Strawberry-Cucumber Salsa

It's almost Friday! Woohoo!

I have to work on Saturday, so I still have 2 more days to go, as opposed to most of you who just have 1, but that's fine with me!  A weekend is a weekend. 

I've discovered a new route to work, which involves taking the scenic route downtown, but it avoids the congested highway and gets me to work on time - without me having to leave any earlier than normal.  So score one for me!

I know this is late in the season, fresh strawberries are hard to come by - but that doesn't necessarily stop me from making this.  It's a great condiment for tacos or fish, and even better as a replacement for tomato-based salsa as a dip for tortilla chips!  I've been in a real dippy mood the past couple of days, haven't I?  Sorry, can't help it!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Perry's Plate's recipe

10 strawberries, diced
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 scallion, thinly sliced
small handful of cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

In a medium bowl, combine strawberries, cucumber, scallion, cilantro, and jalapeno.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve with tortilla chips or as a topping for fish or tacos!

Well, I'm off to enjoy a nice bowl of some carrot-ginger soup and some of Andy's famous grilled cheese!  Have a great night guys!

Strawberry Yogurt Parfait

 

Sometimes I wish I could make more time for breakfast.  It's one of the meals I happen to "skip" over.  I'm just not hungry in the morning - and by the time I am, it's already time for lunch.

But a few weeks ago, when strawberries were still in full swing, I couldn't help but make these parfaits over and over and over.  I wish I had decided to take pictures of them when we had an abundance of strawberries, but I got around to it when we only had a few (so the layers aren't as pronounced - but it was delicious, nonetheless!).

I just might have to switch over to blueberries since they're the fruit of choice in our CSA right now.  Feel free to improvise with whatever fruits and yogurts you have on hand!



And don't forget to vote in the treat poll - I need something to make for the 4th of July!  There's a little bit of everything, and no matter what gets picked, I'll try to give it a 4th of July twist!



Ingredients:

1 cup strawberry-flavored yogurt (I used Stonyfield Organic Strawberry)
1 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 tablespoon sugar
2 strawberry-flavored Nutri-Grain Bars, chopped

In a small bowl, combine the strawberries and sugar.  Let sit for 10 minutes.

In a mason jar (or bowl/cup/container) spoon about 1/3 of the yogurt for the base of the parfait.

Add your chopped strawberries.  Top with another 1/3 of yogurt.

Add chopped Nutri-Grain bar pieces (you could also sub in some granola here, but I had the bars, so that's what I used).  Top with remaining yogurt.

And you've got breakfast in about 10 minutes!  I couldn't stop eating this - I was definitely sad when strawberry season slowed down.  But like I said, I just may have to switch up the flavors and try this with the blueberries!

What's your favorite way to use yogurt and fruit?

Hope you all have a fantastic 4th of July weekend!

Strawberry Shortcake

Happy Monday guys!  How was everyone's weekend?!

Well, mine was... lucky!  I went to the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and ended up winning around $40.  My strategy?  Betting on food-related horses!  Worked on 2 out of the 3 races that I bet on.  Besides a sun-burnt face, we had a pretty good time!  We went to a Derby party on Saturday (of which I brought Derby Pie fudge - which was a hit! - recipe soon to come) and just got to see some friends we haven't seen in a while.   We did a Kentucky Derby pool and I won that too!  Another $45 in my pocket!  So needless to say, I'm feelin' like a lucky girl, right now!

Anyway, let's talk Shortcake.  Growing up, my family's version of a Strawberry Shortcake was cutting up some strawberries and putting them in one of those bowl-shaped Angel Food Cake things they sell at the grocery and topping it with some Cool Whip.  You guys know what I'm talking about right? 

I mean, don't get me wrong, it was good, and one of my favorite treats as a kid.  But looking at one of those packages of Angel Food Cake "things" (I say things because I haven't the slightest idea what they're actually called - if you do, feel free to let me know!) now, I see that it's just loaded with sugar and ingredients I can't even pretend that I know how to pronounce!  I never knew what a proper strawberry shortcake was like.  You know... with some actual shortcake (or as I like to think of it - a sweetened biscuit)

Ingredients:

Shortcake:

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg
1/3 cup milk, plus extra for brushing
1/2 vanilla bean

Strawberries:

5 to 10 large strawberries, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon sugar


Whipped Cream:

1 cup Cool Whip (or you could make your own - but I gotta keep some things from childhood, right?)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
 
Preheat oven to 450F.

