Strawberry (Pink) Lemonade
I love this “pink” lemonade. The lovely blush comes from strawberries, not artificial color. The strawberries add more than just color- they add their wonderful flavor as well.
This is a great drink for hot summer days. Heck, I think its a good drink anytime. You don’t have limit yourself to lemonade. I have also made a pink limeade, which is also very tasty.
The strawberry seeds will settle to the bottom of the pitcher- so be careful when pouring out the last bit of lemonade. No one wants a mouth full of seeds.
This lemonade can also be used as a base for cocktails.
Here is the recipe. I have also included some helpful information when buying strawberries.
Strawberry Lemonade
7 c. water
1¼ c. sugar
1¼ c. lemon juice
2-3 c. fresh strawberries, washed and stemmed
In a pitcher, combine water with sugar and lemon juice and stir until sugar dissolves. Place berries in blender and add about 2 cups of the lemonade. Process until strawberries are pureed. Add strawberry mixture to the remaining lemonade. Chill before serving. Serve over ice, garnishing with whole berries, if desired. Watch as seeds will accumulate on the bottom of the pitcher.
Shopping Tip
When berries are priced by weight or volume it is not always easy to decide which is the best price. If one store has quarts for $2 and another had berries for $2 per pound where would you get the better deal? Also, if a recipes calls for 4 cups sliced berries how many do you need to buy? Here are some approximate guidelines.
3/4 lb. = 1 full pint
1 1/2 lbs. = 1 full quart
1 1/2 lbs. = 4 cups sliced
1 lb. frozen = 1 1/3 c. whole berries
To help your berries last longer soak them in a water/vinegar solution for a few minutes as soon as you get them home. Then just drain and put in the fridge. This will keep them from getting mold as quickly. I use 1/2 cup of vinegar and 4 cups of water.
Old Fashioned Macaroni Salad
I’ve been in a nostalgic mood this week. Remembering, fondly, the picnics and cookouts from my childhood. For summer cookouts, we always had this salad. Long enough ago that it was called macaroni salad, not pasta salad. I loved it then, and I love it now.
I won’t say I don’t make other pasta salads. I do. I make all sorts of combinations, but this is the salad that brings me home.
Mom used mostly mayo, with a little salad dressing like Spin Blend. She felt it gave the salad just a little more zing. I use straight mayo, but that part of the recipe is flexible.
She added quite a few hard cooked eggs and I think they add a richness to the dish. My dad would cut up the celery and green onions for her. Mom liked the veggies cut into a fairly small dice in this dish, and Dad had great knife skills. I love the image of them cooking together.
So here it is- a family recipe wrapped up nicely with some memories, too.
Mom’s Macaroni Salad
1 lb. uncooked pasta, shells are preferred
Salt and pepper
Mayonnaise, about 1 cup
Salad dressing, like Miracle Whip, about ½ cup or more mayo- I use all mayo
3-4 ribs celery, sliced thin
4-5 green onions, trimmed and sliced thin
8-12 hard-cooked eggs, cooled and peeled
Cook pasta according to package directions, but do not overcook. Rinse with cold water and drain well. Place drained pasta in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add dressings and vegetables and stir until well mixed. You may want to add more dressing to suit your taste. Chop eggs and stir into salad. Adjust seasonings if needed and chill before serving. Serves 8-10.
Firecracker Chicken Bites
Sometimes the best recipes happen when you don’t have time to plan. This is one of those recipes. Even better because it only uses 4 ingredients. Fun for the 4th of July, too.
I needed an appetizer, but didn’t have extra time for prep. I also did not have time to go to the store, so I used what I had on hand. I had some boneless chicken breasts. I could also have used boneless thighs or even chicken wings. I used what I had.
I cut them into strips and poured a bunch of hot sauce over them. Put them in the fridge to marinade overnight. The next day I just tossed the chicken strips in breadcrumbs and fried them in a little oil. Served with extra hot sauce on the side, they were a big hit.
