Tasty Beer Here.

While at the store this evening, we decided to pick up a couple new beers and give them a whirl.

Both of these fine looking bottles are brought to us by Goose Island. This brewery has a special place in our hearts, always reminding us of all the fun we had a few summers back at Intonation Festival in Chicago. At this particular festival, besides your standard H20 and soda, they were selling Goose Island 312 and Sparks (in regular and diet!). Please note that this was the first and last time we ever had Sparks. . .however, we have been fans of Goose Island ever since*

Goose Island - Matilda: Belgian Style Pale Ale ($7.99)

Hints of banana, clove, honey and hints of cinnamon.

Mellow and balanced, zero acidity. The perfect, accidental compliment to our szechuan stir fry and "zen party" trail mix.

Goose Island - Pere Jacques: Belgian Style Abbey Ale ($7.99)

Malt, plum , raisin, apple cider, perfect for autumn approaching.

More acidic than Matilda yet still balanced. Smooth like molasses and just as tasty.

Bonus:

[Mp3] The Shins - When I Goose Step (KXCIT Tucson)
[Mp3] Stellastarr* - Island Lost at Sea
[Mp3] Sufjan Stevens - Chicago (KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic)

Note: Kelly is super excited to see Sufjan at The Beachland in a few weeks while Jose is still kind of warming up to the idea of seeing him once again. . .

Bon Appetit Dinner Club: Modern Greek

This past weekend was perfectly capped by a visit to West Akron on an absolutely beautiful Sunday evening to attend Dinner Club at our friend's lovely home. This was the very first time we had participated in their dinner club (or any dinner club for that matter) and were very pleased to be included as well as discover that the recipes were from Bon Appetit's Modern Greek Menu.

Dinner Club has a simple concept - there are 5 couples and each is assigned a recipe/dish to create and bring on any designated date. Everyone then gathers, rejoices (or commiserates) on the execution of each dish. Regardless, everyone involved has the good fortune to enjoy each other's company and a memorable meal together.

On this particular occasion - the weather was perfect, the mood was light, and the food was exceptional. The gathering really helped ease us into a nice transition to start the work week.

Note: Our contribution was Roasted Garbanzo Beans and Garlic with Swiss Chard. Everyone did a superb job making their dishes, as you can get a "taste" from the pictures below.

The Dried Fig Soulvaki was just amazing. The
Smoked Salmon Tarama w/ Pita Chips was refreshing, crisp and soo very tasty. Ohh, and we loved the Greek themed napkins!

Mike and Dave seeing if anyone wants to sample the Haloumi & Sundried Tomato Crostini, having no problem whatsoever -- such a hit.

One of our plates before diving in. . .

Everyone chowing down :)

Very special thanks to Dave and Rebecca for hosting such a wonderful dinner party. It goes without saying that we are most definitely looking forward to the next Dinner Club date*

Terminally Chill

(mp3) Neon Indian - Terminally Chill

Get Your Freekeh on!

We don't know whether you know what freekeh is, but presume that most of you are like us and do not. For those in the same boat as us, freekeh is a food made from young green wheat that is very common in the Arab community. Freekeh is low carb, high protein and very rich in calcium and iron.

Kelly actually happened upon freekeh just the other day @ Trader Joe's when she asked one of the guys in the store for farro. We recently had come across several farro recipes that we hoped to create and each time we simply substituted the farro with quinoa. The guy Kelly spoke with at Trader Joe's was not familiar with farro and asked her whether she meant freekeh -- this was not the case, but he recommended freekeh in such a way that Kelly didn't hesitate to place a bag in her cart (FYI - for around $2 dollars/bag, serving a total of approximately 1.5 cups).

Having made this purchase, Kelly set out to make us our very first dish with freekeh.

