Fruit

We made these Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Strawberry Jam Bars five times in the last two weeks. Each time we swore to ourselves it would be our last. But then another picnic would pop up on the calendar. Each time we turned to the jars of crimson hued roasted strawberry rhubarb jam perched in the fridge, tempting us. And so another batch of Old-Fashioned Rhubarb Strawberry Jam Bars would hit the oven, followed by much happy gobbling.

Henan Citrus Chicken Broth is Paul's non-traditional adaptation of the famous aromatic Daokou chicken from Henan province, China, near the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Already a deft broth maker, Paul has honed his technique and varied his flavor profiles during my pregnancy, in empathic response to my near-daily nausea. I love this broth's bold citrus aroma and flavor, subtle honey sweetness, and rich background spices. Its a great broth on its own (Paul's favorite), or with fresh steamed veggies and rice (the way I like it best). This recipe is adapted from Carolyn Phillips' wonderful new Chinese cookbook All Under Heaven.

For my father's family, Christmas Eve, Heiliger Abend, is the heart of Christmas. It is a magical dark and cold night, where old hymns are sung by memory in German, acapella, by candlelight. My sister and I would look forward to the special appearance of traditional Christmas sweet and savory foods made by my Oma for Christmas Eve snacking. For Heiliger Abend this year, our young family of three is once again together. We will start new traditions as a family, and borrow from the past. Tonight we will be making my Oma's roast meat filled pastries, fleisch pieroshki with pickles. As a nod to our ravenous little eater's current favorite breakfast, will crank up the oven Christmas morning to make a batch of these airy buttermilk popovers with homemade strawberry jam, before an afternoon Christmas feast with our family. We will be thinking of our family and friends far away this Christmas as we celebrate, Merry Christmas! This recipe is inspired by Jenny Rosenstrach and adapted from King Arthur Flour.

November means fall back home; the smell of mulled cider, pumpkin picking, and trick-or-treating. Feeling nostalgic for the tastes and colors of fall, while sweating in the 90s here in Haiti, we created a Caribbean-fall dessert, Easy Guava Jam Bars. These easy to make, and addictive bars combine the warm spices of cinnamon and allspice with the tropical sweetness of fresh guava jam. It is a stunning match of tart bright guava enveloped in a warmly spiced buttery crumble.

Hurricane Matthew is churning through the southern Caribbean this weekend, and we can already feel the winds picking up and the temperature falling here in Port-au-Prince. Currently, it looks like the eye-of-the-storm is likely to pass just off the southwestern tip of Haiti, but the damage may be significant. People are bracing for the storm; battening down the hatches and stocking up the larders as they are able. Keep Haiti in your prayers. 

One of the new additions to our pantry stock, in addition to some pickled red onions and granola, is Fresh Guava Jam, courtesy of jam making with our staff this week. Rather than traditional Cuban-style guava jam, which relies on long cooking to create a darker caramelized flavor, our Fresh Guava Jam has a bright fresh fruit flavor. It is not too sweet and has a tart bite from fresh squeezed key limes, which balance the warm tropical sweetness of the aromatic guavas.

Last week we decided to get out of the hustle of Port-au-Prince. We leave the city through congested streets and drive up Route National 1, up the Cote des Arcadins. We are in search of two things, salty ocean breezes and beautiful watermelons. Watermelons, by virtue of their size and water requirements, are expensive and hard to come by in the capital, but along the coast, and especially around the small town of Luly, there are mounds of them piled high on roadside stands. We pull over and I ask for one watermelon, "youn melon dlo." And with thoughts of watermelon recipes dancing through my head, I can't help but ask for two more. Incredulous, the farmer asks me if I am sure I really want three watermelons? "Yes," I say. "Well then you must have a very big family who loves watermelons," he laughs. At home this week our small watermelon loving family of two-and-a-half polished off watermelon salads, pies, and one of our new favorites, a Watermelon Limeade. With a spike of tartness from key limes, this is a great thirst quencher in these hot August days.

Citrus fruits dot the markets around Port-au-Prince, and we have been trying our hand at cooking with some of the varieties less commonly found in North America. We've loved getting to know the slightly sweet notes of key lime, the bitter tang of sour orange and the pungent flavor of local grapefruits. Spotting some beautiful grapefruit at the market last week, we decided to try our hand at a citrus salt. Citrus salt is an easy way to add bright flavors to any dish and we use this lovely yellow hued grapefruit salt with fish, on popcorn, in omelets, on brownies and in salad dressing. 

