‘Berry Dessert Cups

Six pounds of blackberries and twenty pounds of peaches recently invaded my humble abode. After figuring out a fun way to use the peaches, I moved onto the blackberries. I turned to Twitter once again for ideas. Twitter is by far my favorite resource.

Aaron Levy @bigalittlea suggested I make soup. Unaware of the concept of reducing fruit to a “soup” I eagerly asked for more information. He explained that I could combine the blackberries with some wine, sugar and a few other ingredients to make a reduction I could use as a dessert and pointed me to a recipe.

Never at a loss for a reason to eat cake I decided to pick up some dessert cups to pair with the soup. I adorned the dessert cups with a dollop of whipped cream. You can make this recipe with any berries you have on hand. I cannot wait to try this with cranberries for a simple holiday dessert.

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‘Berry Dessert Cups (adapted from Food.com)

Ingredients:

1 cup merlot

1 cup water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 cups blackberries

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 cups whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

2 tablespoons cold water

Directions:

1.) Place blackberries, water, wine, lemon juice and sugar in large pot.

2.) Bring to a boil, then turn down the burner to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

3.) Turn the burner off and allow mixture to cool.

4.) Once the mixture is cooled, place it in a food processor and mix well.

5.) Strain processed liquid through a strainer, mashing the pulp through with the back of a spoon.

6.) Return the strained liquid to the pot and add in 2 tablespoons of cold water.

7.) Cook until desired thickness.

8.) Return the mixture to the food processor and add whipping cream and orange zest.

9.) Chill overnight.

10.) Serve in dessert cups, as a topping on pound cake or by itself in a small ramekin. Serve cold with a dollop of whipped cream.

Servings: 6-8

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Watermelon, Cucumber and Feta Salad

Watermelon is a wicked temptress. Well, not really. I thought that would be a cool way to start out this post. What is there to say about watermelon? It’s large, luscious and incredible. It’s over 90% water which means it can get a little messy.

Don’t skip too many steps in this recipe. Soaking the onion will help temper its pungent taste. You don’t want one flavor to dominate all the other ingredients. All the flavors work to compliment each other. Drying the watermelon and cucumber will help reduce the amount of liquid that will collect at the bottom of the salad bowl.

I brought this to a brunch recently where we had lots of light seasonal dishes. I prepared all the ingredients ahead of time and assembled it there. It is great as a side or as a meal.

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Watermelon, Cucumber and Feta Salad (Adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients:

4 cups seedless watermelon, diced

1 cucumber, seeded and sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 fresh lemon juice

1/4 balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup chopped cashews

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

Soak 1/2 thinly sliced red onion in water.

Pat dry 4 cups seedless diced watermelon and 1 seeded and sliced cucumber.

Drain the onion, squeeze dry. Toss watermelon, cucumber and onion in a large bowl.

Top salad with chopped cashews and crumbled feta.

Whisk 1/4 olive oil, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice and 1/4 balsamic vinegar together and serve on the side with the salad.

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Zucchini, Onion and Red Pepper Stew

When scanning a site for a recipe I almost always notice the sweet treats first. I think it’s natural for most people to be drawn to them. After I’ve had my eye candy I take another look at recipes that incorporate healthy ingredients. This month, while scanning my assignment site for The Secret Recipe Club, The Haggis and the Herring, my eyes perused lots of tasty recipes until I came upon this stew. I knew I did not need to look any further.

With cooler weather almost here I am eagerly anticipating the onset of lots of soups, sauces and stews. I was eager to make this to kick off the start of the next season. I hit up a local farmers’ market and set out to make it. You will notice that it is vegetarian. I still have problems letting go of the idea of not having meat in my meals but this dish makes it easy to go meatless.

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Zucchini, Onion and Red Pepper Stew

Ingredients

2+2 tbsp olive oil

4 bell peppers, chopped

2 large onions, chopped

3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/8″ thick

1 sofrito recipe (see below)

2 garlic cloves

1/2 tsp cumin

salt

Instructions

1. In a dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and add the peppers, onion and salt. Cook over medium heat until peppers are soft and set aside.

2. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil and add the zucchini. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is soft.

3. Add the pepper and onions back to the mixture along with the sofrito. Let mixture come to a gentle simmer.

4. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic, cumin and a dash of salt into a paste and stir it into the pan.

5. Cook an additional 10 minutes before serving.

Sofrito

1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, bruised and minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar

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