Caramel Macadamia Rice Crispie Treats

Yes. I stink at life. I have not blogged in months. I swore I'd start blogging again....then I didn't. I told you my kitchen would be done soon.....then it wasn't. Not even close, BUT.....this time I mean it. No really. I will be blogging and cooking and photographing again! No, my kitchen is not finished, but all it not lost.....I've been cheating on my kitchen. I confess. There is a new oven in my life *sigh* it's an electric. It's just so hard to tell you this. *wipes tear* but yes, I am using a "boy kitchen."

Until I have a pretty shiny new double oven gas stove happily installed in my own kitchen (which at this rate won't happen until the fall), I will be using my boyfriend's kitchen. I'm slowly infiltrating it. First it was just a Kitchenaide mixer on the counter.....then came the spring form pans, and the souffle dish and even a small frother for hot chocolate. Before you know I'll have properly set up shop! He says he's okay with this....and despite the fact that he helped me move and pack all my kitchen wares, I'm still not sure Brandon really gets just how much gear I own. He understands in theory.......

 He'll understand fully soon. The blog is back and it's being run from his kitchen. It's a good test for the relationship right?

In other news, no, this recipe is not something I came up with on my own. I read this on Epicurious and my jaw hit the keyboard. It's one of the best things I've made in months....and not just because I haven't had a working kitchen in months.....but that helps its case. These were actually made in Butchie's kitchen (gas oven = happy Jana). Do make them. They are delicious and you'll wonder why the gourmet rice crispy trend hasn't taken off yet, because, WOW.

Enjoy!

Caramel Macadamia Rice Crispie Treats

as found on Epicurious 

4 cups puffed-rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies
1 cup salted, roasted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Butter 17- by 12-inch rimmed baking sheet. Line with parchment paper, leaving 1-inch overhang on each end, and butter paper.

In large heatproof steel bowl, toss together cereal and nuts.

In heavy large saucepan over moderate heat, stir together sugar and 6 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves, then raise heat to moderately high and boil without stirring, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, until syrup turns deep amber in color, about 8 minutes. Carefully stir in cream (mixture may splatter and briefly harden) then stir in butter. Remove from heat and stir in salt and vanilla.

Drizzle caramel over cereal-nut mixture and, using heatproof silicone spatula or wooden spoon, stir until fully incorporated. Spread mixture evenly on prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm and slightly cooled, about 10 minutes, then break into bite-sized pieces.

In small metal bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water, combine chocolate and oil. Heat, whisking occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 5 minutes. Drizzle chocolate mixture over Rice Krispie pieces and let stand until chocolate hardens.

Rice Krispies Treats will keep in an airtight container for up to two days.

Chocolate Hazelnut Baklava

Happy Daring Bakers posting day!

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava. Yep. Homemade phyllo! It actually was not as hard as it sounds. Don't get me wrong it wasn't a walk in the park, but I feel pretty good about it!

I actually remembered last night, after the fact, that I meant to try using my pasta machine to roll out the dough. Whoops! But using the rolling pin worked out well enough and I'm actually really happy with the experience. It was my first experience making baklava at all, let alone making my own phyllo! Now I'm not sure I would ever want to make baklava with store bought dough! 

I hope everyone enjoyed this challenge as much as I did...and I really hope they enjoy the next one! (Wink. Wink. Nod. Nod. I wonder who the hostess could be!)

Chocolate Hazelnut Baklava
made one 8x8 pan of baklava

1 1/3 cups unbleached all purpose (plain) flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar (I actually used lemon juice)

1 1/2 cups ground hazelnuts

1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate shavings

2/3 cup sugar
1 cup  melted butter

1/2 cups honey
1/2 cups  water
1/2 cups sugar

To make the phyllo dough:

In the bowl of your stand mixer combine flour and salt. Mix with paddle attachment.

Combine water, oil and vinegar (or lemon juice) in a small bowl.

Add water and oil to the dry mixture in mixer on low speed, mix until you get a soft dough, if it appears dry add a little more water (I had to add a tablespoon more).

Change to the dough hook and let knead approximately 10 minutes. You will end up with beautiful smooth dough. If you are kneading by hand, knead approx. 20 minutes.

Remove the dough from mixer and continue to knead for 2 more minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard on the counter a few times during the kneading process.

Shape the dough into a ball and lightly cover with oil. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest 30-90 minutes, longer is best ( I let mine rest 2 hours and it was perfect).

Rolling your Phyllo:

Use whatever means you have to get the dough as thin as you can. I have included a fantastic video at the end of the post on how to roll out your phyllo dough, using a wooden dowel, which worked perfectly for me. You may also use a pasta machine if you have one, or a normal rolling pin whatever works for you.

Unwrap your dough and cut off a chunk slightly larger then a golf ball. While you are rolling be sure to keep the other dough covered so it doesn’t dry out.

Be sure to flour your hands, rolling pin and counter. As you roll you will need to keep adding, don’t worry, you can’t over-flour.

Roll out the dough a bit to flatten it out.

Wrap the dough around your rolling pin/dowel. Roll back and forth quickly with the dough remaining on the dowel (see attached video for a visual, its much easier then it sounds) Remove; notice how much bigger it is!

Rotate and repeat until it is as thin as you can it. Don’t worry if you get rips in the dough, as long as you have one perfect sheet for the top you will never notice.

When you make it as thin as you can with the rolling pin, carefully pick it up with well floured hands and stretch it on the backs of your hands as you would a pizza dough, it just helps make it that much thinner. Roll out your dough until it is transparent. NOTE: you will not get it as thin as the frozen phyllo dough you purchase at the store; it is made by machine.

Set aside on a well-floured surface. Repeat the process until your dough is used up.

Between each sheet, again, flower well. You will not need to cover your dough with a wet cloth, as you do with boxed dough, it is moist enough that it will not dry out.

