a summer strawberry revival

Well, it happened again. I went another 3 months without a peep. I thought about posting (really, I did!) but, life has once again gotten in the way. Eh, well.

After a Father's Day outing to a fantastic local pick-your-own farm, we returned home with a bounty of gorgeous sweet strawberries and I was totally inspired. I mulled over what would become of my little red treasures for a while before settling on jam. I'd never made any jam before and this seemed like the perfect way to stretch the juicy sweetness of these amazing berries as much as humanly possible.

Not having made jam before, I was naturally a bit intimidated by this task. All those fears melted away when I discovered instant pectin that required NO cooking whatsoever (BOOYAH). This jam could honestly not be simpler and is so freakin' delicious. No cooking + no canning = amazingly fresh and fruity homemade jam that keeps for a month (or up to a year!). WIN.

No-cook Strawberry Jam

{Recipe right off the Ball Instant Pectin package}

 Ingredients:

• 1 package (1.59 oz.) Ball Instant Fruit Pectin
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 cups crushed strawberries

In a large bowl, stir the sugar and pectin together until well blended. Add the crushed strawberries and continue to stir for 3 minutes. Ladle the mixture into clean containers of your choice (I couldn't resist these plastic Ball jars- how cute!) and allow the jam to set for 30 minutes. Use your delicious jam now -- on warm cream biscuits, layered into a cake, in thumb-print cookies or just smeared on plain old toast. You can also stash it in the refrigerator (3 weeks) or freezer (up to a year).

x

holy matrimony

Its hard for me to believe but, my husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary this week. And what a year it has been! I wanted to celebrate with a homemade dinner reminiscent of our fabulous Jamaican honeymoon: juicy roasted jerk chicken with ubiquitous rice and peas (Jamaica's version of beans 'n rice). Simple enough, right?

I sought out traditional Jamaican recipes.
I researched exotic ingredients and cooking methods.
I spent 2 days prepping-- chopping, grinding, marinating, soaking.
I followed the directions to a T.
And the resulting meal was AWFUL.

Looking back, I was naive to think that I could recreate the flavor of chicken that has been cooked in a specialized jerk pit and smoked to perfection by pimento wood, in my crappy electric stove. Its just not the same. There was something off about my jerk paste as well-- I suspect too much allspice, and no garlic or ginger (neither were in the recipe I used but, seemed to pop up in other jerk recipes I saw). As for the rice, I have no idea what the hell happened. The beans were under-cooked, the rice was over-cooked and the spice level rendered any salvageable morsels completely inedible. I pride myself on being a decent cook and this flavor fail was a major source of shame to me.

My saving grace was a simple fruit salad I found in my search for Jamaican recipes, called matrimony. (I mean, what better dessert could there be to celebrate the anniversary of our marriage than a dish called matrimony?) Traditionally this is made with oranges and star apple - a fruit native to Jamaica and next to impossible to find this far north - so this recipe substitutes a combo of pear and apple. The fruit is simply dressed and seasoned with just a pinch of nutmeg-- a light, lovely post-dinner treat. Or, in our case, dinner.

Matrimony

{recipe from Sky Juice and Flying Fish: Traditional Caribbean Cooking}

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe pear, peeled, cored & diced
• 1 apple, peeled, cored & diced
• 2 oranges, supremed
• 1/4 cup condensed milk
• grated nutmeg, to taste
• (I also added a pinch of cinnamon, too)

1. Place the diced pear and apple in a medium bowl, add orange sections and mix. Sweeten with condensed milk and nutmeg, and toss to combine.

2. Let chill for at least one hour before serving. Serve chilled.

Thankfully, our meal turn-out was not reflective of our marriage and we were able to laugh off my disastrous attempt at authentic Jamaican cooking. Looks like we have yet another good reason to go back. x 

second chance smoothies

I'll be completely honest with you: up until a few days ago, I was NOT a smoothie person. The few that I had tried never impressed me and the thought of replacing a precious meal with blended anything was less than appetizing. The addition of yogurt into smoothies, popular though it may be, really did not appeal to me either as I am not big on dairy (or really, dairy is not big on me).

I recently came to find out via Joy of Cooking that -traditionally- smoothies don't include dairy products at all! (Oh, snap!) They're actually made with fruit flesh and juice, and are thickened with frozen fruits, creamy bananas or ice (rather than yogurt, milk or ice cream). In fact, dairy-based blended drinks aren't smoothies at all-- they're technically milkshakes. I'd been so mislead by popular juice bars and chain coffee shops that I claimed to dislike something that I had really never tried. For shame!

