Basil Ice Cream

This was written Sunday, September 5, 2010

It is such a beautiful, gorgeous day here in NC!  Scott is inside sleeping soundly after a long overnight call at the hospital where he was on his feet all night, so I’ve decided to come outside and bask in this glorious weather. I’m sitting on our deck as I type this, breathing deeply and relaxing under the giant trees in our backyard. This morning I had breakfast on our deck before going to church.  It was wonderful.  I felt like I was on vacation.  I leaned back in my chair, closed my eyes, and thought of nothing in particular.  It is so peaceful here on Sundays.  Everything is still.  Hardly any cars drive by, there’s no clanging from the garbage, recycle, and yard waste trucks, there’s no banging from the construction down the street, even my neighbor’s dogs have decided to give their nonstop barking a rest.  The only sound is the occasional shisss sound that the leaves make when a breeze drifts through.  The sun is warm, the breeze is cool; everything is harmonious, balanced, perfect.

Our garden is right next to our deck and sometimes, when the breeze is strong enough I get a subtle, delicious whiff of fresh basil.  Basil is Scott and my favorite herb with cilantro closely following.  It is probably most well known for use in pesto and caprese salads but there are many other delicious things to do with basil.  For example, basil ice cream.  I first had basil ice cream when Scott and I went out to eat for my birthday two years ago in Iowa City.  He ordered a flourless chocolate torte for dessert and I went the more adventurous route and ordered the restaurant’s strawberry basil ice cream.  I second-guessed my order as soon as I did it wondering why I always had to be so tempted to try something new.  In Italy I once tried a chocolate cigar flavored gelato, and for someone who doesn’t smoke, it tasted disgusting.  When my dessert arrived it was green.  In my head I had thought it would be pink from the strawberries with bits of green basil leaves, but this was the other way around.  It was a basil ice cream with slices of strawberry mixed in the ice cream.  Nervously I tried it, and I was pleasantly surprised!  It was very good!  I am not joking with you.  Scott had some and agreed that my order was the “winner.”  If you think about it, basil ice cream is not that weird.  Mint is used in savory dishes, but yet we love it in mint ice cream.  Why should basil, or any other herb, be different? 

About a year ago I tried to recreate that ice cream based off of my favorite mint ice cream recipe where I steeped the basil in the hot milk and then strained it out, but the result was not good.  This time however, I followed a recipe specifically for basil ice cream from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop where you leave the basil in and puree it in a blender and it turned out exactly as desired.  I made meringue “clouds” from the leftover egg whites to serve the ice cream in and topped the ice cream with strawberries in syrup.  The finished product looked beautiful and exotic, and it tasted like summer with the refreshing basil and sweet strawberries.  Scott and I ate our basil ice cream confection every night for four nights straight until we ran out.  If you have a plethora of basil or if you want to serve something a little different for company, try making this, I think you will find yourself, as I was, pleasantly surprised.

Basil Ice Cream Dessert

You can make everything in this dessert up to a few days in advance except I would make the strawberry syrup no earlier than four hours before you plan to serve it.  The ice cream will be hard directly out of the freezer so let it sit out for five minutes or so before scooping it.  If you make the ice cream the day you want to serve it, make it at least three hours ahead of time as the custard will need to cool for two hours before you can freeze it.

Basil Ice Cream:

1 cup (25g) packed basil leaves

¾ cup (150g) sugar

2 cups (500mL) heavy cream

1 cup (250mL) whole milk

Pinch of salt

4 or 5 large egg yolks (recipe calls for five, I did four because it is slightly healthier and the meringue recipe only calls for four egg whites)

1 lemon, preferably unsprayed

In a blender or small food processor, puree the basil leaves with the sugar and one cup of the heavy cream until the leaves are ground as fine as possible. (If this mixture ends up looking like whipped cream by the time the basil is pureed that is ok.)  Pour half of this basil mixture into a large bowl and add to it the remaining cup of cream. Place a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

Warm the other half of the basil mixture in a medium saucepan with the milk and salt.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour half of the warm milk and basil mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so your eggs don’t scramble.  Then pour this mixture with the egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir this mixture constantly (so your milk doesn’t scald) over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, or a square-edged spoon, scraping the bottom as you stir. Stir and cook until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the spatula (happens between 170°F and 175°F or  77°C -79°C).  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream mixture in the large bowl.  Zest the lemon into the custard, then stir until cool over and ice bath.  Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refridgerator.  Before placing it in the ice cream maker strain it one last time (to be sure to get rid of any curdled milk).  Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Strawberry Syrup:

1 cup (250mL) of water

¼ cup (50g) of sugar

1 lemon, zested

1 pound (450g) strawberries

Place the first three ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil stirring until the sugar is dissolved.  Remove from the heat and pour into a small bowl and chill thoroughly.  Once the syrup is chilled, hull and quarter the strawberries and add them to the syrup.  Let the strawberries macerate for 1 to 4 hours.

