Thursday, August 13, 2009

Simple, Fresh Dinner With An Amazing Blueberry Sorbet for Desert

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The basket was ample this week, so I made an easy, farm-fresh dinner to highlight some of the components.

These zuchini and corn tacos were simple and used a lot of the squash and corn we have at hand. I used some chili powder to give it some zest and topped it with feta cheese for a good finish.

Dessert was even better. We've been purchasing blueberries for a month and have collected several large bags of them in the freezer. Wanting to try something new, even though I'm typically not a sorbet fan, I whipped up some Blueberry Basil Sorbet and was very pleased. It's delicious, fresh and has a nice herbal bite to it.

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Blueberry Basil Sorbet (adapted from epicurious)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 cups fresh-picked blueberries, rinsed and patted dry (or frozen which eliminates the need to refrigerate for 4 hours)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 TBS light corn syrup
1 TBS chopped fresh basil

In medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, water, and salt. Cook, stirring, until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Let cool for 15 minutes.

In a blender, purée the blueberries with the syrup, lemon juice, and basil until very smooth (you may need to divide this into several batches if your blender is not extra-large). Strain through a fine-mesh sieve for a smoother texture. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight. (Unnecessary if using frozen berries.)

Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Add the corn syrup during the last 2 to 3 minutes of churning. Store, tightly covered, in the freezer.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Bowl of Noodles

Comfort is a bowl of noodles studded with farm fresh paddy pan squash, swiss chard, bacon, onion, currents and parmasan cheese. The warm weight of the bowl in your hand soon becomes a tasteful pleasure on your tongue and then becomes a warm weight in your stomach.

I'm referring to yet another dinner made by my husband. I love him for who he is and I love him for cooking for me and our daughter.