deliciousness

white sangria

via nytimes
makes 8 cocktails

2 small white nectarines or white peaches
1 small green pear or green apple
1 small navel orange
1 bottle cava, moscato d’Asti or other sparkling wine
1 3/4 cups apple juice
1 1/3 cups Cointreau
1 cup club soda

Slice fruit into thin bite-size pieces. Place in large pitcher. Pour in sparkling wine, apple juice and Cointreau. If possible, refrigerate an hour or two to draw out sweetness and floral aromas of fruit. Add club soda, and stir. Spoon some fruit pieces into glasses filled with ice, and pour.

lemon poppy seed muffins

via joy the baker
makes 12 muffins

2/3 cup granulated sugar
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk or sour cream (buttermilk worked better for me)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, melted until browned and cooled
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar (for topping the batter before baking)

For the Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar whisked together with 2 or 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12 mold, regular sized muffin tray with paper muffin liners, place the muffin pan on a baking sheet and set aside.

In a large bowl, rub the granulated sugar with the lemon zest until the sugar is lightly colored and scented with lemon. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk (or sour cream), vanilla extract, melted butter and lemon juice. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together. When almost thoroughly mixed, add the poppy seeds. Divide batter between muffin cups. Sprinkle each would be muffing with granulated sugar.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing. If you’re freezing the cupcakes for future eating, skip the glaze. It doesn’t freeze well.

blueberry crumb bars

via smitten kitchen
makes 9x13 pan (24 bars for me)

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

preheat the oven to 375 degrees. grease a 9×13 inch pan.

in a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and 1 cup sugar. mix in salt and lemon zest. use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg, until dough becomes crumbly. pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

in another bowl, stir together the rest of sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. gently mix in the blueberries. sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. (this took an extra 10 to 15 minutes in my oven.) cool completely before cutting into squares.

banana bread with chocolate chips and hazelnuts

via use real butter
makes 4 mini loaves

1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups smashed, very ripe bananas
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
1 cup mini chocolate chips (I usually put in 1 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Mix in the bananas. Combine dry ingredients and mix into batter alternately with the sour cream. Add nuts and chips. Mix well. Pour into four greased mini loaf pans (I just lined with parchment paper), or one bundt pan, and bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean from the center. (Not wet and gloppy, but moist crumbs are okay).

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strawberry jam

via ina garten
yields two pints

2 cups sugar
1 large lemon, zested and juiced
1 pints strawberries, hulled and halved

Combine the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over very low heat for 10 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved. Add the strawberries and continue to cook over very low heat for 20 minutes, until the strawberries release some of their juices and the mixture boils slowly. Cook until a small amount of the juice gels on a very cold plate. (I keep one in the freezer.)

Pour carefully into jars and either seal or keep refrigerated. Use immediately or put in sterilized jars.

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mango and vanilla jam

via closetcooking
makes 5 cups

4 cups mango, stoned, peeled, chopped
1 box pectin crystals
5 1/2 cups sugar
2 lemons, zested and juiced
1 vanilla bean (seeds)

Bring the mangoes and pectin crystals to a boil with high heat in a large pot. Mash the mixture (depending on how chunky you want the jam to be), then add the sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and bring to a hard boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir and skim foam for 5 minutes.

Pour into sterilized jars and seal.

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spiced apple chutney

via Nigella’s How to be a Domestic Goddess
makes 1 quart

1 pound of cooking apples (I used golden delicious)
1 medium onion
2 small red chilies such as serrano or thai (I used 1 habanero)
1 1/4 c of demerara or turbinado sugar
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. sea salt
black pepper
1 tbsp. chopped or grated ginger
1 tsp. tumeric
1 1/2 c cider vinegar

4 8-oz jars

Peel and roughly chop the apples, and finely chop the onion. Seed the chilies and chop them finely (I’d advise you to put on rubber gloves for this, especially if you wear contact lenses).

Put all the ingredients in a pan, and bring to the boil. Cook over a medium heat for 30-40 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Spoon into the cleaned jars and, when cool, place them, with great and warm satisfaction, in your cupboard.

Sterilization: Nigella recommends filling them a quarter full with water and microwaving them on high for ten minutes, draining and using while still warm. I did the pain in the ass way of boiling in a pot for ten minutes , drying, keeping warm in a oven… will definitely try Nigella’s method next time.

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