Raspberry Lime Rickey

I was never much of a history buff but, as I get older (and possibly even wiser), I find tidbits of food history more and more fascinating. For instance, while reading Fruitful: Four Seasons of Fruit Recipes, a delightful new cookbook by the people behind Red Jacket Orchards, I discovered that Lime Rickeys, a drink I had previously associated with 1950's soda fountains and egg creams, were once an alcoholic cocktail. Suddenly, rickeys got a lot more interesting!

I admit -- I've never actually had a lime rickey so perhaps I'm not qualified to make my own version. But I was always put off by their disturbing green color and the bubbles. See, my aversion to soda is not, as one might expect, because of its processed ingredients or high sugar content but rather because it's carbonated. I never liked carbonated drinks as a child and so never had them. Of course as I've gotten older, there have been some notable exceptions: the aforementioned egg creams, Jack and Cokes for a brief period in college, champagne and, most recently, ginger beer.

So when I saw this recipe and wanted to adapt it to my palate, I knew that ginger beer would be a welcome addition. I have to admit, I have been unable to find a ginger beer without added sugar (if you know of one, please share!) so feel free to make it with soda water if that's a concern for you. The bourbon whiskey is optional as well -- with it becomes an intricate cocktail; without it's a refreshing pick-me-up. You could also make it with gin which is, apparently, the more modern rendition. And if you can get your hands on some black raspberries (they were at my greenmarket), use them. They're absolutely incredible this season. Bon appetit!

PS -- It turns out I'm on-trend! Did you know July is Rickey month?

Raspberry Lime Rickey 
adapted from Fruitful: Four Seasons of Fruit Recipes

• 1 small container raspberries
• 3 teaspoons blackstrap molasses
• 1/2 cup lime juice (let it sit out for a while to mellow the taste before using it)
• 3 tablespoons bourbon whiskey, per drink (optional or substitute gin)
• 1 cup soda water (or ginger beer)

In a small saucepan over high heat, combine raspberries and molasses. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Mash raspberries and let come to room temperature. If desired, strain (I don't mind the raspberry seeds).

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add raspberry puree, lime juice and bourbon or gin (if using). Shake and pour into glasses. Top with soda water or ginger beer.

Links (who knew this was such a popular combination!):

• Raspberry Lime Rickey from Allrecipes.com
• Raspberry-Lime Rickey from MyRecipes.com
• Raspberry Lime Rickey from Epicurious.com
• Raspberry Lime Rickey from e is for eat
• Raspberry Lime Rickey from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Cranberry Sauce

From the 1930's through the 1960's, the Upper East Side (where we live now) was known as "Germantown". In fact, East 86th Street was called the "German Broadway". The expression "to 86", used in restaurants to signify to stop serving something (or someone), possibly came out of anti-German sentiment during World War II. (Now, I have to admit, this was a story I always grew up hearing but could find no proof of it after an etymological search on the internet. Do any linguists care to enlighten me?)

In any event, we decided to celebrate our new neighborhood's former roots at our last dinner party by serving Stuffed Cabbage and Apple Streusel Egg Muffins. Always on the search for cookbooks that will support my diet rather than remind me of all the wonderful foods I'm now denying myself, I picked up a copy of Practical Paleo. Putting aside the health claims of going back to how cavemen ate (and, I'd venture to guess, none of these recipes bare any resemblance to cavemen's diets), the Paleo diet focuses on eating eggs, fruits, meat, nuts, seafood and vegetables and eliminates dairy, grains and sweeteners. Sounds familiar, no? (I haven't completely eliminated all grains but I do try to limit my intake of them so this seemed like an excellent jumping-off point.)

The biggest problem, in my mind, with a Paleo diet is that, realistically, it's not vegetarian-friendly. Sure, you can have lots of vegetables, but without legumes, grains or dairy, there's nothing there to really "bulk up" your foods and make them filling. There's also a heavy reliance on animal protein. That said, "vegetarianizing" recipes is now old-hat. So, it wasn't too hard to adapt the Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Cranberry Sauce to both our tastes. I'm including the recipe for both the omnivore and vegetarian versions. Guten appetit!


