Spicy Tahini Noodles with Roasted Vegetables

This is my favorite kind of weeknight meal. Noodles tossed with a quick sauce, topped with an abundance of vegetables, and kissed with chile feistiness courtesy of the condiment shelf. It's in high-rotation around here and the moment, and I'll mention some variations down below. The jist: make a simple, thinned-out tahini sauce, roast the vegetables while your pasta water is coming to a boil, toss and serve on one platter. If you like those old-school Chinese restaurant spicy peanut noodles, these are sort-of their tahini slathered distant cousins.

A couple things worth noting. I've made this with fresh udon noodles (delicious!), you see it pictured here made with whole wheat fettuccini (thumbs up), and I'm also convinced thick, wide rice noodles would be good. Feel free to experiment. I think the key is a substantial noodle - skip the angel hair, and soba for this round.

On the vegetable front, literally clean out your crisper, and play around with the different vegetables you use here. Just group them in neighborhoods. This way if some of the vegetables cook more quickly than others, you can just move them off the sheet pan.

Continue reading Spicy Tahini Noodles with Roasted Vegetables...

101 Cookbooks http://ift.tt/2zWMBjo

Halloween Cocktails You're Less Likely to Regret

I went down the Halloween cocktail rabbit hole the other day, and (wow!) there are some spooky, wild drinks out there. You might encounter Glowing Jell-o Shots, or candy corn cocktails, or even an eyeball punch. There's no shortage of cocktails you'd probably regret the next day - weird mixes of alcohols, over sweet, lots of gummy worms in drinks, etc. So, I thought I'd do a quick round up of Halloween cocktails that were a bit less theme-y, ones that still had some ghoul and ghost, but also seemed delicious.

1. Cardinale - (PUNCH)
Blood red, and bone dry. Get the recipe here.

2. Blood Orange Test Tubes - (Martha Stewart)
I love the test tube delivery here, with the downloadable labels. Get the recipe here.

3. Jekyll Gin Glowing Cocktails - (Delish)
This twist on a Gin Daisy glows in black light! Gin, grenadine, lemon juice, and tonic water. Get the recipe here.

4. Pirate Mary - (Food & Wine)
Yes to this cocktail. There's a nested recipe in the ingredient list, but it's no big deal (aside from sourcing the yellow tomato juice ;)...Get the recipe here.

5. Kombucha Dark & Stormy - (101 Cookbooks)
These are so delicious. Essentially, a twist on the classic cocktail make with strong ginger kombucha in place of ginger beer. A splash of rum, optional twist of lime, and you're good. Get the recipe here.

6. Death in the Afternoon - (PUNCH)
Two ingredients - absinthe and chilled Champagne. Get the recipe here.

7. Mother's Ruin Punch - (Food & Wine)
If you're going to go the punch bowl route for your party, this looks gooood. Gin, grapefuit juice, and Champagne. Get the recipe here.

Continue reading Halloween Cocktails You're Less Likely to Regret...

101 Cookbooks http://ift.tt/2ia3G1e

Kombucha Dark and Stormy

Classic cocktail enthusiasts might want to look away. This is my take on the Dark n' Stormy cocktail from the Bahamas (which is a trademarked mix of Gosling rum, and spicy ginger beer). I like a Dark n' Stormy - they're invigorating, easy drinking, simple to make, and equally tasty on a beach or in an urban bar. I like them in summer, and I like them right now. Some while back I stopped using ginger beer, and switched to kombucha. And not just any kombucha, I now make them with the spiciest ginger kombucha I can find, bonus points if I can find the ginger-cayenne variety. So incredibly tasty. To make the drink, you take a splash of dark, flavorful rum, and top it off with kombucha (or ginger beer if you want to play it straight). At any rate, I thought it'd be a great Halloween cocktail for you to try - because, well, the name. But also, because it's a cocktail everyone loves!

