Nurturing my inner... pocket packet

New product alert!  When I saw these on the shelf at my local grocer, my first reaction was, "Hmmm.  Not sure I'll like this hippie food."  Of course then I thought, "But I have to try them!"  Glad I did.

Dole. The name alone says fruit.

80 calorie packets.  (That's for the mango.  I think the pineapple may be 90 calories.  They also come in apple.)  To describe them, they are peanut-sized bits of dried fruit, rolled in yogurt and whole grain oats.  The oat coating was the part I found equally peculiar as intriguing.  Good that the latter part won the fight!  (I do like a good food challenge.)

Packet small enough to fit in your pocket.

They are great!  Not too sweet.  Chunks are lightly covered in the yogurt and oat coating.  Good for a quick snack on the go.  (And better for you than a candy bar.)

Pretty close to their natural state. Gems
in the rough!

Unlike a thick yogurt coating found on some other snacks, I think these would last pretty well in the heat.  And the packet was just big enough to satisfy a sweet craving I was having at the moment.  The same craving I can bet I'll be having tomorrow!  (Better throw a couple in my pockets to be prepared.  They function like an sweet craving emergency kit.)  Chew happily!

Nurturing my inner... fruit fabulous

Fresh summer fruit dessert - let's go!  (Time is tight these days.  No big intro.)

Peaches.  What a flavorful fruit when it's in season.  (And what a bitter fruit when it's not!)  Lucky for us, it's the perfect time of year for them to be perfect.  (So this better make it to your menu this very week!)

Not sure if I had the idea for this before I went to the Farmers Market or if I got the idea after I saw them at the Farmers Market.  (Eh, chicken-egg, what does it matter.)  Sweet, yellow peaches were in season and on my menu.

Peach Raspberry Crisp

Peach filling:
4 peaches, peeled, wedged
1/2 pint fresh raspberries (I got HUGE, tasty ones at Wegmans)
2 tbsps light brown sugar
2 tbsps granulated white sugar
1 - 2 tsp(s) all purpose flour
One vanilla bean, seeds only (I like Penzey's)
Zest of one lime

Crisp topping:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tbsp granulated white sugar
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 of a stick butter
Dash of salt

I love the natural imperfections of fresh, locally grown, just-picked produce.  It seems so genuine to me.

Honest fruit.

Preparing the peaches will mean first removing them from their natural, fuzzy track suits.  Boil water and drop peaches in for 30 seconds to one minute.

From the Jacuzzi, ahhh...

Remove and immediately drop into cold water.

... to ice bath! Brr!

This will help separate the skin from the fruit and make them really easy to peel with little waste.

Slick as salmon. I love the blush on them.

To add some interesting flavor, I decided to bring out a vanilla bean.  (Yes, a real, live, whole bean.)

Looks like a green bean - with a super tan!

All you do is slice it in half long ways and use the back of a knife to scrape out the seeds.  They are super potent and powerfully packed with deep, rich vanilla flavor.

Concentrated vanilla flavor at its best.
Nothing beats it!

Into a bowl go the peach wedges, brown and white sugars, flour, lime zest and vanilla bean seeds.  Stir it up and make sure the sugars are well incorporated.  (The reason I use a little of each is because the brown sugar adds a lovely caramel hint, but the real sweetness needed to mellow out the tartness comes from the white.)

The peaches are already so fragrant.

At the very end, add in the raspberries and toss gently because they are a very fragile fruit. If the mixture seems too juicy, you can add another teaspoon of flour to thicken.  Let sit for 10 minutes and then pour into a buttered 11 inch oval baking dish.

Blend flavors, blend! Those berries are
just colossal in size!

While the fruit is taking a rest, you can prepare your topping.  Into a small bowl add the flour, brown and white sugars, salt and oatmeal.  Cut the butter into small pieces.  If you have a kitchen mixer with the right attachments, you could electronically blend this together slowly until the butter is in small, pea-sized pellets.  I do not have a fancy mixer, so I used my God-given manual mixers - my hands.

Have to use a quick cooking oat.

It took just a few minutes to crumble it up and get the butter mixed in.  Then I sprinkled it liberally onto the fruit.  So that everything was covered.  Into a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.

Fruit is still under there, I swear.