*Vegetarian's Note:  Normally I handle the photographic elements of this blog, but this was one of the more enjoyable meals we've had the pleasure to serve.  As you can see from the picture here, this dish was a HUGE hit with our guests :)





Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Cranberry Sauce

• 15 ounces fresh (or frozen and defrosted) cranberries
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon apricot juice
• 1 head savoy cabbage, leaves separated carefully (you'll need about 15 cabbage leaves)
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 cup cauliflower, grated (do this in the food processor -- much easier)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, ground
• 1 pound ground lamb (for omnivores)
• 1 pound beluga lentils, cooked (for vegetarians)
• 4 cloves garlic, grated (as long as you've already broken out the food processor ...)
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (roasted red peppers would be a delicious addition as well!)

First make the cranberry sauce: Cook cranberries and water together in a saucepan for 15 minutes, until all cranberries have popped. Stir in apricot juice. Remove from heat and let come to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Fill a large pot with a few inches of water. If you have a steamer basket, place it in the pot, filled with cabbage leaves. Bring water to a boil and steam cabbage leaves until soft and pliable, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

Meanwhile, melt coconut oil in a large skillet. Add cauliflower and saute, stirring, 3-5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine lamb (or lentils), cauliflower, garlic, onion, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon each, salt and pepper. (If you don't mind getting your hands dirty, that's the best way to ensure that everything's well mixed together.)

Fill the bottom of 1 cabbage leaf with 1/4 cup filling and roll, first the bottom, then the sides, finally tucking the ends underneath. repeat with remaining leaves. As you fill them, nestle cabbage leaves tucked side down, in a dutch oven.

Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and cranberry sauce together in a skillet over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes, until the flavors are blended together. Pour sauce over cabbage rolls.

Place dish in oven and cover with foil or a lid. Bake 45 minutes. Enjoy

Links:

• Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Cranberry Sauce from Practical Paleo
• Cranberry Rolls with Tomato Cranberry Sauce from Ruby Reduction
• Alex's Mom's Stuffed Cabbage from smitten kitchen
• Stuffed Cabbage Leaves from The Shiksa Blog
• Floosh's Stuffed Cabbage from Hungry Girl
  

BED: Raw Blackberry Chia Jam

My favorite part of summer has always been the berries. Don't get me wrong -- not having to wear a coat or socks are fantastic but what always gets me most excited is seeing the farmer's markets flooded with berries. One May, when I was living in Paris, my friend Davey visited me. There, we discovered fraises gariguettes -- a special variety of strawberry that's absolutely out of this world. We bought two cartons a day -- one to eat on the way home and the other to have for dessert. They were so good that we didn't need to do anything to them; just ate them right out of the carton!

Sadly, the gariguettes are only a memory now and I no longer have the time to go to the market every day. And, while he does eat berries, the vegetarian doesn't get nearly excited enough about them to ever warrant getting more than one carton. Truth be told, he prefers his fruit mixed with wine to make sangria!

But berries are one of the few sour fruits allowed on the body ecology diet and so I knew I needed to celebrate summer by having some. But I wanted to do something more interesting than just eating them raw and it was too hot to cook them. I also didn't really want to make a dessert. Truthfully, the best time of day to have fruit is in the morning and I wanted something I could eat for breakfast. Luckily I found a recipe for Raw Blackberry Chia Jam. The really exciting thing about this jam is that it's made with chia seeds, a superfood that's very high in omega-3's and that, when combined with liquids, absorbs them to form a jelly. Cool! I've been having the jam for breakfast with buckwheat cakes (like rice cakes but made with buckwheat) that I found at a little Russian market near us. I bet you could also swirl some into vanilla ice cream for dessert. Bon appetit!

Raw Blackberry Chia Jam
adapted from Instructables

• 1 cup blackberries
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• 10-15 drops stevia extract
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Mash blackberries. Mix together everything else. Place in a covered container and set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Keeps for about 1 week. Enjoy!

