pie to share, pie for keeps

I decided I was going to make TWO pies this weekend -- one to share with John's family at a post-4th barbecue on Saturday night, one for us to keep at home.  We ended up with a busier-than-planned Saturday, so I only had time to make one pie . . .

. . . that was promptly devoured before we left the party Saturday evening.  I don't know about you, but 1/12 of a homemade pie wasn't NEARLY enough for me; I think I'm due for a pie almost all to myself, wouldn't you agree?  ;)

Pie to share is great; pie for keeps is even better!

treats!

I can't believe I've forgotten to post about my last TWO baking projects!  The horror.  :)

First up, more rhubarb crumble:

This rhubarb crumble was supposed to be a strawberry-rhubarb pie . . . what happened, you ask?  Well, John and I had planned on going strawberry-picking this weekend, but decided against it at the last minute after calling several farms and hearing tales of the long lines and large crowds . . . we'll wait a week or two until all of the excitement dies down!  So then, no strawberries.  I thought I'd just make a rhubarb pie . . . and then I got to chopping, and realized I didn't have nearly enough rhubarb on hand for a pie!  Oh well -- crumble to the rescue.  :)

I made my standard Joy of Cooking crumble recipe, (3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, and 1/2 cup butter for the topping,) and mixed an additional 1/4 cup of sugar with 4 cups of chopped rhubarb for the fruit base.  The last time I made rhubarb crumble, I used only 2 tbsp additional sugar, and it turned out to be a bit too tart for John.  (He's not at all a picky eater, but it seems he's very sensitive to highly acidic foods.  Go figure!)  The additional sugar pleased both of our palates, and organic vanilla ice cream took things over the top.  :)

Next time, I promise I'll (literally) dust off the ice cream maker, and make my own for a change!

And here are some cupcakes I made last week for the church choir end of season potluck:

I whipped together a batch of "Banana Cupcakes" (with chocolate cream cheese frosting!) from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers after work, the day of the party, and still had plenty of time to spare before heading out to the 'burbs to hang out!  Can you believe it?  Cupcakes on a weeknight?  (And I didn't need to go to the grocery store for any special ingredients, either!)  This just goes to show how amazing this cookbook is -- and I know I've written about how much I love this particular book at length in the past.  I have tried many recipes from that book, and every recipe has been simple, speedy, reasonably healthy, and incredibly delicious!  I love the Moosewood cookbooks in general, but Simple Suppers is my all-time favorite.

Anyone own that book?  Favorite recipes?  Favorite Moosewood books?

local eats

It's official . . . locally grown produce is starting to pour into the Farmer's Market, and our garden is starting to produce!  A few meals from this past weekend, all using local eats:

A simple stir-fry dinner:

Short-grain brown rice topped with onion, carrot, red bell pepper, tofu, and local sugar-snap peas, covered in my homemade stir-fry sauce, and sprinkled with cashews for extra crunch.

A delicious, deep-dish pizza:

I used this crust recipe (halved) again, as I was in a bit more of a hurry and didn't have time for my usual Artisan Bread dough to sit for two hours.  I shaped the dough into more of a rectangle, patted it into a well-oiled jelly roll pan, and topped with more oil, parmesan, mozzarella, a big pile of spinach and arugula from our garden, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, and oregano.  This soft, chewy, bready pizza hit the spot last night!

And dessert:

Rhubarb crumble, made with two big bunches of rhubarb from the Farmer's Market!  We also picked up a rhubarb plant, and cleared an area behind John's garage . . . wahoo!  I may have to wait until next year for more rhubarb, (at least rhubarb we've grown ourselves,) but that's ok -- it'll spread like wildfire back there, and then we'll have all the rhubarb we can eat!

What local food are you excited about right now?

Birthday Pizza Party!

I threw a "make your own pizza" belated birthday celebration for my friend Tiffany last night, and we had a blast!  Since only a few of us could make it, we were able to cram around my dining table, smashing out pizza dough, spreading sauce, layering toppings, and sprinkling cheese relatively comfortably.  I provided the dough, (I used this recipe, instead of my usual Artisan Bread in 5 dough, as I find the AB dough kind of hard to work with if you're not used to it . . . my instincts were right on, as John exclaimed almost immediately, "wow, this is a LOT easier to use than that other dough!"), two kinds of sauce, (prepared pesto from the co-op deli, and Muir Glen pizza sauce,) and four kinds of cheese, (mozzarella, parmesan, fontina, and feta,) and friends brought the toppings:

We had lots of olives, lots of mushrooms, onions, garlic, spinach, dried tomatoes, artichokes, capers, oregano, and chili flakes.  So many choices, I had to make my pizza in "halfsies" --

The left half is pesto topped with mozzarella, feta, artichokes, spinach, dried tomatoes, and olives; the right half is tomato sauce topped with mozzarella, parmesan, fontina, onions, mushrooms, garlic, chili flakes, and oregano.

