Split Pea Soup with Fish & Mint Meringues

If you're a fan of this blog then you know that unusual combinations are sort of a running theme and this post is no different. The idea for fish meringues sprouted in my mind after a trip to the local Asian grocery store. It seemed too weird to be terrible. The fish meringues are like little pillows swimming atop a sea of green. The two work together to create a surprising perfect early spring dish. 

I don't have anything funny to say about this post. But I do have a warning: if you decide to eat more than two servings of this split pea soup in one day, prepare for some green poops. Just accept it and own it. Maybe you can eat a bunch of this soup on March 16th then everything about you can be festive for St. Patricks day!

Picnic

Where did this summer go? Labor Day is already here and I didn't even get around to half of the summer activities I wanted to do. I guess that skydiving roadtrip pool party will have to wait until next summer. At least the weather is still nice enough to have a picnic, so that's what we did.

Picnics should be simple and relaxing, so I decided to make some simple things to eat. Don't stress about creating an epic meal for your Labor Day picnic. Make something easy and enjoy your picnic and the sounds of dogs, kids, and that squirrel who won't stop making noises in the tree above you. Just drink your wine out of your water bottle and enjoy life.

Homemade Focaccia

• 1 3/4 Cups Warm Water
• 1 Package Active Dry Yeast
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 5 Cups All-Purpose Flour 
• plus extra for kneading
• 1 tablespoon Salt
• plus Sea Salt (or pink Himalayan salt for sprinkling)
• 5 tablespoons Butter melted
• Olive Oil for drizzling

1. In a small bowl combine the warm water, yeast and sugar. Fun fact: sugar makes yeast fart. Put the bowl in microwave for 15 minutes, but DO NOT turn it on. The microwave is a warmish environment that allows the yeast to grow.
2. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, butter and the yeasty sugar water. Combine using a mixer with dough hooks on low speed for 1 minute. Once the dough clumps together crank the speed up to medium and continue kneading for another 5 minutes or so. Knead until the dough becomes smooth and soft. Add more flour to the dough if it becomes sticky and tacky.
3. Finally get around to cleaning off some counter space, and then immediately cover it lightly in flour. Knead the dough by hand once or twice, add more flour if needed.
4. Coat a clean mixing bowl with the olive oil and place the dough ball in the bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in microwave with a cup of hot water for at least an hour. The dough should double in size.
5. Coat a casserole pan with olive oil. Stretch the dough out in the pan. Press it out to the edges of the pan. 
6. Preheat the oven to 425. Let the dough rise until the oven reaches temperature. Press little indentations with your finger into the dough, like the picture above. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the dough and be pretty liberal with your oil. Then grind the salt over the dough and then bake for about 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
7. Let it cool before slicing into it. Add any sort of meat and cheese to this bread to make a delicious picnic sandwich. We went with prosciutto and asiago.

Mason Jar Parfait

Serves two

• 2 Shortcakes cubed
• 12 Raspberries
• 3 oz. Dark Chocolate shaved
• Whipped Cream
• 1 1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

1. Using a mixer whip the cream, sugar and vanilla over medium speed for 3 minutes or so.
2. Split the shortcake between two mason jars. Then add some whipped cream, then the raspberries, then chocolate, more whipped cream and top it off with more chocolate.
3. Cap it and there you go, a perfect portable picnic dessert.

Keep your picnic simple and enjoy your Labor Day weekend! These picturesque picnic pics by Katy Weaver

Thai Chicken and Waffle Sandwich

One of the greatest pieces of advice I've ever heard was from Alton Brown who said, "Never take advice." I am open to criticism and feedback though, because without them you can't get better. But advice is more one sided than a HP Laserjet P3005ch printer (it doesn't have duplex printing). When it comes down to it, you're the only one who knows what you really want and what you have to do to make it happen, so start being selfish and start working towards something awesome. 

For some reason in today's culture, selfishness is portrayed as a negative trait, although people forget is that this is what made this country great in the first place (that's right I'm making this a cultural thing). We broke away from the British Empire because we wanted to do things OUR way. We didn't get involved with WWII until we were attacked and it affected us. 

Knowing that your crazy idea is a great one, and actually having the guts to go out there and make it happen doesn't make you insane or eccentric; it makes you successful and a goddamn American. Frankly I'm tired of having artificial roadblocks being put up, especially for people of my generation.  Just get out there and create something, whatever it may be. 

What do those old-man style ramblings have to do with Thai chicken and waffles? Almost nothing. But let's be honest, "Thai chicken and waffles" sounds like a weird, crazy idea, until you actually make it happen and try it. Remember an idea is only as good as its end product, so ignore that advice and prove those nay-sayers wrong.

Before I get into the recipes, I want to make a couple shout outs! First, thanks to Flavour Gallery for sending me an awesome apron (I was wearing it the entire time I was cooking all this). They also have a bunch of cool food t-shirts you should check out. The second shout out is to Kraken rum because I love the stuff and would love a free bottle or two. The great thing about Kraken rum is that you get to yell, "RELEASE THE KRAKEN!" Everytime you open the bottle.

Quinoa Tacos

What to do with the left over filling of those stuffed peppers...How about making tacos? I just heated the filling from this recipe in a skillet and scooped it into some corn tortillas.