Your entire kitchen will fill with the wonderful aroma of warm, citrus-scented peaches.  It's the best air freshener money can buy.  (And the only one you can actually eat.)

Bubbly, crumbly, lovely.

A couple of small scoops of fat free frozen vanilla yogurt (to neutralize your guilt over the butter) and you're ready to serve.  You'll want to share, so go ahead and ask your across the hall neighbor to come over and pull up a bowl with you.  That's what I did.  I'm sure the crisp would have been fine with just the peaches and raspberries, but adding the lime zest and the vanilla bean jacked up the wow factor to outrageous levels!  It's nearly indescribable to explain the unique balance of sweet and tart happening here.  How could anyone possibly prepare their taste buds for that many flavor punches at one time?!

I like it when the yogurt starts to melt.

At this point, I have little else to say.  (Except that I bet you wish you were my neighbor!)

Nurturing my inner... even better

When I saw this recipe recently in Food Network magazine, I knew I had to make it.  I'm not one to gravitate toward fried foods, in fact I don't believe I've ever put  1/8th inch of oil in a pan and fried anything ever, however, these ingredients beckoned me to make an exception.  I believe in being as healthy as possible most of the time and allowing myself some wonderful exceptions.  (I am a foodie after all.)

While I was going over this recipe in my head at the grocery store, I decided to add a little something more to it!  (One cannot halt creativity when it's blazing a hundred miles an hour.)  I am certain Food Network would be proud of my addition.  (Maybe I should send my recipe on to them!)

Food Network's Zucchini-Corn Fritters.  So go there for the recipe.  They get all the credit.  But here is how I prepped some things per their instructions.

Never grated zucchini before. Fun! I'd
do it again.

It looks like grated potato, if you need reference.  Only, it's full of water.  And that's gotta go before frying.  Oil and water do NOT get along.  (You know the saying.)

Too moist in its current state for frying.

So after the grated zucchini sat with a sprinkle of salt for 10 minutes or so to draw out the moisture (and I ran back to the grocery store because I forgot the buttermilk!), I put it in a dish towel and squeezed out the water.  (Weird, but effective!)  No lie, from one large zucchini I measured 1/2 cup of zucchini water!

No, this is not a picture of a swamp. I wonder
if this could be considered juicing and
drinkable. (I didn't even try.)

After I did the squeeze-through-a-clean-dish-towel trickaroo, the zucchini was a lot dryer.

Fully prepped! Now ready to be used.

I substituted shallots for onion, because I like them better, and put that in the pan with the garlic and fresh corn.  Then I sauteed that until slightly toasted and the corn was cooked.  Maybe four minutes.

Fresh corn is ample this time of year. I got
mine at the Farmers Market.

I mixed up the batter like they said (I'm a good little follower), then added in the corn mixture and the zucchini and incorporated with my whisk.  I dropped the batter by scant 1/4 cupfuls into the pan of hot veggie oil and fried for a few minutes on each side until browned.  I flipped them twice to make sure they were fully cooked through.

Thanks Food Network! Hello deliciousness.

Onto a paper towel they went to absorb excess oil and salted right away while piping hot.  That was the end of it.  Well, their end of it.  Now it's time for me!  (How narcissistic.)  Here we go with what put this fritter over the top!  My special love.  It's crazy good.

Avocado, Sour Cream & Lime Sauce

4 oz sour cream
1/2 avocado
1/2 fresh lime, squeezed
Dash of smoked paprika

I thought of this in the middle of the night. (No, I'm not kidding. This is what I do when I have insomnia.  Random creative spurts.)

What's not to love?

Into my little food processor I put in the avocado, sour cream and lime juice.

And blend away. A one button wonder tool.

Fritters down on the plate and a dollop of light green cream sauce on top.  Finished with a dash of smoked paprika (yes, get the smoked kind if you can!) and get ready for awesomeness.

Too good to be true. Yet there it is!

This just came to me as well.  (Today must be good idea day!)  I picked up some mango juice in a carton and always find a way to dilute juice so it's not as thick and also has less calories.  I filled a glass halfway with ice, then halfway with mango juice and the rest of the way with lime Perrier sparkling water.  Finished it off with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.  Well, almost finished.  (This appears to be a theme for me.)  That's the non-alcoholic version, so you could stop there.  Seeing as I thought I might like a cocktail with dinner, I didn't stop there.  I added a splash of Malibu rum and the coconut flavor worked so well with the mango and lime, I wouldn't want to skip it.  You may want to give it a shot.  (I mean, a try.  Poor word choice.)

