Category Archives: fruit

strawberry bruschetta

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Sick of strawberries yet?

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No?  Good.  Neither am I.

Continuing on with my strawberry obsession, I finally had to cave and give strawberry bruschetta a try.  The mix of sweet strawberries and fresh basil make this a sweet-savory snack that is hard to resist.  I added a drizzle of balsamic glaze to bump up the sweetness a bit, and even a smear of mascarpone which really made it about as close to perfect as it could get.  I mean, we already know that strawberries and mascarpone make a good team.

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I’ve also seen recipes that call for a smear of goat cheese, which would give it a nice tang to contrast the sweet strawberries, but that’s not really what I was looking for (goat cheese is not my favorite cheese).  If you’re really into goat cheese, go ahead and give it a shot, but I personally love the flavor of this with creamy mascarpone.

Strawberry Bruschetta

Printable Recipe

  • 1 baguette
  • 1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled, and diced
  • 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 Tablespoon minced fresh basil
  • 2 – 4 ounces mascarpone or goat cheese (optional)
  • Balsamic glaze, for drizzling

1.  Mix strawberries, 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar, lemon zest, and basil in a medium bowl.  Toss to combine and set aside.

2.  Slice baguette into 1/4-inch thick slices.  Toast under the broiler until lightly golden on each side.

3.  Spread desired amount of cheese onto each slice of toasted baguette, and top with strawberry mixture.  Drizzle each slice with balsamic glaze.  Eat and enjoy.

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thursday things

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strawberry shortcake ice cream 9834  strawberry tart 1  strawberry cookie 9886

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got strawberry fever.  Not to let the cat out of the bag or anything, but it’s not over yet… If you too are suffering from this affliction, here are a few more recipes you can check out …

roasted strawberry buttermilk ice cream drumsticks   strawberry cupcakes

strawberry bread 2943 strawberry buttermilk cake strawberry galette

It’s almost Friday!  I don’t know about you, but I personally can’t wait for this week to be over… Not just because it’s a holiday weekend either!  Although, working in travel, holiday weekends make for busy weeks because apparently everybody thinks they can wait until the last minute to make a reservation… here’s a tip for all of you out there -

BOOK IN ADVANCE! FAR FAR IN ADVANCE! ALL THE TIME!

That’s my PSA for this week.

Luckily there are things like this to keep me goin’ …

Like this video of a cat eating ice cream… for some reason it amused me to no end, which led to a further internet search of cats eating ice cream, which ended (as far too many searches do) on Buzzfeed.

Nothing too exciting going on in my kitchen (totally almost wrote “catchen”… cats on the brain!)  I did make this super tasty pasta, which may resurface as a real “recipe” in the future, but it’s so easy and tasty I thought I’d give you a breakdown of it in case you’re in a pasta-y mood

Basically just cooked some penne in some salted water, then in another pan I heated some sun-dried tomatoes (with their own oil) along with a glove of garlic until heated and extremely fragrant, then I added some chopped leftover grilled chicken breast, just until heated through, then I added the cooked pasta and a scoop of pasta cooking water and let that cook, tossing, until it formed a nice sauce.  Sprinkled some feta cheese and fresh cut basil on top and voila- dinner! Then I drizzled some balsamic glaze (or a sweeter-aged balsamic would do the trick).  I know it’s a good one when the BF seems surprised at what he is eating lol.  He took a bite, “MMM! This is good!”.

It’s Arizona Restaurant Week and the BF and I tried out Searsucker last weekend.  The food was pretty tasty, but I was bummed that the menu listed on the ARW site didn’t match the one they actually had in the restaurant. *tear

I wrote up a tiny bit of a “review” (more of a pros/cons type deal) which, if you’re interested in trying the restaurant at some point in time (There is one in San Diego & one in Austin, TX) you can check it out.

You may remember for Restaurant Week last year we went to BLT Steak for the first time…. and have gone back about 5 times since then because it was SO GOOD.  I even made their popover recipe!

In non-food-news….

Also, I may be alone in this, but I CAN’T WAIT for the return of Arrested Development.  Do you watch?  If not, you should.  All the old episodes are on Netflix just waiting for you.

