Farm Fresh Desserts

Imagine desserts that are bursting with fresh flavor and fresh fruits of the season. It would be a different spin on classics and much loved treats. Thanks to a new cookbook , it's now easy to incorporate any harvest into tasty desserts and snacks.

Farm-to-table Desserts ( Skyhorse Publishing 2017) is an interesting cookbook written by Lei Shishak,best known for her Beach House Baking and Beach House Brunch.Ms. Shishak has written a book to cover all seasons which are delineated in her book. There are recipes for the four seasons that highlights the harvests of each particular one. right from the start she recommends heading to the local farmer's market.Her reasoning makes sense. Produce begins to lose its' nutritional value soon after its' harvested and continues to decline as time elapses. Fresh picked fruit and vegetables still have the highest amount of vitamins and minerals. She also explains why we should support our local farmers and buy from the farmers directly, giving them the full price. She also is a big believer in cooking and baking with organic fruit too. It  has no chemical pesticides and genetic modifications.
There's also a handy conversion chart for overseas home bakers too that converts tablespoons and teaspoons into grams and milliliters.

One of the best parts of the book is the recipes divided by season. For Spring home bakers can try such treats as maple creme caramel or rhubarb mint ice cream. Since late Spring is the time for cherry  and peach harvests there are the white peach and cherry crumble and apricot peach crostata. The summer and fall recipes really shine . A chilled cantaloupe soup would be the perfect end to a hot night of barbecuing, A homemade mango granita would be a great cool down during a heat wave.Every kind of berry is also featured and Ms. Shishak has a delicious recipe for a berry Pavlova, a yummy meringue filled with blackberries, blueberries and raspberries.Fresh mint decorates these elegant little bowls.Strawberry shortcake, a summer classic is turned into a roll with roasted (!) strawberries transformed into a jam, Fall brings roasted grape bruschetta and pear cake,baked with a cornucopia of  spices such as allspice cloves and cardamon, Yes, there's a baked apple recipe, and this time it has a homemade butterscotch sauce. Winter brings banana and lemon recipes like banana souffle,  and a Meyer lemon cake  both perfect for the holidays.

Farm-to-table Desserts is a must for any home baker longing to cook with fresh ingredients. It is chock full of recipes for any time of the year. They are delicious ways to enjoy organic fruit.

Happiness Is Breyer's Ice Cream

One of the best American ice cream's is Breyer's  Any Yank will tell you why he or she loves it..It's smooth and light , creamy and flavorful. Breyer's either be the perfect dessert or the most satisfying snack. Best of all it can be used in making many treats, ideal for the warm days ahead of us.

Breyer's is one of America's oldest food manufacturers starting right after the Civil War in 1866. William A Breyer started by hand cranking his creamy concoctions. It was made in the Philadelphia style, which had already been popular for a century. The Philly way eschews eggs, producing a lighter product and taste. It's more of a thick kind of ice milk as opposed to the eggy French style of ice cream.Breyer created different flavors right away, adding fruits, nuts and extracts, which are still being used today.He opened the first ice cream shop in 1882 and four more quickly followed. The rich mixture of whole cream and cane sugar. It was cranked in one store and delivered by a horse drawn carriage to the other three. By 1896 Breyer and his family set up the first ice cream factory as more and more people clamored for the icy treat. The Twentieth Century brought more sales to the company that topped millions, and was sold to grocery stores in New York City, Staten Island, Jersey City , Newark and even south to Washington D.C. The family sold it as early as 1926 to National Dairy Products Corporation. It has been bought and sold several times, from Kraft to Good Humor and finally to Unilever who make the ice cream in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. They now produce gluten and even sugar-free ice creams  for those with celiac disease.

Breyer's is one of my favorite ice creams, simply because of the light mouthfeel and taste. It's not a heavy , custardy feeling , like some other brands. It's good on it's own but that lightness helps to make sodas and sundaes airier too. One of my favorites is their coffee flavor. This is perfect in chocolate flavored soda (yes, there is one - and Stop & Shop makes it )along with making an excellent mochaccino sundae. This consists of two  plump scoops , drenched in chocolate syrup and covered in Reddi-Whip. Their fudge ripple is to die for, with the vanilla ice cream marbled with thick fudgy veins. My new favorite is the new Breyer's Blast that has chopped up Samoas,from the Girl scout cookie collection.Samoas on their own are more like candy, with their coating of chocolate, caramel and toasted coconut. This marriage has created a yummy, chewy but light coconut flavored ice cream, that I would love to put into a summery ice cream pie.Another must try are their Gelato Indulgences.My to try list has their lush chocolate caramel, that dripping with the last and decorated with decadent chocolate curls along with Tiramisu Gelato, that's made with marscapone cheese,espresso syrup and lady finger bits.

There's a reason why Breyer's is America's favorite ice cream. It is delicious and light, perfect for dessert or as a cool treat on a hot day. Try this classic , It's sure to be your classic ice cream go to after one spoonful

Summer Classics With A Twist

The two most favorite summer treats, a shrimp cocktail and ice cream have just been reinvented. Some new ingredients are added to give them zip and zest, perfect for the hot days ahead. It's great way of rediscovering two classic hot weather dishes.

They are Mexican seafood cocktail and corn ice cream. Actually they;d make a nice summer evening dinner and dessert together. Both are the main points of Dave Tanis' A City Kitchen and Melissa Clark's A Good Appetite in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. Mr. Tanis offers a spicy and yet cool alternative to the traditional shrimp cocktail, often an August staple in many a beach front restaurant. He adds a spicy mix of grilled tomatoes and jabaneros with layering of not just shrimp but also crab, clams, mussels, and squid, The fish is layered like a parfait with the salsa to create a briny yet fiery twist on the classic shrimp cocktail.It's graced with a squeeze of lime along with chopped onions and serrano chilies.

What would be a good end to this? Melissa's Clark's corn ice cream. This is a spin on the classic recipe with Ms. Clark using fours ears of fresh cooked corn as the main ingredient. The niblets are first cooked and then pureed. The strained kernels are  then added to a mix of  heavy cream, sour cream and some lemon verbena Corn ice cream isn't really new . It's popular in Mexico as it is in The Philippines where it's more of a liquid poured over shaved ice.This ice cream has a very silky , velevety texture, perfect with fresh fruits such as peaches or blackberries (as Ms. Clark suggests). Stick with fresh fruits as a topping however.  Sea salt caramel or chocolate sauce may overshadow the delicate taste

A shrimp cocktail and ice cream are a perfect summer lunch or Sunday dinner combo. Add a twist to both with   the addition of shellfish and squid  for the first and fresh sweet August corn to the second. It's a great way to add zing to these classic recipes/..

Memorial Day Tributes

Today is Memorial Day  - remember our troops and soldiers from wars past. They sacrificed their lives so that all of us can have this beautiful Spring day to lounge by the pool or beach, enjoy our barbecues and picnics.

Rememeber them when they come home. Celebrate them with healthy homecomings, full of the good foods America is known for. Offer to buy them a beer at your local bar. Buy their kids ice cream or ices. They are the ones that make this country safe  - and great.

Most of all  - honor them as they have honored the USA with their time and service!