Vacation Juice

Like many people, I too have turned to Animal Crossing to help me get through the weeks upon weeks of social isolation. I was resistant at first but eventually caved, and it turns out it's a fun way to visit people you can't normally hang out with.

Notes:

• I recommend drinking it with a long spoon; the frozen part tends to float to the top and you may need to mix it back in occasionally so you're not sipping either all ice or completely melted drink.
  
• The video description gives the incorrect amount of pineapple juice so I have written the recipe below with the proper amount. (If you don't use enough, it won't taste quite right.)
  
• If you don't want to try the float with the blue portion of the drink (it's entirely for looks) or if you fail at making it float on top, just pour it into the glass -- it starts off with this cool ice blue and pale yellow marbled look but it will eventually mix and turn green. OR if you're feeling lazy, just put the blue curaçao into the bottom of your glass instead of blending it into a portion of the drink. It will mix in as you drink.
  
• We really liked adding a small amount of key lime juice to it (1/2 oz total per drink) to enhance the sour flavors. Regular lime juice would work too.
• I made my own cream of coconut using Steve the Bartender's recipe (400 ml coconut milk, 375 g sugar, pinch of salt, heat on the stove until the sugar is dissolved).
• You want to use enough ice to double the volume of the drink. There is about 8 fl oz (1 cup) of liquid so you will need about 7-8 ice cubes.
  

Verdict: I like it! It's fruity, cool, and sweet but not overwhelmingly so.

Edit 10/29/20: I have made this at least 4-5 more times over the summer, but with some slight tweaks (as described above) because I am lazy. Still not sick of it.

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Vacation Juice
adapted from How to Drink, originally posted June 20, 2020
Serves 2, or 1 very generously

3.75 fl oz (98 ml) pineapple juice
0.75 fl oz (22 ml) orange juice
0.5 fl oz (14 ml) lime juice (optional, but recommended if you like yours more sour)
1.5 fl oz (45 ml) cream of coconut
2 fl oz (60 ml) white rum
0.5 fl oz (14 ml) blue curaçao
7-8 ice cube, about 1 cup total volume
Optional garnishes: lime wheels, foam plumeria flowers, maraschino cherries

Measure juices, cream of coconut, and rum into the blender jar. Add ice. Blend to a frappe (ice will be finely ground). Pour 3/4 of it into glass(es). Add blue curaçao to the remainder of the drink in the blender, and pulse a few times until it is incorporated. Slowly pour the rest of the blender contents over the back of a wide spoon into the glass so that it floats on the top of the drink. Garnish (if desired) and drink through a colorful straw.

French Toast Casserole

I watched this Basics With Babish video recently and got really hungry for French toast, plus realized I'd never had French toast bake before. We were also needing to get groceries, so we got all the ingredients to make it the very next day.

Notes:

• I used a mix of 2% milk and half-and-half instead of whole milk in the custard.
  

Verdict: Absolutely loved it. It's not the healthiest breakfast in the world, but my goodness it is magical, and smells as good as it tastes. Any morning you'd make this would feel like Christmas morning, presents or not.

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RECIPE: French Toast Casserole (Binging With Babish)

Spaghetti Carbonara with Kale

I've had spaghetti with kale and eggs before, but didn't really care for how dry the finished dish was and wanted to try something else, so I settled on this.

Notes:

• I used ham instead of bacon because it's what I had. Bonus: I didn't need to cook the ham first.
  

Verdict: Liked it a lot! I would definitely make it again.

 

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RECIPE: Kale Carbonara (Primavera Kitchen)

Barbecue Beans

I liked baked beans a lot as a child, but didn't really care for the homemade type (they remind me a lot of graduation parties somehow, because that was really the only place I ever saw them). Now I don't like them straight from the can because they're much too sweet, but I'd love to try more homemade versions to find one that suits my grown up tastes. The one my family has is fine, but a bit bland.

 

Verdict: Made a number of substitutions and they were still quite good. They were a little too ketchup-y for my taste but perhaps the apple ingredients would have tamed it if I'd had them. They were about as spicy as I would want them to be (mild end of medium). Would like to try again with the proper ingredients.

