We’re starting a heat wave!

Well, compared to last week and this past weekend, anyway. Over the weekend, I had to turn my heat on a few times, to take the chill out of the air. Yesterday when I got up, it was a whopping 29F/-2C. Brr!

Sure, in a couple of months, that will feel warm, but when you’re suddenly plunged into low temperatures, it’s kind of cold. And I had to go out grocery shopping in that weather. For the first time this fall, I had to let my car run a couple minutes to help warm it up. Okay, that was because I refused to get out a winter coat. Or wear gloves.

But, for the rest of the week now, it’s highs in the 70′s, and even the low 80′s! (That’s 21-27C, for anyone outside of the States.) So, bring on the summery beverage for likely the last time this year. I have a garden full of mint that’s still going strong, and I’m going to use it while I can.

This recipe is low fat, as well as low carb if you use sugar-free sweetener.

Iced Mint Green Tea

Print Recipe

4 cups (1 L) cold water
6 green tea bags (I prefer decaf)
couple sprigs of mint
1/4-1/2 cup (55-115 grams) sweetener of choice (I used half truvia, half sugar)
ice cubes
extra mint for garnish, if desired
juice of 1 lime, if desired*

If using sugar, place desired amount of sugar in bottom of 6 cup (1.4 L) pitcher.

Add water and mint to medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and add sugar substitute, if using. Stir until sweetener is dissolved. Remove from heat.

When water is no longer boiling, add tea bags and cover; steep 10 minutes. Remove cover, tea bags, and mint. Pour hot tea into pitcher, stir to combine with sugar. Add enough ice cubes to fill the pitcher.

Refrigerate until chilled, then serve in glasses over ice. Garnish with mint, if desired.

*To change things up a bit, add the lime juice to the chilled tea.

I recently made an oven version of mushroom risotto. It was good, but not perfect, so I’ll work to perfect the timing before I post it. One thing that kind of stood out, however, was that the flavor wasn’t as round as usual. The only difference, other than the cooking technique?

I used store bought stock.

I know, I know, this happened just weeks after taking a picture of my stock-filled freezer, but one batch of soup depleted my chicken stock. I was out, so I purchased the stock I used to rely on. Do I believe it made the difference? Yes, I do. I bought my favorite cheese (and taste-tested it, of course) and my usual assortment of mushrooms…I even used better quality, more flavorful butter than in the past.

In the past, a friend and I would split the cost of stock ingredients, and we’d both have a pot of stock simmering away in our kitchens.

But really, that’s not necessary. I recently made a conscious effort to save peelings from carrots, parsnips, celery, and onions. When I cut more parsley than I needed, the extras went into the stock bag in my freezer (the writing on the bag smeared slightly, but it’s still obvious what’s in there). Anytime I didn’t use all of the thyme I purchased, into the stock bag it went. I do still buy dill specifically for stock, but after throwing one sprig into the stock pot, the rest goes into my stock bag.

This time, we aren’t transforming leftovers, we’re taking the scraps that most people throw away, and turning them into homemade goodness – essentially for free. Even if you don’t cook much with stock, freeze it for the winter and turn it into chicken soup when you don’t feel well, want a simple meal, of have leftover chicken to use up.

Here is a simple stock recipe using scraps:

1 chicken carcass, including skin (or a bunch of chicken bones you’ve saved)
Scraps/peelings from the following vegetables:
Carrots
Parsnips
Onions (any color)
Garlic
Celery
Parsley
Thyme
Dill
Additional flavorings:
1-2 dried bay leaves
about a dozen peppercorns

To make the stock, simply pile everything into a large pot and fill with water. (If you have a large slow cooker, you can put everything in there, turn it on low, and just let it go for hours). Simmer for at least 12 hours, longer if you can, adding water as needed. Strain out the solids, pour the liquid through a sieve into a large bowl, cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Skim the solidified fat and throw away. Portion out the stock into freezer-safe containers, leaving about ½ – ¾ inch of headspace. I like using 2 cup containers; I’ve never needed less than 2 cups at a time, and the stock thaws a lot faster when you have two 2-cup containers, rather than one 4 cup container. (If using plastic containers, avoid putting them in the microwave, thaw in the fridge instead.)

