Saying Yes! to December (and Norwegian Waffles)

Haven’t been around here much lately. This %#&@! year was letting me know it wasn’t going to go quietly away. September was transitional, like that carton of milk you have to ask your housemate to smell because something about it doesn't seem quite right. October was particularly awful – all tricks and no treats. November got an extra emphasis on its first syllable and shouted “NO!” a lot… or maybe that was me?

But here we are now in December already! Will things continue as they have been or turn around and change their tune? It's too soon to tell. The month is still young even if the year isn’t. I'm going to do my best to be positive. I dearly want this month to say “Yes!” a lot. Heck, I'd be probably be happy with a "maybe" here and there. Yes! I would.

In order to kick things off on a positive note, I made some waffles last weekend. Not just any waffles, Norwegian Waffles. But since I’m all about the Yes! this month, I’m calling them Yes-wegian waffles (Yes! I know it’s silly... Yes! I don't care).

I’ve never gotten the knack of Norwegian Pancakes and have long since stopped attempting them. But Norwegian Waffles? Yes! Yes, I can (and so can you)! They are easy-peasy and are especially festive and appropriate this time of year as they are delicately scented with cardamom and Christmastime. Two of my favorite things.

My hubby, though half-Norwegian, preferred them with butter and maple syrup* while I really enjoyed eating them the Norwegian way: with a smear of sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) and a dab of berry preserves. Ultimately though, they're waffles... what's not to like, right? I'm making them again today. Yes, I really am!

So, with thanks and apologies to Arne & Carlos, whose recipe I fiddled with, here is the "how-to" in case you want to try them...

Norwegian Waffles (aka: Yes-wegian Waffles)
…adapted from the Arne & Carlos: Norwegian Waffles podcast

1-2/3 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cardamom

1 tsp baking powder

1 good pinch of fine sea salt

1-2/3 cups half-n-half  

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

5 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Whisk dry ingredients together.
2. Add wet ingredients, mixing well after each addition.
3. Let batter sit for 30 minutes.
4. A few minutes before the time is up, begin preheating your waffle maker.
5. Ladle enough batter into your preheated waffle maker to make one waffle. Amount will vary depending on your maker.
6. Repeat until all batter is used.

Notes: The original recipe made twelve waffles. My waffle maker yielded eight with this recipe. Your results will undoubtedly vary. Any uneaten waffles can be reheated the next day or frozen for next weekend! Or... use leftovers to make ice cream sandwiches! Yes, please!

Optimistically Yours,

Steph

 

* I love maple syrup, but it has such a strong presence that the lovely (and pricey!) cardamom just gets lost.

PS... this blog post was brought to you by the punctuation mark that I try not to over-use, but is just so loaded with potential positivity I couldn't help myself!

An Ice Cream Conundrum (Triple Mint Chip Ice Cream)

Nearly every recipe for home made ice cream I've made says something along the lines of, "eat within 3 days" or "keep for up to a week in the freezer". Why three days? Why a week? Well, I have personally done some highly non-scientific home-testing on this subject and am here to tell you: Ice cream you make from scratch will keep just fine for longer than a week. It will last even up to four weeks! None of the test subjects lasted longer than four weeks because that happens to also be the absolute and total limit of our self-control... or I might have just forgotten it was in the freezer. Oops.

The only reasoning I could find anywhere for the 3-day/one-week rule was that the ice cream could start to lose it's flavor the longer it sat in the freezer. It may happen to some extent, but it doesn't go from luscious to unpalatable after that one-week mark. I, for one, haven't discerned any noticeable deficiency of flavor in the ice creams I've made, nor did any of them pick up any off-odors during their one to four weeks in the icebox. That said, the chocolate chips, nuts, and other mix-ins will suffer texturally if frozen too long, but the ice cream itself will be fine.

 

So go ahead and make the homemade ice cream more than a week ahead of when you need/want it, just save the textured tidbits for sprinkling on top when you serve it... and don't forget that it's in the freezer! Wondering what kind of iced cream to make? Here's a good one if you really like mint—or are ambivalent about it but happen to have a ton of it taking over your yard...

 
Triple-Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream 
Start with a good, natural (actual mint leaves), Mint Chip Ice Cream recipe. I love this fantastic recipe from David Lebovitz. Then, instead of using just one type of mint, substitute a combination of three different varieties. The three that are growing in my back yard are: Peppermint, Chocolate Mint (a variant of peppermint), and Spearmint. I've found that a 2/3 to 1/3 mix of peppermints to spearmints made a nice balance, but play around with it. Don't sweat it if you can only find two varieties. Just call it "Double-Mint"! Side Note: If you're not going to eat it right away, for heaven's sake don't use the cheap mini chocolate chips like I did one time... the texture was not pleasant.

 

The first time I made this Mint Chip Ice Cream I could not get over how very different it was from store-bought Mint Chip ice cream. For instance, did you happen to notice that the ice cream in my photo is not green? It is the barest hint of green-tinged beige. Real mint-infused foods are not actually green.

 

While the flavor of this ice cream is undeniably mint, it doesn't taste like hyper-flavored fake mint flavoring. It doesn't shout, it whispers. It is not a blast of mint, it is a wafting of it. This is a subtle... lingering... complex... and layered creamy mint that tastes of a late afternoon in the garden at the height of summer. 

 

Which, incidentally, is right now (I don't care what the calendar says)...

Stay cool out there,

Steph

My Favorite Soup (and how to Ramen-ize it)

This soup came into being about 4 years ago when I wanted to do something different with the baby bok choy in our CSA farm box. I love simply sauteing baby bok choy with garlic (so good) but sometimes I just need to change things up. At least three recipes were combined (based on what ingredients I had on hand) and I improvised the rest. It has since become one of our most favorite soups and it's always a treat when we have all of the stuff on hand to make it.

That said, like the several soups that inspired this one, it is very forgiving of substitutions. I've made it with kale instead of bok choy (not as good, but not bad), and I've even made it without the cooked chicken (still delicious but not as filling). I've made it with vegetable stock, rotisserie chicken, and dried mushrooms instead of fresh. When I had some leftover cooked brown rice in the fridge, I used that instead of ramen noodles.

The name is a mouthful, but what do you call something that is at it's most basic, Chicken Noodle Soup, but really is so much more? We pretty much just refer to it around here as "Mock Ramen Soup". It's decidedly not real ramen, but it is definitely delicious... and easy, super flavorful, and pretty darned healthy too.

Curried Chicken & Coconut Soup with Baby Bok Choy 
(and Optional Ramen Noodles)
Serves 4 large or 8 small portions

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
10 oz  white button or cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 bunches of baby bok choy, thinly sliced (keep tops and thicker stem ends separated)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp each: cumin, chili powder, and curry powder
4 cups chicken stock
1 can full-fat coconut milk
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
juice from one small lime (or half of a larger lime)
1 good pinch sea salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
ramen noodles (optional, see below)
good quality soy sauce (our favorite is nama shoyu)

Optional additions (and when to add them)…
1 small red onion, thinly sliced or diced (sweat with garlic & ginger during step #1)
1 sweet potato, diced small (add with bok choy stems in step #1)
For a hit of heat try adding some Thai red curry paste (add just before the mushrooms in step #1)
1/2 Tbsp each: fish sauce + brown sugar (add at step #2, with the broth and coconut milk)
1 red bell pepper, julienned (add with the chicken in step #2)

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven, over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and half of the minced ginger and cook, stirring, until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add in sliced mushrooms and bok choy stems, and cook for 3-5 minutes. When the liquid begins to evaporate, stir in the turmeric powder and the rest of the seasonings.

2. Add the broth, coconut milk, and remaining minced ginger. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. Add cooked chicken pieces and lime juice, stirring occasionally until chicken is heated through, or up to 30 minutes.

3. Add sea salt and black pepper. Stir the bok choy leaves into the pot and let them wilt for a minute or two. Taste the broth and adjust if needed. Keep it less salty though if you will be using soy sauce in the bowls.

4. Divide soup into bowls over cooked noodles, if using (see below). Add soy sauce individually, to taste. Top each serving with any (or all) of the following garnishes.

Garnishes:
fresh cilantro or basil leaves, chopped or torn
fresh chives, finely chopped
avocado, diced small 
fresh corn

Wanna Ramen-ize it?
Better noodles are certainly out there, but if you buy the instant ramen (like I do), be sure and get the square package (not the kind in a styrofoam cup), and throw away the seasoning packet—there's nothing good in there—the noodles are all we're after. Continue with the directions below.

Regardless of which noodles you use, if you're going to refrigerate or freeze some of the soup for later, cook only enough noodles for the current meal, separately, according to the package directions. Divide the hot cooked noodles between the bowls and continue with the serving step below.

Here's How:
About 5 minutes or so before serving the soup (just prior to step #3 above), drop the block (or two) of instant ramen noodles into the simmering soup pot. Let them cook, giving them a stir occasionally, until they're fat and happy. Taste test a noodle to check done-ness. Serve as soon as the noodles are ready.

Serve it up:
I generally use a big fork or tongs to pull out the cooked noodles and divide evenly into bowls, followed by a big scoop of the chicken and veggies, and finally a ladle or two of the broth over the top. Continue with step #4 above and be sure to provide chopsticks and/or forks alongside the soup spoons at the table.

...and don't forget to slurp the noodles!

–Steph

PS... I know it's summer now, but honestly, I make this whenever I find myself with enough baby bok choy. If the weather is too warm for eating soup, I leave the noodles out and freeze the whole batch to enjoy at a later date. Heck, even in the summer we get the occasional chilly evenings, and unlike some soups, the flavors in this soup really are perfect year round!

Loving Stitches (Happy Belated Mother's Day)

Technology changes rapidly when you're not paying attention to it. It actually changes pretty darned fast even when you are.

I've not been blogging for a while and the online photo editing program I used to use apparently decided to cease operations at some point in the last year or so. Since I only use it for watermarking blog photos, I never noticed that it wasn't there anymore... not until I needed it.

So, better late than never, I give you all my very happiest of Mother's Day wishes. If you're not a mother, I'm betting that you had one, so have a big bucket of happy wishes from me anyway.

And speaking of lateness... while I did finish the cards I made for our moms in plenty of time, I did not get them to the post office in time for Saturday's delivery... this blog post was to be a preview. Oops. It's a good thing I already have a reputation for doing this type of thing... expectations are never too high and nobody gets disappointed! Just being true to myself (har har).

I make 99.9% of the greeting cards we send out which saves us a lot of money and takes me hours and hours to do. Somehow this makes perfectly logical sense to me. It also means I must love you a lot. Seriously, I'm not going to spend that kind of time on you if I don't care for you. Consider it an expression of my love. Because it is. Very much so.

I dragged out the old embroidery basket for the Mother's Day cards I made this year. Links for the design, template and instructions for this lovely card can be found on the wonderful but sadly now also defunct blog How About Orange. I really love how these cards turned out and enjoyed making them so much. I stitched the design onto a separate piece of cardstock (see photo), trimmed it down and then attached it with strong double-sided adhesive to a colored blank card. Simple, easy, and yes, more than a little time consuming.

Some tips from me:

• Don't use a thin cardstock for the stitching.
• Be sure to "strand" your embroidery floss before using.*
• Don't use too long of a length of floss. Yes, it's a drag to stop and start often, but constant twisting and unwanted knots are a bigger drag and take longer to deal with.
• When your floss starts to twist on itself, stop and hold the work up letting the needle and thread hang freely. Pick the needle back up and continue stitching.
• Do use tape to stick the ends of the floss down when starting and stopping (instead of knots). It won't be seen and you won't have any extra bumpy bulk to deal with.
• Don't make more work for yourself by making smaller stitches than the template shows... it's a simple project but takes longer than you think it will!
• Take your time pulling each stitch through. Rush it and you risk knotting your floss or worse, tearing the paper.
• If your holes are too close together and/or your floss has too many strands, you risk tearing through between the holes (think of perforated stamps).
• Use the thinnest embroidery needle that you can get your floss to thread through.
• Don't skip the pre-punching your design step! It's crucial to success.

Cheers, my dears!

Stephanie

* I don't know if "stranding" (to strand) is the correct term, but you'll want to do it anyway. It makes your stitches behave better during and look better after. To do it, cut the floss to a workable length (no more than 20") and pull each strand out separately before recombining the number you want to use (I used three for the card in the photo above). Just grab one thread and pull straight up (not outward), lay it down flat and pull out each of the remaining threads one-by-one.

Joy's Chocolate Bundt Cake

Here's another yummie I made a while back but never posted. It just looks like Easter doesn't it? It looks like spring. But I didn't bake it in spring or for Easter. Actually, I think I might have. But I never got it onto the blog though, did I?

If I miss the window for posting something, I have to wait until its time comes back around. If I miss it again (and again)... and then take a break from blogging... well, here we are...years later, talking about this cake as if I made it yesterday (don't I wish!)

Now, a chocolate cake is fine any time of the year. Seriously, it just is. But once I sprinkled those candied sunflower seeds on top (to distract from my weird icing technique), it just plants itself firmly at Easter or the weeks surrounding it. 

There was of course a frosting fail on this one. It's always something, and this time it was the frosting.* There's a whole back-story about how I contacted Joy (The Baker, herself) regarding the frosting issue I was having and how very very gracious she was with her replies. It was so long ago now, that the details aren't important. What matters is how delicious this cake is (frosted or not), and how lovely she was about taking the time to listen and respond to my questions. She is the real deal, and her recipes rock.

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Sour Cream Glaze from Joy the Baker

[also on page 179 of the (awesome) Joy the Baker Cookbook]

My Notes: As I mentioned above, I had issues with the glaze and ended up whipping it in the mixer which turned it into the fluffy gargantuan mass of frosting you see in the photo. I have never frosted a bundt cake in my life, and hadn't a clue what to do with it all. I had no choice but to just wing it since I was taking it to an event. Weird but delicious.

*Actually a lot of the time it's the frosting that gives me the most problems. Apparently it's a "thing" with me. Which then obviously is why I don't do a lot of frosted cakes! The fact that this scrumptious cake is supposed to be GLAZED and not frosted should tell you something.

Little Ginger Cookies (and early spring flours)

Confession time... The photo above was taken five years ago. It's true. I always meant to write about these awesome cookies but never did. Lately I've been doing some digital-decluttering and I saw this picture and remembered those tiny cookies packed with two kinds of ginger, dried apricots, and dark chocolate. Well, you probably guessed what happened next: I had to make the cookies again because I couldn't stop thinking about them! It helped that I happened to have nearly all the ingredients on hand too.

Whole wheat pastry flour... I had none. Not to be deterred by a single ingredient, but also not wanting to ruin the cookies (and risk wasting the other ingredients), I found a possible substitution. The good news is it works!* You do need cake flour to make it work though, which is not something I always have on hand either. I did have some this time though, thanks to a friend who gave up gluten last year. So here's how to fake it:

For every cup of whole wheat pastry flour needed:
Use a half cup of white whole wheat flour and a half cup of cake flour.

Of course, having found the photo and baked up the cookies, I needed to share them with you. I know it's nearly spring and these seem more of an autumn/winter cookie, but I didn't want to wait any longer. When you're decluttering, once you decide to let go of something, you have to get it out of the house or you haven't really gotten rid of it, right? It's still there, in your space, hanging over your head unfinished. This is like that. I needed to free up space, clear the decks and sweep away some cobwebs. Got to move forward.

Only ever-so-slightly out of season. So while our thoughts and taste buds are rushing toward everything fresh, bright, light and spring-y, I give you these little gingery, chocolate-y, crisp and chewy cookies. Spring hasn't sprung everywhere yet–and even where it has, I'm betting the evenings are still chilly–and these little cookies go great with a mug of hot tea or coffee. They're tiny cookies (maybe an inch and a half across) that are perfect when you want a little sweet-but-not-too-sweet something.

Sparkling Ginger Chip Cookies from Heidi Swanson's blog: 101 Cookbooks
(recipe can also be found on page 197 of her book: Super Natural Every Day)
 
According to the recipe, you could also make these with all-purpose flour or even spelt flour. Yes, all-purpose. Of course, I didn't notice that part until later (cough, cough)... but if I had, I wouldn't have found the awesome whole wheat pastry flour substitution! Yea! So if you are out of whole wheat pastry flour and cake flour too, reach for good ol' all-purpose flour (unless, of course, you happen to have spelt flour on hand...

My Notes: The batch in the photo are flatter than they usually turn out. Possibly because I baked them right after mixing the dough. Usually I will shape all the cookies and then refrigerate or freeze them for later. Then, just before baking, I'll roll them in the sugar. So, most of the time the cookies are more domed with cracks across them... which is how they are supposed to look. They're uncommonly delicious, domed or not. Another substitution I made on these was the use of semi-sweet chocolate chips. It was the only chocolate in the pantry, and yes, I chopped them with a knife. Next time I might try the food processor... or a hammer (only semi-kidding about the hammer). The cookies are so small that to leave the chocolate chips whole would throw the flavor/texture off completely. Chop, chop!

*Regarding the whole wheat pastry flour substitution: Just because it worked in this recipe, doesn't necessarily mean it will work in other recipes calling for whole wheat pastry flour. However, in a pinch and if I'm desperate, I'll give it a go. I just won't hang all my hopes and dreams on it working and it should be fine. :)

Summer Garden Facial Cleansing Bar (for any time of year)

This is what friends do, they tell each other about neat stuff they find... like a shoe sale, a cool band, or a great recipe. Well, I've been remiss in telling you about the Cleansing Bars I made from LisaLise Natural Skin Care. Please forgive me! Lise's blog is full of recipes for making all sorts of your own natural skin care and cosmetics at home, but it was her soap-less facial cleansing bars that were on my mind (and my to-do list) for a long time. I knew I wanted to make one, it just took me a while to get around to it. 

Curious about cleansing bars.

If you're unfamiliar with the idea of a Cleansing Bar, it's a semi-solid blend of butters, oils, clays and more, that cleanse and moisturize your face in one easy step. Absolutely brilliant, right? ...but I didn't need another face cleansing method. After all, I was content with what I'd been using.

If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.
I am the type of person that will happily stick with something for a long long time... so long as everything is running smoothly. I've been using the Oil Cleansing Method for quite a few years now and couldn't be happier with it. Occasionally I will do a honey-wash, just to change things up, but then it's right back to the OCM. It works great for me, but....

Change when there is a need.
The one thing that the OCM doesn't do is exfoliate, and whenever my face is in Seasonal Transition Mode, it can get dry and flaky (or apparently worse). That's when I need some mild exfoliation and a heavy dose of moisturization. Rather than adding another step to my routine, Lise's Cleansing Bars are a one-step wonder: they cleanse, gently exfoliate, and moisturize.

Late last fall, I finally made Lise's Rose Clay & Oat Cleansing Bar. A version of it anyway. A few ingredient substitutions were necessary (only because once I had decided to make it, I wanted to make it right away... no time to stop and shop first). The result? I absolutely loved it!

I call my version "Summer Garden" because the lavender and rose remind me of just that...  even though they're dried and you can make this (and use it) at any time of year...

A Carrot Cake for People Who Don't Like Carrot Cake

I know I promised you Cleansing Bars in my last post, but I just made this cake again and realized that I hadn't blogged about it yet. I forget sometimes that I've been a little absent around here for the last couple years. I'm working on that though.

So, on to the cake. I've actually made this cake at least four times, maybe five, in the past two years... and it has, along the way, become my "go-to" cake. The kind of cake that still turns out and tastes great even when you are sure you've blown it somehow. I like that kind of cake. I like it a lot. And more importantly, everyone who's tasted it seems to like it a lot too.

Some people don't like carrot cakes, probably because they tend to be quite dense, rich, and are packed heavily with carrots, nuts, and raisins. I quite like those cakes actually. But this cake... this cake might make converts of the carrot-cake-hating folks. This one is light, flavorful, not too sweet, and there isn't a walnut or raisin to be found within it's sweet confines.

The frosting I like to use with this cake is good and easy, maple-y sweet, and can optionally be loaded with chopped walnuts or pecans. Just don't do what I did the other day and try to use YouTube-inspired DIY powdered-sugar in your frosting. Just don't. Please promise me you won't.

I'm giving links to the recipes here because I didn't change a dang thing in either of them. They are perfect as is (and I am grateful to these ladies for sharing these tasty treats with us)!

Sigrid's Carrot Cake by Ree Drummond on Food Network
...and also on page 110-111 of The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year Of Holidays 

Maple Pecan Frosting from Darla at her sweet blog Bakingdom
The frosting with the carrot cake recipe is very similar to this one but calls for cream cheese which I don't always have on hand. Also, I think the maple in this frosting tastes really really good with this particular cake!

...a coffee-flavored icing might be nice too.... hmm...

Note: The recipe for calls for baking this cake in a Bundt pan but you can do it in classic layers, sheet pan or muffin tin even. If you use any other shaped pan, just be aware of the baking time and check it before you think it'll be done. A shallower pan will take less time to bake than a Bundt; so will cupcakes.

Good To The Last: Chard Pesto on Toast

This may not be the prettiest thing to ever come out of my kitchen... but it's definitely one of the cheapest... and best tasting!

Today I have a couple of questions for you:

1. Do you sometimes find yourself with a boatload of Swiss Chard?
2. Are you left wondering what to do with all the thick stems from that chard?

I've been in that boat on more than one occasion. I used to just toss them into the freezer and add them to the pot when I made stock, but now I have another trick up my sleeve... Chard Pesto.

I first read about this simple and delicious stuff a few years ago in the book, An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler... and I haven't tossed a single stem in my stockpot ever since. 

Chard Pesto
Not really a recipe, more like just a thing you do when you have a big bunch of chard stems...

1. Cut them up, then throw them in a pan with some butter or oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.
2. Cook them down a fair bit, adding a little water and a lid in the beginning.
3. Check and give it a stir now and then to see how it's coming along, removing the lid when mostly done.
4. Take it off the heat once "they" become an "it" (soft and mushy and thick enough to stand on its own)
5. Let cool it down some (too hot and it will steam the toast, making it soggy).
6. Pile it onto pieces of toast made from good sturdy bread and grate some Romano or Parm over the top.

It's the kind of thing that is so lacking in attractiveness that you won't want to make it for guests. Once you taste it though, you really won't want to share anyway... so it's just as well. I should also add that it makes a mighty fine dinner on a day when you don't want to spend a lot of time cooking.

Happy Kefir-versary!

And just what ever happened to that half-gallon of murky Concord grape juice that I threw in the freezer last month? Well, part of it went into making some kefir soda. It so happened that we were out of store-bought juice and there was all that leftover grape juice just sitting there.

I introduced it to my water kefir and SHAZAM! As you can see in the photo, water kefir loves raw organic unfiltered unpasteurized fruit juice! Duh, right? Of course it does! Fizzy bubble-rific-ness. Delicious, free (yea!), and full of all kinds of health and happiness. Hubs calls our kefir sodas Fizzy Lifting Drinks, after his favorite boyhood film.

It's been just over a year since I started these kefir grains. We still drink kefir soda every single day and the little darlings seem to be going strong with no signs of stopping... except that one time when I left Hubs in charge of them... but enough said on that. They bounced back and were none the worse for the ordeal.

We've all settled into a nice routine and they're pretty forgiving if I'm late a day here or there. I still make the kefir soda as cheaply as possible, and I only make as much as we can consume before the next batch is ready. It works out really well... nice and predictable!

My secret to making great budget kefir soda (from juice), is this: Use the best juice you can find for the best price you can find it at.* It sounds obvious, and it sounds easy... but it isn't if you're trying to do this on a squeaky-tight budget. I tried a lot of different brands from a lot of different stores and read a whole lot of labels...

Capturing The Last Bites Of Summer

I had to go out of town recently and had a dilemma... what to do with all the fresh produce on the counter before I leave? There were tons of grapes, a whole lot of two different kinds of tomatoes, and 5 peaches. On our budget, this stuff is like gold. I had to make the best use of it that I could, and I only had a few days to do it. It wouldn't keep until I got back.

First up... the five peaches. A nice lady at church shared the last late fruit from her tree. They were lovely and fragrant. We could have just eaten them as is, but I wanted to do something a little more special with them. It's not every day that we get such beautiful ripe fruit and it will be a long time until peaches are in season again. Then I remembered seeing a recipe for peach ice cream that sounded kind of slightly spectacular...

Peach, Bourbon & Brown Sugar Ice Cream

adapted from Serious Eats

4-5 ripe peaches
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp molasses
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp bourbon

Wash, dry, and cut the peaches into large chunks. Don't bother peeling them.

Blend the first five ingredients together in a blender or food processor until the peaches are completely pureed.

Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Simmer for 5 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Take off heat and let cool to room temp.

Stir in the salt and the bourbon, then transfer the mixture into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours or overnight.

When it's fully chilled, process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Transfer the soft ice cream to a freezer container and put in the freezer for at least 3 hours.

My Notes: If you have dark brown sugar, use it and omit the molasses. The bourbon is not a strong presence in the finished ice cream but I would be afraid to add more as it might interfere with the freezing. Still, I like that it's in there and just because it isn't a strong flavor doesn't mean it's not adding to the overall deliciousness. Definitely let this stuff sit in the freezer for a few days if you can... the brown sugar really comes forward at the finish if you do. Really nice ice cream. Sweet, subtle, perfume-y, earthy... yummy.  

All-in-all, a fitting finish to summer.

Coming up... my preserve-a-thon continues with concord grapes, two kinds of tomatoes, and much much more! How about you? Preserve anything lately?

From The South To My Mouth

Have you ever had a real southern-style praline? You'd know it if you had. Buttery, rich, nutty and sweet, with a bit of snap and a touch of grit... sounds like the type of person I wouldn't mind being, actually.

As some of the roots anchoring my family tree pass through southern soil, I find myself wondering if my affinity for pecans, ripe peaches, bourbon and bluegrass has been genetically gifted to me. My mother has always had a soft spot for things like pickled watermelon rind and pimiento cheese... is that a familial proclivity? I discovered grits (well, polenta actually, but close enough) a few years ago and it immediately became a staple at my house, both at breakfast and dinner. Could that be some latent awakening of my southern soul? I sometimes wonder about these things.

Puddles Of Sweetness
As for pralines... when I was a child, my parents went to New Orleans on vacation and brought us back a box of pecan pralines. I'd never tasted anything like them. They became the high-point on my scale of confection perfection. I was officially obsessed. I even tried to make them once when I was a teenager... which led me to believe that pralines were not something you could make successfully at home.

I came across some purely by chance at a restaurant in San Antonio once... and happily brought some home with me of course. But that was a dozen years ago. Everything is different now. I won't have to wait another decade or travel a couple thousand miles for my next one. Now I can make them whenever I want*, no matter where I am...

The Lady Insisted
When I first read this recipe for Classic Southern Pralines I was surprised by its simplicity. It looked almost... easy. So I bookmarked it and forgot about it. Well, my inner-southern "belle" started ringing in the back of my head and she just kept getting more and more insistent. So I gave in and gave it a go... my mother always told me, "When a lady insists, there is no further argument". I wonder if that's a southern-thing?

You'll want to make some yourself... Classic Southern Pralines from The Kitchn

Notes: I made these twice in two weeks. The first time I was a little too slow in realizing the point at which to stop stirring and start dropping. Nevertheless they were delicious enough to make again (in the interest of perfecting my skill, of course). The second batch turned out perfectly. It really comes down to observing and anticipating what's happening in the pot after you take it off the heat. That and having everything ready and set up beforehand. Like a roller-coaster ride, it doesn't take very long but there's no stopping once you've started! Once you've scooped out and dropped all the pralines, scrape the pan immediately with a metal spoon, don't wait. Save the scrapings to sprinkle over ice cream or fruit later.

A Note About Nuts: I made these with walnuts instead of pecans. Not because I prefer them, and not as a nod to my northern home, but because they are cheaper. Period. And I toast them in a pan first. I think they taste even better that way.

*Why this is an ever so slightly erroneous statement: I will most likely not make more of these until Christmas. I'd really better not. You see, I cannot be left alone in the house with them. I will eat them all. They really are that good. So while I can make these whenever I want...  really, I don't dare.

A Potato Salad Summer

When I promised to bring the potato salad for a BBQ we were invited to last month, I forgot that my usual go-to recipe called for red-skinned spuds and all we had were russets. Oops. So off I went to look online for another recipe, because I just love making something for the first time at the last minute... don't you? (that was just the tiniest bit of sarcasm)

Martha Stewart came through (as she so often does) with a delicious and oh-so-beautiful potato salad recipe featuring good old russet potatoes. So colorful, it's worthy of the most festive of picnics and other summer events. It's practically a party all by itself. I was entirely pleased with how it came out, which is, of course, a good thing. So I made it again last weekend for our church picnic... as far as recipes go, it's definitely a keeper.

Festive, delicious, and easy to put together, this potato salad is both familiar and a little special at the same time...

Summer Garden Potato Salad  
adapted from Martha Stewart Living magazine (June 2000) and The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook (page 226)

3 large eggs, hard-boiled and chopped
8-9 russet potatoes
3 T apple cider vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp dry mustard
kosher salt & black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped chives
2 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley
3 stalks of celery, diced
2 carrots, shredded
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 red onion, diced

Hard-boil your eggs first...
Place the eggs in the bottom of a pan and fill with cool water, covering by 1/2 to 1-inch. Bring to a boil, remove pan from heat, cover and let sit for 12 minutes. Carefully transfer eggs to a bowl of cold water to stop them cooking further. When eggs are completely cooled, tap them all over against the side of the sink and peel under cool running water. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

Cook the potatoes...
Scrub the potatoes and place in a large pot. Cover with at least 2-inches of water and bring to a boil. Add a tablespoon of salt and turn the heat down. Simmer for about 25 minutes, or until a paring knife slides easily to the center. Drain the potatoes and very carefully remove the skins with the paring knife, protecting your hands with gloves or towels. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes, place into a bowl and sprinkle the vinegar over them.

Make the dressing...
Chop the hard-boiled eggs and add them to a large bowl along with the mayonnaise, mustard, 2 tsp of salt, and 1 tsp black pepper. Whisk together. Add the potatoes, herbs and vegetables, stirring well to distribute everything. Taste it and add more seasoning if needed. The flavors will benefit from some time together in the fridge, so try to make this the day before you want to serve it. Serves 10-12.

My Notes: I initially chose this recipe because it used russets (which I had a lot of) instead of red-skinned (which I had none of). But what was unexpected was how great it was to use some things from my garden and also how much better it tasted because of the homemade mayo.  If you have the few minutes it takes to quickly make up a batch of mayo, I truly think the potato salad tastes better for it.

Banana Split… In A Glass… For Breakfast

It wasn't until taking the last few sips of my breakfast smoothie the other day that I realized just how much it reminded me of a banana split. Up until that point I just kept thinking, "This tastes gooooood! Maybe too good for something that's supposed to be breakfast?… Nah!"

Just like a real banana split it's got dairy, bananas, strawberries, vanilla, and chocolate (yum!). The only things missing are the whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry on top. Oh yeah... and the "I-can't-believe-I-ate-all-that" guilt. There's not a lick of that.

Unlike a bona fide banana split, this is packed with pro-biotics, leafy greens, and wheat germ. But you'd sure never know it from the taste....

Herb-y Eggs with Easy Freezer Hash Browns

I am not a morning person. I get up early, but let's just say I'm not exactly chipper and cheerful about it. Not right away anyhow. A little time, a little quiet, and a little caffeine... ease into it, you know? So I really don't want to have to think too much about cooking breakfast every morning.

But....... I also want a good breakfast. Steel-cut oats, granola, egg quesadillas, muffins,  smoothies, banana bread, pancakes, scones, yogurt with fruit... I even like breakfast for dinner (I could go on and on). Are you getting the idea that I like breakfast? A lot? And I love hash browns too, but with all the shredding and squeezing, they're too much effort for a regular weekday breakfast. Until now.

Thanks to this method that a friend clued me into, we've been having truck-stop-worthy hash browns whenever we want. They go straight from freezer to frying pan. No fuss, no muss, and no early morning exertion... practically no brain function necessary at all!

Five Out Of Five Soda Bread

I have to say right here, right now, that I've never personally made a soda bread that I liked. Never. Maybe I just like stuff that I don't have to make myself? That's a distinct possibility. After all, I like the soda bread that friends and family have made. But when I make it myself, it just doesn't happen for me. Ever.

Until now. This soda bread I like... in fact, this soda bread I love. I've only made it three times, but the recipe makes two loaves and we gave one away, so we've eaten five loaves of it (so far). Five out of five. We've had it by itself as a snack, alongside bowls of soup, and with mugs of strong black tea for breakfast (my favorite). I very nearly ate an entire loaf myself. It's that good.

The combination of flavors in this quick bread blur the line between savory and sweet… the caramel-y rich browned butter, sweet/hot freshly ground black pepper, piney/herbal fresh rosemary, a little saltiness from the baking soda, and some earthy sweetness from the honey... I'm making myself hungry.

Kissing The Cook

Hey good lookin', what'cha got cookin'? Making your own natural lip balms at home kind of blurs the line between cooking and crafting. Think about it: They're made with good-for-you edible ingredients like honey and olive oil, and they're cooked up right there in your own kitchen... only you don't eat them. Well actually, I've seen plenty of stats over the years about how much lipstick and lip gloss the average woman ingests over her lifetime (eek!). All the more reason to know what it's made from, eh?

The post that inspired all this kitchen-lab cosmetic cookery features three different lip balm recipes, each one yummier than the next. Normally I'd have had a really hard time choosing, but I only had all the ingredients on hand for one of them: Luscious Lavender Lip Balm. It didn't hurt any that I'm a sucker for anything with lavender (or alliteration) in it, so Luscious Lavender Lip Balm it was... did I mention that it has cocoa powder and honey in it too? Lavender-Cocoa-Honey-liciousness... it really is good enough to eat (but it probably works better as a lip balm).

Merry Christmas (I baked you a pie)

There was no plan to take December off from blogging. It just sort of happened. With so much going on this month (and no posts stockpiled for the winter), something had to give as they say. Blogging was it.

Even during a non-major holiday time of year I don't understand how other bloggers can keep the pace they do. It's enough to make my head spin. It's something that I occasionally struggle with... keeping up. I think the trick is not to. After all, it's my blog, my life, my pace... so this month I took a break. 

In addition to all the regular cooking, cleaning, mending, and tending that goes on around here, I've been getting the house ready for Christmas and visiting family, Hubs has been re-doing the guest bath, I've done a bit of holiday baking, but mostly... lots of gift-planning and making (we do homemade gifts for Christmas). We're exhausted, but in a really really good way. It's a feeling you just can't get from shopping.
 

From Me To You

I have a gift for you too. My signature pie. If there's one dessert that I've made more than any other over my lifetime (thus far anyway), it's my St. John's Organic Walnut & Drunken-Raisin Pie. Well... I've probably made chocolate chip cookies a lot more often than this pie, but are cookies really dessert? I see them as more of a snack. Anyway, this pie is stuffed with walnuts and studded with raisins that were soaked in bourbon overnight (turning them into little flavor-bombs). I've made it dozens of times for dozens of pot-lucks and holidays and there's never any left over. It's my go-to pie. And now it's going to you.

Delish Dish: Baked Oatmeal

The truth... I made this fantastic baked oatmeal and photographed it a couple of months ago.  We're talking July people. It was summer and though we had an unseasonably cool one, the rest of the country was sizzling hot. So, I thought I'd put off posting about it until the seasons changed and things started to cool off.

The whole truth... right now, I don't feel like writing or cooking or photographing. At all. I could point to a dozen different factors that aligned to produce this current state of apathy but really, it just is what it is, and I've got to work my way through it. It's a good thing I had this oatmeal in my back pocket... so to speak.

Nothing but the truth... if I had the ingredients on hand, I would make this Baked Oatmeal for breakfast tomorrow. Or Sunday. Even feeling the way I do right now, I would rally just long enough to get this into the oven. It really is that good. Honest.

While You Were Steeping

Ordering iced tea in a restaurant shouldn't be a complicated matter. But somehow it is. "Do you remember if we liked the iced tea here?", Hubs and I furtively whisper to each other as soon as we sit down. We love iced tea you see, and there's nothing worse than taking that first sip and finding something stale and old (or even worse, from a mix) at the other end of the straw. 

Rare is the restaurant that takes as much care with their iced (or hot) tea as they do with their coffee. We tea drinkers are partly to blame. We're just not as bold, robust, and vociferous a group as our coffee counterparts. The differences between us are much the same as how these two drinks act upon my brain: coffee is like jumping out of an airplane, while tea is more like jumping out of an airplane with a parachute... I'm going to hit the ground either way, it's all just a matter of how soon and how hard. This may explain why tea lovers are often mellow, easy-going types who as a group get overlooked by most restaurants and chains.

There are exceptions of course. One of my favorite deli/cafés delivers the ultimate order of iced tea: a tall glass filled to the brim with ice and a small pot of strong hot tea on the side. As soon as the tea has steeped to satisfaction, you pour it over the ice and have the perfect glass of fresh brewed iced tea. This is precisely how I used to make it at home, and still do, when a single perfect glass of the stuff is all I want.