Welcome to de tropics, mon! (Yet I never
left the suburbs.)

No need to come up with my own recipe every day.  It's fun to have the freedom to follow a well tested recipe someone else has had to work to perfect before it got to me.  (Less work for me!)  I bet the Food Network people make other chef's recipes plenty of the time.  I mean, hello, the fritters were wonderful as is.  Why mess with them.  But I like that I can contribute my own personal spin on it by adding the avocado cream sauce.  It's what makes it special to me and sends it into outer space!

Elegant food, but made in a down home way.
(What is my work laptop power cord doing in
the corner of the picture. Talk about casual.)

Best part about the meal?  After having run 7.5 miles this morning, I ate it absolutely guilt free!

Nurturing my inner... a toast to toasted

Monte Cristo.  Ever heard of it?  Me neither, until recently.  Never had one.  So when I went out with some friends to celebrate another friend's birthday and I saw this on the menu, I said to myself, "This is your chance!"  (Plus I let the birthday girl have a say so in my choice as she was up for some plate sharing.)

Tallula in Arlington.  I love that sign with the silver font.  Snazzy.  Can I get a job designing restaurants without having a degree in architecture?  I could make it look gorgeous!  (But it's doubtful the place would have any load bearing walls or meet fire code under my watch.  That could be an issue, I realize after talking this out with you.)

Why am I always taking pictures on angles?
Oh yeah, makes it visually interesting!

Dig the interior.  Greys and cherry wood.  Nice contrast.  Wine rack, red glass pendant lights, waiters in black.  Very mod.  We moved right on to mimosas shortly after being seated to toast the birthday girl!

Swanky textures and colors.

After we ordered, these beauties unexpectedly came out to us.  Homemade doughnuts in a light maple syrup.  Warm.  (It's almost too much to handle as a freebie.)

The pre brunch bite.

My monte cristo arrived.  I have no other comparison, so I can only take it at face value.  It was ham and Gruyere cheese nestled into two warm pieces of soft, eggy french toast.  Americans cleverly called this the "Toasted French Sandwich" in cookbooks from the 1930s - 1960s.  (That name clearly took a lot of thought to come up with.)  It came with a little cup of strawberry preserves, which added a lovely sweet punch to the meat and cheese.  Side salad of field greens and a light dressing to balance out the richness of the sandwich.  I managed to work my way through about three quarters of it, but that took some real effort.  I really needed a junior-sized version.  (This was a totally stuffed sandwich that left me totally stuffed!)

A formidable opponent. In the end, I didn't
exactly win. I'd say it was a draw.

The man at the table went for chicken and waffles.  This is on my foodie bucket list for another day.  Some people want to dive out of air planes before they kick it; I want to eat all cuisines known to man.  (Uh, except bugs.  I will not eat a deep fried or even chocolate-covered hoppy thing no matter how "tasty" someone says it is.  I have a line to draw.  And on the other side of that impermeable, unerasable, indelible line stands insects as snacks. *Blech and more blech*!!)

Collard greens & gravy. Warm syrup too!

The birthday girl got a dessert which we all had a bite of.  (As if she had a choice.)  Bittersweet Chocolate Souffle Cake, pistachio ice cream, apricot compote.  SO fantastic!  Good thing I didn't have my own or I would have eaten every bite of it alone!
 

They even made some pistachio brittle that
is tucked into the ice cream.

What is it about an establishment that plates a dessert like this, that makes it even more appetizing?!  The chocolate pistachio combination is always a winner with me, but the tart fruit taste of the compote was a welcome addition.

From doughnuts to dessert, Tallula was a pleasant experience all around.

Nurturing my inner... georgetown on the cheap

When a friend of mine said, "Hey, there is this great place in DC you have to try called Surfside," I thought for sure she was talking about a seafood joint.  But no.  It's Mexican.  (Imagine that.)  And, affordable.  (Imagine that too.)