In a small bowl, combine sliced strawberries and 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Let sit for about 15 to 20 minutes to release juices.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and vanilla bean.  Cut in butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

In a small bowl, combine the egg and milk.  Add to flour mixture and stir until mixture comes together.

Knead dough a couple of times, adding more flour if mixture is too wet.

Roll out dough to 3/4 inch thickness and cut into 4 equal squares.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Brush tops of biscuits with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown and cooked through.

Cool to room temperature and cut each biscuit in half.  Place a layer of strawberries on bottom half of biscuit and top with Cool Whip.  Place top half of biscuit atop of Cool Whip and try to restrain yourself from gobbling up the whole thing in less than a minute!

This is such a simple and fulfilling dessert that I wish I just had an overabundance of strawberries so I could eat it all spring/summer long!  I have a feeling that I'll be doing this almost weekly =)

Have a great rest of your Monday guys!  The weather is nice 83F and sunny sunny sunny - so we're heading out to the back deck to grill some burgers!

CSA Week #1

I figured since our CSA started yesterday, I'd do a special weekly post every Thursday from now on! 

The mass amount of rain had a big effect on many Kentucky farms so our first share wasn't as plentiful as Grasshopper's had hoped for us.  But you know... that's also the risk you take with joining a CSA.  You benefit when the farmers benefit.  But you also go through the sparse times also.  I think it kind of gives you perspective of how the weather really effects the produce we receive.  Me?  I'm not complaining at all, because I definitely appreciate all that our local farms do for us and I'm happy to get anything and support our farmers!

Grasshopper's Distribution does a good job with substituting some canned produce in these times, so we're very lucky either way!

So this was our box this week...

Lots of greenery, obviously!  The contents included:

• green onions
• mixed greens
• head lettuce (which still had the roots attached so I chopped the top off and planted the root part in my garden... all you avid gardeners out there - was that a good idea or am I just a novice idiot? lol)
• pint of strawberries
• bunch of swiss chard
• bottle of Bourbon Barrel Foods Soy Sauce
• jar of pumpkin butter
• jar of salsa

All locally made products!

Some beautiful strawberries!

So yeah, that was our haul this week.  You guys have any recipe ideas for me?  I'm in the process of making some strawberry shortcakes with some of those strawberries, so that should be delicious!

If you guys received a CSA this week, what did you end up getting?  I'd love to have a weekly round-up of your CSA goodies (if you participate in one), or even if you made a weekly visit to your Farmer's market - I'd love to see the local produce everyone gets!  So feel free to e-mail a snapshot of your goods (as well as your name and blog title (and don't worry if you don't have a blog, your name will be just fine!) as well as link to your blog) at mtlabor85 (at) yahoo (dot) com and I'll post them in next Thursday's CSA post!  

Coconut Almond Ice Cream

Happy Friday guys!  Definitely glad that the weekend is here!  I've got to work tomorrow night, but I have Sunday and Monday off, so it won't be too bad!  And no school work to think about, so hey, I'm in good spirits!

I was privileged enough to be a part of a Thanksgiving blogger compilation over at Guerrilla Gourmet.  They did a "cornucopia project" on how people from all 50 states celebrate Thanksgiving and I was lucky enough to represent Kentucky.  They didn't get posts from all 50 states, but they got 40 of them, so that's not half bad!  So hope you guys check out the post and see how different parts of the country celebrate the common tradition!

And, as promised, here's the almond recipe that tied with last week's poll!

Ingredients:

Adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe

Ice Cream

2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup whole milk
1 cup light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1-3 teaspoons of almond extract (depending on how deep of a flavor you want!)
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon coconut rum

Coconut Tortillas & Fruit Salsa

2 flour tortillas
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup sugar, divided
1 egg white
1 mango, peeled and diced
5 large strawberries, diced

To make the ice cream, combine coconut milk, whole milk, brown sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan under medium heat.  Stir in desired amount of almond extract (a little goes a long way!) and bring to a simmer.  Stir until the brown sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and cover saucepan with aluminum foil.  Allow mixture to steep for about 30 minutes.

Whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl and slowly whisk in the coconut milk mixture.  Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat under medium heat until it reaches a temperature of about 160 F.  This took about 6-10 minutes for me.  Cool the mixture at room temperature for 1 hour.  It will resemble a custard.  Chill in the fridge for an additional 2 hours.

Slowly stir in coconut rum into custard mixture.  Process the custard in an ice cream machine for about 25-30 minutes.  Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least an hour.

In the meantime, you can start on the coconut chips and fruit salsa.  Preheat your oven to 375 F. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and cut each tortilla into 8 wedges.  Assemble onto parchment paper.

