Cooking hack: Passion Tea Lemonade

I came down with a delightful case of tonsillitis this week, and when the doc said I need to hydrate, all I wanted was Starbucks' Passion Tea Lemonade 24-7. I did the math and decided that plan would completely wreck my Starbucks budget for the month, so I did what any good Happy Eater would do: DIY PTL.

It's actually stupid easy.

I boiled one tea kettle worth of hot water.

Put 6 Tazo Passion Tea bags in a pitcher.

Add some honey (for some reason, I count to 12? This is not technically a measurement, but it seems good to me.)

Pour the water in and let it steep for a long while -- maybe 5-8 minutes? The nice thing about the Passion tea is it never gets bitter, just delicious. So don't feel guilty if you forget about it while you pick up the hairbrush bristles your labradoodle scattered all around your bedroom as a "welcome home from work" gesture. Er-- I guess that was just me.

Add ice and set the pitcher in the fridge to cool off.

When you're ready for a glass, pour half lemonade and half passion tea in your glass and enjoy.

Homemade Passion Tea Lemonade. Good for the tonsils, good for by the pool, good for the wallet.

Happy drinking, eaters.

Huge Mistake: Cast Iron Skillet

I scraped out the remainder of my Blackberry Cobbler, scrubbed the skillet clean and threw it in the dishwasher. I pulled it out the next day and realized:

Apparently, those instructions on my skillet that said soap and dishwasher can "damage the finish" actually means "do not, under any circumstance, use soap OR the dishwasher." My pan was so rusty, I thought I was going to have to throw it away and take the trash out before Vasily got home so I wouldn't have to explain to him that I'd bought a one-time-use skillet.

Instead of throwing the skillet away, I thought I could try to take Laura's advice via The Kichn.

Turns out, all you have to do to get from this to this

is scrub the rusty ol thing with a little warm soapy water,
dry thoroughly,
lightly grease with vegetable oil on a paper towel.
Heat your oven to 325,
put the newly clean, greased pan upside down in the oven for 1 hour.
Read a crazy-good book while you wait.
When the timer goes off, finish your page and turn the oven off, open the door to the oven.
Let it cool down, then take it out of the oven,

And we're all back in business!

Am I the only one who has done this? What have you learned the hard way?

Smoked trout spread

Ok, so this isn't a dip. But it's not really a spread, either. To me, spread implies a certain (gross) consistency that this just isn't. But I'm going with the word spread because I'm not sure what else to call it. But I eat it on bread... And sometimes just out of the bowl, by itself. When no one's looking.

Smoked trout...goodness.

This is one of those meals I like to make in the morning ahead of time for lunch or save for a night when I have no time or energy to spend in the kitchen. It's so easy, so quick and so incredibly delicious. And it's just out of the box enough to impress your friends.
I first had this delicious little dish at one of my favorite neighborhood spots in Brooklyn, Strong Place. It was served as an appetizer, but it quickly became my favorite thing on the menu and usually my dinner when we went there. The combination of the charred sourdough, the sweet, tart apples and the smoky, salty fish is to die for.

This recipe is either a meal for two or a snack for four to six. It goes a lil something like this:

Smoked Trout Spread

2 smoked trout filets (I used the brand Duck Trap, which can usually be found next to the smoked salmon at most grocery stores)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 1/2 TBSP crème fraiche (look for it in where you'd find your fancy cheeses. Most stores carry this, but you might have to venture to a specialty shop or farmer's market for it)

Pepper to taste

Chives, to garnish

1 Granny smith apple, thinly sliced

4-6 slices grilled sourdough bread

Separate the fish from the skin (it peels right off) and place in a bowl- I use a fork to kind of mince the smoked trout. Once the fish is in tiny little pieces, add your lemon juice, crème fraiche (add another tablespoon if you want it extra creamy) and pepper and mix well. Garnish with chives.

Spread the trout mixture on the grilled sourdough and top with sliced apples. Enjoy!

Until next time,