Make the syrup:

Combine all ingredients in a medium pot over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved

Boil for 10 minutes, stir occasionally. Allow to cool as baklava cooks

Make The Filling:

Grind chocolate in a food processor and pulse on high until finely chopped. If you do not have a food processor chop with a sharp knife as fine as you can. Stir in ground hazelnuts and sugar. Set aside

Assemble the Baklava:

Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.

Trim your phyllo sheets to fit in your pan

Brush bottom of pan with butter and place first phyllo sheet

Brush the first phyllo sheet with butter and repeat approximately 5 times ending with butter. (Most recipes say more, but homemade phyllo is thicker so it's not needed)

Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top

Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times

Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top

Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times

Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top

Continue layering and buttering phyllo 5 more times. On the top layer, make sure you have a piece of phyllo with no holes if possible, just looks better.

Once you have applied the top layer tuck in all the edges to give a nice appearance.

With a sharp knife cut your baklava in desired shapes and number of pieces. If you can't cut all the way through don’t worry you will cut again later. A 9x9 pan cuts nicely into 30 pieces. Then brush with a generous layer of butter making sure to cover every area and edge

Bake for approximately 30 minutes; remove from oven and cut again this time all the way through. Continue baking for another 30 minutes. (Oven temperatures will vary, you are looking for the top to be a golden brown, take close watch yours may need more or less time in the oven)

When baklava is cooked remove from oven and pour the cooled (will still be warmish) syrup evenly over the top, taking care to cover all surfaces when pouring.

Allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, cover and store at room temperature. Allow the baklava to sit overnight to absorb the syrup.

Serve at room temperature. Garnish with cocoa stripes if desired.

Freezing/Storage Instructions/Tips: There are a few ways to store your baklava. It is recommended that you store your baklava at room temperature in an airtight container. Stored at room temperature your baklava will last for up to 2 weeks. You will notice as the days pass it will get a little juicier and chewier. You may choose to store it in the fridge; this will make it a little harder and chewy, but does increase the shelf life. You can also freeze your baklava and then just set it out at room temperature to thaw.

Additional Information: I have included some videos and links to help you through the process

How to roll the phyllo dough -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvNzAi9w6TU&feature=related

Foodbuzz 24 x 24: Overthyme with Herbs!

If your herb garden is anything like mine, you're drowning. For some reason I decided to plant everything from seed. I did this also last year with startlingly different results. Last year, only my basil and chives came up. So, this year, I figured it would be more of the same and I planted far more seeds than I needed, hoping that just a few would come up. Jokes on me! Just about every seed I planted came up. When I went to thin my plants I gave away at least thirty basil and sage plants alone! I still kept 15 basil plants and 9 sage, not to mention a thicket of oregano, thyme, and a few lowly rosemary plants. Yesterday I gave away two cups of basil, and just today I picked two more, and I have hardly made a dent!  

Lately I've been adding herbs to just about everything I can. Ev.Er.Y. Thing. and I still can't keep up with the growth rate. So, I've started putting away herbs for the winter. Yes, it's a wee bit early, but if you had as much basil growing as I did you'd understand the need to get ahead of the game! I've been trying every means of storage under the sun, and I've learned a lot. There is so much advice out there on how to store herbs! In all this I've learned one thing: I hate dried herbs. 

Why I dislike drying herbs:

1. It’s a LONG process. Ovens will destroy the oils, so you have to be old school.
2. It takes up a lot of space.
3. The worry of air born toxins (gas fumes, hair spray, cigarette smoke)
4. HIGH risk of mold
5. Not ideal for humid locations
6. Dried herbs just don't taste like fresh herbs...but frozen do!

Since I live in the grand old HUMID city of Washington, D. C. drying herbs is one thing I don't get to utilize...so I've learned just THAT much more about freezing herbs, and I have say I'm a huge fan. You can freeze store bought herbs, or fresh from the garden. Now, if you're using store bought, clearly you don't have much say in the matter, but for those of us with the overflowing herb garden, I've read up on a few tips there as well.

Tips for picking herbs:

1. Gather herbs in the early/mid morning after the dew has dried but before the sun has had a chance to draw and disperse their oils. 
2. Don’t pick herbs after rain or when they are damp. 
3. Handle as little as possible. 
4. Keep different herbs separate from each other. 
5. ONLY pick as much as you can deal with.

That last one I have learned is pretty darn important. I can't imagine trying to store all my sage in one day at the end of the summer. Today, those two cups of basil I picked were made into pesto and then frozen into ice cubes! Each week I'll just keep freezing a few herbs at a time and it's going to be so much better than trying to pick that whole mini farm of basil at once! 

How to freeze herbs:

herbs for flash freezing on a tray, thyme and rosemary to be frozen in a bag, ice cubes of basil and tarragon 

You get two options: flash or ice cube freezing. Now, there is a third option of freezing with oil, but I don't understand that one. (Also, you can freeze cubes of pesto, which I did today!), but otherwise I'd prefer to store with water than oil, because when I want to throw an ice cube into a soup or a stew I don't want to add oil at the end, and since the ice cube herbs are best suited for soups and stews, I stick with water.

Flash freezing herb leafs: 

1. Pick the best freshest herbs you can find 
2. Wash and pat herbs dry 
3. Lay on layer of parchment paper on cookie sheet 
4. Freeze overnight
5. Place leaves in freezer bags, using a straw to suck out excess air

Flash Freezing Rosemary or Thyme: 

1. Pick the best freshest herbs you can find 
2. Wash and pat herbs dry 
3. Place in freezer zip lock bags. Allow to freeze fore a few days
4. Roll a rolling pin over, or simply "crunch" the bag. The leaves will fall right off. 
5. Remove stems from bag. 
6. Place leaves in freezer bags, using a straw to suck out excess air

Ice cube tray method

1. Pick the best freshest herbs you can find 
2. Wash and pat herbs dry 
3. Hand chop (or use food processor) leaves (I've left them whole before, it's not much of a difference)
4. Put chopped pieces into ice cube trays and fill with water of stock 
5. Freeze overnight 
6. Place cubes in freezer bags, using a straw to suck out excess air. 