 

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RECIPE: Quick Barbecue Beans (Serious Eats)

Vanilla Cardamom Stewed Rhubarb

I've been looking for ways to eat the rhubarb I grow for a while, and this was on my list of things to try for a long time because it mixed it with vanilla and cardamom (these three things together taste wonderful to me). I was trimming my rhubarb plants and decided to use the stalks to make this. I ate it with yogurt.

Verdict: I really enjoyed this! It was tart and tangy, and just sweet enough. Easy to make. I would definitely make it again.

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RECIPE: Vanilla Cardamom Stewed Rhubarb (Fare Isle)

Blue Jasmine Gin and Tonic

I've been fascinated with teas that contain butterfly pea flowers because of both the pretty blue color and the fact that they'll change to purple or pink with the addition of acidic ingredients -- the pigment that makes the flowers blue reacts to changes in pH. I also love jasmine tea and when I found that Rishi had combined the two, I was excited to try it. I did not have their exact blend, but I had their plain jasmine tea and plain butterfly pea flowers at home, and seeing as those are the only two ingredients in their blend, I added butterfly pea flowers to the jasmine tea until it looked visually similar to their picture. I brewed some first to taste it and I liked it, so my next trial was to make their Gin Blossom drink with the tea I blended. It involves steeping the tea overnight in the gin, something that was new to me but seems safer than infusing liquor with fresh fruit at room temperature for weeks.

I only made half a batch of the infused gin because I wasn't sure if it'd be worth the extra work but I LOVE it. The finished drink was surprisingly complex and nicely balanced. It started out tasting lightly fruity and sweet, almost like a grape popsicle, and then as I sipped and the ice melted I started to get more of the bitterness and floral flavors from the tea.

Notes:

• I used a neutral flavored gin (New Amsterdam) and liked the result, but I could see an herbal or floral tasting one working nicely too.
• The color of the finished drink was less vivid pink than their photo but was still delightfully pretty.
• Don't skip the lemon peel! It helps balance all the flavors and also smells nice while you drink.

Verdict: This was unusual and lovely, and not particularly hard to make, though it takes some more planning than a regular gin and tonic. I would definitely make it again, especially for a fancy event or special occasion.

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RECIPE:

Blue Jasmine Gin and Tonic

adapted from Rishi Tea

Per 1 drink:

2 oz tea infused gin (recipe follows)

5 oz tonic water

Ice

Lemon peel

Tea infused gin (makes enough for 5 drink servings)

5 g dried jasmine green tea

3 g dried butterfly pea flowers

10 oz (about 300 ml) neutral flavored gin

To infuse gin: combine all ingredients in a glass jar with secure lid and let stand overnight (~8 hours) at room temperature. Strain out tea leaves.

To make the drink: Fill a rocks or highball glass with ice. Pour gin over the ice, then top with tonic water. Stir gently to combine. Garnish with the lemon peel. Serve immediately.

Banana Pancakes

I had old bananas and wanted to use them up but wanted something that wasn't banana bread. I've had banana pancakes before and hadn't made them in a long time, so I decided to give them another try. I made them exactly as written, so no notes this time, other than that they behave a little differently than plain pancakes and don't get bubbly on the top as quickly, so it's not as reliable an indicator for when to flip them.

Verdict: It's a solid recipe. They're sweet and smell nice, and were pretty easy to make.

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RECIPE: Banana Pancakes (Alicia Skousen, via Lil' Luna)

Lemon Lavender Pound Cake

A friend of mine made something like this for her birthday. I love this flavor combination, and her decorations of dried pressed flowers and pearl sprinkles were so pretty I wanted to make something similar for myself. I made it last minute so I didn't have time to go shopping for really fancy decorations but the dried lavender buds and gold pearl sprinkles worked pretty nicely.

Verdict: It's really nice! I like to try lots of different kinds of cake so I might not make it a lot, but this was a solid tasting recipe and not difficult to make.

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RECIPE: Lemon Lavender Pound Cake (Bon Appetit)

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

In preparing for International Lolita Day this summer I decided I wanted to make something traditionally served at high tea for an online meetup. For my last in-person tea party I made a Korean inspired sandwich with cucumber in it but today I was more interested in the traditional kind. However, because they're so simple and delicately flavored, it's easy to make them really boring or unappealing. I wanted, in the words of my friend, "a cucumber sandwich that doesn't suck."