And so, I gave smoothies a second chance. My husband (also a former Smoothie Hater) and I had a lot of fun last weekend making our own personalized concoctions with frozen peaches, strawberries, and blueberries, and some sweet-tart lemonade. I can't believe I'd held out for so long, 'cause this was YUM. As in, good enough to replace your current breakfast kind of yum. Or even, good enough to replace that snack cake you've been eyeing kind of yum.

Consider this my PSA for *real* Smoothies.

Old School Smoothies

Total time: 5 minutes, if that

Serves: 1

 Ingredients:

• 1 heaping cup of frozen fruit (I used 3/4 cup strawberries with 1/4 cup peaches, and 3/4 cup blueberries with 1/4 cup strawberries)
• 1 cup of chilled lemonade (or other juice)

Add frozen fruit pieces and lemonade into a blender, and blend until smooth.

Notes: The more fruit you add, the thicker your smoothie will be. I made a thicker version and a juicier version; though I prefer thick, both were delicious. Also, the blueberries tend to be more watery than other frozen fruits and the skins look chunky when blended -- but they're still a great tasting addition to any smoothie.

Don't restrict yourself to this recipe! Have fun mixing and matching your favorite fruits, juices, and add-ins like a drizzle of honey, a scoop of sorbet or a shot of rum. There's a smoothie for any time or anyone... even picky, fruit-loathing husbands. x

a sweet revelation: succulent citrus salad

I've been pretty tense lately adjusting to my new work environment. After 7 years in my former office, I knew it would be a difficult transition and it sure has had its challenges. I've been dealing with it mostly by indulging in my greatest weaknesses: coffee and sweets (and shopping but, we won't go there).

I had been keeping up with eating right and exercising so well up until this point, and I'm not too pleased that I've fallen back into this routine of using caffeine and sugar as a means to get through the day. My brain really hammered the point home the other night, when I dreamt that I was sitting on the floor in my pajamas, eating heaping wooden spoonfuls of raw sugar out of a burlap sack. I didn't want to eat it, yet I kept shoveling the sticky, gritty sweetness into my mouth. Talk about a wake-up call.

So, I've shelved my plans for a New York style cheesecake indefinitely (sadface) and I'm taking a break from dessert baking for now. I know that once those luscious summer berries come back into season I definitely won't be able to resist the tart, pie, crisp and crumble possibilities but, I'm going to do my best to be good until then. I'm looking at it more like an opportunity to further explore the realm of healthy, delicious eating... and less like masochism.

Over the weekend I remembered this beautiful citrus salad that I featured last month and decided to make my own version. I used Agave nectar which, is a sweetener procured from the beautiful spikey plants that also provide the basis for tequila (a fabulous plant indeed). Its also a great alternative to honey or maple syrup because its less viscous and less of it is required to achieve the same level sweetness (it was indispensable to me during my gluten- and sugar-free detox!). It was the perfect "dressing" for the juicy sections of grapefruit and orange.

This salad definitely satisfied my sweet spot -- which is a fairly bold statement coming from a Chocoholic slash Pastry Addict like me. Trust me.

Citrus Salad with Agave Nectar

Total Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:

• 1 medium orange
• 1 medium pink grapefruit
• 2-4 fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
• Agave nectar, to taste (I used less than 2 tablespoons)

Supreme the orange and grapefruit. {If you've never done this before, check out Marichelle's simple how-to. Its easy, I promise.}  Place the citrus sections into a small bowl, sprinkle with mint strips, drizzle with Agave and toss lightly to combine. Serve immediately.

So simple, so fresh, and so sweet. Like eating a bowl of summer. It was just what the doctor ordered. x

edible exploits: pineapple with tequila & mint

Hello there friends. Its *Friday* ya-hoo! Some days I felt like it would never come!

Well, I've continued with my resolution to try new recipes every week to expand my culinary horizons, and I'm pretty proud of that. I'm told that many people have given up on their resolutions by now, and for once I'm not one of them.

I was looking around for some snack and dessert recipes that are on the healthy side because I'm also attempting to eat better this year. So, I thought maybe having a delicious fruit dessert recipe would be handy for those days you just need something sweet but, don't want to resort to something too sinful.

I came upon this super simple recipe in Perfect Mexican -- a little gem of a cookbook, with lots of fresh, wonderful recipes and vivid, enticing photos. Sweet, succulent pineapple combines with fresh mint and just a touch of smokey-smooth tequila for a treat that is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth (without all that sugar, of course).