She became intrigued by this dish from Williams Sonoma : Bulgur Salad with Lemon, Peas & Mint. Of course, ultimately deciding to use freekeh instead of bulgur while adding feta and toasted pinenuts to the mix. I think her additions to this recipe really put it over the top with a nice variety of color and texture. This salad was just delicious -- the nuttiness and heartiness of the freekeh was complimented perfectly by the blending variety of flavors, especially the lemon, sun dried tomatoes and feta. Not to mention, the mint just added a whole other level of complexity that seemed to throw us both off, but in the best way possible.

Based on this positive first freekeh experience and given the nutrients it includes (not to mention the low cost), we will most definitely be cooking more similiar dishes very soon!

ps - This enticing recipe, compliments of the lovely Heidi Robb, is next on our list :)

We're Joiners (not followers)

I distinctively remember Jose saying that he would never join Facebook. . .

AND, come to think of it -- when we first met, he didn't even own a cell phone b/c he was adamant that he would never join the masses in something frivolous and unnecessary.

Obviously, he inevitably changed his mind. I smuggly taught him how to text message and begrudgingly helped him start that Facebook account. It sounds almost laughable now that he tried to avoid the unavoidable.
This resistance is something oh so familiar to our initial feelings toward twitter. We (both) just didn't want to give in for some reason. . .perhaps it was the one piece of social media we hadn't yet succumb too?? Who knows.

BUT, about a week ago we totally caved :)

Find/follow us: @KELLYandJOSE

It's amazing how easily one becomes hooked and hopelessly addicted. . .Although, we figure it's a good thing to be apart of while we may not be blogging as much due to our busy schedules, right?

We think so. For now*

[Mp3] Amy Millan - I Will Follow You Into The Dark (Death Cab Cover)
[Mp3] U2 - We Will Follow

Bonus: Check out Cleveland Foodie's Guide to twitter [here]

We Only Come Out At Night

The End Result of Staying in on a Saturday Night Mix". On that mix there was a track called I'm A Pilot from the British group Fanfarlo. They are about to come stateside this fall and have their debut record Reservoir coming out this October. Today we just came across a you tube clip where they are covering The Smashing Pumpkins hit from Melancholy and The Infinite Sadness "We Only Come out at Night" . We really dig their folky take on this great song, it is an excellent cover.

Cooking with Quinoa

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is something that we've only been cooking with throughout the last six months or so and have become quite hooked.

What and, um, why. . .you might ask??

Well, this grain-like ingredient that not only tastes light and refreshing, somehow proves itself hearty and satisfying. An added bonus is that quinoa happens to be gluten free and is considered one of the very best power foods. If you're curious and want to incorporate quinoa in one of your favorite recipes -- keep in mind that you can easily substitute for cous cous, bulgar wheat, small pasta (ie - orzo), or farro.

A recipe that we just made this past weekend (and absolutely loooved) was this Grilled Portabella "Sandwich" compliments of Gourmet Magazine. The only elements we improvised on were using quinoa rather than bulgar and (of course) tripling the garlic -- so delicious. And, yes, you might notice from our picture below that the portabella caps act as burger buns. . .we're definitely suckers for creatively healthy recipes like this :) Not to mention, you get to be outside enjoying and perfecting your grilling skills!
Note: Be careful not to burn the portabella caps like we did! They grill VERY quickly.

Truly Hopper-vescent

Yesterday afternoon, we had the unique pleasure of drinking some quality local beers actually brewed by our brother-in-law Todd. His latest beer on tap is a 90 minute IPA and he garneshed the beer in a pretty creative way -- by hand picking a hop from his "hop garden" and dropping one in each beer glass to float. It is a wonder that we've never had a hop garnish before. Seriously! To be downing some quality beer while smelling a fresh hop is just simply.....hopper-vescent.

Speaking of hops and suds, we are both ecstatic for Saturday when we will be heading to the Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens for 5th annual Blues and Brews. We went last year and it was such a great time that we have been looking fwd to going back to it ever since. We will undoubtably hope to run into and share a few brews with some of you there.

Also of note at this event: Indigo Imp will be sampling (in limited quantity) their latest brew titled Gatekeeper, which is a robust porter.