I've been eating my vegetables, really! But sometimes it gets hard to be inspired. After about a week of a bare cupboard (due to a bit of interstate traveling) I finally went shopping and felt re-invigorated. I was thinking some kind of winter salad. I bought this huge beet, which was a challenge to grate. My food processor wouldn't really budge on it. So, I did what I knew I should have done in the first place: use my old school Mouli grater. I love this thing.
Then, after lightly toasting them, I went old school on the walnuts.
While doing so, I imbibed: kitchen gin with grapefruit syrup and seltzer.
And then I sat down to this:
After slicing the cabbage, I blanched it and put it aside. After grating the beet, I tossed it with olive oil and pomegranate balsamic, salt and pepper. Put the beets on the cabbage (I kept them separate because you know how beets are) and topped with feta and walnuts. There were other things I was envisioning, but I just didn't have the time. Between teething and a looming bedtime, having a cocktail while making this was all I could do. But you know what? That's pretty good, all in all.
I want to hear more about this kitchen gin. I saw where you made it but never did hear how it tastes!!
ReplyDeleteBoy is that gin right up my alley. I'm trying to remember if I've seen a reference to kids on your site before, or are YOU teething? And I've never seen a grater like that before - it looks really intersting, as does the salad. Glad you are pulling through winter!
ReplyDeleteMelissa- I'm still thinking about it. I think I left the juniper in too long, so I took them all out and I think I might add more vodka to mellow it out a little. However, it really does taste like very herbal gin, and I do like it! It was really tasty with the grapefruit syrup.
ReplyDeleteAnnette- Ha ha! I have a sixteen-month old boy who is getting his eye teeth AND molars in. Ugh. He's a real trooper, though. That grater rules. It's getting me through winter, indeed. It's loooong haul. And seeing your garden plans has given me hope!
that old grater is the bomb! i love it!
ReplyDeleteyour dish looks delicious too. i've been realizing this winter that because of my desire to eat locally and in season i'm (we're) not getting enough veggies during winter. i'm feeling like i really need to be much more mindful of that during the growing season and work more on 'stocking up'.
Tigress- Thanks on both counts! I know, I'm sorely missing veggies. I am definitely going to be better prepared next summer to stock up.
ReplyDeleteFabulous beet photo. I love the way it's looming threateningly over the cabbage. So, like Melissa, I want to know more about this gin. Was it too junipery because you left the spices in too long, or because there were too many berries? Any thoughts on the optimal amount of time for infusing the vodka? And most importantly, did you use a good vodka, or do the spices do a nice trick on medium-grade vodka?
ReplyDeleteDoris- I know, the beet is like some strange planet and the cabbage is some gaseous cloud. That beet was powerful and threatening, if possible. My food processor backed down from it!
ReplyDeleteOkay, about the gin. I finished it last night (with friends!) so I feel I can talk with authority. The juniper, while not overpowering, could have been taken out sooner. The original recipe called for a day's worth of steeping, and I left them in for about a month. It turned it to a light tea color. Next time I might steep for a week and then remove them. I used Svedka, so no, I don't think a great vodka is necessary. The recipe only calls for 500 ml of booze, so you can afford to play around with it!