Author: urbanmonique

I cook, write, throw flies, and play music in the Great Pacific Northwet.

Holiday Cheers!


By which, we mean of course, something with a wee dram of high octane cheer therein!

The holidays are a time for food, drink and merrymaking. When it comes to the drink part, we believe strongly that something special is warranted. We pull out the stops for meals, so why not do the same for the drinks? Light beer and box wine can wait ‘till after the new year…

Here are some holiday faves, sans commercial pre-packaged, preservative laden ingredient – Nothing says love so much as homemade, right?

Prosecco per le vacanze!
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Our personal contribution to the holiday drink pantheon. Use a nice, dry Prosecco to allow the pear to really pop as a counterpoint.

Nice, dry Prosecco of your choice
2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 firm, ripe Bosc pear

Blend sugar with nutmeg.
Core pear and slice into ½” thick sections.
Lightly moisten the top of a champagne flute, then dip and coat the rim with the sugar blend.
Fill with Proseco, notch pear slice so it can slide onto the rim.

Real Eggnog
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Arguably the quintessential holiday beverage. We recommend a good, dark rum like Mount Gay or Myers. Makes enough for 6 servings

2 Cups whole Milk
2 Cups ½ & ½
6 Egg Yolks
1 ½ cups Dark Rum
3 whole Cloves
1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla
¾ Cup granulated Sugar
½ teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg

In a sauce pan over low heat, combine milk, ¾ teaspoon vanilla, cloves and cinnamon. Stir regularly and slowly heat to scalding. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar and whisk by hand until fully incorporated and aerated.

Slowly add the sugar/egg blend to the hot milk mixture in the saucepan. Bring heat to medium and stir constantly until the mix begins to thicken. Don’t let the blend boil, or you’ll end up with a very unappealing custard-like substance…

Strain the mix through a sieve into a glass or stainless bowl and refrigerated, covered for at least an hour.

Remove from fridge, add the rest of the vanilla and the nutmeg and whisk. Add cream, then the rum and whisk thoroughly. Re-cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, (You can keep it overnight as well.) Stir well prior to serving.

Genuine Hot Buttered Rum
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My pop used to make this when I had a nasty cough; just one of the many reasons I love that guy… Use the best quality ice cream you can for a truly rich, creamy treat, and again here, use good, dark Rum. Super easy and makes enough for 4 to 6.

For the Batter:
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 Cup Unsalted Butter
2 Cups Vanilla Ice Cream

In a sauce pan over low heat, melt butter completely; add the sugars and allow to heat through thoroughly, about 4 or 5 minutes.

Place ice cream in a mixing bowl and add the butter/sugar mixture. Whisk by hand until thoroughly incorporated, about 2 or 3 minutes.

Transfer batter to a glass container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours prior to serving. Batter will be fine for at least a week and up to 30 days if frozen.

For each drink, scoop 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter into a mug. Add 1 ½ ounces of dark rum and fill with boiling water. Add a dash of nutmeg to the top and enjoy!

Hot Spiced Wine
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This is an age-old treat for a nasty, cold day, indeed! Super fast to prep and serves 4 to 6. The variable ingredients are for your taste; add as you like and see fit. A nice day-to-day Cabernet, Old Vine Zinfandel, or Burgundy works well for this and, as always, if you wish for good results, don’t use any wine you wouldn’t happily drink unadorned…

1 Bottle decent, hearty Red Wine
1 Orange
¼ to ½ Lemon
1 teaspoon fresh Ginger Root
¼ to ½ Cup Agave Nectar or Honey
2 – 3 sticks whole Cinnamon
6 – 8 Whole Cloves

Peel orange and lemon, slice peels into 1” strips and reserve.

In a stock pot over medium-low heat, add the wine and heat through, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the Agave or honey and stir until dissolved.

Squeeze fruit into wine and add the pulp and peels.

Grate ginger and add to pot.

Toss in cinnamon sticks and cloves, cover and bring mixture to a simmer and reduce heat. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.

Strain blend through a sieve, and serve hot!

