1. In a small pot, heat 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 6 slices peeled ginger, and 8 sprigs mint. Cool completely then strain.
2. Pour syrup over watermelon slices.
Treat: Gussied up watermelon fit for a party. (It's the Freshenup of fresh fruit.)
P.S.
New anonymous endorsement: "Your blog is bringing moms and daughters together. No easy task."
Yay!
Vegan Coconut Strawberry Ice Cream
Coconut has been enjoying some serious time in the spotlight these days
and I'm all for it. My parents were born in Sri Lanka, which is prime
coconut-eating territory. Coconut appears in some form in basically
every dish the island has to offer. Literally every one. Breakfast,
lunch, dinner, and dessert. Not to mention, the spoons are made of
coconut shells, the floor is cleaned with brooms made from coconut
fibers, the mats underfoot are woven coconut husks, the ubiquitous,
brutally strong liquor is fermented coconut sap, and if you’re my dapper
grandfather, your hair is slicked back with coconut oil.
Sour Cherry Mini Pies with Cardamom Cream
P.S.
Raiding the freezer in Maine on another holiday weekend. A frozen-fruit thief in the night means fresh jam for the morning. I just figured out that I love the sound of mixing frozen blueberries with sugar. It kind of sounds like snowshoeing. Which I actually kind of hate.
Lemon Raspberry Pound Cake
Do you remember Sara Lee pound cakes? I haven’t eaten one in some time but I still think about them. They were just the kind of convenience food that had a prominent place in our house growing up. We loved Entenmann’s too. My family didn’t discriminate when it came to premade, packaged cakes. (I’m not sure where I ever got the idea to bake something from scratch.)
Read moreOld Man Bran Muffins
Juliet is dear buddy from Oberlin College. Freshman year our dorm rooms were right next to each other. What luck. Supposedly on our first day ever at college, J’s dad saw me unpacking my room with my parents. He told her that there was a girl next door with a nice smile and that we should be friends. We have been ever since. (I love that story.)
Read moreStrawberry Rhubarb Oatmeal Crisp
I’m on the fence when it comes to crisp. Oatmeal and fruit have a very solid place in my heart. I eat a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast all year long. Even when the summer gets hot I keep eating steamy bowl after steamy bowl, swapping summer berries for wintery bananas. Oatmeal & Fruit, I’m so into you. Oatmeal Crisp, I’m skeptical.
Read moreGluten Free Chocolate Pecan Blondies
These blondies are gluten free! AND they're delicious. I know those two things aren’t mutually exclusive but sometimes I worry.
Read moreJumbleberry Jam Pie
This pie made my niece cry. Not with joy or gratitude. I think it was disgust.
She’s three. I didn’t take it personally. (Well, maybe just a smidge.) You see there’s a little secret to a neat, sliceable berry pie. Once it comes out of the oven it has to sit and wait for hours and hours. Too many hours. It must remain untouched for way too long, torturing all that pass with its sweet, buttery, berry smells, so that it can relax, cool down, and firm up.Read more