Elderflower Fruit Salad

I'm a girl who likes a good bargain.  If I'm going to buy a new exotic-ish ingredient I want a few ways to use it.  Remember when I posted about this cocktail?  And I told you to go buy this...

Rather than have this lovely citrusy, floral syrup languish in your refrigerator after you've made your cocktails, here are a few other uses for this Ikea Elderflower syrup.

Drizzle a teaspoon or two over the freshest, most beautiful berries you can find right now.  Throw in some mint and gently toss with your fingers.  The Elderflower syrup adds a mysterious floral sweetness to the mix that takes the fruit to a new level.

If you're not in a cocktail mood, mix some of the syrup with seltzer or club soda for a bubbly fruity soda.

I have one more use for this syrup coming your way this week that I'm excited to try.  Stay tuned...

How to Seed a Pomegranate

I like things neat and tidy.  I also like pomegranates.  Therein lies the rub.  Dissecting a pomegranate is not so tidy if you either a) cut it in half and bang on it with a wooden spoon until all the seeds come out or b) soak the seeds in water and wait for that membrane stuff to float up and separate.  Both of those methods are too messy or time consuming for me.  I thought I'd share how I seed a pomegranate...

1. Cut the top off the pomegranate until you can see the individual seed sections or pockets inside.
You can see this one has 6 sections of seeds.

2. Like an orange, you can see the membrane that separates the sections.  Cut down the sides of the pomegranate right in between these sections letting your knife go about an inch in.  I let the slits all meet at the top center of the pomegranate.

3. Pull apart the pomegranate into your cut sections.

4. Peel the membrane off.  It usually comes off in one piece.  Nudge the seeds out of the skin into a bowl.  You can turn the peel inside out to make it easier.

Tah Dah!  Minimal cleanup, no pomegranate juice on you or your walls.  Give it a try.  Once you have those beautiful seeds, put them in a salad (great with raw fennel or spinach or in this salad), float them in a glass of champagne, add them to oatmeal or granola or just eat them as a snack.

Summer Fruit Pavlova

Don't you just want to dive into that face first?  Or maybe that's just me.  This is a great summer dessert because it's light and you can use any kind of summer fruit.  You can even do it without the sauce, just fruit, whipped cream and meringue.

This is also a great solution for how to use up those eight egg whites you have leftover from the latest yolk-only baking project.  Or maybe that's just me.  And it's purty.

This recipe is slightly adapted from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa.  I love her.  Her recipes always work and they are elegant enough for a dinner party but still homey, comforting and delicious.  I want to be her when I grow up.  Or at least inherit her house, after all she has no children to pass it on to.  Hi Aunt Ina!

One note: Meringues do not do well on a humid day.  Yah, I know I just described most summer days.  Anyway, keep in mind you'll be tempting fate if you try to execute this on a muggy day, ya rebels.
Because of tempramental meringue, this is a "eat it the day you make it" dessert.  I guess that means you're just going to have to polish off whatever is left at midnight.  Or maybe that's just me.

Summer Fruit Pavlova
Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa
 Serves 6-8 
  
Meringue:
4 extra-large egg whites, at room temp 
pinch of kosher salt 
1 c sugar
2t cornstarch
1t white wine vinegar
1/2 t vanilla
4 cups sliced strawberries
2 cups blueberries


Whipped Cream:
1 c heavy cream
1T sugar
1t vanilla

 Fruit Sauce:
1 cup strawberries, chopped
1/4 c sugar
12 ounce jar of red fruit jam, I used cherry

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Using a pie or dinner plate, draw a 9-inch circle on the parchment with pencil.  Turn parchment over.  You will be able to see your circle through the paper.  Set aside.
3. Place egg whites and salt in bowl of mixer using the whisk and beat on high until firm, about 1 minutes.
4.  While still mixing on high speed, gradually pour in sugar to egg whites.  Beat until you have firm shiny peaks that stand up, 2-3 minutes. To test this,  detach the whisk then dip it into the meringue and turn upside down.  If your egg whites hold their shape and don't droop you're done.
5. Sift cornstarch into beaten egg whites and add vinegar and vanilla.  Gently fold ingredients with a rubber scraper until mixed.
6. Transfer meringue into to your drawn circle on the parchment. Use an offset spatula to spread meringue to the edges and smooth.
7. Bake for 90 minutes then turn off oven and leave meringue in oven with the door closed for another hour. 
8. Transfer to plate.

Egg whites before baking

Whipping Cream:
9. In mixer beat heavy cream at high speed until it starts to thicken.  Add in sugar and vanilla and continue beating until firm. Chill until ready to serve.

Fruit Sauce:
10.  Mash chopped strawberries with 1/4 c sugar.  Transfer to a small saucepan.
11. Add in fruit jam and bring to a boil.  Simmer over low heat until mixture is bubbly and fruit has softened.
12. Once cooked, pour the mixture into a food processor and process until smooth.  Chill.

To Assemble:
13. Spoon whipped cream onto meringue disk, leaving a one inch border of meringue all around.
14. Mound your strawberries and blueberries on top of whipped cream.
15.  Spoon chilled fruit sauce over the pavlova.  Serve immediately.

Cooked meringue topped with whipped cream

With berries and sauce

Strawberry Scones with Honey Thyme Butter

Strawberry scones have been popping up everywhere lately on the "internets".  Here and here and here. I have a love/hate relationship with scones.  I love moist scones or scones fresh from the oven.  I hate dry, dense scones that make a better doorstop than breakfast item.   But strawberry scones piqued my interest.  It made me decide to give scones another chance, you know, see if they've learned anything during our breakup. We're taking it slowly--keeping it casual for now, seeing where it goes.

