Quinoa doesn't like to be patty(ed)

There is a reason why quinoa burgers aren't a thing.
Quinoa, by nature, doesn't like to be bound together, forced into unnatural shapes or squished between slices of bread. Each little quinoa granula is constantly trying to be it's own, unique entity and quinoa actively resents you when you try to make it anything else.

Moral of the story, we all grew up in the "Free To Be You and Me" era, so just let quinoa be quinoa.
Lesson learned.

Enjoy this quinoa hash.

You'll need:
2 1/2 cooked quinoa
4 large eggs- beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c fresh chives-chopped
1 yellow or white onion- chopped
3 garlic cloves- chopped
1 c bread crumbs
water
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c parmesan cheese- optional

You'll need to:
- Mix the quinoa, eggs, salt, chives, onion, cheese, garlic and breadcrumbs in a medium bowl. Let it sit so the bread crumbs can get a little soggy.

-Try to make the quinoa into patties. Or give up and make a scramble.
- Heat the oil in a skillet, cook the unnatural patties, or hash until it's all deep brown, like 7 minutes per side.

- Serve however you want. Try not to think about  cheeseburgers while eating.

So "The Great Gatsby" is kind of a big deal right now.
The book, the show (GATZ), the film and now the soundtrack. I have heard many rumors about the film, how awful it is, how awesome it is.... but, if the soundtrack is pretty awesome and that means I'll give the film a shot.
It was available on NPR First Listen and it's now on Spotify, but I might actually buy it.

. I kind of love that they aren't using period music, that there is an attempt to go for the risque feeling of that era with music of today. It's not only Jay-Z, but the xx, Florence and the Machine and Jack White, among others. Is there a history of music lesson here? Or is NPR reading into it a little too much. Who knows?

All I do know is that the soundtrack makes me even more excited to see the movie and it feeds my not so secret love for Beyonce.

And there is new Daft Punk. Life is good.

Brown Rice and Tofu Salad

Dear KDP Fans (Hi Mom),

It's been far too long.
I've been in an amazing directors workshop for the past 3 weeks, meaning I never had time to make food, much less blog about it.
Things happened in the past 3 weeks (including the now infamous String Cheese and Toast Dinner ). Our dear Mags officially turned old and celebrated by eating cookies and drinking whiskey (true story). Juneau has apparently had the worst summer ever and I still haven't bought an AC.
All in all, it's been busy. But here's a make up, back log post about a salad that I didn't really like.

Enjoy!
Hannah

Too much cookies and whiskey

Baked Tofu (From The Moosewood)
16oz firm tofu
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 garlic clove- minced
2 Tbsp fresh ginger- minced
1 1/2 c bread crumbs
2 Tbsp parsley
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
cayenne
red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp white flour
6 Tbsp cold water

-Cut the tofu into sticks- so you have about 24 total. Arrange them in a single layer in a baking dish
-Mix together the soy sauce, rice vingear, garlic and ginger. Pour over the tofu sticks, let marinate for at least 30 mins.
-Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly oil a baking tray.
-In a large bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, parsley, salt, pepper and spices. In another bowl, mix together the flour and water.
-Dip each marinated tofu stick in the flour mix and coat well. Then dunk it in the breadcrumbs mix and make sure it's covered. Arrange the sticks on the baking tray. Bake for 30 mins, until crisp and hot.

Brown Rice Salad 
1 1/2 to 2 cups short-grain brown
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped scallion
1 small or 1/2 large red or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped or shredded celery
1/4 cup finely chopped or shredded carrot
baked tofu
6 tablespoons miso paste
3/4 cup warm water or sake
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon mirin or honey
1 tablespoon rice vinegar, or more to taste
2 sheets of nori, lightly toasted (optional- I don't actually know how to do this and forgot about Google for a second).
2 tablespoons black or white sesame seeds, toasted.


