The Happiness in Health

My Favorite Sister

Ω August 13th, 2010 Ω Tagged birthday, burrito, cheese, chocolate, heirloom tomato, peanut butter cake, porto, sister, sugarbush farms, tacos Ω 22 Comments

Who is my favorite sister? I’ll give you a hint: she’s extremely smart, loves good food, and lives west of the Mississippi. I wore her hand-me-downs (and hand-me-ups) when I was younger. I look forward to seeing her every Christmas. Lastly, her birthday is on August 13th.

Any guesses??

The answer(s) is in this picture!

That’s right! Both of my sisters were born on August 13th … six years apart. When I was little, I remember wondering what it was like to share a birthday with my sister. Neither of them seemed to mind, but that nonchalance could have been due to their understanding personalities.  Also, when I say that I wore their hand-me-downs AND hand-me-ups, I wasn’t kidding: Courtney is younger than me, but she’s been taller than me since she was about 10 years old.  Yeah, I feel … short :)

So! In honor of BOTH of my sisters’ birthdays, I made some special grub. I hope to whet their appetites so that they’ll be looking forward to when I can actually make them a birthday meal.

First up: tacos! When we were growing up, my older sister D would always request tacos for dinner. I always looked forward to tacos, too, especially those little bowls of taco toppings.

D’s Birthday Tacos

Ingredients:
1/2 Tbsp veggie oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 hot pepper (jalapeno, etc.)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/3 cup beer (!)
6 – 8 oz. of some sort of protein.  We didn’t have beef, so I defrosted and crumbled up a couple of veggie burgers.  Beans, tofu, chicken, even tuna would also suffice.  Note un: If you use a veggie burger as your protein, make sure you actually like the taste of it.  Because I didn’t.
Salt and pepper.
3 – 4 tortillas or taco shells

Toppings:
Lettuce and tomato
Cheese
Salsa
Guacamole
etc.

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft and translucent.

While the onion is sauteing, roast your hot pepper. You can roast the pepper by broiling it in an oven or toaster oven until the outside blackens. If you’re like me and you don’t want to turn on the oven in the middle of summer to roast a tiny little pepper, you can use this handy device:

Or, if you have a gas stove, just use heat-safe tongs to hold the pepper in the flames. Be careful, of course.

When the pepper is cool, peel off the skin, mince, and add to the onion along with the minced garlic and protein (crumbled veggie burgers here). Saute for one minute.

Add tomato paste and heat through.  Pour in beer and use a spoon to scape all the tasty bits off the bottom (deglaze).  Lastly, add salt and pepper to taste.  Note deux: If you are using veggie burgers as your protein, you may wish to exclude the salt, as veggie burgers tend to be very high in sodium.

Prepare the rest of your fixin’s.  Preparing the taco toppings was always my favorite part.  Well, specifically this part:

That would be a delectable smoked cheese from Sugarbush Farm in Vermont.  Most of the cheese made it in the tacos and not in my mouth, I swear.

Shredded.

As I alluded to before, I wasn’t crazy about the veggie burgers I chose for the taco filling, but if I had used some other protein the filling would have been EPIC!  The beer was a nice extra :)

Now, I DO have another sister.  One who happens to be a Master Gardener. You’ve previously met Courtney in this guest post, and I’m sure you’ll agree that you just can’t get enough of her! In honor of her green thumb, I decided to have a simple heirloom tomato and wax bean side “salad”.

I prepared the tomato by slicing it and sprinkling it with a little sugar.  Before you explode on me, I just want to clarify that yes, I PREFER tomatoes best with their natural sweetness and no additional enhancement.  However, sugar on tomatoes is a common simple dish that I enjoyed in China and wanted to recreate at home.  While I won’t be sweetening my tomatoes often, a little sugar was a nice treat for a special occasion.  Even if that special occasion isn’t technically my OWN birthday.

