Bebbo Shmebbo

50ml Svedka grapefruit jalapeno vodka
1/2oz orange juice
1/2oz honey syrup
3/4oz lemon juice

1) Add all the ingredients to a drink shaker, plus a few ice cubes.
2) Shake and strain into a drink glass.

Review:  I'm ever so guilty of buying random 'nips' at the liquor store. I see flavors that seem interesting and then they begin accumulating. I'm going to try to clean out my liquor cabinet by finding recipes for all of those random bottles! This was the first attempt, which was a fairly easy attempt. The only difficult part was making a simple syrup with honey instead of sugar, and in such a small amount! Oh, and I also didn't have any ice made, so that delayed the recipe by a few hours. Suddenly it became an evening drink instead of an afternoon drink on my sunny deck!! As for flavor, this was AMAZING! It had a light grapefruit flavor, with mostly a general citrus flavor, with a hint of jalapeno tang (but not the heat). So, so good!!!

Adapted from:
http://svedka.com/#!/cocktails/flavor/svedka-grapefruit-jalapeno

Smoky Pasta Salad (original recipe)

12oz black bean rotini
8oz chipotle marinated tofu, diced
1 cup roasted corn, thawed
3/4 cup ranch dressing
1 Tbs smoked paprika

1) Cook rotini according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
2) In a large bowl, toss all ingredients together.
3) Refrigerate and serve cold.

Review:  Trader Joe's starting carrying black bean rotini and the only ingredient is black bean flour. I snagged a bag without considering what I might do with it. More than a week later, I randomly found chipotle tofu at a grocery store I rarely frequent. I knew the two needed to go together in a dish and this is the best I came up with. It's a really fascinating recipe. It's such a simple pasta salad idea, but it's high in protein! It also doesn't taste like pasta. The rotini is just shaped black beans, which feels weird in my mouth (I taste black beans, but I put rotini in my mouth). However, this was incredibly tasty and looks far more appealing than a bean salad! I may make this for the next potluck at work!!

Beet Linguine with Cashew Ricotta

1 lb beet noodles
1 head of garlic
4 tsp olive oil, divided
2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for 4 hours
4 tsp nutritional yeast
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp salt
5 tsp apple cider vinegar

1) Preheat oven to 400F. Slice off top of garlic head, drizzle with 1 tsp oil and wrap in foil. Roast in oven for 1 hour.
2) When there is just 15 minutes left on the timer, place the beet noodles on an oil roasting pan (spread out evenly). Spray with olive oil spray and add to the oven. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until soft but not shriveled.
3) Now, rinse and drain the cashews. Place them in a food processor and add the remaining olive oil, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, apple cider vinegar and roasted garlic cloves. Process until smooth.
4) Serve cashew ricotta on top of a bed of roasted beet noodles. Serve immediately.

Review: The original recipe seemed more like a beet sauce on linguine. I wasn't feeling it, but then I found beet noodles at Whole Foods. It's just beets ran through a spiralizer and then packaged without instructions. I googled how long to boil the noodles, to find they are best when roasted. So, this made the whole recipe so much easier!! They roast at the same temp as the garlic, so I just slid them in as the garlic was finishing up. Once the garlic was done and I had processed the ricotta, the beets were just finished. It all came together so nicely. So, flavor? It tasted like roasted beets, which are tasty. The ricotta did not taste like ricotta, but had a similar texture. It tasted like tangy cashews with roasted garlic. It didn't wow me, but looked nice. It also seemed 'sticky' when eating, as it needed to washed down with a drink. I don't typically drink when eating because it gives me hiccups for some reason. So, this might not be made again.

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/beet-linguine-with-cashew-ricotta/

Chilled Edamame Vegan Spaghetti

8oz pkg edamame spaghetti
4 cups baby spinach
1 avocado
1/8 cup lime juice
4 Tbs fresh parsley
2 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbs fresh basil
3 cloves garlic
6oz can medium-sized black olives, halved
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

1) In a food processor, blend spinach, avocado, lime juice, parsley, oregano, basil and garlic until smooth. Set sauce aside.
2) Cook edamame spaghetti in boiling water according to package directions, stirring constantly. Pour spaghetti into a strainer and rinse with cold water.
3) In a large bowl, combine spaghetti, sauce, olives and tomatoes. Mix well and serve immediately.

