Well Hello there… This is embarassing.  It appears that I have neglected to update this blog in, awhile… Oops.  I promise it’s not because I was lazy!  (Well, maybe a little.)  (Maybe a lot.)  My apologies.

But enough about that…on to the food!  One of the best parts of moving up to Chicago is now I actually get to attend all the weddings I get invited to over the summer.  One particularly special one a few weeks ago, featured the most amazing creamy cheesy tomato soup so good I may have…umm…kinda…maybe…licked the bowl when no one was looking…?? 

I absolutely had to have more because, well, clearly that little bowl was not enough for me.  And so began my first cooking project in the new apartment.  Now, I know that it’s summer and insanely hot/humid outside.  But if you can’t sweat a little for good food…well buddy, I’m afraid we can’t be friends anymore.  Sorry.

Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil.  Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic.  Stirring occasionally, cook over medium heat until vegetables are soft.  Sprinkle in the flour and stir.  Crushing the tomatoes by hand, mix into to the pot.  Add the chicken broth, sugar, and fresh thyme leaves.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Bring the soup to a boil. 
Spoon the soup into a blender, filling it halfway.  Work in batches.  Use a cloth to cover the blender.  You must always be sure not to completely seal when blending hot liquids!  Pulse until smooth.
Add the blended soup back into the pot.  Bring back to a boil.  Add the heavy cream and sprinkle in a handful of mozzarella cheese.  Stir to melt the cheese. 

As if that Strawberry Frozen Yogurt wasn’t enough to convince you to join me in my newfound love for making homemade frozen treats, here’s a Blackberry Sorbet to tempt you with.

Note about Blackberries:  They have huge seeds.  You’re not gonna want that in your sorbet.  So whip out your strainer and get to work.  It’s really quite amazing how good the finished product tastes.  Really.

P.S.  All my bags are packed and ready to go.  The next post on this blog will be made from my new home in Chicago.  See you there!

p.p.s Every single time I typed the word Blackberry in this post, my mind did a double take and I thought I was talking about my Blackberry phone.  Crackberry indeed… One day I will get an iPhone and Blackberries can return again to being just a fruit.

::COMPONENTS::
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c water
12 oz. fresh blackberries
1 tbs lemon juice

Combine the sugar and water in a small pot.  Heat until the sugar is completely dissolved in the water.  Remove from heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.  If you want to speed up the process even more, stick it in the freezer and let it get really cold (but not frozen).

In a blender, add the simple syrup, blackberries, and lemon juice.  Blend until smooth.

Strain the mixture, using a spatula or wooden spoon to mix and push the puree though the strainer.

Follow the same directions as the Frozen Yogurt to freeze without a machine.

I have always always wanted to try making homemade ice cream.  Often I catch myself fawning over the latest newfangled ice cream machines but can never justify the hefty price tag.  Two hundred dollars for a machine? No thanks, I think I’ll just go to Jarlings instead…50 times.

But then one day, it just occurred to me…people have been eating ice cream…forever.  Like, before machines were invented.  So I’ll just make it without a machine.  Why why did I not think of this earlier.  So much time and so many opportunities have slipped through the cracks when I could have been enjoying my own homemade frozen treats.  Jean…get your act together.  wha wha…

p.s. Remember when I made Pink Lady Cupcakes and gushed over how the cake batter tasted exactly like strawberry ice cream and I couldn’t stop myself from eating it all?  Well people, this is the real deal…(and minus the looming threat of salmonella so really, double win.)

::COMPONENTS::
recipie from David Lebovitz

1 pound strawberries; rinsed, hulled, & sliced
2/3 c sugar
2 tsp vodka
1 c good quality plain Greek yogurt**
1 tsp lemon juice

Toss the strawberries, sugar, and vodka in a bowl allowing the sugar to dissolve.  Cover the bowl and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours.  Ocassionally stir.

Transfer the strawberry mixture into a blender.  Add the yogurt and lemon juice.  Pulse until the mixture is smooth.  At this point, you could strain it if you don’t want the seeds.  (I did not do this)

To freeze without a machine, follow these instructions by David Lebovitz.  And while you’re at it, check out his ice cream recipes.  He’s legit.

