Ice Pop Joy!

Many of my recipes come from trial and error (mostly error at this point!), favorite websites, and the occasional cookbook. The actual recipes usually come into play when I make difficult dishes where I need to follow multiple steps.

So, when I heard about Anni Daulter's book, Ice Pop Joy - a cookbook for popsicles - I was initially skeptical. My method of 1. get juice 2. pour juice in cups 3. freeze had been working so far and I couldn't imagine what I could actually gain from an actual book on making popsicles.

I was wrong.

Daulter's book is a combination of interesting information, stunning photography, and recipes that are a mix of the familiar and unique. I can safely say that I would have never come up with most of the creative popsicle recipes that Daulter shares.

Recipes range from bright and tropical fruit-infused pops to nutrient packed veggie or tofu ones. There are a bunch of chocolate based pops for those with a sweet tooth, and even herbal tea pops useful for soothing sore throats or grumbly tummies!

In addition to the recipes, Daulter includes a lot of interesting and useful information both on the ingredients used, "pop practicalities" (including info on the utensils/tools needed), and the importance of wholesome, healthy eating. There is also a section in the back for resources, in case you can't locate any of the ingredients in your area or want to splurge on some fun pop molds. 

We eagerly flipped through Ice Pop Joy, trying to figure out which recipe to try first. I had my heart set on the "Peace Pops," unable to resist the fruit/carrot combination, and my son chose the quinoa/blueberry pop, possibly drawn in by the gorgeous purple spiral of a pop in the accompanying photo.

While we didn't have any of the nifty popsicle molds Daulter uses, the Dixie cups and wooden popsicle sticks we did use, worked just as well. To show you just how easy these pops really are, I took some pictures when we whipped up a batch of Peace Pops.

Most of our ingredients. Local carrots, yay!

Ingredients are simple: Strawberries, mango, carrots, water & coconut sugar. I was able to find all of the ingredients at our local co-op, including the coconut sugar (which I was unsure about finding).

Carrots getting all steamy & soft

The recipe (like most in the book) calls for a blender, which we don't have. However, our hand blender made quick work of pureeing the fruit, steamed carrots, water & sugar all together without issue. Of course, before we tossed the mixture in cups to freeze, we had to taste it.

Delish!

In fact, the kiddo ended up drinking multiple cups of the Peace Pop mixture as well as the quinoa/blueberry one before they even made it to the freezer. He also exclaimed "I LOVE quinoa!" 

I do have to admit to being a bit wary of the quinoa pops. Never having had grains in my popsicles before, I couldn't quite fathom how it would work, but in the end the quinoa was blended in to the point where it just added a creamy texture and was mostly undetectable.

Yum!

While the pops didn't turn out as bright and colorful as in the book (possibly because I used "blonde" coconut sugar which looks like brown sugar) they were still incredibly tasty and eons better than my (not so) tried and true "freeze premade juice" method.

There are tons of recipes for all tastes, and we're already planning which ones to make next (I'm hoping for the white chocolate/peppermint "Happiness" pop while others might have their eye on the Pistachio Tofu Pop). 

Beyond my excitement for popsicles, I'm happy to share that I have a copy of Daulter's book up for grabs. If you would like to win a copy of Ice Pop Joy, please leave a comment below, telling me what *your* favorite popsicle treat is!

Fall Into Summer

So...that happened. You know, the part when I apparently took over two weeks off from this blog. I'm not quite sure what happened exactly. One huge part of it was that we didn't have potluck for two.whole.weeks.

My heart and belly hurt over that one.

But summer happens. Lazy days and busy weeks...trips, vacations, visitors. And so, sometimes, potluck doesn't happen. We make up for it by seeing the familiar faces during the week. At playdates, farmers markets and in town. And we make up for it by having delicious potlucks in the middle of August when the weather threatens Fall and you're just not ready for it.

Yesterday was grey and rainy and just plain gloomy. Potluck was a much needed event. We hosted and decided to make baked rice - my go to dish in soggy, chilly weather. This time we worked with what we had on hand.

I started by sauteing up some onion and carrots from the farmers market in a little bit of olive oil.

After they cooked for a bit, I added 1.5 cups of a brown/wild rice mix, a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (liquid and all), 2 cups of chicken stock, and a little salt and pepper. Once that came to a boil, I covered it and transferred it to the oven to bake for 40 minutes at 350*.

While it was baking, I prepped a few more ingredients.

I chopped up some dino kale from the garden and a few Italian seasoned veggie sausages. Normally I would use chicken sausage, but this is what we had on hand, and despite my reservations, they actually ended up being quite tasty and held up pretty well in the dish.

After 40 minutes, I added them to the dish, stirred it and let it bake for another 15 minutes.

Perfection.