Review: The edamame spaghetti has a texture more similar to ramen noodles than spaghetti. It's a little firm and a bit squeaky when chewed. Yet, the flavor is tasty. The pesto-like sauce is a good match. It tastes light, healthy and a bit spicy (from the garlic and basil). I really liked this.

Adapted from:
http://www.explore-asian.com/recipes/chilled-edamame-vegan-spaghetti/

Candied Cherry Tomatoes

24 cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup red wine
2 Tbs water
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds, or roasted black sesame seeds

1) In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, wine and water.
2) Stir until the liquid becomes a syrup, about 15 minutes.
3) Drizzle in the lemon juice and stir. Remove from heat.
4) Insert toothpicks into the tomatoes. Dip each one into the liquid to coat, then roll in sesame seeds and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet to set.

Review: I couldn't find cherry tomatoes at the grocery store, so Mike convinced me to try the heirloom variety pack of grape tomatoes. They are tastier, which adds to the sweetness of the syrup. This sweetness was balanced by the sesame seeds, which also gave it a satisfying crunch. This is a cute, and easy, appetizer.

Adapted from:
Women's Health Magazine Jan/Feb 2016

Mushroom & Lentil Pilaf

1 cup sprouted rice blend
2 'not-beef' bouillon cubes
2 Tbs avocado oil
1 leek, white and light green parts chopped
1 lb baby bella mushrooms, diced
15oz can of lentils, rinsed and drained

1) In a medium saucepan, cook rice according to package directions, but add the bouillon cubes to the water.
2) Meanwhile, saute the leeks and mushrooms in oil over medium-high heat, in a large saute pan. Stirring frequently, saute until most of the mushrooms' water has evaporated.
3) One the rice and leek/mushroom mixture has finished cooking, add the rice to the large saute pan, along with the can of lentils. Mix well and heat until hot throughout the mixture. Serve warm.

Review:  I was in such a rush to make all of the holiday dishes, that I didn't pay attention to the recipe I planned to make. Therefore, I had rice already boiling before I realized I was supposed to cook quinoa. My oops turned out for the best, because the hearty flavor of this dish just wouldn't fit with quinoa. This had a deep, earthy flavor that was so very savory. I adored it and non-vegetarian family members asked for the recipe!

Adapted from:
http://thesethingsilove.com/2013/03/mushroom-lentil-quinoa-pilaf/

Sprouted Rice With Butternut Squash & Haricot Verts (original recipe)

1 butternut squash, peeled and diced
2 cups sprouted rice blend, uncooked
1 Tbs ground sage
1 Tbs rosemary, crushed
1 cup pinot grigio
1 leek, white and light green parts chopped
1 lb haricot verts, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup walnuts, toasted

1) Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease a rimmed baking sheet and add butternut squash. Spray with olive oil cooking spray and bake for 45-50 minutes, until browned.
2) Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions, typically 25-30 minutes. Combine cooked rice with sage and rosemary.
3) In a large saute pan, mix the leeks and pinot grigio. Bring to a boil and allow wine to reduce to about 1/4 cup, about 7-10 minutes. Add haricot verts and cover, steaming the beans until bright green, 3-5 minutes.
4) To serve, make a bed of rice and top with haricot verts, butternut squash and toasted walnuts.

Review:  I've been chronically fatigued and disinterested in cooking as of late. This has led to eating a lot of crap. So, I pledged to do things differently this week and committed to cooking. However, my disinterest led to not looking for new recipes. I instead grabbed random produce at the grocery store this weekend. I spent much of today pondering what I could make with the ingredients I owned and this is what I came up with. It was unbelievably delicious. The tanginess of the wine reduction was such a great counter to the sweetness of the butternut squash and then toasty flavor of the walnuts was a nice finish. The haricot verts/leeks/rice were a nice base to such a wonderful flavor combination. Yum!!