**You really want to use a Greek yogurt here, or at least a really thick whole milk yogurt.  The richness and creaminess of Greek yogurt is really important here.

Oh KP, I hate that I can’t get your summer anthem out of my head, but I love it at the same time.  I don’t live in California, but if the official State uniform for Summer is Daisy Dukes with Bikinis on top, I might want to move there.  For if I tried to pull off such daily attire in the Midwest, the old ladies at Wal-Mart would certainly glare at me in their Old Navy American Flag tees.  Perhaps when I’m in California, KP would also allow me to borrow her cupcake bikini and purple hair wig.  I was just saying the other day how I needed more edible heat-wave appropriate clothes.  Oh man…all this excitement has gotten me worked up.  How about you?  Let’s all cool down with a nice summer drink so our throats will be prepared for another loud chorus of California Gurls.  I mean…we have to be prepared; it only plays like, 50,000x a day on the radio:

::COMPONENTS::
2 c fresh Watermelon puree, passed through a strainer
3/4 c fresh lemon juice (3 large lemons)
1/2 c sugar, boiled in 1 c water to form a simple syrup
2 1/2 c cold water

Sincerely,

Denim.

I don’t know where you are, but it is sickeningly hot in St. Louis right now. Hot and sticky, disgusting.  So disgusting that both my Mom and I have given up on cooking.  It’s simply too hot to crank up the stove.  It turns out my dog, Cami, is the smartest of us all.  She’s taken to sleeping on top of the A/C vent all day, hogging all the cool air.  She’s even started eating Watermelon, cold juicy watermelon.  What a smart little dog.

So it goes without saying that if the stove’s not getting cranked up, the oven certainly is not going to be used…or is it?  If I’m gonna turn on that oven, ruining the delicate temperature balance of cool air in the house, it better be for something good.  And folks, this muffin is good, nay, great and completely worth the sacrifice.

Sugar and lemon zest are muddled together and sprinkled on top of the muffin.  When it comes out of the oven, it seriously tastes like lemon candy.

People, it’s delicious. Go make it. The end.

::COMPONENTS::
adapted from Susan Elizabeth Fallon of Bon Appétit Magazine

1 c sugar + 1/8 c
4 tsp finely grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
2 c all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, softened
1 large egg
1 c yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract

Mash together 1/8 c sugar with the lemon zest until the sugar is moistened.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside

With a mixer, beat together the butter and 1 c of sugar until smooth.  Beat in the egg, yogurt, vanilla, and half of the lemon sugar one at a time.  Mix in the dry ingredients.

Prepare muffin tin by lining with regular-sized muffin cups.  Divide the batter among the cups, filling each up 3/4 of the way.  Top each muffin cup with 3 raspberries and a sprinkle of the lemon sugar.  Bake at 375°F for 30-35 min.

::COMPONENTS::
2 egg
2 c milk
1/2 c sugar, a little less if you want it less sweet
4 tbs corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs butter
vanilla wafers
banana slices (2 – 3 bananas)

Bring a small pot of water to a simmer on the stove.  In a glass bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, sugar, corn starch, and salt until smooth.  Place the glass bowl over the pot to create a double broiler.  Stir consistently until the mixture thickens, about 15 min.  Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla.  Mix until the butter melts.  Refrigerate until cool.  The mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.

When cooled, fold some whipped cream into the pudding.  This makes it lighter and more airy.  (I make whipped cream by whipping together 1 c whipping cream + 2-3 tbs powdered sugar)

Assemble by layering the wafers, banana, and pudding.

Ok, so I know I’ve already done a Blueberry Muffin post.  And I’ve been making my muffins the same way for years.  But this just goes to show you that  sometimes the old way is not the best way.

I recently tried a slight variation of that old muffin recipe and, man, these are good.  The old ones are delicious, but they get a tinsy bit greasy when cooled from the vegetable oil.  These muffins are a slightly ‘dryer’ (for lack of a better word) and more muffin-y (if that makes any sense at all).  I thinking this may be my new go-to blueberry muffin recipe.  Change is good my friends.

