Basic Lemonade

Lemonade is easy - as long as you don't mind juicing lemons. I don't mind as I love everything about lemons. The fragrant puff of lemon oil that plumes into their air when it's squeezed, the tangy, sour juice it yields, and all the versatile uses leave me loving a good lemon. Heck, I don't even like the color yellow, but few things in the kitchen are as beautiful to me as a bowl of lemons.

So back to lemonade being easy. It's all about ratios. You can adjust this make any size portion you want, which makes it fabulously versatile. As long as you keep the ratios, you should be fine. As always though when cooking, taste it often and make adjustments as necessary.

For absolutely superior lemonade, juice you're own lemons. I use a wooden reamer, but you can use the fork method, a hand held one, or a cradle one. I love my reamer, fyi. Make sure to strain your juice to avoid seeds, or if you like the pulp, use a spoon to fish out the seeds. Store bought lemon juice can be used, but it won't be as good. However, it is a lot easier than juicing lemons.

Ingredients:

1 part lemon juice
1 part sugar
4 parts water

Directions:

Mix together in a large pitcher or carafe and serve cold. Told you it was easy.

Serves 6




For those unfamiliar with the 'parts' concept, here is the idea of it. Pick a measuring device and designate that as one unit. For example, if I chose 'cups' as my unit for this, I would make the following:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 cups water

However, if making it for a large group, you could do gallons and it would yield 6 gallons total rather than 6 cups. Make sense? Leave a comment if you have questions!

Stuffed Acorn Squash with walnuts and dried apricots

Acorn squashes have an elegant, colonial beauty to them. The dark green skins are a handsome contrast to the light orange flesh. The flavor is also charming in that it's gentle and malleable enough that you can make it either sweet or savory elements and have it turn out great either way.

 In this recipe, I've done a sweet interpretation of the graceful gourds with a pop of tartness that comes from the apricots, and a subtle nuttiness that comes from the walnuts - both of which combine with the squash to make it a perfect 'hands free' meal that seems like you slaved away making something gourmet. 

Ingredients: 

2 acorn squashes

5-7 dried apricots, chopped

1/4 cup walnuts, diced

1 Tablespoon sweetener

You can use almost any type of sweetener you like for this - sugar, brown sugar, agave nectar, honey stevia, etc... 

Directions:

Cut the top inch or so off the squashes and clean out seeds. Mix apricots and wanuts together, divide, and fill squashes with them. The squashes should not be totally full as the dried fruit will expand

Place squashed upright in a greased slow cooker and add about 1 inch of water to the bottom of the pot. Cook on high for about 2-3 hours, or low for 5-6 hours. 

Remove using tongs to hold and stabilize the squashes while sliding a large spoon underneath and move to a serving plate.

Variations: 

Dried cherries, pecans, and maple syrup.
Dried Pineapple, dried apricots, and orange marmalade.
Strawberry jelly, then top with brie cheese once cooked


Note - for the grammar fanatics out there, I found that the plural of 'squash' can be 'squashes' or simply 'squash' 'http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squash

Salted Caramel Popcorn

Salty, sweet, and crunchy, with a creamy buttery overtures makes this a fabulous snack to have around Occasionally though - only have this around occasionally. If you make it and eat it frequently, you'll likely start cursing me for your rapid weight gain and insatiable sweet tooth. So to avoid profanities make this only as a special treat.

I've been making this Salted Carmel Popcorn since I was 14 and living with my dad. I can't remember why I started making it (maybe because it was freaking amazing!?) but I remember opening the side pantry, pulling down my moms worn out, splattered, flour stained Betty Crocker Cookbook and flipping to the sticky page that held the gloriously simple recipe.

My mind would always fill with wonder and excitement as the baking soda caused the thick dense carmel to bubble and foam like shaving cream. The emotions quickly shifted to gleeful anticipation as I poured the fluffy mixture over the salted popcorn and stirred until it was properly coated. Consumption begun immediately as I poured the sticky morsels into a pan and put it in the oven. It would make my teeth stick together before it was cooked, and it would yield a satisfying crunch after the oven had worked it's caramelizing magic.

