Sugar-Free Lemonade

One of the reasons I haven’t been posting as much as I’d like lately is that we’re in the process of packing up our apartment and getting ready to move into a new house. While I’m incredibly excited about this next phase in our lives – home ownership – the realities of packing, cleaning, and painting have forced me to step away from the computer, and to a lesser extent, the kitchen.

But the other day after having lunch with a friend, I had a flash of inspiration that was too good to turn away from. My friend was asking about the new house and I told him to stop by any time. To which he replied, “No, I’ll wait for a formal invitation. You can invite me over for lemonade sometime.”

Well. Excuse me, Friend, for being too informal. You have a point.

But then I remembered that this friend doesn’t generally consume refined sugar, so I asked him if he would even drink lemonade if I offered it to him. And he said of course he would, provided it was sugar free.

Now how have I made it this far through summer without getting the idea to make some lemonade? Well, better late than never.  Here’s the recipe I came up with while taking a break from the packing.  And Dan:  How about Wednesday at 3?

Sugar-Free Lemonade

1 liter sparkling mineral water

Juice of 2.5 lemons

5 TBSP agave nectar

Over low heat stir the lemon juice and agave nectar until the nectar has completely dissolved (2-3 minutes).  Taste to make sure it’s sweet enough.  Allow to cool slightly.  Open the bottle of mineral water and pour out just enough to make room for the lemon mixture.  Pour in the lemon, chill, and serve with a sprig of mint if you have it.

The Cost of a Chicken

Have you ever made something from scratch, and then stopped to think about how much money you would want for it if you were going to sell it?  Maybe you’ve knit a scarf, thrown a bowl on a pottery wheel, or made one of these stupid sock creatures?  When you start doing the calculations, it goes something like this:

(the number of hours it took you to make it) x (some sort of hourly wage) + the cost of materials

And you realize that you have a slightly scratchy $300 scarf on your hands.  Then the next time you happen upon a nice, soft hand knit scarf that costs $60, it doesn’t seem like such a bad deal.

I bring this up because I’ve been applying this line of thinking to my food purchases of late.  A lot of it is inspired by my recent reading of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, in which she describes a year during which she and her family raised as much of their own food as possible, and for what they couldn’t raise, relied on local food whose source they knew.  It’s also inspired by a recent New York Times Magazine article in which the author describes paying $35 for a free range chicken at the farmers market.  He didn’t want to spend that much, and couldn’t really afford to spend that much, but he already had the chicken in hand and when the farmer told him the total (5lbs. of chicken @ $7/lb.) he was too embarrassed to set the chicken back down in the cooler and walk away.

Now, I don’t have $35 to spend on a chicken, and I’d sooner become a vegetarian than spend that much on meat.  But on the other hand I’ve been thinking:  how much would I want to be compensated for a chicken I had raised myself?  I’d have to figure in the cost of the chick (or the egg it hatched from), as well as the price of feed over the months that I had been raising it.  Then I’d have to factor in all those mornings that I had gotten out of bed to feed the chicken, and the time I had spent engaging in the (presumably unpleasant) task of cleaning up after it.  Then there would be the physical labor of slaughtering and plucking the bird, then packing it up and driving it to the market (don’t forget the cost of gas), where I would sit for a certain amount of time waiting for a buyer, before loading back up and heading home (using more gas).

I’ve never really had a head for numbers, but all of a sudden $35 doesn’t sound quite as outlandish as it once did.  And I’m also growing increasingly wary of buying chickens that are too cheap.  How many other chickens was that poor little bird crammed together with so that $1.99/lb could still yield a decent profit margin?  And what on earth did that chicken eat?  What hormones was it injected with to get those plump juicy breasts ready for the supermarket in the shortest time possible?

This is a very roundabout way of saying that last week I spent $14.50 on a locally raised, organic chicken.  This is a significant portion of our family’s weekly food budget (I’ll write more about that another time), but it was an expense I thought worthwhile.  And because it wasn’t super cheap, I was careful not to waste it.  Here’s what I did with it:

Homemade Rotisserie Chicken with Fresh Lime and Marjoram

Zest of two limes

Juice of .5 lime

1/4 tsp salt

5 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped

1 TBSP olive oil

1/2 tsp marjoram

Combine all ingredients listed above then rub into the chicken.  Cut the limes (that you took the zest from) in half and stuff them into the cavity.  Roast at the appropriate temperature (depending on the size of your bird) until the juices run clear.  We enjoyed this with some homemade black beans and a salad.  Makes delicious leftovers too!

