Tag: lemon

Categories
Cocktail Local

Sprinkled Lemonade

oneandahalfslices sprinkles lemonade summer
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Sprinkled Lemonade!

and other announcements…

oneandahalfslices sprinkles lemonade summer

“if it costs you your peace, it’s too expensive”

paolo coehlo

what you need

4″ chunk of fresh, juicy watermelon

1-2 strawberries

1 oz lemon juice

2 tablespoons sugar

2 oz vodka

2 oz water

(optional) sprinkles

**but, really, when are sprinkles ever optional?

🍉🍓🍉

how to make it

Muddle the watermelon, strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar together in a cocktail shaker. 

Add the vodka and water. Shake vigorously with ice until frothy. 

Rim a coup or cocktail glass with lemon juice and dip into sprinkles of choice. Strain the cocktail into the glass and top with a paper thin strawberry slice. 

Tips! Use other fruit (like raspberries). Let the melon, berries, vodka, lemon juice, and sugar soak for 20 minutes before making the cocktail for stronger flavors. Make it frozen by blending frozen watermelon chunks with all ingredients and adding water and/or plant-based milk as desired.  

There are some big things “happening at OneandahalfSlices this year. I know, I know… I’ve been quiet. I’ve been absent. I’ve been exploring. More than just The Balkans, it turns out.

I’ve been going through a pink phase (well, it’s really more of a rose phase, but nevermind). I’ve been going through a sprinkle phase. And I’ve been trying to figure out how to love. my. day. Because in the space between a global pandemic and a PhD, I forgot how.

So I’m planning a transition. A transition out of my full time job, into good vibes – to make space, to get deliberate and slow, to be quiet, to travel, to require less, to live more, to love deeply, to discover without seeking, to find what is around me without looking forward, to relinquish progress to make room for natural energy, curiosity, and strength.

Merigold Analytics and OneandahalfSlices come together in a meaningful way around flavor, health, and authenticity. 

So stick with us friends, colleagues, vibe seekers, wanderlusts, gamers, thalassophiles, entrepreneurs, and our nation’s youth… we’re about to get vibey. 

🍉☀️🍉

oneandahalfslices sprinkles lemonade summer
oneandahalfslices lemons lemonade summer

wear sunscreen

eat color

recognize the beauty of your body

indulge without overindulging

allow things to come and go

get out of your comfort zone

stretch

hydrate

appreciate

LOVE YOUR DAY

eat food, not too much, mostly plants

introspect

adore

measure less, live more

no bull, all love

“in the kingdom of glass, everything is transparent and there is no place to hide a dark heart.”

#oneandahalfslices

🍉🍋🍉

Endless Summer

“summertime and the livin’s easy.”

– lana del rey

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Pinterest
Tumblr
Categories
Veggie

Lemon Chickpea Stew

stew soup recipe fall One and a Half Slices lemon chickpea vegan dish
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Lemon Chickpea Stew

stew soup recipe fall One and a Half Slices lemon chickpea vegan dish

If you didn’t catch my Mushroom Lentil Stew of last week, this vegan beauty came right on its heels. Welcoming Fall in vegan/vegetarian style, the theme of this October is lentils and other legumes. The chickpea is a protein-packed, fiber saturated, hearty meal staple. This soup recipe boasts a super unique flavor comprised of lemon zest, really good olive oil, red chili flakes, and the lowly potato. Just one more example of how fresh, local, in-season produce carries all the flavor you’ll ever need. This stew is filling yet humble. It is bold; it isn’t fancy. It doesn’t require an exotic cocktail pairing… it’s just a simple stew for a simple weeknight to remind you to be thankful for a warm stomach, an engaged palette, and a full plate … (or bowl, in this instance).