For our salad, I made a new kale slaw:

I found a recipe on the Whole Foods website that looked delicious, but the dressing quantities seemed a little "off," in my opinion.  Here's my modified recipe:

DRESSING:
1/4 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup oil (olive or walnut)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Whisk the dressing ingredients together in the bottom of your serving bowl until emulsified.  Add:
1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Toss the onion in the dressing until it becomes completely coated.  (You want to lightly "pickle" the onion, to take out some of its sharpness.)  Then layer in the bowl:
1/2 small head red cabbage, shredded
1 large red bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 bunch dino kale, ribs removed and sliced thinly
1 cup orange sections

Cover and chill the salad for at least an hour.

Just before serving, toss everything together with:
1/3 cup sunflower seeds, toasted

After eating so many virtuous vegetables, make sure you save room for dessert!

I was gifted some rhubarb earlier in the week, so strawberry-rhubarb crumble was the logical dessert choice.  :)  (Plus, the birthday girl loves rhubarb!)  I promised Ali I'd post the recipe, which is loosely based off the "Apple Crisp" recipe from Joy of Cooking, but with a few of my own modifications.

INGREDIENTS:
Fruit (enough berries, apples, whatever, chopped, to nearly fill an 8-inch square baking dish)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 stick salted butter

DIRECTIONS:
1. Fill the baking dish with the fruit.  (If you use a large quantity of berries or any frozen fruit, I recommend tossing the fruit with a few teaspoons of cornstarch.  And thaw and drain any frozen fruit!)
2. Combine the sugar, flour, and butter.
3. Using your fingers, break the sugar/flour/butter into small clumps, and sprinkle evenly over the fruit.
4. Bake at 375 for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbly and the topping is golden brown and crispy.
5. Serve warm or at room temperature, with ice cream or a drizzle of heavy cream.

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I had so much fun with the "build-your-own" dinner party, that I might have to look for more things like this to do in the future!

dessert and dinner

Since I couldn't help but pick up some rhubarb at the downtown farmer's market earlier this week, I sort of had to make a pie, didn't I?

I wasn't thrilled with my homemade crust this time 'round, but the filling more than made up for it. :) It's amazing how nothing more than strawberries, rhubarb, flour, sugar, and butter combine to make something other-worldly, isn't it?

Now, here's a question for you . . . what is your favorite kind of pie? Cherry is definitely mine, although all other kinds of pie are a close second. I just really love pie. A lot!

My friend Ann joined me for dinner tonight, and I made us a delicious stir-fry!

Pulled some leftover brown rice out of the freezer, pressed and fried up some tofu, and dumped a bunch of local veg in the pan -- asparagus, kohlrabi, green onions, garlic scapes, yellow summer squash, and sugar snap peas were all at the farmer's market this morning, and they all made their way into my stir-fry. Adding my usual sauce and a sprinkle of sesame seeds finished things off nicely. Ann complimented the spice level of the sauce -- she said if it was any spicier it would be uncomfortable for her, but as it was, it was just right! Woo! I always worry a little about making spicy things for friends, since many of my friends can't eat or don't like spicy foods very much. Score!

I have recently started counting calories again, since I've noticed quite a bit of weight creep back on this spring, thanks to all of the stress I was under. :) I found a great program to help this process along, and discovered that even after enjoying a slice of pie today, I came in nearly 200 calories under "budget" for the day -- woo! Good job me. :)

I am definitely going to have to start packing a lunch for work, though. It was so easy, gorging myself on those kid-friendly, cheese-laden lunches! Alas. I knew it wouldn't be good for me in the long run!

major kitchen action

I have eluded to the overly-busy schedule I have been keeping up with these past few weeks, and coupled with plenty of stress, let's just say I haven't been feeding myself as well as I could have been; too much eating out for me! I was long overdue for a weekend full of cooking, and boy, was it fun!

Here are the results of all that action in my kitchen . . .

I haven't had much dessert on hand at home or at work, and I was craving something warm, homey, and tart-sweet. Enter, rhubarb-peach crumble:

Although peach is a nontraditional partner for rhubarb, this is quite good! I should have added a little more extra sugar to the fruit, since it is still VERY tart, but I love the contrast with the sweet-crispy-toasty topping. It's always a bonus when I can clear TWO bags of frozen fruit out of my freezer, and get a dessert out of the deal, too!

At the time of purchase, I had no plan for the parsnips I picked up at the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. The more I thought about those parsnips, the more Shredded Parsnip and Beet Salad in Pineapple Vinaigrette, from VCON, stuck in my mind -- and I figured, I better oblige!

The first time I made this recipe, I found it called for WAY too much dressing. I cut the dressing recipe in half this time, and am much happier with my salad. It's less soup-like, more slaw-like!