Now, is anyone interested in buying this lovingly made sock creature?

Happy Bastille Day

Party like it’s 1789.

My efforts to recreate the tricolor popsicles of my youth have not yet yielded the perfect result, but I think these Bastille Pops are a step in the right direction.  To achieve the bluish color, I used blueberries, and the red is made with blackberries (which you can read about in my previous post).  Next year, I’ll make the red using strawberries, since I think that would give a stronger contrast that would make the blue appear, well, bluer.  But for now, I’m going to nip this little obsession in the bud and just sit back with a popsicle and happy thoughts about liberty, equality, and brotherhood.  Anyone care to join me?

And by the way, when I gave one of these popsicles to my son last night?  He pointed to the top portion and said, “That’s blue one popsicle.”  So, if it’s blue enough for the two-year-old, it’s blue enough for me.  Vive la France!  Vive la homemade popsicle!

More Hot Popsicle Action

Maybe it’s the D.C. heat, but I just can’t stop making popsicles.  Last week I had what I thought was the brilliant idea of making red, white, and blue popsicles for the 4th of July.  Remember those “Rocket Pops” we had back in the ’80s?  I thought I’d try to recreate it, only without the corn syrup and red dye number 40.

Friends, I cannot tell a lie.  My 4th of July Pops were not a total success.  Instead of red, white, and blue, I ended up with red, white, and very red.  Behold:

Can anyone think of a country with a flag made of these three colors?  If so, I’d like to share this recipe with them in time for their next national holiday.

But you know what?  These popsicles were DELICIOUS.  Just ask my son, who has been sleeping with the (now empty) popsicle mold every night since last week.  As soon as I can pry it out of his little sleeping hands, I’m going to give this another shot.  Maybe I’ll be able to get the blue right in time for Bastille Day.  In the meantime, I give you:

Not-Quite-Right-But-Totally-Tasty 4th of July Popsicles

1 handful strawberries (yes! I used ones I had frozen after our berry picking adventure)

4 TBSP plain yogurt

Juice of one lemon

1 handful frozen blackberries

Agave nectar, to taste

Blend strawberries in food processor with a dollop of yogurt.  Add agave nectar as needed to reach desired sweetness.  Carefully spoon a small amount of the strawberry mixture into the tips of the popsicle molds.  Use a paper towel to clean up the sides if necessary.  (I didn’t really do this, since like moms everywhere, I was in a rush.)  Rinse out food processor for the blackberries.  Blend the blackberries with some agave nectar and a small touch of yogurt (just enough to help it hold together).

In a separate bowl, mix the yogurt with the fresh lemon juice and some agave nectar.  (You could make this vanilla flavored instead, but the real Rocket Pops were lemon flavored, remember?)  Spoon some of the white mixture into the molds, then finish them off with the blackberry version.  Makes 4-8 popsicles.  Freeze and enjoy!

Farmers’ Market Fritatta

We had another great trip to the local farmers’ market last week, and to my pleasant surprise there were at least twice as many vendors as in previous weeks.  Summer is here!  Fresh fruits and veggies abound!  Each stall had plates of samples, and my little companion tasted each one with gusto, asking for More! More! More! with the persistence and urgency that only a two year old can muster.  The apricots were his absolute favorite, but he also wasn’t shy about asking for more of any of the following: spicy lamb merguez, grass-fed filet mignon, and every type of cheese, stinky or otherwise, that I sent his way.

One of the newcomers this week was some beautiful Swiss chard.  It may not be the easiest leafy green to prepare, but it’s definitely the most attractive.  I used ours to make a frittata for dinner.  Frittata is so simple to make, and yet it’s so elegant.  Served for brunch, it feels impressive.  When saved for supper, it feels cozy.  And since it’s so much faster to make than quiche, you can make it on the fly without any advance planning.

