Day 100 - Avocado and Crab Rolls

I can't believe that I have made it to this point. After 100 days, I did it. I survived a summer away from my roommates and friends and I managed to blog everyday of this long and sometimes frustrating summer. Even though the summer didn't start out as I expected, and it took me a while to figure everything out, it ended up being a pretty good summer. I loved my job, and I accomplished something that I didn't think I would actually stick to. So for the last post I did one last summer lunch before the fall foods take over and everything is flavored with pumpkin spice.

Avocado and Crab Rolls

1 avocado - diced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon champagne vinegar
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 pound lump crab meat
2 stalks celery - diced
2 top split hot dog buns - toasted
a few lettuce leaves
Old Bay
Salt and Pepper

First combine half of the avocado with mayo, vinegar and lemon zest in a food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes until mixture is completely smooth. In a medium sized bowl mix together crab meat with avocado mayo, remaining diced avocado, and celery. Fold mixture together as to not break up the diced avocado. Season with salt, pepper and old bay. Lay a bed of lettuce on each hot dog bun and fill with crab mixture. Top with a dash of old bay and enjoy!

I've been craving crab for a few days now so I just had to indulge for the last blog post and make these for my lunch in between the crazy packing frenzy that is currently on display in my living room. It seems that every time I take one thing out of the pile thats going to college, I think of two things I need to buy to bring with me. As much as I am looking forward to moving in and finally living with two of my best friends, I really can't wait till we move in to our own apartment junior year, cause reality is that we all just have too much stuff and not enough room in our dorm. I feel like I should end this blog with some touching and emotional paragraph about how much I have learned about myself through this project and how much I still have to learn as I grow, but the truth is that I am happy to be done with this project and move on to another school year with new and different challenges and experiences. So I don't know that I will ever blog again, but in the off chance that I do, till then,
Keep Cooking Brooklyn!

Panang Curry with Shrimp

For a few weeks I have had a can of panang curry paste in the cabinet waiting to be used. With only two days left of the blog I thought I would make a quick curry for lunch after a morning of dorm shopping.

Panang Curry with Shrimp 

1/4 pound medium shrimp - peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

1 tablespoon panang curry paste 

1/4 of a red pepper - thinly sliced 

2-3 water chestnuts - thinly sliced 

1/2 can of coconut milk 

juice of 1/2 a lime 

Brown Rice 

Heat a saute pan with oil and add curry paste, red pepper and water chestnuts. Sauté for a few minutes. Then add coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Add shrimp and cook for a minute or two until shrimp is fully cooked. Serve over brown rice and top with a drizzle of lime juice. 

While packing I've slowly realized that I have way more stuff than I will ever need to live, but for some reason I can't eliminate anything from my college pile. Hopefully my room will be big enough to fit all the random stuff my roommate and I have decided we need. Tomorrow's the last recipe and the last day of the blog, I have no clue what I want to do for it but I'm sure I will thinking of something big to do for the last post. So till then, 

Keep Cooking Brooklyn! 

Homemade Lemon-Lime Soda

I think today had to be the hottest and most humid day all summer. I had plans to make a big lunch before babysitting but with the heat and work going on outside on our gas line, turning on the stove didn't seem like the most appealing option. So instead I decided to take some inspiration from work and make my own homemade soda to help cool off while packing. 

Lemon-Lime Soda 

Yield: 2 sodas 

1/4 cup sugar 

1/4 cup water 

zest of 1 lemon 

zest of 1 lime 

1/8 cup lemon juice 

1/8 cup lime juice 

12-16 ounces seltzer 

In a small sauce pan heat sugar and water and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and let reduce for 2-3 minutes. Add zest and juice and whisk until combined. Let syrup cool on counter for 10-15 minutes. Pour 2 ounces of syrup into each glass and fill each glass with 6-8 ounces of seltzer. Serve over ice. 

I have managed to start sorting through my clothes and figuring out the best way to pack and transport everything. Hopefully tomorrow won't be so hot and I will be able to do a little more cooking and make more progress on my packing. So till then, 

Keep Cooking Brooklyn! 

S'mores Cookies

One of the traditions in Maine that had been very important to me, is filling the cookie jar. I'm honestly not positive as to how this started, but I vaguely remember being told as a kid that my great Aunt Jeannie always made sure that the cookie jar was full, so now I have tried to continue that tradition. My Aunt Jeannie was the cook of the family. Many recipes and stories of the things she made have been past down through the family and through my love of food I feel a strong connection to her, even though I never got to meet her. That is why I make a point to spend at least one rainy day while in Maine baking cookies to fill the cookie jar with.