I have to confess that I’ve made summer rolls three times in one week. After each meal, I still had dipping sauces leftover, and those sauces kept beckoning to me from the fridge. I also had prepped vegetables in the fridge, plus some leftover chicken. . . I simply couldn’t resist.

These rolls are perfect for summer – they are light and refreshing, and once you get the hang of rolling them, they assemble quickly. Don’t worry if they don’t look perfect – ahem, did you see mine?

I also really have to recommend making both dipping sauces. Both are delicious, but so different that it’s like having two meals in one night. They both bring out completely different personalities of the same roll. If you end up with leftover peanut sauce, simply toss it with pasta, some red pepper and carrot matchsticks (especially if you have some leftover from these rolls), scallions, and leftover chicken for a quick meal.

Summer Rolls
Adapted from Everyday Food, July/August 2010

Ingredients:

4 ounces vermicelli rice noodles
spring roll wrappers
½ pound cooked shrimp
6 ounces cooked chicken, shredded
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1 small red pepper, cut into strips
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
1 mango, peeled and cut into strips
cilantro leaves
mint leaves
chives

Peanut Dipping Sauce:
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup warm water
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

Spicy Hoisin Dipping Sauce:
½ cup hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons Thai chili sauce
2 teaspoons white vinegar
¼ cup water

Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add vermicelli rice noodles and remove from heat; allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse under cold water. Set aside.

Fill a pie plate with cool water. Place a spring roll wrapper in water for 30 seconds, remove to a work surface. Add desired fillings (see below for suggested combinations) and some vermicelli to the lower third of the wrapper. Roll wrapper over fillings, then fold in each edge. Continue rolling the rest of the roll; place on a damp paper towel and cover with a damp paper towel. Assemble the remaining rolls. Cover rolls with damp paper towel and refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the dipping sauces, whisk all ingredients until smooth. Serve rolls with sauce.

Summer Roll Ideas:

Shrimp, mint, carrots, chives, vermicelli
Chicken, mango, carrots, cilantro, vermicelli
Chicken, carrots, red pepper, cucumber, cilantro, vermicelli
Avocado, mint, carrots, cucumber, vermicelli

I’ve tried to like lentils. I really have. I even started my lentil adventures with soups, figuring lentils blended with other flavors might appeal to me more than just a dish of cooked lentils.

Or not.

In defense of lentils, it’s really the texture that I can’t handle more than the flavor, though I suspect I have some issues with the flavor as well, based on my soup experiments. For the record, I don’t like beans either, and that is based on 99% texture, 1% flavor.

But for all of you out there who do like lentils, this post is for you. This soup is gorgeous to look at, and it’s perfect for seasonal transitions: in early fall, when the weather cools but you’re still hanging onto the days of summer, this soup will comfort you; in spring, the vivid apricot color will hint of warmer days to come.

Armenian Apricot Soup
adapted from The Soup Peddler via 101 Cookbooks

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, diced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 cups red lentils, rinsed
10 cups water
12 ounces dried apricots, chopped (I used half Turkish and half California apricots)
salt

Heat oil over medium heat in a dutch oven or large soup pot. Add the onions and carrots and saute for 10 minutes. Add the cumin and stir. Lower the heat, cover, and let the vegetables sweat for 10 minutes.

Add the lentils and add enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the lentils and carrots are tender. Add more water as needed during the cooking.

Remove from heat and add the apricots. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth (or use a regular blender and blend in batches); season with salt to taste.

Serves 8-10

Fragrant and sweet, local melon is hands-down one of my favorite things about summer. So when I arrived at the farmers’ market this weekend and was greeted by the perfume of melon, it was difficult to contain my excitement.

I could tell by the aroma that this melon wouldn’t last long; I could tell it was ripe, but it was almost bordering on overripe. In other words, it was perfect at that moment. To extend its life just a bit, I decided to turn it into a salad by adding the strawberries I picked up from the market, and some blueberries I had in the fridge. The mint came from my own garden, and the rest? Well, the rest of the salad simply came together by looking through my cupboards and fridge.

When I say this salad is simple, I’m not kidding. But I firmly believe that when you have superior produce, it does not need much adornment.

