Peach Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles

I'm on Pinterest. I don't know that I've ever mentioned that before here, not of course that I really needed to. If you're interested in looking at my boards or following me (mostly I just pin photos I love to remind me of moods or poses I want to replicate, or recipes I want to try) you can find me here. However, if you'd been following me recently you'd notice a theme: I've been pinning popsicles like crazy for the past few weeks.

It's a bit of an obsession, actually, and it even led me to purchase a popsicle mold (this one, if you're interested, not that it's necessarily the best one, but it does the job). First I tried making popsicles that were just like the smoothies I drink in the mornings, sans kale because let's not be crazy! But I found that fruit with plain yogurt and some ground flax seeds makes for a very 'healthy' tasting popsicle, and not necessarily for a delicious one. Then I tried just using raw fruit and I made some strawberry grapefruit popsicles inspired by these poptails (but without the vodka, because I like to have a popsicle whenever I want one, and I don't have the same policy when it comes to alcohol). Anyway, those were good, and seemed healthy enough, but they didn't blow my mind.

I decided that the popsicles needed to be sweeter/more flavorful, but I didn't want to add any sugar or honey unless that was absolutely necessary. So I decided to try cooking the fruit first to concentrate the flavor and maybe caramelize some of the naturally occurring sugar, and that gave me these babies, which are by far my favorite popsicles yet. And since we had it in the fridge, added some honey lemon greek yogurt that Evan bought by accident thinking it was plain.

Recipe:
 - 3 to 4 ripe peaches
 - 12 medium strawberries
 - 1/2 cup of yogurt, whichever flavor you prefer. If using plain, stir in some honey or maple syrup to sweeten it a bit.

Cut up the fruit into medium-sized chunks (size doesn't really matter here, no matter what those Norwegians say). Heat the fruit in a small saucepan with a bit of water to avoid scorching the bottom over low-medium heat until the fruit softens and becomes syrupy. Blend or puree or smash with a fork for a chunkier popsicle. Pour into popsicle molds until they are a little less than halfway full. Spoon a little yogurt into each mold, then top off with the fruit mixture. Freeze for at least four hours. If using molds that require wooden sticks like these, put the sticks in the popsicles after about an hour and a half. Once the popsicles are frozen, remove them from the molds by dunking into hot water for about 15 seconds each. Freeze whatever you don't eat in a large ziploc bag in the freezer.

Enjoy! And mess around, try out different combinations. Next up I'm looking to make some Vietnamese coffee popsicles, then maybe some chocolate peanut butter banana popsicles (for Evan, who loves chocolate and peanut butter), then maybe some roasted strawberry ones or green tea coconut . . . the possibilities are endless! Plus, check out Popsicle Week at Wit and Vinegar for more exciting popsicle opportunities. Okay, last popsicle link, I promise.

Happy summer! Go enjoy something cold!

On my plate recently . .

It's summer, the best time for fruit lovers. I'm starting each day on a delicious note with a kale-chia-flax-yogurt-strawberry-whatever-other-fruit-is-on-my-counter smoothie, and I just love the good steady energy it gives me until lunchtime. (No kale pictured, the smoothies are a little less photogenic with it. Kind of brownish, really.)

Also loving: early girl tomatoes in an adaptation of Smitten Kitchen's one-pan farro with tomatoes. So good.

I also made her cherry almond dutch baby with a few cherries that weren't going to make it if they didn't get eaten. Delicious. 

So tell me, how are you celebrating this summer bounty? I have a box of peaches on my counter and I'm trying to determine their fate . . . 

A new obsession: honey lattes!

I blame you, New Orleans, for introducing me to my newest source of tooth decay. After spending years weaning myself off of sugar in my coffee to the point that I'd really rather drink it without, I had to go and try a honey latte at Spitfire in New Orleans (iced, at the time, since it was, oh, about 5000 degrees out), and pretty much my fate was sealed right then and there.

Yes, it tastes just as good hot. Try it, but don't say I didn't warn you!

Wordless Wednesday - Tomatoes

Film Friday - Strawberries

It's no great secret that I'm a rabid fan of fruit. If the average American is mostly corn and soy, I'm a lot more strawberry and peach. And of course, loving fruit extends to happily photographing it too, of course. How can you blame me for wanting to when it's so shiny and luscious?

