I am not SUPER familiar with epicurious.com, but I did come across this interactive map that shows what you can buy in your area that is in season and produced locally.

the summer of a thousand popsicles.

first of all, you need this simple machine. every one does.

and then muddle/chop/blend/juice/squish any variety of fruits, veggies and herbs.

*basil or rosemary or ginger or lavender simple syrup are helpful adhesives. and rhubarb simple syrup, too. that's what i used in all these..

to make simple syrup:

put 1 part water 1 part sugar on the stove. add in your choice of flavoring or not, regular simple syrup is nice, too. simmer until it thickens, stirring occasionally. store in the fridge.

suggestions on freeze pops:

chunks of fruit. whole raspberries.

citrus.

cucumbers.

and a little simple syrup to fill the spaces between the cracks. (or lemonade, or orange juice).

the possibilities are literally endless.

and patience is also a required ingredient.

sandwhich on the porch.

eating lots of open faced sandwiches lately. here's one:

baguette.

baby spinach.

thin cucumber slices.

gorganzola/raspberry balsamic vinaigrette. (from trader joe's)

sunflower seeds.

poached eggs.

s+p.

sweet potatah fries.

slice sweet potatoes into as-even-as-possible rectangular shapes.

toss in evoo, s&p.

roast at 425 for about 15/20 minutes.

when there's about 4 or 5 more minutes left before they are finished in the oven, sprinkle some brown sugar over the top.

lunch.

those thin rice cake things made out of corn*

your favorite hummus.

feta cheese.

green tomas and baby cukes from your local farmer's market. (salt and peppered..)

eat four of them for lunch on your friend's back porch.

*will get the actual name sometime soon.

a salad from things that my mom always has in the fridge.

baby spinach.

red grapes.

fresh mozzarella (salted a little).

almonds *sliced would have been better.

and some kind of a balsamic vinaigrette.

(this photo was taken after salad was half way eaten).

there's no more lemonade. what do we do?

put some water, ice, 2 peeled and seeded lemons, a few cucumber slices and some simple syrup in the blender. garnish with a mint sprig. best lemonade ever.

happy additions to your cocktail.

summer drinks -

cucumber water, lavendar simple syrup, brown sugar rosemary simple syrup.

add booze and shake! :)

summer sangria

this will make both white and red!

2 bottles of merlot
1 bottle of a newzealand sauv blanc
1 bottle of bubbly
brandy
strawberries, slice em.
blueberries
mango, chunk it up
basil
oranges
fresh. grapefruit juice

soak strawberries in brandy overnight if you can.

3/4 bottle of brandy goes to the red sangria, in a large bowl. add 2 bottles of merlot. oranges, strawberries, blueberries, basil, and brown sugar


1/4 brandy to the white sangy. add the bottle of SB, add strawberries, mangos, i may or may not of slipped a shot of st. germaine and 2 shots of gin in there, and topped off with some bubbly.

heavenly divine sangrias.

salad!

dressing: (thank you magic bullet!)
apple cider vinegar, white raisins, evoo, s&p, oregano, carmelized onions
tip: warm the raisens in water until they are plump before magic bulleting.

spinach, goat cheeze, roasted red peppers, dried cranberries, almonds, dressing

gooooons

Delicious party appetizer :) an improved recipe from a previous post.


What you'll need:
10 oz of cream cheese
12 oz of fine (not chunky) crab meat
1 pinch of ground ginger powder
2 pinches of toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1 pinch of salt
handfull of scallions
fillo dough



chop scallions!

mix crab meat with cream cheese at room temperature. add scallions. add oil, garlic, and salt slowly while mixing on low. yup! wrap a tablespoon in a little packet of fillo dough and roll it up like a short, chubby egg roll. tips for working with fillo dough: work quickly, with cold dry hands. you want the fillo dough to be cool, as soon as it warms up it will become difficult to work with.

place on a non stick pan, lightly drizzle in evoo and cook at 375 until the fillo dough appears to be crispy and golden. (slightly over 10 min) let sit for a few & serve.

sweet and sour sauce:

in a pan, add pineapple juice, ketchup, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and apple sauce. all to taste. should be tangy to offset the goons.

bruschetta

Bruschetta with pan fried baguette and balsamic reduction:
A great party appetizer, can serve a whole lot of friends.

