I fancy a perfect apricot every summer and maybe find one or two which meet my definition of perfection in an apricot. Sweet and tart, creamy but not mushy, not green, not overripe. What to do with all the other apricots in the bag, for me, is either make boiled, not frozen, apricot jam (no pineapple! … More Apricot Ice Cream, aka Mishmish
My cookies-and-cream companion yesterday was an eight year-old natural kitchen artist, as will be seen in a separate post. She was here the previous afternoon doing a craft project while I was cutting black cherries in half and excising the pip. (The cherry stoner doesn’t work on cherries the size of these.) She watched me … More In the kitchen with juliyya: Black Cherry Ice Cream
My daughter is not alone in the world of those who like some chocolate with their raspberry. Someone who reads this blog and has a birthday soon comes to mind. In any event, I recently had a go at decreasing the fat content of the summer fruit ice creams which I make and share after … More Raspberry Fudge Ripple Ice Cream with Blackberry Diversion
One of the neighbors missed out on the first of the summer fruit ice creams, so today I told him the next would be blackberry or Bing cherry (or Lambert) if I can find some good cherries. So far none have met my tests, i.e., not woody, not grainy, not mushy and plenty of flavor. … More Rainier Cherry Ice Cream, V.1, F1
One of my brothers served this mildly spiced, dense and delicious bread to guests for an occasional dessert at a hunting and sporting lodge he built and sold in northwestern Montana. Today I gathered up the season-ending stalks of rhubarb from three neighborhood gardens, chop chop, used white whole wheat and just-roasted pecans along with … More Rhubarb and Pecan Tea Bread
We all have foods that we associate with certain individuals. Sometimes the name of that person is part of the name of the item and widely known, but maybe the person with whom it was originally associated is unknown. Think: Reuben sandwich. I’ve named cookies after people. The cookies that I call Mini Teacakes have … More j’s Cookies n Cream: Carol’s Butter Cookies n Raspberry Ice Cream
Early in the week I sustained some type of trauma to my achilles tendon making it very difficult to navigate, especially up and down stairs. It has ultimately led to more creativity in the kitchen since trips to the grocery store require use of the stairs, I’m wary of further injury and avoiding stairs until … More Shredded Wheat Muffins with Oats, Fruits and Nuts
In the city of Seattle, food waste is not allowed in the rubbish nor are recyclable items. Food waste joins lawn and garden waste in a big plastic bin collected every week on the same day as the rubbish, in a separate truck and for a different destination. Seattle composts, mostly citywide, but there are … More Composting: A Rant
Using ripe bananas in baked goods = nothing new, and in my family, the “normal” recipe for banana-nut bread does not include whole wheat flour. My late Aunt Dorothy made a version with whole wheat flour and I prefer it. I use white whole wheat plus unbleached wheat flour, replace castor sugar with brown sugar, … More Aunt Dorothy’s Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread
Just so happened that I had an appropriate ribbon for a tin with five types of my cookies inside on their merry way to somebody with a birthday tomorrow. I had no clue — when I baked a fresh batch this morning of Chewy Walnut & Fruit Bars and four Ginger Snicks with Molasses Caramel … More Cookies and Cats: A Love Story
Ms Chef in Seattle 