Mulled Cider
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Nothing makes a house smell better or more like the holidays than this traditional favorite. Find fresh, local unfiltered cider whenever possible! Serves 6 or so.

½ Gallon Apple Cider
1 medium Orange
¼ t o ½ ea. fresh Lemon and Lime
2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar or Honey
6 – 8 Whole Cloves
2 – 3 sticks Cinnamon
4 – 6 Tasmanian Pepperberries, (Or Allspice berries)
2 – 3 whole Juniper Berries
1 teaspoon Nutmeg

In a stock pot over medium heat, add cider and allow to heat through, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Peel orange, lemon and lime, slice peels into 1” strips and reserve.

Add the Agave or honey to the heated cider and stir until dissolved.

Squeeze fruit into cider and add the pulp and peels.

Add remaining ingredients to the pot; bring cider to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

Strain cider through a sieve and serve piping hot.

From all of us at UrbanMonique, we wish you safe and peaceful Holidays!

Tofu for Ann!


Ann wrote in the other day after checking out the cilantro pesto recipe:
Yum! This all sounds so good! Okay, what’s your best tofu recipe? Or maybe a couple recipes? I bought tofu, and have no idea what to do with it…

Hey, Ann! I’ll bet you were the nice young woman I spoke to at the cafe the other day?
You got it. Tofu is absolutely wonderful stuff, versatile as the day is long. Nowadays, and especially in a food-savvy area like ours, there are some great locally made artisinal varieties to be enjoyed: Thanh Son Tofu, Northwest Tofu, and Chuminh Tofu come to mind as must-try.

That said, my personal favorite variation is stir-fried with onions, green onions, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, carrots and garlic sauce.

So, first wash and prep your veggies: Julienne the carrots and onion, cut green onion into reasonable chop stick manageable chunks, and slice your water chestnuts.

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Drain and cut your tofu into nice bite sized chunks.

For the garlic sauce, you’ll need:
1 Cup Vegetable Stock
3 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
1-2 Fresh Hot Chiles, fine diced (Jalapenos are fine for this, and red pepper flake will do in a pinch)
1-2 fresh Limes, (For Juice, you’ll want 1 to 3 tablespoons)
3-5 Cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon agave nectar, (Light Honey is fine)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
2 teaspoons corn starch dissolved in 4 tablespoons of water
1 – 2 Tablespoons Canola or Peanut Oil for sauteing

Add a little veggie oil to a preheated wok or saute pan over medium-high heat and allow to heat through. Add tofu and saute for a minute or two until it starts to brown. Remove and set aside.

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Throw stock, vinegar, lime juice, agave nectar and fish sauce into a sauce pan over medium heat. Start out light with each major flavor note and work to a balance you like between the salty, hot, sour and sweet notes, then adjust later as needed). When the sauce begins to simmer, drop the heat to medium low, and add the cornstarch solution; stir until the sauce starts to thicken slightly, then toss in the garlic and chile peppers and allow to incorporate. Remove from heat and allow to stay warm on stove top.

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Add a bit more oil to the wok, again over medium high, and toss in the carrots; allow them to saute for a couple minutes solo, then add all the rest of the veggies and about half the sauce.

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Let everything incorporate and heat through, then add the tofu and the rest of the sauce. heat through until simmering nicely and serve.

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Can be done solo, or on/with rice, or as lettuce wraps with more fresh sprouts, cilantro, and basil leaves to add to the fun.

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Thanks for asking, enjoy and let us know how it goes!

Cilantro Pesto


Got a request over on FB for our Cilantro Pesto recipe, so here it is; goes great with chicken, pork, fish or just great veggies primavera.

Cilantro Pesto

1 packed Cup Cilantro with the large stems removed
1/4 Cup lightly toasted Almonds
2 Tablespoons Sweet Onion
1 small clove fresh Garlic
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Process everything but the oil in a food processor or blender until thoroughly incorporated.

With the processor or blender running, add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream.

Stop when you hit the consistency you like.

Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.

Freeze leftovers as needed.