Homemade Slushy: Cran-Raspberry with Strawberry Slushy

Summer means icy drinks like this cran-raspberry with strawberry slushy.

 This past weekend my daughter asked if we could make slushies. We searched for a machine that might assist us in our efforts, but came up empty.

Isabella then remembered an As-Seen-On-TV slushie shaker that she had seen at our local Walgreen's. They have two shelving units full of As-Seen-On-TV products (wait, I noticed yesterday that they've replaced this section with back-to-school items, even though it's still July). We purchased a Slushy Magic cup and went home to give it a go (we paid only half the price that was listed on their site).

The cup comes with some "magic" ice cubes (whose ingredients I decided against investigating) that you put in the freezer for a few hours. Then you pour juice into the shaker cup, add the "magic" cubes, cover and shake.

It seems that we didn't leave the cubes in the freezer long enough. And, I think it would take about forty minutes of dedicated shaking to get the Magic Slushy cup to create a nice smushy iced beverage.

We went to plan B: use my drink blender, with the juice, some whole strawberries and ice. We blended several batches, poured them into some red Solo cups (Isabella sang the song while we worked, the "Glee" version) and put them in the freezer for two hours.

They were great. When we got to the party, we poured them into smaller cups, added some ginger ale and a sprig of mint.  A great standard kid-friendly drink was born!

Cran-Raspberry with Strawberry Slushy

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cranberry-raspberry juice
• 10 strwberries, hulled and cut into chunks
• 8 to 10 ice cubes
• 1 cup ginger ale
• 10 mint sprigs for garnish

Method:

1. Put juice, strawberries and ice into a blender. Mix until ice has become crushed and strawberries are just past being chunky.
2. Pour mixture into several plastic cups.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for two hours.
4. Remove from the freezer, pour into individual serving cups.
5. Stir in a splash of ginger ale into each drink. Garnish with the mint.

It's as Easy as Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. Three words I never would have put together on my own. You see, I don't love cooked strawberries, except in a jam-like state. And, rhubarb and I have previously been unacquainted. Pie is not something I make as a regular event.

My friend had a birthday and she loves fruit pies. So I thought I'd try my hand at making one for her. My CSA box contained both strawberries and rhubarb this particular week. I took a chance, asked a few friends some questions and concocted this lovely pie.

To be honest, I only had a small bit of it (I used regular flour pie crust instead of gluten-free) and I was wary of all that cooked fruit goodness in one place. I was pleasantly surprised by the resulting pie: not too juicy, nor overly sweet with a nice crunch from the rhubarb. I did read later on that there should be no crunch from the rhubarb but my friend said she preferred it this way (maybe only to be nice?!).

I think I also understand the saying "It's as simple as pie" now. I diced a few things, measured out some sugar, vanilla and lemon juice and plopped it all in a pie crust (yes, I used pre-made, we've already discussed that I am not much in the way of pastry doughs). Ina bout an hour, I had a pie that was cooling on a rack awaiting some frozen treat to be served alongside of it.

Pies are going to be featured a little bit more in my summer cooking. It's still quite warm here in San Francisco (which is not the weather we normally have in June) which is inspiring me to experiment with some more pie combinations soon. I'm thinking a plum variety, maybe with some apricot thrown in there, with a gluten-free piecrust so I can fully enjoy myself.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients:

• 3 stalks rhubarb, cleaned and diced
• 1.5 pounds strawberries, cleaned, hulled and cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsps real vanilla extract
• 2 prepared pie crusts (gluten-free pastry dough mix can be found here)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl place the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla.
3. Using a large spoon (or I use my hands) thoroughly coat the rhubarb and strawberries in the sugar and liquids.
4. Let sit for ten minutes, to get the juice flowing out of the fruit.
5. While the mixture rests, take one of your pie crusts, flatten it out and cut it into strips to form the lattice for the top of the pie.
6. After ten minutes has passed, put the fruit mixture into the remaining piecrust, making sure all of the juice get into the pie as well.
7. Cover with strips of piecrust, making a criss-cross (or whatever pattern you like if you have a favorite style, as long as there are air holes of the steam to escape while baking).
8. Crimp the edge of the top lattice to the bottom edge of the piecrust.
9. Place the pie pan on a baking dish or put some aluminum foil underneath the pan to catch any drips.
10. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F.
11. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees F and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes.
12. If the crust is browning too quickly, tent the pie with foil.
13. Once the pie is out of the oven, rest it on a cooling rack for an hour (or if you want it to be warm, 40 minutes) before cutting and serving.
14. Serve alongside ice cream or sorbet.

Delightful! Roasted Summer Squash with Roasted Garlic and Fennel

 Wow. That's all I can say. This summer squash with roasted garlic and fennel salad blew me away.

(yes, I know I came up with it and that's not a really modest thing to say, but I'm just being honest).

The taste of fennel brings me directly back to Gran Fran and Joe's house. We eat fennel raw, like it's celery. I didn't realize this was not the way normal people ate fennel. I was surprised to find it cooked in a dish at a restaurant and everyone at the table looked at me like I was crazy.

