Creative infusions

Summer is here and there is a danger lurking for all of us - dehydration. Many people probably are dehydrated most of the summer, but it is especially dangerous on those super hot days when you don't even have to move around outside to start sweating. If you are outside and you notice you are thirsty, you are probably already dehydrated. The best thing to drink for dehydration is water but let's face it - water is kind of boring. Thankfully there is a simple way to combat plain boring water if you plan ahead a little bit.

Mint-infused water

Infused water is a simple yet effective method of adding flavor to water without adding a lot of calories - if at all. All it takes is a little planning and some simple ingredients. Ultimately the limit to flavor is your imagination, but there are some things that work better than others. Using fresh ingredients is best, whether they be a fruit, a herb, or a vegetable. I also find that a combination of flavors produces the best results, and I find that the best ones are combinations of produce and herb. Some of my favorite pairings are blueberry-ginger, cucumber-mint, strawberry-basil, and blueberry-mint. Mint and basil work pretty well just on their own - the oils in the plant infuse into the water quite easily, and produce what basically amounts to a tea with no heat and minimal effort.

To infuse water, the method is simple. Just take the vessel of water, add the ingredients to be infused, and let the water sit in the fridge overnight. It really is just that simple. Some ingredients - like mint - can add a lot of flavor in a short time, so you may want to infuse the water and then strain it so that the flavor remains mild. If you are using a fruit or vegetable, make sure you cut it up to expose the flesh of the produce. If you are using a small fruit like blueberry you will want to mash them slightly to expose the flesh of the fruit. If you are using fresh herbs, make sure to mash them slightly, crush them, or tear them to start the infusion. 

Blueberry-ginger infused water

Aside from allowing you to be creative, this is a great way to make sure you and your family drink enough water. There is no size limit to your container, so you can infuse amounts of water starting as small as one glass to one gallon jugs to a whole multi-gallon serving vessel. Restaurants understand this principle - often times they will give you a glass of water with a lemon wedge in it! 

What do you infuse your water with? Let me know in the comments below or on Facebook!

A quick tip for using onions

In my endeavors to try to have more cold or room temperature meals this time of year, I eventually run across recipes which use raw onion. It is great in a coleslaw, in a black bean salad, or in a cold veggie salad, but the strong taste is definitely not for everyone. Some people love it, others abhor it, but there is definitely a way to make (mostly) everyone happy.

Firstly, a note about cutting onions. If you just glance at an onion, you might think that chopping across the circles is the best way to cut an onion, but if you look a little closer you will see that the structure of the onion actually runs top to bottom. This means that cutting across the belly of the onion is actually cutting "against the grain" and will release more liquid, which will result in more tears. The best way to cut slivers of onion is to chop off the top and bottom of the root, and then cut lengthwise from one side of the onion to the other keeping your knife parallel to the grain of the onion. This will release less moisture, and result in less tears. If you really like to get those nice round circles, you are just going to have try my next tip for dealing with raw onions.

Another tip for serving raw onion is to give it a soak before serving it. Once you have it cut however you want it, give it a quick soak in some warm water for about 5-10 minutes. Giving it the warm water bath will pull out some of the sulfur-containing compounds that irritate the eye and the palate, and give a milder and less acidic taste.

Do you have any other tips for dealing with these veggies? Share in the comments below or on Facebook!

Pita in your pocket

So recently I put together a nice light evening meal, but I'm not really sure what to call it. I was calling it "tapas" but it's not really what this was. It definitely had a theme going with it - Mediterranean flavors going on throughout - but other than that I'm not really sure what to call it. Other than delicious. I made some fresh hummus, which the boys LOVED by the way. I don't think I could have forced them to eat chickpeas by themselves, but grind them up into hummus and they were attacking their bowl with nothing but a spoon. Definite Dad dinner win on that one. Alongside the hummus we had some crudite (celery, peppers, carrots, apples) some homemade pickles, two kinds of olives, some jasmine rice, and a really nice cucumber salad that was a leftover from a dinner out. To hold all of this together I had decided to make some homemade pita bread. I searched around for a decent recipe and found one in the cooking section of New York Times' website, which can be found HERE.

I was expecting a slightly more complex dough, but it was simple enough. It reminded me of a pizza dough, though it was a little drier and had less salt and sugar than my pizza dough does. That being said, the procedure was way more complex, but definitely worth it. I ended up using my round baking stone to cook them in the oven - which worked out pretty well. The oven was hot and there was a lot of in and out, so if you're thinking of doing this on a hot summer afternoon I would suggest that you either plan to do it in the morning or the night before.

 As for creating perfectly round pitas with fantastic pockets I didn't do particularly well there either, but I really wasn't too upset about it. I kind of liked that they were a little misshapen - really gave them a homemade feeling, you know? And - let's face it - the taste and smell are the ultimate test of any food, and these passed with flying colors. Tender warm pita bread fresh from the oven and covered in hummus or carrying a bite of cucumber salad to my mouth was amazing. The only thing I will say is that I tried to follow the recipe as exactly as I was able to. It really was a lot of work to make the rounds, bake them off, and then make the next one, but if you are really wanting to get that fresh pita taste I would absolutely recommend this. My guess is that with this being the first time I did this it was a little difficult for me to get into any kind of rhythm since I was constantly looking at the directions and second-guessing myself. If I make these again, I will write another post to let you know how Pita 2 goes.

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

Speaking of hummus and all those other goodies, what is your favorite thing to eat with pita bread? Do you prefer a curry, or are you more of a falafel and salad kind of person? Let me know in the comments below or on Facebook!