Looking for more ways to use chickpeas? Try my Moroccan Tagine.   

what you need

1 1/2 cups chickpeas (if canned, rinsed and drained; if fresh, soaked and boiled)

4 small white potatoes, diced small

1 large carrot, diced small

1 large celery stalk, diced small

1 medium yellow onion, diced small

4 cups vegetable broth

Lemon juice from half a lemon

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 chili pepper, minced (or chili pepper flakes)

Olive oil

Fresh thyme

Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste 

4 cups thinly sliced swiss chard or baby spinach

how to make it

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent, ~5 minutes.  Add garlic and chili pepper, and cook ~1 minute more. Add carrots and celery, and cook ~7 minutes more. Add thyme, salt, pepper, and lemon zest, and stir until combined. 

Add potatoes, chickpeas, and vegetable broth, and simmer on low, covered, for ~30-45 minutes. Uncover and check stew for taste, adding more spices as needed. Ladle about half the stew into a blender and puree until smooth. Add the pureed stew back to the pot. Add lemon juice and chard/spinach, stir, and cook, uncovered, ~15 minutes more. 

Ladle into bowls and serve with toasted naan or crusty bread. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil on top (don’t skip this! adds to flavor, especially if you have good olive oil) and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
Other Stews

White Bean Chorizo Soup

As we enter into the longest winter months with January barely having come to a close, it seems like it will never be warm again. These are the months for soups, stews, and roasts; hearty and cozy. This is one such soup. It is creamy (without any cream) and I hereby dub it my Winter Soup, topped with spicy chorizo, salty pepitas, and a dash of oregano.

Go To Post »
February 6, 2021 1 Comment
vegetable soup recipe simple weeknight one and a half slices

Vegetable Soup

We decided to throw together a soup with… whatever was left in the fridge. With this recipe, literally anything goes. Whatever you’ve got in the fridge. Whatever is left over. It can be vegan/vegetarian or use leftover meat. It can be super starchy and hearty, or lighter and more vegetable-forward. In any form, it is simple, warming, and humble – a subtle reminder that we are fortunate to be able to indulge in anything more than this on a regular basis. This was how people cooked 200 years ago in America… in Italy, in France, in Morocco. Peasant food. Make-it-through-the-winter food. I am just as appreciative for dishes like these (and beef stew, and homemade beans, and tagine) as I am for Pot Roast and Pavlova. Also, if anyone else spent their childhood at Medieval Times, this is totally the soup they serve!

Go To Post »
November 17, 2021 2 Comments
creamy coconut sweet potato soup recipe oneandahalfslices

Creamy Sweet Potato Stew

Coming out of Vegan October, we were a little tired of lentils and were looking for something to do with copious amounts of sweet potatoes. Hence this little gem was discovered. Creamy with coconut milk, almost like curry. Spiced with flavors of the same. Hearty with sweet potato and flourished with kale. Yes, there are still a few lentils, but they are hardly the stars of the show. This soup is light enough for any season and feels perfectly at home here at the end of October. 🧡

Go To Post »
November 7, 2021 1 Comment
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Pinterest
Tumblr
Categories
Veggie

Spaghetti Al Limone

one and a half slices local simple recipes food

Spaghetti al Limone

This is a fresh, light, summery pasta dish I have wanted to try for a long time in keeping with my predilection for lemon things (like my equally as simple Little Lemon Cake). Pasta al Limone is an Italian classic (see notes below for short commentary on ‘Italian Classics’). It requires just a handful of ingredients and only takes as long to make as it does to boil pasta. I like it with a piece of lemon-marinated, grilled chicken on top. Lemon and Pasta may not seem like two things that go together but, trust me, they do. It has an elegant simplicity to it that is perfect for a summery Sunday afternoon, a weeknight, or a date night. Do something different. Lemon Pasta. 🍋 

what you need

Zest from 1 lemon

1-2 generous tablespoons lemon juice, depending on desired lemon flavor

1/2 package dry spaghetti noodles

1 handful of fresh basil or mint, cut into strips

1 cup Parmesan Reggiano cheese

3 tablespoons good olive oil

(optional) 1/2 tablespoon butter

(optional) pine nuts, toasted

Suggested chicken marinade: the rest of the lemon juice, salt, pepper, dash cayenne

🍋🍋🍋

how to make it

Begin boiling pasta per directions on package. 

