June 29, 2015

Healthier Blueberry Crisp (+ Fermented Blueberries)

Healthier Blueberry Crisp

Bluebs! …as my friend endearingly calls them. It’s blueberry season, and since I’m now hooked on fermenting fruit– check out this post on how I fermented strawberries — I had to try it with blueberries! The turned out even better than the strawbs! I also came across an incredibly simple, quick, and healthier version of a blueberry crisp that I’m excited to share. I brought it to a BBQ and folks loved it! It’s adapted from pinch of yum, and also happens to be gluten-free and vegan. With 4th of July just around the corner, both of these would be wonderful to share at picnics or grill-outs!

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June 3, 2015

Skillet Shortcake with Fermented Strawberries (plus Kraut Source Review)

Skillet Shortcake with Fermented Strawberries

I am so pumped about this post! I did something ya’ll. I tried something new. Some might think it’s slightly coo-coo. But it’s not. It’s a thing…a big thing…a real game changer! I fermented fruit! And I used some new equipment to help me…which made my (fermentation) life WAY easier!

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January 22, 2015

DIY Flavored Coconut Butters – Sweet and Savory

Easy. Delicious. Nutritious. Affordable. Skip those $10 – $15 jars of expensive coconut butter and DIY it! I bought a 5-pound bag of organic unsweetened shredded coconut for $13 and made my own jar of coconut butter for about 60 cents! It’s easy and you can add all kinds of flavorings to suit your condiment needs. I made a Vanilla Cinnamon version and a Yellow Curry version. Sweet. Savory.

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March 19, 2014

Homemade Ricotta Cheese and Ricotta-mole

There’s something incredibly satisfying about making your own cheese. It feels a little Laura Ingalls Wilder. Sorta like you’re accomplishing something you thought could only be done on some far-away farm surrounded by grazing sheep, arcadian meadows, and rickety wooden fences…or in a cheese-making factory. But it doesn’t. And it’s really simple.

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March 11, 2014

Irish Stout Floats

Although there isn’t a drop of Irish blood in my family tree, without fail every March 17th my mom would cook up a HUGE batch of corned beef and cabbage…I say huge because I’ve got 6 brothers and sisters, so 9 of us all together–we’re pretty much our own baseball team. We all devoured it, dressed in as much green as we could possibly find to cover us head to toe. And woe betide the sibling who forgot…our pinchers were at the ready, and we weren’t a gentle bunch!

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January 13, 2014

Homemade Sour Cream

Do you ever end up with half-used containers of heavy cream or buttermilk loitering about in your fridge? You don’t want to throw them out, but they’re quickly approaching the expiration date and they’re taking up precious real estate on that crammed top shelf. Dang, where am I gonna put this gallon of milk or third jar of pickles I just opened? It’s time to combine the two and make the best-tasting, ultra creamy, delightfully luscious sour cream! And it’s riDONKulouly easy!

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May 29, 2013

Homemade Strawberry-Rhubarb Vodka

Rhubarb is one of those foods I’ve always been leery of. It kinda looks like celery, but people make pie out of it…huh? Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? Are you really supposed to eat it? Or is it just one of those foods that people “back in the day” happened upon, were hungry, and had to figure out a way to make it edible. To me, rhubarb is one of those weird ingredients my grandma used, mostly in pies or crisps. But is it really necessary these days? We have so much other incredible fruit available that rhubarb seems a bit…um, old school. Plus, it’s so tart and sour you have to add a butt-load of sugar just to make it palatable (yes, “butt-load” is a technical term in my kitchen).

Nonetheless, as suspicious as I am of these odd, pale green and blush pink stalks, my culinary curiosity gets the best of me. It’s in season and starting to pop up at farmers markets and through my CSA. So, what can I make with this stuff that ISN’T pie? When in doubt, add booze! I’ve made several flavored vodkas (cucumber, peach, hot pepper) and figured that was the perfect vehicle for this peculiar, in-your-face-flavored perennial…and it’s so darn simple, plus it makes a really cool gift! Here’s the gist: wash fruit or veggies, chop, add to jar, pour in vodka, let sit for a week, strain, get drunk…I mean, enjoy!

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