In a small food processor, combine coconut flakes and 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Pulse for about 30 seconds.

Beat the egg white in a small bowl until it is foamy.  Brush the egg white onto the tortillas and sprinkle with desired amount of coconut/sugar mixture.

Bake in oven until tortillas are crisp and golden, about 10-15 minutes.  Let cool until ready for use.

To make fruit salsa, combine mangoes and strawberries in medium bowl and sprinkle with a tablespoon or two of sugar.  Mix well.

Scoop ice cream into a bowl or, in my case, a margarita glass, and top with fruit salsa.  Place about 2 or 3 coconut tortilla chips in ice cream as well, and dig on in!

Although I didn't use actual almonds, the almond extract provided such a deep flavor to this ice cream, that it was definitely the star.  There were many textures in this dessert, and you would think one would overpower the other, but the crunch of the tortillas, the creaminess of the ice cream, and the sweet bites of fruit all worked together as one, shining together.  Who says you can't have ice cream in the winter time?  In the words of Andy... "ice cream is any time food.  breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  ice cream is good any time.' 

Hope you guys enjoy your weekend!

Foodie Fights - Battle Strawberry/Wonton Wrapper

If you haven't noticed me talk about it, Foodie Fights is an ingenius idea! It's like an Iron Chef-type battle between 6 food bloggers, chosen at random. It really lets your inner creative chef shine through and more often than not, lets you in on some really awesome recipes that you couldn't find anywhere else! So it was my turn this week, I was chosen. And I've got a rep to hold up (I was last year's champ - winning twice, but more than once, so a champ nonetheless), so I had to come up with something good. And so...
Strawberry Mascarpone Dumplings w/ Strawberry Whiskey Sabayon came to be.

The pictures don't do them justice. They're absolutely delicious by themselves, but when paired up with the sweet whiskey sabayon... we've got something there.

Ingredients for the Strawberry Mascarpone Dumpling:

12 oz. container mascarpone cheese
1 container strawberries (roughly about 15-20 big ones)
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon sugar
20 wonton wrappers (I used round ones, but you could definitely get the square if you'd like)
vegetable oil, for frying
powdered sugar (optional)

In a small food processor, combine the mascarpone, 1 container strawberries, honey, and sugar. Mixture should be somewhere between thick and thin. Place mixture in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up a bit.

On a flat working surface (like a cutting board), place 1 wonton wrapper flat on board.


Spoon about a teaspoon worth of filling in the center.


Dab the edges with warm water and fold up to seal. (For a quick tutorial on how to fold your wonton into different styles, you can check this out. I did the basic Samosa style) You can pinch the edges to get an even better seal also.

User a deep fryer would be ideal for this, but considering I don't own one, we'll just have to keep it old school. Fill a deep pan about 2 inches high worth of vegetable oil. Heat under medium high to high heat. You'll know it's ready when you can throw a little piece of wonton wrapper in and see it bubble and fry nicely.


Fry about 3-5 wontons at a time, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, flipping once in between. They should be nice and golden brown. Let dry on paper towels and top with powdered sugar.


Ingredients for Strawberry Whiskey Sabayon:

about 7 strawberries, chopped
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup whiskey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice

In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries and orange juice. With an immersion blender, puree the strawberries until they're at your desired consistency. I left a little bit of chunks for good texture.

Mix in the whiskey, vanilla, and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

In a metal mixing bowl, add the egg yolks and stir until the yolks just break. Add in whiskey/strawberry mixture and mix well.

Assemble a double boiler with the metal bowl by sitting it atop a small pot of simmering water. Make sure the bowl doesn't touch the hot water or your yolks will scramble. Whisk constantly for about 10-15 minutes, or until mixture is triple in size. I sped up the process by using the whisk attachment on my immersion blender and it whipped up pretty nicely. Serve with dumplings.

Like I said, this was pretty tasty. The strawberry whiskey sabayon wasn't too overpowering and all of the ingredients played nicely with eachother. It was an elegant dessert for an elegant night (oh, by the way, I served this at my Buitoni Derby Pasta Party last night and it was a hit... more on the Buitoni Pasta Party on Wednesday's post).


So, if you dig the recipe, don't forget to go to Foodie Fights on Wednesday and rock your vote!

P.S. Thanks to Buitoni and Foodbuzz.com I was given the chance to throw a Derby-themed pasta party using Buitoni's new line of Riserva products and I'll be posting all the creative dishes and festivities on Wednesday, so stay tuned!