I actually don't buy fancy drinks often but I love them. We spend a large part of our income on food and it seems like one place I can tighten things up. However, in a "treat yo'self" moment, I recently picked up the new one from Trader Joes and after spending nearly $5 on this tiny beverage, I had high expectations that were not met. Hugh makes us cold brew in the warm months so I'm putting him on explaining some of that to you. Tools, beans and such. He made the coffee, I made the coconut creamer from The First Mess and now I can make a special iced coffee on my own terms. The creamer is easy, it just requires a blender and a few staple ingredients. It does get a little firm in the fridge so I leave out before I need to use it or let it sit in a warm water bath to become a little more liquid. In the dairy free creamers you get at the store, there are a handful of funky ingredients that keep them a liquid and emulsify into your coffee, hot or cold. This creamer has more of a homemade texture to it and I like it that way. Makes me want to keep this as a fridge staple. We have two other coffee posts, Chemex and a video with the French press (in our old apartment! nostalgia!) if you fancy.
In other summery news, I wrote a salmon taco recipe for Food52 and that avocado sauce has been a fridge staple. On eggs, veggie bowls, tacos, thinned to salad dressing, everything. Take a peek if you need a dinner idea!
COLD BREW COFFEE Makes about 6 cups
There are all sorts of variations for this process, but we use a Toddy T2N Cold Brew System. It's simple, relatively inexpensive, and easy to use. The following brew method is adapted from their instructions, and makes about 6 cups of cold brew coffee concentrate.
12 ounces fresh roasted coffee - ground slightly finer than you would for drip. I grind at setting 10 (of 40) on a Baratza Virtuoso, for reference. 7 cups cold, filtered water
4 pitted dates 1 14-0z. can full fat coconut milk 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 tsp. sunflower oil (or other neutral oil that is a liquid at room temperature)
COLD BREW
Fill - First, insert the stopper into the outside bottom of the brewing container; then, dampen the filter and insert it into the inside bottom of the brewing container.
Next, add 1 cup of water into the bottom of the Toddy brewing container and 6 ounces of ground coffee. Slowly pour 3 more cups of water over the grounds, in a circular motion. Then, add the remaining 6 ounces of ground coffee. Finally, wait 5 minutes and slowly add the last 3 cups of water. DO NOT STIR (stirring the bed of grounds can result in a clogged filter).
Lightly press down on the topmost grounds with the back of a spoon to ensure all grounds get wet.
Cover - lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the grounds with as few air bubbles as reasonably possible. The idea here is to minimize the amount of oxygen interacting with the steeping slurry.
Brew - Steep your coffee grounds at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours to create a smooth, rich flavor.
Filter - Remove the plastic wrap and the stopper and let your coffee concentrate flow into the glass decanter - stays fresh for 1-2 weeks in your refrigerator.
Serve- Into a glass full of ice, we went with a ratio of 2 parts coffee (which is a concentrate) to 1 part water to 1 part creamer. Not super sweet or decadent, so you can adjust that based on your own mood.
COCONUT CREAMER
If your dates are soft, move forward with the recipe. If they are a little dry or tough, soak them in boiling water to soften then drain completely.
In a high powered blender, run the dates, coconut milk, vanilla and oil until you have a smooth, thick liquid with minimal chunks of dates. Strain the creamer with a fine mesh strainer.
Into a glass full of ice, we went with a ratio of 2 parts coffee (which is a concentrate) to 1 part water to 1 part creamer. Not super sweet or decadent, so you can adjust that based on your own mood.
Every now and then I do a cooking class or cook for small dinner parties and a version of this salad has happened a handful of times lately. It's not so much that it's a life changing combination of ingredients, as it is an example of how I build a green salad in general. A friend called it "my spiritual gift" so I suppose I may be in the field I was made to be in. I start with greens, often mixing lettuces for monochromatic shades of green (kale and romaine, arugula and butter lettuce etc.). I add another fresh, seasonal vegetable (here, shaved fennel), something sweet (here, both corn and roasted tomatoes), crunch and fat (nuts and cheese). I also keep color and texture in mind, using my mandoline frequently for raw vegetables because a huge chunk of carrot throws off the loveliness and ease in eating a green salad. Dressings are a wild card but this is where I can tie things together. Maybe it only needs oil and vinegar and salt if there is plenty going on or kale slaws can handle something extra lemony. I like heat with corn and tomatoes so I threw a jalapeno into an otherwise basic vinaigrette below. I add a sprinkle of parmesan for depth of flavor and to thicken it up a bit but it by no means tastes super Italian. Perhaps this all makes more sense in my head than written but I feel like once you have a general proportion you like, you can make a great salad with whatever is in your fridge. Sometimes it's helpful to start with a recipe, so tweak the one below however you'd like.