Meringue Clouds:

These Meringue Clouds are nice for some added texture and crunch, but they are not essential.   So, if you’d rather make angel food cake or freeze your egg whites for another use that is fine, just make sure you label on the container you freeze them in how many egg whites are in there.

4 large egg whites (about ½ cup or 125mL), at room temperature

Pinch of salt

½ cup (100g) granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup (150g) powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 200°F (100°C).

Line a baking sheet with parment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a large bowl whip the egg whites and the salt with an electric mixer on medium speed until frothy.  Then increase the speed of the mixer to high and whip until the egg whites begin to hold their shape.  Continue whipping and add the granulated sugar one tablespoon at a time.  Then add the vanilla and whip until stiff and glossy.  Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl and fold it in.  Divide the meringue into eight portions on the baking sheet placing them so that there is two rows of three lengthwise along the sides and two in the middle of the rows.  Dip a spoon into some water, tap off the excess, and make a well in the middle of each meringue for the ice cream.  Bake the meringues for one hour.  Turn the oven off and leave the meringues to dry out in the oven for another hour.  (I had to bake my meringues longer than one hour in order for them to be crisp.)  The meringues are done when they feel dry to the touch and lift easily off the parchment paper.  To store them, place them in a container that is completely airtight once they have cooled.

Yellow Tomatoes

First, before we get started with this post, I would like to say that I've put an update on my Reflections blog (link also on right side of this page) that I felt fit better there than here on Expeditions in the Kitchen. The post consists of my raw reflections on my grandpa, our relationship, and my emotions after his death on August 22, 2010.

* * *

Whoa! Where did summer go? Suddenly school’s started, the US Open is in full swing (no pun intended), and this weekend is Labor Day weekend! Luckily for us though, summer’s produce has not come to an end yet. If you have not been enjoying it and taking full advantage of its colorful bounty, I beseech you to go to your nearest farmer’s market, farmer’s stand, or even the grocery store, and buy more than you know what to do with! Buy it all with wild abandon! Wonderful, fresh, healthy, tasty dishes await!

There are so many fun things to do with the many kinds of produce available, so I think today I’ll just start with my two favorite tomato varieties and in the coming days I’ll cover some of my other favorite summer produce.

I have been particularly in love with tomatoes this summer, especially the super sweet, unlike-any-other-tomato Sungold variety (could also be known and Sweet Gold). I usually halve and toss them uncooked or very lightly cooked into whatever I’m making. I do not enjoy eating tomatoes raw with no adornments, but Sungolds are the exception. Due to their exceptional flavor, I rarely cook them because I am fearful of ruining a good thing! I have enjoyed them as a bruschetta topping, in a salad with arugula, basil, parmesan, and a balsamic vinaigrette, or tossed into pasta with a cilantro and basil herb oil. Truly, anything you do with these tomatoes will be a delight!

My other favorite tomato is a new discovery I made just this year. They are yellow tomatoes that I unfortunately don’t know the exact name of (maybe Lemon Boy or Limmony), but they are a true lemon yellow color and have a round shape. They have a tangy flavor to them that is actually sort lemony and very clean and crisp. I have used them on pizzas, but making them into a quick sauce or soup with the fewest ingredients possible, so as not to mask their flavor, I found to be the way to go. When I had the left over sauce as soup the next day I literally giggled with greedy glee, quite smug with my discovery of the “mystery lemon tomato.”

Lemon Yellow Tomato Sauce

Besides the refreshing taste of these tomatoes, the yellow color of their sauce is stunning and makes for a unique presentation. The skins of the tomato are left on to boost the yellow color and also for the ease of preparation. Since we are adding the tomato juices to the pan (instead of discarding them) and only cooking the tomatoes briefly, this sauce will be thinner than the typical canned tomato sauce, which to me, seems perfect for summertime.

Adapted from Heidi Swanson’s recipe

Serves 3

1 ½ pounds/24oz/680g ripe yellow tomatoes, cored and cut into thirds

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped

¾ teaspoon fine grain sea salt or ½ teaspoon table salt

¼ teaspoon ground pepper or red pepper flakes

Remove the seeds from the tomatoes (doesn’t have to be all of them, just the majority) and chop into ¼ inch chunks reserving any juice.

