Strawberry Hullin’

Posted on September 29, 2014 by melsmosaic

Kitchen gadgets can be so much fun! I went to a business lunch and there were door prizes. I never win anything. Most of the giveaways were gift cards, anyway, and as nice as essential cash is (they were Visa cards), I knew I wouldn’t win. Well, suddenly I heard my name. But, I didn’t get a GC. The stars aligned and I won the kitchen gift bag. The rep giving this one away had been to Sur La Table and had a field day. WOW! I was in luck. So, I got all sorts of new toys that I would totally never go buy for myself but loved getting.

The one I’ve played with the most is the Berry Pincher (that’s the formal name I give it). The manufacturer, Chef’n, calls it the StemGem. You can remove the leaves from strawberries and clean all sort of other things.

You just plunge the sharp teeth of this thing right in the top of the berry.

You give it a little twist.

And yank it out. The motion makes the picture a bit fuzzy! Sorry. The website has better pics.

The other great toys I got in my bag were:

A Kuhn Rikon Pepper Mill with Ratchet Handle — so cool with the handle!

A Joseph Joseph Rocker Garlic Masher — SMASH! Great fun, you can also use it to get rid of the odor in your hands.

And the last toy, by the same producer as the strawberry toy, I got the Zipstrip Herb Stripper. I haven’t actually gotten around to using this yet. I needed it the other day and of course was cooking in somebody else’s kitchen when I was looking for it!!

So if you want so new additions to your kitchen, consider checking these out.

Honey See, Honeydew

Posted on August 10, 2014 by melsmosaic

It’s summer, which means it’s melon time! Bon Appetit came a couple weeks ago and I was flipping through it, of course, and there was a recipe with honeydew. I haven’t seen many recipes with honeydew in them. The most I’ve ever done with it is either (1) cut and eat or (2) the aforementioned topped with prosciutto. So, this recipe was game! This delectable food-bearing treat I keep mentioning is Shaved Honeydew, Fennel, and Olive Salad. The last two key ingredient are some of my favorite foods! It’s a no-cook (in the sense of no heat) recipe which is great this time of year. And, gluten free, dairy free and vegetarian.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 ½ pounds honeydew melon, rind and seeds removed, shaved on a mandoline
½ fennel bulb, shaved on a mandoline, plus 2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fennel fronds
¼ cup brined green olives,  such as Castelvetrano, pitted,  very coarsely chopped

Directions

Zest the orange (and then make sure you don’t add this to the dressing!!!). I carefully took it out of the bowl after I more carefully read the directions. Why should you read ahead, right?

Whisk orange juice, lemon juice, and  2 Tbsp. oil in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Shave the honeydew…hmmm….what’s the best way to take the skin off the melon? Carrot peeler, not that great, knife ended up being the best bet. Then I quartered the melon and it took awhile.

Next, you do the same thing to the fennel. Much easier to prep/cut!

Add melon, shaved fennel,  and olives to vinaigrette and toss to coat. Top salad with orange zest and fennel fronds, drizzle with more oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Final product (VERY green!)

It was very light and refreshing, though it seems like it was missing something and I can’t tell if it was lemon juice or S&P. I did add more S&P at the table so don’t know if it was the lemon. But overall, very nice. Perfect for summer! Was served with scallops and some delicious grains. Would highly recommend it.

Fruit Heaven!

Posted on July 17, 2014 by melsmosaic

I just went to the grocery store to pick up some fresh fruit for dessert at a friend’s place tonight. I was thinking maybe strawberries or a watermelon. I walked through the door and it was information overload! Sales left and right on prime fruit!!! #1 — RAINIER CHERRIES! Heaven on earth at a great price. Then, the personal/small/baby watermelons on sale. Berries — raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, all on what felt like a blowout. Pineapples all screaming ‘pick me, pick me.’ I barely knew what to do!

I had to control myself. For dessert for two people, I left with a small watermelon, cherries, blackberries and raspberries. Sure, it’s a lot, but it’s fruit! I had to be very good and not eat to many while rinsing/prepping. Now, we have to get through dinner!

Summer is such a great season to take advantage of everything we can, from fresh fruit to fresh veggies and enjoy their flavors as much as much as possible. Bon appetit!

I actually ate…

Posted on February 6, 2014 by melsmosaic

…goat cheese. Yes, it happened. I admit it, I did it. I normally can’t stand the stuff. I used to not touch it because of lactose intolerance, then I found out lactards (love the name my friends gave us) can tolerate all milk but that from cows. But then I tried goat cheese and it’s just gross…the taste, the texture. I’m saving it for the lovers of the stuff. Then the other day my friends offered some that is dangerous. Trader Joe’s does it again, hurting one’s wallet and waist.

The full, fancy name — Trader Joe’s Goat Cheese – Blueberry Vanilla Chevre. What’s in it, not a ton — pasteurized goat’s milk, wild blueberry (wild blueberries, grape juice), salt, vanilla extract (vanilla beans, water, bourbon), cheese cultures, vegetable rennet, natamycin (natural yeast and mold inhibitor).

It pretty much tastes like blueberry cheesecake. Melts in your mouth. You can eat it on a (graham) cracker, right off your finger or a fork. Would be great with some extra berries, too. Definitely check it out!

Peach Picking

Posted on August 25, 2013 by melsmosaic

It’s an absolutely beautiful day at the end of August (high 70s, low humidity?!?!?) so my friend and I decided to go peach picking at a local farm. This place is amazing. You can head out there almost year round to pick seasonal fruit at your leisure. It is dangerous in the sense that you pick and pick, maybe take sample to refuel, then pick and pick. When you eventually get to the register you realize you have pounds and pounds of amazing fruit. When you go to the grocery store you’re aware of what you get. But, oh well. This is FUN! This place is called Homestead Farm and is located in Poolesville, MD, about 30-45 minutes outside of DC.

You start by picking your box to collect your goods. Why not go with the big one today?

You can get a ride to the peach trees or you can walk. It’s such an amazing day, we had to walk. Once there, we saw there were about 5 rows of peach trees. We had to go fairly deep in the rows to find trees that still had the goods. Then, let the picking begin.

As mentioned, you just go and go. I worked to get some not-so-ripe ones so they’d last longer. I was also thinking I can chop some and put them in the freezer. My friend and I did sample a couple to keep us going. We eventually decided to call it quits.

We headed back to the main entrance to check out. They also have a ton of other veggies. I picked up some cherry tomatoes. (Oh, the peaches were $1.79/lb).