Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

"It was my mother who taught me how to wander through the racks of the Belvedere-Tiburon library, and wander through a book, letting it take me where it would. She and my father took me to the library every week when I was little. One of her best friends was the librarian. They both taught me that if you insist on having a destination when you come into a library, you're shortchanging yourself. 

They read to live, the way they also went to the beach, or ate delicious food. Reading was like breathing fresh ocean air, or eating tomatoes from old man Grbac's garden. My parents, and librarians along the way, taught me about the space between words; about the margins, where so many juicy moments of life and spirit and friendship could be found. In a library, you can find small miracles and truth, and you might find something that will make you laugh so hard that you will get shushed, in the friendliest way. I have found sanctuaries in libraries my whole life, and there is sanctuary there now, from the war, from the storms of our families and our own minds. Libraries are like mountains or meadows or creeks: sacred space. So this afternoon, I'll walk to the library."

                                                                                 ~Anne Lamott 

What does any of this have to do with 
                                     strawberry ice cream? 

         





                              Nothing really......

         

                                                       

        

                                                          

                                                                   And everything.

                                             

                                    David Lebovitz is kind of a genius when it comes to ice cream. After trying and loving several of his recipes found online, I finally bought his book, The Perfect Scoop. It might just be my favorite summer read. ;)

Many ice cream recipes have you slaving over the stove for a bit, stirring the custard. (which honestly I feel is usually so worth it!) This one, however, is nothing more than letting the sugar and strawberries do their thing, giving the ingredients a swirl in the food processor, letting it get nice and chilled for an hour or so, and then churning away. 

Tart, sweet, ripe strawberry perfection & tangy sour cream.... Need I say more? 

The boys get very excited
when they see this guy come
down off the shelf...

Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream

Note: This ice cream tastes best soon after it's churned (think soft serve), unlike many ice cream recipes which suggest chilling churned ice cream in freezer to harden up a bit. Still, we had no problem finishing off the little bit that was left the next day. 

1 pound (450 g) fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled

3/4 cup (150 g) sugar 

1 tablespoon vodka or kirsch

1 cup (240 g) sour cream

1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Slice the strawberries and toss them in a bowl with the sugar and vodka or kirsch, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve. 

Go ahead and teach your littles
about the tiny miracle of maceration
and the beautiful things it does to berries.

Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring every so often. 

Pulse the strawberries and their liquid with the sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until almost smooth by still slightly chunky.

Refrigerate for 1 hour, then freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

    

{O H R U R M}

              (worm in my ear, song in my head...)

                                  Red Hands by Walk off the Earth

Cauliflower Tabouli

So I promise this tastes more exciting than it sounds. (I may have even licked the bowl the next day after finishing off the leftovers, I kid you not.) Refreshing and crunchy, and a breeze to throw together. The end result is far greater than the sum of its parts. Cauliflower, tomatoes, soy sauce, lemon, scallions, parsley and mint are all very happy together. This would be great as a side, or even as a light meal on its own. (Grilled chicken might be a nice addition?)

Sidenote: Grated cauliflower strongly resembles grated cheese. You will absentmindedly reach in to grab a handful to snack on, and it will be a confusing, healthy and slightly disappointing surprise. 

Cauliflower Tabouli

Grate 1 head cauliflower into grain-size pieces with a box grater. Toss with 2 diced plum tomatoes, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 chopped scallions, 1 bunch chopped parsley and 2 tablespoons chopped mint in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. 

Recipe Source: Food Network Magazine

{O H R W U R M}

                    (worm in my ear, song in my head...)

                                  Ohio by Patty Griffin

My Favorite Candy {a.k.a. Roasted Sugar Snap Peas}

Crispy sweet little pods, caramelized shallots and fresh thyme. I'm not exaggerating when I say that these taste like candy. Better even. Perfect spring/summer side or snack, and comes  together in a snap. (sorry.)

Roasted Sugar Snap Peas

1/2 lb. sugar snap peas
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon shallots
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
kosher salt to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

First, remove strings from sugar snap peas. Spread peas in a single layer on a baking sheet, and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with shallots, thyme and kosher salt. 

Bake 6 to 8 minutes in a preheated oven, until tender but firm. (I usually let them go a few minutes longer because we like them really caramelized)

recipe source: allrecipes.com

Baked Berry Oatmeal with Sea Salt & Walnuts

Any other oatmeal fanatics out there? We go through an insane amount of oats in this house. Cookies, pancakes, granola...even smoothies. We'll take it any way we can get it. For a couple years I have been using the same baked oatmeal recipe. I never had it written down; I just remembered the right words to google to find it each time. It had become so familiar, I even noticed when the lady changed her profile picture on the grouprecipes site where I found her oatmeal. I would totally give you the link to it, except for I'm about to bash it, and then give you a better one. See, I think I loved the idea of the baked oatmeal, rather than that specific recipe. Her version was peaches (which is always good), but I'd just use it as a base, switching out the peaches for any ripe fruit lying around. It occurred to me the last time I made it that I didn't LOVE the recipe. It was okay, but nothing special. A little too much sugar. Didn't bake up as golden as I would have liked. So I went on a hunt, and ended up finding a gem of a recipe. This is definitely my favorite way I've ever eaten oats, and from now on will be our go-to baked oatmeal. 