Heat a medium saucepan immediately adding the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper while the pan is heating. Stir occasionally until the garlic begins to sizzle and has just taken on some color. Add the tomatoes and their reserved juices and bring to a strong simmer in order to concentrate the juices. Cook briefly for 2 to 5 minutes depending on how much juice you have. Alternatively, if you have a lot of juice, add a tablespoon (or two) to flour to the garlic mixture before you add the tomatoes as this will help to thicken the juices. Taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary. Serve over pasta, gnocchi, meat, or eat as a soup. Enjoy!

A Pizza Fiasco

This weekend we hosted our first dinner party in our new home. I was so excited for it! We had recently bought patio furniture for our deck at a ridiculously low price so we finally would have enough seating for everyone! I was also excited to enjoy our new deck, have new and old friends over, and try out some new recipes. I prepped for the night as much as I could throughout the day. My plan was to make four different pizzas, a raspberry-lime slushy, snacks for before the meal, and a simple dessert after.

People arrived and things were going pretty well; I was in the kitchen a little more than I wanted to be, but people were enjoying themselves. I had placed my rolled out pizza dough on my pizza peel and overturned cookie sheets, and these I had on top of the stove because I have limited counter space in this new kitchen. Well, the stovetop was warm because the oven was preheated to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Due to this, my dough became warm and extra sticky—only I didn’t realize this until it was too late. I tried to slide the pizza, full of toppings into the oven with a quick forward-back jerking movement like I usually do, but it didn’t budge!

Uh oh, don’t panic Whitney, try again.

I tried harder, jerking my arm forward as if I was doing a quick, hard jab in kickboxing. A cherry tomato half and a crumble of goat cheese rolled off the pizza, onto the pizza stone, and then fell to the oven floor.

Oh no!

I knew then that I was doomed, absolutely doomed. I knew from previous experience that bad, bad things happen when pizza toppings come off the pizza in a 500-degree oven. I tried to play it cool, had a friend help me shove more cornmeal under my pizza so it would slide off, tried again, and this time the pizza slid onto the pizza stone in the oven like it normally does.

Whew! Ok, there we go Whitney, breath, let the pizza cook, please stop sweating so much, maybe, just maybe, this will all turn out ok.

I tried to give a confident smile to my friend B, who had helped me, as we checked on my other sticky pizza dough and shoved more cornmeal under them. The time came to take the first pizza out of the oven; I nervously held my breath and opened the door.

Please, please be ok.

A big cloud of smoke came out.

Crap.

All hope is lost.

The tomato and goat cheese crumble that had rolled off were burning on the bottom of the oven floor along with the extra cornmeal that I had to use to get the pizza off the peel. I took the pizza out as quick as I could and apologized and explained the situation. I had no choice but to put the next one in, and so I did. The other two pizza’s I took outside to Scott and told him to grill them. We’d only tried grilling pizzas once before and they had come out pretty ugly, but this was a dire situation and I didn’t know what else to do.

(The grilled half of the pizza that stayed "together" the first time we tried grilling pizzas.)

(The other half of the pizza, in unintentional pieces.)

When I walked back in the house it was filled with a smoky haze and the majority of our guests were inside.

Why me?! Can I go hide now? Can this be over? Where is a time machine when I need one? Why do I have to get so excited and ambitious and cook four different, original pizzas? Because that’s what I do, I’d be bored if I didn’t. I would, wouldn’t I? Or is it my pride? Oh I don’t want to think about my faults now. More importantly, why did I put the pizza dough on the stovetop? I could have cleared space elsewhere. But I was in a rush and I was in a rush because I made four different types of pizzas. Curse my pride.

I apologized to the guests for the smoke cloud and suggested they move outside. They didn’t move. I tried again.

Maybe the smoke wasn’t as bad as I thought? No. It’s bad. Then why aren’t they going outside? Are they trying to further humiliate me? Calm down Whitney! You’re getting irrational. Wait, I see D moving. He’s going outside! Oh I could just hug him! But that would scare him--he doesn’t seem the type. Please, follow his lead J and O. I beg of you!

They went outside. Hallelujah! I opened the windows, and turned on the fans to try to clear some of the smoke. Three minutes until the pizza needed to come out of the oven, and then the house would be really smoky.

