Watermelon-Lime Freezypops!

I live in the midwest. It's hot. Really hot. Enter the freezypop.

Watermelon-Lime Freezypops

Ingredients

• Watermelon (overripe works well)
• Lime
• Honey

Materials

• Knife
• Blender/food processor (or a measuring cup and a spoon)
• Popsicle mold (I used Zipzicles; THEY'RE AWESOME.)

Directions

1. Cut up watermelon, and process it 'til it's mushy but not completely homogenous.
2. Add lime juice and honey to taste (my ratio was 3/4c watermelon, 3Tbs. orange honey, 1/4 of a lime).
3. Fill popsicle molds or Zipzicles. Put in freezer, and occupy yourself for a few hours until they're set! =)

*Note: This would probably make a very good frozen cocktail. Drink responsibly.

Ginger Snap Cheesecake Minis!

It's summer, I've just moved to Colorado, and am therefore re-learning how to bake. I'm literally a mile above sea level, which means more heat and longer baking time.

But here's a simple twist on a tasty baked treat, edible hot or cold, with any number of fresh local toppings.

Ginger Snap Cheesecake Minis

(Makes 12 Mini Cakes)

For the crust:

• 1c. crushed ginger snaps
• 1/4c. melted butter

For the filling:

• 2 packages (16oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
• 2/3c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

For the topping:

• 1/2c. crushed ginger snaps
• A few pieces crystallized ginger

Materials:

• 12-cupcake tin
• Cupcake liners
• Hand mixer
• Food processor -or- a bowl, a glass, and some patience
• Medium bowl
• Spatula
• Spoon

Directions:

1. Fill cupcake tin with liners (the unbleached ones look pretty here). Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. For the crust, combine crushed cookies and butter. Spoon evenly into lined cupcake tins, smooshing up the sides to give it a little height. Be careful not to make the bottom too thick, or it'll get soggy.
3. For the filling, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and mix on medium-low speed until smoothly combined. If you whip too long, it'll just get frothy, which totally isn't a bad thing.
4. If you're into this sort of thing, crush some more cookies and mix 'em in with the filling. 
5. Spoon filling into cupcake tins, all the way to the top.
6. Garnish with crushed cookies and slivers of crystallized ginger.
7. Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes, or until tops are set and garnish is starting to brown. (For you high-altitude folks, leave 'em in for 20-25, checking occasionally.)
8. Remove from oven and cool completely on countertop. Once cool, transfer cakes to fridge to chill completely before enjoying. I recommend letting them set in the fridge for a few hours, to gel up any squishy bits in the middle. 

Enjoy! =)

Pre-baking; a gooey mess! Yumyumyum...

Post-baking, cheesecake filling with integrated cookie bits.

Post-baking, cheesecake filling with cookies only on top.

Hibiscus-Mint Lemonade!

Summer! Whoo boy, it's a hot one. And what better way to cool off than with a nice refreshing pitcher of lemonade? This one is made like sped-up sangria, using flowers instead of wine to tint the citrus! =)

Hibiscus-Mint Lemonade

(Serves 14-20)

Ingredients:

• 4Tbs. Hibiscus flowers (dried)
• 1 1/2c. Boiling water
• 12c. Cold water
• 1c. Coconut sugar (I used blonde coconut palm sugar, but any will likely do)
• 1/3c. Fresh mint leaves (rubbed and minced, or measured and macerated)
• 1c. Lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
• 2 Lemons, sliced thinly
• 2tsp. Vanilla extract (optional)

Materials:

• Small sauce pot with lid
• Measuring spoons and cups
• Large pitcher (14c.)
• Long spoon
• Slotted spoon
• Small knife
• Ice trays and/or blender (optional)

Directions:

1. Bring 1 1/2c. water to a boil. Add hibiscus and 2/3c. sugar, remove from heat and let steep for 5 minutes.
2. Return to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring in half the mint leaves (and the vanilla, if you like). Cover loosely and let reduce for 10 minutes.
3. Add in one whole sliced lemon as well as the end caps of the other lemon, scoring the ends with a fork to release zest and oils. Re-cover and let simmer for 5 minutes more, stirring and mashing the lemon occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
4. In the pitcher, combine 12c. cold water, 1c. lemon juice, 1 sliced lemon (squeezing flat on the pitcher's sides to release juice and zest while retaining shape), and the other half of the mint.
5. Once the hibiscus syrup is slightly cooled, pour the liquid into the pitchered lemonade, using the slotted spoon to hold flower bits from going into the pitcher, and to squeeze any remaining liquid out of the flowers and lemons.
6. Pick out the few syrupy lemons (they'll be a lovely red by now) to add to the pitcher, for color and concentrated flavor. Stir to combine, cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight so the flavors can mingle.
7. Serve over ice, and enjoy! (For added swank, freeze some of the lemonade in ice cube trays, to maintain flavor concentration and/or to make into a blended slush!)

