Best Ever Coffee Rub

Once upon a time, in a land only slightly far away, I acquired a Carbonic.

What is a carbonic, you ask? And should it be capitalized?

Probably the internets would know. Also the wine guy from whom I bought the carbonic, who explained exactly how you take a pinot noir and something something carbonic maceration something fascinating chemical process something, but by the time he got to that part, he had poured the (potentially-captial-C but-who-really-knows) Carbonic into the glass and I was entirely focused on the startling and deeply delightful fact that it smelled exactly like someone had opened a freshly ground bag of Peet's 101 blend coffee right under my nose, and this is pretty much one of my favorite smells in the universe, and here it was in a glass of wine right here in front of me, only how did the amazing, earthy, chocolatey, rich smell of just-ground coffee get into my glass of wine? Nobody knew. Least of all me. I swirled and sipped and bought.

I decided that this was a bottle of wine that deserved to be cooked for.

 
"Dear Carbonic," I wrote, shyly, in my mind. "You are most cordially invited to dinner. I will cook for you. Tuesday. Bring a glass."

On Tuesday, I acquired lamb chops. Also some finely ground decaf coffee. Also purple potatoes and rosemary. Also salad ingredients featuring a pomelo, because I thought the carbonic would like pomelo.

We just knew each other like that.

I opened the carbonic. I poured a little into a glass. I sniffed. Coffee. Paprika? Maybe a hint of herbiness in the background, like oregano or thyme.

I poked around the spice rack. Little of this, little of that. The result? An easy yet mouthwatering coffee rub perfect for lamb chops, steak, roasts...even extra firm tofu might work.

But if you have a carbonic over at your house for dinner? Lamb chops. Rubbed with this. And roasted potatoes with rosemary. And salad with avocado and pomelo.

Ingredients
1/4 cup finely ground decaf French Roast coffee
2 scant tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Lots of freshly ground white pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
Pinch dried thyme

Combine in a bowl.

Rub generously over lamb chops about 10 minutes before cooking. Heat a pan over medium heat, drizzle with a little olive oil, then place the chops in the pan. Cook about 3 minutes per side or until medium rare.

Serves 4-8.

Roasted Kale and Quinoa

Something about the crispness of roasted kale goes perfectly with light and fluffy quinoa. This has become our go-to pairing with our Co-op's house-made, local lamb sausages for a quick and easy (but absolutely mouthwatering) late-night dinner, but it would also go well with chicken or fish or a simple chickpea recipe.

Ingredients
1/2 cup red quinoa (firmer and nuttier)
1/2 cup white quinoa (lighter and fluffier)
Olive oil
1/2 med to large yellow onion, chopped
1 1/3 cups chicken broth
1 bunch red kale, cut crosswise into 1 1/2 inch pieces, rinsed very well, and dried
Kosher salt

Combine the red and white quinoa in a sieve and rinse, then soak in cold water for 10-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat a glug of olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion until soft and translucent. Meanwhile, rinse and drain the quinoa well, then add it to the onion and sauté for a few moments more. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat down to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Drizzle a baking pan with olive oil, add the kale, drizzle with more olive oil, and toss to coat well. When there are about 15 minutes left on the quinoa, slide the kale into the oven and roast for 15-18 minutes until the pieces turn crispy and the stems are soft (you'll want to remove it from the oven once in the middle and turn the pieces over so they crisp evenly. If it's spread out in a single layer, it will cook more quickly than this, and if it's more than three layers deep, you might need a few extra minutes).

Sprinkle the kale with kosher salt, and serve over the quinoa.

Serves 3-4 (but note that once you're properly addicted to roasted kale, 1 bunch serves 2 people at most).