Rosemary - Peach Salad

I house sat this summer, and several weeks ago I was locked in a chicken coop.
Twice. Within a couple days.
The first time the knot on the rope to open the door from inside had slipped and come undone.
Normal problem I'm sure, it'd eventually happen anyway.
Luckily, I was only in there about 10-15 minutes, looking around and wondering how I’d get out, before someone showed up who I could call to open the door for me. I was certainly grateful.
You see, chickens are ok company, but not my most favorite.
Anyway, I "fixed" the door so it wouldn't happen again.

Yes, I fixed it by not really paying complete attention and tying the rope to the wrong hole in the latch. The door shuts behind you, and... it doesn't matter how much you pull the rope.
(Uh-oh and a bit of internal panic.)
The second time it happened was a Saturday and nobody else was around so I had to figure something out by myself. 

I found a stick on the dirt floor of the coop, and I was able to get it through a gap in the door, and wiggling it into the hole of the latch, jimmying it at the right angle while slightly shaking the door so that the latch would release.

While I was working on this, I had the feeling of being a monkey in a film strip (these things seemingly ONLY in film strips, the kind you'd possibly watched in grade school, if we had some of the same early grade school experiences- projector, rolls of film pulled from tin cans, and pull-down screen... the whole shebang), while the voice-over would say, "We had previously thought man was the only animal having the use of tools."
And I was glad no one was there to watch.

Long story short, it ended up working (yay), and again I was only locked in there 10-15 minutes.
Next step, I want to learn how to pick locks. It's inspired.

Why tell this story?
There's really no good reason, other than about the same time I was trying to brainstorm different ways to use summer fruit.
Good story.

And so, this is a fabulous end-of-summer salad with a great combination of flavors.  It could be your starter, or you could possibly make into a light meal with a little tweaking.
I've served it six times for different dinners in the past few weeks, and I made it for my own dinner twice this week, along with open-faced BLTs (also great for summer if you find some good heirloom tomatoes and meaty bacon). Needless to say, I think it's quite alright.
And a safe bet.
No eggs required.

Rosemary - Peach Salad
(Vinaigrette for 4-5)

Vinaigrette:
1 T (15 ml) finely minced shallot
1 T (15 ml) Sherry vinegar
1/8 t kosher or sea salt (a nice pinch)
1/2 t fresh minced rosemary needles (visually, maybe a hazelnut-sized amount)
1 t (5 ml) honey
4 T (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

proscuitto/speck (thinly sliced, about piece per person- depending on size)
greens (mixed, spring, baby spinach...) 
a ripe peach (1 large for 4 people)
thinly sliced green onion (optional, but nice)
minced parsley (ditto)
toasted sliced almonds (or pecans... not optional)
fresh basil leaves (also optional here, but a great addition- I promise, use if you have it)

Other possibilities: 
fresh mozzarella or burrata
cherry tomatoes
strawberries (maybe it sounds crazy, but I think a little bit would add some nice color and flavor here)


Preheat the oven to 400 F (204 C).
To make the vinaigrette,  combine the shallots, Sherry vinegar, and salt in a small jar or bowl.  Let sit 5 mintues, add the rosemary, and let sit another 5 minutes. To the sherry mixture, add the honey and mix well.  If making vinaigrette in a jar, add about 1/4 of the olive oil and shake the jar to blend. Add about 1/2 of the remaining olive oil and shake well. Add the last of the olive oil and shake again to combine. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and set aside.
(If using a bowl to make the vinaigrette, whisk in the olive oil in a slow stream...)

While the shallots sit in the vinegar, crisp the proscuitto. Carefully separate the proscuitto and place it on a sheet pan in a single layer, and cook in the preheated oven 5-8 minutes. It will darken and dry as it cooks, but will finish crisping after it has been removed from the oven to cool. Move the proscuitto on the pan a bit to make sure it's not stuck, then let cool completely.

