The Strange Brewfest

This past weekend, my husband and I made the trek up to my dad’s neck of the woods for The Strange Brewfest in Port Townsend. We are pretty big beer lovers, especially the Huz, so we were looking forward to trying a bunch of local brews.

We went up Friday after work, enjoyed dinner with my Dad at my favorite Thai restaurant, then headed over to our favorite bar/restaurant, Sirens. Our favorite brewery, Silver City, was hosting a “Kill the Keg” event – for $6 you got a Silver City beer glass full of their Clear Creek Ale which happens to one of their most popular.

Yep, I just used “favorite” three times in that paragraph to describe our Friday night. And guess what? It was awesome. This was our first post-detox weekend and let’s just say we made up for lost time.

After the keg was sufficiently killed (and we befriended the head of sales of Silver City, a very good person to know), we headed over to the brewfest. We totally got the hookup because my dad was a volunteer bartender. That means we got in for free all weekend and basically had access to more drink tokens than we could handle. It was awesome. Thanks, Pop!

{His shirt says, “I don’t make mistakes, I date them.” Yes, ladies, he’s single! Haha.}

Friday night, not all 30 vendors were there but there was definitely enough to keep us entertained and drinking for hours. Um, yeah. We kinda got ham-boned. There was live music and the beer was flowing.

The whole purpose of The Strange Brewfest, if you can’t figure it out based on the name, is that the beers are a b it unorthodox. There are awards given to the best … and the strangest… which are never the same.

{Blurry drunk picture for the win!}

We started off at the Silver City booth, naturally. They had a rosemary IPA and a basil ale. The flavors were incredibly subtle and were actually beers that I would find myself choosing to drink regularly. Others were not so tasty but there were a few good ones – the Nut Warmer was a peanut butter porter I think. We also liked a Hibiscus Hefeweizen and there were a couple of chocolate stouts I enjoyed.

Some of the stranger beers were the sour cherry scotch ale, a jalalpeno ale, margarita pizza ale, bacon blonde, and many more. The list goes on and I was far too inebriated to keep track. A lot of them got dumped after a taste.

Overall, we had a great time and I would highly recommend it for beer lovers. There was also a decent selection of ciders available as well. We went back again on Saturday afternoon for a couple of hours and it was packed. We could hardly move and got bumped with full beers the entire time. There was also no live music while we were there, the floor reminded me of keg parties at frat houses in college, and it was really stuffy. We were also slightly hung over from the night before so that didn’t help. We tried a few beers and called it a day. We were beered out. So we bought a pizza and a bottle of wine and headed back to my dads to curl up with a movie.

We did manage to squeeze in a short run this weekend as well as a trip to Chetzamoka with Pippin. She adores coming to Port Townsend – she gets spoiled by my dad so much. It’s always relaxing and feels like a mini vacation.

Spicy Thai Noodles

Today, after work, we are heading up to visit my dad for the weekend. I know that my favorite Thai restaurant will be in our future. At least once this weekend, if not more. I’ve decided, after a few attempts, that I can not recreate the magic that is Banana Leaf so I’ve given up. No more trying to make pumpkin curry for me. I’ll leave that to the pros. But I still crave Thai flavors all the time.

This noodle dish is great in a pinch. It’s a super quick and easy weeknight meal but it is fairly basic. That allows you to play with it to suit your desires – I think a squeeze of lime would be a good addition for sure. Leana made me super paranoid about the spice level so I only used 1 Tbls chile flakes and it turned out to have very little heat. Next time, I’m doubling it or adding a squeeze of sriracha. I also didn’t have green onion on hand so that got omitted here.

1 package spelt spaghetti noodles

1/2 c sesame oil
1/4 c peanut oil
1-2 Tbls chile pepper flakes
1 Tbls minced garlic

6 Tbls soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari)
6 Tbls agave nectar (or honey)

2 large carrots, shredded
1/2 c chopped cilantro
1/3 c chopped peanuts

Prepare noodles per package instructions.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat oils, chile flakes and garlic over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Strain out the garlic and pepper flakes, reserving the oil.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce and agave nectar. Stir in the reserved oil and whisk well.