Her original recipe called for huckleberries (which I'd love to try eventually!) I used frozen blueberries, because that's what I had. Just use it as a base, and feel free to switch up the fruit based on what is in season/what you need to use up. Switch out the walnuts for pecans, almonds, etc.

Baked Berry Oatmeal 

with Sea Salt & Walnuts

Ingredients:
2 cups /7 oz/ 200 g rolled oats
1/2 cup / 2 oz/ 60 g walnut pieces, toasted and chopped
1/3 cup/ 2 oz/60 g natural cane sugar or pure maple syrup, plus more for serving (I used the natural cane sugar, loved it...the maple version also sounds divine)
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Scant 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 cups /475 ml milk (I used whole)
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch/1cm pieces
1 1/2 cups/ 6.5oz/ 185 g berries, fresh or frozen. (If frozen, don't thaw first...throw them in frozen)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with a rack in the top third of the oven. Generously butter the inside of an 8-inch/20 cm square baking dish.

In a bowl, mix together the oats, half the walnuts, the sugar (if using), the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup (if using), the milk, egg, half of the butter, and the vanilla.

Arrange the bananas in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle two-thirds of the berries over the top. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Gently give the baking dish a couple thwacks on the countertop to make sure the milk moves through the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and remaining walnuts across the top.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Drizzle the remaining melted butter on the top and serve. {Sprinkle with a bit more sugar or drizzle with maple syrup if you want it a bit sweeter.}

*My boys also like it with a bit of heavy cream drizzled on top.


recipe (slightly) adapted from:
http://www.cravebyrandomhouse.ca/2011/04/05/baked-oatmeal/


{ O H R W U R M }
                     (worm in my ear, song in my head...)
                         Winter's Come and Gone by Elizabeth Mitchell

Cucumber Yogurt Salad with Toasted Cumin Seeds

Do you do it too? The late night rummaging through the fridge...then to the pantry...then back to the fridge?You know, when you just need a little something. Guys, I had the cookies IN MY HAND, and I was like WHAT am I doing? This has to stop. (and my skinny jeans whooped and cheered and called out their approval from the corner of my closet.) I am embarassed to admit how many nights out of the week we eat popcorn, nachos, cookies, etc. right before bed. It's Joey's and my little ritual while watching Rick Steves on PBS. So basically we are just getting fatter, all the while coming down with a BAD case of wanderlust. ;)

I did a quick inventory of what we had in stock, consulted the nearest cookbook, and 10 minutes later (literally, maybe even less than 10 minutes), I was eating something that my body was REALLY craving, I just didn't know it. There's a big difference between quelling the beast and satisfying it. 

Honestly, I normally hate cucumbers. Pick them out of salads, sandwiches, wraps, etc. My family shares this opinion. We'd gotten some in our produce box last week and they were just hanging out in the crisper drawer waiting until I got chicken gyros with tzaziki on the menu, because for some reason, my cucumber-hating family can't get enough of that creamy sauce (I'll be sure to share that recipe too sooner than later!), even though cucumbers are it's main ingredient. So when I found this recipe, I had a sneaky suspicion I would love it as well, since it actually has a few of the same ingredients as the tzaziki sauce. I was right...This one's a keeper. 

Cucumber Yogurt Salad with Toasted Cumin Seeds

*NOTE: I only used 1 1/2 cups yogurt because that's all I had. It turned out SUPER creamy, so I don't know that I'd use the full 2 cups that are called for. I don't think you could go wrong either way... definitely not one of those recipes where you need to be fussy with exact amounts. Just throw it all together. I might add a bigger pinch of cayenne next time, and even more cumin seeds. 

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped (about a cup)

2 cups plain yogurt (I used plain Greek)

1 1/2 teaspoons toasted cumin seeds (to toast, throw whole cumin seeds in a skillet over medium heat for several minutes, tossing occasionally, until golden and fragrant)

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

pinch of cayenne pepper 

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Chill and serve.

She suggests serving it with spicy chickpeas and rice or Indian bread as a complete meal, or with chicken curry and mango chutney. These are all now on my "to-make" list!

Recipe Source: Mad Hungry by Lucinda Scala Quinn

Momofuko's Pulled Pork

This recipe will turn you and those in your home into a pack of wild animals. I'm not even joking. The mouthwatering aroma of rich, succulent meat slow-roasting all day and the first glimpse you catch of it after removing it from the oven, still sizzling, caramelized edges....Well, let me just tell you that the original recipe urges you literally to, after letting it rest for a half hour, "Savage the pork with two forks." I dare you not to do just that. 