Lastly, a peanut butter mousse cake to finish the birthday dinner:

Preparing the chocolate ganache, made from 1/4 cup heated cream poured over 2.5 ounces chocolate, then stirred until the chocolate melts:

Peter spreading ganache over the frozen mousse cake:

Happy Birthday to my favorite sisterS in the whole wide world! I cant wait to see you both soon! :D

Love,
Jessie

» Filed under Favorites, Life, Recipes » 22 Comments

Guest Post: Courtney from the THIH Family

Ω June 2nd, 2010 Ω Tagged basil, dumplings, green tea, lemonade, sauce, sister, strawberries, tea, The Happiness in Health Ω 16 Comments

I am VERY excited to introduce my next guest poster: she’s about four inches taller than I am, much more athletic AND artistic, and she can coax a plant out of the ground with her voice alone. Ok, maybe she can’t do the last thing on the list, but she is on her way to becoming a Master Gardener. Did I mention I have a black thumb? Anyway, I’m very pleased to present my sister, Courtney!

What’s that? You say this is a picture of ME? Ah, my dear reader, look closely. Courtney is in the picture, too. Still can’t see her? Here, let me give you a hint:

Let’s take a closer look:

Yup, that’s Courtney, waving in the background and adding a little “extra” to my scenic shot. When I asked her which picture she wanted me to put up in this post, she said, “Use the picture of you with me in the background, adding class to the picture”. Class, indeed.

At least I got a nice picture later.

Whenever Courtney and I visit our dad at the same time, she’s always making some kind of delicious dish. When Courtney is visiting our dad and I’m not, I always hear from my dad about the wonderful things Courtney made for dinner, and while I say, “Oh, ok,” secretly, I’m JEALOUS!! Anyway, Courtney wanted to share a few recipes with all of you. Enjoy!

****

Strawberry Green Tea
Steep 3 bag of green tea – 5 min (but remember not for too long or else it will be very bitter).
Take a square foot of cheese cloth and double it over twice so it is 4 layers thick.
Take 3-4 large strawberries and mash them in a bowl.
Place mashed strawberries in cheese cloth.
Wrap and tie the cheese cloth to make a package.
Place the cheese cloth package in the green tea and let steep in the fridge until chilled.
Try this in the morning or as a nice summer drink.

Basil Lemonade
Lemonade:
6 lemons juiced
1/2 C sugar
8 C. water

You can adjust the water and sugar content depending on how sweet or tart you like it.

Muddle 4 lemon basil leaves at the bottom of a tall glass.
Fill with ice.
Pour lemonade over basil leaves.
Garnish with young basil leaves.

Courtney’s Dumplin’s
1 1/2 C. cabbage, chopped
2 carrots, shredded
5 mushrooms, chopped
1/2 C. tofu, crumbled (can substitute chopped pork or shrimp)*
to crumble tofu place small chunks in hand and squeeze until most of the water has drained out
2 green onions, diced
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbs olive oil
3 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 inch chunk of ginger
1 clove of garlic
salt and pepper
1 package of wonton skins

Place shredded cabbage in a bowl and mix with 2 tbs of salt. Let sit 15 minutes until cabbage starts to get “sweat”. While waiting for cabbage to “sweat” prepare other ingredients. Once cabbage is done rinse and drain. Mix together all the ingredients. Lay out wonton skins and place 1 tbs of filling into each wrapper. Wet edges of the wonton skin and fold in half, covering the filling. Crimp edges as you would a pie.
To fry dumplings: Place in heated skillet, covered in a thin layer of oil, and fry for 30 secs to 1 min per side, until golden brown.
To steam dumplings: Place each dumpling on a square of parchment paper. Place dumpling in steamer tray and steam 5 minutes if you don’t have a steamer tray, place chopsticks in a shallow bath of water and place a plate on top. Once steam starts to rise place dumpling squares on the plate and steam 5 minutes.

* if you use shrimp or pork pre-cook all raw meat

Dipping Sauce
1/3 C. soy sauce
3 tbs olive oil
3 tbs water
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove minced

Mix all ingredients together and serve alongside the dumplings.

Q: Do you like dumplings? What are your favorite kind of dumplings?

» Filed under Guest Post » 16 Comments