So now that I've shared those little tid bits, let's talk food! Yesterday I had a wee bit of a dinner party to use up all these lovely herbs! An actual garden party with foods served IN the garden! I made some individual sized "tables" to serve my appetizers on!

roasted tomato soup, mini tables, homemade ciabatta and homemade rosemary flavored olive oil

 If you're thinking YES I'd like to make some of those little tables it's EASY. Go to a craft store and you can easily find half inch dowels, and three to four inch wooden disk, and some nails....I think you can see where this is going. Add in some spray paint and they turn out adorably cute and ready for a personal table to stack foods upon like my homemade roasted tomato soup, and ciabatta!

apricot honey thyme soda, homemade basil pasta with brown butter, sage, and parmesan

 But not everything stacks so easily on small tables. My attempts at stacking homemade apricot honey thyme soda on them....were comical. I have a lovely bruise on my foot from falling soda. Which was fine because it scared my friend when they opened it. Never shake soda bottles! ..........or drop them on your foot.....or try to put them on itty bitty personal sized tables. The freshly made basil pasta, with brown butter, sage, and parmesan were fine on the little tables, but silverware was not, so I invited everyone back inside for the main course!

Was that a lot of "well i never"s??? Never made ciabatta? Homemade pasta? Thyme in a soda? Flavored an olive oil? or eaten off a small little table? AWESOME! let's add one more:

Lemon Basil Curd Tarts!

Yes. You've had lemon tarts, I've had lemon tarts, I've posted two lemon tarts in the last year alone, but these are lemon BASIL tarts. Yep. Basil. I told you I was putting herbs in Ev.Er.Y.Thing. I wasn't kidding around. Just look at all the posts I've used herbs for already:

Lavender Honey Caramel "Twix"

Swiss Onion Sage Tart

Brown Butter Sage Quiche

Rosemary Parmesan Crostini

Parmesan Thyme Shortbread

Lemon Basil Flower Shortbread

Lemon Basil Soda

Honey, Lavender & Ricotta

Peach Lemon Thyme Ice Cream

Strawberry Basil Ice Cream

Yep. Everything.

So now that food envy has FULLY set in it's time to wrap this up...and by wrap up I mean put in all the recipes from my dinner yesterday. If you've made it this far in the post you're a trooper! A trooper who deserves wonderful recipes with herbs!

So HERE they are!


Roasted Tomato Soup

3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
8 tablespoons olive oil
1 bulb garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme 

1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped oregano
1/4 teaspoon (or more) dried crushed red pepper
6 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt broth
6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on large baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle tomatoes with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Slice the tops off of the garlic bulbs so that the tip of each clove is exposed. Place the bulbs on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, or until garlic is soft. Continue to roast the tomatoes until brown and tender, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. 

Transfer tomatoes and cloves of garlic along with any accumulated juices to processor. Process until slightly chunky.

Put all ingredients save basil into a large pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until soup thickens slightly, about 25 minutes. (I sometimes leave it just below simmering for a few hours). Remove from heat. Stir in basil. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. 

Ciabatta
as found on Epicurious

For biga
1 cup plus 1 tablespoonroom-temperature water (75°F to 80°F)
1 1/4-ounce package dry yeast
3 1/3 cups bread flour

For dough
Biga (starter dough; see above)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons room-temperature water (75°F to 80°F)
Pinch of dry yeast
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons semolina flour*
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Additional semolina flour

Make biga:
Place water in processor. Sprinkle yeast over. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 8 minutes. Add 1 cup flour; process until blended. Scrape down sides of work bowl. Add 1 cup flour; repeat processing and scraping. Add remaining 1 1/3 cups flour. Process until small moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball (dough will be firm); place in large bowl. Cover; chill overnight (biga will soften, resembling thick oatmeal in texture).

Make dough:
Pull biga into walnut-size pieces; place in a clean large bowl. Add water, yeast and 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons semolina. Using 1 hand, squeeze ingredients together 2 minutes. Work dough 4 minutes by scooping sections from sides of bowl and pressing into center, blending into very soft, shaggy mass. Using spatula, scrape dough from sides of bowl into center. Let dough rest in bowl, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Sprinkle salt over dough. Using 1 hand, knead dough by rotating bowl 1/4 turn at a time, scooping dough from sides and folding down into center until dough starts to come away from sides of bowl, about 5 minutes. Scrape dough from hand and sides of bowl. Cover bowl with towel; let dough rest 20 minutes.

Rotating bowl 1/4 turn at a time, fold dough over onto itself 6 times; turn dough over in bowl. Cover with towel and let dough rest in bowl 20 minutes.

Bake bread:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Sprinkle work surface with additional semolina. Turn dough out onto semolina. Using pastry scraper or large knife, cut dough in half; keep halves separated. Let stand, uncovered, 20 minutes.

Sprinkle 2 large baking sheets with additional semolina. Transfer each dough half, semolina side up, to 1 sheet. Stretch each dough half to 16x4-inch rectangle. Press fingertips into dough in several places to dimple surface (characteristic of this bread). Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool. (Can be prepared 2 weeks ahead. Double-wrap in aluminum foil to freeze.)

Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil

2 cups olive oil
2 large lemons
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Put two half pint mason jars, lids and rings in the oven to sterilize for twenty minutes.

Pour olive oil into a small pan. Grate the zest from the lemons and add it to the oil. Add the rosemary and bay leaf. Heat the oil over medium low heat until it reached 200 degrees. Cook at that temperature for 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

Divide sprigs of rosemary between the jars. Using a funnel, pour the oil into the bottles. Cover tightly and invert (lid side down), to cool. Store at room temperature.

