Tart Cherry Frozen Yogurt

Gut Check

My sister is on a mission to convince the people in her sphere of influence to eat better, and to think about what we are putting in our bodies. Normally this would just affect her immediate family. Since we were all together up at Tahoe last week, her quest now includes my family. This is not a bad thing. My husband and I definitely need to make some changes in our diets—as do the kids, and paying attention to what exactly we are putting into our bodies is always a good idea.

The thing is, I hate diets. They are too restrictive and before you say “No kidding Genius. That’s the point.” I would like to say that It’s not the smaller amounts of food that get to me, rather I am not the kind of person who can eat the same thing over and over. That is what I mean by restrictive. I can eat more veggies. I have no problem swapping creamy mashed potatoes for the fiber of roasted sweet ones. (Okay it might be kinda painful.) I can even handle the occasional salad for lunch…if I must. I just require variety in my meals.

With that in mind, I have decided to make some of the changes that my sister is suggesting—minus the cleanse. No way is that happening. However, I’m doing it my way. More yogurt for gut health. (She’s all about the gut.) More veggies and fruits. Leaner meats, and way less red meat. Whole grains. Basically the obvious stuff. The key is that I am going to try to do it by eating the way people used to eat, and not buy the pre-packaged stuff. We’re going to eat REAL food.

It might be difficult at first, and certainly painful for me as the cook, but I think it will be a good thing all around. Once it becomes habit my kids will reach for a carrot rather than the crackers. I’ll let you know how it goes. School starts next week and I am sure there will be some discontent when the kids see their “new lunches”.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it has to all be bad, especially with the following recipe for Tart Cherry Frozen Yogurt adapted from Love and Lemons. If you make your own yogurt (which is incredibly easy by the way) so much the better…

Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries

A Trifle Sweet…

Over the weekend we had our latest Cookbook Club dinner, and it was tasty as usual. The chef of note was Tyler Florence, and while we found a number of good recipes, the consensus was that Tyler needs a better cookbook editor. Nearly all of our recipes left a lot of room for interpretation—a novice cook might have trouble following his instructions to get the desired result.

That said, we made some really great tasting dishes. I made one of the favorites, Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries. It is not only a great hot weather dessert, it looks beautiful in the glass bowl with it’s red, white and blue colors. This trifle screams to be a contribution to a 4th of July Potluck.

This recipe for Lemon Curd Trifle with Fresh Berries feeds a crowd, and utilizes the sweet and juicy summer berries that are at their peak right now. I opted for plain pound cake instead of lemon at the request of my daughter who likes lemon but not that much lemon.

One option is to do individual shortcakes if you don’t want to make a big dish. I think I will try that next time.

We had A lot left over…but breakfast the next morning was pretty good 🙂 Read more…

Perfect Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Living the Pie-Life
I believe my family needs to enter a 12 Step program. For the last two months we have been obsessed (Obsessed I tell you!) with strawberry-rhubarb pie. I’m not sure if our addiction has hit rock bottom yet… but the last time we finished a pie I left the kitchen for a minute, and when I came back I caught one of my boys licking the pie remnants from the pie plate—desperate for one last taste. He tried to deny it, but the tell-tale glob of strawberry goodness was still clinging to his face. We’re in pretty deep. (There may even be some hoarding going on…but you didn’t hear that from me.)

We generally don’t eat pie at all. Thanksgiving is the time when we remember that we like it, and indulge. This is one of those sad stories you hear about. It starts with a dime-jar of gateway compote from a friend, and before you know it you’re huddled around the oven impatiently waiting for the crust to brown and the filling to bubble as the timer slowly winds down.

I might understand it better if it were apple or pecan or some other normal pie. But there is something about strawberries and rhubarb that have cast us into our own whacked-out, flaky version of the Hunger Games.

There is no better marriage of ingredients in the culinary world than strawberries and rhubarb. Like Forrest and Jenny, they go together like peas and carrots. I have tried the two in pies, crisps, turnovers and strudels. All are fantastic.

Rhubarb season is in full swing and strawberry season is taking off. Now is the perfect time to start your own obsession…and may the odds be forever in your favor!
Read more…

Birthday Strawberry Pavlova

Birthday Week
This week is the busiest week of my year. On top of numerous Little League Baseball playoff games, I also have the following: Mother’s Day, the boys’ birthday on the 12th, my birthday on the 14th and finally my daughter’s birthday on the 17th. All of these things happen in a 7 day span. It’s kinda nuts.

When the boys were born ten years ago, I realized that the days of celebrating my own birthday were numbered. Two years after that, the birth of my daughter pretty much sealed the deal. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is more important for the kids to have their special day, and I try to go all out for them ’cause birthday gifts and birthday parties are two of the best things about being a kid.

I am actually okay with not having a big to-do for my birthday. Besides, I stopped counting birthdays after I reached 26. I still like to acknowledge it somehow, usually with a nice dinner or an awesome dessert.

As I celebrate turning 26 every year, I notice I tend to shy away from the usual birthday cakes. More and more I go for the lighter, fruitier types instead of the Death by Chocolate creations I used to love. For example, we all gathered at my sister’s place on Sunday to have a family party. The kids got red velvet cupcakes, and I got a fabulous white cake with a champagne strawberry filling. It was darn tasty and exactly what I wanted.

Speaking of what I wanted, my sister gave me a copy of the cookbook The Canal House Cooks Everyday, which I have been wanting for some time. It includes the recipe below—perfect for celebrating the big 2-6 next year!

P.S. Check out the Canal House Blog and especially sign up for The Canal House Cooks Lunch. Both are food porn at its finest. Read more…