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Watermelon Salad

Posted on October 7, 2016 | Leave a comment

watermelon-salad-with-feta-and-cucumber-5      A small restaurant no longer in business had a luncheon offering I’ve often thought of replicating.  When I saw this recipe in a local newspaper, I decided to try it.  As good as the dish I remembered, the taste has the sweetness of watermelon and the tartness of cheese, with the complement of cucumber and mint.

Watermelon Salad with Cucumber, Feta, and Mint

  • 3 1/2 cups chilled, seedless watermelon cubes (cut into bite-size pieces)
  • 1 medium English cucumber, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons crumbles feta cheese
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic glaze (found in the vinegar aisle of the grocery store)

Scatter watermelon on a medium platter.  Top with cucumber and mint.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Drizzle with glaze and serve immediately.

Chef Jacques Pépin adds kalamata olives – maybe next time I will too.

 

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Lemon Boost

Posted on May 4, 2016 | Leave a comment

UnknownA cup of coffee – preferably espresso – is my go-to drink in the morning, but lemon and hot water comes in a close second.

Easy to make – just squeeze half a lemon into a cup of hot water.  Hot water warms the vocal chords and soothes the throat.  Add a little fresh ginger, and the drink becomes healthier.

But beware of the acid on your teeth.  Rinse with plain water after drinking the lemon water, and the Mayo Clinic says to wait 30 minutes before you brush your teeth – which gives you time to finish that cinnamon bun.

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A Cold Brewed Cup of Coffee

Posted on July 3, 2015 | Leave a comment

It’s hot here this summer but I still yearn for a cup of coffee midday – after my Unknownmorning pick-me-up.  I tried this recipe with the last grounds of a gingerbread flavored coffee a friend sent to me for Christmas.  The ginger still has a snap, and without the heat, it’s a tasty summer brew.  Try it with your favorite flavored coffee and let me know how it works out for you.

Recipe

  • Combine 1 1/2 heaping cups of ground coffee with
  • 4 cups room temperature water in a glass container.
  • Let sit at room temperature for 12 hours.
  • Strain through a mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter.

Yield:  2 1/1 cups syrup.  Keep in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

To serve and enjoy:  Combine 1/2 cup or less of the coffee base syrup with equal parts of water or milk.  Pour over ice.

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Blueberries

Posted on June 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

The boat came in and the local Whole Foods offered a quart of blueberries for the price of 1/2 a pint.  Now I have blueberries stocked in my frig.  I’ve made Blythe Danner’s wonderful blueberry muffins with more blueberries than she has in the recipe, and blueberry scones – a combination of two recipes found in the local newspaper.  My friend tells me I will be so healthy from eating all these blueberries, but I’m wondering if I will turn blue – like Violet in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  The thought has not stopped me from gorging on beautiful blueberries.  Do you have a favorite recipe?

Blueberry Scones

  • 3 cups of flour (I used 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour and 1 cup white)
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder (be sure it’s fresh – not been in your cupboard forever)
  • a pinch of salt (about 1/2 teaspoon)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup of butter (I used Earth Balance but Julia would approve of the butter)
  • 1 cup cold buttermilk (mine was  low-fat)
  • blueberries (anywhere from a cup to 2 1/2 cups)

Some recipes include an egg, but my scones were fine without.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Combine the dry ingredients and cut in the butter as though you were making a pie crust – until crumbly.  Stir in the blueberries.  Add the buttermilk to bind it all together into a soft dough.  Knead a few times and shape into a rectangle (or round – depending on the shape of your cookie sheet).  The dough should be about one inch thick (I used a ruler to check).  Cut the dough into wedges (about 8) and bake on center rack until golden – 25 to 30 minutes.

Serve warm.

I did experiment with refrigerating and freezing some.  As long as you warm them before eating, they are as good as out of the oven.

Related Article: Blythe’s Blueberry Muffins

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Chocolate Chips

Posted on February 6, 2011 | 2 comments

Nothing as good as toll house cookies – no matter what kind of chocolate chips you use.  I’m still into Nestle – mainly because the recipe is on the bag.

But did you know they changed the recipe?  What happened to the water?

The original recipe has all the same ingredients, plus 1/2 tsp. water

Does it make a difference?  Depends on the size of your eggs…smaller eggs need the water; extra large – maybe not. With more liquid, the cookies are flatter and crisper.  But, these cookies are great either way.  And, you’ll feel better eating one – even if your team lost.

  • 2 1/4 cups sifted flour
  • 1 tsp.  baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp. water
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 package semi-sweet real chocolate morsels
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Cream butter with sugars, vanilla and water. Beat in eggs. Add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.. Drop by well-rounded half-teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees  for 10-12 minutes.

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