I’m going to burn this place down yet. I feel sick. I don’t know what I would do if the fire alarm went off. Where is our fire alarm anyway? What if I can’t turn the fire alarm off, and then the fire truck comes? What do I do with my guests then? Send them home with empty stomachs as they vow to themselves never to come over for dinner again? Mortifying. Whitney, you have got to get a grip on yourself. Be strong! Your guests look worried for you--smile! God, I need you to disable the fire alarm when this pizza comes out, ok? Thank you. Amen. Ok, breath.

I held my breath (for the smoke this time) and took the pizza out from the billowing smoke. I immediately turned the oven off and listened for the smoke alarm. Nothing.

Hallelujah. Thank you. Thank you!

With that I went outside and joined the rest of my guests. We prayed and ate. My heart rate slowed down, a bit. I finally got to join in conversation with my guests. People exclaimed over the pizza, said they loved it, and picked their favorites. Normally I would have been thrilled and joined in, curiously asking what they liked about their favorites, but the smoke-out ordeal was too fresh in my mind to relax.

They’re just saying nice things because they feel obliged to. They’re trying to make me feel better. I wonder what they’d say if I hadn’t made us all perform an obligatory fire drill. Would they still say they liked it as much?

As the evening went on I relaxed more and enjoyed the rest of it with our guests. Today I had the left over pizza for lunch. There was one slice each left of the proclaimed favorites. I heated them up in the (cleaned) oven so I wouldn’t make the crust soggy in the microwave, and took a bite. I was shocked! It really did taste great. I had been so anxious the night before that I couldn’t taste anything I was eating. (Do you ever have that when you host?) But now, wow! Maybe my guests hadn’t been lying after all.

Two Pizzas

I’m sorry I don’t have pictures of either of these pizzas but I think you will understand that certain circumstance prevented my remembering to take any photos.

The first pizza I’m sharing with you is a pesto-based pizza that is best when covered with fresh, garden picked cherry tomatoes as they have maximum flavor with a wonderful juiciness when you bite into them. The balsamic syrup drizzled on the pesto pizza is something that I had in a restaurant in Kansas City and loved. It adds a ton of flavor and gives everything a nice “pop.” Try it over pizzas, meats, pastas, whatever tickles your fancy.

The second pizza is a potato pizza that has a unique, creamy caramelized onion sauce that would be great as gravy over meats and potatoes too. To counterpoint the sauce’s richness I topped the pizza with spicy andouille sausage and slices of tart granny smith apples. I’m not convinced that I like the granny smith apples with the sauce so that is optional. I do think though, that if you just had caramelized onions without the sauce, and perhaps add typical hot Italian sausage with fennel (instead of andouille), then the addition of apples would be perfect. Mix and match how you see fit!

Pesto Farmer’s Market Pizza with Balsamic Syrup

Pizza dough for one 12-14inch pizza (When I find a pizza dough I can proclaim "the best" I'll share it with you.)

¼ cup pesto (If you buy your pesto, make sure you buy a quality brand.)

1/3 pound of red cherry tomatoes

1/3 pound of yellow lemon cherry tomatoes (If you can’t find these, use whatever your farmer’s market has as long as it is cherry or grape size, preferably yellow for color.)

3 small Japonese eggplants or about ½ a globe eggplant

3-4 oz. of goat cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 Tablespoons water

Pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to as high as it can go with a pizza stone in it. This is important if you’re going for that crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside pizza crust that you would find in a restaurant with a brick oven or wood fired pizza. If you don’t care, then bake it on a cookie sheet that you put into the oven with the pizza on it.

While your oven is preheating, peel eggplant and slice into ¼ inch thick rounds. (If you’re using a globe eggplant salt the rounds and leave them to sit for 20 minutes. This will get rid of its bitter juices. At the end of twenty minutes, wipe off the juice with a paper towel.) Halve the cherry tomatoes, sprinkle the tomatoes and eggplant with salt and pepper and toss with olive oil. Place on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil (tomatoes can get messy when roasted in the oven) and place the baking sheet into the oven to roast for 20-30 minutes flipping the eggplant slices once, until eggplant is very tender. Set aside.

While your veggies roast, make your balsamic syrup. Into your smallest sauce pan put the balsamic vinegar, water, and a pinch of sugar. Bring to a simmer, turn on your vent fan, and let simmer with the lid off until it reaches a syrupy consistency. Take it off the heat and let cool, the syrup will thicken more as it cools.