Even though all of the episodes for the new season will be available at once, I think I will pace myself and draw it out over a few weeks.  Really give myself time to savor it, ya know? ;)  Plus, now that I have no more of The Following or The Americans to watch, I really need to pace myself on the few shows that I have left.

Sorry that this particular Thursday Things was extra scatterbrained, my original Thursday Things was eaten by the internet, so there almost was no Thursday Things!  But I managed to pull through :)

strawberry mascarpone tart

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strawberry tart 1

Things that are difficult to take pictures of: ice cream, anything shiny, and this strawberry tart.

I almost didn’t post the recipe because I didn’t have any pictures that I deemed worthy, but instead I just settled on this picture, taken with the BF’s iPad.

Why?  Because this recipe needs to be shared, people.  It’s so easy, and so refreshing, and so… perfect.  It’s light, refreshing, and the right amount of sweet.

The kid in me prefers a Nilla Wafer crust, but you could use a regular pie crust all the same, just baked according to its own directions.  You could even use one of those store-bought graham crusts if you were extra short on time, I’m sure it would still taste great!

Strawberry Mascarpone Tart

Makes 1 8- or 9- inch tart

Printable Recipe

For the Crust

•             2 2/3 cups vanilla wafer cookies

•             1 tbsp sugar

•             1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

•             4 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

•             1 egg, whisked with 1 Tablespoon water

For the Filling

•             2 lbs strawberries, stemmed and sliced or quartered

•             1/2 cup white sugar

•             1 Tablespoon lemon zest

•             1 teaspoon lemon juice

•             8 ounces mascarpone cheese

•             4 ounces whipped cream

•             1/2 teaspoon vanilla

•             1/3 cup powdered sugar

•             1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Make the crust

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Crush wafer cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs.  Add melted butter and vanilla extract and continue processing until blended.  Dump into pie or tart pan and press firmly into bottoms and sides (I find using the bottom/sides of a glass to help press makes a big difference).
  2. Brush bottom of crust with whisked egg and bake for 10 minutes until golden brown; cool completely (up to overnight) before filling.

Make the filling

  1. Toss the strawberries with half of the zest, all of the juice, and sugar in a large bowl; set aside for 30 minutes.
  2. While the strawberries are macerating, mix the mascarpone cheese with lemon zest, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until well combined.  Gently fold in the whipped cream; refrigerate until needed.
  3. After 30 minutes, strain juice from strawberries into a small saucepan.  Add the balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil of medium heat.  Reduce until thick enough to cover the back of a spoon, it should be like a syrup.  Set aside to cool.

Assemble the tart

  1.  Spread the mascarpone mixture over the bottom of the tart shell, top with strawberries (sometimes I arrange them fancily, other times I just dump them on top and spread them out, whatever your preference and energy levels call for that day), brush with balsamic syrup and chill until ready to serve.

 

[ Adapted from Simply Recipes ]

 

 

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strawberry and cream cookies

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strawberry cookie 9878

So, clearly I’ve been on a bit of a strawberry kick lately.  I made my strawberry shortcake ice cream, this strawberry tart (recipe yet to come) for mother’s day, and these glorious things: strawberries and cream cookies.

Yes, they are as magical as they sound.

strawberry cookie 9882

These soft, pillowy cookies are filled with dried strawberries and white chocolate chips, these are guaranteed to please.  I’m not normally big on white chocolate, but I forgot to check for yogurt chips at the store, which would work just as well.  The white chocolate chips lend more of a “cream” flavor to these cookies though, and I promise that you won’t be disappointed.

The only thing that I regret is not putting more strawberries in, but unfortunately I lost more than anticipated in my, ahem, “quality control” phase.  I also would leave the strawberry chunks larger for the next batch.  I have rectified the issue of the missing strawberries in the recipe below, which should have enough strawberries to satisfy even the biggest of cravings.

I found my dried strawberries at Trader Joes.  You will need at least two bags, one for the cookies and one for yourself.

strawberry cookie 9886

Strawberry & Cream Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen small cookies

Printable Recipe

  • ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

  • ¾ cup brown sugar

  • ¼ cup sugar

  • 1 large egg, room temperature

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • ¾ to 1 cup dried strawberries*, chopped

  • ½ cup white chocolate or yogurt chips

Make the dough:

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt.