In serving bowl, zest the lemon and add the lemon juice. Grate cheese using fine hand grater, and add olive oil, salt, and black pepper to taste. Using a whisk or a fork, mix ingredients until just combined. When pasta is almost finished, spoon 2 tablespoons of pasta water into the serving bowl along with the butter (if using), and resume combining cheese mixture. Reserve 1 cup of hot pasta water and set aside. 

Strain the pasta and place into serving bowl. It is important you do this while pasta is piping hot. Using tongs, begin to mix the pasta and the cheese mixture until thoroughly combined, adding pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time as needed. Be sparing.

Once sufficiently combined, mix in basil and top with pine nuts (if using). Serve warm with a piece of grilled lemon chicken over the top. 

Afterward on ‘Italian Classics’ The Italians have always created pasta dishes that the rest of the world covets. That perfect, carrot-and-celery-scented bolognese, a light and airy fettuccine alfredo, the illusive meatball. Also, the seemingly simple dishes that are still fantastic – Cacio e Pepe, Pomodoro sauce, Bruschetta, Caprese. So what is so difficult to recreate about authentic Italian cuisine? And why do Italian restaurants here in the US leave you feeling overly full and uncomfortable? The short answer to both questions is ingredients. I have compiled a list of Italian cuisine rules of thumb that are by no means comprehensive but will instantly improve your Italian dishes once implemented. The first is by far the most important.

1) Most American renditions of Italian cuisine are cream and/or butter based. Most authentic Italian dishes are actually olive oil and/or pasta based. In short, we use cream and butter to make our dishes ‘creamy’ all the while removing the natural thickening agent present in all pasta. As pasta boils, the gluten cooks out into the pasta water. This means that a little bit of pasta water acts like a thickening agent that could form the basis for a creamy sauce. This is the case in Pasta al Limone, where the seemingly ‘creamy’ pasta sauce can be created using little to no butter or cream, and only a splash of reserve pasta water. The only dairy you really need is the cheese. See the cooking technique for Pasta al Limone above for an illustration of this practice. 

2) Do not make red sauces heavier by using red wine. Use white wine instead.

3) Use nutmeg to accent white, creamy sauces, and fennel to accent dark, red sauces. 

4) Turn to good olive oil, salt, and pepper for seasoning and saucing first before butter, cream, sugar, and cheese.

5) Do not put sugar in your red sauce. Or buy red sauce with sugar listed as an ingredient. Ever. Period. If you do this, we are no longer friends. 

Other Pasta Dishes
spaghetti Bolognese recipe pasta oneandahalfslices

Essential Bolognese Sauce

This Bolognese sauce is as authentic as they come, with a counterintuitive yet elegantly simple sauce making process that will ensure you never touch another jar of Classico. It is meaty, salty, and carries richness made possible only through the simplest yet most flavorful of vegetables – carrot and celery. And also… let’s talk about olive oil.

Go To Post »
October 21, 2020 16 Comments

Pasta Verte

This is the freshest, crispest, heartiest, lightest, most beautiful springtime thing I can think to make when the chill finally leaves the Virginia air around noontime but the mornings are still a little frosty. You can make it in one pot, with one blender, and with one half hour, which makes it a great weekday lunch if you’re working from home or weeknight dinner if you walk in late. Join me in getting my green on, courtesy of David Frenkiel from Green Kitchen Stories. David takes much better photographs than I do but I’ve made a few design modifications to the original recipe that I think serve this one well. 🌷

Go To Post »
April 7, 2021 No Comments
pasta recipe pomodoro red creamy simple easy sauce

Pasta Pomodoro

Pomodoro sauce is the Italian name for the simple tomato-based mother sauce, as “pomodoro” means “tomato” in Italian. It is meant to be the quickest, simplest pasta topper and I give it to you here in five simple steps that will keep you away from canned pasta sauce for life.