Stretch out dough to desired thickness and width. If it doesn’t want to stretch leave it alone for a few minutes and let it relax. It will be more willing when it’s relaxed. Place dough onto a pizza peel (or baking sheet) that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. (Do this only if you’re using a pizza stone that is already in the oven.) Spread your pesto on to the dough and then top with the eggplant, cherry tomatoes, crumbled goat cheese, and freshly grated parmesan. Slide the pizza into the oven and bake for 8 to 11 minutes depending how hot your oven is. When the pizza is done baking drizzle the balsamic syrup back and forth over the whole thing. Yum.

Rosemary Potato and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Check out this link as to how to make the sauce and prepare the potatoes. Make HALF of the recipe if you’re only making once pizza.

1 link of andouille sausage

½ Granny Smith (or other tart apple) - optional

Preheat your oven as stated above. Stretch out your pizza dough and top with sauce, potatoes, sausage, and apple. Bake in the oven until crust is nice and crisp. Remove from oven and devour—with a smile.

Paul Bunyan Wannabes

Yesterday Scott had a day off and we decided to be productive with that time and rent a sawzall with an extra long blade from our neighborhood hardware store and trim some trees. At least that’s what I thought we were doing. However, when I got outside I saw this.

“What are you doing?” I asked Scott. “Cutting down the tree in two sections.” Scott nonchalantly replied. “Really?!” I thought. We had talked about wanting to cut down some trees for some time now, but Scott never seemed to think that we could do it on our own and that we needed professional help—and I could see his point. “Oh, ok. I’ll hold your ladder.” I said, thinking that Scott was crazy, but at the same time admiring his brave, take charge attitude and rejoicing that we were going to reclaim our front yard from the wild.

So we went at it with full steam ahead. We cut down that tree and then Scott moved on to the next while I trimmed off the branches of the fallen tree and threw them into a pile. It was hard, sweaty work and the blade of our sawzall was the first to show it. It became so hot that the metal bent and warped into and “S” shape. Still, we plowed on cutting down our third tree. Since we only had one saw I had to use our long-handled snips to cut off branches that would normally be too big for it. Being my competitive, determined self I faced each branch with defiant resolve as I straddled it and place the handles of the snips on the inside of my knees and adducted with all of my might “grunting” like Maria Sharapova. Dead, brittle branches brought out my inner Lara Croft Tomb Raider. I came after them swinging the snips around my head as I galloped toward the branch, bringing the snips down yelling “hi-yaa!” as the branch snapped and shattered. I finished the deal with a “tough guy” shrug and looked menacingly around at the other branches as if daring them to challenge me.

Scott, meanwhile, was having a tougher time with the now possessed “S” curved sawzall. It vibrated terribly, seemingly going nowhere at all, and had a mean kick-back when the blade got caught in the wood that would jam his arm. On our fourth, and last, tree he’d had enough and tried to push and kick the tree the rest of the way over. When that didn’t work, I suggested tying a rope around the top and pulling while I pushed. Still no luck. Then Scott thought he’d tie the rope to his truck and pull the tree down with that. “Brilliant” I thought, that always works in the movies. Excited, we tied the rope to his car and I took pictures and cheered my man on.

The excitement was short lived. The rope snapped.

We tied it again, the rope snapped again in a different place. Disappointed, and knowing that Scott needed a break, I grabbed the sawzall and told the tree it’s time had come and I went at it. It hurt my arm and my hands and my wrist, but I bit my lip and tried harder. I dislike sissies and I didn’t intend to be one. The jiggling and snapping of my arm to and fro at the mercy of the psychotic will of the sawzall only made me angry as I gripped the beast tighter and forced it further into the tree. With my adrenaline waning, I stopped to rest with my thumb throbbing from a newly formed blister. Scott took over then, and with my pushing and him sawing we were finally able to topple that tree!

After we cut down that tree we decided to stop. So what if our yard was in shambles and it looked like a tornado had passed through?

We were hot, sweaty, sticky, covered with dirt and sawdust, exhausted, dehydrated, short on patience, and, just to top it off for good measure, a bee stung me. Yup, we’d had enough. After showering, speeding to McDonalds with our free smoothie coupons, and then guzzling the smoothies down in delicious silence punctuated with the occasional “Ahhh,” we started to feel better.

For supper that night I made a delicious, vegetarian meal that Scott declared was in the Top Five of Any Meal in Durham. For Scott to rank something vegetarian that high is a great compliment. I toasted tortilla shells in the oven so they’d become crisp like a cracker, spread on a slightly sweet and smoky black bean purée, and topped it with avocado slices, broiled tomatoes, black beans, and peach slices that had been tossed in a cumin-lime vinaigrette. Simple, fast, refreshing, and delish—sounds like a keeper to me! I hope you enjoy!