I didn't get a pic of the outside, I think the extreme heat distracted me, but it wasn't anything to catch your eye anyway.  So here is a link to their about page if you really want to see it.  They have some parking behind them, which is nice.  If you go early like we did, there was no searching the streets for a space.  Just park and cross the one way road.

The interior was simple and industrial.  Brick walls and boards with the offerings.  What may seem unfancy, cafeteria style at first glance to you will pleasantly surprise you in a few minutes.  You go up, order, get a buzzer (like Panera does) and then you can get your drinks and find a spot to settle down in.

People on bottom right filling out paper lists that
help you create specialized burritos, tacos and
salads. You can create whatever you'd like!

Yes, it was unnaturally, unbearably humid out, but we wanted to sit outside.  On the roof of the place, after you hike up a long flight of stairs, is a deck.  Complete with bar and tables.

Open tables to the side, but we sat in the ones
under the awnings in the shade.

Buzzer went off, I went back down to where I ordered, and there was my plate.  (You can create your own combos, but the menu was so good as is, I just ordered right off of that.)

Maui: Two grilled fish-of-the-day tacos in corn tortillas with black bean and corn salsa, guacamole, cilantro and lime sour cream.

Is this not a beautiful dish?  Everything was super fresh and talk about delicioso!  We also got a pitcher of margaritas to share with the group.  Refreshing and cool on such a hot day.  But how fun to sit and dine on a rooftop in the city!  Yeah, we were cool!  (Well, not in temperature, but in popularity.)

First time I've had fish tacos and now, I'm
hooked for life! (That was actually an
unintended pun. Seriously.)

After supper, because we went at 4:30 it was still nice and early, we drove over to another part of Georgetown to Sprinkles and found easy street parking just up a few blocks.  There are several cupcake places nearby but honestly, no, I'm not waiting 40 minutes in the extreme heat to get into the one that has the show on TV.  Plus, I have it on good authority from my friends that half of the hype for that place is the show instead of the cakes and that other places are actually better.  One day I'll find out and post my first-hand opinion, when the line is shorter or the temperature is more reasonable, if that place is worth the line.  As for that day, the Sprinkles' queue had about five people in it before us.  (Instead of 45!  That's crazy!!!)

Simple storefront.

The case inside was very modern looking.  The cupcakes were uniform in size and decoration, save for different colors, and in sectioned out holes in a board.  Extremely orderly.

The decision: so hard! I'd like to try salty
caramel or banana chocolate one day.

Everyone was getting two.  (Apparently I will give in to some peer pressure and follow suit in certain circumstances.)  I got one for myself and the other to bring back for a friend who couldn't make it out with us.

And a bottled water because, I'll say it again, it
was HOT! They had wood forks to help you eat
your cupcake. Might as well be neat.

Seeing as I was so full (feel free to scroll back up to the plate of fish tacos for a reminder of why), I took them home and refrigerated them.  The next day, I visited my friend and had taken them out to room temp before eating.  Mine was the one on the left - key lime.  With bits of lime zest in the cake and the icing.  Oh my, it was scrumptious!  I try to diversify my flavors when I get the chance, so I don't always order red velvet, and I was not disappointed.  My friend is a marshmallow fiend (borderline obsessed to be honest), so I got her chocolate marshmallow.  It had a core of the white fluff inside.

Don't bother to eat the fondant dot on top.
Yucko! For decoration only! (And for them to
mark the type of cupcake. It's code.)

I think we locals just assume that going into Georgetown means shelling out the big bucks.  Untrue!  Tacos were $9.95 (generous portion!) and the cupcake $3.50.  Not bad at all!  It's good to go on recommendations from friends and to see where you can go that is not super fancy.  The best food can be found in the craziest of places!

Nurturing my inner... heat buster

Hello again!  No, I haven't been lost.  But I did do some more traveling.  At first, I thought about separating each of these into different blog entries, but that would be a terrible tease once you saw the first scoop, so I'm giving them all to you in one fantastic, html-coded episode!  The ice cream adventure of 2011!  (Southwestern Connecticut edition.)

Stop one: Dr. Mike's.  Bethel.  Mom read about this in a local paper.  He only makes eight flavors at a time.  No nonsense kind of guy.  He figures you should focus, keep it minimal and do what you do really well.  (With eight flavors at a time, I would think you'd perfect it pretty darn well.)