I happened upon a missive by Felicity Cloake on the subject, and it was an interesting read, not having grown up around tea culture of any kind. If you'd like to read it, feel free to check out this link. But I'm just here to tell you how to make the version she settled on.

Notes:

• Admittedly I made my sandwich with brown bread because it was all I had. I liked it, though I think a white bread (but not Wonder Bread style white bread) is really what you want here.
• I tried cutting my sandwich into 6 pieces and it started falling apart. I'd stick with dividing the sandwich into 4 pieces max. I think a bread knife or a sharp chef's knife works best.

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RECIPE:

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

from Felicity Cloake

Serves 3-4

1/2 large cucumber, peeled (seeds removed if there are large seeds)

1/8-1/4 tsp salt

6 slices of good, fresh white bread

4-5 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Ground white pepper

Slice cucumber very thinly. Place in a sieve over the sink. Salt the slices lightly and toss to coat. Let stand for 20 minutes. Taste one, and if it is very salty, you can rinse the cucumbers to remove some of the salt. Place cucumber slices in a single layer on paper towels and pat dry with more paper towels to remove excess moisture.

Butter each slice of bread generously on one side. Arrange cucumber slices to cover 3 of the slices of bread, overlapping the slices as needed, then sprinkle white pepper on top. Top with the remaining bread slices.

Using gentle but firm pressure, place your hand on top of each sandwich and cut off the crusts with a sharp knife, then cut into 3 equal fingers, 4 squares, or 4 triangles. Serve immediately, preferably alongside a cup of good tea.

Chinese Style Fried Chicken

This recipe scrolled by on one of my social media feeds a few years ago, and it caught my eye because it sounded really similar to a dish I like to get at one of my favorite local Asian fusion restaurants: crispy grilled chicken with ginger-scallion chutney. I was putting away chicken thighs this morning and remembered that I had this recipe, and realized I had everything I needed to try it out.

Notes:

• I served this with jasmine rice.
• I marinated the chicken for longer than directed, about 3 hours.
• I did not have a fresh chili pepper on hand so I used red pepper flakes to taste. If you don't want or can't have it spicy you can leave this out.
• I used fresh baby spinach instead of mizuna because it was what I had on hand, but any salad green would taste good here, especially a slightly peppery one like arugula.

Verdict: It's not exactly the same as the restaurant dish but it is close, and quite delicious! It was relatively easy to make and I was pleasantly surprised that the skin actually got crispy. I would definitely make this again.

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RECIPE:

Chinese Style Fried Chicken

adapted from Tasty Japan

Serves 2

2 chicken thighs, skin on

Marinade

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sake

Sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

1 small scallion, minced

1 birdseye or Thai chili pepper, thinly sliced

4 tbsp canola oil

3 tbsp corn starch or potato starch

4 oz (1/4 lb) mizuna or arugula, or salad greens

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

On a cutting board, de-bone the chicken thighs if they have bones, then either score the skin with a knife or prick the skin all over with a fork. Place marinade ingredients in a quart sized plastic bag, then add chicken. Close the bag and move the chicken around inside it until marinade ingredients are mixed and chicken is fully coated in the marinade. Place in the refrigerator and let marinate for at least 30 minutes, and up to 4 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare sauce. Place all ingredients in a small bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

When you're ready to cook the chicken, heat the canola oil on medium-high heat in a shallow frying pan on the stove. Spread cornstarch on a shallow plate. Remove chicken thighs from bag and discard marinade. Gently press each side of the chicken into the cornstarch to coat the entire surface, and shake off any excess. When oil is shimmering, place chicken in the pan skin side down and cook until the skin is golden brown and crisp, about 5-6 minutes. Flip each chicken thigh and cook for 2-3 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

To serve, let chicken rest for a few minutes, then slice. Place greens on a plate and place sliced chicken on top. Arrange cherry tomatoes around the chicken, then pour sauce over the top.

Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice

I wanted something healthy with sweet potatoes in it, and something that would use up some odds and ends in my pantry.

Verdict: I enjoyed it. I liked how colorful it was, and the mix of different flavors, and the fact that it was reasonably healthy. I don't see myself making this a lot but I would consider making and eating it again if I felt like a coconut-based soup.

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RECIPE: Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice