Chilled Berry and Greek Yogurt Pie

Combine:
2 cups sugar cookie or Vanilla Wafer cookie crumbs, finely crushed or ground in food processor
1/2 cup butter, softened
When throughly mixed, press evenly into springform pan.
Bake in 350˚F oven for about 10 minutes. Let cool completely before proceeding.

Mix any combination of the following in medium saucepan over medium heat:
3 cups blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, huckleberries, or other sweet berries
Add:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
a few drops of almond extract
pinch of salt
Stir until sugar begins to dissolve.

Stir 2 packets of gelatin into 1/4 cup of water, and let sit for 30 seconds.
Add to berry mixture.
Cook briefly, stirring, until gelatin melts completely.
Stir in 2 cups greek yogurt (not fat free).

Pour berry mixture over prepared crust.
Refrigerate until chilled and set, at least two hours.

Serve topped with fresh berries and whipped cream or creme fraiche.

Savory French Toast with Sheep Feta and Fried Alliums

This is a savory version of "french toast." I used duck eggs for the egg mixture because I happened to have them, which resulted in a very rich, yolky custard, but chicken eggs should be quite adequate for this recipe.

Serves 2-4. 

8 slices of slightly stale rustic or french bread (I used week-old Grand Central rye)

5 large eggs

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/4 tsp sweet paprika

1/2 tsp salt

Black pepper to taste

2 tbsp (or more) butter

1 bunch green onions, scallions, or about 4 shallots, finely chopped

2 tbsp coarsely minced garlic cloves

6 oz. sheep feta (cow feta can be substituted)

Whisk eggs, milk, paprika, salt, and pepper until combined.

Dip each slice of bread in egg mixture, turning to coat completely, and lay the slices out on a rimmed baking pan. Drizzle any remaining egg mixture over the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate if not using immediately.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat until just melted. Add green onions and garlic and saute until crispy and browned on the edges. Transfer to small bowl. 

Scrape skillet clean or heat a griddle. Melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add egg-coated bread, and fry until lightly browned on each side, flipping once, about 3-5 minutes per side. Bread should be supple, but not gooey in the center. Sprinkle each piece with feta and fried onion/garlic mixture to serve. 

Sweet Pepper and Cucumber Relish

This is the only relish I will ever eat. It's not even comparable to that green stuff in the store. It shouldn't even have the same name.

8 cups cucumbers, chopped
1 cup onions, chopped
2 cups red sweet peppers, chopped
2 cups green sweet peppers, chopped
1 tablespoon turmeric
1/2 cup pickling salt
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 chili peppers
4 cups sugar
4 cups vinegar

Combine the chopped vegetables and sprinkle with the turmeric. Dissolve salt in 8 cups of cool water and pour it over the vegetables. Let stand 3-4 hours and then drain. Cover vegetables w/ cool water and let stand for 1 hour. Drain.

Mix sugar and vinegar and heat to boiling. Pour the boiled mixture over the vegetables and add the other spices. Let stand 12-18 hours. Simmer until hot (don't let it cook, want it crispy). If too dry add more vinegar and bring to boil again. Pack into jars.

Rose Water Spiked Plum Sorbet

About 2 1/2 lbs. fresh juicy plums
1-1 1/2 cup sugar
1 banana (optional)
1/4-1/2 tsp rose water

This recipe completely depends on the ripeness and flavor of the plums, so use only the freshest, ripest plums you can find.

Using a sieve or colander lined with cheesecloth set over a saucepan, press juice and some pulp out of plums into the pan. Only pits and skin should be leftover-squeeze out as much good stuff as possible. If adding banana, mash it into the plum puree at this point. Banana will add sweetness, and offset any bitterness from the plums. Don't worry, if your plums are flavorful, the banana will not be a dominant flavor in the final product. Add sugar to taste, starting with 1/2 cup. The puree should retain it's tartness, but very sweet at the same time. Too little sugar will result in a solid frozen block of plum puree. The appropriate amount of sugar will create a fluffy, ice-cream-like texture.

Heat the plum puree until the sugar is fully dissolved and the edges start to foam. Avoid boiling, as it would change the fresh flavor of the fruit. Stir in rose water to taste, again starting with only a small amount. Rose water is stronger than you may think, and it should not overpower the flavor of the plums.

When satisfied with the puree, pour into ice cream maker and follow the directions of the ice cream maker to churn. Can be saved in freezer for up to two weeks, but may need a bit of thawing before serving if it has been stored in the freezer for more than 24 hours.

Strawberry Banana Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (1 stick)
unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 to 3 large)
1/4 cup strawberry jam
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Fresh sliced strawberries and bananas for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift first 5 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until blended. Beat in egg, then mashed bananas, jam, rum, and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 2 additions just until combined. Spoon batter into pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 23-25 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, or cool to room temperature and frost with whipped cream immediately before serving. Decorate or top with strawberries and bananas.

Blueberry Pie Ice Cream

I made two versions of this. The "Fruity Base" tasted much more like gelato than ice cream; I didn't cook it and the proportion of berries to cream was half and half. The other was much more ice cream-y and will last longer in the freezer without getting too hard.

Fruity Base:
3 cups blueberries (washed and patted dry)
3 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup brandy

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth and thick. Transfer to ice cream machine and process as directed. Meanwhile, make "milk bites."

Custard Base:
3 cups whole milk
2 cups blueberries
1 1/2 cups sugar, separated
6 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 recipe milk bites

Process milk, blueberries, and 1 cup sugar in blender until smooth. Beat egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar with electric mixer until pale and smooth. Heat blueberry mixture over medium heat, until a near simmer, but do not boil (if mixture bubbles a couple times, you will know it is ready!). Very slowly add hot blueberry mixture to egg yolks, beating constantly. When fully incorporated, return to pot, and cook over medium-low heat until slightly thickened. Let custard cool a bit before processing in ice cream maker. When churned, stir in milk bites.


Milk bites:
1 cup dry milk powder
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp (or more) milk

Combine dry ingredients in bowl and mix thoroughly. Work in butter with fingers until fine crumb forms. Stir in milk until mixture is still crumbly, but begins sticking together. Press very firmly into the bottom of the bowl or a greased cookie sheet, and place in freezer until ready to incorporate into ice cream.

When ice cream is churned, but still soft, gently fold in "milk bites." Freeze for at least 1 hour before serving.

Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Ice Cream

I made 4 different kinds of ice cream in two days, and this was the ultimate favorite, across the board.
6 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup raw sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup chilled buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Whisk yolks in another medium metal bowl. Combine cream, sugar, and salt in large saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Gradually whisk half of hot cream into egg yolks, then return mixture to saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until custard thickens and coats back of spoon when finger is drawn across, 2 to 3 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat.

Pour cold buttermilk into reserved chilled bowl. Strain custard into buttermilk; whisk. Whisk in vanilla. Chill mixture uncovered until cold, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours.
Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon until incorporated.

Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer ice cream to freezer container. Cover and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Miso Potato Salad

Boil until tender:
1 lb. fingerling potatoes, coarsely chopped.

In a separate pot, bring to a boil:
6 fresh eggs
Turn off heat and let rest 10 minutes.

Let potatoes and eggs cool a bit.

Remove egg shells, and chop eggs.

Add potatoes and eggs to large bowl.

Combine:

1/4 cup miso
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce

Pour through sieve (to remove soy chunks, if miso is chunky or gritty), onto potatoes and eggs. Stir until the cooked egg yolks have blended with the miso sauce to form a sort of dressing over the potatoes and cooked egg whites. Chill before serving.

Generic Cold Blended Coffee Drink

Make 2 cups of very strong coffee, or 1 cup of espresso plus 1 cup water.
Combine 2 cups milk, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 tbsp of any flavor of syrup (chocolate, hazelnut, etc...or even honey!).
Add coffee to milk mixture.
Freeze for at least 3 hours, or up to 5. If frozen for less time, drink will be cold, but not icy. If frozen for more time, some thawing may be required before blending.
Remove from freezer, and place half of the mixture in a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately to avoid separation.

An Assortment of Sheet Cakes

Wedding:

2 9x13 orange chiffons + orange cream cheese frosting

2 9x13 orange chiffon and coconut + orange cream cheese frosting

~decorated with roses and lavender~

1 9x13 coconut

4 9x13 chocolate raspberry

~decorated with sunflowers~

Served about 150


Going-Away:

4 9x13 chocolate-raspberry + cream cheese
frosting

Served about 50

Lemon Wedding Cake

12 inch lemon cake
+
1 cup lemon curd
+
9 inch lemon cake
+
3/4 cup lemon curd
+
6 inch lemon cake
+
1/2 cup lemon curd
+
Lots and lots of white chocolate, cream cheese, and lemon curd frosting

AND

Sunflowers!

(Hint: Don't put them in the freezer if you want them to last more than a few minutes!)

Experiences, experiences...

Also, don't try to frost a cake in 90˚F and humid weather.

Cocoa Coconut Citrus Cake

1st layer: Lemon cake with lemon glaze

2nd layer: Coconut cake with shredded coconut and hardened coconut milk caramel

3rd layer: Chocolate cake with chocolate-coconut topping.

Outside: Lemon cream cheese frosting with shredded coconut, chocolate chips, and lemon slices.

The end.

Spring Greens Salad with Pesto and Poached Eggs

Miners Lettuce, cucumber, green pepper chopped and sprinkled over a base of lettuce leaves.
A nest of chopped tomatoes combined with fresh pesto.
A poached egg with parmesan, salt, and pepper sprinkled on top.

Strawberry Tart with Cashew Crust

Strawberry overload!

While making strawberry jam, I ran out of jars for my jam. I mean, I could have gone out to the garage to get more, but I figured, why not make a strawberry tart?

So I combined the freezer jam with a few tablespoons of flour and a few of butter. For the crust I made a pretty typical pie dough recipe, but added cinnamon, a bit of sugar, and ground cashews to half the dough. I pressed the cashew dough into the bottom of a springform pan, poured in the filling, and latticed the remaining dough on top. I had some extra strawberries and extra dough, so I wrapped the strawberries in the dough and floated them between the lattice. The tart baked for a long time, maybe an hour, until the center was pretty firm, and the edges were darkening.





And of course, it would hardly be worth eating without vanilla ice cream.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Candy Onion Gratin

3 cups chopped candy onions
5 tablespoons butter
4 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp (or a pinch) nutmeg
1/2 cup grated Emmentaler cheese
1/2 cup plain panko bread crumbs


Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onions, and cook covered over medium high heat for about 20 minutes, or until soft, stirring frequently. If onions begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, add milk 1 tbsp at a time.
Preheat broiler.
Add salt, nutmeg, and remaining milk to onions, and continue to cook until onions are very soft and creamy, but there is no liquid left in the bottom of the pan. Transfer mixture to casserole dish. Top with grated Emmentaler and panko. Place under the broiler until golden brown, probably not more than 5 minutes (but this varies with each oven).
Serve hot.

Strawberry Rhubarb Sundae

Warm rhubarb sauce can be eaten by itself, but it is even more delicious served over cold ice cream with strawberries!

For sundaes:
Rhubarb sauce
Strawberry jam (preferably homemade)
Vanilla ice cream
Fresh strawberries for garnish, optional

Rhubarb sauce:

2 cups chopped rhubarb
2/3 sugar
1 tbsp butter
a pinch of cinnamon

Cook rhubarb and sugar over medium heat, covered, for about 10 minutes. When rhubarb begins to soften, add butter, and cook uncovered for another 15 minutes. Sauce should darken as sugars caramelize. When slightly thickened and golden brownish, take off heat and add cinnamon.

Scoop one or two scoops of ice cream into each bowl. Top with warm rhubarb sauce and jam. Garnish with strawberries.

Brazilian Lemonade

Yes, there are limes in this recipe. So it could be called Brazilian limeade. However, apparently Brazilians don't use lemons, according to the blogger I developed this recipe from, which didn't use any lemons at all. This recipe is a little different than that one, since it uses both lemons and limes, and also sparkling water.




Ingredients:
2 limes
2 lemons
1/2 c sugar
3 cups water
1 can sweetened condensed milk
24 oz. (2 cans) sparkling water, seltzer water, or club soda

Equipment:
Blender
Sieve or strainer

Wash the lemons and limes thoroughly and remove any mold or bad spots. Quarter the citrus, and toss it in the blender. Add water and sugar, and pulse or blend on low to combine. Continue to blend or pulse until citrus has broken down to small chunks. The citrus shouldn't be pureed, but you want a very strong citrus flavor. The best way to ensure this is probably just to taste it. When the lemonade tastes good and strong, strain out the fruit, and return to the blender. Add sweetened condensed milk and blend until frothy. If not serving immediately, refrigerate. The lemonade will separate, so be sure to stir it before serving. Just before serving, add sparkling water and stir to combine. Serve over ice.

Sour Cream Rhubarb Pie

the absolute best rhubarb pie you will ever consume. the best. the end.



Crust:

Any crust will do, but this is my favorite pie crust-from The Joy of Cooking. You can use a double crust or just a single crust (I use a one-and-a-half recipe and lattice the top. Personal preference).

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup shortening or lard
3 tbsp. butter
6-7 tbsp. ice water (without the ice, of course)

Combine flour and salt in large bowl. With pastry cutter, butter knives, or fingers, work the lard into the flour mixture, until biggest chunks are about the size of peas. Work in the butter, until the entire mixture is like coarse sand. Sprinkle six tablespoons of water over the mixture, and toss with a fork to combine. If dough does not form a ball when pressed together, add more water, a teaspoon at a time. When dough forms into a ball, split into two balls, flatten each into a disk shape, place in airtight container or plastic wrap and refrigerate while preparing filling.

Filling:

3 cups rhubarb
1 cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

Preheat oven to 400˚F.
Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Stir until sour cream and sugar have melted together to appear smooth and creamy. Roll out each disk of dough, placing one in the pan and pressing down the bottom and sides. Pour filling into unbaked pie crust. Top with second crust, if using.
Bake at 400˚F for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350˚F and bake for an additional 40 minutes, or until filling has set and crust is golden brown. (You may want to check the crust a couple times during to make sure it is not getting too brown. If it is, cover the pie with foil for the rest of the baking.
Cool the pie for at least an hour to let the filling set up. Serve warm or chilled.

Raspberry Macchiato Sundae

1 pint vanilla bean ice cream
1 pint fresh raspberries, cold
4 oz. freshly brewed espresso (equivalent of 4 shots)
1/2 recipe Vanilla Caramel Sauce
1/4 cup crushed hazelnuts
4 glass ramekins or sundae cups

Construct these sundaes immediately before serving-the ice cream melts quickly!
In each ramekin, place 1 scoop (about a 1/2 cup) of ice cream. Top with berries. Pour 1 shot of espresso over each sundae, and spoon caramel sauce over. Sprinkle with hazelnuts, and serve.

Coconut Milk Yogurt

Despite the complicated-looking procedure, yogurt making is really quite simple, once you get the hang of it. It will naturally be thinner than store-bought yogurt, but this can be solved by draining the yogurt in a cheesecloth.


Ingredients:

1 can (about 15 oz.) coconut cream

1 can (again, about 15 oz.) coconut milk

1/2 cup milk or water (if making a vegan recipe)

1 tbsp yogurt or coconut milk yogurt, or appropriate cultures



Combine first three ingredients in large saucepan. Heat to 180˚F. Let the milk mixture cool to about 110˚F before mixing in the yogurt or cultures. While milk is cooling, prepare warm spot for yogurt to grow in (it should stay above about 90˚F for at least 8 hours, but if this isn't possible, keep it as warm as you can). A cooler with hot water and towels is what I usually use, and I have never had my yogurt not work. The water should be about 130˚ or 140˚, hot, but not boiling. Other options include crock pots, food dehydrators, or heated rooms. When milk has cooled to about 110˚F, stir in the yogurt or cultures. Pour into glass jar or container, and place in heated area for about 12-24 hours, depending on how thick you want your yogurt. For some reason that I cannot explain, coconut milk yogurt usually develops an egg-white-like layer. This can be dealt with by letting the yogurt drain in a towel or cheesecloth for a few hours. Eat the yogurt plain, or with honey or fruit. Yogurt can be stored in airtight container in fridge for several weeks.