Go To Post »
November 7, 2021 No Comments
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Pinterest
Tumblr
Categories
Sweet

Lemon Cake

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Little Lemon Cake

This is the most delicate of desserts or afternoon tea accompaniment. It is subtle, zesty, citrus-y, sunshine goodness baked in a tin and served with a dollop of Chantilly cream, a fresh strawberry, or a tangy raspberry. It is all the sweet you need and lets the lemon carry the day, as any well-crafted dessert should. So channel your French simplicity, pour some Earl Grey, and go with the lightest lemon cake for dessert this summer. It is also super moist. It’s one of my favorites and you can whip it up in half an hour, so it makes the perfect last minute dessert if all you have in the fridge are lemons! 🍋🍋🍋

what you need

juice from 2 lemons

1-2 tablespoons lemon zest

1/2 cup almond flour

1 cup all purpose or cake flour

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup whole milk (or Greek yogurt in a pinch)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

how to make it

Preheat oven to 350. Place a parchment paper sheet in the bottom of a 9 inch pan or grease the pan well with butter and a dusting of flour. 

Cream slightly softened butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Beat in eggs until just combined. Add vanilla, nutmeg, lemon juice, lemon zest, milk, and stir. 

Stir in both flours and baking powder until just combined. Transfer mixture to cake tin and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the middle is just set. The mixture will be thick. 

Top with fresh strawberries, fresh whipped cream, fresh raspberries, or a small dollop of vanilla gelato. You can also dust with powdered sugar just before serving. This is not an intensely sweet cake so the powdered sugar can sweeten it up a bit if it’s too tart.

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Pinterest
Tumblr
Categories
Cocktail

Sunshine Water

one and a half slices local simple recipes food

Sunshine Water

one and a half slices healthy recipe sunshine water glow

When the Winter begins to give way, I am overcome with gratitude for warm sun rays, vibrant cherry blossoms, and that lime-y green that we only see once a year for a few weeks when the natural world begins to emerge from its hibernation. That crisp, warming air calls for something fresh, something bright, something cleansing. That thing is Sunshine Water. During the pandemic, I got in the habit of making a pitcher of this stuff when I woke up in the mornings I worked from home, and sipping on it all day long. It is a great way to wake up the digestive system before coffee. I’ve always found that citrus has an energizing effect. So mix up a pitcher and enjoy on your next sunny day with the windows open! Also, check out the Windows Open playlist to accompany.  

what you need

1 knob fresh ginger root

1 knob fresh turmeric root 

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 lemon

1 orange of choice 

(optional) fresh strawberries or raspberries

(optional) 1-2 tablespoons fresh honey

Approximately 1 liter of water

how to make it

Using a juicer, juice the lemon and the orange, and pour the juice into the pitcher. 

Drizzle the inside of the pitcher with honey (if using).

Using a fine grater, grate the peeled ginger and turmeric root into the pitcher. Add the cayenne. 

Fill pitcher with water! Drop in a few sliced berries on top. Give it a good stir and enjoy!

Want a wintertime version that really packs in the immunity boosters? Try my Fire Cider.
Categories
Veggie

Pasta Verte

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Pasta Verte

This is the freshest, crispest, heartiest, lightest, most beautiful springtime thing I can think to make when the chill finally leaves the Virginia air around noontime but the mornings are still a little frosty. The Piemaker says this dish looks like green slime, but acquiesces that it is flavorful, abundant, and filling. You can make it in one pot, with one blender, and with one half hour, which makes it a great weekday lunch if you’re working from home or weeknight dinner if you walk in late. Join me in getting my green on, courtesy of David Frenkiel from Green Kitchen Stories. David takes much better photographs than I do but I’ve made a few design modifications to the original recipe that I think serve this one well. Still not sure you want to try this?… watch David’s Reel. Also, if you feel like following his lead and listening to Nick Drake while you cook, you won’t be disappointed. I did. And to make up for my absence over the past 10 days, I’ve got a little gift for you at the end…🌷

what you need

1 bunch of kale (note: original recipe indicates spinach can substitute for kale. I found this made my sauce thinner and the dish not as hearty. Stick with the kale)