To assemble salads, place a handful of greens on each plate or in bowls. Sprinkle with green onion and parsley (if using). Cut the peach into eighths and use 2/8 per person, slicing into bite-sized pieces and distributing them over the greens. Re-shake or whisk the vinaigrette (if necessary) and spoon over the salads. Crumble the proscuitto over the salads and top with sliced almonds. Sprinkle with a little chiffonade of basil, if using, and serve.

Nectarine-Brown Butter Tart

Need a summer fruit dessert?
I'm trying to write things down in a more or less solid place because I keep misplacing my notes...
I first made a version of brown butter nectarine last year (though maybe it was peach at the time), and I can't remember where I found the "jumping off point" recipe- so I can't give credit where credit may be due- but, there were changes made a few times if that makes anyone feel better about the situation.
However, it's also very much like the peach pie we used to have in the summer when I was growing up... which I'm realizing I haven't had in years... so there's that, too.
(For now it is what it is, but I hope to try the pastry out with an oat/rice/cornstarch blend in the near future.)

You can use any stone fruit on this one, wonderful this time of year- as you choose or whatever is available to you. Make sure it's something ripe, though not overly so: nectarines, peaches, plums, apricots--- even cherries.
No matter what, you want to use a type of fruit that is intense and slightly sweet and/or tart with a luscious heavier flesh, a body to it. No flimsy fruit.
And I'd advise to always pick up a bit of extra fruit, a bit more than what is called for- just in case, you never know.
I don’t say this to brag, but the fruit here in California is fantastic... no matter what it happens to be... not that you actually have to DO anything to it, but I'm very grateful I can use it so easily.

Making this tart is not a difficult project, but you'll need to allot some time- though in my opinion it’s well worth it. The longest stint for this recipe would be chilling the brown butter filling before moving on to tart assemblage... at which point it's a very thick but still somewhat spreadable creme (referring to texture here, not content).

Look at the flecks of browned butter and vanilla in there:

You must give yourself time for this one (i.e. start it in the morning if you want to serve it in the evening, OR start it a day ahead and don't spend precious time waiting). Otherwise, if you choose not to wait, things can get a bit messy.

After baking, the filling of the tart will be puffed, browned, and slightly wobbly. But you leave it to cool and then chill. The filling settles and sets to a consistency somewhere between custardy and fudgy so it can be sliced with nice sharp edges.  

It may not be the most drop-dead gorgeous dessert you've ever seen- vibrant color suffers with the heat of baking- and it's a tad rustic... but it tastes pretty nice!
Not too sweet, but caramel-y and sweet-tart fruity with a shortbread-like crust.
It's even great for breakfast (if you do that sort of thing) with some damn fine coffee. Black.

 

You will need an 8 inch tart pan with removable bottom for this...

Nectarine - Brown Butter Tart
Serves 6-8

1/2 c (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter
1/2 vanilla bean (OR 1/2 t vanilla bean paste or a teaspoon of vanilla extract)
2/3 c (134 g) sugar
1 1/2 T (13 g) flour
1 extra large egg
a pinch of salt

5 T unsalted butter (71 g), at cool room temperature
3 T (24 g) powdered (confectioner's) sugar
1c plus 2 T (108 g) flour
1/4 t (scant 2 g) salt
1 egg yolk

2-3 ripe nectarines (or peaches, maybe 3-4 plums, 4-6 apricots, a bunch of cherries...)


To make the brown butter filling, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat along with the scraped seeds from the vanilla pod or vanilla paste (throw the empty pod into the butter, for extra flavor). Continue heating until the milk solids begin to brown and become nutty. It'll take maybe 10 mintues- be careful because it may sputter a bit, and it can burn close to the end- so watch it!
While the butter browns, whisk the sugar and flour together in a bowl, then add the egg and whisk to combine (as well as the vanilla extract if you're using it).
When the butter is finished, remove the pan from the heat, fish out the vanilla pod or strain as you pour the warm browned butter and any toasty solids into the bowl with the sugar mixture. Mix well and leave to cool about 20 minutes before covering and chilling in the fridge at least 6 hours.