Simple Fruit Salad

Ingredients
1 medium cantaloupe
1 pint strawberries
1 c blueberries
1 tsp orange zest
2 T freshly squeezed orange juice
1-2 T runny honey (to taste)
2 T spiced rum
pinch of salt
2 T mint, cut into chiffonade

Instructions
Using a melon baller, cut the melon and place pieces in a large bowl (you can also cut the melon into chunks). Half or quarter strawberries, depending on their size, and add blueberries to the salad. Add the orange zest and juice to the bowl.

Run the bottle of honey under hot water or microwave for 5 to 10 seconds. Pour honey and rum over the fruit, and add a pinch of salt. Stir carefully to mix. Garnish with mint.

In some ways, mid-August is one of my favorite times of year. Sure, I complain about it being a little too hot, a little too humid, but that very heat and humidity is so important to area crops, not to mention my own garden. The available local produce is at its peak, which translates into lots of fruit desserts.

And with autumn and winter right around the corner, they usher in a whole new slew of desserts. So I figured, what better time to share with you some of my favorite recipes?

With this e-book, I’ve tried to include something for everyone: you’re find desserts that are vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, egg-free, and/or dairy-free. All of the gluten-free & sugar-free desserts have been tested by folks who do not follow that type of diet; if they give a sf/gf dessert the thumbs-up, I believe most people will enjoy the treat.

You’ll find desserts that showcase seasonal fruit, as well as heartier desserts that will comfort you when the temperatures drop. Here is what you have to look forward to:

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote* (vegan, dairy-free, egg-free)
Summer Fruit Crumble* (egg-free)
Peach Tarts
Cherry Cheesecake Galette (egg-free)
Poached Pears (vegan, egg-free, dairy-free)
Dulce de Leche Chocolate Chip Cookies
Grandma’s Molasses Cut-Out Cookies
Lemon Tea Cookies (egg-free, vegan if use trans-fat free margarine)
Pinwheels
Peppermint White Chocolate Truffles (egg-free)
Chocolate Mousse with Orange Vanilla Whipped Cream
Sugar-Free Chocolate Mousse (sugar-free & gluten-free)
Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing (sugar-free & gluten-free)
Blueberry Muffins (sugar-free & gluten-free)
Peanut Butter Silk Pie (sugar-free & gluten-free)

*Both Strawberry Rhubarb Compoteand Summer Fruit Crumble are original recipes that have been featured on My Madison Bistro.

This e-book is available at no charge, but if you like the recipes or would like to help fund the recipe development for future e-books, donations are greatly appreciated.

Click here to download the Madison Bistro Treats E-Book.

This compote is one of my favorite spring/summer treats. Whether you want a cheerful start to your day by spooning it over greek yogurt, or a sinless finish by serving it with a scoop of ice cream, you can’t go wrong with this recipe.

It’s a delicious balance of sweet and tart, everything you’d expect from this classic combination, with an endnote of a little something special.

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote
Ingredients

4 stalks rhubarb, chopped
1 quart strawberries, cut into quarters
½ – 1 c sugar (depending on sweetness of berries)
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Place rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in medium sized sauce pan. Cook over medium until bubbly, then reduce heat to low and cook for about 15-20 minutes.

Remove from heat and add vanilla, stirring to combine. Cool and store in refrigerator.

Serve over ice cream or plain yogurt.

My mom once said that a perfect honeydew melon is better than chocolate. Honeydew really is one of the great joys of summer. When it’s in season, it tastes like candy, only better. It needs no adornment, but when you do decide to dress it up a bit, be prepared – it will knock your socks off.

In this particular dish, the mint, lime, honey, and tequila all work together to further enhance the flavor of the honeydew, without overpowering it. As always, with so few ingredients, quality really matters here, especially with the tequila. You really do want to use a good quality tequila here – no Cuervo!

Melon with Tequila and Lime
from Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food

Ingredients
1 ripe honeydew melon
2-3 T good tequila
zest of 1/2 lime
juice of 1/2 lime
2-3 T runny honey (nuke it for a few seconds)
pinch of salt
a few springs of mint

Instructions
Cut the honeydew in half and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Using a melon baller, cut the melon into little balls (you can cut the melon into 1 inch chunks if you don’t have a melon baller). Add the tequila, lime juice, lime zest, honey, and salt. Stir to combine, refrigerate for at least one hour.

Prior to serving, cut mint leaves into a chiffonade and sprinkle over the melon. Serve.

