verdant spheres [edamame falafels with jalapeño sauce]

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Selama Ashal’anore!

Everyone’s favorite vengeful Blood Elf mage, Kael’thas Sunstrider made his way into the Nexus a few months back. I’ve had a chance to play him several times in ranked, but honestly, I’m not super comfortable with his play style.

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I’m more of a Jaina kind of gal (awwwwkward). However, Kael’thas is still a super fun hero to play! I mean, c’mon, FREE living bombs?! YOU GET A LIVING BOMB. AND YOU GET A LIVING BOMB. EVERYONE GETS A LIVING BOMB!

And it’s all thanks to those magical Verdant Spheres. Those Verdant Spheres are his signature accessory. A powerful fashion statement only worn by most haute blood mages!

I’ve immortalized these iconic artifacts in food form: edamame falafels! These falafels are packed full of nutrients which will surely keep you fueled during your quest for vengeance.

UNIT COMPOSITION

blog_verdantspheres_ingredients

  1. salt
  2. pepper
  3. 1 cup of tahini sauce*
  4. 1 tablespoon of cumin
  5. 1 tablespoon of coriander
  6. 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  7. 5 – 7 cloves of garlic, diced
  8. 1/4 cup of cilantro, roughly chopped
  9. 1/2 cup of parsley, roughly chopped
  10. 1 1/2 cups of edamame, shelled
  11. 1 onion, roughly diced
  12. 2 jalapeños, diced

*To make homemade tahini sauce, combine: tahini paste, garlic, lemon juice, water and salt.

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this recipe is roughly 15 minutes. Cook time is about 35 minutes. This makes about 3 servings (about 3 falafels each).

OPENING

  1. Put your onion, edamame, onion, cilantro, 1 jalapeño, and 1/4 cup of parsley in a food processor.blog_verdantspheres_mix
  2. Add in your salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander.
  3. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pulse to combine.
  4. Continue until it forms a smooth paste.blog_verdantspheres_mix2
  5. Remove and set aside.

MID GAME

  1. Set your oven to 375° F.
  2. Line a pan or baking dish with parchment paper.
  3. Using a spoon, scoop out golf ball sized balls of the falafel dough. Roughly shape them into a sphere and drop them onto the parchment paper. Use a butter knife to smooth out the balls.blog_verdantspheres_balls
  4. Bake for 35 minutes or crispy. In order to keep them green, I decided not to flip them.

LATE GAME

  1. Place tahini sauce, jalapeño pepper, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and your remaining parsley in a food processor.
  2. Process until it’s a smooth paste.
  3. Dip a spoon in the sauce and place the back of the spoon against a plate. Drag the spoon up and lift carefully to create a smear affect (or the flame for the verdant spheres).
  4. Place one of the falafels on top of the sauce.
  5. OPTIONAL: Sprinkle parsley over the plate.
  6. Eat!

GG WP!

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Now you can embrace AND eat the power of Verdant Spheres! ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ノ GLORY TO THE SIN’DOREI! ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ノ

gorgrond chowder [fish and sausage chowder]

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I’ve been wanting to make Gorgrond Chowder for a while… So I finally had a chance to sit down and hammer out the recipe. I wanted to do it right, so was a lot of research involved. There’s something very special about enjoying a creamy seafood soup in a toasty sour dough bread bowl on a chilly day.

It’s a hearty soup, and it has to be since Gorgrond is a pretty rough neighborhood.

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GUYS…GUYS WE CAN TALK THIS OUT. MAYBE OVER A BOWL OF CHOWDER?

You could probably make this meal while doing runs of Blackrock! Just don’t die and upset just don’t upset your raid lead.

UNIT COMPOSITION

blog_gorgrondchowder_ingredients

  1. salt
  2. 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  3. 1 cup of water
  4. 2 cups of fish stock
  5. 3 cups of milk
  6. 1/2 onion, chopped
  7. 1/2 lb of carrots, chopped
  8. 1/2 lb of celery, chopped
  9. 1/2 lb of red potatoes
  10. 1/2 lb of italian sausage
  11. 1 lb of cod, chopped
  12. OPTIONAL: 1/2 lb sour dough bread rounds
  13. OPTIONAL: parsley

BUILD ORDER

Total prep time for this dish is about 20 minutes. Total cook time is about 35 minutes. This makes about 6 servings.

OPENING

  1. Set a large pot on high heat. Add your tablespoon of olive oil.
  2. Cook your Italian sausage until golden brown (roughly 5 – 7 minutes).
  3. Remove from the pot and set aside.
  4. Add in your chopped onions, celery, and carrots. This blend of ingredients is called a mirepoix.
    blog_gorgrondchowder_mirepoix
  5. Reduce the heat to medium and allow the mirepoix to sweat. Stir it occasionally to prevent it from burning.

MID GAME

  1. Slice the Italian sausage and re-introduce it into the pot. Make sure you pour in any juices left over from the sausage.
  2. Bring the heat back up to high.
  3. Add in your fish stock, water and potatoes. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.blog_gorgrondchowder_cooking

LATE GAME

  1. Add in your chopped cod.
  2. Reduce the heat to medium and pour in your milk.
  3. Allow the cod to cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often.
    blog_gorgrondchowder_cooking2
  4. OPTIONAL: to make a bread bowl, cut off the top of the round of bread and scoop the insides out.
  5. OPTIONAL: garnish with parsley
  6. Eat!

GG WP!

Now, the bread bowl is totally optional. You can serve this chowder in a bowl if you’d like!

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As always, I try to replicate the in-game appearance. Here’s what it looks like in-game:

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And here’s how it turned out with the bread bowl:

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Close, I think!

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Yessss….