Combine the cooked and drained noodles with the soy sauce blend. Stir until combined. Divide into 4 pasta bowls and top with carrots, cilantro and chopped peanuts.

Wild Rice Salad with Miso Dressing

This was pretty much perfection. Salty, sweet, filling, nutritious. I’ve been gobbling this up the last few days and I think I might need to make another batch this weekend for my dad to try!

The best part for me was the tofu. Pan fried in coconut oil. Now, coconut oil is a staple in my kitchen but it is usually reserved for an oatmeal topping – I’ve never really known what else to do with it and in all fairness, I never really looked into it because the damn jar has a shelf life that is like a year long. And I , for some reason, didn’t ever consider actually cooking with it. I figured that it wouldn’t do well on high heat. But my word. This recipe changed my life. Or at least my life in the kitchen. Sweet and crunchy tofu? Heavenly.

I paired it with simple pan fried cod (done in the same pan as the tofu so it had a little residual coconut oil, plus a little sesame oil, salt, pepper), and steamed snap peas tossed in soy sauce and ginger. Dare I say they were perfect accompaniments?

1 cup wild rice blend

14 oz. block extra firm tofu
2 tsp. coconut oil
2 tsp. soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
fresh ground pepper

1 heaping cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup cooked, shelled, organic edamame
3 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 Tbsp. white miso
2 Tbsp. agave nectar or brown rice syrup
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 1/2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
4 oz orange juice

Rinse the wild rice blend. Bring two cups water to a boil. Add the rice, turn the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until all the water is absorbed (about 35-40 minutes), adding a bit more water if necessary to finish cooking. You will see a tuft of white pop from the center.

Wrap the tofu between a few layers of paper towel or a dish cloth and set it aside to drain for 10-15 minutes. Cut it into a 1/2” dice. Heat the coconut oil over medium high heat. Add the tofu and sauté for about five minutes. Sprinkle the soy sauce and a few grinds of fresh pepper over the top and sauté another few minutes until the edges are browned. Turn off heat and set aside.

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together.

In a large bowl, combine the rice, tofu, sliced carrots, edamame. Toss everything with the dressing. Add the sesame seeds and cilantro and give it another toss. Serve room temperature or chilled.

Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Stew

This was one of the last detox meals and we definitely ended on a high note. For me, eggplant dishes are hit or miss. I could do without grilled eggplant, eggplant parmesan, and stuffed eggplant boats. But give me ratatouille or babaganoush and I’m all over it. I think the secret is that I just like it roasted. And without skin.

But I think the reason I really liked this recipe was the cinnamon. And it’s really hearty and filling for a vegetarian meal. I did cook up a cup of quinoa on the side – in the future, I would just stir it in. Also, the original recipe was for a crockpot meal. I did it on the stovetop and it took about 45 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2 large eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds each)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained
• 2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Peel eggplants, if desired, and cut in half lengthwise. Brush the cut sides liberally with 2 tablespoons oil. Place on a rimmed baking sheet, cut-side down, and roast until tender, about 25 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Cut into 1-inch cubes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, Italian seasoning, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and the chopped mushrooms; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the chickpeas, tomato and eggplant. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Southwest Spaghetti Squash

Ok, so I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but the last couple of spaghetti squashes I’ve had haven’t come out very stringy and spaghetti like. It’s more like mush, like you would expect from a regular baked squash. What am I doing wrong, folks? Overcooking or something?

So besides this looking like a gross pile of mush, it actually tasted really damn good and Huz said it was his favorite spaghetti squash recipe to date, so I had to share. The basis for the recipe is here. It’s pretty basic so I dolled it up quite a bit.

1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp cumin
2 chipotle peppers, minced
1 tsp adobo sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
1 green onion, sliced for garnish

1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2. Place squash halves in a shallow baking pan with about 1 inch of water.

3. Bake squash in the preheated oven until soft, about 1 hour.

4. Scrape flesh of squash from the rind using a fork and place in a large serving bowl.

5. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the black beans, tomatoes, bell pepper, cumin and garlic in the hot oil until the vegetables are soft and the liquid has reduced, about 10 minutes; pour into the bowl with the squash; toss to combine. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, chipotles and adobo, lime juice, and cilantro and toss again. Season with salt and pepper to serve. Garnish with green onion slices.