Friday, July 16, 2010

Grilled Peaches with Ice Cream

And finally for the summer this delicious dessert that
can be assembled quickly on a BBQ or on the stove.


grilled peaches with ice cream

This is a great dessert for a grill to warm up the tender, melt-in-your-mouth flesh

of one of the seasons most unique fruits.

Pair this with a simple vanilla ice cream and you'll have an

unforgettable dessert to rock out at any gathering.


* 4 large ripe freestone peaches

* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

* 1/4 cup brown sugar

* 1/4 cup dark rum

* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

* 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

* vanilla ice cream for serving


* Heat up a syrup by combining all ingredients in a fireproof saucepan,

except for the peaches, on the grill (5 min)

* Meanwhile, cut peaches in half and remove seeds

* Baste peaches and put on the grill, cook on both sides for 4-5 minutes

* Place peaches, some extra syrup and scoop of ice cream to serve


Zucchini Pasta with Blue Cheese Pesto

Next up on our summer menu is this ridiculously simple
but ever so tasty entree.


zucchini pasta with blue cheese pesto

This dish matches the blue cheese with watercress, a uniquely inspired pesto for room temperature pasta dishes and blanched vegetables.

The pasta in this dish is really shredded zucchini that has been "cooked" with salt,

so its a great dish for people who want to cut down on starch.

If this still tastes too raw for you, you can quickly cook the zucchini over or with a quick saute.

"Pesto" in Italian means bruised, so get out your mortar and pestle and smash away. Otherwise, carefully combine ingredients in the order suggested for a creamy, tangy sauce for a dish that keeps you cool in the hottest weather.


Zucchini Pasta


* 4-6 large green zucchini

* 1 tsp of salt per zucchini (approximately)

* use a mandolin or grater to create thin strips of vegetable

* salt liberally and let sit overnight.

the reaction of the salt and vegetable, makes the vegetable more malleable,

so it acts like a pasta

* rinse the zucchini in a little running water,

squeeze excess water in batches with your hand


Blue Cheese Pesto


* 3 cloves garlic

* 2 tbsp pine nuts

* 1/2 cup watercress

* 3 tbsp blue cheese

* extra virgin olive oil (approx 1/4 cup)

* salt and pepper to taste

* Dry roast (no oil added) pine nuts on an hot skillet for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Stir constantly to avoid burning. Let cool.

* Put the garlic and pine nuts into a food processor and blend until all pieces are uniform.

* Add the watercress until leaves are finely chopped.

* Add cheese, then blend while drizzling olive oil into the mixture until a creamy consistency.


Thursday, July 15, 2010

Sour Cherry Soup

After a brief hiatus, we're back in the kitchen with Sung.
This month we're combining our ingredients from June, July
and August to create 3 delicious courses.

First up is a refreshing entree.

sour cherry soup

This recipe is based on a traditional Hungarian recipe using tart Morello cherries and sour cream and is served as an appetizer. The modification is using yogurt and also blending the soup instead of cooking the cherries. Most of the work comes from pitting fresh cherries, but if pitted frozen cherries work just as well.

* 1 lb. fresh cherries

* 1 lemon, zest and juice

* 1/2 tsp salt

* 1/2 tsp tarragon

* 1 C yogurt

* 1 C water

* 1 tsp of agave nectar

Directions:

- Rinse and pit cherries, reserve some for garnish

- Zest lemon with fine grater then extract juice from the lemon

- Add all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth

- Garnish with a thin stream of yogurt ladled with a spoon,

then add a whole cherry or two.


Stay tuned this week for our main course and yummy dessert.


Thursday, July 8, 2010

CONGRATULATIONS

Goes to Shauna who was randomly picked and has
won the Enormous Champion give away.

Next week I will be giving a brand new tote bag away
on their blog and will also have some of our Summer
recipes to share. Stay tuned.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

July 1 Giveaway

Today I'm collaborating with the lovely Jordan and Jason of Enormous Champion.
They are offering one of their delightful
Animals Amassed Tea Towels.
This towel is made in the USA on 100% Belgian linen.
The linen is a lovely shade of natural beige/flax colored linen, and silkscreened with a warm grey ink.
Their logo is in the bottom right corner of the towel.

It measures approximately 20 x 25 inches.
This towel looks as good framed as it does in the kitchen!

Which brings me to the question I'd like you to answer in order to enter the contest.
Decoration or function ? Do you hang lovely tea towels as artwork or watch them
change over time with all your lovely food stains ?
Place the comment below and 1 lucky winner will be picked on July 8th.