Friday Cheer! Chambord French Margarita

In my humble opinion, margaritas go extremely well with warm weather, sunshine, and patios.  All of which are at their best during summer.  So sip away as you sit on your patio, watching the sunlight gild your yard in golden splendor...

Or sit on your couch watching a movie or chatting with your roommate, washing away the week's woes.


Chambord French Margarita
from Chambord (get the recipe here) 
Makes 1 drink

Ingredients:
1.5 oz. silver tequila
3/4 oz. Chambord liquor
3/4 oz. pomegranate juice
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

I already had cranberry pomegranate juice in the fridge,
so I used that instead of cracking open pomegranate-only
juice.  

Preparation:
Combine all the ingredients in a shaker with ice.  Shake and pour into a glass.

Sorry for the lack of lovely glassware.
And for the plastic ice cubes.
We're such heathens.

Happy Friday!

I hope your margarita transports you (a la Corona-commercial-style) to relaxing beaches and summery carefree days!

Strawberry Balsamic Popsicles

You may notice a trend here.  I say it's summer, claim it's hot and humid, especially in my apartment (it is, I swear), then I offer a recipe for a delightfully refreshing cool treat.  You read it, you make it, you enjoy it, and you realize I was right...it is delightfully refreshing and cool.

Well, here we go again.  Except this time I'm going to offer you popsicles.  That's right, popsicles. Those dreamy frozen treats of childhood that punctuated your summer days and nights.  Unless you used ice cream as a punctuation, which I certainly did, but I feel confident that most of us had a thing for popsicles.  Some of us still do.

These popsicles are a breeze to make (no oven required!) and they're good for you.  I like to think of it as eating my fruit for the day...

Strawberry Balsamic Popsicles
From Women's Health magazine (get this and several other recipes here)
Makes 4 (according to them) or 6-7 (according to me)

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh hulled or thawed frozen strawberries (divided in 2 cups and 1 cup)
2 tbsp. chopped basil (divided into 1 tbsp. portions)
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Preparation:
Combine 2 cups strawberries with 1 tbsp. chopped basil, sugar, and balsamic vinegar in a bowl. Stir to combine and let macerate (that's like marinating, but with fruit!) at room temperature for 1 hour.  While you're waiting, slice the remaining strawberries and set aside.

Puree the strawberry - basil - sugar - vinegar mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir in the sliced strawberries and remaining 1 tbsp. chopped basil. Pour into ice pop molds, insert sticks, and freeze at least 8 hours.

Notes:
--My basil was spotty and wilted, so I omitted it. I think mint or thyme would be a welcome addition here too.
--I found this mixture to be a bit too sweet. In the future, I might cut back the sugar to 1 tbsp.

By the Book: Corn Soup with Orzo and Zucchini

Even with the modern marvels of farming and food storage/shipping  that allow us to enjoy fresh produce out of season, I still think corn tastes best in the summer. Maybe it's because I live near prime corn farmland with small corn fields growing even in suburbia.  Maybe it's because there are bins overflowing with fresh corn on the cob in its green husk in the produce section of every grocery store you visit this time of year.  Maybe it's that I seem to only grill corn (amazing, I swear) in the summer.

Whatever the reason, you should make this. It's a thick corn chowder topped with zucchini, orzo, and green onions.  It's simple and it's summery.


Corn Chowder with Zucchini and Orzo
from Everyday Food July/August 2012

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. unsalted butter (divided into 1 tbsp. portions)
1 medium zucchini, cut into half-moons
1 cup cooked orzo
1 bunch green onions/scallions, the white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
salt and pepper
3 cups corn kernals (about 4 ears), cobs reserved

Preparation:
Cook orzo according to box instructions.  Set aside when done.

In a saucepan over medium-high, melt 1 tbsp. butter.  Saute the white scallion slices until tender, about 3 minutes.  Add the corn kernals and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes.  Add 3 cups of water and the corncobs.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the chowder thickens slightly, about 8-10 minutes.

While the corn cooks, melt 1 tbsp. butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and saute until crisp-tender (about 5 minutes).  Transfer to a bowl and mix with orzo and the green scallion slices.  Set aside.

When the chowder has thickened, turn off the heat and discard the corn cobs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Puree the chowder with a blender (work in batches) or with an immersion blender -- be careful since it's hot.

Top the chowder with the zucchini and orzo mixture before serving.

Note: I added a hefty dose of paprika and cumin as well as a few shakes of cayenne before blending.  What can I say, I just like playing with spices.  Play around too, if you'd like! I personally think this chowder needs a little extra flavor punch, and spices are the quick and easy route.  A diced jalapeno sauteed with the scallions and corn would be great too. Pickled jalapeno slices on top of a bowl of chowder sounds tasty as well. 