- Cook rice. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again, then combine with vegetables and tofu in a large bowl.
- Put black pepper, miso, water or sake, sugar, mirin or honey, and vinegar in a small bowl, and whisk together. Taste, and add more vinegar and a pinch of salt, if needed.
- Combine rice mixture with miso dressing with 2 big forks, fluffing rice and tossing gently to separate grains. Crumble nori (if you figured it out) over salad and sprinkle with sesame seeds.


Verdict: While I'm sure this was a stunning brown rice salad, I am not a huge fan. Too salty/soy saucy, I usually ended up just eating the tofu. The tofu is good (thus proving that if you add bread crumbs to anything it will make it taste like bread crumbs).
I also realized that I was so underwhelmed by the final product that I never took pictures. 
Imagine it looked like this:

In more uplifting news, Passion Pit has come out with their new album Gossamer, you can hear it on NPR First Listen for a few more days.
I'm in love. These are not only my cooking jams, but also my walking, working out, working, rehearsing and living jams. I'm like the blonde that listens to an audio tape that tells her to breath in and out, but my life line is Passion Pit. It's incredibly textured and each song rings of extremely detailed and precise work.
It's also about a failed romance, so I'm adding it to my "Sit in a hammock, drink PBR and cry" list.
You know the one.
Someone else described this album as a "tortured beast, wrapped in a hard candy shell"
Totally my groove.

Pizza Dough, Wine and Body Paint

Make your own pizza parties are a regular occurrence here at KDP (see here).
I came across a new pizza dough recipe that claimed to be "no- knead, no-fuss".
That was kind of a lie.
To be fair, 4 glasses of wine tends to be my "this is too hard" threshold and that was greatly surpassed on this ladies night

No-Knead Pizza Dough from (Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery and pizza spot Co)
Makes six 10"-12" pizzas
Start at least 24 hours early!

7 1/2 c all purpose flour (plus more dough shaping)
4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp active dry yeast

-Whisk flour, salt and yeast in a medium bowl, with a wooden spoon.
-Add 3 cups of water, stir until well incorporated. Gently bring it together and form into a rough ball.
-Transfer to a large, clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature (I use the oven) for 18-24 hours.

-Transfer dough to a floured surface, break apart into 6 even portions. Working with 1 at a time, mold into a ball and set aside. Repeat with the 5 other balls. Let the dough rest, covered with plastic or a damp towel for about an hour.
-Working with 1 ball at a time (and lots of flour, it's really sticky), gently shape into a round 10"-12" disc with hands.
-Put things on the pizza. Be creative.

-If using a pizza stone- place the stone on the oven rack, preheat oven to 500 degrees F. When oven is ready, turn to broil. Place pizza round on the stone. Broil pizza, rotating halfway through, for 5-7 mins, until the bottom of the crust is crisp and the top is blistered.

-If using baking sheet- preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Put the pizza's on the baking sheet, bake for about 10 mins, until bottom is crisp and top is blistered. 

I liked this dough, despite the planning ahead. It's very soft and doughy and had I had more patience, I might have rolled it out to the correct size, shape and thickness. These pizza's ended up being blobs of dough/bread with yummy stuff on top. Which is a first world problem. 

The Best Part

For this party, we had:

Peanut Sauce, Pesto, Tomato Sauce and Olive Oil

Onions, Black Olives, Green Olives, Mushrooms, Basil, Oregano, Sprouts, Carrots, Cilantro, Peanuts, Tomatoes, Sundried Tomatoes, Artichoke Hearts and Spinach

Mozzarella, Parmesan and Feta

Dessert Pizza- fruit and goat cheese

And about 10 bottles of wine (hence the progressively bad photos, the overcrowded kitchen and the pizza triangles). 

Note: pizza toppings also make excellent hungover omelets for the next morning. 

I have vague memories of listening to Vertical Horizon and playing 10 fingers, neither of which are terribly blog worthy (sorry VH, you bring up too many awkward and emo flashbacks to 14 year old me). 

So I'm currently listening to Goyte's 2011 album, "Making Mirrors" 

I kind of love it, it's widely ranged and versatile. I go into the album expecting atmospheric, emotional easy listening, but am constantly side swiped by the 80s pop ballads. The album takes you on a journey and isn't 45 minutes of the same sound, which I find refreshing every once in a while. 

This is great. especially when you compare it to the following, from the same album:

Let's be honest here, sometimes the best break up songs don't send one running for the hammock, a PBR and Vic Chesnutt, Bon Iver and co. Sometimes you have to dance it out a little. 

Plus, I'm a little jealous of whoever had to do the body paint for the video. 

Blogsgiving Part 1- Toasty, Bourbon-y nuts.

Everyone wants Thanksgiving recipes now... right?

Last year I cooked and controlled the entire Thanksgiving dinner for 8.
It was amazing and crazy stressful.
This year, we went to an Orphan Potluck style.
Only requirements were to bring food and wine.
and more wine.

Toasted Nut Tart (adapted from Bon App) 
A different take on Pecan Pie
You'll need a 9' tart pan with a removable bottom. I have one you can borrow.


Crust:
1 c all purpose flour
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 c butter, room temp.
1/4 c sugar
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 egg

- Mix flour, cornstarch, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.
- In a food processor, beat butter, sugar and powdered sugar until pale yellow.  Add egg and beat to blend.
- Add dry ingredients to bowl in 3 batches. Mix to blend. Gather into a ball, flatten in a disc. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour.
Can be made at least 2 days ahead. Keep chilled
- Preheat oven to 375. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12" round. Transfer to pan, press into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim the overhanging dough so it's flush and reserve the extras (to patch the crust). Prick the dough all over with a fork and freeze for 10 mins.
-Cover with foil, fill the foil with pie weights (rice or beans work). Bake until edges of crust are starting to turn golden, about 35 mins. Remove the foil and beans, patch any cracks with the remaining dough, return to the oven and bake until golden all over, about 15 mins. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Can be made 1 day ahead, store airtight in pan at room temp. (Only if you don't have roaches...)

In lieu of rolling pin, use a glass (or wine bottle). 

Filling:
1/2 c unsalted pistachios, chopped
1/2c hazelnuts, skins rubbed off, chopped. (try to buy without skins, getting them off are a bitch)
1/4c pine nuts
1/4c butter
1c packed brown sugar
1c light corn syrup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp bourbon
3 large eggs
Powdered sugar

- preheat oven to 350. Spread nuts out on 3 separate baking sheets. Toast nuts until fragrant and brown (5 mins for pistachios, 10 for pine and 15 for hazelnuts). Remember to toss the nuts throughout the baking and check often, they burn quick.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat, Cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. (again, check often, it burns fast (are you noticing a trend here?))
-Stir brown sugar, corn syrup, salt and vanilla in a medium bowl, stir in eggs, browned butter and nuts. Pour into tart shell.
-Bake, rotating halfway through, until filling it set around the edges and jiggles slightly in the center when nudged, about 1 hour. Tent foil over the crust if it gets too brown, cool on a rack.
- Dust with powdered sugar.

Sooooo..........I burned it.
I blame my wonky gas oven.
Seriously, keep an eye on those nuts.

New music obsession:
Phantogram
A indie, electronic/pop duo from Saratoga Springs (I spent a month in Saratoga this summer... I'm not surprised that this band comes from there, it's a weird town), I'm really digging their new EP- Nightlife.

I really want to see them in concert. Apparently they incorporate their visual art into their concerts. That is something I can get behind.

The Best Chickpea Salad EVER

It's been said many times before, but I just moved and am in the slow process of stocking a kitchen.

On this particular night, I got home late and needed to make a lunch to last the next couple of days.
In this situation, my go to is chick pea salad, it's good, it's easy, it turns into an "everything but the kitchen sink" salad very easily. Basically chick pea salad cures all that ails you.

So I start raiding the fridge, I chop veges, I find some craisens, this is going to be best chickpea salad ever. Everything goes into the bowl and I find some farmers market kale I need to use. Yes! I'm in a good place.
I pull out the cans of chickpeas and start to look for my can opener.
And then I realize that I never bought a can opener....

No problem, I was a girl scout, I can figure this out and nothing, I repeat,  NOTHING is going to stand in the way of "The best chickpea salad ever."
So I dig, I'm looking for a pocket knife, anything that will help me free these tiny beans from their tin cage.
And the only implement I can track down is a cheap wine bottle opener.
In my chickpea crazed haze, I figure, this has a sharp end, easy-peasy.

Not so much.

It took 30 minutes to open one can.
I had blisters on my soft middle-class hands for days.
And I ruined the corkscrew.

I'm this serious about chickpeas. 

It's worth noting- there is a 24 hour CVS within 2 blocks of my apartment.
Chickpea crazy thought that this way would be faster.
Never again.


Basic Chickpea Salad's (tried and true by me)
1 can chickpeas- drained (best bets are Progresso, Bush and Goya)
2 Tbsp fresh basil- chopped
2 Tbsp fresh parsley- chopped
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tsp olive oil
1/3 c Parmesan Cheese- grated
salt to taste

Variations:
This is a really good "everything but the kitchen sink" salad. Throw it all in, it'll be fine.
Seriously- kale, green onions, mushrooms, black beans, frozen veges, dried fruit, cheese, green onions, feta, olives, artichoke hearts...you get the picture.
Curried chickpea salad- omit the cheese, add in shredded carrots, craisens and curry powder.

One more reason why you should make this right now:
Chickpeas are very very tasty vessels for Siracha.
Sold.

Music to accompany your chickpea/destroying cans/corkscrews experience:
I've listened to Chad VanGaalen newest, Diaper Island (NSFW), a couple of times now and I really can't make up my mind. It's not pretty, it's gritty and honest, which I appreciate, but I have to be in a very specific mood to be able to sit down and listen, i.e. breaking a corkscrew to open a dumb can kind of mood.

Winner Winner Chicken? Dinner

Funny story.
I got some meat from Fiona (one of my fellow theatre interns). Her parents have a farm/hunt in Fairbanks, so because I have met the person that raised and killed the animals, I deemed the meat worthy.

So, Fiona gave me a bag of frozen chicken from their farm and at the time, I thought "I never knew chicken could grow so large. There must be something in the air up north?" These were some monstrous chicken legs, but I was told it was chicken and followed blindly.

It seems like everyone has been talking about adobo lately (There have been some end-of-night runs to the Valley Restaurant lately). So I decided to use my chicken to make some.
But I'd never had it before.
This was a true KDP experiment.

To make a not-so long story shorter: I drank wine, I made the chicken adobo, I tried the chicken adobo and realized it was turkey.

Looking at the photos, the only explanation I have is that I'm a dumbass. 

There was some tofu adobo thrown in the mix too, but I knew what that was from the get go.


Chicken/Turkey/Tofu Adobo
1 c soy sauce
1 c apple cider vinegar
2 c water
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp pepper
squirt of honey.
Chicken/turkey/tofu/a combo/whatever you have.

-A couple of hours before your going to cook it, brine the poultry.  It really helps to moisten the meat.
             Put some water and salt in a big bowl
             Lay the bird in the water, make sure the water covers it.
             Pat dry when done. The longer you can brine it, the better.

-Combine soy sauce, vingear, water, garlic, pepper and honey in a large skillet. Bring to a boil.
-Lay the chicken/turkey/whatever in a single layer in the skillet, drop the temp to medium low. Cover and cook for 30 mins, turning once.
-Preheat the broiler to high, lay the chicken/turkey/whatever on the pan and broil, close to the heat, 5 mins per side.
-Meanwhile, increase the temp on the pan with sauce to high and let reduce to about 1 cup.
-Serve with rice. Put the sauce over.

Mags states that "this is pretty close" to adobo. I don't think I like it.
I'm not really into soy sauce, and that's exactly what this tastes like. You'd think I would have figured that out looking at the recipe....




Music World:
Monagle had the music controls.
We listened to Fleetwood Mac.
Classic.