Basil Pasta with Brown Butter Sage Sauce
the amounts in blue serve 2, the amounts in black serve 8

1 lb. bread flour (3 1/4 ounces)
5 eggs (1 egg)
1 handful of basil, finely chopped (8 basil leaves)
semolina flour for dusting

8 tablespoons butter, divided
1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh sage

parmesan cheese

In an electric mixer, using the dough hook, mix flour and eggs on medium speed for 3 minutes, or until a firm dough forms. Take the dough out of the mixer and knead by hand until the dough is smooth (about a minute or more). Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for on hour.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into four balls (or one) and flatten the ball into a disk. Run through your pasta machine on the thickest setting a few times. Lightly dust with semolina and run the sheet through the machine on a thinner setting. Repeating this process until the the dough is a millimeter or so thick. Cut the dough into desired shape either by hand or machine.

Cook immediately in boiling water until al dente. 

Meanwhile prepare the brown butter and sage sauce. Cook butter in medium skillet over medium-high heat until butter begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add sage. Season with salt and pepper. 

When ready poor sauce over pasta and garnish with grated parmesan

Apricot Honey Thyme Soda

1 cup honey
1 cup water
thyme
apricot juice
soda water

To make apricot honey thyme simple syrup, boil together honey and water until fully combined. Remove from heat. Seep one handful of thyme in the mixture for twenty minutes. Strain and reserve the syrup. Allow to cool completely. Store in the refrigerator.

Mix one part apricot juice with one part honey thyme syrup with four parts soda water. For a single serving a part is equal to 1/4 cup.

Lemon Basil Curd Tart
makes 4 four inch tarts or one 9 inch tart

1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a stand mixer, cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in flour, kosher salt, cream and vanilla, until mixture is moist and crumbly.

Press dough into four 4-inch tart pans (or one 9 or 10 inch tart pan) and press it up the sides, making sure the layer on the bottom is even.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crust is set and firm at the edges. Cool, then fill with desired filling and bake as that recipe directs.

Lemon Basil Curd Filling

1 cup sugar
2/3 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed and strained
1 handful basil chopped
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 large eggs
2 egg yolks
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into half inch pieces

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, basil and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally.

In a large bowl, whisk together zest, eggs and egg yolks. When sugar mixture comes to a boil, strain out basil and pour very small amounts down the side of the bowl into the egg mixture while whisking continuously to temper the mixture. Continue to add only a few tablespoons at a time until all has been incorporated.

Transfer egg mixture back to sauce pan and return to stove. Cook on medium heat until thickened, about 8 minutes, whisking frequently.

Remove custard from stove and whisk in butter, adding in one piece at a time.

When all butter has been added, cool curd for 15 minutes before pouring into prepared tart crusts.

Refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours before serving.

Strawberry Basil Ice Cream

And I'm back. A mighty mighty thanks to everyone who has sent me information on DC housing laws. The landlord issue has been infuriating. On Saturday my roommate talked to him and he said that $1000 a room was normal, and totally reasonable. I think it's been too many years since he's set foot in the house. He forgets that the third bedroom is only a few feet larger than a walk in closet, that none of the shower fixtures have been updated in 15 years, or that every wall in the house is crooked to some degree. He also made comments about how he hopes we've gotten raises in the last few years....we have, but not the 30% increase he's asking for! 30%??? Great. Double my income and I can afford to stay living in my home of the last three and a half years. Insanity. 

We still have no answers. On Saturday the landlord said he'd talk it over with is wife and we'd continue this via email, so that all the roommates could be involved. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday....I've heard nothing. That must be one long conversation. Ideally, I would love to find a way to keep my house for another year at least. Give me time to make my peace and form an exit strategy...and hopefully a better economy. DC is one of the healthiest job markets in the country....finding a job in the South could be tough. I could bolster my savings, search apartments, look for jobs, research cities....a year would be good. 

I like the idea a few of you suggested: bribery via lemon mascarpone tart. I wish I had thought of that before I ate them all in my distress. So, perhaps I can bribe him with strawberry basil ice cream? Let's hope. It'd be great to not have this weighing on my mind much longer. 

Strawberry Basil Ice Cream 

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar plus additional for strawberries

2 cups half and half

1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 tsp. lemon extract

2 handfuls basil 

Scald one cup of half and half along with ½ cup sugar and one handful of basil over medium heat in a medium sauce pan. Remove from heat. Allow to sit for a few minutes before discarding the basil.

In a stand mixer whisk together the yolks and ¼ cup sugar until light and fluffy, then gradually pour the scalded half and half down the side of the bowl as the mixer is still going.

Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture has thickened and will coat the back of the spoon. Remove from heat, and pour through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Add in the remaining half and half and lemon extract. Chill the custard thoroughly. About two hours. 

Place strawberries in a bowl and dust lightly with sugar. Allow to sit for one hour. 

Puree the strawberries and push through a fine mesh sieve, and into the chilled custard. Puree the basil and add into the chilled custard. Stir gently to combine. 

Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Allow the ice cream to churn until finished. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Ciabatta & Rosemary Olive Oil

I had a sad experience in Ciabatta making. I made the recipe from the bread makers apprentice, followed every pain staking step, for day I let the bread rise in the refrigerator, and in the end I had thick crumb wolf's white bread in airy ciabatta sheep clothing. The loaves looked perfect, but once you cut into them...well...after two days of waiting for this bread to be amazing, it's worth a good cry. Tasted great, just wasn't ciabatta. 

The bread you see above came after some painstaking internet searches. I read posts by other people who had the same issues with BMA ciabatta and read that this recipe from Bon Appetit magazine would work out FAR better, and praise you internet foodies, you were right. For half the trouble I got some beautiful ciabatta. I'd make a few changes sure, but beautiful bread! So beautiful it needs shared!

But what's good bread without good oil to dip it in? This is also my recipe for flavoring olive oil. I can it and store ahead for months of enjoyment. I hope you like it too!


Ciabatta
as found on Epicurious with one tiny change

For biga
1 cup plus 1 tablespoonroom-temperature water (75°F to 80°F)
1 1/4-ounce package dry yeast
3 1/3 cups bread flour

For dough
Biga (starter dough; see above)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons room-temperature water (75°F to 80°F)
Pinch of dry yeast
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons semolina flour*
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Additional semolina flour

Make biga:
Place water in processor. Sprinkle yeast over. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 8 minutes. Add 1 cup flour; process until blended. Scrape down sides of work bowl. Add 1 cup flour; repeat processing and scraping. Add remaining 1 1/3 cups flour. Process until small moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball (dough will be firm); place in large bowl. Cover; chill overnight (biga will soften, resembling thick oatmeal in texture).

Make dough:
Pull biga into walnut-size pieces; place in a clean large bowl. Add water, yeast and 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons semolina. Using 1 hand, squeeze ingredients together 2 minutes. Work dough 4 minutes by scooping sections from sides of bowl and pressing into center, blending into very soft, shaggy mass. Using spatula, scrape dough from sides of bowl into center. Let dough rest in bowl, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Sprinkle salt over dough. Using 1 hand, knead dough by rotating bowl 1/4 turn at a time, scooping dough from sides and folding down into center until dough starts to come away from sides of bowl, about 5 minutes. Scrape dough from hand and sides of bowl. Cover bowl with towel; let dough rest 20 minutes.

Rotating bowl 1/4 turn at a time, fold dough over onto itself 6 times; turn dough over in bowl. Cover with towel and let dough rest in bowl 20 minutes.

Bake bread:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Sprinkle work surface with additional semolina. Turn dough out onto semolina. Using pastry scraper or large knife, cut dough in half; keep halves separated. Spray with olive oil and dust with bread flour. Let stand, uncovered, 20 minutes.

Sprinkle 2 large baking sheets with additional semolina. Transfer each dough half, semolina side up, to 1 sheet. Stretch each dough half to 16x4-inch rectangle. Press fingertips into dough in several places to dimple surface (characteristic of this bread). Spray with olive oil and dust with bread flour. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool. (Can be prepared 2 weeks ahead. Double-wrap in aluminum foil to freeze.)

Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil

2 cups olive oil
2 large lemons
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Put two half pint mason jars, lids and rings in the oven to sterilize for twenty minutes.

Pour olive oil into a small pan. Grate the zest from the lemons and add it to the oil. Add the rosemary and bay leaf. Heat the oil over medium low heat until it reached 200 degrees. Cook at that temperature for 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

Divide sprigs of rosemary between the jars. Using a funnel, pour the oil into the bottles. Cover tightly and invert (lid side down), to cool. Store at room temperature. 

Lingerie Cookies

When life hands you lemons......stop right there. If you are reading this, you know how to cook on some level, and realize how incredibly obtuse it is to claim that a lemon is something unfortunate to be handed.  You use the zest and juice in next to everything. Dale Carnegie, the author of this cliche, was a writer and lecturer: not a chef. He wrote the book How to Win Friends and Influence People. Great book, nice saying, but not incredibly inventive, and he hardly mentioned just how much love and influence you get from being the best chef in the kitchen. Lemons? Ha. I'd be annoyed if life handed me radishes.

Today, life handed out cards instead of produce. It handed me the "get out of work" free card. I got to stay home and wait for the cable repair guy. It's no trip to Disney Land but I'll take it. It handed my friend the "have a horribly painful pain in the @#$%&* procedure" card.....given our wicked humor, that of course meant some scantily clad and theme appropriate cookies. Since I got to spend the day at home it was perfect timing to spend all too much time placing itty bitty sugar pearls on cookies.....which earned me an interesting look from the cable guy. Yep. I explained but that didn't seem to help.

These little ditties would also work for bachelorette parties, or lingerie parties, or breast cancer awareness month...the possibilities are endless. Plus, it's super easy! If you have a heart cookie cutter you are good to go.

Enjoy! And may you have no pain-in-the-@#$%& reasons to make these cookies. They can't cure anything, but they will at least give somebody a good laugh!

Lingerie Cookies

½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
1 cup Confectioners Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp Vanilla Extract or seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Cream together the butter (I do not allow butter to soften), sugar and any flavorings you’re using. Beat until just becoming creamy in texture. Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms. Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.

Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5 mm. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.

Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.

Cut out cookies using a heart cookie cutter. Using a knife, cut off the tips of the hearts. Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour.

Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.

Leave to cool on cooling racks. Once completely cooled, decorate with royal icing.

Royal Icing

2 ½ - 3 cups Confectioner’s Sugar, un-sifted
2 Large Egg Whites
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Almond Extract, optional

food coloring, optional

Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined. Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites. Beat on low until combined and smooth. Divide icing between containers, if making multiple colors. Add food color and mix until incorporated.  Use immediately or keep in an airtight container.

Place icing into a piping bag with a very narrow tip. Draw the outlines of each bra or pantie per your choosing. Fill in the cups of the bra and decorate with sprinkles or other colors of royal icing.

Brown Butter, Sage and Parmesan Quiche

Look at me, kicking my type A to the curb. Normally I post on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. HA! It's a Tuesday! I just skipped right over Monday. Yesterday I was thinking "right, I gotta post that recipe from brunch with the ladies on Saturday." Then my inner, newly acquired Jiminy-Sloth-Cricket said "WHY? It's not like posting a day later is a big difference! It's not life or death if you post tomorrow. Take a break. Slow down on a Monday. Kick back, and post tomorrow."

He he. I love my little Jiminy Sloth Cricket. I mean seriously, are any of you gravely disappointed in me for posting a day later? Okay, some of you will feign anger to be funny. To that I say....... Thank you! You are my people! I love sarcasm! To anyone who is really truly angry...I think you might need to consider anger management, as you clearly are displacing your anger of another issue. Best of luck!

That extra sloth day has made a huge difference. I am actually feeling pretty perky....whereas yesterday you would have gotten my incredibly BITTER rant about DC traffic Saturday night. Today I'm kinda like yeah, peace, love, unicorns and puppies. Big difference! (Although, you DCists will understand, my traffic woes were due to rainbows and parades. Holy road closures, Batman!)