Pineapple with Tequila & Mint

{Recipe from Perfect Mexican, Parragon Publishing 2006}

Prep Time: about 10 minutes
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe pineapple


• sugar, to taste
  
• juice of 1 lemon
  
• 2-3 tablespoons tequila (or a few drops of vanilla extract if you prefer)


• several sprigs of fresh mint, leaves removed & cut into thin strips
  
• fresh mint sprig, to garnish (optional)

::What to look for in a ripe pineapple: the flesh should be firm, somewhat golden in color and it should have a sweet aroma. Steer clear of fruits that are completely green, don't smell sweet, have brown leaves or are bronze/red in color.::

1. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut off the top and the bottom of the pineapple. Place upright on a cutting board, then slice off the skin, cutting downward. Cut the pineapple in half, remove the core, then cut the flesh into bite-sized chunks.

2. Place the pineapple chunks in a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar (only a pinch is needed as ripe pineapple is already quite sweet), lemon juice, and tequila or vanilla extract. Toss to coat well, then cover and chill until ready to serve.

3. To serve, arrange on a plate and sprinkle with the mint strips. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig if desired.

I would recommend using a good quality blanco (white) or plata (silver) tequila for this dish, as the smokey-ness does not overwhelm -- I like Don Julio or Herradura for their smoothness. As a general rule of thumb: if you wouldn't drink it straight, don't put it in your food!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! x

so long, summer

It's the last day of August and, even though we technically have 22 days left until autumn officially starts, the arrival of September is always symbolic of summer's end. The kiddies are heading back to school, the annoying tourists are finally fleeing the Cape, stores are already hockin' their Halloween merchandise... le sigh. So, in these last few weeks, I'm going to cram as much fun summer stuff in before I have to put the flip-flops away, and break out the winter boots and sweaters.

First up, a few last beach visits are definitely in order. We are blessed to have the beautiful Atlantic ocean a mere 2 miles from our new digs and I really wish I could spend more lazy days there, cautiously swimming to avoid any interaction with my least favorite sea creatures (horse shoe crabs, aahhh!), blissfully flipping through decorating magazines while I'm laying in the sand and dorkishly hunting for geologic phenomena and sea glass along the shore as the waves lap against my ankles. {I feel more relaxed just typing that!} Here's some of my favorite beach porn from this summer:

{that's my girl Maria in the top right. I am in *love* with her retro cherry bathing suit!}

Next, I want to utilize as much of the abundant warm-weather fruits as I can in one last summer dessert. I've made quite a few yummy, fruity creations this season - like blueberry pie, raspberry-mango-nectarine crumble and strawberry rhubarb crisp - but the recipe that truly takes the cake (pun intended), is the always fabulous and crowd-pleasing red, white & blueberry trifle.

I made this bad boy at least 4 times this summer and my family is still demanding another! Let me tell you: it is SO. FREAKIN'. GOOD! The combination of the rich cream, lemon-infused cake and juicy berries is absolutely divine-- it reminds me so much of cheesecake (but is much less of a calorie-splurge than the real deal). Its also a fairly versatile recipe; I substituted sliced strawberries for raspberries but, I imagine this would be great with just about any berry or sliced fruit. Also, you can sub store-bought lemon creme cake for the lemon-syrup-brushed pound cake if you're short on time.

As a third generation Master Bargain Hunter, I can also add that the end of August is a great time to load up on summer wardrobe staples because of all the sales going on! I know over at Victoria's Secret, they're having major sales on their chic swim suits, breezy summer dresses and comfortable everyday tops. Not to mention that today only, they are offering a free shipping upgrade on all of their summer threads with a $40 purchase! I think it may be time to finally buy this adorable paisley dress that I've been ogling all summer:

So hit up the mall or your favorite online retailer for some big savings on summertime duds!

Lastly, I want to take advantage of plentiful summer blooms and make myself one last bouquet while I still can. I am a total nerd for flowers and I'm lucky enough to have my mother's beautiful gardens at my disposal...

{see more of my mom's garden and other fun stuff over on my flickr photostream!}

I'm hoping to snag some gorgeous multi-colored hydrangea blossoms and some wild Queen Anne's lace, too-- my absolute favorites, as evidenced by my DIY wedding bouquet.

Savor the rest of your summers, darlings!

xxx,

Mrs. M