Mmmm, good times are always to be had when carmel popcorn is involved. Make it for a light summer snack or put a large bowl out for holiday parties, this recipe is good all year round.

Ingredients:

12 cups popped popcorn (about 1/3 cup unpopped, btw)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda


Directions:

Spray or grease a bowl to comfortably hold all the popcorn. Add popcorn and set aside.

In a medium pot, heat sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt over medium heat until it starts to bubble. Keep it as a soft bubble for 2-3 minutes. Add the baking soda, mix quickly, and remove from heat. It will instantly foam like shaving cream, so watch out! Immediately pour over the popcorn and stir with a large spoon, coating the popcorn evenly.

Crunch carmel corn: Pour onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 200º for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Allow to cool, and store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Gooey carmel corn: (perfect for popcorn balls) don't bake it, and simply store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. If you want to form it into shape, now is your chance!

Pot Roast Stew

In the rare chance that you or your family ever has left over Pot Roast, this makes for a great pick me up dinner mid week. What I recommend is that if you have Pot Roast as a Sunday dinner, you have this on a Wednesday or Thursday night the same week. 

And just a word to the wise - if you are planning on doing this in a house where the term 'left over pot roast' is almost comical because it is as rare as seeing a three legged duck, I recommend you reserve the amount of roast you'll need immediately after cooking it and never let it reach the table. Tuck it away in the fridge along with the reserved broth and other veggies (mainly onions and carrots). 

When I've planned this into the weeks menu, I buy a roast that is slightly larger and toss in the extra veggies during the initial cooking so this dish ends up being a quick mid-week wonder. 

Ingredients: 

1/2 lb leftover Pot Roast*

1 cup cooked carrots*

1 cup cooked pearl onions*

1 6oz package baby button mushrooms, washed and halved

4 cups beef broth*

1 teaspoon garlic powder, or 2 garlic cloves diced

1/4 cup flour 

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil or Butter 

*preferable reserved from the pot roast

Directions:

In a medium pot, heat olive oil over medium high. Add flour and stir quickly. Add broth slowly, stirring vigorously to combine throughly. Add mushrooms and garlic then bring to a boil - about 5 minutes. Reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, dice carrots and cube left over roast. After mushrooms start to soften up, add carrots, onions, and roast. Cook an additional 5 minutes until roast and veggies are hot. 

Serves 4-6

Pictured here over Garlic Mashed Potatoes (coming soon!)

Thyme Roasted Butternut Squash

Craving potatoes? Hash browns? Don't want to eat potatoes? Perfect - this will solve that problem for you.

During my research and experimentation with butternut squash, I thought, "Why does everything call for thyme?!" And once I started getting into kitchen tests I realized "Oh, because it's almost always amazing. Duh!" This pairing - butternut squash and thyme - is one of those cases where you shouldn't fix something that isn't broke.

And it's true - the thyme is the magic in this dish. The simple sweet and nutty flavor of the butternut announced by the fragrant thyme making this a wonderfully simple and elegant side dish to just about anything. It goes particularly well with any type of roast or whole meat - beef roast, pork loin, whole chicken, or a side dish at Thanksgiving. It's perfect because while the meat is cooking in the oven, you can sizzle this up on the stove.

A final note to those who are  feeling ambitiously lazy: you can buy pre-diced butternut squash at most grocery stores to avoid peeling, hulling, and dicing it yourself.

Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme

2 Tablespoons cold butter
Salt/Pepper to taste

Directions:

Peel, hull, and dice the squash.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium high. Add diced squash, spreading into a single layer. Cook about five minutes, until brown. Toss occasionally to brown additional sides - about another five minutes. After squash is mostly browned turn heat to medium low, add thyme and salt, and cover. Cook an additional 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, or until squash is tender when poked with a fork.