To make the pastry, blend the butter with the sugar, flour, and salt in a medium-sized bowl until you have a crumbly mass (you can use your hands for this). Add the egg yolk and work it in until you have a uniform dough- though you don't want to over work it (gently, just until it comes together). If it's not coming together very easily- err on the side of caution and undermix in this case- you can add just a sprinkle of water to help get the job done.
Bring the dough together, smash it into a thick disc, wrap in plastic or waxed paper and refrigerate at least an hour to rest.

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Lightly grease an 8" round tart pan with a removable bottom with butter or baking spray. Roll out the chilled dough between two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper so it will fit the pan (it'll be somewhere in the range of a few mm to 1/2 cm thick). Fit the pastry into the pan, pressing into the fluted sides, and cut off the excess with a knife. Freeze about 10 minutes (or if you're still waiting for the browned butter mixture to chill, you could place the prepared tart pan in the fridge for longer).
Prepare the fruit just before assembling. Halve and pit the fruit, and slice into thin pieces (a nectarine or peach- maybe into 12ths, an apricot- maybe 6ths... if using cherries, just pit and halve).
When ready to bake, remove the tart pan from the fridge and pour in the chilled brown butter filling. Smooth it as best you can, hitting the edges- though it doesn't have to be perfect as it will level itself out while baking. Arrange the fruit on top of the tart (I think concentric circles work pretty well) pressing the slices in gently.
Place the prepared tart on a sheet pan to accommodate any overflow and bake about 45 minutes

The tart is done when the edges of the pastry are a light golden brown and the filling is browned everywhere surrounding the fruit. The filling will be a bit wobbly. 
Place the tart on a rack and let cool to warm before placing it in the fridge to chill all the way through and set completely (this will take a couple hours).

Slice and serve the tart at a cool room temperature.

Blood Orange Marmalade and Four Citrus Marmalade

 

This weekend I wanted to make use of blood oranges before they disappeared, so I made a bit of marmalade. Some will be given away, but the rest will be stashed.

One thing about jams and marmalades: you'll never be able to make the same batch twice. That's nature, that's variation...  some fruits may be sweeter, or juicier, some more tart, some more pithy and bitter. Things will never be exactly the same. In some ways that's too bad, but in other ways it keeps things interesting.

Marmalade is great for eating on toast, with yogurt, or even to serve with a pork roast or maybe turkey (save to doctor cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving?)- in my opinion marmalade is a nice thing to have around.

There are two recipes here, one is basically blood orange (with a bit of lemon), and the other includes four types of citrus.  I did some experimentation with amounts and techniques, and I didn't want to lose what I'd done- notes were taken, recipes were written, and now they're posted.

In the photo with two jars of marmalade, you can see a difference in color. The blood orange is obviously the more red one, and the four citrus is more orange.

When I made the blood orange marmalade, I did not end up soaking the peels. It would have made the marmalade less bitter, so it's a good tip for marmalade if you prefer less of that bitterness. 
So: after slicing, soak the orange peels for a few hours if you prefer (see the Four Citrus Marmalade recipe below for the how-to on that).

In slicing, you can make the pieces of fruit as thick or thin as you like. Use a mandoline if you would like your oranges very thinly sliced, or perhaps a food processor for the sake of speed.  I think mine were between 1 and 3 mm, obviously not exact... but they're hand cut, so we'll call it "rustic" in this instance.

And I'm sorry, but I didn't actually take into account the yield of marmalade in each batch. It'll vary a bit depending on how long it's cooked and allowed to reduce...
However, I'm going to guess two quarts with the blood orange, but it's less with the four citrus.



Blood Orange Marmalade
makes about 2 quarts

3 1/2 lb. (1580 g) blood oranges
2 c (480 ml) water
2/3 c (120 ml) fresh Eureka lemon juice 
3 c (675 g) sugar


Place a small plate in the freezer.
Start a large pot of water to boil and place jars and lids in it to sterilize. 

