Having discovered a neighbor’s taste for Mexican chocolate, I decided to surprise her on her birthday today, August 12th, with some fudgy brownies made with Ibarra chocolate, well-known to bakers. A little goes a long way, so the icing was a simple, plain fudge. She loved them. In honor of her birthday, in addition to … More Mexican Chocolate Brownies & garden art for a birthday girl
Two sour nectarines and two sour plums plus lemon, cinnamon and sugar simmered into a lovely compote, chilled and what have you got? Well, experimental ice cream. Four kinds of apples, definitely organic, no pesticides, a few creepy crawlies (which have now found themselves at their new home in the compost) and it’s time to … More Cinnamon Apple Pecan Crisp with Plum & Nectarine Compote Ice Cream
I love a potluck because it’s fun to make something for a crowd once in awhile as well as dig into something special made by other cooks (and chefs.) Seattle has block parties once a year for Neighborhood Watch and my block participates. New residents and people who’ve lived here longer take the opportunity to … More Seattle Night Out: Block Party Potluck with Spicy Eggplant Parm Dip, Rustic Garlic Bread and Blackberry Ice Cream
You don’t even have to see the cookie to imagine it. Those Mariani Sea Salt Caramel Raisins are perfect for the oatmeal cookie variations. We’re fond of the chewy variety that doesn’t have butter or margarine or shortening or other fat excepting that inside the yolk of an egg. These were a success all around, … More Chewy Oatmeal Bars with Caramel Raisins
Pepperoni con Penne, a fast dinner entree which won the hearts of family members underwent an experiment today. Typically the spicy red pepperoni sauce is made by the time the pasta water has come to a boil and the penne is cooked. Today I made the simple sauce of turkey pepperoni fried in olive oil … More Spicy Turkey Pepperoni Red Sauce con Lasagna Noodles
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 eight year-old kitchen companion yesterday is heading off today to a family vacation where there will be boating and fishing and friends. Such occasions need cookies, she and I agreed. We discussed some possibilities before settling on this cookie which has no butter or margarine or shortening or oil and is made in a … More In the kitchen with juliyya: Butterscotch Chewy Bars
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
Somebody gave me some lemons today. I couldn’t help myself from that point forward, even though the lavender and castor sugar have been together for a mere week, I was determined to try regular old lemon bars prepared with lavender sugar. A couple weeks ago at the ice cream social, one of the younger girls … More Lavender Lemon Bars
Ms Chef in Seattle 