Remove from heat, add butter and gently stir or toss until butter is melted. Serve hot.

Short hand: Brown squash on med high, add thyme, butter, and salt, cover for 10-15 additional mins, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add butter, stir til melted. Serve

Chocolate Chip Scones

I make scones mostly because we don't eat dinner until 8 or so most nights, and I need a little something something around five to keep me sane. I've often preferred eating a little bit later at night, but once Downton Abby came along and stole my heart, I was convinced that having afternoon tea is perfectly normal for everyone, even if we don't have Mr. Mosley to serve it.

These are rich and wonderful. Initially the orange juice in these seems like the random thing I typed while sleep walking and forgot to delete. However, the flavor mostly bakes out leaving behind and interesting sweetness that adds a special lightness to the recipe as a whole. They are softer than most scones I've previous tried, but they are fragrant, delicious, and perfect with spiced tea, hot chocolate, or vanilla steamed milk.

Ingredients: 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
1/8 cup orange juice

1/8 cup cream (heavy or light will do. Use Half and Half only if you're in a pinch)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400º degrees.

In a food processor, pulse dry flour, sugar, baking powered, and salt together. Add butter and pulse until mixture is like fine crumbs. If you squeeze it in your hand at this point, it should stick together, but if you poke your fistful of dough it should crumble.

Add orange juice, pulse just until incorporated. Add cream, and pulse again just until incorporated. Error on the side of under-mixing it in the food processor. If needed, turn onto a clean surface to finish mixing. Mix in chocolate chips by hand.

Divide dough and shape into two rounds about 3/4 inch thick. Cut each round into 4-6 sections.

Place sections onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 mins, watching carefully. Allow to cool in order to burn your hands and mouth while scarfing down these dainty treats.

Watermelon Cubes

For the last few weeks I've been obsessed with watermelon. The delicate crispiness of the coveted center bites, the sweet summery scent, and the deeply refreshing burst that comes with each bite are all things that make watermelon one of my favorite summer time fruits.

Within the last month, I'll confess that I've eaten almost a whole watermelon by myself each week. No, that's not a typo. And sure, I have a partner in crime who helps me polish it off, but I've been eating watermelon like nobodies business.

However, I don't like my fingers or face getting sticky, so I hate cutting it into wedges and holding it by the rind. The juice can drip down my hand, which results in a cold, sticky mess which generally detract from the over all watermelon experience. So, I cube mine as shown below and eat it with a fork (usually).

The beauty about cutting watermelon in cubes is that you can pick whatever size you want, and maintain that with fairly accurate uniformity. Thus, you can make it small cubes for a fruit salad, large chunks for a side dish, or long thin sticks for kids to grab.



Instructions:

Here is the picture tutorial. It is followed below with step by step instructions and a few hints!

De-rinded and sliced horizontally

De-rinded and sliced horizontally - take two 

Vertical cut 1

Fumble during Vertical cut 2

Final product. Enjoy!

• Wash the watermelon, and slice into quarters (you can halve it, but I find quarters is easier to work with). 

• On a large cutting board or surface, place 1 quarter of the watermelon with one side of the flesh down and the other facing you. 

• Using a long sharp knife, cut off the rinde, moving from right to left. Finish by cutting off the top.
• Tip: Turn you chopping surface - not your watermelon. 

• Make large horizontal slices by placing your knife horizontally 1/2-1'' above the watermelon and, gently pressing down on the top, move the knife away from you through the melon. 
• Hint: Work from bottom to top. 

• Starting from left to right, make vertical cuts from the top down. Turn your board and repeat to finish off the cubes.
• Tip: the last cut can be tricky as it may tend to topple. Keeping a loose hand on the top or side can help minimize epic downfalls of watermelon. 

• Repeat with remaining watermelon quarters. 

• Take to your next bar-b-que and have people wonder how you got such beautiful looking watermelon cubes with such clean cut corners!