By the Book: Zucchini Rice Gratin

Do you have an abundance of brilliant summer vegetables? Are you looking for an easy and delicious dinner that makes wonderful leftovers?  Then this zucchini rice gratin in what you're looking for...

Enough of my sales pitch.  This dish is delicious.  And while zucchini and tomatoes are at their best this time of year, you could make this year-round.  It will remind you of summer and possibly even evoke memories of Provence, whether you've been there (lucky!) or not (ahem, like me).

Zucchini Rice Gratin
from Gourmet: Easy Dinners special edition magazine (get the original recipe here)
Makes a 2-quart baking dish full of gratin (4-6 servings)

Ingredients:
1 cup long-grain white or brown rice
2 lbs. zucchini (about 4 medium), sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
8 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 lb. plum tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. chopped thyme
1 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano, divided

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Cook rice according to box instructions.

While rice cooks, toss zucchini with 2 tbsp. olive oil and 1/4 tsp. salt, then spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Toss the tomatoes with 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1/4 tsp. salt, then spread in a single layer on a second baking sheet. (It's annoying to use 2 sheets, but they cook for different times.)

Roast zucchini on upper rack in the oven for 20 minutes, flipping slices over at halfway through roasting.  Roast tomatoes on the bottom rack for 10 minutes, turning over halfway through roasting. You are pre-cooking the veggies here, and don't want them to be fall-apart-mushy roasted at this point; you'll cook them a bit more later.

While the zucchini and tomatoes roast in the oven, cook the onion and garlic in 2 tbsp. olive oil and 1/4 tsp. salt in a large heavy skillet over medium-low heat, covered and stirring occasionally.  Cook until soft, about 10 minutes.

Time to assemble the gratin.  Butter a shallow 2-quart baking dish.  Stir together the cooked rice, cooked onions, beaten eggs, 2/3 cup Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, 1 tbsp. olive oil, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and thyme.  Spread half of this mixture in the baking dish and layer half the roasted zucchini on top.

Spread the remaining rice mixture on top and layer the remaining roasted zucchini on top of the second rice layer.  Top with the roasted tomatoes and drizzle with 2 tbsp. olive oil.  Sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmesan-Reggiano cheese (or more, I won't tell).

Bake on upper rack of the oven until set and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

The rice-egg-cheese mixture bakes into an almost custard-like consistency and makes this gratin a substantial meal, with roasted seasonal vegetables and a light crust of browned cheese.  It's also fantastic and easy as leftovers -- just reheat in the microwave and dig in!

Matcha Lemon Chiller

Poised on the highest shelf in my kitchen are two plastic bins of tea. All types of tea - black, green, hibiscus, rooibos, herbal, yerba mate...  It's an appreciation for tea gone terribly astray.  But every weekday morning without fail (I often fail on the weekends, simply because I'm not groggily following my morning routine), I make a travel mug of tea to take to work.  Usually it's green tea, so I can reap all those marvelous nutritional benefits...antioxidants!...helps burn fat!...helps curb hunger!

This summer, though, I've been trying something different for at least a few days a week. It's still tea. Matcha tea, to be specific. Matcha is ground green tea leaves that you drink or use in baking.  Inspired by a recipe from another blog, I made a matcha - honey - lemon concoction that chilled in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning, it was the perfect way to keep cool in the morning. And I bet this drink is wonderful when sipped on the patio in the afternoon.

Matcha Lemon Chiller
Adapted from Inspired Edibles (get the original recipe here)
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp. matcha powder
1.5 cups water, just before boiling if you can
1/2 cup lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1-2 tbsp. honey or agave nectar

Lots of lovely lemon zest

Preparation:
Bring the water to just before a boil. While it is heating, put your matcha powder into a heat-safe container. (I use a glass mason jar). When your water is ready, pour it onto your matcha powder. Add honey or agave nectar and lemon zest. Stir well...though I never seem to stir enough to get the matcha to dissolve, so do what you can.  Add lemon juice. Store in the refrigerator overnight in an airtight container. Give it a brief stir before enjoying the next morning.

Note: the original recipe called for steeping mint leaves in the hot water.  I tried it, but realized I preferred the chiller without the mint. I also tried using only lime juice and zest, which was too harshly tart for my taste.  Feel free to add your own strokes of genius. And add more matcha powder if that's your thing.

It's not another green smoothie!
It's a matcha lemon chiller...and it's green too.