Stand alone house.

Assessment of ice cream: Very good.  A-.  I got strawberry.  That was a small.  Creamy and fresh fruit flavor.

Ate out on the back porch. Facing the
parking lot.

Stop two: Sweet Claude's. Cheshire.  Another place my mom had suggested.  Fairly certain we have been to this place some years ago.

Another stand alone house.

Assessment of ice cream: Very good. A-.  I got toasted almond. That was a kiddie cup. Creamy, rich with crunchy bits of toasted things.

Ate out on the back porch. (I sense a theme.)
This one along busy street.

Stop three: Rich's Farm. Oxford.  Tried to take pic of sign while driving by.  We frequent Rich's because it's not far from my mom's.

Buy ice cream or buy hay, what the hey!
(Makes sense to find both as hay turns into
ice cream once processed through a cow.)

Fresh from the farm.  Nothing beats it.  (I'm sure the ice cream comes right out of freshly-chilled cows directly into the cones.)  Multiple windows for ordering.  It can get SO busy!

Mom's top of head made the cut. She often doesn't
get out of the way of my pics and I decided
I wouldn't crop her out this time. (Hi mom!)

Assessment of ice cream: Excellent. A+.  I got pistachio. That was a small sugar cone. Outrageously creamy and incredibly tasty.  I'd climb mountains for this ice cream.  Swim across seas.  Even drive miles and miles!  (Oh wait, I did that last one.)

I always get pistachio here because that is
my very favorite flavor. I'm not home (at
mom's) enough to try more, unfortunately.

We sat at the picnic tables under umbrellas, which give you a good view of the silos.  Very farmy.  Adds to the small town ambiance.

The wide open spaces of the farm.

Stop four: Wells Hollow Farm. Shelton.  I think farms are my favorite place to get ice cream.  Talk about knowing where your food comes from, the cows are nearby.  (Moo back atcha, girls!)



Do you think it's easy taking pics of the main
signs while in motion? What I won't do
for you all.


This sign was at the entrance.  Yea USA!  I love seeing an American flag rippling in the breeze.  Especially on a hot summer day.

I love patriotism. Yes, I will buy your ice cream
that is definitely made in America!

Much like the other farm, several windows for ordering.  Depending on the time of day/year you come, it can be packed!  Several people came and went, but I tried to get a pic in between patrons.  (Your uninterrupted view below.)

Seating at tables in the sunshine.

This place has the awesome "Flavor Board."  Each flavor has been specifically depicted with accurate colors and images of the ingredients.  They put a lot of attention into the details.  (Making great ice cream is a true form of art!)

You could stand there and enjoy the art for
minutes at a time. But hungry people behind
you would get angry. (Trust me on this.)

Assessment of ice cream: Crazy Good. A. I got Maine Black Bear. That was a small cone. Super creamy and tons of interesting flavors.

Even a patriotic cone wrapper.

Seeing as this flavor choice was more obscure and a local original, let me explain what Maine Black Bear actually was.  Vanilla ice cream, raspberry swirl and teeny tiny, raspberry-filled, dark chocolate truffle cups.

That's what the chocolate thing is. Not
just a plain old chip. Much more
interesting than you thought!

I did some chalkboard reading as I enjoyed my cone.  (Hot day, had to read fast.)  A little history lesson of the farm.  Goes back to the 1850s!  Owned by five generations!  How about that.

Makes me happy to support local families.

The only sad part about getting ice cream...  coming down to the final bite.

My very last baby raspberry chocolate 
cup. Waahhh!

New England is a fantastic place to discover family-owned, one off, unique ice cream places.  (I just can't find anything like this at all in Northern Virginia.  Boo!)  It's no wonder to me why more ice cream is consumed in New England than anywhere in the United States.  It doesn't have to do with outdoor temperature, that's for sure.  (Ever been to New Hampshire in the winter?  Beyond brrrr.)  But with all the incredible small enterprises, hidden gems and family farms up there, you can find the most outrageously fabulous frozen moo juice around.  What makes this indulgence so out of this world at these establishments?  The owner's personal passion for the production of this cool and creamy treat.  You can taste the love.  (And love, btw, is delicious!)

I haven't even begun to log all the wonderful places there are to get ice cream in the North, but four is a great start!