how could it get any better? Basically this woman shares all of these websites to browse to order free samples of products. Some of them are not really up my alley, such as a coupon for a 2 liter of Dr. Pepper or Splenda packets with added fiber (SICK), where other products seem totally legit: free Yogi Tea samplers and Lindt truffles- sign me up! We are quickly approaching delicious Iced Tea season so hopefully those free Yogi samples don't take forevez to get here.

Refreshing Iced Tea
5 bags black tea
2 bags blueberry white tea
3 slices of lemon rind (do not include bitter white pith)
1 1/2 tsp honey (can add or subtract depending on sweetness desired)
Add the above contents to a large pitcher or Jar with a lid and pour boiling water halfway up the container
Let tea bags steep for 3-5 minutes, squeeze and then discard
Add enough ice to top it off and then let chill in the fridge.

When you're feeling a little saussy you can also add some Tanqueray and lemon flavored tonic water to the above iced tea for a refreshing summer cocktail!

The Crows have landed. Let the CAWing begin.

Hooray!

We're going live in a valiant attempt to share our mowing strategies. We cook, we eat, we write about it.

We are ladies united in our love for all that is delicious. The simple, the complicated, the familiar and the exotic. Always fresh, always satisfying. Blossoming domestic goddesses, we know that no beverage should be left unaccompanied by a tasty morsel or two prepared in the company of good friends.

Here we will share recipes, cooking successes and cooking failures. What we made together and we we made apart. Reviews of local JP eateries. Favorite foods. Tips on great ingredients and products. Being thrifty. Gardening practices. Cocktails. Your totally awesome Friday night.

Welcome ladies, let's eat.