Wash the oranges well and cut off the ends to expose the inside. Cut the oranges into quarters and slices the ends of each quarter to remove a bit of extra pith. Thinly slice the oranges, removing any large seeds. Add the pieces of orange as well as any orange juice to a large pot. 
Add the water, lemon juice, and sugar to the pot and stir the mixture to combine. Bring the oranges to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peels are cooked, the juice in the  marmalade is reduced and it passes a gel test.  To test, pull the plate out of the freezer and and place a bit of the cooked marmalade on it. Place the plate back into the freezer for a few minutes to cool it quickly, then check the consistency by pushing it with a finger to see if it wrinkles or is generally thick enough for you.  
This takes about an hour and a half (90 minutes).

Drain the hot jars one by one and ladle hot marmalade into them to about a centimeter or 1/2 inch from the top. Wipe the rims and threads with a clean, damp towel, and screw the hot lids on. 
At this point I may place the finished jars back into the boiling water for a few minutes to help sterilize further as well as clean the jars of sticky marmalade on the outside. 

Leave the jars on a counter to cool to warm, then refrigerate (I don't fully/officially can them, so the fridge in lieu of the pantry is a safety step). 
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Four Citrus Marmalade

2 lb.  (about 900 g) Cara cara navel oranges
1 lb. (about 450 g) blood oranges 
2 Eureka lemons, juiced
1 Meyer lemon
1 1/2 c (360 ml) cold water
2 2/3 c (400 g) sugar


Place a small plate in the freezer.
Start a large pot of water to boil and place jars and lids in it to sterilize.
Wash the citrus well. Juice the navel oranges and slice the peels. Juice the blood oranges and slice 3 of the peels. 
Reserve the juices and place the sliced peels into a large pot of cold water. Let soak 3 hours, then remove the soaked peels to a large pot. Add the reserved orange juices, as well as the lemon juice and the sliced Meyer lemon, the water, and sugar.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer over low. Stir occasionally, until the peels are cooked, the juice in the marmalade is reduced and it passes a gel test. To test, pull the plate out of the freezer and and place a bit of the cooked marmalade on it. Place the plate back into the freezer for a few minutes to cool it quickly, then check the consistency by pushing it with a finger to see if it wrinkles or is generally thick enough for you.   
This will take at least an hour, perhaps an hour and a half (90 minutes).

Drain the hot jars one by one and ladle hot marmalade into them to about a centimeter or 1/2 inch from the top. Wipe the rims and threads with a clean, damp towel, and screw the hot lids on. 
At this point I may place the finished jars back into the boiling water for a few minutes to help sterilize further as well as clean the jars of sticky marmalade on the outside. 

Leave the jars on a counter to cool to warm, then refrigerate (I don't fully/officially can them, so the fridge in lieu of the pantry is a safety step). 
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Crème Fraîche Ice Cream

The flavor of cream can be quiet and delicate, perhaps more supportive and background than others may be, but it's still there.  Crème fraîche on the other hand may not be quite so subtle as far as cream goes.  It certainly holds another place in the cream continuum, and can have it's own purposes and preferred matches with other flavors.

Another simple summer dessert, this one almost no-cook, crème fraîche ice cream is a nice warm weather option.
(Start a day ahead and you can make your own crème fraîche.)
Great when paired with fresh strawberries or peaches since that fresh, ripe and sweet fruit can benefit from just a touch of cream and tang.

Or, might I recommend broiled or grilled peaches?
(Especially smart if the grill is already hot.)

If you want to do a little extra, splash halved peaches cut side up (and placed in a cast iron pan or heavy and slightly curved foil) with amaretto and sprinkle with a good layer of sugar. Place the pan outdoors on a hot (covered) grill or inside under a broiler until done (softer, juicier, warm with maybe a bit of char from the heat)... Brandy or bourbon and perhaps rum could be other options.
Maybe you could forego the amaretto to go the Peach Melba route and add some raspberry sauce (maybe a splash of Chambord if you've got it).

All in all, a slightly different take on peaches and cream.