Thanks for following along with our new adventures! We recently moved from Pittsburgh to Haiti where we are starting a 5 year volunteer assignment with a non-profit relief and development organization. We will be in transition for the next few months as we complete our in-country orientation, language study, spend time living with host families in both the countryside and capital... and lest we forget, have our first baby somewhere in there as well! Please bear with us as we will not have ready access to internet or a kitchen throughout this time. We will continue to share new recipes that we've prepared in advance, and updates on our new life in Haiti as often as we are able.

As much as we love the tropical fruits and Caribbean flavors of our new home in Haiti, we are nostalgic for the apple and spice combination, so classic to this time of year in North America. We love this old-fashioned Apple Walnut Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze, pungent with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and ginger, glazed with a salty caramel.

With Thanksgiving past, our departure date is just 2 days away. This last month we've had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends and saying goodbye. Now, our belongings are safely tucked away in storage for the next 5 years, our house and cars are sold, and we have some pretty enormous duffel bags sitting packed at the foot of our bed. Last night we completed the last item on our Haiti-bound check-list, and stayed up late chatting excitedly about the new things to come; a baby, learning a new culture, cuisine, language and job, traveling, hosting friends and family. Life feels pretty vast right now!

Lest we digress too long from the ever important topic of food, and with a mind to Thanksgiving leftovers, we're sharing our favorite spunky and updated curried turkey salad today. This is a vibrant and flavorful recipe Paul has been perfecting for the past year, and a delicious lunch as you laze around after the holiday. Think of this recipe as a guide, and freestyle with whatever ingredients you happen to have on hand.

In high school while browsing for recipes for a Mother’s Day brunch, I was struck by a colorful sounding 'Stoplight Salad' in my Mom’s copy of Simply in Season. My sister and I added it to our Mother’s Day menu that year, and it became a family staple. Through the years, I have created my own version with a bit more of a Southwest flair, swapping in a potent lime-cumin vinaigrette and handfuls of herbs and fruit for contrast. In college, when I needed a dish for a potluck with some Amish friends, I didn’t think twice before whipping up my Southwest Black Bean Salad…what had seemed like a good idea in my dorm room started making me nervous when I saw my garishly bright salad sitting amidst a table of creamy noodle casseroles. Before I could withdraw my food offering, the head cook stuck her spoon in my salad, and I was given a nod of approval, I quietly let out my breath and tried to act nonchalant. Southwest Black Bean Salad is a pungent, bright, and refreshing salad with corn, tomatoes, herbs, and a customizable base of seasonal vegetables and fruit. It has been my most requested recipe over the years, and is an infinity adaptable salad that will be devoured every time. I’d love to hear your favorite combinations! To read more about Simply in Season and our other favorite cookbooks, check out our Bookshelf.

For me, the panna cotta is the answer to my classic conundrum of low-dessert-making-confidence, contrasted with a voracious craving for custardy desserts. Panna cottas are a light-tasting Italian custard dessert made with cream and gelatin. If you are looking for a summer dessert with an outstanding work to reward ration and guaranteed guest appreciation, Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Peaches is your dessert. Simple to make and tasting of sweet peaches and tangy cream, we eat a lot of panna cottas in our household. My goal in Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Peaches was a recipe with a nuanced tangy buttermilk base, and found that I couldn’t resist the classic peaches and cream combination.

Looking for more creamy summer desserts?  Check our funky Basil Yogurt Panna Cotta with blueberries and dead simple Meyer Lemon Posset.

I was in the mood for a new breakfast dish one morning a few years ago, as I hungrily browsed the web for inspiration. The promise of both incredible lift and alluring creamy texture initially drew me to the Dutch Baby. This is an odd name for a fantastic hybrid dish that brings together the best of a popover, crepe, and pancake: spectacular poof, crispy edges, and subtly sweet custard-like middle. Rush your guests to the table as this flamboyant beauty of a breakfast dish comes out of oven!

We just got back from a weeklong trip to Canada for my sisters’ wedding, it was a magnificent weekend of celebrations, and we are thrilled to have a new brother-in-law! Driving home yesterday, we realized that in all the wedding festivities, it sort of slipped our minds that we have a food blog to write!

In the meantime, we have been busy cooking and eating summer produce and I wanted to share a simple make-ahead breakfast I have been eating this berry season. It all started with a craving for a decent berry yogurt cup; just a simple cup with plain yogurt and some fresh tasting berry puree that didn’t have the caloric count and saccharine sweetness of an ice cream Sunday. It turned out that this was a tall order! My grocery store hunt yielded a host of unpalatable and over-priced results, so I decided to try my hand at making yogurt cups at home. These Homemade Berry Yogurt Cups are simple to make and delicious to eat, a refreshing summer breakfast on the go.