Farmers’ Market Fritatta

One bunch rainbow swiss chard

3 gloves garlic

2 small red potatoes (I also got these from the market – first of the season!)

6 eggs

Salt, pepper

Approximately 1/4 lb. of your choice of cheese (I got a mild Highlander cow’s cheese from the Farmers’ Market, but a really robust cheese works well too.)

Wash the Swiss chard and pat dry.  Separate leaves from stems.  Chop the stems into little pieces, and tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.  Chop the garlic.  Wash potatoes and chop into very small pieces (to speed up cooking).  Beat eggs with a generous pinch of salt.  Cut cheese into small cubes.

Sautee the garlic in olive oil until fragrant, add potatoes.  Once potatoes are fairly tender, add chard stems.  Sautee for another minute, then add the leaves and a pinch of salt.  Just as the leaves turn limp, pour the eggs over and allow it to set.  (Don’t stir the way you would with scrambled eggs.)  Once the bottom and sides have set, sprinkle cheese on top and put this under your broiler for a few more minutes.

We were too busy scarfing down the end product to take a proper photo, so I’ll just leave you with this pic of the chopped chard stems.  Ever hear that old adage about eating foods of every color?  Let’s hope it’s true!

Uborka Salata!

Once upon a time in the previous century, I thought it would be just a big barrel of laughs to pick up and move to a country where I didn’t know a single word of the language.  And to support myself while living there, I would practice a profession that I was also completely in the dark about:  teaching.  So, I packed a single suitcase and moved to Hungary, where I spent a year teaching English in a public high school.  I was 22.  Sound like a train wreck waiting to happen?  Actually, it went just fine and I made some wonderful friends and got to do a lot of traveling in the region.

Hungarian food tends to be quite heavy.  I can say quite honestly that many of my culinary memories of my time in Hungary are not altogether favorable.  Pizza with ketchup and mayonnaise?  Um, no thanks.  However, one of the common dishes that I found it worthwhile to replicate once I was Stateside again was uborka salata, or cucumber salad.  This recipe is a great way to make use of the cucumbers that are showing up at the farmers market right now, and it even works well with cukes that are starting to turn a little spongy.  A typical version of this salad has lots of vinegar and a touch of sugar, giving it a nice sour/sweet quality.  For years after I went sugar free, I would make this without the sugar.  This worked fine for me because I love tart flavors, but it was definitely too strong to serve to guests.  Then I recently had the idea to add a bit of agave nectar to mellow it out.  It’s been more than a decade since I’ve traveled to Hungary to taste the real thing, but for me, this recipe pretty successfully captures the flavor I remember.

Hungarian Cucumber Salad

6-8 small cucumbers, sliced thin (or 2-3 of the more standard grocery store variety)

1 cup distilled white vinegar

1 cup water

2 TBSP agave nectar

Optional additions:  thinly sliced white onion, fresh dill, paprika to garnish

Combine vinegar, water, and agave, then pour over cucumbers. (Increase or decrease the amount of liquid so that cucumbers will be fully covered.)  Marinate at least one hour, but preferrably overnight.  This works great as a side dish with almost any meal, but since it’s so summery, it would go especially well with whatever you’ve got coming off the grill.  And because the vinegar gives it a pickly punch, I’ve even been slipping a few slices of the cucumber under the bun of my turkey and veggie burgers.  This will keep for a week or so in the fridge.

Having Faith in Fresh Vegetables

Last week E and I went to our local farmers market. Humble by most standards, the market consisted of two stalls selling fruits and veggies, one stall selling cheese, and one stall selling homemade BBQ sauces.  Not a lot to choose from, but who needs a lot?  I’ll take farm fresh flavor over grocery store selection any day of the week.  When the ingredients are good, so is the meal.  I have found that you can take almost any fresh vegetable, lightly saute it with garlic in olive oil and fresh lemon juice, and toss it with pasta for an easy and delicious 10-minute meal.  This weeks’ haul upheld my theory.  Here’s what we bought:

1 head of cabbage

1 pint white radishes (called “ping pong radishes” since they look like ping pong balls)

2 small, green, round summer squashes

2 pounds tomatoes

8 small slicing cucumbers (don’t know the name of the variety, but my husband and I call these “Israeli cucumbers” because you can find them in Israel)