I try to make an effort to cook recipe-less meals on a regular basis. Some weeks I’ll find myself doing this nightly, other weeks…not so much. But as someone who thinks of herself more as a baker than a cook, it’s important to me to keep experimenting in the kitchen (aside from the baked goods).

This particular meal came about when I had absolutely nothing planned to make, and I wasn’t allowing myself to get take-out. Instead, I raided my pantry and freezer, and the result was really quite tasty. There aren’t a lot of pictures, because it didn’t occur to me at first that anyone might be interested in reading about my quick meal. But then I thought, don’t we all want some fast, simple dishes to make during the week?

Garlic Shrimp with Tomatoes and Linguini

For each main dish serving, you will need:
2 oz whole wheat linguini
7 oz diced tomatoes (I used unsalted)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used frozen shrimp)*
a couple sprigs of thyme
flat-leaf parsley
lemon
white wine
olive oil
shredded parmesan cheese (if desired)
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes

1. In a large saucepan, heat water over high heat. Add a clove of garlic to the water.

2. In a 3 or 4 quart saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add a clove of garlic to the oil. When oil is just about to smoke, add the shrimp. If you have a cooking screen, you’ll want to use it (especially if the shrimp are frozen). Cook for about a minute on each side, and remove the shrimp to a bowl and discard the garlic clove. Season the shrimp with a little salt and pepper.

3. When water comes to a boil, add a little oil (it keeps the foam that develops on top of the water to a minimum when cooking pasta) and a generous amount of salt. Add the linguine and set the timer for 9 minutes.

4. Add the diced tomatoes and about 4 sprigs of thyme to the saute pan. Season with a little salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (for just a little heat). Mince the remaining 4 cloves of garlic and add to the tomatoes, cook until garlic is fragrant. Add a small amount of white wine (about 2-3 oz) to the tomato mixture.

5. Chop a handful of parsley, add about 2 tablespoons to the pan, reserve just enough for garnish. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the tomato mixture, remove the pan from the heat. Add the shrimp to the pan, and the linguine. Give the mixture a good stir and cover for about five minutes to let the linguine finish cooking and the flavors to blend. Remove the thyme sprigs before serving. Garnish with parsley and shredded parmesan. Serve with the same wine you cooked with.

*If you have any leftover protein, such as chicken, you can certainly substitute that for the shrimp.

What’s more comforting than a pot of soup cooking on the stove? Making soup used to intimidate me, and the thought of making soup stock made me want to run away from my kitchen. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that both are quite easy. If you’ve ever roasted a chicken, you may as well make your own chicken stock, as the process is incredibly simple.

Print Recipe
Chicken Stock

1 chicken carcass*
2 carrots
3 stalks celery
1 parsnip
1 onion
1 bulb garlic
a few sprigs of thyme
a few sprigs of dill
bay leaf
bunch of parsley
peppercorns

To make your soup stock, simply take the leftover chicken carcass and the neck and throw them into a stock pot or dutch oven. Cut the carrots, celery, and parsnip in half or thirds, and throw them in the pot. Cut your bulb of garlic in half, crosswise, and toss it in the pot. Cut the onion into quarters, and toss it all in (no need to peel). Add the herbs and a teaspoon of whole peppercorns,

Cover all ingredients with water and simmer (don’t let it boil!) away on the stove for about four or five hours, or put an oven-proof cooking vessel into the oven at a very low temperature so the stock doesn’t boil. The reason you don’t want the stock to come to a boil is because your stock will be cloudy and not very appealing to look at. Keep the temperature low enough (under 212 F or 100 C), and perhaps even use a thermometer to warn you if the temperature is getting too high.

Remove the carcass and veggies, and strain the stock into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, skim the fat off the top of the stock. Either use the stock within three days or put into containers and freeze for up to six months. With homemade stock, you’re getting superior quality soup stock with no preservatives. It tastes better, and it’s better for you.

*If the chicken came with the neck, go ahead and throw that in the pot. An inexpensive way to save stock ingredients is to save the peelings, ends, and skins from carrots, celery, an onions – just start a large freezer bag of stock ingredients. When you make chicken, throw the extra bones or carcass in the freezer until you’re ready to use them. If you have leftover parsley sometime, chop it up and freeze it into ice cubes, so you can just toss the cubes into your stock or any soup that you make.