sour cherry pie

Last week I was casually walking through the Union Square Greenmarket when I saw a giant pile of sour cherries. I didn’t waste a minute filling a bag full of them—in fact, I got two bags of them because I’ve been waiting for these puppies for way too long.

It must’ve been two years ago when I was reading through one of my favorite blogs, Lottie + Doof and Tim was professing his love for sour cherries. I immediately wanted to run out and get some, but by the time I finally got around to doing it, it was too late because the sour cherry season is painfully short. And then the same thing happened last year. Two years later, I’ve got two pounds of sour cherries and I’m ready. So I tweeted Tim, asking for his recommendation—sour cherry coffee cake or sour cherry pie? His vote was for pie, so even though I’d never made a fruit pie, I figured there was no better time to try my hand.

I got to work making the crust, pitting the cherries (damn those pits!) and I even made fancy lattice work on top. I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous. But really, there wasn’t much to be nervous about. I kept a pretty good eye on it, making sure that the crust didn’t burn by making a foil crown for the edges. In no time the sweet smell of cherry pie was drifting through my house and I was pumped. There’s no way something that smelled that good could not taste good.  Continue reading »

Filed under eat and sweets by kelly. June 27th, 2011 . 7 Comments

happy hour: balsamic strawberry smash + serious eats

I’m happy to announce that you can now find even more happy hour inspiration from me over on Serious Eats. I’ll be writing a weekly column called Drinking in Season. Since many of my cocktails are inspired by my farmer’s market finds, I’m pretty dang excited to share more unique, seasonal drinks with you and a whole new group of readers.

I’m still planning on posting a weekly happy hour on Eat Make Read, so that means that you’ll get twice the inspiration each week. Unfortunately I’m still adjusting to this little arrangement so this week is the oddball exception to that, but I promise, this drink is worth the trip over to Serious Eats.

Cheers! To making it happen, twice the tasty drinks and a nice, relaxing weekend!

Check out my recipe for a Balsamic Strawberry Smash on Serious Eats.

Filed under happy hour by kelly. June 24th, 2011 . 2 Comments

mixed berry upside-down cake with cinnamon

With berry season gearing up to full blast, I find myself coming home with pints and pints of berries. Pretty soon it might become a problem… but until then I’m going to soak in the awesomeness at the market. Speaking of awesome, I’ve been seeing upside-down cakes around the internet lately—new takes on the classic upside-down pineapple cake—and thought that they sounded tasty and as a sucker for pretty things, they’re quite lovely to boot. So when an impromptu cookout invitation arrived, it was the perfect time to whip up my very own upside-down mixed berry and cinnamon cake.

Continue reading »

Filed under eat and sweets by kelly. June 23rd, 2011 . 9 Comments

lunch special: yogurt with fresh fruit, honey + basil

Last week I was looking for something super duper simple for lunch; something that would both feed me and help me cool down. After looking in the fridge, I came out with a handful of strawberries, some yogurt and basil. I also had a mango sitting on the counter, so I cut a few chunks of that to add to the party. Looking for a way to jazz it up a bit, I reached for one of my go-to yogurt accompaniments and added a drizzle of honey. Lunch turned out to be exactly what I needed, a little sweet, a bit tangy and totally cooling.

yogurt with fresh fruit, honey + basil
makes 1 serving

1 cup greek yogurt
1/4 cup strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup mangoes, cut into chunks
2 basil leaves, cut into strips
1-2 Tablespoons honey

1
place the yogurt in a bowl and top with fresh fruit.
2
Drizzle the honey over top, then sprinkle the basil slivers.
3
Enjoy!

Filed under eat and lunch special by kelly. June 20th, 2011 . 2 Comments

happy hour: four roses, neat

Yesterday Aaron and I celebrated our fourth anniversary, which means we’ve been married for as long as we dated. Every one of those four years Aaron has given me an amazing floral arrangement made by Saipua. Each has had a little surprise in it that relates to the traditional gift for each year of marriage. This year the gift is silk or linen, so sitting amongst those beautiful real flowers are a few delicately handmade silk flowers. Man, I feel like a lucky lady!

Ok, so I’ll stop talking about flowers and start talking about booze. Seeing as though it’s been four years, it seemed only appropriate to celebrate with a glass of Four Roses Bourbon. I know that drinking whisky straight is not everyone’s cup of tea, but both of us are big fans of a nice little nightcap.

If you’re interested in whiskey but not sure of where to start, I highly recommend Four Roses (they haven’t paid me, I promise). It’s rich and caramely with a hint of sweet in each sip. If you’re looking for a slightly more affordable step, my everyday recommendation would be Rittenhouse Rye.

Cheers! To making it another year, the strong stuff and a fun weekend ahead!