S'mores Cookies
yield: 8-10 cookies

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter - softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 milk chocolate hershey bars - chopped
4-5 regular sized marshmallows - cut in half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor pulse graham crackers till they turn to crumbs, or crush graham crackers in a large ziploc bag till they turn to crumbs. In a small bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In a large bowl cream together butter and both sugars until well combined and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix till combined. Slowly add dry ingredients until well combined, then carefully fold in chocolate. Form dough into evenly sized balls and make a large indentation in each one. Place one marshmallow half in each indentation and place cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cookies cool for 5-10 minutes and serve.

We had a large amount of s'mores ingredients left in the pantry so I thought I would steer away from my traditional chocolate chip cookies and make these instead. Being home now from Maine feels like the final stretch of summer. I have 6 days till I go back to school and 3 more days of the blog and all that is on my mind is all the things I have to do to pack for school. So while I think about that,
Keep Cooking Brooklyn!

Sunday Morning Maine Traditions

Being in Maine for just one weekend this summer has made me want to savor the traditions a little bit more than usual. So I haven't been doing a ton of extra cooking. But I thought for a quick sunday post I would write about our Sunday morning traditions.

Ever since I could remember, Sunday mornings have been a slower start to the day. Usually the morning is all about my dad going out to golf as early as he can and the rest of us enjoying the beach or going grocery shopping while he is gone. Sunday though are different. Because the church in our town is located right off of the golf course, no one can go golfing until 12:30 pm. and since my family doesn't go to church, we always make a big sunday brunch. The main star of the brunch are pancakes, we always make blueberry ones because it just seems right being in Maine. We usually just use a boxed mix because we can never guarantee that there will be enough baking ingredients in the house to whip together homemade pancakes. We round out the breakfast with crispy bacon that my dad cooks in the oven on a sheet tray for about 15 minutes until its browned and crisp. On days that it is just my parents and I we sometimes finish it off with a choice of scrambled or fried eggs. When I was younger, and by that I mean up until this year, I would always request for my dad to make me a special S shaped pancake just for me. After this leisurely brunch my parents would take my brother and I for a walk out to the point, and since there was no golf, we would walk on the golf course to get out to the big grassy area. Now a days I prefer to read on the porch instead of going out to the point, but it's still at the same  leisurely pass that a sunday morning requires.

This weekend has ended with a rainy night spent inside cooking lobster, playing cards and eating one last summer dessert of ice cream and cookies. It's hard to believe that I already have to go back to NY tomorrow and that I have just 4 more days left of the blog, but after spending two days with my roommate, I am even more ready and excited to go back to school. So till next time,
Keep Cooking Brooklyn!

Rum Glazed Salmon

After another long beach day with my roommate, it was time for her to go home and for me to spend some more time with my family in Maine. For dinner my parents bought salmon fillets, and with a few suggestions from them and my roommate, I finally decided to make a rum glaze to marinate the fish in and to use as a sauce over the top.

Rum Glazed Salmon

3 Salmon fillets
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt and Pepper - to season

In a small saucepan mix together all glaze ingredients and heat till a boil. Once boiled turn down and let reduce for about 5 minutes until mixture thickens to a glaze-like consistency.  Set aside a 1/4 cup of glaze mixture and pour the remaining glaze over salmon fillets to marinate. Once the salmon fillets marinate for about 30 minutes, cook on a hot grill for 5-6 minutes a side. To serve drizzle with reserved glaze and enjoy.

After spending way too much time in the sun and ending up sunburnt from head to toe, I said goodbye to my roommate till we move in next week, and relaxed for the night with my parents. With the house empty besides the three of us, we spent the night eating Gifford's ice cream, a Maine staple, and losing to my dad in gin rummy. So till next time,
Keep Cooking Brooklyn!

Maine Lobster Dinner

My family and I are finally in Maine, since it's been a year since I've been here, it clearly means that a tradition lobster dinner was in order. Clearly this meal doesn't actually need a recipe. It's more about what components my family includes and the overall experience.

Lobster Dinner

Lobster
Steamers
Corn
Salad

Obviously the main component to any lobster dinner is the lobster itself. My family goes to Wolff lobster farm and get 1 large lobster for everyone. We usually just steam the lobsters for about 20 minutes in lightly salted water. Although in times of desperate need when all of Biddeford Pools water has been shut off, we have resorted to steaming the lobsters in a pot of ocean water, which is actually what our lobster man suggests to people how ask him how to cook them. My family also likes to include some steamers from wolffs and some locally grown corn. Lastly my mom throws together a salad with fresh veggies to attempt to make the meal a little bit healthier.

I know this post is short and not really a recipe. But I finally got to spend the day with my roommate who I haven't been able to see all summer. So I spent the day at the beach, kayaking around biddeford pool and catching up with one of my best friend just a week before we go back to school. So till tomorrow,
Keep Cooking Brooklyn!