Yeah. Potluck was rocking it out last night. In addition to the baked rice (in the lemongrass colored Le Crueset on the left) we enjoyed some homemade tomato soup, fresh bread, and a fabulous pine nut & parsley infused couscous salad. Dessert came in two forms...some Dean & Deluca cookies sent to me by a friend and a crazy.amazing.delicious macaroon/raspberry/pistachio tart. The meal was bittersweet as it reminded me of how amazing potluck can be, which makes me all the more sad to be missing it next week when we go camping in Cape Cod. But...Cape Cod. I think we'll be okay!

Also, stay tuned because I've been hard at work this month testing out all sorts of delicious new popsicle recipes featured in Anni Daulter's book, Ice Pop Joy. I'll be reviewing both the book and a few of the recipes. And perhaps there may even be a give-a-way...

Summer Salad

I love seasonal eating, and it's never easier than in the summer. It also helps when you have neighbors who are going away for a couple of weeks and need to clean your fridge...the combination can be quite tasty.

Mediterranean inspired salad:

-lettuce from the garden
-cherry tomatoes from the garden/farmers' market
-cukes (from the store, but the garden ones are coming along nicely!)
-olives & some amazing turkish farmer's cheese from the neighbors

Chop it all up and add a dressing made from balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil & a dash of salt & pepper.

It also helps when your fellow potluckers make a delicious meal that suits your salad perfectly.

A delicious cilantro infused slaw, savory bread pudding & roasted chicken. We had the requisite ice cream for dessert. Yum and Yum.

Sumptuous Summer

I love summer potlucks...

Firing up the grill.

The first taste of local corn.

The kids playing outside, running between the sandbox and the kiddie pool.

Okay, not that last one. I have a super visceral reaction to the thought of wet sand near food. But, after we hosed the kids off, they joined us at the picnic table for this amazing meal...

Hot dogs, corn, sesame kale, quinoa & zucchini salad & homemade pickles.

With the exception of the hot dogs, everything else included local ingredients. The pickles were made with local dill, cukes, turnips & beets, the quinoa had local zucchini and the kale (and broccoli leaves!) came right from our garden. The fruit salad at the end was the perfect dessert, followed by a handful of blueberries picked on Sunday.

The kids seemed to enjoy the meal as well.

As for the kale...that was our offering and couldn't have been any easier (as is my method during the summer). I picked a bunch of dino kale from the garden, and then snagged a few broccoli leaves as well, because...why not?

I steamed those up, and while they were cooking I toasted a handful of sesame seeds in a wok. I added some olive oil, minced garlic and a tablespoon or so of tamari and mixed in the kale. Delish.

Pesto Potluck

So...it's been a while.

Summer seems to have that effect. Between RV trips whisking us away and other summer happenings, it can be tricky to ensure that we keep our Monday nights going. Thankfully, last night we were back in full force, packing in our house with a lot of people and food!

When it came time to decide what we were going to whip up, it was really a no brainer. Our garden has been overflowing with basil lately, so we went with our go-to dish...pesto pasta.

The garden. Overflowing with basil *and* weeds. We'll get right on that.

Everyone seems to have their own version of pesto that they love, and to be honest, ours changes on any given day. There's no real measuring going on, and I even change up the ingredients from time to time. Here's what we did this week.

1. Pick a bunch of basil.

About that much.

2. Clean it up.

3. Toast some pine nuts in a skillet for a couple of minutes. (I probably used 1/4 cup or so of pine nuts).

4. Blend together: basil, pine nuts, salt, pepper, one minced cloves of garlic, and some olive oil (1/2-3/4 cup? I start with a little and add more as needed). I use a hand blender, but a food processor or regular blender will work just as well.

5. Add to cooked pasta.

6. Serve to friends and eat alongside their awesome food.

The pesto pasta went perfectly with chips & green salsa, greens/cheese fritatta, fresh garden salad, potato salad & a yummy peach/rhubarb cobbler for dessert!

Golden Like the Summer Sun

It's no small secret around these parts that I dream of having my own backyard chickens. The sad fact remains that we don't actually have a backyard, hence...no chickens. However, we do have friends with backyard, chickens and consequently...eggs!

I was told the breeds of the various chickens that created these eggs & promptly forgot as I ooh-ed & ah-ed over them. doh.

Over the weekend we received 2 dozen of these backyard fresh eggs, and I have to say, there's a real difference.

A hard boiled egg was demanded immediately upon receiving the eggs. Done and done.

They taste fresher and the yolks are this amazing, fabulous golden orangey-yellow color, bursting with flavor.

When potluck arrived Monday, I knew I would be using these eggs in some capacity, but had yet to make a decision as to exactly what. Would I devil them? Boil and chop them into salad? Souffle them? Then, my Joy Of Cooking calender told me exactly what to do...

Frittata!

Easy peasy, able to change up the flavorings in a pinch and a total crowd pleaser. I quickly scanned the garden and came up with the two different types I would make.