Crème Fraîche Ice Cream
serves 6 or so (makes less than 1 qt)

1 1/2 c (375 ml) whole milk
1 c (225 g) sugar
Pinch of salt
3/4 c (180 ml) heavy cream
3/4 c (180 ml) crème fraîche

Whisk milk, sugar, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low to almost a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove from the heat and pour the sweetened milk into a large glass measuring cup or bowl. Whisk in the heavy cream and crème fraîche until fully combined. Refrigerate at least an hour until cold.

Freeze the ice cream base in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
Remove the soft ice cream from the ice cream maker to a lidded container, and place in the freezer to stiffen several hours before serving.

Raspberry-Rose Sorbet

As far as this recipe goes, I wanted something summer-appropriate and good to go while berries are plentiful, nice, and ripe. Thankfully, there's also no cooking involved, no heat per se whatsoever.
Fruit macerates with the sugar, everything is blended and strained, and finally frozen.

It's a deep shade of red-pink with an intense fruit flavor. To me, a bit goes further than perhaps another option, as it can be savored in small scoops.

The rose component may be a little different yes, but I have a bottle of rosewater that I don't use all too often. I wanted another function for the ingredient- no matter how small that may be.

Rosewater is certainly not one of those "more is better" things. Subtlety is better with rosewater, and that balance is not always easy. As with many things, it can completely be a personal preference, too. A bit of it may be enough for one, but not enough for another. A touch more may be much too much for the first person, and just enough for the second.
I'd rather go the conservative route.
And yes, I have accidentally gone the opposite way.

Raspberries smell very "green" to me. Not green as in unripe, but green as in grassy, fresh. Strawberries, for example, do not.
Rose can enhance that fresh raspberry flavor, which can at times be "rose-y" itself (in fact, they're botanically related- and sometimes things can go together that way). There's just a bit of that floral essence the finish of the sorbet, I don't find it to be a rose perfume flavor through and through.

Depending on your berries, you may want to add a bit more sugar, or more lemon juice (and perhaps a few more drops rosewater) The berries I started with were somewhat tart this time, and I ended up adding about two more tablespoons of sugar, whisked through to combine after being strained. And still, it is a bit tart, but I think that's how it should be. However, I still think that bit of lemon is important for brightness.

The finished sorbet is kind of nice with a tiny meringue crumbled over the top.

And so...



Raspberry-Rose Sorbet
makes about 1 quart

30 oz (850 g) raspberries
3/4 c (170 g) sugar (extra as necessary depending on your berries)
zest of 1 small lemon
1 T (15 ml) fresh lemon juice (extra as necessary, to taste)
1/2 t (about 3 ml) rosewater - plus a few drops more to taste


Combine raspberries and sugar in a large bowl and cover. Let macerate a couple hours, stirring and smashing the berries a couple times so that the sugar dissolves and the berries give up their juice.  Add the lemon zest and stir it through the mixture. Pour the bits of berries and juice into a blender and blend to break up the last bits. Strain to remove most of the seeds (some really don't bother me- at least you know it's real).

Add the lemon juice and rosewater, and whisk through to blend. Taste and add a bit more sugar or lemon juice, and/or a few drops more rosewater as you think necessary.

Refrigerate an hour or two until cold.

Chill in the bowl of an ice cream maker per manufacturers instructions.

Remove the slushy, cold sorbet to a container, cover, and place in the freezer to stiffen until it reaches the appropriate and scoopable texture.
(If the sorbet has been in the freezer a while and is very hard, obviously leave out to stiffen a bit.)

Caramel Apple Tart (With a Twist)

I was watching an episode of The Great British Baking Show several weeks ago, and was inspired by something one of the contestants had made. Kimberly whipped out an amazing sounding caramel apple pie with rosemary and pecans (yay, Kimberly).
I decided I wanted to come up with a version.
(It's already been determined that I'm quite alright with caramel and rosemary.)

Well, I think it's one of those everything-all-at-once fall flavor dishes.
And I'm ok with that.

(And as a side note, in case anyone is dying to know, I prefer pies to cakes. But I prefer tarts to pies. Exactly why, I'm not certain. But I definitely think cake is better eaten in the afternoon- not as an evening dessert. Tarts better serve that evening role.)

