A Tall Drink of Agua Fresca

Chances are, wherever you are right now, it's hot outside. And heat brings thirst... and I've honestly never had a more thirst-quenching and refreshing beverage than this one: Cucumber Lime Mint Agua Fresca. I realize it's a mouthfull (hah... I'm so punny), but it's so freaking fantastic! I don't usually post about beverages on this blog... in fact I don't think I ever have. But, this beverage deserved a post. It's from the site, Simply Recipes, and it is definitely simple to make and delicious to drink. Just make it. You'll be oh so glad and oh so cool.

Photo from Simply Recipes

Cucumber Lime Mint Agua Fresca
1 lb of cucumbers (about 2 good sized cucumbers), ends trimmed, but peel still on, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup lime juice from fresh limes (from about 1 pound of limes, or 5 to 10 limes, depending on how juicy they are)

1 1/4 cup packed mint leaves (about a large handful), woody stems removed

1/2 cup sugar (I used agave nectar to taste)

Approximately 1 1/4 cup of water

Put ingredients in blender, add enough water to fill 3/4 of blender. Hold the lid on the blender and purée until smooth. Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and pour the purée through it, pressing against the sieve with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid out as possible. Fill a large pitcher halfway with ice cubes. Add the juice. Serve with sprigs of mint and slices of lime.

Easy peasy! Please make it... and tell me if you like it!
 
~ Mari

Pantry Raid

I'm convinced that a person's pantry reflects her/his personality and mine is no exception. Just like everything else in my life, I get it organized to my liking and then, over time, I get lazy putting things back and it gets cluttered. Then I have to organize it to my liking again and so-on and so-forth. So, I'm curious: what's in your pantry?

Here's (the photo above) what's in mine. It's not the largest of pantries, but I can't complain considering I'm lucky I even have a pantry in my kitchen at all. It serves its purpose, but it does tend to burst at the seems when I get home from the Dekalb Co. Farmers Market.

Maybe this isn't interesting to anyone but me, but I'm always curious to know what staples people keep in their pantries. For instance, as soon as I'm out of organic light coconut milk, I have a little panicky moment, I write it on the ongoing fridge list, and I breathe again.

So, here it is. Shelf by shelf - what's in that crazy mess of jars and Snapware...?

Part I: The Baking Shelf

• Sweeteners: Organic Unbleached Granulated Sugar, Dark Brown Sugar (I just don't see the point in light brown), Icing Sugar (10x), Honey, Molasses, Stevia (I don't use this to bake with, but it's good to sweeten tea and such)

Flours: All-Purpose Flour, White Unbleached Flour, Unbleached Bread Flour, Whole Wheat Flour, Semolina Flour (for pasta and pizza doughs)

Dried Fruit: Cranberries, Cherries, Grapes (haha... raisins)

Chocolate: 75% Cocoa bars, White Chocolate Bar (I'm not a fan of white chocolate (because it's not actually chocolate), but sometimes I find that I need it), Ghiradelli Large Semisweet Chocolate Chips, Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Other Stuff: Homemade Vanilla Extract (it's just vodka and vanilla beans, folks...) Organic Cornmeal, Wheat Bran, Organic Rolled Oats, Butter-flavored Crisco

So, what's in your pantry?

~ Mari

Blueberry-Peach Pocket Pies

We had an abundance of fresh blueberries in the fridge, so I thought I would use them in these cute little pocket pies (I got the idea from this month's Fine Cooking). They were ridiculously easy because I just happen to keep frozen pie dough around. It's a good idea to make more than you need (I usually do by accident anyway) when you do make pie dough so you don't have to make it every time you need it.

Basically, all I did was mix fresh blueberries, roughly chopped peaches, about 1/4 cup granulated sugar, a splash of vanilla extract, and some ground cinnamon in a bowl. Then I rolled out the pie dough into circles, put a blob of the blueberry mixture into the middle, and folded the sides up all around it.

Then I took the leftover blueberry mixture and cooked it down (with a little water) and made a sauce.

Then I strained the sauce (to get all the peelings and stuff out).

Mmmmm... deep purple goodness...

After the pies cooled, I drizzled the sauce on them and put a dollop of fresh whipped cream (just say NO to Redi-Whip if you can!). DELISH!

Yummers! I loved it because it wasn't too sweet - it was just the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness.

Enjoy!

~ Mari

The Presidents' Tarts

I really wish that I could claim that stunning orange Bavarian cream torte in the photo above, but that would be blasphemy. The man who actually made it is Roland Mesnier, the former White House pastry chef (for 26 years), and he deserves all of the credit for that masterpiece. Not only is he brilliant, he's hilarious and irreverent (two of my favorites).

But, now I'm getting ahead of myself. I did not travel to Washington, D.C. or take a special pastry class at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) to meet this famous chef. Nope. All I did was hop in my little Prius and drive 20 minutes to my alma mater - The Rel Maples Institute of Culinary Arts! The Culinary I teacher there, Chef Joe Cairns, started a program there called "Visiting Chef Series." He is the one I really have to thank, because how else would people in teensy little Sevierville, TN ever get to meet and learn from a man who served 26 years worth of presidents his culinary confections?


There he is! How precious is this man? He grew up in a very poor family (he said he even had hand-me-down underwear... of his sisters) in France, and then wound up in the white house! Amazing! But, it didn't take me long to realize how he "wound up" there. Not luck, but talent. This man created some of the most beautiful creations I've ever seen out of sugar, chocolate, sorbet, and fruit.

He enlightened us with hilarious tales of Mrs. Reagan and what a perfectionist she was (No roses in the rose garden? Just have the staff wire individual roses onto each stem in the entire garden!), Mrs. Clinton's favorite cake (Mocha), Mrs. Carter's warm and understanding personality, George W. Bush's hot dog cake that he didn't quite understand how it could possibly be a dessert if it was clearly a hot dog, and Bill Clinton's period of eating his meals very much alone.



In his demo, Chef Mesnier made an effortless chocolate ganache (he recommends using 36 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips to 2 cups of heavy cream) and turned it into a chocolate buttercream frosting. He then iced a three-layer chocolate cake with it, which was depressing to watch knowing how long it would take me to do such a task.

I ended up buying his "Dessert University" recipe book and had him sign it. And, like icing on top of a cake, he turned the "R" in his name into a little smiling person with a chef's hat. How much do I love that man? A lot.

I'll have to post when I make something from that book. And if you are in the market for a dessert cookbook that explains everything very well and is a no-nonsense approach to gorgeous and delicious desserts, I would point you in his direction!

~ Mari