Monthly Archives: July 2012

Peach Sorbet

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Is it hot enough for you? It’s too hot for me, whew!

This incredibly hot summer has me really appreciating that ice cream maker we invested in a few months back…

…and as of right now, on yet another 100 degree day, I can honestly say that this peach sorbet is my favorite recipe for the ice cream maker so far. It is SO refreshing and downright lovable. I say lovable, because not only does it taste good, but also because it has  a lot less calories than my beloved ice cream. :) Yes, I believe an ice cream girl like me could get used to sorbets like this very easily.

Do you like peaches? I love them, especially now, when they’re in season in various parts of the country. They’re perfectly sweet, and so pretty!

This recipe takes 2 1/2 pounds of fresh peaches (or 2 pounds of frozen peaches), that need to be peeled and pitted. Peeling peaches isn’t always a fun task, but blanching them first can make it a little easier:

Just add the peaches to a pot of boiling water and let them cook for about 45 seconds.

Then, take them from the boiling water and immediately plunge them into an ice bath until they’re nice and cool.

Theoretically, this makes peeling the skin off much easier. Using a paring knife, carefully make a shallow cut around the peach and gently peel off the very thin skin. It won’t come off in one piece, it takes a few pulls, but I promise, this is a lot easier than trying to peel them without blanching first. Of course, to avoid this,  you can use frozen peaches, which have already been peeled, pitted and sliced.

Once the peaches have all been peeled, pitted and sliced, place them in a large sauce pan with a cup of water, a half cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Bring everything to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat and let it all simmer for about 5 minutes. This is what mine looked like after the five minutes. It was all I could do not to eat half the peaches at this point. Oh they are so good!

Let the peaches cool for a bit, then purèe them in a food processor until your mixture looks like this – nice and smooth. Pour the mixture into an air tight container, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. You want it nice and cold before you put it in the ice cream maker.

Whoa! What the heck? How did Sriracha get in this post?

Well, this recipe comes from The Sriracha Cookbook by Randy Clemens. Surprise! No, you do not have to add the Sriracha if you don’t want to, it’s perfect right now, BUT, I if you like Sriracha, do try this!  I love Sriracha, so of course I make my peach sorbet with it. And I love it in this sorbet. That bears repeating, I LOVE Sriracha in this sorbet! You just need to add a few drops of the good ole’ “rooster sauce”, (and by all means, no more than 1 teaspoon), to get a nice subtle hint of the Sriracha’s flavor and a tiny bit of its heat.  It’s a pleasant little surprise in each bite of the sorbet. Trust me. :)

After the sorbet has chilled in the refrigerator, and after adding the Sriracha, (or not), it’s time to follow the manufacturer’s instructions of your ice cream maker and make sorbet. This sorbet took just over 10 minutes in my Cuisinart ice cream maker. Once it’s done in the ice cream maker, put it in a covered, air tight container and into the freezer to stiffen up.

That’s all! Enjoy your refreshing Peach Sorbet!

I added a tiny bit of orange blossom honey to mine, but you can add any topping you love. Blueberries are particularly good with this, and so are crunchy toppings, like crushed gingersnaps, or another crispy cookie.

Oh, if you don’t have an ice cream maker, you CAN make this! Just follow David Lebovitz’s well thought out instructions and it will turn out just as good.

Happy Monday!

Peach-Sriracha Sorbet Recipe

 

From The Sriracha Cookbook by Randy Clemens

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 pounds of fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced (or 2 pounds of frozen peaches)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • no more than 1 teaspoon of Sriracha (optional)
  • mint sprig, berries, or other toppings of choice

Directions:

Bring peaches, water, sugar and lemon juice to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Carefully add peach mixture to food processor and purèe until smooth. Transfer to an airtight container, cover and refrigerate for 4 hours, or overnight.