The first was a tomato, basil, mozzarella frittata. The basil came straight from the garden, but sadly, our tomatoes aren't quite ripe yet, but we always have a container of grape tomatoes around. The "recipe" is simple really...for this one I beat 7 eggs, added a splash of milk, salt, pepper and handfuls of chopped tomato, basil & shredded mozzarella. I oiled up an oven safe skillet, poured the egg mixture in, stirring it around for a bit before it started firming up. Then, once the bottom is mostly cooked (and it's runny on the top), I popped it into a 350* oven until cooked through (10 minutes or so). 

Yum, yum, and more yum.

 The 2nd frittata was a total experiment that turned out really well.

We used chopped garlic, local goat's milk feta cheese, and broccoli leaves! I had wanted to use kale, but the kale in our garden is not quite fully grown. While the actual broccoli is only partially grown, the leaves of our plants looked full and lovely, so I thought "why not?" and I'm so glad I did. Cooked, they tasted just like collard greens and went perfectly in this frittata. I sauteed the garlic 1st before adding the egg mixture.

nom.

The frittata worked perfectly with green salad, soba noodles & tofu (not pictures) and pesto pasta with peas. The perfect meal for a pre-Solstice potluck!

Happy Summer Solstice, everyone!!

Birthday Bash

I absolutely love when we celebrate a birthday at potluck. The food always tastes *that* much better and you know there's going to be a fabulous dessert. This past Monday did not disappoint in either regard.

We celebrated Rio turning 4 with delicious food and the creamiest birthday cheesecake ever.

In addition to the fresh pita, homemade hummus & spicy pickles that we brought, we dined (al fresco, yay spring!) on some cheesy rice/lentil casserole, quinoa salad, cabbage salad and spaghetti & meatballs.

Afterward, with party hats in place, we wished Rio a happy birthday before tucking in to the chocolate and strawberry covered perfection that was the cheesecake!

Holyland Hummus

This past weekend we were in NYC, and since we were staying in the East Village, we had to make a stop at the Holyland Market on St. Marks Place. They not only make the freshest pita, but they also have Israeli brands of tahina and pickles that I love. (They also sell pickles from a kibbutz where some of my family lives!)

When it came time to prepare something for potluck, it was a no brainer. I grabbed some chickpeas and whipped up some homemade hummus. If you've never made hummus before, stop what you're doing and try it now - it's easy and well worth it.

Tahina(sesame paste), chickpeas, lemon, garlic & olive oil

All measurements are approximates and will vary based on your own tastes. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, reserving a little bit of liquid for the hummus. Mince one clove of garlic and place in food processor. Add chickpeas, 1-2 tablespoons of tahina, juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and some salt & pepper.

 

Then - puree! As it blends, add some of the reserved chickpea liquid until the consistency is to your liking.

I ended up making this into hummus masabacha. I took a cup of whole chickpeas and mixed them with the other half of the lemon juice, some cumin and salt and then topped the hummus with them. Drizzle some more olive oil and sprinkle some paprika over it and you're good to go. I personally enjoy eating hummus masabacha slightly warmed, but room temperature will do in a pinch.

Holy yum.

It seemed like a hit at potluck and went well with the rest of the festive food (we celebrated a birthday! More food pictures/details to come...)

Jammin'

Sunday was the first day of the PYO strawberry season around here and we just couldn't resist. We spent the morning filling quarts with juicy, ruby red berries while we plotted what to do with them.

Talk of pie, turnovers and sorbet occurred, but we kept coming back to: jam. While I've made fridge/freezer jam before, I've never actually made canned jam, and I was eager to try. I was also a little nervous. While canning is amazing stuff, it's also intimidating...making sure you do everything properly so you can correctly and everything preserves. I figured jam was an easy place to start (who knows...are pickles next?!)

And you know what? It was. So much so that I can see myself making another batch of strawberry jam and probably some blueberry as well. And who knows...perhaps some jelly is in our future as well.

The process was pretty simple. (but, it helped I had a second pair of hands to help in the form of my friend Hannah)

I destemmed and hulled about 2.5 quarts of freshly picked strawberries. We then mashed them (with a potato masher) to the consistency we wanted (still a bit chunky!).

After adding a packet of pectin (we went with the "no sugar needed" kind), cup of apple juice and a few squeezes of lemon juice we brought the mixture to a rapid boil, stirring the whole time.

While the strawberries were cooking, we prepped the jars, steeping the lids and jars in warm water so they wouldn't cracked once we added the jam.

Prepping the jars

After adding about 1/2 cup of sugar to the strawberry mixture, we stirred and cooked for another few minutes. I shut the mixture off and got to working prepping the jars. I already had a huge pot of water boiling away on another burner, reading to process the jams.

