Sorbet

Nothing hits the spot like chocolate. And, if it's July, it needs to be cold. Very cold. Chocolate Cherry Sorbet is a super easy dessert which fits the bill perfectly.

Chocolate Cherry Sorbet

3/4 cup cherry jam

1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups water

Combine all the ingredients in a heavy saucepan and stir with a whisk. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring. Cool to room temperature, cover and chill for 4 hours. Pour the mixture into an ice cream freezer and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Cover and freeze for 1 hour. Enjoy!

July is National Ice Cream Month

Pudding

It is time to think outside of the box. The pudding box. Yes, pudding can be made without a box and is far more superior. The texture of homemade pudding is simply divine.

Chocolate Pudding

1/4 sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon butter
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and milk. Add eggs, one at a time. Cook the milk mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and pour through a sieve into to a bowl. Add butter and chocolate and stir until melted. Mix in vanilla. Pour pudding into serving cups or dishes and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Enjoy!

June 26 is Chocolate Pudding Day

Black Cow

Back in 1893, Frank Wisner the owner of a mining company in Cripple Creek, Co and a soda fountain was inspired by the view.

The story goes, that Wisner was gazing at Cow Mountain when the snow-capped mountains inspired him to add ice cream to his root beer instead of cream. You see, up to this point an ice cream soda was made with soda, syrup and cream, not ice cream. The result was the Black Cow Mountain drink. It was soon shortened by the locals to Black Cow.


June 10th is National Black Cow Day

Coconut Macaroons

I have never met a coconut dish I did not like. My short list includes, Pina Colada, coconut ice cream, coconut cake and coconut macaroons.

Coconut is a fibrous one-seeded drupe. A drupe is a fruit with a hard stony covering enclosing the seed, like a peach or olive.

Macaroons are light baked confections. The original macaroon was a small sweet cake consisting largely of ground almonds, similar to Italian amaretti. Most recipes call for whipped egg whites, sugar, nuts or coconut.

Here is a super easy and quick coconut macaroons recipe:

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
5 ½ cups flaked coconut
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and coconut. Stir in the milk and extract using your hands until well blended. Use an ice cream scoop to drop dough onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until toasted.


May 31st is Macaroon Day

Homebrewing

May 7th is National Homebrew Day


The Ten Commandments of Homebrewing

1. Always Sanitize.

2. Practice patience, when the recipe says condition in bottle 3 weeks, do it.

3. Take notes.

4. Share your brew.

5. Never turn down a homebrew. Taste, learn and enjoy.

6. Be ready with a blow off hose.

7. Dark beer is good.

8. Save all brown non-twist bottles.

9. Sanitize.

10. Relax and enjoy your homebrew.

Garlic

Allium sativum aka Garlic.

Grown for over 6000 years and native to Central Asia, garlic maybe the king of the kitchen. Garlic is a fundamental ingredient in many cuisines. It is often paired with onion and tomato. In addition to bulb, the flowers and leaves are sometimes eaten.

Outside of the kitchen garlic is claimed to prevent stomach and colon cancer, help to prevent heart disease and regulate blood sugar. It is an antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal. Health tip - you can alleviate garlic breath by eating fresh parsley. To your health!

April 19 is Garlic Day

Sourdough Bread

There is nothing like cracking open a crusty loaf of bread, that is unless it is sourdough bread. The airy and tangy crumb is pure delight.

Sourdough is the oldest and most original form of leavened bread. All you need is grain, water and air to sit at room temperture. The wild yeast in the air will settle in the mix, eat the natural sugars and convert them into lactic acids which give it a sour flavor. They also give off alcohol and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is what will cause the bread to rise.

All this science yields one delicious bread.

April 1 is National Sourdough Bread Day