So here's the recipe you could have gotten yesterday, but didn't, and I'm not sorry. :) The idea for this recipe came from my having herbs coming out my ears. I've given away roughly 30 basil and 30 sage plants in the course of the last week. Every. Single. Person. that I gave a sage plant to automatically talked about loving brown butter and sage gnocchi. So, I turned that idea into a quiche of brown butter, parmesan and sage for brunch.

Love it. Happy Tuesday!

Brown Butter, Sage and Parmesan Quiche

1 and 3/4 cups flour

 ½ cup unsalted butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon cream

1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

Put all the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Cut the butter in tiny cubes. Mix on medium speed using the whisk attachment until the dough looks like coarse sand grains.

Switch to using the paddle attachment and add the egg and cream. Mix until a dough forms.

Scoop out the dough into plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour before using.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Allow to warm slightly before rolling out. Roll out to about an eight of an inch thick and transfer to a 9 inch pie dish or smaller tart shells

Bake pie shell in preheated oven for 8 minutes.

Filling: 

8 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh sage

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
4 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups half and half

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups shredded parmesan

Cook butter in medium skillet over medium-high heat until butter begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add sage and lemon peel. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and milk.

Spread 1 cup shredded cheese in the bottom of pie crust. Cover with egg mixture. Pour brown butter and sage across the top of the egg mixtures. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until filling is puffed and golden brown. Serve warm.

S'mores Bar

Be proud of me Type-As of the world. Living true to my word, and trying very hard to follow up on the advice of my many new sloth sponsors, today I am slothful. Instead of going to work, I went to meet a friend for donuts. Instead of worrying about racing to the metro and being on time, I was unrepentant about being half an hour late for donuts....and about five hours late for work (he he he). Instead of eating a healthy balanced breakfast, I ate three donuts, laughed, and lounged in the rather disturbing underground network of Crystal City, Virginia. It is a whole other world down there.

Yes, I showed up to work at 1 pm. I am blogging at work. I have eaten nothing today but donuts and diet soda...from a can (that actually could be improved upon). I think I might go get lunch before actually doing any work, and then I might watch Netflix movies while eating. I'm liking my sloth. I just need to weed out the gluttony that seems to be creeping in.

On a side note, where on the relaxation scale does it fall if I ignore the meditation bullet point on my to do list? I'm torn about that. I feel happy I ignored the bullet point....but ignoring meditation seems counterproductive. I feel like it's a Catch 22 on the Sloth Scale.

Everyone was so rave about the graham crackers from Wednesday that I thought it might be nice to one up myself, but two days later and not in a hurry. It's only fitting, I'm building on my graham cracker sloth plan. Feel free to pause a moment and consider the symbolism of a graham cracker base, fluffy marshmallow layer, covered in a smooth chocolate glaze....or don't because seriously: It's a s'more. Somehow it might relate to life, but I'm betting not. Let me know if you come up with it. Being slothful, I'm going to be too lazy today to think it through. :)

Enjoy!

S'mores Bars

S'more Bar Base
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground Vietnamese cinnamon
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
1/3 cup honey
5 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and mix on low until it resembles course meal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the liquids. Add to the flour mixture and mix on low until the dough barely comes together. Pour the dough out onto plastic wrap and form it into a one inch thick rectangle.

Press the dough into the bottom of a 9x13 baking sheet (that is either oiled or lined with parchment paper.

Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned and semi firm to the touch. Cooking times will vary greatly depending on thickness, ovens, and pans used.

Now that that's well taken care of, make the marshmallow layer

S'more Bar Marshmallow Layer
Adapted from Alton Brown

1 1/2 packages unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup ice cold water, divided
6 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 3/4 cups
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Flavorings or food colors, as desired

Fit your stand mixer with its whisk attachment. Pour the gelatin and 1/4 cup of the ice water into its bowl. Allow to sit as you continue to make the marshmallow syrup.

In a small saucepan combine: 1/4 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Cover and cook on medium or medium high heat for about 3 minutes. No need to stir.

Take the lid of the syrup, and attach your candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Continue to boil for about 7 minutes until the syrup reaches 240 degrees and remove from heat immediately.

Put your stand mixer on low speed churning the gelatin mixture for a few turns and then, while running, SLOWLY pour the syrup down the side of the bowl. When all the syrup is incorporated, increase to a high speed. I cover the stand mixer with a tea towel for the first few minutes to prevent hot syrup from flying around my kitchen. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 -13 minutes. Add the vanilla, and other flavors or colors, if using, during the last minute of whipping.

Pour the marshmallow cream onto the graham cracker base.

If you have a sugar shaker, I recommend shaking on a little powdered sugar to coat slightly. Then take a few tablespoons of the powdered mixtures and brush on over top of the marshmallows. Allow to sit for an hour or so.

Now to add a chocolate glaze. 

S'more Bar Chocolate Glaze 
Adapted from Satiny Chocolate Glaze

3/4 cup semisweet chocoalte chips
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each time until smooth. Do not overcook. 

Pour over marshmallow layer. Using a spatula spread the chocolate into a thin layer. Make additional chocolate glaze as needed.

Allow to set for a few hours. Cut up and enjoy! 

Cinnamon Graham Crackers

 Hello, my name is Jana and I'm a Type A personality.

I'm trying not to be. I made chore-a-day schedule so I'd work less around the house....FAIL. My method for being less Type A is to create an organized schedule??? I think I need a be-more-slothful sponsor.

My five point plan to make my life like a vacation includes being a "slacker." One problem....slackers don't have five point plans! Type A over organized, workaholic, never say die types do. Can you feel the failure oozing off the screen?