Avocado Salad on a Tortilla Spread with Black Bean Puree

While this is great as a meal, it can also be served as hors d’oeuvres. Also, depending on the tortilla used, I believe this could also be a vegan recipe. Finally, I think some thinly sliced red onion would taste and look great on this if you would like to add it--I didn't because a certain person doesn't like ANY raw onions.

Serves 2

2 whole wheat tortillas

nonstick spray (I used olive oil spray)

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 medium-large onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

Juice from 1/2 a lime or about 2 tablespoons

1 Tablespoon water

1 avocado, sliced

1 peach, sliced (You can substitute with a mango (very sweet) or pineapple (more tart) if peaches are not good.)

About 14 grape tomatoes, halved

Salt and pepper

VINAIGRETTE adapted from a Bobby Flay recipe

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1/2 Tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) honey

1/2 Tablespoon toasted cumin seeds or around 1/3 teaspoon of ground cumin

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves (I did not have this b/c I didn't have any on hand, but I think it would be better with cilantro)

1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.

While the oven preheats, sauté the onion in olive oil over medium heat until golden brown (this is where the sweetness comes from in the black bean paste). When the onions are almost done, add the garlic about 30 seconds before removing the pan from the heat. Put 2/3 of the black beans in a food processor with all of the onion and garlic, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (this gives the paste the "smoky" flavor), 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 Tablespoons lime juice, and 1 Tablespoon water. Puree the mixture until a smooth paste forms.

Spray each sides of the tortilla with nonstick spray and lay flat on a cookie sheet. To prevent tortilla from bubbling (see picture below), try poking holes in the tortilla with the tines of a fork. Salt and pepper halved tomatoes and arrange skin-side down on the baking pan next to the tortillas. When oven is preheated, toast the tomatoes and tortillas for 10 minutes or until the tortillas are crisp and hard. I cook the tomatoes because we like them better this way but if you're a raw tomato lover you can certainly skip this step!

While the tortillas and tomatoes toast, make the vinaigrette. Combine in a bowl lime juice, vinegar, honey, cumin, cilantro and whisk in the oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Peal and slice the peach and avocado* and place slices immediately into the vinaigrette so the avocado slices don't turn brown.

When the tortillas are cool enough to handle spread on your black bean paste.

See that big air bubble I got? Don't worry if you have this, your tortilla will just be all the lighter and more crispy for it!

See, you can hardly tell it was there.

Top with tomatoes, the rest of the beans, and the peach and avocado slices, straining the vinaigrette from them as you take them out of the bowl. Drizzle some of the vinaigrette over it all for lots of flavor, but make sure you don't end up with too much vinaigrette on your tortillas as they'll turn soggy. Cut into slices and enjoy!

*First halve the avocado and remove the pit/seed. Then take a knife and slice through the fruit, but not through the skin, longways to get nice long slices. Then, take a spoon and carefully scoop the fruit out and separate the slices with you fingers.

purée

Update!

I’m back!

Boy it’s been a long time and a lot has happened since I last wrote! I’m having trouble writing about anything in detail since it has been so long. If I expounded on southern tea parties (actual tea parties, not the political tea party), or the range of emotions one feels when looking for theright job, or heat and humidity so bad that after thirty, no, ten seconds outside one is glistening (read sweating) all over, you would be lost and confused. Thus, this post is simply an update so that we can catch up and hopefully pick back up where we left off.

As you know, it all started on Match Day when Scott was matched to Duke for his Internal Medicine Residency. Shortly after that day we began preparations to move here. We bought our first house (as you saw in my last post) and with that purchase a whole bunch of other busy work came with it that took up most of our "free" time. Once we moved all of our time has been taken up with making our new house our home! So, ready for this fast-forward update? Here goes!

Scott graduated from medical school.

So proud!!

I worked my last day of work at the University of Iowa. It was so surreal to work my last day at my first real, post-college job. On that day I had a potluck with my coworkers that I spent the last two years with, that I developed friendships with, and who were my first "real" coworkers at my first "real" job. I miss it and my wonderful coworkers!

Me in the lab

My desk!

The night of my last day of work Scott and I drove to my hometown for one of my high school friend’s wedding. It was a wonderful wedding and a great reunion with an amazing group of girls!