Add the Sriracha (if using) and process in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins – My Happy Place

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You guys are gonna think I’m the biggest sap ever (I probably am), but I’m going to admit this anyway…

It all started with the floods in Duluth a couple of weeks ago. You see, Duluth is one of my favorite Midwestern cities (right after Chicago, of course) and we spend a lot of time there. The beautiful city on Lake Superior was thoroughly shaken up (and messed up) by flash floods. Then, just as they started to digest it all and began cleaning up, Colorado Springs (where most of Hubby’s family lives) caught on fire. (They’re all ok) And now, the BFF, who lives in northern Virginia, has been without power since Friday night, forcing her and her hubby to face 100 degree+ F days without air conditioning. Mother Nature is clearly reminding us who’s boss, and she’s doing it in places I hold dear to my heart for one reason or another. There wasn’t/isn’t a thing we could/can do about it but watch it all in the news. Frustrating.

Needless to say, the professional worrier side of me has been in overdrive for a good two weeks. On top of fighting some ridiculous sinus infection for three weeks……well, let’s just say my anxiety level was high, bordering on depression.

I don’t know what came over me yesterday morning, but I decided to remove myself from the fetal position on the couch and get back in the kitchen. It was the right thing to do. I had to make something. I decided to take on Ina’s (the Barefoot Contessa’s) Blueberry Streusel Muffins. I barely got into the recipe before I noticed that I started to relax. Boy, did that feel good. I took my time through the entire recipe so I could make that feeling last. It had been a while, you know? When the last muffin came out of the oven, I felt a little peace for the first time in weeks.

Here’s the sappy part I promised you – Once the muffins were cool enough to eat, I put one on a plate and brought it back to the couch to eat while I watched a little of the Food Network. Guess who was on? Yep, Ina. I held the oh so perfect muffin up toward the TV and whispered “cheers” to her. As I sat there and ate her recipe for what is probably the most wonderful muffin ever, tears actually welled up in my eyes. Happy tears, yes, but seriously, how incredibly sappy is that? Was I that stressed, worried and sick that the simplest of recipes by my most favorite cook actually made me so happy I cried? I can assure you, THAT has never happened before my friends, but I assume it has something to do with finding a comfort zone again. I sat there on the couch, with tears rolling down my face, just giggling at it all. It is so not me, but you know what? I am feeling a whole lot better this morning than I have in (literally) 3 weeks. Sappy, right? I could care less if it is, feeling happy again is wonnnnnnderful! I owe it all to these muffins….and Ina :)

The moral of the story? If you’re prone to stress and worry, and have been fighting a stupid sinus infection for a while….make these muffins. You will feel better. I promise.

The fantastic thing about these muffins is that they are very simple to put together. All you have to do is mix all the ingredients together (they’re listed below for you) in a large bowl….

….then fold in the fresh blueberries. Feel free to use whatever favorite summer fruit makes you happy. You’ll need two cups of it for muffin perfection.

Then, you’ll mix together a little more flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, kosher salt and a half stick of cold butter in another bowl for your streusel topping.

Fill your paper-lined muffin tins with the batter, almost to the top, spoon 1 tablespoon of the streusel topping onto each muffin, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Mine took the whole 25 minutes. You want them to be golden and the streusel to be a little crunchy. That’s it! Let them cool a little in the muffin pan, before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. The recipe makes a whopping 20 muffins. Hooray! That’s more than enough to feed us both for breakfast for the next several days. All things considered, I wouldn’t want to start my days without them this week. ;)

Notes: This batch of 20 muffins cost us $2.00, which was for the fresh blueberries. We had everything else in the pantry, and if you do any baking at all, I’m sure you do too. That means the cost per muffin was just 10 cents. I love breakfasts that make you happy and only cost 10 cents, don’t you?

I have to know, have you ever made and/or ate anything that made you that happy?

Blueberry Streusel Muffins Recipe

Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten, in her cookbook: Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics

Ingredients:

  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 cups reduced fat buttermilk, shaken
  • 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • 2 XL eggs
  • 2 cups blueberries

For the streusel topping:

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into large bowl and blend with your hands. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, butter, lemon zest and eggs. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a fork until just blended. DO NOT OVER MIX. Scoop batter into prepared cups, filling them almost full.

For the streusel topping:

1. Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until the butter is in very small pieces. Pour into a bowl and crumble the mixture with your fingers.

2. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the streusel on top of each muffin. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the muffin pan half way through, until golden.