If, however, you manage to leave all or most of it intact and uneaten long enough, there are countless ways to serve this...I love to shred it and mix it with a bit of lime juice, chili powder, black beans and cilantro and make burritos out of it. Barbeque pulled pork sandwiches are always a good idea. Last time I served it with a sweet balsamic glaze. (Let me know if you're interested, and I can get you that recipe!)..Pork nachos, pork pizza....the list could go on and on.

Oh and the great thing about this? It only calls for four ingredients, including the pork, and I am pretty confident you have all but the pork already in your kitchen. Coarse salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar. Tricky, I know. The key, though, is to remember to put the rub on it before you go to bed the night before so it can sit overnight. Nothing like barely drifting off to sleep when some strange instinct causes you to sit straight up in bed remembering you still have to get up close and personal with a big hunk of raw meat before you get to go to sleep. It'll all be worth it the next day.

Momofuko's Pulled Pork

A couple things to note: 

*Make sure to get boneless pork. I've also tried it with bone-in (as pictured), and while it was still delicious, it is definitely juicier and more tender with the boneless. 

*Also, if you are using a different brand of kosher, such as Morton, I would cut the amount of salt, as it is much saltier than the Diamond Crystal Kosher. Here's a conversion I found:   1 measure table salt 

            = 1/5 measure Morton's Kosher 

            = 2.0 measure Diamond kosher

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 pounds of BONELESS pork shoulder

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt per pound of pork

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar per pound of pork

black pepper (to taste)

Rub salt, sugar, and a bit of ground pepper onto the pork shoulder. Cover and refrigerate pork overnight. 

The next day, preheat oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Place seasoned pork into a roasting pan. (Cast iron skillet works great for this!) Toss it in the oven.

Roast for 6 hours. You can occasionally baste the pork with the rendered fat and juices after 3 hours, but I skip that part, as we really enjoy the crispy exterior it ends up with if left alone.

After 6 hours, take the pork from the oven and let it rest for a half hour or so. (Good luck with that.) Then...let out your barbaric side and, "savage with two forks." ;)

*Some additions/variations I read but haven't gotten around to trying:

     ~sub some or all brown sugar for regular

     ~add crushed red pepper flakes

     ~add to the salt/sugar rub 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons ground dark roast coffee and 1 tablespoon smoked paprida per 4 lbs. (This sounds fantastic...let me know if anyone tries this, or I'll let you know if I try it.)

Recipe Source: Yummy Supper blog, who got the recipe from Momofuko

Butter Roasted Carrots with Thyme & Ginger

. 

Some days, weeks, months I trudge through life as if I'm only half-awake to the world. Only able to see what's necessary to function, blind to the rest.

Other days I'm fully awake. Lately my eyes find beauty practically everywhere I look. The pile of shredded carrot peels in the sink. The junk drawer's mess of scribbled recipes, broken crayons and guitar picks. My son's squished-star-shaped birthmark on his belly. Three tiny pairs of muddy shoes by the back door. The fragrant, citrusy puff of mist that is released when the peeler first carves into an orange. The discovery of the first couple strands of gray in my husband's hair, reminding me that we will grow old together. Grubby little hands full of spring's first dandelions picked for their momma. The elderly man who jogs by our house most days, and later walks by slowly with his wife. The cinnamon eyes, wide with curiosity, of a little boy who is lost in the story of The Wind in the Willows, and the way he slowly floats away into dream-land, his eyelids getting heavy and finally descending, like a sheet to a bed in the making. The bud before the blossom, the dawn before the sunrise. Calloused fingertips...hers from music, his from daily toil...intertwining the strength of art and the art of strength. 

Today for a little while I stood in freezing cold rain, letting it soak me. I needed the discomfort - the cold - to remind me I am alive. Fully present in that moment. The seventy-two degrees and comfort we are faithfully striving to maintain gets old after awhile. Makes us feel numb. This life is made up of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain. I want to feel it all, taste it all. 

Don't get me wrong, I am incredibly thankful for the seventy-two degrees. For our comfort, our health. That's just it. I'm not sure what causes the periodic lapses back into ruts of complacency. 

Tired routines, ungrateful spirits, sleepy eyes that fail to see this abundance of beauty all around us, spelled out in infinite colors and sounds and textures and flavors. 

If carrots = 1 single note on the scale, carrots + ginger + thyme = a chord. Flavor harmony. 

Butter Roasted Carrots with Thyme & Ginger

1 bunch carrots, chopped or left whole

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

5 or so sprigs of fresh thyme

freshly grated ginger, to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Combine ingredients on a baking sheet. Bake for approximately 15 minutes if chopped, 30 minutes if whole.

Recipe Source: Honey & Jam blog

{o h r w u r m}
       (worm in my ear, song in my head....)

Honest Kids by Fine