Crude Bitters, Sodas & Shrubs

There is a new company in town that I am super excited about and have to share with you guys...Crude Bitters and Sodas...a Raleigh-based small-batch bitters and artisan soda company. I first came across these guys at the Western Wake Farmers Market, and quickly became a frequent buyer! I started with the Bitterless Marriage Bitters, a beautiful blend of hibiscus, lavender and oak. This bitters is a fantastic addition to the 007 Martini.

Not only are Crude's bitters fantastic, they also offer shrub syrup concentrates, which are traditional soft drinks blended from fresh fruit, sugar and vinegar. When mixed with water or soda water, the shrubs make a delicious drink, or layer for a cocktail. After buying a few of the bitters, the Hubby and I were inspired to start experimenting with new cocktails. We even came up with a Cocktail Mixer date night...which we quickly realized couldn't be a long date or we would end up on the floor!

After following Crude for a while on social media and asking questions about the company every time I stopped in, I learned about their Kickstarter campaign raising money for their first brick and mortar shop!! The Hubby and I immediately wanted to help, so we contributed (which you should all too), and reached out to the team to collaborate on a blog post!

They were so awesome and sent me two of their favorite recipes that you can't find on the website. The two drinks below feature their Big Bear Bitters, which is an infusion of coffee and cocoa. We tried both recipes and enjoyed them immensely! 

Crude's Kickstarter campaign goal is to build out a new production space in downtown Raleigh, including a small tasting room. They will craft more batches of seasonal bitters made from local ingredients. The money will also assist in building the new kitchen and tasting room, allowing them to offer cocktail mixing classes in-house!

Help Crude hit their stretch goal so they can continue to spread their amazing, creative and flavorful bitters and shrubs! Go to their Kickstarter campaign and support your local small business!

Early Morning Boulevard

Yields: 1 cocktail
Prep Time: 5 minutes

1 oz bourbon

.75 oz Campari

.75 oz sweet vermouth

1 dropper Big Bear bitters
fresh rosemary for garnish (if you are feeling fancy)

Combine all ingredients except bitters in shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass and top with bitters and garnish. 

Find more drink recipes on the CRUDE website.

Nor'Easter

Yields: 1 cocktail
Prep Time: 5 minutes

1.5 oz whiskey

.5 oz fresh lime juice

.5 oz maple syrup

ginger beer

1 dropper Big Bear bitters

Combine all ingredients except bitters in shaker with ice. Shake and serve over ice in rocks glass. Top with ginger beer and bitters.

Find more drink recipes on the CRUDE website.

Roasted Tomato Pesto

I am not ready to let go of summer yet! Don't get me wrong, Fall is my favorite season, but it seems to be creeping into summer earlier and earlier every year (kind of like Christmas decorations coming out in September)...craziness! The pumpkin craze has taken over the blogisphere and grocery stores already...especially Trader Joe's. I was in there on Sunday and found pumpkin-flavored items all over the store. I was so tempted to get them all, but knew it was too soon, just too soon!

Plus, there is still an abundance of summer produce available, so I quickly let go of any Fall cravings and continued on with summer! Tomatoes are still going strong, and several different types. I found some great Roma tomatoes and other small garden tomatoes and decided to make a pesto. Yep, you can literally make pesto with anything!

There are two ways I LOVE to eat tomatoes, raw, and roasted or charred. By roasting tomatoes, it brings out a hidden sweetness that pairs well with many flavors, including garlic, fresh thyme and pine nuts.

The weather this weekend was absolutely gorgeous! Pure quintessential North Carolina weather at its best! It was definitely a sit-outside-all-day kind of day on Sunday...with pauses in between for football :)

I made the below pesto based on a recipe I learned in a cooking class at Whisk (highly recommend their classes by the way)! The recipe is super easy and pretty difficult to mess up. The pesto is great with crackers, crispy bread, cheese or even cucumber slices.

So as the Hubby and I prepare to say farewell to another NC summer, we plan on enjoying every last second of its beautiful and delicious bounty!

Roasted Tomato Pesto

Yields: 2 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 minutes

1.5 pounds Roma tomatoes, quartered
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, whole and unpeeled
1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with foil. Mix the tomatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, thyme and pinch of sea salt on the baking sheet. Throw on the garlic cloves and roast for 30-35 minutes, until the garlic is soft. If the garlic cloves are smaller, take them out around 20-25 minutes so they don't burn. Set the tomato mixture aside to cool. Peel the garlic cloves and add back into the tomato mixture.