Granted, not everyone may be ok with nuts, or rosemary... and that's ok too. Adjust as you see fit.

This is something to do on one of those days when you're spending time around the house getting some of this and that taken care of- perhaps a good rainy day project.  It's an activity you can be attentive to when your attention is required, on and off.  And sure, it may or may not be slightly involved.
Otherwise, you can take care of other matters.

Now we talk apples.  When baking, I think it's important to go for something a bit tart, or a variety that's both tart and sweet: Jonathon, Gravenstein, Empire, Cortland, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, and Pink Lady are all examples in this range. I personally don't want overly sweet apple desserts, but especially in this case as you'll be dressing those apples up a bit with caramel.

And leftovers for breakfast? Yes.
I'm ok with that, too.

Rosemary and Caramel Apple Tart
makes one 10 inch tart, serves 8-10

pastry:
1/2 c (80 g) brown rice flour
1/4 c (45 g) potato starch
1/4 c (32 g) tapoica flour
1/4 c (25 g) oat flour
1/2 t (2 g) xanthan gum
1 1/2 T (22 g) sugar
1/4 t (2 g) salt
1 T (2 g) fresh rosemary needles, minced
8 T (114 g) unsalted butter, cold and cut into about 8 pieces
2 T (30 g) cream cheese, divided into 4 or 5 pieces

apples: 
2 lb. (1 scant kilo) apples, see above for recommendations, peeled and sliced into thin pieces (24ths or so)
1/4 c (54 g) sugar

2/3 to 3/4 c (70-90 g) pecans, chopped 

caramel:
2/3 c (148 g) sugar
1/3 c (80 ml) heavy cream
2 T (30 g) butter
1/4 t (2 g) fine sea salt

Prepare the pastry. In the bowl of a food processor, process the flours, xanthan gum, sugar, salt and rosemary until well blended. Add the butter and cream cheese and process until the mixture comes together into a ball of dough. Place the dough in a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper, wrap, and refrigerate at least an hour.
Remove the dough from the fridge and let sit on the counter to warm 10 minutes so it's more manageable.
Unwrap the dough and roll between two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper until it's big enough to fit the bottom and up the sides of the tart tin (maybe 12-13 inches in diameter). Remove the top sheet of plastic or paper, pick up the bottom sheet with the dough, and invert the dough onto a 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom.Carefully tuck the dough into the sides and crevices. Trim any extra dough hanging over the top and use it to patch holes, cracks, or any thin spots (or fold it down for a thicker crust edge). 
Freeze the prepared tart dough 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C, with a sheet pan on the middle rack.
Remove the tart pan from the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, until the bottom is set and dry to the touch.
Meanwhile, toss the sliced apples with sugar in a large bowl and let them sit while the pastry bakes so that they give off a bit of moisture.
When the pastry is ready, remove the tart and sheet pan from the oven, and increase the heat to 375 F /190 C.
Scatter about half of the pecans over the bottom of the crust. Top the crust with apples, partially overlapped and placed in concentric circles starting from the outside and moving inward. Fill in any small gaps throughout with apple slices broken in half. As you do this, pull out slices one by one from the bowl to reserve the juice in the bowl. 
Place the tart and sheet pan back in the oven and bake 40-50 minutes total, until the edges of the crust are pale golden.

Meanwhile, make the caramel. Place the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and pour the reserved sugary apple juice over it. Let the sugar melt and then caramelize until it reaches a deep amber. Do not stir the caramel, but you may shake and tilt the pan to redistribute the sugar granules. Remove the pan from the heat. When the sugar has completely melted and caramelized, add the butter. Once the butter has melted, carefully pour in the cream (it will likely sputter) and whisk until smooth. You may need to place the pan over low heat to re-melt the sugar and incorporate. Stir in the salt and remove the finished caramel to a bowl until ready to use.

This will take a little estimation: When you think the tart has about 10 minutes left to bake, lightly tamp down the apples from above, then scatter the remaining pecans over the top. Return the tart to the oven to finish and toast the pecans.