Four years ago, in dreary mid-April, Rebecca asked me what I wanted for my Birthday dinner. I'd been preparing for the question, and quickly pointed to a quirky recipe I'd found for Watermelon Chiffon Pie. The pie was a winner; light, airy, and fresh, with the undeniable, but subtle flavor of fresh watermelon. This oddly addictive pie balances a sweet buttery graham crust with an almost cucumber-like freshness in the fluffy pastel-pink filling. While I request it every April, the best flavor comes from using fresh-from-the-market local watermelon in the heat of summer.

The mercury is rising, and the days are lengthening.  It is the season of backyard barbecues and farmers markets. We find ourselves craving Strawberry Shortcakes this time of year, and wanted to remake this classic dessert to feature the seasonal bounty. To highlight the first stalks of rhubarb and early strawberries, we made a tangy strawberry rhubarb sauce, sweetened with handfuls of fresh strawberries. For shortcakes with bright flavor and fantastic crunch, we mixed together a dough dotted with citrus zest and crisp cornmeal. Top these lovely Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcakes with heaps of fresh whipped cream, and your family and friends will thank you.

Dessert descriptions are thorny things. When it comes to sweet things I find that eloquence often fails me, and unhelpfully divide desserts into two camps, delicious… or, not. While clear cut, these categories do not offer the reader much to recommend this decadent Salted Caramel & Pear Bread Pudding. Besides the obvious “delicious, ”a brief description is in order. Salted Caramel & Pear Bread Pudding has some great things going for it. The bread is toasted to maximize its ability to absorb all the decadent custard, the custard is silky and aromatic with a whopping ¼ cup of vanilla, and is further treated to a topping of caramelized pears with accompanying pan sauce of pear infused salted caramel.  For all its flavor and texture complexity, this dessert is also subtle and balanced. This recipe is adapted from one of our favorite cookbooks: Rustic Fruit Desserts. The gorgeous pears for this dish come from our Penn's Corner CSA. 

For me, fall is the season for rustic fruit desserts.  Crisps, cobblers, grunts, crumbles, slumps, pandowdys and brown bettys; all homey variations on the classic fruit-sugar-butter combination.  Raspberries come into their prime in early fall, so this past weekend, my sister and I did some fall raspberry picking. After gorging ourselves on as many of the berries as we could eat raw, I was ready to bake. I wanted to make an unembellished dessert that would highlight the raspberries, while gently blanketing them in a snug bed of crisped almonds, butter and sugar.  Crisps have a lot going for them, they are reliable, take well to innovation and substitutions and can be easily whipped up with whatever ingredients you have on hand. This Raspberry Almond Crisp smells amazing, and makes a perfect early autumn treat. 

Panna Cottas are a custard made with cream and gelatin.  Panna cottas are deceptively easy and one of our favorite dishes to make for guests throughout the year using different flavorings and variations.  Basil Yogurt Panna Cotta with Blueberries is our summer version, one we have made a little tangy with the addition of Greek yogurt and lemon.  We originally created this basil Panna cotta as a dessert to bring to a dinner at our friends' house who loves all things Italian and basil.  We loved it and have been making it ever since!

If you are in the Pittsburgh area, come down to the Pittsburgh Public Market this Saturday (August 16) between 12-2 pm try a free sample of our Basil Yogurt Panna Cotta with Blueberries and say hi! 

Salted Rum Caramel with Grilled Peaches & Ice Cream is my kind of summer dessert! Rebecca's sister and I share a deep love of homemade rum-spiked caramel. Many a night has been spent together eating gobs of the stuff poured over everything from bananas to apples to ice cream...or, when no one is looking eating it by the spoonful straight from the pan. In preparation for family dinner tonight (a weekly tradition), I decided to go all out with a new version I've been making with a local rum-style spirit made from buckwheat honey (Wigle Whisky's amazingly delicious Aged Landlocked). The caramel is rich, smooth, and sumptuous with a salty rum finish. The grilled peaches melt in your mouth with the unexpected smoky taste of summer grilling. While the caramel sauce might sound intimidating, you can go as slow as you like over a lower flame. Once you master the technique of dry caramel, you can try other crowd favorites like our Caramel Corn.  

These Blue Corn Blueberry Griddle Cakes with Lime Butter are a fresh and flavorful take on a breakfast classic and a healthy way to use the ripe blueberries bursting from farm stands and fields. These Griddle Cakes are bursting with blueberry flavor and the subtle earthy sweetness of blue corn. Using a high quality fresh blue cornmeal (we prefer Bob's Red Mill) and a light overnight sourdough technique brings out a gentle nutty sweet corn flavor and a surprisingly crunchy (not gritty) texture. A perfect accompaniment to Blue Corn Blueberry Griddle Cakes is a fresh whipped Lime Butter. The Lime Butter, which is also delicious in its own right, accents the fresh blueberry flavor to take these Blue Corn Blueberry Griddle Cakes to the next level. 

