Popsicles!

Here's a little break from pictures of my sister. I've been making popsicles all summer long and there are a billion ways to do it. My favorite way to make a cool summer treat?

1) Mash up some fruit.


Whatever you've got, berries, peaches, melon, whatever. It's all gonna be good.

2) Take some greek yogurt (I use non-fat - healthier) and thin it out with a little bit of milk. Add a bit of honey and vanilla (if you have it. If not, that's okay too). Mix in the fruit.

OR

2b) Just add some juice/water, whatever. Mix in the fruit.

3) Pour the mixture into super awesome popsicles molds!


If you don't have popsicles molds, you could pour the mixture into paper cups and stick popsicle sticks in. That would be fine too.

4) Freeze for 4 hours or overnight.

5) Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!


This one is a peach blueberry yogurt pop. It was delicious but had to be eaten to make way for pureed watermelon with lemonade. Which was also delicious. I love summer.

I'm still lazy

Last Friday, my newly married friends, Anna and Alan (read about them here), invited Zack and me over for dinner. They've got all sorts of cool stuff now (note to self - find a way to register for cool stuff without getting married), like a soft serve ice cream maker, panini grill and matching plates. They served us some amazing food to go with their spiffy flatware. First, we had grilled peaches with blue cheese and aged balsamic.


These were so freaking good. The peach just melted away in your mouth and it was a great mix of sweet and savory. Then we followed up with Coq Au Van (made in a slow cooker - should I get a slow cooker?), green bean almondine and cornbread with crazy whiskey butter.


Then came cute store bought cookies...


...and the kicker, homemade soft serve nectarine ice cream.


It all was super delicious. It is so nice to have good company and food all at the same time. Is there really anything better? As much as I love to cook for people, it is just as nice to have others do the same for me sometimes (hint, hint). Thanks Anna and Alan!

Baking or Therapy?

I decided to face my fears. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I am making pie crust! I've been irrationally afraid of pie crust for quite some time, but I figured, hey, you only live once. I consulted all my cookbooks (of which there are several) and I almost went with the Gourmet Cookbook but right at the last minute, I switched to the Moosewood Cookbook. It reminded me of my mom and the desserts she used to make when I was younger (the few times that happened....just kidding).

First, I made a pie crust. It was super simple. I mixed 6 Tbs of butter and 1 1/2 cups of flour in a food processor. Then I drizzled in some ice water until it made "coarse crumbs" (or whatever that means). I rolled out the dough and put in in my pie pan. Here it is:


See, I can make pie crust! Suck it, universe. Lena is fearless.

I mixed together some peaches (from my CSA), lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. I decided to stray from the recipe and throw in some blueberries as well.


Then I mixed some rolled oats, flour, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar and melted butter together. I was supposed to add minced almonds, but I didn't have any, so I skipped it.


Then I baked it! It was surprisingly easy. Here's a slice of my pie.


It wasn't the best pie crust I'd ever had - the part on top was pretty good, but the bottom part could have been flakier. Zack liked it though and he's pretty much my target audience. I've got a huge bag of apricots this week, so I'll probably give pie crust another try.....stay tuned.