Things to do with Strawberries - Bubbly and Muffins

What happens when you spend a weekend with friends in Tahoe and another couple also brings a 4 lb. box of strawberries?!

Strawberry-Mint Sparkling Limeade
adapted from Cooking Light, May 2012

3 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 bottle sparkling wine, chilled


Place all ingredients except the wine in a blender and process until smooth. Pour 1/2 cup strawberry mixture into a glass, then slowly add 1/2 cup wine and gently stir to combine. Enjoy.

TIP: If you already have all-purpose flour, you don't need to buy a whole other bag of self-rising flour. Wish I'd looked this up before I did...

1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder + 1/4 tsp. salt = self-rising flour

Why am I mentioning this? Oh, here's another strawberry recipe to make while you're enjoying your bubbly:

Strawberry-Meyer Lemon Muffins
adapted from Southern Living, April 2012

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/4 cup meyer lemon juice
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups diced fresh strawberries

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

2. Stir together sour cream, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and eggs and add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently fold strawberries into batter. Spoon batter into lightly greased 12-cup muffin pans, filling three-fourths full. If you like, sprinkle additional sugar over batter.

3. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 1 minute; remove from pans to wire rack, and cool 10 minutes.

We also concocted possibly the best quiche yet: zucchini, mushroom, and feta. Yum! I'll just go add that to my quiche post...

Garden Update - late May

Things have been busy busy lately, so I haven't been able to throw together any helpful posts! So hey, how about some photos from the garden on this lovely morning!

blackberries and grapes getting started

spaghetti squash and cucumber 'Potluck' showing off

Nugget hops movin' on up

 

heirloom tomato 'Large Barred Boar'...with a long way to go!

uh-oh! what's wrong with my 'Black Krim'? still working on a diagnosis, but since it's the new leaves that are curling with purple veins, I'm leaning towards a virus...

Things to Do with Beets - Refrigerator Pickled and Greens in a Sauté

mood: refreshed

music: an awesome thunderstorm! (when I was making these monday evening)

Beets were cheap at this past weekend's Midtown Farmers Market, so I snagged a bunch each of red and golden to make some quick refrigerator pickles! Lots of other recipes have all sorts of spices, but personally I prefer just the taste of vinegar and the beets.
 

Refrigerator Pickled Beets

1 lb. bunch beets
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. kosher salt

Scrub beets and trim greens (but save those for later!), then boil for 20-30 minutes until fork tender. Let beets cool, then peel and slice. I just cut them into quarters or sixths. Drop beets into a Mason jar; I find a bunch fits pretty well into a pint and a half jar.

For the brine, I use apple cider vinegar for the golden beets and 1/2 apple cider and 1/2 balsamic vinegar for the red beets. In a small saucepan, slowly bring the vinegar, water, and salt to a boil. Pour the brine over the beets, cover the jar, and place in the fridge. Try to wait a week before you try them!

 

 

Don't forget the beet greens! They're really tasty in just about anything you'd use other greens in. Their texture is somewhere in between spinach and kale. Here's a recipe I threw together in the height of Meyer lemon season that I used the beet greens in this time.

 

TIP: When Meyer lemons are abundant, freeze some of the juice in an ice cube tray to enjoy the flavor even after the fruits are gone.

 

Sautéed Chicken with Meyer Lemon, White Wine, and Greens

 

1 lb. boneless chicken breasts, cubed

3 cloves garlic, diced

1/2 cup white wine

juice from 2 Meyer lemons

1 bunch greens (beet greens, arugula, spinach, etc.)

1/2 lb. pasta (I usually use angel hair)

olive oil

black pepper

 

Boil pasta according to directions. When done, stir with some olive oil and juice of 1 Meyer lemon.

 

Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook garlic in oil for about a minute, being careful not to burn. Season chicken with black pepper and add to skillet. Let chicken cook for a minute or two, then add white wine and juice of 1 Meyer lemon. Continue to cook until chicken is done, 5 more minutes or so. Add greens towards the end and toss until wilted.

 

Serve over pasta, including some of the liquid.

Derby Day

mood: confused
drink: see below

Did I miss something? When did Derby Day become a big thing?

Don't get me wrong, I remember occasionally watching the Kentucky Derby as a child and being particularly proud the one time I somehow randomly picked the winner. And I do dig mint juleps. But recently Derby Day appears to have become a new marketing angle. At least three local spots are advertising events with drink specials and fancy hat contests. I'm thinking it has to do with the hipster/mixologist-driven resurgence of bourbon and new "southern" restaurants with fancified $20-a-plate attempts at fried chicken that will never compare to Price's Chicken Coop.

I guess we just needed another legitimized excuse to drink during the springtime, somewhere in between St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo. And who am I to disparage a reason to drink bourbon in the middle of the day?

You don't need me to repeat a traditional mint julep recipe, why not check out "The Official Mint Julep of the Kentucky Derby" here. But here's what I threw together for my Derby Day Drank.

Derby Day Drank

3 oz. bourbon
6 oz. sun tea
1 oz. mint simple syrup

Pour ingredients into a highball glass and stir. Fill with ice and enjoy.

Sun Tea

Drop 5 black tea bags in a 1/2 gallon Mason jar. Fill with water, cover, and place in the sun for 3-5 hours. Remove tea bags and chill in the refrigerator.

I guess I should say that some people worry about bacterial growth since the water isn't boiled. The water that probably came from your tap and that you put into a clean container. Be as paranoid as you want, but I've never had a problem. 

Mint Simple Syrup

1 cup spearmint leaves
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Combine the ingredients in a small saucepan. Slowly heat on medium, stirring until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a slow boil. Turn off the heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain into a glass jar and let cool. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.