I'll throw one optional wildcard in here, only because we have a prolific makrut lime tree. You can infuse the rum with a couple of lime leaves (for five minutes or so), and it perfumes the rum subtly. A lot of bartenders serve Dark n' Stormy cocktails with a brightening splash of fresh lime juice. This add another layer. So, infuse the rum and then proceed with the recipe.

Continue reading Kombucha Dark and Stormy...

101 Cookbooks http://ift.tt/2z8xEh0

Eight Energy Bars worth Making at Home

The wall of energy bars being sold in just about every grocery store is pretty astonishing. The problem I have with a lot of them is their highly processed ingredient lists. Also, the ones that have short, recognizable ingredient lists, often have a damp, strange texture - seemingly dates smashed with other stuff into an unappetizing looking log. These homemade energy bars aren't as convenient, but they're arguably much better. Here are some favorites - a mix of baked, no-bake, simple to more elaborate.

1. Savory DIY Power Bars - (101 Cookbooks)
Before we dive into slightly sweeter versions of homemade power bars - have a look at these. If you can imagine sort-of savory Rice Crispy treats made with crumbled kale chips, toasted walnuts, and black olives, that's the ballpark. Also, cut into tiny bit-sized squares, these make a cool addition to an appetizer spread. Get the recipe here.

2. Mint Chocolate Power Bars - (Green Kitchen Stories)
Chocolate + mint + seeds + oats. These date-based bars are A+ awesome. Get the recipe here.

3. 4 o'clock No-Bake Energy Bites - (QUITOKEETO)
These got me through many afternoon slumps over at our studio. I like the ratio of oats to nut butter here, and the addition of chia seeds. Plus they're no-bake, delicious, and people loooove them. Use any nut butter you have on hand. Get the recipe here.

4. Peanut butter Goji Berry Granola Bars - (Love & Lemons)
Another tasty, crisped rice-based bar from L&L. Packed with goji berries, chia seeds, pistachios, pepitas, some chocolate for the win... Get the recipe here.

5. Matcha green Granola Bars - (My New Roots)
Matcha boosted, and packed with oats, seeds, and dried fruit. Love this take. Get the recipe here.

6. DIY Snack Bars - (Cooking Light)
Some great ideas in this round-up at Cooking Light (beautifully photographed by Jen Causey)...there are some strange variations on the list, and a lot are too sweet for my tastes, but there are some interesting ideas, and looking through them inspires some ideas about all the different ways you can approach your won bars at home. Get the recipe here.

7. Hazelnut Buckwheat Granola Bars - (Petit World Kitchen)
Love the banana factor in these. And how you can bake them super golden, so the oats get super toasty.... Get the recipe here.

8. Cranberry Walnut Energy Bars - (Food & Wine)
These are old-school. From Super Natural Cooking, and published on in Food & Wine roughly ten years ago, but still a keeper. Play around with the fruit, nuts, and seeds you put in here, its a good base recipe... Get the recipe here.

Continue reading Eight Energy Bars worth Making at Home...

101 Cookbooks http://ift.tt/2y7G1EI

Goth Hummus

Let me start by saying, this was initially called Black Tahini Hummus, but once we started in on the goth hummus thing, it stuck. I wanted to post this early enough that you'll have time to track down the ingredients In case you want to bring it to a Halloween party, which I highly recommend. The two ingredients that can be a bit tricky to source are black tahini, and black garbanzo beans (or black chickpeas). I'll post photos of each down below for reference. I made this for the first time last November (well after Halloween), and made a note to self to write up the recipe this year. Really, it's just good hummus made with black ingredients. And if you have a pantry better than mine right now, yes, absolutely substitute fermented black garlic for standard garlic.

The original shot I posted to Instagram. I added some extra black garbanzos on top (which I forgot this time)....but it adds a nice bit of texture.

Continue reading Goth Hummus...

101 Cookbooks http://ift.tt/2xXP8rt