2.  In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth.  Scrape down the bowl and add the white and brown sugars, cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed.  Add the egg and vanilla to the butter and beat until combined.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and continue beating about one minute more.

down the sides as needed..

3.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and pulse on low just until incorporated, being careful not to overmix.  Stir in chopped strawberries* and white chocolate chips.

*You could also reserve some of the chopped strawberries to press into the cookie tops once scooped to ensure even distribution.

4. 2 options here:

- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap onto the surface of the dough, and chill for 1 – 2 hours.  Scoop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and bake following directions below.

- Scoop cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet that will fit into your freezer, gently flatten the tops of the cookies and cover with plastic wrap.  Freeze for 1 to 2 hours and either bake (on a new, room-temperature, parchment-lined baking sheet) according to directions below or transfer to a freezer-safe bag for longer storage.

To bake:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.

2.  Bake chilled cookie dough 8 minutes (refrigerated) to 11 minutes (frozen), until the cookies are puffed and the edges are just golden.

3.  Remove from oven and let cookies cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

*Baked cookies can be stored up to 10 days in an airtight container.

 

[ Cookie base recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction ]

 

 

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green juice

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green juice 1

After a weekend spent at the brim of uncomfortable fullness, the last thing I can think about today is the last piece of birthday cake sitting in the refrigerator.  Actually, it’s one of the only things I can think about, but I can’t imagine eating it.  Not even one bite.

The last thing I need in my life right now is another piece of cake.

My body is craving one thing: green.

I know, you totally think I’m crazy, but I promise you I’m not.  Not completely, at least.

green juice 2

So, before you turn your nose up at the thought of a green juice, listen to this.  This is not bitter, or sour, or savory, nor does it taste like “green” (think: wheatgrass. yuck!)

This juice does not taste like green.  There is a tiny bit of pineapple in there, and that’s the magical ingredient with juice.  Whatever you are putting in your juice, I promise that if you put just like a cup of pineapple in there it will magically taste like fruity deliciousness.

True story.

I’m not an organic food snob, but when it comes to juicing I use organic whenever possible.  I don’t chop my fruit or veggies (unless they don’t fit into the opening in my juicer).  If you don’t have a juicer, I have also included directions for making the juice in your blender.

This isn’t baking, so you don’t need to be exact, and while I don’t think I’ve made this “recipe” the same way twice (for example, I’m out of spinach so yesterday I used only kale), it’s kinda a franken-juice from all of the green juice recipes I’ve perused online…  it goes a little something like this…

Green Juice

Makes about 16 ounces* of juice

*Your actual yield will vary depending on how juicy your produce is

Printable Recipe

  • 1 to 2 handfuls baby spinach (about 2 cups loosely packed)
  • 1 to 2 handfuls chopped tuscan kale ( 2 – 3 kale leaves, stems removed)
  • 2 stalks celery (Sometimes I leave the celery out if it smells salty.  That’s totally a thing.  Remember that thing I said about how I’m not crazy?)
  • 1/2 english cucumber
  • 3 medium (3-inch) green apples
  • 1/2 to 1 cup pineapple (about 1/4 to 1/3 of a pineapple, cored with skin removed)
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

 

Since I’m not peeling them, I start with fresh, organic produce, wash it thoroughly, and cut it just so it’s small enough to fit into the mouth of my juicer.

Add ingredients to juicer in order listed.  Done! (That was easy right?)

If you’re using a blender instead of a juicer, go ahead and chop everything into roughly equal-sized pieces.  Add about a half of water to the ingredients (just enough to get everything moving around in there, add more if needed)  in your blender and whirring away until completely blended.  From there you can drink it as a smoothie, or strain out the solids and enjoy it as a juice.

 *A lot of green juice recipes tell you to use parsley, it has magical cleansing and anti-inflammatory properties.  I, however, despise the taste of parsley with the strength of 1,000 suns.  Don’t ask why, I just do.  And even though I’m sure a couple of sprigs wouldn’t kill me, for the sake of flavor (re: delicious vs herby), I left it out.  Feel free to add some if you like, it’s up to you.