1 bunch of fresh basil

2 garlic cloves

1 head of broccoli, florets cut off

1-1 1/2 cups of fresh green peas

1 lemon

1 substantial glug of olive oil

1 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted in the oven (note: original recipe indicates pine nuts OR hazelnuts. I am the world’s BIGGEST hazelnut fan but felt that the hazelnut flavor didn’t serve this dish as well as the pine nuts. Pine nuts are more expensive for sure. Almonds might be worth a try…)

2 servings bucatini pasta (note: try as I might, I could not locate bucatini, so the first time, I used an egg-based tagliatelle. Normally, I prefer egg-based pasta (especially in my Essential Bolognese sauce), but this dish is really better with an all wheat pasta. Boxed is actually best. The second time, I went for macaroni (pictured above… long, uncut macaroni). This worked better than the tagliatelle but I really recommend the bucatini). 

Lots of sea salt and cracked black pepper

how to make it

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a mild boil on the stovetop. Not a particularly deep soup pot.

Add pasta and stir. Break the leaves off the kale bunch and submerge in water on top of pasta, halving the garlic cloves and setting them on top (careful not to lose them! do not stir). Once kale is bright green and wilted, ~5 minutes, remove it and the garlic with tongs and add it to the blender. Return to the pot and add the peas and broccoli florets, cooking until bright green, ~3 additional minutes. Again, you’re looking for the bright green color. You know, the one you’re seeing everywhere these days – the color of new, springtime leaves. 

While the broccoli simmers, add the basil and 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese to the blender. Squeeze the lemon on top and add a hefty glug of olive oil. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Transfer 3/4 of the broccoli florets to the blender, leaving the smallest florets in the pot with the pasta. Transfer about half the peas as well. Add maybe 1/4-1/2 cup of pasta water and blend the mixture. You don’t want this to be too runny. The consistency you’re going for is pesto or slightly thinner. Add pasta water slowly. Sample for taste.

Drain the pasta, and remaining peas and broccoli, and return the drained ingredients to the saucepan (removed from heat). Pour a small palette of green pesto on each of two plates… a bed on which your pasta mixture will rest. Add the rest of the green mixture to the saucepan and stir with tongs to combine. Swirl the pasta around the tongs and gently lift several little swirls of pasta onto the bed of pesto on each plate. Take some of the small broccoli florets and peas with you. Then top with salt and black pepper.

Sprinkle on your reserved parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts, and you’re ready to serve!

Keep reading for the Windows Open playlist…

1
2
3

Now, since I’ve neglected posting for almost two whole weeks (I’ve been outside enjoying the springtime, of course, and experimenting with some new recipes for you all), I decided I would make it up to you by providing a Spring 2021 Windows Open playlist (alternate naming convention: Spring 2021 Windows Rolled Down playlist; hat tip Amos Lee). I don’t use Spotify, otherwise I would have uploaded it there, but here is a YouTube link. The full track list is below. Happy Spring! 🍓🥦🧄🌷🌱

  1. Indonesia – Amos Lee
  2. Windows Are Rolled Down – Amos Lee
  3. Arms of a Woman – Amos Lee
  4. This is the Thing – Fink
  5. C.R.E.A.M. – El Michels Affair
  6. The Last Cherry Blossom – RudeManners
  7. Fade Into You – Mazzy Star
  8. The Only Living Boy in New York – Simon & Garfunkel
  9. How We Operate – Gomez
  10. Past the Mission – Tori Amos
  11.  Cornflake Girl – Tori Amos
  12. One – Tina Dico
  13.  The Sea Symphonic Tales version – HAEVN
First attempt with egg pasta, spinach, and hazelnuts
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Pinterest
Tumblr