I admit to being a tad fuzzy on the film used here. I think it's probably Portra 160 or 400, but it could be Fuji 160s as well. Either way, there's something about the color of the strawberries that's just different than digital. Sorry I can't offer you one, but I hope you enjoy the photos at the very least. 

Poha/Cape Gooseberry/Ground Cherry Jam

I first discovered this intriguing fruit when I was in university. I studied in Montreal, which is about as far away as you can get from California and still be on the same continent, both geographically and also culturally.

People wear fur coats! That's one big cultural difference. Also, French. It's a different language, and a different mindset. On the whole, I absolutely loved living in Montreal. It's a city that has a zest for life, and an energy that even -40 degree days can't quite chill. Plus, I just love being anywhere that's different. Makes me happy.

One of the things I found that was different was these ground cherries. I was in a little fruit and vegetable shop, just outside of one of the metro stations, and there were baskets of this strange looking fruit that came with its own brown paper wrappers! Pretty cool. So I bought some, and enjoyed the mild, vanilla-y taste they gave off, and then I didn't think that much more of them.

Until this past week when my uncle handed me a whole grocery bag full of them that he had grown in his garden and invited me to try my hand at turning them into jam.

As you probably know, I've made jam before. Peach, plum, rhubarb, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, no fruit is safe from me! But ground cherries, or pohas as they're called in Hawaii, or cape gooseberries as they're also known, seemed like a whole different kettle of fish.

First off, there are those adorable papery wrappers that they come in. Adorable, yes. Practical? Probably. I do think they help the fruit stay fresher longer. But. oh. my. word. They take a bit of time to take off. I spent somewhere in the vicinity of three hours separating wrapper from berry, and I consider it a true testament to my powers of self control that I didn't throw in the towel or run out on the street and commit a berry-induced murder. So if you make this jam, I highly recommend recruiting a friend to help you 'shell' the berries. It will go much faster, and then you also won't have as much risk of having a psychotic break caused by small repetitive seemingly meaningless small movements.

Once they're unwrapped though, it's pretty much a cinch to make the jam. I rinsed them and put them in a covered pot on low heat with a bit of water for a few minutes. Then once they started juicing up I uncovered the pot, brought them to a simmer, added two split vanilla beans, and started the process of cooking them down.

Along the way as I tasted I was a little dubious. The flavor is so subtle that it's hard to know what you might want to add. Do they need extra sugar? Actually mine were already pretty sweet. Lemon or lime juice? I was afraid of overpowering the delicate taste (and worried that I had already done so in adding the vanilla). Some online recipes included chamomile, but I didn't have any on hand.

In the end my ingredient list looked something like this:

-One paper grocery store bag half-full of ground cherries/pohas/cap gooseberries (sorry I can't be more precise with that measurement!)
-1/2 cup of water, added at the beginning to prevent scorching
-2 vanilla beans, split and tossed in
-3 to 4 tablespoons of lime juice, to taste (or lemon juice, I only had lime on hand)
-4 tablespoons of honey
-1/2 cup of sugar (which I added because Evan tasted the jam and said, "It's good! It's not supposed to be sweet, right?")

I simmered the jam for probably 90 minutes, give or take, until it passed the cold plate test. (Put a dollop on a cold plate. If a circle of water appears around the jam, it's not ready. No water circle? You're good!) Generally I don't add pectin to my jams, but ground cherries already have a pretty high pectin content, so in this case it's really not necessary. Also, I usually hold off on adding any sugar or honey until the jam is the consistency I like, as this helps with pectin formation.

Then I fished out the vanilla pods, licked them clean (mmm!), poured the jam into clean jars and boiled them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes to seal them. Then I left them out on the counter overnight to let the seals set.

Sadly, one little jar exploded in the hot water bath (I think because I let the jars cool for a few minutes - you should really boil them immediately so there's no temperature differential). Still, from half a grocery store bag of ground cherries, I ended up with 4 pints of jam. Not bad! Now I just have to think of lots of delicious things to eat it on!

(Pictures of the finished jam are coming. I ran out of daylight because it took me so long to unwrap the little suckers!)

Happy Sunday

Today is my day of rest: a day to relax, drink warm coffee, eat delicious food, and snuggle with my cats.