Firecracker Chicken
2 lbs. boneless chicken, I used breasts, but thighs would be good, or wings
3/4 c. hot sauce, plus extra when serving
2 c. bread crumbs
2 c. oil, for pan frying
Cut chicken into strips and place in a bowl. Pour over the hot sauce and stir to coat evenly. Cover and chill overnight, or even for a couple of days. Place bread crumbs in a plastic bag. Place a small handful of chicken in the bag and shake to coat. Place on a plate and continue with the rest of the chicken. Heat oil in skillet to 350- 375 degrees. fry chicken in several batches- you don’t want to crowd them in the skillet- that will make the oil col down too much. Fry for a minute or two per side. Remove to platter lined with paper towels and cook the rest of the chicken. Keep chicken warm until ready to serve. serve with extra hot sauce on the side. Serves 8 or more as an appetizer, but can be served as a main dish, too.
Cherry Bombs
These little treats make a great addition to your 4th of July party. They are simple to make, with only three ingredients. You can make them in no time at all. It is a fun treat for kids to make, too.
Think of the cherry bombs as a type of candy. A simple, sweet treat that can be served just as they are. They can also be used to top a cake or other dessert. You can even garnish a cocktail with them. I did the same thing with strawberries, but “strawberry bombs” did not have the same ring to it.
To make the cherry bombs, you will need cherries, white chocolate and blue sugar. If you don’t have blue sugar, you can put granulated sugar in a bag, add a few drops of blue food coloring, seal the bag and shake it up. The sugar will turn blue. You could also use blue sprinkles.
Wash and dry off some large, sweet cherries. Melt white chocolate, stirring until smooth. Dip the cherries in the white chocolate, then the blue sugar. Place on wax paper to firm up. Store in fridge.
Strawberry Shortcake Trifle
Sometimes new recipes just sort of happen. I was finally having a few friends over for dinner. I was pondering dessert- I do that a lot these days- ponder.
I remembered a package of ladyfingers that I originally got to make tiramisu. I worried they might be getting stale. I hate to waste food. I opened up one of the packages and ate one. It was fine. Nice and crisp.
I want to just say something about ladyfingers. There are two types I see in stores around here, soft or crisp. The soft ones are smaller and cake-like and found in bakeries in grocery stores. Like sponge cake. The other ladyfingers are crisp and larger. I find them at Italian stores and sometimes at specialty grocery stores. The ladyfingers you want for this recipe are the larger, crisp ladyfingers.
I had fresh strawberries and decided to combine them with the ladyfingers to make a sort of shortcake. Made sense to me. I pondered a little longer about what other ingredients to add. I wanted the cookies to soften, but not to get mushy. I knew the strawberries, when combined with sugar, would create juice. The decision to add pudding was for extra richness.
Then I thought about what else to include. Chocolate seemed like a nice flavor choice. I had a jar of hazelnut spread. (That is my way of not using the brand name Nutella.) Just in case you didn’t know what I was talking about. I had a fresh jar- 13 oz. -and used about half a jar in the dessert. I could have added more, but I was still happy with the pop of flavor the spread added. If you make this dessert- feel free to add as much spread as you like.
I was happy with how it came out. The ladyfingers were soft, not mushy. They actually were kind of fluffy. The flavors blended so nicely. Great summer dessert. Light and refreshing, but kind of rich, too.
One friend said she almost expected me to top the shortcake with blueberries as I added the whipped cream topping. She thought that would make a nice addition for the 4th of July. I agree. You could easily combine blueberries with strawberries, cherries or raspberries.
Once I was serving dessert, another friend asked there were bananas in it. I hadn’t. This recipe would be lovely made with sliced bananas, or other fruits. Peaches would work well, too.
Finally, the name. I decided to call it a shortcake-trifle. One of my friends- they are a chatty group- said she thought it was a trifle. When I looked at it, I could see why she thought that. So call it what you like- shortcake, trifle, shortcake-trifle- or just dessert. No matter what you call it, I assure you, your friends and family are going to love it. As an added bonus, it is pretty simple to make, with a minimal amount of cooking. Even less if you opt to use pre-made pudding.
