Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Bounty of berries

I picked these beautiful blueberries at my parents farm last Saturday. There is something so gratifying about gathering your own food. It gives you a real sense of connection to the food that you can't buy in the store. I also know that it's as fresh as it gets! So because these were such perfect berries that I had picked myself I wanted to make something super with them. I first made the Luscious Berry Tart that I found on Cream Puffs in Venice's blog. It's a recipe from Lori Longbotham's cookbook,Luscious Berry Desserts. It was so good I made another! Over the week-end some friends had us over for dinner and of course having a bounty of berries, I offered to bring the dessert. This time I made a shortbread crust and baked it. Then I made a lemon curd and filled the crust. Finally I topped it with berries that I cooked down and strained and mixed with uncooked berries. It was beautiful! Too bad no pic. My camera died and there were no leftovers after dinner! I'll post the recipe later.

Cold brewed iced coffee..yum

When I first read about cold brewing coffee on the Food Network,I admit I was pretty skeptical, but after trying it I'm a total convert! I was amazed that the coffee concentrate actually has an almost sweet, chocolaty taste. The article I read said the coffee actually is lower in acid and caffeine so it's better for people with sensitive stomachs(not my problem). Good to know!
Process:
3cups cold water in a pitcher or jar
2/3 cup coarse ground coffee. (i used the lowest setting on my grinder)
Allow to steep for at least 12 hours.
Strain coffee. I put a sieve lined with a coffee filter over a pitcher. After the coffee is strained, I sweeten it and added milk. How much you add depends on how you like your coffee.
There is a cold brewing pot available online. It makes this process easier. If I continue with this latest obsession I'll have to invest in one!

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Here goes

I have recently discovered (and become mildly obsessed with) food blogs. I found myself reading them for hours and trying to find a reason to make things like Woopie Pies and cold-brewed coffee(which is awesome by the way). It's crack for the foodie! So I thought I'd give it a try. The adventure begins...