Now that I'm drinking matcha, I'm looking forward to testing the matcha-melon milkshake from the first Baked cookbook and matcha with milk.

Cold-Brewed Coffee Latte

I tried to be a coffee drinker. It sounded so cozy, as if each sip from a steaming mug of java would wake me up piece by piece, until I was ready to tackle the new day. It sounded like I would have a relaxed start to each day, mug in one hand and book in the other as I sat curled on the couch or a picturesque window seat.

Alas, my forays into being a daily coffee drinker did not match the slightly hallucinatory scenarios I had pictured.  I still dashed around my apartment in a desperate attempt to get to work on time.  I still wanted to crawl back into bed whether I had that cup of coffee or not.  Plus I didn't really enjoy the taste.  So I went back to tea, which evokes no such grandiose illusions in my head.  Tea isn't going to propel me into the workday singing show tunes. I kind of like it that way. I'm just not much of a morning person.

But a recent slew of articles in food arenas rekindled my desire to be a coffee drinker.  These articles threw out the concept of cold-brewing your coffee, where you steep the grounds in room temperature water for several hours, strain them, and use.  A chilled coffee beverage in the morning? With the ridiculous heat and humidity that is our apartment in the summer? Yes. Please. Now.


Iced Coffee "Latte"
Adapted from Bon Appetite's recipe for iced coffee (get their recipe here)

Cold-brewed coffee concentrate with milk,
ice cold on a warm morning

Make cold-brewed coffee concentrate:
Combine 7 oz. ground coffee beans with 3.5 cups of water. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 15 hours (I went to about 24 hours for the sake of convenience).  Line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth that has been folded once (you want a double layer of cheesecloth). Pour the coffee ground/water mixture through, giving the captured coffee grounds a good squeeze to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the grounds and cheesecloth. Line the mesh strainer with a standard coffee filter and pour the liquid through. This will go much more slowly, so be patient and work in batches, never filling above the top of the coffee filter. If your liquid stops straining, you can either stir the liquid trapped in the strainer to move the coffee grounds out of the way...or you can use a new coffee filter.  Store your cold-brewed coffee concentrate in the refrigerator in an airtight container. I recommend glass so you avoid any funky flavor transfer from plastic.

Coffee grounds soaked in water for about 24 hours

Filter through cheesecloth first, to remove
most of the grounds and make your
next filtration faster

A second filtration through a coffee filter removes any remaining
particulate for a smooth concentrate

Store your concentrate in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
I like to use glass containers, so any funky flavors from plastic containers
don't leach into my concentrate...and so I don't stain my plastic containers!

Make an iced coffee "latte":
Combine equal parts of coffee concentrate and milk (cow, soy, almond, coconut, go crazy here!) in a glass, stir, and enjoy.  It's a lot of fun to make it in a glass jar so you can screw on the top and shake.

If you want, add ice, but be aware this will dilute your drink. Try freezing coffee in your ice cube tray...or just go with the chill the refrigerator will put on your drink.

Maybe add a bit of chocolate syrup or cocoa powder for a mocha twist. Or try a sprinkle of cinnamon or cardamom for a spicy, chai-like taste.

I Love Jeni's

I cannot tell you how truly, deeply, madly I love Jeni Britton-Bauer and her ice cream.

It was love at first sight. And first taste.

Like any real relationship, we have our ups and downs.

The Ups:

• almost every flavor is incredibly delicious and inventive
• she adheres to the philosophy of locally- and seasonally-driven flavors
• everything, from the shops to her cookbook, are a delight visually and in experience
• there's always something new to try
• have you had her ice cream? even better, have you tried her sundae combinations? ooohhh...
• she's from Ohio. she loves Ohio. 

The Downs:

• there aren't any scoop shops in Dayton or Cincinnati where I live
• rarely there are flavors I don't quite enjoy. They're usually strongly floral and just too sweet for my preference
• I can't clear out enough room in my apartment freezer to fit in the ice cream machine's bowl...so I haven't used Jeni's cook book often enough!

A recycleable bowl with three different flavors.
Grapefruit frozen yogurt (pink)
Wheatgrass, pear, and vinho verde sorbet (green, partially eaten, oops)
Sweet corn and black raspberry puree (pale yellow and juicy deep purple)

Jeni, if I could, I would move into your kitchen and be yours for all time.  I may eat my weight in ice cream/frozen yogurt/sorbet, but I promise to be highly productive and friendly. And I will continue to spread the word about your amazing creations.

If you haven't heard of Jeni from various food media sources, here's her website and here is her blog, Salty Caramel. They ship nationally and several stores nationwide carry a limited selection of her magical ice cream.