Here is the recipe. Enjoy!!
Strawberry Shortcake Trifle
1½ – 2 pounds strawberries, washed, stemmed and sliced
½ c. sugar
24 ladyfingers
1 recipe vanilla pudding- recipe follows
¾ c. Hazelnut chocolate spread
Whipped cream or whipped topping
Combine strawberries with the sugar and set aside. Make the pudding, if you haven’t already. You can use premade pudding. You’ll need 2-3 cups of pudding. I had some leftover from the recipe I made. In a 9×9-inch baking dish, place one layer of the cookies. You might have to trim them a little to fit. I had 2 rows of 6 cookies, but I had to break off a little for the second row to fit. Spoon over half of the strawberries, with some of the liquid in the bowl. Spread a layer of pudding over the berries. For the next layer, spread some of the hazelnut spread over each lady finger before putting it in the pan. When you put them in the pan, place them with the spread on the under side. Add another layer of the pudding, then top with the rest of the strawberries. Cover and place in fridge until ready to serve. You can do all this up to 2 days ahead. Before serving, remove cover and top with whipped cream or any whipped topping you like. Serves 6-8.
Vanilla Pudding
1 c. sugar
½ c. cornstarch
½ t. salt
3 ¾ c. half and half
1 T. vanilla- or a little more
2 T. butter
Combine dry ingredients in a medium saucepan. Whisk in half and half and vanilla until well mixed. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to bubble and get thickened. Mixture will get pretty thick. Turn down heat to keep it from scorching. As soon as pudding is thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the butter until melted. Place pudding in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to use. Makes about 4 cups.
Blueberry and Red Grape Sorbet
The first time I made this sorbet, it was kind of an accident. I was in the mood for sorbet and decided on making blueberry. I grabbed a few containers of blueberries out of the freezer and put them on the counter to soften for a few minutes. Well, instead of three containers of blueberries I had grabbed one of blueberries and two of red grapes.
I decided to use them together. It really worked out well, because the grapes added a lot of natural sweetness to the blueberries. I added a couple of tablespoons of sugar to the fruit, but in hindsight, I think the sorbet would be sweet enough without any added sugar. I also added a little fresh mint. It really is a light, refreshing dessert.
Of course, you can start out with fresh fruit in this recipe, you just have to freeze them as some point. We made it in cooking camp last summer and the kids loved it. We made it without adding any extra sugar and the kids thought it was sweet enough. It ends up as a satisfying dessert- that is really just fruit.
Blueberry-Red Grape Sorbet
4 c. red grapes, fresh or frozen
2 c. blueberries, fresh or frozen
sugar to taste- I used a couple of tablespoons
a few sprigs of fresh mint, optional
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. You might have to do this in a couple of batches. Place in a container and freeze until solid. Remove from freezer and allow to soften for about 20 minutes, or even a little less. Mixture should still be frozen, but soft enough to break into chunks. Place in processor and mix again. Mixture will get smoother and softer. You can also do this step in a stand mixer or even with a hand mixer. Return sorbet to freezer, until ready to eat it. For even smoother sorbet, repeat the step of softening and running through the processor again.
Homemade Cherry Liqueur
I bought a lot of cherries, with plans to make jam. I had some left, so I decided to use some of the cherries to make cherry liqueur.
I make a lot of homemade liqueurs, but cherry is one of my favorites. I enjoy just sipping it, or adding it to other cocktails or mixing it with soda water.
It is easy, and the reward is having this lovely liqueur to enjoy even when cherries aren’t in season. I added a couple of vanilla beans to mine, but you can leave them out, if you prefer. You could also add 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla extract.
If you like a less sweet liqueur, you can add less sugar. You could also use sour cherries instead.
Cherry Liqueur
2 c. granulated sugar
4 c. vodka or brandy
1 lb. large, washed, stemmed and pitted sweet cherries
2 (6-7 inch) vanilla beans, broken into several pieces
Place sugar and vodka or brandy in a large jar- I used a half gallon canning jar. Stir until sugar is mostly dissolved. Add cherries and vanilla and cover jar. Do not stir. Place in a cool, dark place for 3 months, without stirring or shaking. Strain and filter. Divine! Makes 4-6 cups.