When we were kids, I remember once we told one of the neighbor kids that it was gum, but I have no idea why we decided to trick this kid. I happened to have some fennel in my mouth that I'd been chewing for a long time, so it had become a kind of a paste. I guess the kid believed us, not sure, I remember just following along what one of my older sisters told me to do and ended up chewing that fennel for a very long time.

But I digress. The short story here is that I came up with a perfect combination in this recipe (no modesty again). The crunch and anise of the fennel against the soft sweetness of the roasted squash is just right. By adding in some mellow roasted garlic and a bit of vinegar, the dish comes together perfectly. If you eat cheese (which I can't), make sure to have some nice grated Parmigiano Reggiano on hand to sprinkle over top.

 as featured on The Fruit Guys website

Roasted Summer Squash with Fennel and Roasted Garlic

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup summer squash of your choice, cut into chunks
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/8 cup red vinegar
• 1 bulb fennel shaved
• 4 cloves roasted garlic (recipe here)
• Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place an empty jelly roll pan in to heat up at the same time.
2. Once the oven has preheated, carefully remove the tray from the oven, pour 1/4 cup of the olive oil onto the tray and place the summer squash on top.
3. Turn the squash chunks over several times to coat in the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pieces have browned and softened.
5. In a large salad bowl, mix the roasted summer squash with the shaved fennel, roasted garlic and the remaining oil and vinegar.

Serves 4. Prep time, 5 minutes; cook time, 20 minutes.

Cook’s note: Serve alongside a frittata or a pizza.

What, Really? You Want Me To Make Bolognese Tomato Sauce, Vegan Style?

I have discovered that, although I love my homemade tomato sauce with meat, I've managed to make a vegan version that is just as good.

I'm not kidding. I've had a few people taste it: vegetarians, newly-healthy eaters, and avid meat eaters. All of us agree that it is amazing.

The most important part of the sauce is the canned tomatoes you use. My mother, Gran Fran, swears by canned San Marzano tomatoes. They just taste better, even if they cost way more than the others. I think she learned about these from her Italian grandmothers, who hail from Southern Italy, not sure. They make for a much richer flavor, real tomato-y and not metallic at all. I used the diced ones. I'm sure Gran Fran is not happy with this at all, but the pre-diced ones make my life easier and the sauce chunkier.

When we were kids Gran Fran used to make use push whole canned tomatoes through a sieve to extract the seeds, skin and core. No matter what, I somehow always had a cut on my hand, which the acid from the tomato would burn. Gran Fran had no time for these kinds of complaints. There was likely some sort of a response along the lines of "When I was your age, we had to can the tomatoes ourselves." Or some such other silliness.

The addition of a generous handful of fennel seeds to the sauce makes it taste just like it does when I put sweet Italian sausage in there. I've tried it without the fennel, and it's just kind of bland, still better than store bought, but nothing special. A great trick that Gran Fran uses is to heat up the tomato paste in a small saucepan and most of the dried spices to it and some olive oil. By cooking them together, the tomato paste picks up the flavors and distributes them into the sauce more evenly. I think Gran Fran told me once that cooking the spices this way makes their flavors release more strongly. It's one of those things I do because my Mom told me to.

Oh, and don't forget to brown some garlic lightly before putting the tomato sauce and wine in the pot.

I do also add a half bottle of red wine. Any kind will do, even cheap stuff, though more expensive wines definitely add a little more depth to the sauce.

Cooking for a really long time over a low heat once everything is incorporated (Gran Fran-ism) is key to your sauce's success. This time I had to go out for a few hours after I started to sauce. I turned the flame off and let the pot sit until I came back, partially covered. This seemed to help the sauce thicken because when I came back, it was more set than when I left. I turned the flame back on and cooked it for another two hours, for a total cooking time of 4 hours. Slow cookers can be tried here, but I have not had the best luck with getting a good thick sauce in my slow cooker until the second day, reheating on the stove.

I'm going to make a bunch of this and can it for future use (or sale, who knows?). Last night, in a rush to make myself something to eat, I was lucky enough to find a gluten-free pizza crust in my cupboard and a jar of this fabulous tomato sauce in my fridge. Let me tell you, with a couple of anchovies and some pine nuts, I had myself a wonderful pizza, in under 20 minutes.

Bolognese Sauce: Italian Vegan Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 cans San Marzano diced tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed, skins removed
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsps tomato paste
• 1/2 bottle red wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 spring fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper

 Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed non-reactive pan. Add the garlic and let sit for two minutes, just before it browns.
2. Pour both cans of diced tomatoes into the pan, bringing it to a boil.
3. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add the tomato past, fennel, oregano, rosemary, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
4. Cook the tomato paste and spices for three minutes, until fragrant.
5. Add the tomato paste with spices, the red wine and the bay leaves to the boiling tomato sauce.
6. Boil for one more minute, stir, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
7. Cover the pan halfway and cook for two hours, stirring occasionally.
8. Turn off the heat for an hour or two, keeping the sauce in the partially covered pan.
9. Return the heat to high, bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for an additional two hours, stirring occasionally.
10. Serve over pasta, on pizza or over broiled chicken breasts.