Strawberries on the rocks-with cucumber this time.

Seeing as how I declared it Strawberry Month at Half-Assed Vegetarian, you'd think I'd have posted more strawberry related recipes by now--but no. This 5% because I'm lazy and 95% because I keep drinking all of the strawberries before I can make non-alcoholic things with them. I've gone picking twice and baked once (and it was a no-bake pie). You do the math.
Here's a recipe for another delicious drink you can sip on while I go picking for a third time and come up with something else to write about. Bonus: This drink contains a fruit AND a vegetable,* so I'm pretty sure that means it's good for you. Do your body a great service and drink one (or four) today!

Photo by Shoot Me Pretty

Strawberry, Cucumber and Gin Cocktail

Here's What You're Gonna Need:
2-3 strawberries
2-3 slices of cucumber

1 jigger of gin (1.5ish oz or a shot and a half)
1/2 shot lime juice (1 oz)
1/2 shot agave (1 oz) (if you don't have agave, go with simple syrup)

club soda

And Here's What You're Gonna Do:

Put the strawberries and cucumber slices in the bottom of the shaker and muddle / smash the heck out of them. Go ahead and get some aggression out. I don't think you can over-muddle here.

Add gin, lime juice, agave and shake shake shake. If possible, let this stand for a few minutes so all of the flavors can really mix with the gin. If you can't hold off, then by all means, carry on immediately, but it'll be even more rockin' if you wait.

Add a couple of ice cubes to this good time and shake it vigorously again. Strain the resulting awesomeness over ice and top with club soda. Stir and drink up!

Warning: This drink is crazy good, really refreshing and doesn't taste very alcoholy, so watch it on the consumption buddy. Ol' Half-Assed Vegetarian learned this the hard/fun way.
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*Okay, technically a cucumber is a fruit, not a vegetable. Drink it anyway.
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Here's a very useful drink measurement chart I found: http://www.drinksmixer.com/guide/1-4-1.php
Just thought I'd share.

A Bok Choy and a Soba walked into a bar... and I was all, who the hell are you???

Okay, I kind of recognized the Soba from an earlier rendezvous involving some mushrooms and spinach in a soup, but when I reached into my weekly CSA grab bag and pulled out the bok choy, I was stumped. The Grand Master of the Crops told me it was bok choy and to treat it like any other green. So I told it off. Then I turned it into something delicious. That'll show it.

Bok Choy and Soba Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Here's what you're going to need:
(split into as needed groups for those of us with kitchen ADD)

1/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp lime juice (fresh squeezed, if you got it)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 tsp dried red pepper seeds
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1/4 cup canola oil

4 oz soba noodles (You can usually find these in the Asian cooking aisle of the grocery store. Buckwheat noodles will work fine if that's all you see.)
Asian sesame oil

1-2 cups of mixed baby greens
1 head of bok choy, baby or regular, thinly sliced

1/2 fancy pants (I believe people in the know call them "English") cucumber, cut into think strips
1 palmful (gun to my head=1/4ish cup?) chopped cilantro
1 tsp dried red pepper seeds

salted peanuts (optional)


And here's what you're gonna do:

Put the first group of ingredients (o.j., peanut butter, rice vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, red pepper seeds) in the blender and turn it on. Now you can either take off the lid here and watch the fun unfold as you dump the canola oil in, or you can take the boring route and drizzle the oil in through the little hole thingy the blender people put in the top of the lid for just such an occasion. As always, it's up to you. Blend until it's... well, blended, I suppose.
If you're into planning ahead and smartness and whatnot, you can do this the day before and put the sauce in the fridge. Warm it up a little before you use it. Never in my life have I been prepared enough to do such a thing.

Break the soba noodles into thirds and cook them in a large pot of salted water according to the directions. You want them to be al dente. Drain, and hit them with some cold water when they're done. Drain again and then toss them with a little sesame oil.

Put the bok choy, greens, cucumber, and chopped cilantro in large bowl. Add the spicy peanut sauce from your blender (or from the ceiling, depending upon which method you chose), the noodles, and another sprinkling of red pepper. Toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper and top with a fistful of peanuts if you're so inclined.

Now aren't you worldly?