Remove the tart from the oven and drizzle about half the caramel over the top.
Let the tart cool completely, slice, plate, and drizzle remaining caramel over (you may want to warm the caramel a bit if it's not at optimal flow for drizzling).

Avocado Lime Ice Cream

I know most, if not all, of us are used to avocados on sandwiches and in salads, maybe eaten halved with a spoon, seasoned with salt and pepper.  One of my favorite incarnations was an afternoon snack in Mexico: fresh corn tortillas from the tortillaria down the road, smeared with perfect avocado, then sprinkled with lime juice and salt.

Now, before anyone balks at the idea of "sweet" with "avocado" let me ask, have you ever tried it?
We have a friend who spent a lot of time in Brazil who said that they never eat avocado as we do. Brazilians are more likely to eat it as ice cream, drink it in a milkshake, or sprinkle a half with sugar before eating.
Remember now, avocado is a fruit.
I tried the sugar-sprinkled version at one point, and I will say I think I prefer to eat half an avocado with salt. I'm not saying it was bad, but I wonder if it has to do with the things I'm used to...

Well, I wanted to try again.

I can't say this is how anyone else makes their avocado ice cream, but I thought I would mix it with a bit of tropical flavor and give it a try.
Yes, you could probably use cream (or maybe half and half) instead of the coconut milk, but this version happens to be dairy-free.
The combination of the rich coconut milk and the smooth avocados yields a creamy, gelato-like feel. Even when melted, it's more of a thick, custard-like consistency.

I love avocados, but the only thing I'm not a huge fan of is the old avocado color. I mean, old as in overripe, and old as in decor and appliances from the 1970s and very early '80s. The closest we came at our house was a set of Tupperware- in shades of tangerine, harvest gold, and avocado. I think it may have been the only avocado-colored thing in our home, though I am recalling some dishtowels with printed designs where the colors were definitely hilighted...
However, down the street at a neighbor's house (that was pretty much a second home to some of us) there was an avocado-colored refrigerator they owned forever. Now, a refrigerator is a pretty big swath of color- a decision that should not be taken lightly.
What I would like to know is how this color combination become so popular?
Why did it completely take over?
Bleh.
Ah, the power of marketing.

Avocado Lime Ice Cream
serves 6 or more

1 can (400 ml) coconut milk
1 c  (200 g) sugar
3 ripe avocados

zest of 2 limes

1/3 c (80 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 t (1 g) salt

Ideas for serving:
toasted coconut
raspberry sauce
fresh strawberries

Place the coconut milk and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium, heating to a simmer and stirring occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool completely.
In the bowl of a food processor, process the coconut milk mixture, avocados, lime zest, lime juice, and salt until completely smooth.
If desired, chill the ice cream mixture completely before transferring to an ice cream maker and freezing per manufacturer's instructions. 
OR, if you do not have an ice cream maker, place in a dish and freeze as indicated in the strawberry basil sorbet recipe.
Once frozen in the ice cream maker, remove the finished avocado lime ice cream to a dish and freeze several hours so that it freezes further and is stiff enough to scoop. 
Serve as desired. 

Peach Lavender Tartlets

In between writing essays for some coursework I'm taking this summer to increase my repertoire, I need a little downtime and relaxation so my brain can recover from being fried in lectures and from frantic note taking.
Today was a version of plum-cardamom ice cream from the windfall of plums we were gifted, as well as these tarts.
(Then, of course, back to the grindstone.)

I love the summery peach-lavender combination of peaches in lavender tea, as long as the peaches are ripe, so I decided I wanted to recreate it in a different form.

Any good stone fruit would probably work in this instance, provided it's a soft and sweet flavor, nothing too tart. Ripe apricots or nectarines would be nice. A scattering of fresh blueberries over the peaches to fill in the gaps before baking would also be a good addition. A thin layer of raspberry jam laid down before the peaches, perhaps?

A good sprinkling of vanilla sugar just prior to baking finishes it off for sparkle, an extra boost of flavor and sweetness, and as a slight thickener to any syrupy juices.