Couscous Salad with Shrimp and Dill
Couscous is one of those foods that is as much fun to say as it is to eat. Couscous is just very tiny pasta. To cook it, you just pour boiling water or stock over it- and give the couscous a few minutes to absorb the water. So easy, and nice on a hot day, when you don’t want to do a lot of cooking.
For this salad I combined the couscous with shrimp, some fresh dill and a light dressing. I had some sunflower sprouts, so I added them to the top- just for fun. I also served my salad on a bed of fresh salad greens.
Couscous Salad with Shrimp and Dill
½ c. olive oil
¼ c. fresh lemon juice
1 clove minced garlic
1 t. celery seed
2 c. couscous, about 10 oz.
2 ¼ c. boiling water or vegetable broth
1 lb. peeled cooked shrimp 1 c. diced sweet red pepper
½ c. chopped green onions
2 T. fresh dill weed or 2 t. dried
Whisk first 4 ingredients together for dressing. Place couscous in heat proof bowl and pour over the boiling water. Let stand until water is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and add remaining ingredients, stirring to mix well. Pour over dressing and toss to coat. Chill at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. 6 Servings.
Cheesy Cherry-Blueberry Coffeecake
If you need a really special dessert for your next party or cookout, consider making this cheesy cherry blueberry coffee cake. It is one of my favorite coffee cake recipes ever. This is a great dessert for the 4th of July.
The cake is not too sweet, and the combination of cream cheese, with the fruit, reminds me of a cherry-blueberry blintz.
The streusal topping adds a nice little crunch.
It is fine served all on its own. You can also serve it with ice cream or whipped cream. You can also top with more blueberries and cherries.
While I think of this cake as a wonderful dessert, it can be served as a breakfast or brunch dish.
As if this weren’t enough- this cake freezes great. Who are we kidding? There won’t be any leftovers – but you could freeze them, if you had some.
So here is the recipe. Enjoy!!
Cheesy Cherry-Blueberry Coffee Cake
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 c. milk
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 c. pitted and coarsely chopped cherries
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 t. grated lemon peel
Topping:
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 t. grated lemon peel
2 T. butter
Preheat oven to 375. Grease and flour a 13×9 inch baking dish. Cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine 2 cups of the flour with baking powder and salt and beat into batter alternately with the milk. Toss fruit with the remaining flour and fold into the batter along with the cheese and lemon rind. Pour batter into prepared pan. Combine sugar, flour and lemon peel for topping and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter and bake for about 45 minutes. Use toothpick to test for doneness. Serves 12.
Corn and Barley Salad with Basil
This colorful salad can be a side dish or main dish. I like it as a main dish for hot summer days. It somehow manages to be light and filling at the same time. It makes a wonderful lunch, served over a bed of salad greens.
The combination of sweet corn and barley works so well together. I don’t think most people think of salad, when they think of barley. Barley is more commonly used in soups. But this versatile grain can also be a nice ingredient in a salad. Perfect on a hot day, when you want a lighter meal.
I had grilled corn, and had some leftover, so that is what I used. I think the smokiness of the grilled corn added a nice touch. I had some fresh basil so I added that, too.
If you are looking for a new salad idea this summer- you might try adding barley to your next salad.
Corn and Barley Salad with Basil
½ c. pearl barley
salt
3 T. cider or white wine vinegar
1 t. Dijon mustard
fresh ground pepper
3 T. olive oil
3 T. fresh basil, cut into thin strips
3 c. cooked corn, from about six ears
1 c. diced sweet onion
1 c. diced sweet pepper, any color
¼ c. sliced green onions
Combine barley, 2 cups water and ½ t. salt in saucepan and simmer, covered until barley is tender, about 50 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Combine remaining ingredients and toss with barley in large bowl. Makes 6 servings.