I've been experimenting with different recipes, seeing as we're not exclusive.  Some use buttermilk, others use sour cream, some with heavy cream.  Some with baking soda and baking powder, some with just baking powder, etc.  I've settled on creating this recipe for now.  Using fresh strawberries, instead of a dried fruit ups the moisture content.  You'll notice I've added up to an additional 1/4 c of flour to the recipe to account for how juicy your berries are.  I've put some lemon zest in to brighten the flavor.  I've also added a recipe for Honey Thyme Butter to accompany your scones--I love the pairing of strawberries and thyme.  As for the scones and I...maybe love is better the second time around.

Fresh Strawberry Scones
Makes approximately 16 scones
 

2 c  flour + 1/4 c additional flour
2 t baking powder
1 egg
1 t vanilla
3 t lemon zest
1/2 t sea salt
1/3 c sugar
1/2 c very cold butter, cubed
1/2 c very cold heavy cream
3/4 c diced fresh strawberries

For the topping:
1 T heavy cream
2T Demera sugar or Sugar in the Raw



1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Cut butter into cubes and refrigerate until ready to use.
4. Put the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse a few times to mix.
5. Add the cubed butter and lemon zest to the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Do not overmix.
6. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
7. Measure your cream into a liquid measuring cup and whisk the egg and vanilla into the cream. Add the liquids to the dry mixture mixing with a fork, and stir until just combined – do not over mix!
8. Add your diced strawberries and turn dough onto a lightly floured board.
9. If your strawberries are very juicy, you may have to add up to 1/4c of additional flour.  You want the dough to be tacky, but not sticky.
10.  Gently pat out dough into a rectangle, about 1 inch high.
11.  Cut dough into three rows, then cut each row into triangles.
12. Transfer to parchment lined baked sheets.  Brush tops with cream and sprinkle on sugar.
13. Bake for 20 minutes.

Honey Thyme Butter
1/2 stick of salted butter, softened
2t honey
1t fresh minced thyme

Combine all ingredients then refrigerate until ready to use.

Comparing Oranges to Oranges

I found a variety of oranges at my local Whole Foods this week.  Have you ever wondered what the side by side difference would be in the different varieties?  Let's investigate, shall we...

 L to R: Cara Cara, Blood Orange, Minneola

Let's peruse their innards...

The Cara Cara has fruit that has a light pink tinge to it.  It has bigger segments than the others or even a navel orange.  The taste leans towards grapefruit, it's not as sweet as the others.  It's a little past Cara Cara season which may have accounted for this one being tougher and less juicy than the other oranges.

Blood Oranges are distinctive by the blush of dark red on their skins.  The inside is a beautiful ruby red color.  I love blood oranges.  They are juicy and sweet but more tart than a navel orange.  They make a striking addition to desserts and salads.  Try making a blood orange mimosa or blood orange margarita!

The Minneolas are sold with the stem and leaves intact which makes them not only a great eating orange but a nice centerpiece too.  The fruit of the minneola was very juicy and sweeter than the other two varieties with a tangerine flavor.

You really can't go wrong with any of these.  Putting the oranges together gives you a nice range of color and flavors.  Cuz as my mama always said,
"When God gives you oranges, make ORANGESALADWITHPARMESANANDALMONDS." Or something like that.

Orange Salad with Parmesan and Almonds


3 oranges, any varieties
2 cups of arugula
1 ounce thinly shaved Parmesan
1 handful of smokehouse almonds
3t olive oil
Juice of the supremed oranges
Coarse Sea Salt & Pepper

1.  Supreme the oranges.  For a video demo of how to do that, click here.  Save the leftover orange carcasses and squeeze their juice into a bowl.
2. In separate bowl, toss the arugula with the olive oil and a tablespoon of the reserved orange juice.
3. Put the dressed arugula on a platter.  Arrange the orange segments, Parmesan shavings and almonds over the arugula. Drizzle on a little extra orange juice if you like.
4. Sprinkle a pinch of coarse sea salt over the salad and a grind of fresh black pepper.

Cantaloupe with Salsa Verde

Look what was in abundance at the Farmer's Market. Cantaloupe. Or do you call it muskmelon?

When I was a girl we used to eat wedges of these with a little salt sprinkled over them--a sweet, slurpy, salty, taste of summer. We ate this a lot and inevitably, by the end of August my stance on cantaloupe was, "OVER IT!

If that sounds like you, it's time to bring in some other ingredients and change it up a little. I had a lot of fresh herbs on hand, my Serrano peppers that finally were ready for picking and some lovely walnut oil. How about a salsa verde? Salsa verde literally means "green sauce" and contains fresh herbs, an acid (usually vinegar), aromatics (shallot, red onion, capers, chili flakes) and oil. It's delicious on grilled meats, fish, bread so why not fruit!

CANTALOUPE WITH SALSA VERDE

Serves 8

1 ripe cantaloupe, seeded and cubed

3 T minced red onion

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, tightly packed

1/4 cup Thai basil or regular basil leaves

1/3 cup of walnut oil

3 t grated ginger

1/8 t salt

2 T lime juice

Chop mint, cilantro and basil leaves. Combine with minced onion, ginger, walnut oil, salt and lime juice. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pour over cantaloupe. Chill and serve.

*Variations-add toasted pumpkin seeds and cubed feta cheese

TIP OF THE DAY

Buy a knob of ginger, which is cheap, cheap, cheap, by the way. Peel it with a spoon. Use the edges of the spoon to just scrape that skin off. Then use a microplane or grater on your ginger instead of a knife. The stringy fibers are hard to cut finely. Then put it in a freezer bag and pop it in the freezer. The next time you need ginger, use it frozen. Peel it with the spoon and grate what you need and back in the freezer. Don't let it defrost before using, just use it frozen.