I should try this recipe with orange juice instead of the pineapple juice sometime. I always seem to have OJ on hand, but have to slap down four bucks to purchase the pineapple juice for this recipe. Anyone out there ever subbed OJ with good results? Do tell!

Lately, I have been mildly obsessed with the blog Anja's Food 4 Thought. Her writing is clear and concise, her photos are breathtaking, and her style of cooking seems perfectly aligned with my own. (Plus, she seems to be as obsessed with baked goods as I!) Even though I'm super anxious to try her Almond Butter Granola Bars, I found myself whipping up Herbed Chickpea Pancakes for dinner last night:

OK, someone please help me figure out WHY I have never made savory chickpea pancakes before? They are dead easy, super-cheap, and SOOOOOOO good -- I especially love the herbed yogurt recipe she includes. It took me a couple of tries to find my mojo with this recipe, learning that I needed to use a little more oil and a little higher heat than I thought, and I just couldn't help but flip them, even though she calls for them to be cooked on only one side. Since I destroyed most of my first batch on the learning curve, I sort of HAD to make a second batch for dinner tonight, right? At least now I have leftovers for lunches this week! MMMMMMMMMMMMM.

To continue on my quest to return to eating a more colorful, produce-rich diet, I tossed together a simple roasted red pepper soup for lunch today:

I really should have written down at least the measurements for ingredients, because I may never be able to replicate this one! (Lunch was a long time ago, you see.) Hmm . . . here's what I think I did:

1. Saute about 3/4 cup finely chopped onion in olive oil
2. Add 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped roasted red bell peppers, (I bought the hugest jar at Costco not too long ago, so I didn't feel bad about blowing through an expensive ingredient on this soup,) 3 cups vegetable broth, 1 tsp agave nectar, and salt (about 1/2 tsp?) and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil.
3. Lower the heat and simmer the soup for 10 minutes, or longer, if you are busy doing something else.
4. Add 1 cup Greek yogurt to the pan, and puree. Garnish with any fresh herb you like -- I'm on a chive kick this week, so that's what I used. Simple and delicious!

Alongside my soup, I had a couple of tiny quesadillas:

I slathered homemade corn tortillas (!) with homemade refried beans (!) and queso fresco, and fried 'em up in my cast iron until crispy. It's been ages since I've made tortillas, and I forgot how EASY they are to whip up -- and how vastly superior their flavor and texture is to storebought corn tortillas! Homemade tortillas actually taste like CORN, not like dry paste. :) I used four for my quesadillas this afternoon, and stuck the other four in the freezer, to be enjoyed at a later date.

And last but not least, after a long, cold walk around the neighborhood I want to move to this summer, I felt like baking again! So, now I have a lovely batch of Tuscan Lemon Muffins for breakfasts and snacks this week:

I haven't tried these guys yet, but if the baked version is as good as the dollop of batter I licked off the spatula earlier, they will be a HIT! I made a few changes to the original recipe, as ever: I subbed Greek yogurt for the ricotta, omitted the lemon juice (figured the yogurt would provide enough acidity,) added 1 tsp lemon extract (to make up for the missing lemon juice,) and used 1 cup AP flour plus 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour, instead of all AP flour. I really wanted to use all whole-wheat flour, but lemon is such a delicate flavor, I was afraid it would get lost in the whole grainy goodness . . . this split seems to work well. I ended up with 8 standard-sized muffins and a dozen minis for the kids, too! (I thought I'd shower them with treats this week, since it's my last as their teacher.)

Hope your weekend was filled with good food, too!

supercath!

I think it's time I invested in a cape. :)

Besides picking 12 pounds of strawberries, I've also been to the Farmer's Market, co-op, Target, and library this weekend, and have been cooking and baking up a storm.

To start, here's the "aftermath" of 12 pounds of strawberries . . .

5 quarts, hulled, washed, and frozen for smoothies, pies, and whatever else:


Four jars of jam, all in the freezer for now . . .


AND, a strawberry-rhubarb pie!

A little soupy, but still delicious.

(My new pie-making motto? When in doubt, add extra cornstarch.)

There's also a quart of fresh berries in the fridge, but they are going to need to be eaten quickly -- fruit at the peak of freshness doesn't last long!

I've also . . .

made a batch of granola:


made a loaf of bread:

(more on the bread later . . . this was actually part of the bake-a-long!)

roasted a bunch of chickpeas:


started dough for pizza crust, steamed and froze 2 pounds of asparagus, steamed and chopped 10 ounces of spinach, made a batch of BBQ seitan, made taco salad filling, washed and chopped 2 bunches of kale, washed and chopped lettuce, made a batch of almond milk, diced and froze (most of) a HUGE papaya, cooked up a pile of brown rice, shredded cheeses for pizza and quesadillas, cleaned the bathroom, cleaned the litterbox, and washed/dried 5 loads of laundry.