We started our holiday weekend with an early morning visit to a local farm for some berry picking. The blueberry bushes were flush with dusky blue berries. With our crates brimming with berries, we headed to the kitchen to develop a jam recipe that would preserve the subtle sweet flavor of blueberries, without the accompanying cloying sweetness that is common to many berry jams.  Our Blueberry Bay Leaf Quick Jam is simple to make, small batch, refrigerator style (not canned) jam that is accessible to first time and seasoned jam makers alike.  We made this particular jam with one of my uncles', an avid jam eater and aficionado, in mind.  This Blueberry Bay Leaf Quick Jam has a soft and graceful texture, excellent for spreading.  Paul added a unique twist to the recipe to further preserve the raw blueberry flavor, he combined the potency of a blueberry jelly base with raw berries, resulting in juicy fresh blueberries suspended in a deep magenta preserve.  Blueberry Bay Leaf Quick Jam has just the bare minimum amount of sugar allowing for the very fresh blueberry taste to shine, with a subtle woodsy note of bay leaves and Meyer lemon supporting in the background. While our plan had been to bring my uncle a jar of this Blueberry Bay Leaf Quick Jam during an upcoming visit, I'm afraid that at our current rate of consumption, we will have polished off all the jam within a few short days. It is just that good!

Food indulgence comes in many forms, but Hazelnut Tart With Fresh Strawberries is as fresh and light as it is delicious. The crust is made from a French-style hazelnut meringue, or dacquoise, normally  seen as a layer in fancy french pastries and cakes. Here the subtle chew, airy lightness, and nutty praline flavor of hazelnut meringue provides contrast and support to the sweet juicy berries. The resulting tart is exquisite. Don't be intimidated: this dessert is surprisingly foolproof. The only unique ingredient is hazelnut flour. Buy the freshest you can find (we use Bob's Red Mill) You can grind your own from fresh roasted hazelnuts...but be very careful not to make hazelnut butter in the process (this happens from over processing the nuts).

Mornings around our house typically involve a lot of bleary-eyed animal wrangling with infrequent interludes of serene calm involving both breakfast and the news.  Last week, Paul upped the ante when he started classes for his second Masters degree, this one in Public Health.  Between full time work, a 2 hour commute each day and now evening classes, we needed a new weekday breakfast strategy.  Enter Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal in jars. In this smartly conceived dish, Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal is cleverly baked up in small canning jars, which, when cooled, can be lidded and refrigerated for up to a week for later reheating.  This is a winner breakfast that we warm-up in the morning with a dash of milk, perfect for eating on the go.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with baked oatmeal, it is somewhere between a less sweet fruit crisp and porridge (oatmeal) and thanks to being chock full of whole grains and nuts, it makes for a substantial breakfast.  We found the addition of strawberry and rhubarb at the bottom of the jar to be a good incentive to keep digging into our baked oatmeal.  Warmly spiced with cinnamon and orange, Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal is a filling, healthy, and make-ahead way to tackle morning meals for busy week-days.  

Kale and Red Leaf Salad with Apple Mint Vinaigrette is an unusual and delicious salad that we made this evening with our first spring batch of local green kale.  Kale is the quiet gawky kid in the corner who landed the starring role in the school play and never looked back. Kale has a serious following of die-hard fans who devour it in all forms; chips, smoothies, ice cream, brownies, pesto.  Kale is a cancer-fighting super-food loaded with beta-carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, calcium, and antioxidants. To learn about the many ways to use kale and its nutritional value check out Deborah Madison's new book Vegetable Literacy.  This Kale and Red Leaf Salad is a tasty example of raw kale serving as a base for this distinctive crisp apple mint vinaigrette. 

Black Rice Pudding with Coconut & Lemongrass grew out of our friend Marcia's request for a creative way to highlight the unique flavor and earthy purple hue of black forbidden rice. During my time in Cambodia as a college student, I lived with an outstanding cook who taught me to coax flavor from a limited set of ingredients, often only herbs and rice.  This dessert marries the nutty sweetness of black forbidden rice with lemongrass's distinctive bright and herby citrus flavor.  Using only coconut milk and egg yolks in the subtly sweet sauce allows the dish to be gluten free and dairy free, two special requests of our friend Marcia. In this case, keeping dairy and thickeners out of the picture allows for a purer flavor and lighter texture. We used fresh mango and toasted coconut as a garnish to contrast with the creamy purple pudding.