The girls and I

Sunday, we drove back to Iowa City and started packing, and packing, and packing. Nearly everything we owned was packed in boxes by Monday night. However, I still had some food left in the fridge and freezer and because I’m Dutch (read cheap) I couldn’t throw it away. Thus, this lead to some creative ways to prepare food . . . and the discovery that you can make “hard-boiled” eggs simply by placing an egg directly on an oven rack at 350F and leaving it in there for 12-15 minutes. I also learned that microwave scrambled eggs aren’t all that bad.

Tuesday some wonderful people from church and work showed up throughout the day and helped us load our GIANT 26ft. truck (we originally reserved at 16ft truck, but through unavailability and free upgrades wound up with a 26ft truck). Wednesday we cleaned all day long. It was exhausting and no fun at all, though I did learn why it is very important to move the stove and fridge out at least once a year and clean behind them. I solemnly intend to do this regularly in our own house!

Finally, late Wednesday night we’d had enough of cleaning, and left for Moline, IL where we were meeting Scott’s parents and staying the night. Thursday we drove all day and stopped in West Virginia for the night. We ate at an Olive Garden and our waiter was the most interesting waiter I’ve ever had. He sat down in the booth with us and told us stories and talked about how tired he was from his long day of work with a thick southern, mountain-region, redneck accent. I don't think he meant to be, but he was very entertaining!

I've never seen a cuter truck driver in my life!

Here we are waiting for hours after closing for the seller's realtor to show up and give us the keys. We were so bored we even unloaded some of the truck only to set our stuff on the driveway!

After unpacking and painting the majority of the inside of our house, we escaped to the beach with Scott's family and had two wonderful days there. I'm so excited to be living near an ocean now!

The view from our hotel window

When Scott's family left, we spent the next week building and planting our raised-garden beds. we've since harvested lots of herbs, one Japanese eggplant, two cherry tomatoes, and one roma tomato with many more on the way!

Our third week in NC my family arrived to help us build a deck for our house.

While the men worked, my mom and I attended a picture-book tea party hosted by my dear friend and former college roommate.

We all agreed my friend could give Ms. Martha Stewart a run for her money!

The menu, with fresh cut flowers from her yard

Homemade raspberry cordial anyone?

Due to the intense heat we decided to skip out on construction work the next day and hit the beach!

Scott and my younger (I can't call him "little" anymore!) brother catching some waves

After the beach and tea party, we settled down and got to work and whipped out this beauty in four days thanks to my (architect) dad!

We love our deck! Thank you dad!

After my parents left Scott immediately started residency . . . and I haven't seen him since. Seriously though, while he is busy, Scott and I try to make the most of our time together and do fun things, like hike around Lake Jordan.

This little guy was on our path and he was quite a ways away from the water, I hope he makes it to where he's going!
Scott with some cool, rainbow colored fungi. (Or are they lichen? See below for a close up.) If you think his hat looks like a 60 year old man would wear it, you're right. My dad originally bought it at the beach and Scott (who rarely wears hats because he doesn't like how they look on him) took a liking to this hat claiming it makes for excellent sun protection. Oddly enough I'm attracted to it. It is like when the first few guys were brave enough to wear pink shirts (before it was popular) because they were "man-enough" and didn't worry about what others thought because they were confident in themselves. That's how it is for me with Scott and this hat.

While Scott's working I have been applying for many, many jobs and sometimes an angel of a friend calls and gives me an excuse to stop applying for jobs and get out of the house. One time that excuse was to check out the North Carolina botanical gardens where I saw my first ever venus fly trap, which apparently is NC's state flower!
If you're wondering, we did test the fly trap's abilities by poking a stick in the center of the flowers and some of them do close quite quickly!

Lastly, we went back home for a week for Scott's brother's wedding and it was so good to be home again!

Congrats you two!

That's all folks! You're a trooper if you've read this far!

Recipe coming next time . . .

Oatmeal Brulée with Ginger Cream

Oh it is so good to be writing again! I’m sorry I have been away so long. Since I last wrote Scott and I have bought our first house!!! We went down to North Carolina for a whirlwind trip in which we looked at 20 houses in one day, and decided on a small, cute, brick bungalow. There are definitely “problems” with the house, most notably the size of the kitchen and amount of storage, but it’s those problems that make the house perfect. It is our first home after all, and it just would not feel right if it wasn’t small or if we wouldn’t want to change any aspect of the house. I enjoy the challenge of a tiny kitchen and the brainstorming of solutions to make it work for me. I already have dreams of salvaging an old, distressed cabinet or chest of drawers and converting it into a movable kitchen island with wheels on the bottom and a butcher block on top. On the wall above where I would keep this “island” I would have open shelves made of ½ inch thick Lucite on top of old, unstained, weathered wood. The shelves would be attached to the wall with clean, shiny, silver “L” brackets. Of course, this is all in my dreams, and I already have lots of dreams, so I’ll have to wheedle some out, but I would love it if I could realize this one.

