Earlier this summer I was at a wedding and on the table was this little jar of strawberry jam attached with a quote. The bride and her mother had made the jam. I thought it was so perfect, sweet, thoughtful and a wonderful idea. So in case anyone is looking for a favor idea, I thought this was a great one!
So we grew together
Like to a double strawberry, seeming parted,
But yet an union in partition;
Two lovely berries molded on one stem
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare
Last weekend I was at the farmer’s market, in Union Square buying some blueberries because I wanted to make the August cover of Gourmet. Lemon Blueberry Ice Cream Bars- they turned out great and think they would be perfect to serve at a summer BBQ. While I was walking through the market I discovered Mexican Sour Gherkins. They look like mini watermelons about 1 inch in size but taste like a cucumber. It is now days later and I am still fascinated by these little guys. Now I just wish I had a garden and could grow them myself.
Maybe others have seen these before and I am just completely behind the times. I think they are amazing the only problem was they were rather expensive so I have been enjoying eating then one by one…although they would be completely awesome in a salad.
Definitely as the heat wave continues salad or cold soups are what I have been craving. Every so often I make something that I am truly excited about how it turned out. This  is how I felt about this recent Steak Salad. I think I told just a few people, about 10 just how excited Iwas about it!  I know it might seem like a lot of work, but I was able to accomplish everything in under an hour- I had a lot of things cooking at the same time. Unfortunately, I don’t per say have real measurements I just used what I had and tried to have equal portions. Also since I don’t have a grill I broiled my NY Strip steak for about 4 ½ minutes on each side. It did not have that beautiful grilled look but still tasted delicious!
Steak Salad
1 Head of Red Lettuce
1 Red Bell Pepper Roasted
1 Bunch of Asparagus Roasted (cooked in broiler)
1 Sauted Yellow Onion
Fingerling Potatoes Roasted with Rosemary
Steamed French String Beans
1 Pound of Steak
1 Tomato chopped
Extra- I roasted a garlic bulb to either be added to the salad or used on the bread.
Vinaigrette
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Dijon Mustard
Before mixing all the ingredients together I cooled them all except the steak was served warm.
Recently, I was given some fresh garden picked string beans. Growing up string beans were a staple in our house, although we really only ever had them served one way, steamed. I thought I would make this more into a summer salad instead.
1 Lb. of String Beans (cleaned with ends cut)
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Shallot
¼ Cup of Olive Oil
Juice from 1-2 Lemons
3 Teaspoons of Dijon Mustard
Salt and Pepper
Steam the string bean (about 2-3 minutes) and then quickly place in cold water to make sure they stop cooking. I chopped the Pepper finely but afterwards thought it would look nice if they were cut julienne style (thinly sliced lengthwise) and then chop the Shallot. In a small bowl mix together Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Mustard, and Salt & Pepper. (Start with one Lemon and then see if you need more and how much lemon you like- I am not a good gauge since I love LEMONS!) Now toss together dressing, string beans, shallots, and peppers. It also might be nice to add fresh tomatoes as tomato season is here. This is perfect for a summer BBQ!
Â
I thought this was just about the cutest favor that was given out at a shower recently. A candy shish Kebob
These were bright, colorful, and looked so adorable all individually wrapped displayed in a basket. My only disappointment was that I only got one! They were homemade but totally looked store bought!
This past holiday weekend I went home with some friends. Since having people over to my tiny apartment is really not an option, I thought I would take advantage of space at home and I do enjoy cooking with my mom. One of my friends who came had just finished business school, now I know she worked very hard but I also know she become enriched from her travels. Her suggestion was that we grill some rum soaked Pineapple for the BBQ. That this is what she had done every/one night on one of her vacations in school. While it was served as a snack at this bbq – it also serves as a great topping for burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches. What we also found out that some people liked the burned wedges since some of our slices were not perfectly cut. This was a brilliant idea and a huge success they were loved by all!
1 Whole Pineapple (with skin removed and sliced ½ inch thick)
1 Cup of Dark Rum
¾ Cup of Brown Sugar
Fresh Ginger Zest about 3 Teaspoons
½ Cup of Water to dissolve the sugar in
Combine all ingredients into Pyrex dish and let pineapple marinate for at least 1 hour. Grill pineapple on each side for 1 minute.
Other ideas for flavoring: Honey, Lemon, Lime, Cinnamon, Ground Cloves, and Vanilla.
This is a different take on Pound Cake with Whipped Cream and Strawberries. This was a perfectly portable dessert that I made to bring to a picnic.