I've been working on this plan for a few weeks now. Yes, working on a plan to not work. Awesome. On the ideal vacation I think I'd like to chill at a beach house, in a small little town. Ride a bike to a local ice cream shop, sit and stare at the ocean, read a book, have cook outs with friends, lay in hammocks, sip lemonade, fall asleep on the beach listening to the sounds of the waves....and the best parts: not doing my hair or make up or wearing "real" clothes, just swimsuits and cover ups and flip flops. I hear that on vacations you don't clean, you don't over schedule, you don't run from here to there all the time.....well that's the vacation for the people who aren't Type A. I tend to keep my blackberry in hand, check emails, schedule my leisure and feel awkward if there is a gap of nothing to do.

Since breaking my toe Monday, all thanks to the stupid blackberry, I've realized I've been talking a big game lately about the simple joys in life, but failing at the follow through. Something about running into a pole in downtown DC (while texting) just gives you a little wake up call. So, I'm gonna rewind and accept the truth. I'm Type A and focusing on small things that makes me happy might be harder than I've realized. Instead of thinking this through, I've turned to the internet to give me something simpler, like graham crackers with a glass of milk. I may not be able to force myself to chill out for reals without injury inducements, but I am able to make a graham cracker. It's reminiscent of those simpler times when the biggest trial of the day was digging the purple crayon out of the bottom of the crayon bucket. Well for you at least, I had pint sized panic attacks about coloring in the lines.

Help me. I'll share crayons, cookies, recipes, anything if somebody will be my sloth sponsor. :)

Cinnamon Graham Crackers
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/2 teaspoon ground Vietnamese cinnamon
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
1/3 cup honey
5 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

to garnish: 
3 tablespoons  granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground Vietnamese cinnamon

Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and mix on low until it resembles course meal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the liquids. Add to the flour mixture and mix on low until the dough barely comes together. Pour the dough out onto plastic wrap and form it into a one inch thick rectangle. Wrap the dough with additional plastic wrap and chill for two hours.

Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Flour a large work surface and roll the dough into a large rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Flour the rolling pin as needed. Cut the dough into your desired shapes. For traditional crackers cut into 8x4 inch rectangles.

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats. 

Place the crackers on prepared baking sheets and sprinkle with the garnish. Chill for an additional hour.  Gather any scraps together and pat into the other half of dough in the fridge. If you had additional cookies sheets, you can continue the process with the second half of dough.

Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350°F.

If you are making a traditionally shaped cracker, make a vertical line down the middle of each cracker and a horizontal line down the middle of each cracker using the blunt end of a butter knife, fork prongs, or whatever suits you. For non traditional cookies, add lines or dotted indentations per your fancy.

Bake for 15 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned and firm to the touch. Cooking times will vary greatly depending on thickness, ovens, and pans used.

Salted Almond Toffee

I love toffee! So I play around with the recipe now and then. A year ago, the salted caramel craze got me thinking and I made my first batch of salted almond toffee. I love the combination of the crunchy toffee with the salted almonds! I hope you do too!

A couple weeks ago I got an offer to see what some of my photography would like put onto canvas from Easy Canvas Prints and I jumped at it. Who wouldn't? Put a favorite print on canvas? Yes please!  My mother and I had been talking a few weeks before about how she'd like to get some of my photographs up on the walls of her cabin (This is your cue to say "Ah! What a sweet mother!") and I thought this would be a perfect gift for her (Ah! What a sweet daughter!").

You can see the original photo on the left and canvas print on the right. It's a lovely replication. A few minor differences get made in the translation between photograph and canvas, as you can see: slightly more dark, a little less crisp, and the colors are a bit cooler. When they aren't put side by side you'd hardly notice. The texture of the canvas is lovely, very smooth, fluid even. My mother is absolutely delighted with it and is thinking of getting a few others and creating a collage. I find it a little funny that instead of putting my artwork on the fridge like mom's do in elementary school....she's putting up my artwork of what's in my fridge. Trust me, this looks much better than my finger paintings of unicorns! 

Now, back to toffee (Ah! What a sweet treat!). Is that getting old yet? I love toffee. It's one of my obsessions. Now, as I am focusing on my summer being more like a true summer vacation, I decided some toffee was in order. A tin of toffee on my desk at work just makes the horrid heat, the annoying boss, the excessively large stack of work that got put on my desk while my back was turned all feel far more manageable. Everything feels better with toffee...even work.  

So why salted? Just for a little twist, a little salty sweet flavor. If you like that idea you should also look at this toffee:

Bacon Toffee

But, if bacon's not your style, salted almonds add an extra bit of flair for your traditional toffee. Enjoy!

Salted Almond Toffee

2 cups blanched almonds

1 cup + 2 tsp. unsalted butter, divided

2 tsp fleur de sel

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons water

1 cup chocolate chips (I prefer dark or semi-sweet)

Preheat the oven to 350.

Place the almonds in a baking dish. Toast until golden, about 12 minutes.

While the nuts are still warm, toss with two teaspoons of butter and fleur de sel until coated.

Spread the nuts out one a piece of aluminum foil into the shape of a large oval.

Cook the remaining butter, sugar, and water in a heavy saucepan, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer says it has reached the hard crack stage. Remove from heat immediately and pour over nuts.

Allow to sit for five minutes and spread chocolate chips over the surface of the warm toffee.

When melted use a knife to spread the melted chocolate across the top of the toffee.

Any salted almonds that are not covered in toffee or chocolate can be removed and chopped as a garnish.

Allow the toffee to sit until the chocolate has set. If you’re in a hurry, place the toffee in the refrigerator to set more quickly.

When set, use a large knife to cut the toffee into pieces.

Enjoy!  

Homemade Sodas and Party Planning tips:

Homemade Soda: pomegranate clementine, lemon basil, and strawberry lime. 

A week ago, my friend Tyler and I started discussing the differences between the months of vacation given in European nations, compared to the standard two weeks of vacation in the US, and worse, the way we spend our vacations. I've been reading about how American's are so overstressed that we come back from vacation feeling more fried than when we left for it. We over-schedule ourselves with our "leisure activities," keep our smartphones in hand, and worry about our inbox awaiting us upon return. 