While our kitchen will shrink in moving to this house, our number of bedrooms will increase, which means that our parents will no longer have any excuse to make hotel reservations when they come to visit us! We will have ample room for them and I’ll be able to do one of my favorite things ever--make breakfast. Without a doubt breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I could eat it forever. Even cereal on weekday mornings has caused me to nearly miss my bus to work on multiple occasions for no other reason than that I couldn’t resist refilling my cereal bowl just one more time. One of the reasons I like breakfast so much is because of my monster of a sweet tooth. You see, all breakfast foods, except for egg dishes, are sweet and that, I believe, is why I love breakfast so much.

One recipe that I’ve gone back to multiple times (which, as you know, is quite rare for me) is an oatmeal brulée recipe. It holds a special place in my heart because it was instrumental in my learning to like oatmeal. For most of my life (11/12 to be exact), I did not like oatmeal. I never really had it growing up and on the rare occasions when I tried it I was always reminded of snotty boogers. Sorry if I’ve grossed you out, but now you see why I did NOT like oatmeal. In my mind, oatmeal was perfect for the kid in my second grade gym class who particularly enjoyed eating little parcels that came from his nose. Perhaps I thought of oatmeal this way because on the occasions that I did try oatmeal, it was always too runny with an excess of milk, not even warm (room temp at best) either because of the cold milk or because it was mass produced and had been sitting out awhile, and it was made with quick oats, which in my mind, turn into the perfect soft booger consistency. No, oatmeal was not good at all; it was a weird squishy substance that did not deserve any recognition or acknowledgment from me. Why did just about everyone else like it? I simply figured that oatmeal had bamboozled them when they were just wee little tykes and didn’t know any better and as they grew up it became some sort of strange comfort food to them. However, I do try to keep an open mind about almost anything in life so I was destined to try it again, and again, until I liked it.

I like this particular recipe because it is very hot when it is served and there is no danger of it cooling down too fast. This hot temperature and the whole oats (vs. quick oats) do a lot to save this oatmeal from becoming “snotty boogers.” Even if the texture did resemble such things I don’t even know if I would mind because the flavor is so good. The milk (or cream if you prefer) for the oatmeal is steeped with slivers of ginger, some orange peel, and a cinnamon stick. Buried beneath the oatmeal at the bottom of the dish is a layer of berries that burst from the heat in the oven and let their juices ooze out. Topping the oatmeal is a candy crust of caramelized sugar, just like a crème brulée. It’s a beautiful dish full of surprises! If you do not like oatmeal, I suggest you try this.

Oatmeal Brulée with Ginger Cream

Adapted from Yvonne Starlin in Taste of Home

Serves 4

Ginger cream:

1/2 cup milk or cream

2 thin slices fresh ginger root with a 1 inch diameter

1 cinnamon stick (3 in.)

1 Tbsp. grated orange peel

3 Tbsp. maple syrup (I prefer to use real maple syrup!)

1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg

Oatmeal:

4 cups water

2 cups old-fashioned whole oats

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. butter or nonstick spray

1 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries, thawed (do whatever you have, I like raspberries the best)

1/4 cup sugar

In a small saucepan, bring the milk/cream, ginger, cinnamon, and orange peel to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and let simmer for ten minutes. Remove from the heat and strain and discard the solids. Stir in syrup and nutmeg; set aside.

In a large sauce pan over medium high heat bring the 4 cups water to a boil. Add the oats and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes uncovered. Remove from the heat and stir in the brown sugar and the ginger cream. (The original recipe says to only stir in 1/4 cup ginger cream and to serve the rest with the finished brulees. I added it all once by mistake and liked it that way so that is why I've written the recipe that way here. You can do as you please.) Cover and let stand for two minutes.

Grease four 10-oz. ramekins with butter or nonstick spray. Add the berries to the bottom. Spoon oatmeal over the top, level it flat, and then sprinkle the sugar (1 Tbsp sugar per ramekin) on top. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 7-9 minutes or until sugar is caramelized. Watch this step carefully so your sugar doesn't burn! Serve and enjoy!