In a small dry saute pan, toast the pine nuts over medium-low heat until fragrant and slightly browned. Quickly remove from the pan and let cool on a cutting board or room temperature surface. (Watch the pine nuts closely as they will burn quickly)

Once everything is cooled, blend the tomato mixture, pine nuts, remaining olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes and a bit more sea salt to taste in a food processor. Serve with a soft cheese, crackers or cucumber slices.

Late Summer Minestrone Soup

I'm back from all my travels!! I've been to Bald Head Island, San Francisco, Sonoma County and New York City, all in the past few weeks. I love to travel, but I also love to get home and back into a routine in the kitchen. I always feel so discombobulated when I have an empty refrigerator and pantry!

I was looking forward to getting back to the Farmers Market as well this weekend and stock up on my favorite local goods. There was still a good amount of summer produce left, so I took advantage and loaded up my basket. The Hubby and I were planning on an all-day football extravaganza Sunday since we didn't get to watch kickoff weekend due to our travels. Sunday Fun Days are THE BEST...full of football, cooking and laziness!

Since the weather forecast for the weekend was overcast and slightly cool and I was going to be around the house I decided to make a soup. A minestrone is a super easy and healthy soup to make. Minestrones are not only super versatile, but very cost effective because they are vegetarian. I like to add in a little pasta and beans to make it robust and filling and the Hubby usually includes a little extra cheese and slice of crunchy bread.

It was definitely a lazy Sunday, but at least we got our veggies in:)

Late Summer Minestrone Soup

Recipe inspired from Half Baked Harvest
Yields: 6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes


2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 zucchinis, chopped (if available, if not, use about 1 cup chopped)
1 ear corn, kernels removed, cob reserved
4 cloves garlic, minced
6-8 cups chicken and/or vegetable broth
1 reserved corn cob
1 Parmesan rind
1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
1 small bunch kale, ribs removed and chopped
1 cup favorite pasta (can use a gluten free variety)
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 cup grated parmesan
sun dried tomatoes (dry packed)
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and melt the butter. Add in the olive oil, onion, carrots and red pepper. Season this with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes. Then stir in the zucchini, corn kernels and garlic and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Pour in the broth and add the corn cob and Parmesan rind and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, add the rosemary and kale and reduce the heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes. Add in the pasta and cook until it is al dente (according to the package directions). Once the pasta is cooked, remove the soup from heat and stir in the cannellini beans, grated Parmesan, parsley and thyme. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste and serve with sun dried tomatoes and more grated Parmesan if desired. 

Primal Food & Spirits in Durham

There is a new restaurant in town, and it is 100% gluten free!

Bone Marrow & Beef Short Ribs

I about died and went to heaven when I heard about the opening of Primal Food & Spirits in Durham several months ago (more information on the Primal Facebook page). Even though gluten free is a personal choice for me and my health, it is still frustrating to go out to dinner sometimes. I always hate being "that person" asking a million questions about the menu. The Hubby just laughs at me when the waiter/waitress comes around to me at the table during the order. Apparently I sound like I am researching for a thesis with all the questions I ask.

Daily Catch Special - Red Snapper with Zucchini Noodles and Potatoes

Primal not only operates with a 100% gluten free kitchen, they also are a farm to table restaurant, meaning they source most of their ingredients from local farmers and providers. I always feel good about eating at places like this. It provides me with a sense of community support!

Deviled Eggs with Jalapenos, Bacon and Smoked Paprika Aioli

The Hubby and I decided to get a little gathering together to try out the restaurant. I walked in, camera in tow, and instantly feel in love with the place. Very friendly and welcoming staff, open kitchen, rustic and primal decor. The place had completely transformed from its previous owner, which was a horrible chain restaurant (thank goodness).

36-Hour Braised Beef Short Ribs

We decided to order a few appetizers and hit the bar first for some specially crafted cocktails. I had a Farmer's Blueberry Fizz with fresh blueberry juice that was super freshening and just the perfect amount of sweet.

Farmer's Blueberry Fizz cocktail

We made our way to the table eventually and decided to each order something different so we could share tastes. The group was very patient, while I took pictures of the dishes when they first arrived....and oh, they smelled so good, so I feel really bad now that I made them wait!

Roasted Vegetable Gazpacho

We had the bone marrow dish, snapper special, deviled eggs, braised beef short ribs, bread and butter (gluten free of course), grilled vegetable gazpacho, shrimp and grits and kale salad. Between the six of us, we pretty much covered most of the menu!

Shrimp and Grits

Right now Primal is only open for dinner, but they just started a Sunday Brunch and plan on lunch in the future. Kettler Cuisine definitely recommends dining at Primal, gluten free or not!