1 Stick of Butter
½ Cup of Vegetable Shortening
1 ½ Cup of Sugar
3 Eggs
1 ½ Cup of Flour
½ Teaspoon of Baking Soda
1 Cup of Milk
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
Preheat Oven 350
In a mixing bowl mix together Butter, Vegetable Shortening, and Sugar for about 2 minutes. Mix one egg in at a time and vanilla. Add the Flour, Baking Soda, and Milk alternating between the dry and wet ingredients. Fill cupcake cups about ¾ of the way to the top and bake for 18-22 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Let cool completely before topping them with whipped cream. Makes about 15 Cupcakes.
Strawberry Whipped Cream
1 Pint of Heavy Cream
1 Cup of Marshmallow Fluff
7 Medium Sized Strawberries
2 Teaspoons of Sugar
Dice up the strawberries and in a bowl toss them with the sugar- let stand for just a minute or so. In a separate bowl add the Heavy Cream, Fluff and Strawberry Mixture and beat until light and fluffy. Note: the cream did splatter a lot with the Fluff. Top each cupcake with whipped cream; I finished them off by topping them with a chocolate cover strawberry.
I was in South Carolina last week and when I was on the highway, I saw baskets of peaches on a truck. I was tickled pink about this sighting because I had totally forgotten I was in peach territory. Of course now I was on the lookout for where I could buy my own basket of peaches. Alas right before heading back to the airport I found a farmers markets and literally got a basket of peaches and took them back with me to NYC.
Now what to do with my peaches! I didn’t want to make a cobbler had done that last week with some strawberries and rhubarb. Salsa is what came to mind. I was also told that grilled peaches were great…but I didn’t have access to a grill.
2 Peaches (diced into small cubes)
½ Green Bell Pepper (diced into small cubes)
½ Red Onion (diced into small cubes)
2-3 Tablespoons of Chopped Cilantro
Juice from two Limes
Jalapeño Pepper (that depends on the level of spice you would like…I got a little too aggressive when I made this Salsa!)
Mix all of the ingredients together and ready to serve. What I loved were all the colors together, I thought it looked so fresh and absolutely beautiful.
My apologies, the last entry had a some kind of computer glitch with only part of the entry. Here is the complete entry.
I love Chinese Chicken Salads, if on a menu I am always tempted to order it and look no further. The other thing that I love about them is that there are some underlying similarities but so many different kinds of variation that can be done. I think this is the perfect meal to have on a hot summer evening.
Ingredients to Cook Chicken
1 Tablespoon of Chopped Cilantro
5 Slices of Ginger
3 Scallions Sliced
2 Tablespoons of Rice Wine Vinegar
4 Cups of Water
1 to 11/2 Pounds of Chicken
Put all of the ingredients together in a pot and let cook on medium heat for about 15-20 minutes covered. Once chicken has cooked all the way through remove from heat and tear chicken into small pieces. Chill chicken before putting in salad.
Dressing
1/3 Cup of Vegetable Oil
1 Teaspoon of Dry Ground Mustard
2 Tablespoons of Sesame Oil
6 Tablespoons of Rice-wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper
1 Teaspoon of minced ginger (optional)
Mix all ingredients together. I find easiest to just put them all into a bottle and shape it up.
Â
Salad
I Head of Lettuce (tore or chopped) (I use usually Romaine or Iceberg)
1 Yellow Bell Pepper Chopped into small Cubes
½ English Cucumber Chopped into small Cubes
2Â Carrots Peeled and Chopped into small Cubes
6 Scallions (6 diced)
1/3 Cup Chopped Cilantro
½ Cup of Sliced Almonds
2 Cups of Shredded Chicken
1 – 2 Tablespoons Cup of Sesame Seeds (optional)
Fried Maifun Noodles or Fried Wontons can also be added.
In a large salad bowl add all ingredients except fried Noodles. Toss the salad with dressing and right before serving at the noodles.
I was speaking to my Aunt, that knows every household trick. I was telling her how last year there was clearly a party in my clothing, that I was very upset not to have been invited too. All of my sweater, plants, dresses were eaten by moths. I thought I had been so cautious the year before cleaning, buying all the moth balls, packing in air tight containers etc. Well, this year I am going about it a little different. I am using a trick that my Aunt told me is how my grandmother would get rid of months. She would FREEZE her clothing in order to kill all the eggs before packing away. I found this was a great way to clean out my freezer too. I also will be getting some of the air tight bags, along with placing moth balls, peppercorn (another supposed trick to prevent) and have everything cleaned beforehand. I’ll inform in the fall how this all worked out. I have high hopes this year!
Please let me know if you have any tricks in prevention