(And this time, I made my muffins with fresh berries so the pictures turned out much better!)

::COMPONENTS::
adapted from Simply Recipes, makes 10 – 12 muffins

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tbs baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbs (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp grated lemon zest
3/4 c plain yogurt
3/4 c blueberries**

Combine together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until creamed.  Mix in the egg and lemon zest.

Mix in half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated.  Mix in the yogurt.  Add the remaining half of the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.  Gently fold in the blueberries.

Line muffin tin with muffin cup liners.  Fill each cup 3/4 full.  Bake in 375°F oven for 20-25 min.

**If  using frozen blueberries, thaw the blueberries first.  Drain the liquid and coat in a light dusting of flour before adding to the batter.

I’m not the biggest fan of seafood, but my family loves it.  And since cooking with saffron has always been on my list of things to do, a Paella dish was born.

Ok, I know this is not the most authentic bowl of Paella (so I used Chinese rice instead of fancy Spanish rice. I’m Asian, it’s what I had on hand. What do you want from me??)  But it was tasty and that’s all that matters.

::COMPONENTS::
1 Spanish Chorizo or Kielbasa Sausage, in 1/2 inch slices
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 14 oz can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
4 c short grain rice
3 c chicken stock, warm
3 c water, warm
large pinch saffron threads
1/2 dozen little neck clams
1/2 dozen jumbo shrimp
1/2 c sweet peas

In a large pan over medium high heat, cook the sausage until browned on both sides.  Remove the sausage from the pan, turn heat down to medium and add a little oil to the pan.  Saute the diced onion, garlic, and chopped parsley 2-3 min until softened (this trio is called a sofrito).  Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook for another 2 min.

Add the rice to the pan and stir, toasting the rice a little.  Pour in the warm chicken stock and water and simmer for 10-15 min until the rice absorbs the liquid, stir occasionally.  When rice is ready, add the sausage back in the pan along with the saffron, shrimp, and clams.  Cook until the clams open and the shrimp turns pink and curls.  Stir in the peas. Lightly season with salt and pepper if needed.  In the last five min of cooking, turn the heat up to high and allow the rice on the bottom of the pan to toast and form a crust. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Ok, I’m just going to say it.  My summer guilty pleasure is Bravo’s The Real Housewives of New York City.  I know that its just a bunch of crude housewives bickering back and forth, pointless entertainment.  But it’s so entertaining!  I gotta say, I’m totally Team Bethenny.  Not that I think she’s the nicest character of the series or anything, but because I love her one liners and just find her quick wit entertaining.

On the show this season, there was a special emphasis on Bethenny’s status as a “chef”.  So naturally, I had to do some investigating.  Turns out, she’s a natural foods, self proclaimed “Skinny Chef”, and has several books out teaching women how to be naturally thin (whatever that means…)  I did some more digging and found some of her health food recipes.  Me, being me, of course I need to try one of these recipes!  So off I went.

I’ve always been wary of health foods – especially health desserts.  But, these cookies are good! I wouldn’t be posting them otherwise.  Although, I’m a little iffy about calling them cookies.  They’re shaped like cookies, but the texture is almost a little bread like…but delicious without all the butter and extra calories.  Win-win.

I was concerned about how they would turn out though.  When I was scooping out the cookies onto my baking sheet, the batter sort of melted into a giant messy glob of oatmeal.  But it baked out fine so no worries.

::COMPONENTS::
adapted from Bethenny Frankel’s ‘Naturally Thin‘

1 c oat flour
3/4 c old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c raw sugar (or brown sugar)
1/3 c canola oil
1/3 c skim milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c ripe bananas, chopped into small pieces and slightly smashed
1/4 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips

First assemble and mix together the oat flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine the canola oil, skim milk, and vanilla.

Mix together the dry ingredients and the wet.  Fold in the bananas, walnuts, and chocolate chips.

Scoop into 2 tbs circles on a baking sheet.  Bake in a 350°F oven for 18-20 min, rotate the pan halfway through.