I filled each jar almost all the way to the top, leaving about a 1/4" of space. I carefully placed the lid and then twisted on the band. I gently dropped the filled jars into the pot of boiling water. Once all jars were in, I added a bit more water so it covered the jars by 1-2" and brought it back to a steady boil.

Jam filled jars ready to be processed.

Covering the pot, I let it go for 12 minutes. Once done, I shut off the water, let it cool down and then placed the jars on a towel to finishing setting.

I was happy to see that all but one sealed properly, and one more dip in the boiling water bath with a second batch of jams solved that problem easily. In the end we had 10 jars of jam, ready to sit up on our shelves (or to be consummed asap, which is the more likely scenario!).

 

Upon first taste, I've decided that the consistency is more like a really thick topping rather than a fully firm jam, but I think it's because we used too many strawberries. It still tastes absolutely phenomenal and works perfectly on toast and drizzled over ice cream, so overall, I'd call my first experiment with canning a success!

Buggy, yet Blissful

It was the perfect day yesterday.

 

It was everything Spring should be: warm but breezy and filled with backyard potlucks. The food was perfect, the weather was perfect, the bugs were...not perfect. But, c'est la vie when you live in Western Mass and the weather has alternated between tons of rain and heat. We slathered on the neem infused bug repellent and hoped for the best. (The best included waking up with a few red bumps, but what can you do. It was worth it).

We made some pasta salad with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil from our garden. It went perfectly with savory mushroom bread pudding, coconut rice/avocado burritos, curried deviled eggs and sauteed greens.

Picnic perfection

We topped the meal off with homemade strawberry lime sorbet (recipe below) made with strawberries we picked this past weekend (more on that later this week).

I kind of winged it with the strawberry sorbet, but it came out perfectly (I figured that it's pretty hard to mess up sorbet, but this ended up being insanely awesome, and I'll be making another batch tomorrow. yum).

Hull/chop a quart and a 1/2 of strawberries and mix with 1/2 cup of sugar. Fridge for about an hour or 2, stirring occasionally. Zest one lime into the bowl of strawberries and add the juice of said lime. Blend/puree the strawberry mixture till smooth. (I used our hand blender and it was easy peasy and little mess). Then put in ice cream maker and follow the directions for sorbet. I use a Kitchen Aid mixer ice cream attachment and churned it for about 20 minutes before putting it into a container and into the freezer for a few hours before serving. Dee-lish.

Peanut Noodles

We had plans. Big plans. Visions of grilling fish and local asparagus. I may have even planned a mango relish to sit atop the planned grilled fish.

And then...

Tornado.

Actually...what changed our plans was the storm before the storm. The golf ball sized hail that pelted the tin roof of the food co-op we were shopping at clued us in to the fact that grilling was not in our future. The torrential downpour and eventual tornadoes that touched down only miles south of us confirmed the fact.

We switched our plans and instead decided on a quick meal of peanuty noodles. Something we could take with us into the basement if, heaven forbid, we had to make our way there.

It was simple, quick, and both belly and soul satisfying which helped somewhat as we watched via the TV what was happening to our neighboring towns.

No real recipe this time...just approximates (I wasn't really measuring).

The sauce:

I used a hand mixer and blended some smooth peanut butter (prob about 1/4 cup), soy sauce, warm water, 1 clove chopped garlic, some sesame oil, rice vinegar and honey.

I also boiled some soba noodles and assembled the add-ins.

Snap peas, chili pepper flakes, chopped cucumbers, sliced scallions, sesame seeds and shaved carrots all made their way into our bowls (how much of each depended on who's bowl it was). 

My bowl.

Mellow Memorial Day

After a weekend filled with friends, plays, tag sales and more, we decided to have a mellow Memorial Day which translated to no potluck this week. But I'm sure we'll be back, raring to go next Monday!

However, just because we didn't have potluck doesn't mean we didn't eat. We relaxed outside and grilled up some delicious food. The grill has been getting a good workout lately since it's been way too hot to even think about turning the oven on.

Of course, as we grilled, we needed to snack...

Chips, guacamole and my go to drink as of late: an Arnold Palmer

For dinner, we went with a few of our favorites: steak, veggies and corn.

Getting our grill on

 

Steak, mushrooms, peppers, onions

For the corn, I wanted to do a little something different and slathered it in some mayo, topped with a few sprinkles of chili powder. SO good!

Dessert was in the form of juicy watermelon. Our quiet, outdoor evening was the perfect end to a boisterous, fun-filled weekend, but I'm certainly already looking forward to next Monday with friends.

Potluck Through Pictures

From this past Monday...

Nothing quite says "Summer's on its way" like gin & tonic

Salad with the best.dressing.ever. Saffron rice, chana masala, sweet potato pie.

Dessert = strawberry/rhubarb crumble

Is it next Monday yet?