Half Assed Kitchen

Fresh spring rolls

A couple weeks ago, allrecipes, which is based right here in Seattle, held a tweetup for some local moms and bloggers. We had never been to a tweetup before and if this is what they're all like, bring on the tweetups!

We were treated to cooking demonstrations, school lunch ideas, easy dinner solutions, and even hands on instructions for how to make spring rolls. You all, the spring rolls are so cinchy! And delicious! And amazingly healthy! They're even easy for kids to assemble.

Rating: 1/4 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

6-8 spring roll skins (found in the Asian foods aisle of your local grocery store--you can see the package in the middle of the above photo, so you know what to look for)

1/2 pound of salad/bay shrimp

Pre-shredded coleslaw cabbage

1-2 large carrots, shredded

Several basil leaves, kept whole (these give your rolls a good, Thai flavor)

Chili sauce (Sun Luck, Heinz, A Taste of Thai, etc.), hoisin sauce, or whatever else you'd like for dipping

Fill a large, shallow pan or dish with water. Dip in spring roll skin and keep submerged for 10 seconds or so. Spread onto cutting board and fill with shrimp, cabbage, carrots and basil leaves. Wrap spring roll like a burrito, as tightly as possible without ripping the spring roll skin.

Serve with sauces warmed slightly in microwave and miso soup.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Chickpea, chard, and artichoke salad

 

What do you know? Another chickpea and chard recipe! We don't quite know how that happened, except that sturdy, peppery chard and nutty chickpeas seem to go so well together.

This is a delightful little salad that works nicely as a side, or add shredded chicken and make it into a light entreé. It's also really, really easy.

Rating: 1/2 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

1 bunch chard

1/2 can chickpeas (otherwise known as garbanzo beans)

1/2 cup red onion, sliced thinly (and soaked for 15 minutes to subdue the flavor a little)

1/3 cup kalamata olives

1/2 can artichoke hearts, drained and halved

For dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Ground black pepper

Wash and slice chard into narrow strips. Add chickpeas, red onion, olives and artichoke hearts. Mix dressing ingredients and drizzle over salad.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Simple syrup

It seems almost silly to write a post about simple syrup. Simple syrup is so easy, so basic to cold, sweetened drinks, that a whole entry devoted to sugar water could be construed as ridiculous. 

The other day, though, we were in a coffee shop and we saw simple syrup for sale. And we thought, Pshaw! A person can make simple syrup in five minutes for about five cents.

The science behind simple syrup is this: in hot beverages like coffee and tea, sugar granules dissolve quickly thanks to the heat. In cold beverages, however, like lemonade, iced tea, and a plethora of cocktails, the sugar doesn't quite dissolve, settling at the bottom in a gritty film. Either that or you have to stir until your arm falls off.

So, since summer is not technically over yet and there are still cold drinks to be had, we're going to tell you how we make simple syrup.

Rating: 1/8 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups water

Mix in a sauce pan. Stirring almost constantly, bring to a boil. The longer you boil your syrup, the thicker it will become. Turn off heat and let cool. Once cooled, pour into a cute bottle or jar. We used an old Trader Joes' olive oil bottle that we cleaned and from which we soaked the labels.

Store in refrigerator.

Here are just a few ways to use your simple syrup:

Strawberry Mojito from White on Rice Couple

Perfect Lemonade from Simply Recipes

Laughter in the Rain from Martha Stewart (A cocktail we particularly need here in Seattle.)

Pasta carbonara

 Photo courtesy: HomeMade Simple

Would you believe we'd never had carbonara until last week? We got the idea to whip it up from our Half Assed Kitchen Facebook page when one user put out a call for a great carbonara recipe. She got 30 responses, most detailing easy ways to make this luscious pasta.

As it turns out, the main ingredients of carbonara are bacon, eggs, and cream. So we decided to adapt Cooking Light's recipe. It's probably not the most decadent one out there, but hopefully it strikes the right balance of naughty-good and not-horrendously-unhealthy.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

4 ounces uncooked pasta (spaghetti, linguine, or whatever else your little heart desires)

1/2 cup milk, cream, or half-and-half

3 Tablespoons parmesan cheese

1 Tablespoon chopped, fresh Italian parsley

1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Ground, black pepper, to taste (we like to use lots)

4 to 5 strips crumbled bacon

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 eggs, lightly beaten

Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente (just done, but not too mushy). Drain pasta and reserve 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

While pasta is boiling, combine milk, parmesan, parsley, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and set it aside.

In a skillet, fry bacon and remove from pan. Drain out most of bacon fat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until softened. Reduce heat to medium-low and add milk mixture and pasta to pan.

In a small bowl, beat egg with a whisk and add the 1/4 cup of reserved hot water. This will temper the egg so it won't immediately scramble upon hitting the hot skillet. Stir egg into pasta. Crumble bacon and add to pasta. Cook for about five minutes, stirring constantly until sauce is creamy.

Serve with buttery garlic bread and salad.

For printable version of this recipe, click here.