The Rest of Summer

One more MIA post and then on to more exciting things. All I can say about the remainder of summer is that it flew by way too fast. I had SO much fun, ate so much delicious food, and made a ton of fantastic memories. July consisted of two particularly special events: a reunion with friends in Portland, ME and one of my best friend's weddings (in Franconia, NH). 

I cannot say much about the food that we made during our reunion weekend, because the food we ate out was just so superior to anything we made ourselves. We ate delectable lobstah rolls at the Portland Lobster Co, gorged ourselves with delicacies from Nosh, and of course, drank lots of wonderful Maine beers. 

Enjoying our Saturday night lobster roll dinner 

Then there was the wedding. A weekend of laughing, dancing, drinking, eating, and being in the presence of so much love it almost makes you cry. Admittedly I was not expecting the wedding food to be anything out of the ordinary--my previous experiences with wedding food consisted of really bad or too much to handle. But I was shocked by how delicious all of the wedding food was, particularly the cake. Kate and Kevin have set a VERY HIGH bar for all future weddings, and not just because their food was so damn good. The only word to describe their wedding: epic.

The newlyweds cut their cake

The first weekend of August was special (as always) because of Brendan's birthday. This year we spent the weekend on Cape Cod and celebrated with a New England style feast: homemade lobster rolls, corn on the cob, cucumber salad, potato salad, and Brendan's favorite birthday dessert combo: chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting, and mint chocolate chip ice cream (only Breyer's will do). A very delicious and successful 25th birthday.

Brendan's 25th Birthday Meal

For the rest of the summer we spent basically every weekend on the Cape, where we ate endless amounts of food prepared by my dad, mom, uncles, aunts, and the occasional meal out. Delicious food, but unfortunately I don't have any photos. However, I do have photos from two wonderful meals that Brendan and I made together, toward the end of August. The first was our end-of-summer grill meal: salmon (nothing on it except some black pepper and salt), shrimp (marinated in olive oil, pepper, salt, and lots of garlic), sweet potato fries, and cucumber salad. The second meal was a super quick dinner that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a low-hassle recipe--it's a quinoa salad that highlights some of summer's best produce, but can easily be modified to include fruits and veggies from whatever season we're in. 

Grilled salmon, grilled shrimp, grilled sweet potatoes

Quinoa Salad with Peaches, Arugula, and Quick-Pickled Onions

I was really terrible about documenting the meals I made this summer, just as I was awful at writing blog posts. But I promise to be better! I just started a graduate program in nutrition, which means cheap, healthy, and quick recipes are on their way...look out, because Brunch for Bitches is back in action!

Good Grain Salads

Bon Appetit's June 2012 issue devoted an entire section to one of my favorite topics: grain salads. I already posted the recipe for one of the salads I made from this issue (Crunchy Brown Rice Salad), but there are a couple others I want to acknowledge. In a much earlier post I raved about grain salads - how they are a great go-to lunch that will keep you satiated and energized throughout your work day. And to boot, grain salads are an incredibly easy dinner and overall delectable meal...a one-bowl wonder. Unfortunately I did not have a lot of the ingredients called for in Bon Appetit's recipes, so I did what I do best...improvised with what I had. The result - two gorgeous grain salads that I will be sure to make again and again and again. What can I say? I love a good grain salad!

Curried Barley Salad (adapted from Curried Spelt Salad)

*please note that the only similarity between my recipe and Bon Appetit's is the spice mixture. I literally had NONE of the other ingredients...oh well, it still turned out fantastic!


Ingredients:
-1 cup uncooked barley
-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
-2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
-2 teaspoons mustard seeds
-3/4 teaspoons ground cardamom
-3/4 teaspoons ground coriander
-1 sweet potato, diced 
-1/4 cup rice vinegar
-2 large shallots, sliced
-1/2 lemon, chopped with the peel
-1/2 block of tofu, cubed
-2 cups arugula
-salt and pepper to taste
**spices are only expensive if you buy them in a large grocery store in the baking aisle (total scam); go to your local dollar store, ethnic food groceries, or ethnic food aisles - spices in these places will usually cost you $1 


Directions:
1. Cook barley according to package
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat; add curry powder, mustard seeds, cardamom, and coriander. Cook until you start to smell the spices and the mustard seeds have popped (about 3-4 minutes)
3. Add sweet potato to skillet and stir well to coat with spices; cook until sweet potatoes are tender and a fork can easily pierce through (10-15 minutes)
4. Add tofu cubes and stir until well coated; cook for 5 or so more minutes, until tofu starts to brown a little.
5. Add vinegar to skillet and cook until it evaporates; add shallots and lemon. Remove skillet from pan and keep stirring until shallots are wilted.
6. Combine barley and veggie-tofu mixture in a bowl; add arugula. Mix well. 


Great Grains Tabbouleh (adapted from Quinoa Tabbouleh)
*try this recipe with any kind of grain - the Bon Appetit recipe calls for quinoa, I used wheat berries, and traditionally tabbouleh is made with bulgur. Clearly there is room for creativity. 


Ingredients:
-1/2 cup wheat berries
-1 lemon, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
-1 garlic clove, minced
-1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
-1 English cucumber, diced (do not peel or take out the seeds)
-2 tomatoes, chopped
-1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
-1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
-2 scallions, thinly sliced
-salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Cook wheat berries (or any other grain) according to package
2. Whisk lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl; slowly add the olive oil
3. Combine cucumber, tomatoes, scallions, herbs, and wheat berries in a bowl
4. Add vinaigrette to bowl and mix well, making sure to coat all ingredients
-Optional: add some crumbled feta cheese or chopped kalamata olives for an added kick!


Have you made any good grain salads lately?