Summer Stone Fruit Salad

Peachy-Keen
I have a thing for fruit trees. When we first moved into our house 12 years ago, we planted rootstock for 14 different fruit trees. I had this bucolic vision of walking through my orchard with my children, laughing and snacking while picking the seasonal fruit we found there. Life, water issues, and bad soil said hold my beer…

The orchard failed.

Two years ago, my wonderful children gave me a peach tree for my birthday. We planted it in the now vacant chicken area of our property. It goes without saying that the previous occupants helped make the soil much better on this part of “the farm”. We had peaches the first year—though they never matured. The tree was too young to support their growth. The second year was the same. This year was bonkers.

We had at least a bushel of softball-sized sweet peaches. It was glorious. I use the past tense here because they are now all gone. Some we ate right off the tree. Some were used in Saturday morning scones. Some were shared with appreciative friends and family. Others were quartered and put in the freezer. Many of these beauties found their way into evening salads. Sometimes we grilled them, sometimes we didn’t. You be you…

One of my favorite summer salads is a recipe for my Summer Stone Fruit Salad that I posted a while ago—it is still a good one. I have since updated things a bit.

Peaches are still going strong in the marketplace. So, give this updated version a go if you find yourself with some ripe sweet peaches.

Amy’s Summer Stone Fruit Salad
Adapted from Joanne Weir’s More Cooking in Wine Country
Yields 6 servings Read more…

Zucchini with Chickpeas and Peanuts

Lotsa Squash
If you have a zucchini plant in your backyard, chances are you are running out of ideas for how to use your bounty. In my house, we are partial to this Zucchini Bread recipe from The New York Times. It’s ridiculously good. The problem is we can’t go around eating nothing but cake—much to the disappointment of our inner ten-year-old.

There are plenty of non-baked good ways of using your zucchini. You could spiral it and use it like pasta, or you could pickle it for a new twist on a summer favorite. Mediterranean cuisine is an excellent place to look for zucchini recipes. Yotam Ottolenghi has some really tasty ideas in his collection of books and/or online.

I found the recipe for Zucchini with Chickpeas and Peanuts on The New York Times website. I can’t quite call it Mediterranean cuisine—though the flavors and ingredients would suggest that it is.

I have modified it to my own tastes in that I like a little bit more cumin and I felt it needed a little garlic. Also, the original called for Sumac. I prefer to use Za’atar which has Sumac in it as well as other warming spices.

Zucchini with Chickpeas and Peanuts Recipe
Yields 4 servings
Adapted from The New York Times Cooking
Read more…

Blueberry Mojito Popsicles

Cocktail On A Stick
I am not a big popsicle fan. I mean, I like them. I will eat them. But, I won’t seek them out the way the rest of my family does. However, there are some days in the summer when a popsicle hits just right. And, sometimes those popsicles are more than what they seem.

I like my drinks cold—arctic cold. Water, coffee, sodas, no matter what it is, if I am drinking it, there is a lot of ice. So, it makes sense that when I came across the cocktail popsicle, it was love at first sight.

The downside is that they don’t pack the same punch as a regular cocktail—mainly because you have to dial the booze back a bit to get them to freeze. Bonus, you can enjoy more than one without getting too sloppy!

There are a number of good possibilities out there. I like this recipe for Blueberry Mojito Popsicles ‘cause it’s pretty. But, an easy vodka lemonade is always a good idea. Play around with it a bit. A good rule of thumb is a 1:5 ratio of alcohol to juice, puree, or whatever mixture you’re using. Read more…

Classic Chocolate Mousse

It Mousse Be Love
When I was a kid, I would order chocolate mousse whenever it was an option on the dinner menu. I thought it was the height of sophistication until my eight-year-old eyes were opened to the wonder that is a well-caramelized crème brûlée.

Strangely, chocolate mousse is not a dessert option you see all that often anymore, at least not as a standalone. It is out there in the wild. But, you have to look for it. Sure, there are chocolate mousse cakes—but a single dish of chocolate mousse? Not really. And a Pot de Crème is not the same thing.

Perhaps it is time chocolate mousse made a comeback?

The hot summer months are a great time to give Classic Chocolate Mousse a try because all that is needed is a microwave and a hand mixer. No hot oven (or even stoves) is required. What is required is good quality chocolate. Not the stuff you eat in the afternoon that I like to refer to as rescue chocolate. Good quality baking chocolate like Guittard or Valhrona is key.

While I do like my chocolate mousse straight up, I will from time to time add flavor, like a little espresso or something boozy. Just be careful not to add too much or your chocolate will seize and become grainy and/or greasy.

Real legit chocolate mousse is rich and decadent. Real chocolate mousse is not melted chocolate combined with whipped cream. If you make it the right way, Classic Chocolate Mousse contains butter and eggs which give the mousse its silky fluffiness. Don’t be afraid of the fact that the eggs are not cooked. It’s not too different than the runny yolks of a fried egg. If you are concerned, just make sure that the eggs you use are pasteurized and you should be just fine.

Classic Chocolate Mousse Recipe
Yields 4 servings

Classic Chocolate Mousse is both rich and creamy, yet light and fluffy.
This is a classic chocolate mousse made French-style. It has less cream, an intense chocolate flavor, and a beautiful, creamy mouth feel.

Note that this recipe needs at least 5 hours in the fridge to set before serving. Read more…