P.S. If you haven’t picked up the latest issue of Remedy Quarterly, we’re including a copy of Issue 1 with each order… it’s like 2 for 1!

Filed under happy hour by kelly. June 17th, 2011 . 7 Comments

strawberry conserve

I’m just going to go ahead and warn you that you’re going to be seeing strawberry recipes galore. I promise to do my best to keep it interesting. I saw the recipe for this little number in the latest issue of Bon Appetit and decided I needed to make it asap. Oh boy, am I glad I got on it! This strawberry conserve is like magic summer sauce. Since making it I’ve used it on waffles, in a strawberry fool, on a slice of bread and I even used the liquid in a beverage. I mean, come on, what’s not to love about that?

Not only can it be used in a million ways, but it takes very little effort. We’re talking strawberries, sugar and a lemon rind. Toss them in a pot and let the juices mingle for a couple hours—this involves no heat, so you can go about your day without worry. Then you’ll heat them on for a few minutes to get it a little more syrupy.

Continue reading »

Filed under condiments/sauces and eat by kelly. June 16th, 2011 . 3 Comments

spring zucchini fritters

I mentioned last week that I made zucchini fritters with a promise that I’d share them this week. Well, here they are, a little jazzed up with some spring veggies. I love little veggie cakes or fritters, pan fried with a nice golden crust and tender and flavorful on the inside. Since I’m a recovering picky person, I find they’re the perfect way to get all sorts of veggies mixed up into one meal that leaves me feeling happy and wanting more.

Continue reading »

Filed under dinner and eat by kelly. June 14th, 2011 . 3 Comments

Remedy Quarterly, Issue 5: Community is here!

I’m super excited to announce that Issue 5 of my (printed) food magazine, Remedy Quarterly is here! Woohoo! It’s always so exciting to get the real-deal-printed issue in my hands. The smell of the ink, the sigh of relief when everything turns out ok, reading the stories… they’re all things I savor with the arrival of each issue.

Issue 5 is super special because it marks the first issue in our second volume. We chose community as our theme because you, our community of readers and supporters, mean the world to us and are continually inspiring us. Plus, we’re always looking for themes that can be interpreted in a plethora of ways, and you’ll find all sorts of interpretations in this issue. From a gastronomic society in Basque Country to a community of urban gardeners in Detroit right down to a multi-cultural community of fermentations in one woman’s San Francisco apartment, we’ve got plenty of stories to get you inspired to interact with your very own community. If that’s not enough, we’ve got an awesome illustrated recipe from Jeannette Ordas of Everybody Likes Sandwiches and an interview with maker and baker Megan Gordon of Marge Bakery in San Francisco, all sorts of recipes and more!

So come on, why not pick up an issue right here. If you order either Issue 5 or Volume 2 (Issues 5-8) we’ll include a bonus magazine with your order.

Filed under events and read and remedy quarterly by kelly. June 13th, 2011 . 2 Comments

happy hour: zucchinitini

This week I decided to make some zucchini fritters (recipe coming next week) and in the process I ended up with a jar of zucchini juice. I felt bad pouring it down the drain, it was just so darn pretty. So I sealed the jar and kept it for happy hour, figuring if cucumbers can be in cocktails so can zucchini. Fast forward to last night when I mixed up a super simple little number: zucchini juice, gin—I thought the herby notes in gin would play well together with the light vegetal flavor of the zucchini—a little lime and a bit of simple syrup to sweeten it up. The zucchini juice itself is very light, so the other flavors are more prominent, but every now and then you get a hint of the refreshing zucchini flavor. I think sake would work really well with this, but I didn’t have time to stop by the store to get it… next time! In the meantime, I’ll definitely be making another one of these to help me cool off in this crazy heat.

Cheers! To beating the heat, new veggies at the market and fun!

zuchinitini
makes one cocktail

1.5 oz gin
1 oz zucchini juice (strained from shredded zucchini)
1 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup

Filed under happy hour by kelly. June 10th, 2011 . 6 Comments

totally awesome tool: mini strainer

Sometimes I get a new kitchen tool or gadget that is life changing… this super simple mini strainer is one of those tools.

I’m always experimenting with syrups, infusions and cocktails, which means I strain stuff a lot. This mini strainer is the perfect size to fit over a wide-mouth ball jar or a glass plus its funnel shaped at the bottom, so even if the jar I’m straining into isn’t the same size as the strainer, I’m assured that all the liquid will pour into the glass. Let me tell you, one less dish to clean—since I can strain directly into the jar I’ll be storing my creation in—and one less mess—I don’t even want to get into the disasters that I can create—is a bonus in my book. Plus, for less than $10, it’s just plain silly not to have one.

Filed under my kitchen by kelly. June 8th, 2011 . 3 Comments