Lavender sugar can be made and used instead: about 1 cup (215 g or so) granulated sugar with 1 1/2 t (scant 1 g) dried lavender buds.
Combine in a covered jar at least one day prior to using, better if more. Shake occasionally.

Everything is baked until the crust is golden and the peaches relax and slump a bit, and gain a slight jamminess.

Serve the tartlets with a cup of tea, plain or dressed with freshly whipped cream.
The tarts, not the tea.

Peach Lavender Tartlets

Makes 8, 4 inch tarts

1 1/3 c (150 g) sorghum flour

3/4 c (60 g) almond or hazelnut flour

1/3 c (33 g) tapioca flour

large pinch salt
1 1/2 to 2 t (scant to full 1 g) dried lavender flowers, pulverized with a mortar and pestle

3-4 T (50-68 g) sugar

8 T (114 g) butter

1 large egg
water, as necessary
4-6 fresh, ripe peaches
sugar (plain, demerara, vanilla or lavender infused)
lavender buds for garnish (optional)

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the sorghum, almond/hazelnut, and tapioca flours along with the salt and sugar. Pulse several times until well blended. Add the butter, cut into 6-8 pieces and pulse again several times until it resembles damp, crumbly sand. Crack the egg into a small bowl and pour it into the food processor, and pulse several times again until combined. Depending on humidity, the dough may form itself into a nice ball of soft dough, but if it doesn't, drizzle a bit of water (1 t/ 5 ml at a time) on the dough and process again. Repeat as necessary until it comes together into a ball. 

Remove the dough to waxed paper or plastic wrap, wrap well, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. 

Divide the dough among 8, 4-inch tart tins. Either roll the pieces of dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to use your fingers or a small offset spatula to smooth the pastry evenly across the bottom and up the insides of the tins.

Freeze the tart tins at least 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350/180.
Arrange peach slices in each tart shell and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the tarts 25-35 minutes minutes, or until the edges are set and golden and the peaches have cooked a bit. 
Let the tarts cool about 10 minutes and carefully remove them from the tins. If your tins do not have removable bottoms, upturning a plate over the top of a tart and inverting will help to ease them out of their tins. Place a plate over the bottom-up tart, and invert both plates and the tart so that the tart is right side up. 
Serve as desired. 

Peaches in Lavender Tea

Just recently, I saw a recipe for a fruit salad steeped in chamomile tea. It sounded interesting... the only problem was that I really don't like chamomile. At all.
I'm not partial to that mouth-full-of-pollen taste that (in my opinion) goes with chamomile.
Honeys with strong pollen tastes, or anything that tastes at all like any type of little white flower is not for me.
And so, a way to improve upon the idea and fit it to my own preferences was to instead make use of lavender.

The use of a tea in which to marinate fruit is certainly a different way to add flavor, and the end result turns out to be a refreshing change.
In this case lavender isn't too bold, but understated, and seems to pair well with peaches.
(Because the flavor combination is likely not a familiar one, you'll just have to trust me on this one.)
The tea lends a bit of perfume to the fruit- and while some may be able to identify the flavor, others may not.

And with a light meal, a simple fruit salad can be practically perfect ending. 

If you want to add some richness to the dish, maybe try topping with a little whipped cream, or serve the fruit with vanilla ice cream (although the lavender flavor becomes a little blunted with the addition of cream).

Peaches in Lavender Tea
serves 4-6

4 large ripe peaches
2/3 c (160 ml) water
2 teaspoons lavender tea (or dried lavender)
1 T (16 g) sugar (vanilla sugar if you have it)
1 T (15 ml) lemon juice
6 oz (170 g) raspberries

Bring the water to a boil and pour into a heat-safe cup or dish. Add the lavender to the hot water and let steep 5-7 minutes. Strain the tea, removing the lavender buds, into a large bowl. Add the sugar and lemon juice and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. 
Cut each peach into 8-12 slices and add them to the bowl with the tea. 

Marinate 15 minutes, gently tossing a few times. Add the raspberries and toss gently again.
At this point the fruit and syrup can be served in dessert bowls, or refrigerated an hour or two and served cold.