Edible Inspirations:

• Raw Blackberry Chia Jam from Instructables
• Blackberry Chia Jam from Utterly Yummy!
• Easy Strawberry Chia Seed Jam from Eating Bird Food
• Triple Almond Cherry Crumble Squares from Oh She Glows
• Berry Chia Pudding from Vegan Yack Attack

Blueberry Oat Muffins

I have a confession to make: I'm on a muffin binge lately. And, since I don't know how to make muffins without bananas in them (they bind the muffins and add natural sweetness -- what's not to like?) I guess I'm on a banana binge too. See, it's a vicious cycle, really -- I buy bananas, then have some left over, so I make muffins but I don't have enough so I buy more bananas and, since I always buy them in bunches, a few days later, I have more brown bananas so I make more muffins ... you get the picture. And, while I could buy single bananas or just eat them raw before they turn brown, that really doesn't interest me as much as making all kinds of muffins.

I must admit, though, that, so far, these are my favorite. I used only one banana so you can't taste it at all. I also used sweet potato puree and that, mixed with various warm and wintry spices (cinnamon, allspice and brown sugar to name a few) and just a bit of butter makes these deliciously reminiscent of sweet potato pie. But with blueberries as well. Really, what's not to like? Enjoy these with some sparkling wine and ginger almonds. Bon appetit!

Blueberry Oat Muffins
inspired by Snack Girl

• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 15-ounce can, sweet potato puree
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (I recommend Grade B)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 2 cups oat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger, ground
• 1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix together mashed banana, sweet potato, maple syrup, vanilla extract and melted butter. In a medium-sized bowl, combine oat flour, allspice, baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Add mixture in two stages to the larger bowl, stirring until just-combined (you don't want to overwork the batter; just stir until there are no streaks of flour). Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin pan (use removable liners for easy clean-up) 3/4 way with batter. Bake 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. Makes 12 muffins.

Links to other banana cinnamon delicacies:

• Cinnamon Banana Bread from One Touch Weather
• Cinnamon Pancakes with Nutella, Banana & Pecans from Channel Ten
• Banana Donuts with Cinnamon and Sugar Coating from Whatcha Makin' Now?
• Warm Banana and Maple Syrup Pancakes with Cinnamon Cream from Fabulicious Food
• Banana Cinnamon Bread from Madison Makes

Cherry Vanilla Smoothie

Everyone has a favorite taste memory and mine is Haagen-Dazs Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream. This was also my grandfather's favorite ice cream. He had a real sweet tooth and would often pick up all kinds of delicacies from the local bakery which (aside from rainbow cookies) I would decline, much to his chagrin. But whenever there was cherry vanilla ice cream in the freezer, I always had room for dessert. It's been about fifteen years now since I lost my grandfather but, whenever I'm feeling low and in need of comfort, I still always turn to cherry vanilla ice cream.

Lately, though, I haven't been able to find it at Fairway. (Has anyone else found this? Please tell me they haven't discontinued it!) And I do know that ice cream is not the best way to sneak more fruits into our diet. So I used this flavor combination as a jumping-off point and created a smoothie instead, using real frozen cherries and vanilla frozen yogurt, as well as some cinnamon, apple juice, applesauce and maple syrup (Grade B, so you really get the maple flavor). I also discovered a forgotten bag of frozen blueberries in the freezer, so those went in as well. And I snuck in some wheat bran and peanut butter for added health benefits and to thicken the mixture. (Even the vegetarian admitted their tastes weren't discernible.) This was a sweet smoothie -- more suited to dessert than breakfast in my opinion -- but it's was really delicious. The only thing to watch out for is that mine was a bit chunky; all those tiny blueberries somehow managed to escape the blender's blades. Enjoy with (or after) Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers. Bon appetit!

Cherry Vanilla Smoothie
inspired by Smoothie Web

• 1 cup frozen cherries
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 3 tablespoons applesauce
• 1 teaspoon wheat bran
• 2 scoops vanilla frozen yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 cup Grade B maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Links to other cinnamon delicacies:

• Heart Cinnamon Rolls from Instructables
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes from From Away
• Cinnamon Roll Pancakes from Life as a Lofthouse
• Cinnamon Roll Scones from Annie's Eats
• Cinnamon Squares from Crumbs and Cookies