I realized that my vacation planning, my party planning, my life planning was. just. too. much. stress. So, I made the decision to enjoy summer the way it was meant to be: full of parties for one or more where I don't over schedule, where I enjoy good meals with good friends. I've decided to make my daily life more of a vacation. More time on the porch, more kicking back in the shade with lemonade, more games of bocce and creating little places of joy around my house.  

In the spirit of taking back my Summer Vacation from the grasp of the DC hustle and bustle and my ever loving desire to raise money for charity (cherry tea, get it?), I've decided to give my best tip for a good cause. Kelly Ripa and Electrolux have been raising money for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. If you give them a party planning tip, they'll donate one dollar, and enter you to win a pretty fancy refrigerator. Want to help? Visit Kelly Confidential and give them your best impromptu party planning tip!

My Tip: Be bubbly. Always have soda ingredients on hand: soda water, fruit juices, and simple syrups. 

I live by this tip. I currently have three flavors of simple syrup in my fridge: plain, basil, and cucumber. I have fresh fruits and juices all around the house and in one minute I can make up a large batch of homemade, fresh, flavorful soda. I also keep a stock of vintage soda bottles for serving! Next time you buy soda in glass bottles don't recycle! Reuse! Make you're own soda in adorable bottles and feel good about knowing each and every ingredient in your soda. I make a homemade soda for myself everyday. Yes. Every. Single. Day.  My current obsessions are shown above: pomegranate clementine, lemon basil, and strawberry lime.

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 cup water 

Boil the water and sugar together for five minutes. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. 

**To flavor the simple syrup, such as for basil, add a handful of torn basil before boiling. 

1/2 part clementine juice

1/2 part pomegranate juice

1 part simple syrup

4 parts soda water. 

1 part lemon juice

1 part basil simple syrup (see note above) 

4 parts soda water 

Mix it all together and drink. :)

1 part lime juice

1 part simple syrup

4 parts soda water

2 strawberries sliced 

Mix it all together and drink. :)

Perhaps you noticed the trend: 1 part fruit juice, 1 part simple syrup and 4 parts soda water. You can make a batch for twenty, or a personal sized soda to kick back with. Add some fresh fruit, add some extract, some spices, some herbs, some this or that and anything else. That's the beauty, whatever you have around can make a fantastic homemade soda! My recommendation is that per person one part is equal to one fourth of a cup.

But that doesn't seem like enough. Here are a few more tips based on my little Memorial Day shin dig. 

• Tip: Take it outside! When I'm decorating in a hurry, my best tip is to take a few favorite things from inside the house and create a little homey space outside! On the left you'll see a few of my favorite things: sheer white curtains, paintings, picture frame collages, cucumber water, homemade paper flowers, all in bright vibrant colors! Total time: 20 minutes!  

• Tip: Chill Out. Now this tip I read in a magazine. Take hand towels, spritz them with lemon water and give them to your guests to cool off and refresh before sitting down to eat. After a few lawn games you'll want them. Their tip was to the heat the towels....but it's blazing hot, so my tip,is to stick them in the freezer for a few minutes to cool them off. If you want warm hand towels, microwave them for about ten seconds! 

Tip: Don't Make Lemonade. Take a non-toxic marker and make lemons into place holders instead make seating "cards." I go onto a free font site, pick a font, and make a custom preview of my friends names to copy onto their place cards...or place produce. Want to see some more of my examples? Check out my BBQ for all dinner. Scroll down till you see deviled eggs in bird nests. :)

The next best thing is, by using non toxic markers (and not eating the lemon peel!) you can still use the lemons later for lemon basil soda!

Now let's talk food!

I'm from the Southwest, a good ol' Arizona girl. So my go quick meals are all Mexican food. My personal fave is making my own tortilla chips. It takes all of ten minutes and you can make anything from garlic and cayenne, to cilantro lime, or show off your fancy salt collection with some coconut lime salt chips (Thanks Mom!). 

corn tortillas
sprayable olive oil
seasonings (kosher salt, cayenne pepper, garlic salt, etc.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Spray each side of the tortillas with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasonings. Place into a stack and cut into fourths.

Arrange tortilla triangles on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 6 to 7 minutes or until crisp with curled brown edges.

Remove from oven to cool.

But what are chips without salsa? This is NOT a quick recipe, but worthwhile. :)

3 pounds tomatillos, husked, rinsed
2 small serano peppers, stem removed
5 small garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
¾ bunches fresh cilantro (no stems)
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/6 cup fresh mint leaves
3 T. sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Mix tomatillos and peppers in large saucepan. Cover with water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until soft, about 15 minutes. Occasionally roll the tomatillos around in the water so they cook evenly. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes. Drain.

Put all the ingredients, except vegetable oil and salt into a food processor and blend to your desired consistency.

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add salsa and simmer for a few minutes until your desired thickness. Stir in kosher salt.

And last but not least it wouldn't be a Memorial Day BBQ without cheese burgers and fries. For the first time ever, I made a black bean burger.....Yep. If you know me, you know I'm a red meat and potatoes kinda woman so this was a big step for me (entirely out of love for my friend Thelma. Darn her).

2 (14-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and WELL drained, divided
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1 small vidalia onion, diced and caramelized
1/3 of a Serrano pepper, seeds removed, diced
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 soft hamburger buns
6 slices of chipotle cheddar cheese
6 tablespoons salsa verde (see above)
other toppings, such as tomatoes or guacamole

Preheat oven to 350. 

Pulse 1 can beans in a food processor with bread crumbs, cilantro, lime juice, and garlic until a coarse purée forms. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cilantro, second can of beans, caramelized onions and serrano peppers. Form mixture into 6 patties.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook burgers until outsides are crisp and lightly browned, turning once, about 5 minutes total.

Bake for an additional five minutes in the oven with chipotle cheddar cheese slices on top. Cook until burgers are firm and cheese is melted. 

Serve on buns with salsa verde and additional toppings as desired.

Enjoy!