*Note: The syrup, once completely cooled, would be delicious with vodka, or Arak and a little water! Garnish with mint and a curl of lemon peel, and marvel at your summer delectable. The slush option applies here as well: freeze the completed lemonade (with a bit less water if you're looking for flavor concentration), then pulse it in the blender before adding your choice of libation. Yum!

Fifol/Whyg Stew

Dinner tonight! Turned out so well, thought I'd share. =)

Scrounging around post-midevening-snack, I realized that whatever I made for dinner, I'd have to eat all of, since there's no more room in the fridge. So instead of opening anything new, I combined what was already there! It wasn't meant to be a stew, but that's what happened, and it's darned tasty.

Fifol/Whyg (Fridge is full of leftovers/What've you got) Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle Yellow curry simmer sauce (I used Thai Kitchen brand; no funky additives) **
• 6-12oz. Ground beef
• 4 Carrots
• 1 Handful of green beans (or whatever veggies you have on hand)
• 1c. White wine (of the savory variety; I used a California Sauvignon Blanc)

Materials:

• Large saucepan
• Lid for saucepan (optional)
• Stirring spoon

Directions:

1. Pour bottle of curry sauce into saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Add ground beef, and cook until no pink shows, stirring frequently to coat.
3. While the beef is cooking, chop carrots into bite-sized pieces, and rinse/de-funkify/de-endify the green beans. (I like to cut the carrots into workable lengths, then quarter them lengthwise before slicing. Makes it so much faster!)
4. Once the meat is no longer rare, add the vegetables, stirring frequently, until liquid is reduced by about half. 
5. Add the wine and return to a boil.
6. Cook until vegetables are at a tenderness you prefer (2-5 minutes). 
7. Serve, and enjoy! =) I imagine this would be good over rice (as most things tend to be), but I was too lazy to make a pot. 

** To make your own curry sauce, start with a base of beef or chicken stock, and add chili, coconut milk, galangal (or ginger), shallot, and cumin to taste. Included in the ingredients of the Thai Kitchen variety are as follows: Coconut Milk, Sugar, Yellow Curry Paste (Garlic, Red Chili Pepper, Lemongrass, Galangal (Thai Ginger), Salt, Shallot, Cumin, Soybean Oil, Spices), Fish Sauce (Anchovy Extract, Salt, Sugar)

French Death Puffs (Bouffée de la Mort)

I've just discovered my own demise. It's allergen-free, takes 5 minutes, and only requires a hand mixer and a microwave.

"Why is it French?" I can hear you asking. Well, it's made of chocolate and berries, is at once decadent and light-as-air, and as I tasted the first one and melted into a puddle of pure bliss, I heard from far away my own voice warbling "Ouiiiiiiii!!!!!!" ... Also, "bouffée de la mort" sounds alternately like "puff of death" or "puff of love" when read aloud.

Seriously, this is gluten-free, dairy-free, corn-free, soy-free, and frickin' tasty.

Et without further ado,

French Death Puffs (Bouffée de la Mort)

Ingredients:

• 2 Large egg whites
• 1 Pinch of salt
• 2/3c. Granulated sugar
• 1tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1Tbs. Cocoa powder
• 2c.-ish Chocolate puffed rice cereal
• Chambord
• Raspberries (fresh or thawed)

Tools:

• Mixing bowl
• Electric hand blender (or a whisk if you're feeling strong)
• Parchment paper
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Mixing spoon
• Microwave

Directions:

1. Whip eggs in mixing bowl on medium speed until they get frothy (15 seconds or so).
2. Add the pinch of salt and up the speed to medium-high as you slowly add the sugar. Continue whipping (and turning the bowl periodically) until the egg mixture becomes glossy and thick and holds stiff peaks. (Does it sound like we're making meringue? Well, yeah!) It will be about the consistency of melted marshmallow (thanks, Joy the baker!). 
3. Fold (or lightly stir) in the vanilla and cocoa powder.
4. Stir in the cereal, starting little by little and making sure it's all coated before adding more. I didn't measure this bit, but the cereal should all be mostly coated without extra egg goop dripping off, and without it being dry. Err on the side of goopy rather than dry if you're unsure.  
5. Drop by heaping teaspoon onto parchment paper, and stick in the microwave (yeah, you read that right). I did 'em one at a time, but I imagine you could do 4 or so. Watch out, they puff up like peeps in there!
6. Nuke it for 30 seconds. If your microwave is crazily overpowered, test 'em one at a time to make sure they don't burn, and lower the time by 5-second increments until it works.
7. Remove and let them cool COMPLETELY. I know, I know, you want to eat them NOW, but trust me, chillax. They won't hold together if they're still warmish. 
8. Once cooled, plate them, break 'em open, drizzle with chambord, and top with raspberries. 
9. Nom classily. Repeat as desired. 

Homemade Honey Butter

I begged this recipe from a friar in the Florida Bay Area chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism after he brought out a large wooden mug full of  what he called "the milk of human kindness" (thank you, Shakespeare!), the buttermilk made as a result of this butter recipe! It's immensely satisfying to make something as simple as butter at home. Plus, it's a good workout! =)

• Note 1: I halved the original recipe to make it physically easier on myself; feel free to double the amount as long as you also double the size of your container.
• Note 2: You can flavor this however you'd like; nutmeg, ginger, or no spices at all! It's really up to you, and so simple you can make multiple batches to test 'em out!

Honey Butter and Buttermilk

Ingredients:

• 1 pint (2c.) Heavy cream (local, if possible)
• 1/6c. Honey (I used creamed; any type is fine)
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. Salt

Materials:

• 4c. Screw-top container (I used a Ziploc one; clear is best, so you can see what's happening)
• Container for the milk (I used the pint bottle the heavy cream came in!)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients into ziploc container.
2. Shake vigorously for 10 minutes. You'll hear, feel, and see the different stages! First, it turns into whipped cream (the sloshing will stop), then the buttermilk will separate from the butter (the sloshing will start again), and eventually the butter will all clump together (and rattle around inside the milk). 
3. Once the butter separates, decant and save the buttermilk (into the heavy cream pint container, or another tupperware).
4. Rinse the butter in its container until the water runs clear. Removing any excess buttermilk is essential at this stage, as any remaining milk will make the butter turn rancid sooner.
5. Once it's clean, ball the butter up with your hands and place it in whatever container or mold you'd like! It gets rather hard in the fridge (no additives, and all that), so you can totally leave it out in a closed container as long as your kitchen doesn't get too hot or humid.
6. If the butter isn't as spiced or honeyed as you'd like, work more flavor into it before refrigerating. 
7. Enjoy! You've just made part of your own breakfast! =D The buttermilk is AMAZING on its own, or as a coffee creamer. Yum yum yum! Also try it to make buttermilk pancakes, desserts, biscuits (which you can then spread the honey butter on!), you name it!

Cinnamon-Sriracha Truffles

Yep, you read right. What started as a series of culinary failures turned into something quite tasty! Give 'em a shot!

Cinnamon-Sriracha Truffles

Ingredients:

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Heavy cream
• Honey (I used creamed honey, but any type works)
• Cinnamon (and other spices, if you'd like, such as nutmeg, ginger, vanilla)
• Sriracha (or garlic-pepper sauce)
• Cocoa powder (or hot cocoa mix)

Materials:

• 2 Glass bowls
• Spoon
• Parchment paper
• Plates or baking sheet (whatever will fit in your fridge/freezer)
• Toothpicks

For the truffle center:

1. Heat heavy cream in the microwave until very hot. Add chocolate chips and stir to melt. Add more chocolate or milk to achieve thick soupy consistency (still some resistance to stirring, but doesn't hold its own shape when hot).
2. Once smooth, add honey and sriracha to taste. Mix thoroughly, and stick in fridge or freezer to cool.
3. Once first mixture is cooled and hardened, drop small portions into cocoa powder and roll between palms to create smooth spheres. Place back in freezer to harden again.

For the shell:

1. Melt a second batch of semi-sweet chocolate chips, adding 1tsp. oil per cup of chips. Once smooth, add cinnamon and/or other spices to taste.
2. Remove truffle balls from freezer, skewer with toothpick, and use spoon to coat them evenly in melted chocolate. Be quick so the centers don't melt. Drop back onto parchment, garnish as desired with salt and/or ginger, and place in fridge to harden. (Note: These might look messy and/or dangerous. Don't panic! Use a toothpick to clean up the edges and/or remove excess chocolate from the base of each truffle.)