What you'll need:

fresh basil. a bunch.
mozarella
roma tomatos
white onion
garlic salt
baslamic vinegar
a baguette
vegetable oil
slice up the baguette into slices that are less than a half inch thick. coat a frying pan with oil, and fry both sides on medium heat. add more oil as necessary.this is honestly nice to have cut up before hand. i use roma tomatos because they are less juicy/seedy and they have more flavor. Cube the tomatos, mozarella, and white onion. The smaller the better, but don't puree them! Equal parts tomato and basil, a little less white onion. A couple pinches of garlic salt, and a good amount of basil.i want to put that in my moutthhhhhh!! finish and drizzle with baslamic reduction. which as you know, is made up of butter, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and... what makes it brown? oh yeah, bacon fat.

kiddin. reduce baslamic vinegar in a large frying pan until it becomes syrupy. i suggest making a bunch of it and just having it in your fridge, it keeps well .

thanks for these photos, rach :)

honey rosemary butter

Sweet and herby, a touch of salt. really great on bread, crackers, popcorn, toast, grilled cheese....

what you need:

a mixer! or a whisk & bowl & hands
4 sticks of butter
8 oz honey
3 tblsp water
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 pinches of salt

*Serves a party of 12 with leftovers, cuz you'll surely want them.

Leave the butter out for a bit, it should be quite soft at room temperature. You most definitely do NOT want to melt the butter to a liquid and then cool it down again!

In a saucepan on med heat, add water (about 3 tblsp or enough to generously coat the bottom of the pan) and when it begins to bubble, add honey. Add sprigs of rosemary, and let simmer until the mixture is just noticeably reduced and the rosemary is losing its forest green color.

Remove saucepan from heat and let sit til it is slightly warmer than room temperature. Remove springs of rosemary. Mix just the butter in the mixing bowl on low and slowly add the honey sauce. Change to a higher speed once the entire mixture has been added, but be careful as it splatters :P Also - I know it would be interesting to add a color or texture to the butter, but i decided to garnish with a fresh rosemary sprig instead. I think biting into the leaves would taste a bit too much like trees.

Serve at a spreadable room temperature and enjoy <3

a dinner party honoring those we love and the month of june.
(all tags will be under 'thank you gaia')

drunk cookin

teheheh. check this article out. this would be a cooking show i'm interested in

portobello burgers and roasted yams*.

1) yams*:

wash

slice + half (skin optional, usually preferred, and recommended)

tossed in evoo, s + p

minced garlic^

roasted at 350 until done (about 20 minutes)

*can be substituted for sweet potatoes. the grocery store just didn't have any so yams, it was.

^maybe a bit of cinnamon & sugar would be nice in it's place.

2) grill the burger and the bun:

toss mushrooms in evoo and s & p first!

3) the fixings:

.baby spinach

.red onions

.provolone

.lemon honey mustard

.and the yams that were originally thought of as a side dish

.herd butter on the bun tops (that simply means "some rosemary and thyme or parsley or something like that...")

.avocados very suggested but not shown here

honey lemon mustard.

*this photo does not do any justice.

this mustard spread can be used as a dressing or as a condiment... or for some thing more creative if you can muster one up. (ehhhh. sorry!)

and, you have to leave a lot of this one up to chance. *may be hard for the unintuitive. ;)

what you need, which most people probably have:

mustard (preferably spicy and seedy.)

lemon juice and pulp and guts (no seeds..)

balsamic vinegar

honey (preferably local and raw)

salt + pep

extra virgin olive oil

keep adding listed ingredients until it is to your taste and consistency preference. stir/whisk/fork in any type of bowl. use pointer finger to see "when it's ready..." (off the record). if you end up with a lot of honey lemon mustard because of this technique... well, put it in a jar and use it again when you feel the need. it lasts forever.

note: the best part about this spread is that everyone usually has these ingredients, but no one ever has all the same kinds. so this inevitably comes out different each time it is made.

mangos.

here's how:

slice

eat

enjoy

sorry. had to.

concoction inspirations.

this is a more complicated but equally simple recipe for summertime drinks that can be altered severely due to individual taste but still not loose a bit of flavor.

this specific drink:

1 part limeade

1 part water

sliced cucumber

fresh lemon wedges

fresh grapefruit wedges

muddled strawberries

ice cubes

cap. shake. serve with a lemon balm/mint leaf if you have them in the garden. ;)

optional suggestions:

hendricks gin or st. germain or both

also:

switch fruit juice to just water or use any fruit compilation you can imagine. if it's fresh, and you put it in a mason jar and you shake it and you serve it cold, it will probably taste good in the summertime. especially with some hendricks or st. germain....