My name is Leili, and I’m lactose-intolerant.
The problem I have is this: I am in love with ice cream and everything that goes with it. My last meal would be this brownie sundae with Scharffen Berger hot fudge sauce from Picco. A giant bowl of smooth ice cream drenched in rich hot fudge sauce and covered in a pile of whipped cream…now that’s the good life.
So the REAL winter is here. I was sure the winter vortex was going to bring White Walkers through the streets of Boston at those freezing temperatures. And if you didn’t get that Game of Thrones reference, please do yourselves a favor and go catch up before the new season starts. I won’t judge and you can enjoy binge watching while nibbling on these wings.
Another big event is just coming up – it involves beer, dancing, and touchdowns. See, I don’t follow football or usually watch the Super Bowl, but I do enjoy the food that surrounds this great American holiday. To me, it’s enjoying delicious bar food in the comfort of your own sweatpants. These ginger scallion wings are great for feeding others and yourself.
The wings are so easy to make and the sauce can be prepped ahead of time. Bonus: It also warms up the entire kitchen to distract you from the bitter wind chills outside. (more…)
The best advice I’ve ever gotten is something we’ve all heard before:
Fake it ’til you make it.
I was a shy little intern at my first bakery job when the Chef there casually threw this tiny phrase at me, and I don’t think he realized how much I would take it to heart. Because of this offhanded advice, I started to fake the necessary confidence and “make it”. I became a real baker there after my internship, and actually felt sure of myself rather than fearful that I would burn the whole place to the ground.
The beauty of “fake it ’til you make it” is that it can even be applied ability, particularly when it comes to being in the kitchen.
And that’s where this pasta comes in.
Before embarking on the mission to make homemade pasta, I assumed the process would be insanely complicated and require the skills and dexterity of a wise Italian nonna.
What I found was that it’s just a long process, but actually relatively simple. Sure I hit some road bumps along the way, but nothing that I couldn’t overcome with the help of a quick Google search. Even then I still had no clue what I was doing – all I had was the confidence that I could figure it out.
What I discovered was that the best homemade pasta is made with real semolina, not plain old all-purpose flour. Most of the pasta recipes I saw out there call for all-purpose because it’s easy, but AP flour just isn’t strong enough for pasta, and in my opinion, lacks true pasta flavor. You can find semolina at most health food stores, or online (I got mine from King Arthur Flour). Not to mention there are many other uses for it beyond this pasta.
I’ll even let you in on a secret: I had to make this pasta at least seven times before I got my recipe right. Even after switching from AP to semolina, I messed up in every possible way, which is great – now I can warn you about all the possible pasta pitfalls.
Ready? Let’s do this.
When I was younger, my family and I would stay with my great-grandmother in Vermont nearly every summer. The small house was situated on the corner of two intersecting dirt roads, with an ancient wood-burning oven to keep warm in the winters and an apple tree out back that was perfect for my small hands to climb.
Nearby there was a hill where you could pick your own blueberries, so every summer we’d craft make-shift buckets out of empty water gallons by cutting the tops off, and pick as many berries as we could fit in our buckets while still snagging a few handfuls to snack on.
Back at the house I would help my mother wash the giant batch of berries, pick out all the leaves and stems, and then watch as my mother would make jars of fresh jam and blueberry pie. So much pie! To this day the smell of freshly baked blueberry pie throws me back to those sweltering summers spent in that rustic Vermont kitchen watching my mom bake, while I stole bites of raw pie dough when I thought she wasn’t looking.
Blueberry season is now almost over, so get the fresh ones while you can! Then make this ice cream to cool off. Although I didn’t pick these blueberries myself, I did get them from a local farm. Still good vibes.
Can we take a moment and all agree that lactose intolerance sucks? I know it can be a blessing in disguise, helping us be healthier and support animal-friendly foods…but sometimes I really just want a pint of Ben and Jerry’s without my stomach pulling an Alien on me. It’s unfair. Especially if you’re like me and your perfect dinner consists of an entire round of cheese. Being the rebel that I am, I still enjoy most lactose-filled foods in moderation, but I could never do it every day. So the one thing I really needed a replacement for was milk in my morning coffee or tea. Because without caffeine I’m a useless lump.
I tried the Lactaid milks and they were okay, but didn’t always leave me feeling so great despite claiming to be filled with lactase. Soy milk worked for a while, but I got nervous about all the “SOY IS GOING TO GIVE YOU HORMONES AND KILL YOU” talk floating around. Store bought almond milk was my last viable option but its ingredient list made me wary. So I finally decided to take matters into my own hands. Literally.
When it’s too late to have a latte in the afternoon I opt for an iced tea. Tea is my comfort drink– my mom always has a hot green tea in her hand. If someone pointed a hot teakettle at me and asked me to choose my favorites, it would be jasmine and Earl Grey.
As a general rule, I never sweeten my green teas but always take something with my black teas. Again, blame this rule on my mother. This time I’m adding lavender syrup and it is quite good.
This recipe is incredibly simple and quick to make. Best of all, it can be used in literally everything. Use it in teas or cocktails but don’t limit this delicious syrup to just beverages – you can use it to soak fruit or layer on top of yogurts.