I hope, wherever you are, that you can find some time to do the same.

Strawberries!

I don't know about you, but I feel like I've been living off the fruits of the season this summer. First it was cherries, which I ate as many of as I could (Evan can attest to this, as he witnessed the carnage, and the mountains of pits and stems left over), and these days it seems to be strawberries that I can't get enough of.

This year they seem better than usual, sweeter and more complex. I eat them rinsed, just out of the carton, cut up into little pieces, in yogurt for breakfast and I even made this cake last week (highly recommended, but find lots of people to share it with or you might end up eating it for lunch the next day like I did).

What's your summer fruit? I can't decide if I want to go for peaches or plums next . . .

Toothsome Thursday

The new s'mores cupcake from our friends at OvenLovin. Um, it's seriously heaven. Way better than a real s'mores. And I don't even know why I'm posting about it, because it just makes me want one.

Now, I doubt it's going to be as good, but here's a recent recipe from SpoonForkBacon for s'mores cupcakes. Looks like it's missing out on all the delicious layered magic of this one, though. Graham cracker, chocolate, some magic, mmmmmm . . .

Toothsome Thursday

I took this in August, when tomatoes were having their heyday. I loved this angle of light coming from the window behind the tomatoes. Ah, the fruits of summer!

Toothsome Thursday

I was at the Farmer's Market last Wednesday when I happened upon some organic raspberries going for a very decent price. Twelve boxes for only $20! In October! I'll admit I took advantage of the opportunity.

This is not 12 boxes. This is only 6. I had already rinsed six when I realized it might be nice to take a picture. 

The only thing about raspberries is that they go bad if you look at them sideways. I knew there was no hope of eating them all before they went downhill. Fortunately with my tiny amount of canning experience I was pretty sure it would be easy to make some delicious jam out of them with little to no trouble.

So I set some aside for snacking, rinsed the rest and threw them into a pan on low heat.

Then I crushed them with my trusty wooden spoon, raised the heat to medium and waited for it to come to a boil.

And after a while the raspberries looked something more like this.

Then I cooked them over medium-low heat for about an hour, maybe more, stirring frequently. This is a great time to fold laundry or watch mindless television. I think I read a book on my iPhone in between stirrings. Yes, you need to be near the kitchen, but you don't need to be over the stove every minute.

I waited until the raspberries thickened up and there was almost no liquid left, then I added some sugar to taste. I'm not sure how much, maybe 2 cups? Maybe a little more. They were pretty tart to begin with. And what I ended up with wasn't extremely sweet, but just sweet enough.

Then I canned the jam in a hot water canner. (Boil the jars for at least ten minutes fully submerged in a large pot, then allow them to rest on a towel for about 24 hours. Don't forget to check the seals.)

And I ended up with five cups of gorgeous, delicious raspberry jam that's so flavorful you only need the tiniest bit on a piece of toast to enter nirvana. Yum! I decided not to attempt to remove the seeds because I think they might add some healthy fiber to the jam, and yes, I was feeling a bit lazy. Also, I really don't mind seeds. But if you want to remove the seeds, my guess is that a food mill could probably help you out with that.

I like making things. What can I say? The joy of creation and seeing tangible proof of my efforts is addictive. Jam making, cooking, photography. They're not so different. What do you like to create?

Iron Cupcake

A few weeks ago I got a strange message from Evan.

"Want to go to Iron Cupcake tonight?" it read.

"What???" I believe was my witty and intelligent response.

Well, it turns out that Iron Cupcake is a lot of fun. And kind of wholesome fun, if you discount the part where enormous amounts of sugar, cream, and other delicious ingredients are consumed. Basically, it works like this. Bakers make a boatload of tiny cupcakes based around a theme. They bring them to the Leland Tea Company on a Monday night where a hungry crowd has gathered, and then everyone tastes the cupcakes and votes for the best ones. And the prettiest ones. And the most creative. And drinks a lot of free, delicious tea.

But the best part is the huge quantities of cupcakes. Did I mention that?

If you're interested, the next one is October 24th, and the theme is (appropriately) Candy. Sounds intriguing!

Before Your Next Meal . . .