2 pints strawberries (which I almost couldn’t believe I was buying after this, but these new ones were so tasty that we nearly polished them off before we even got home)

The next day we were having an old friend for dinner, and I wanted to use some of my farmers market fare without spending the whole afternoon in the kitchen.  And since it was an old friend, I wasn’t too worried about whether or not the meal turned out well – our relationship has survived greater trials than a bad meal!  So I chopped up the squash as well as some eggplant I had in the fridge and lightly sauteed them with some garlic, olive oil, and fresh lemon juice.  In the same pan, I also added some sliced chicken sausage to add some protein to the meal without dirtying another dish.  And against my better judgment, I shredded some of the cabbage and tossed that in as well.  I figured that way I could add some nutrition while also making sure I could put the cabbage to use before it went bad.  At the last minute, I threw in some chopped tomato.

I tossed the whole concoction with the pasta and added some freshly grated parmesean.  And honestly?  The cabbage was a phenomenal addition.  I made the dish again a couple of days later, using LOTS more cabbage, and to really push the envelope, the radishes.  Have you ever had a sauteed radish?  No???  Well, I hadn’t either.  But if I were you, I’d add it to my Bucket List.  The radishes mellowed slightly with cooking and added both tang and crunch.

Mango Lime Popsicles

Having just recently moved away from New York City, I still associate this time of year with street vendors selling mangoes. Yes, you can buy a plain old mango with the skin still on, but even better, you can buy a peeled mango on a stick, skillfully hacked into the shape of a flower, with chile powder sprinkled on the petals. And while I’ve enjoyed similar treats in Mexico itself, this special combination of flavors mostly reminds me of the streets of my favorite city.

Since I’ve been in a bit of a popsicle phase lately, I thought I’d see how these flavors worked when frozen. The result? A smooth and sweet reminder of home.

Mango Lime Popsicles

2 ripe mangos, peeled and cut away from the pit
juice of 3 limes
1 dollop plain yogurt
1 tablespoon agave (optional, especially if your mangos are realllllly ripe)
chile powder, to taste (optional, but worth it if you’re feeling bold!)

The chile powder adds visual appeal

Apparently E agreed because he made a grab for this one and wouldn't take one without the powder

Already dreaming of his next popsicle

Mango Salsa Verde

Have you noticed that mangoes have been everywhere these past few weeks?  I have!  And while I am becoming more and more of a locavore with each passing day, for the time being at least, I can’t ignore the siren song of this velvety tropical fruit.  Bananas I could live without.  Mangoes?  Not just yet.

But lest my readers think that this is a dessert-only blog, here’s a recipe I came up with last week that was more on the savory side.  I served it over a white fish, but it would also work well over salmon or chicken or even just as a snack on corn chips.

Mango Salsa Verde

8 medium tomatillos

1 mango, peeled and cut away from pit

1/2 – 1 jalapeno (to taste)

1/4 cup cilantro

1 clove garlic

1/2 avocado

splash of water

Combine all ingredients in food processor.  I think this has a nicer texture when it’s chopped a bit on the coarse side.

Strawberry Zucchini Bread

This is what I did with the few paltry handfuls of strawberries that were left after all of the other baking projects I’ve been describing this week.  It was two days post picking, and the stems were turning brittle and many of the berries themselves had started taking on that purplish color that strawberries get just before they go bad.  I had a bad cold and wasn’t really up to baking.  But it was me versus Mother Nature, and my only shot at victory was to work quickly.

I was delighted by the results, and I think this recipe was probably my favorite out of all the uses I found for my 10 pounds of strawberries.

Strawberry Zucchini Bread

1.5 cups self-rising flour

1 small zucchini, unpeeled, grated fine

1/2 cup strawberries, cut in half then sliced thin

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup agave nectar

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 pinch salt

Place flour and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl and set aside.  Combine remaining ingredients in a second bowl; pour into the dry mixture.  Stir until just combined.  Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 325 until a fork inserted one inch from the edge comes out clean, about 45 minutes.  This can be frozen in slices, but ours didn’t last long enough.

And that, my friends, is how I used every last berry from the 10 pounds of strawberries I picked last weekend.  Victory never smelled so sweet.