ROASTED TOMATO + CORN SALAD // Serves 4
I understand roasting the tomatoes takes some time, but I do a double batch in advance and have them on hand for both salads and eggs. You could substitute ripe peaches or nectarines here, as they can stand in for your tender and sweet element (I also love this salad from the archives while we're talking nectarines). I have been really into pine nuts lately but am bummed they have become so pricey. You could sub in almonds or walnuts here.
1 pint baby tomatoes 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper 1 head of butter lettuce 1 small fennel bulb, shaved thin 1 ear of corn, grilled and cooled 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts 4 ounces sheeps feta cheese
// jalapeno dressing //
1 jalapeno handful of cilantro 1 clove garlic 1 tsp. honey 1 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar juice of half a small lemon 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350' and line a baking sheet with parchment. Halve the tomatoes and toss them in the olive oil, salt and pepper. If they aren't good ones, you know the type, I'll sprinkle a bit of sugar. Spread them on the baking sheet cut side up and roast for 20-25 minutes until dried on the edges. Remove to cool completely. They will dry up more as they rest. Blend all dressing ingredients together and set aside. The dressing can be made up to a week in advance. The remaining salad ingredients are written prepped, so from this point, you just need to dress and assemble. Because butter lettuce leaves are larger, this salad plates best with the lettuce and fennel being dressed, and then the tomatoes, corn, pine nuts and feta cheese sprinkled on top of each portion. This prevents all the heavier goodies from falling to the bottom.
It may be beach season but our past few weekends have been spent working on the yard. I am hosting one of my best friends' baby shower here next month and while I can't completely overhaul it how I'd like, it has been in need of some sprucing. Curran runs around naked with the hose, Cleo rolls around on a blanket under a striped umbrella, yelling when she's on her tummy for too long but refusing to flip over. Hugh is sore and his back is completely sunburnt from weeding and planting ground cover but the "American dream" or something right? I trim the few plants that I haven't killed yet and water judiciously given the drought situation. Everything looks on the brink of being completely parched - which I am not sure whether to blame on my water conservation or lack of interest in gardening all together. Probably both. Naps. Food. Work. Crying. Laundry. The days are spent so quickly and I go to bed regretting that we didn't do anything "special" today. Maybe it's the news lately or my sensitive spirit but I know that our days are finite. I've been teary over the recent tragedies in Istanbul and Orlando. It could be any of us, really. And while I can't guarantee my people are safe at all times, I want our days to feel rich in love. At the end of each one, I want to feel like that day was marked by something and it's tough to keep in perspective that sometimes those marks are delicate and small and don't necessarily have to take much effort. I want some sort of miraculous balance between fun and new and intimate and social and productive but I know we don't get to have all that in the scope of the day. It is only when I can sit alone and quiet, that I see that even these days in the backyard with the baby buns and sunburns ARE a beautiful part of our finite days. Our memories and photos of these first few years with young kids may largely be at home and I am only recently starting to come to terms with that. I do need a vacation, but watching my boy giggle through the sprinklers and request that his sticky popsicle be cut in pieces because it hurts his teeth is it's own brand of wonderful.
As a major fan of fruit in desserts, I was so excited to flip through Yossy's new cookbook. It's divided by season and then ingredient but still has adaptations for other fruits within the recipes. It's admittedly on the richer side of my normal fare but I find desserts to be more crowd-pleasing that way anyhow. And sometimes Hugh and Curran are my crowd. She has this pistachio pound cake in there that looks amazing and a super simple looking strawberry tart. It'll be perfect for summer meals outside. Curran chose these popsicles and while I'm sure he would have eaten anything from the book, they were perfect for these warm summer days.
Yossy asks for a teaspoon of orange-flower water which I do not stock. I went for the zest and juice of one lime which I thought was a perfect substitute with the melon and mint though I am sure the original is wonderful. We have a small, flimsy $1 popsicle mold from Walmart as our freezer is configured in such a way that makes it hard to fit in a full size mold. If you don't have molds, you could churn it in an ice cream maker for frozen yogurt or even just drink it as a smoothie. The sweetness dulls once frozen so keep the mix a little sweeter than you'd like your finished product.
12-ounces seeded and chopped cantaloupe 1 cup full fat greek yogurt 1/3 cup mild honey, to taste 1 Tbsp. fresh mint leaves, packed zest and juice of one lime or 1 tsp. orange-flower water
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Taste the mixture and adjust the level of sweetness if necessary by adding more honey, one teaspoon at a time (I did not find it needed any more). Pour into frozen pop molds and freeze the pops until completely firm, at least 6 hours or overnight.