Often I find I like the in between better. In no-man's-land there are fewer rules and less expectations. More room for experimentation. So, breakfast, lunch, dinner? Yes, please. Of course. BUT ALSO: snacks!

A recent favorite: Greek yogurt with my homemade (yay!) fruit butters. Peach, of course, I told you all about, but I also made strawberry, which I love, and which is just totally unlike any other strawberry jam I've ever tried. Most strawberry jams are so sweet they make your teeth hurt and the strawberry flavor is completely overshadowed. Not to brag, because the strawberries did the heavy lifting themselves, but this is totally different. Tart, simple, clean, delicious. With just a hint of vanilla to add some elegance.

I shot through a chair back to get that lovely brown glow on the right side and top of the image. 

The Milk/Milch/Mjolk/Latte/Leche glasses come from Anthropologie. 

A view from the top. 

Wordless Weekend

Food Week Reprise - Peach Butter

I know I promised to blog this recipe last week, but I lost my cat, and I decided blogging wasn't at the top of my list of priorities that day.

Fortunately, we found the cat, so I can share this deliciousness with you. Honestly, it's pretty phenomenal stuff. And the recipe is so simple, it's a bit unbelievable. I was inspired by this post on Smitten Kitchen, you can check out the original for more in-depth analysis of the peach butter phenomenon, and probably also better directions as well. If you're interested, here's a peach and lemongrass butter that also sounds intriguing.

Ingredients: peaches, the best you can find (optional: sugar and lemon juice, but I used neither). Pretty simple, right? Just fruit, nothing else.

Mmmm, delicious window light. 

Cut your peaches into eighths, and put them in a big pot.

These are not eighths, these are halves. I trust you to know the difference. 

Add a little water (about a cup, maybe a little less). Cover the peaches and cook over medium low heat for about ten minutes, until the peaches soften up and start to release some of their own juices.

Then uncover your pot, and cook the peaches down for a while. Depending on your stove, and how ripe the peaches were when you started, this could be anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour.

After a few minutes.

After about half an hour.

I probably cooked my peaches down a bit too far this time, but I don't think it made a huge difference in the finished product.

Then either puree the peaches in a blender, use an immersion blender, or put them through a food mill. (I used a food mill. This one, if you're interested.)  Once the peaches are blended, return them to the pot and continue to simmer them on medium low heat, stirring frequently. Your goal is to get rid of as much water as possible from the peaches so you're left with only pure peach essence.

Your peach butter is done once it gets thick and sticky, and a spoonful of it on a cold plate doesn't form a ring of water around it. If you're making a small batch over higher heat, this might happen fairly quickly (30 minutes or so). If you're making a larger batch or cooking over lower heat, it could take a while. A couple of hours, maybe. Be prepared to wait it out, because trust me, it's worth it.

Once it's done, you can can it by boiling it in a hot water bath for ten minutes and then setting the cans on the counter for 24 hours. Or you can just put it into a container and make sure you eat it quickly. Or you could freeze it. It's up to you. Make sure to test the seals if you can it. Also know that since there's no added sugar it's probably only shelf stable for a few months instead of the year that most other jam products can last.

Then put some cute stickers on the jars. This is an essential step.

Then enjoy! It's great stirred into yogurt or spread on top of a biscuit. And it's divine on waffles. I think it would also make a very gourmet pb&j.

Peach season is almost over, but this is perfect for very ripe fruit. Let me know if you try it!

Delicious (Food Week Day 6)

Oh, oops, skipped day five. It's been a busy week. And today's a short post - just a delicious sandwich. Can't get better than fresh mozzarella, some basil, a little hummus, and a toasted pita. Oh, and a little balsamic sprinkled on top.

I really will tell you all about the peaches tomorrow, I swear!

August Flame (Food Week, Day 4)

Today I went from this . . . .

. . . . to this . . .

. . . . to this.

August Flame is the name of these peaches. I think it's appropriate. Aren't they gorgeous? As you know, I have a love affair with peaches, as I have proved a couple times before. Come back tomorrow to hear the full story of the latest installment. (Hmm, that seems like an oxymoron. The latest installment of the full story?)

***

I'm trying something new. This is food week on the blog. Every day I'll post a photo of food and then either a story or a recipe. Want to join in? Join the flickr group and post your food photos!