FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Summer Scallops

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Summer and seafood are my peas and carrots.  Everything about the two just fit together so perfectly.  And just when you think it couldn’t get any better, add some fruit to the mix.  Summer, seafood, sweetness, boom!

I’ve been purchasing frozen seafood from Whole Foods lately to limit trips to the market and save a little moolah.  I couldn’t resist a big ol’ bag of big ol’ scallops during this market adventure.  They were calling to me, begging to be my dinner tonight.  I caved.

The best thing about scallops other than their pure yummy-ness, is that they require very little stuff.  Heat up some high heat oil in a cast iron skillet, gently place your sea salted scallops, and before you know it dinner is ready.

I have yet to master searing.  I suspect it has something to do with not letting the oil get hot enough and not removing as much moisture from the scallops as possible.  Either way, topped with spicy mango avocado salsa, they were just as delicious as any restaurant scallop in town!

Moroccan Mint & Elderflower Iced Tea

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I love elderflower.  If a cocktail menu has a French 75 or St. Germain anything listed, it’s as good as mine.  So when I was making Moroccan mint iced tea this morning and glanced over at the bar, my head tilted and I thought “why not?”.

As I filled a pot full of water, it dawned on me I didn’t technically know how to to make iced tea.  I usually make a single serving on the fly, but it’s been ages since I prepared a pitcher.  I turned to Savory Sweet Life for guidance as I had no time to mess around, I had a picnic to attend!

When the tea finished steeping, I removed the bags and poured over ice.

It was at that point that I added 1/4 cup St. Germain, 1/8 cup of pure maple syrup, and crossed my fingers.

Although this lightly sweet tea was uber refreshing, the green tea overpowered any trace of elderflower.  But this isn’t the end of elderflower iced tea for me, I’ll be testing out less potent teas with more quarter cups of St. Germain til I get it right.

Pita Or Naan?

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Making homemade pita to accompany homemade hummus seemed like the right thing to do.  Had I ever made homemade pita before?  Nope.  But I hadn’t baked bread and quite some time and pita seemed like a good way to get back to it.

This recipe was of the first to come up when I googled “pita recipe” in the middle of Whole Foods.  I swapped out one cup of all purpose flour for whole wheat flour, but followed the rest of the recipe to a tee.

I would say that my pita dough way more than doubled in size within an hour.  In my head, this was a sign of a recipe going in the right direction.  A sign for the perfect pita!

Unfortunately, my pita didn’t puff as much as I think it was supposed to.  And I didn’t make much effort in the aesthetics department.  Between lack of puff (which creates the pocket) and “rustic” shape, I’m fairly certain I ended up with naan-esque bread.  Whatever it was, it was warm, bready goodness that was absolutely delish dipped in hummus!

Spicy Black Bean Hummus

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I went to the market during my lunch break today and felt completely consumed with inspiration.  I wanted to make anything and everything, but what?  Aha!  My Little Celebration’s black bean hummus, that’s what!

Within this recipe, Dana offered ranges of ingredient quantities that you could adjust to your taste.  Two years ago I would have cringed at the idea, but today I was ready for it!

In addition to black beans, cilantro, cumin, and salt, I used 2 teaspoons of crushed garlic, 3 tablespoons of tahini, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and mixed it up a bit by using the juice from 1-1/2 limes and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

The addition of lime was so tart and fresh.  And the kick from the cayenne was muy bueno.  This recipe quickly turned into a little Mexican fiesta hummus!  Is it Cinco de Mayo yet??