I'm tired. :) (Needless to say.) But boy was that a weekend well spent! I love relaxing just as much as the next person, but sometimes it just feels good to get stuff DONE! (And somewhere in there, I still found time to read some and watch a movie!)

catching up some kitchen happenings

I was wondering why I hadn't blogged in a while . . . and it's because I haven't cooked much! We were out of town last weekend for the holiday, and have just been sort of throwing meals together since then. :) I do have a few things for you, though:

A dinner from last week:

Breakfast for dinner is always a good thing, especially when it involves roasted potatoes! Dan scrubbed and quartered these baby reds from the Farmer's Market and roasted them with olive oil, garlic, S&P, and a little dried thyme. I could have eaten my weight in these potatoes, but restrained myself. :)

P.S. Leftover roasted potatoes topped with chickpeas and salsa made for an AWESOME lunch the next day!

Another pie:

We took this pie to Dan's parents' house with us over the weekend, and it was quickly gobbled up. :) Strawberry-rhubarb seems to be a hit with everyone I meet!

Dinner last night:

Homemade pizza is always such a tasty thing. Artisan Bread crust, topped with olive oil, sliced local heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, and S&P. Yum. I'm even excited for leftovers in my lunch today!

And we received a late-night phone call from Dan's brother, which resulted in this:

Free veggies! Dan's brother has a half-share of a CSA, which means he gets a full share every-other week. To quote Ryan, "a ridiculous amount of vegetables for one person." So, we scored basil, green onions, chard, broccoli, radishes, kohlrabi, fennel, and scapes.

Any ideas for cooking up the scapes? I've never used them before, but am excited to try them!

pie weather, indeed!

Today was definitely a day to stay in and make a pie, if you ask me!



I decided to pick up a carton of strawberries to go with the rhubarb I bought at the Farmer's Market this morning, and putzed around making a lattice top. As you can see, the pie overflowed dramatically, but that's okay -- that's what cookie sheets are for, right?

This is the first time in my adult life that I've made a lattice top -- can you believe it? I've made so many pies over the years, and have never played much with my pastry, until now! Wee! Today was also the first day I had relative success making a whole-wheat crust that wasn't crumbly or brittle when rolling out. The trick? Adding TWICE as much water as the white-flour recipe called for, if you can believe it! Wholegrain flours do tend to suck up moisture, but I wasn't expecting anything that dramatic!?

I also made dinner:



"Spicoli Burgers," from Eat, Drink, and be Vegan, on homemade buns with roasted red pepper hummus, avocado, tomato, and lettuce. Salad and sweet potato fries on the side. I made the burgers small in hopes that I'd save room for pie . . . but no! Pie will have to wait until later. Part of me is a little bit sad about this, since I really want to eat a piece of pie, but part of me is okay with this -- I get to admire it a little bit longer. :)

busy bee.

I am thankful to have the day off today, and have been one heck of a busy bee with all of my free time!

First, many, many things happening in the kitchen . . .

Rhubarb for the freezer:


Asparagus for the freezer:


Oh yeah, more asparagus for the freezer:


12 cups of chickpeas for the freezer:


Pasta salad:

Caprese-style with tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella, coated in a simple balsamic vinaigrette.

AND, "Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Mango:"

Ah, VCON, how I've neglected thee lately. This salad ROCKS. Quick, simple, gorgeous, healthy, and delicious! I imagine this would make an amazing potluck offering at some point this summer. :) And maybe amazing camping food, too!

I also met my friend Ashley for coffee this afternoon, and ran a couple of errands. I spent a FORTUNE at Target . . . a few new summer tops, a dress for a wedding we're attending in a couple of weeks, camping supplies for our upcoming trip, dish soap, toilet bowl cleaner . . . it all adds up so FAST!

Can you believe, however, that the one thing on my Target list that I didn't get (because it wasn't available) was a black cardigan sweater? Weird. I guess I'll try the Gap? American Apparel? H&M? (Although, going all the way to the "Black Hole of Death" seems extreme just for one sweater.) Grumble. Target, why did you let me down!??!?!?

Off to finish up my to-do list for the evening -- I have tons of cleaning left to do.

weekend recap, fun mail, and check one thing off the list

I have very few pictures from this weekend, partly because I was lazy, and partly because I loaned my camera to Courtney for the day on Saturday. (She's selling some stuff on Craigslist.) I promise we ate, though!

Saturday brunch was our usual poached eggs, kale and mushrooms, and crispy-delicious hashbrowns. Dan was quite the helper this weekend and tore up the kale, sauteed the kale and mushrooms, and made the hashbrowns! It's tricky squeezing two of us in my teensie kitchen, but we made it work. :)

Saturday dinner was delicious, and I think becoming one of my all-time most favorite meals -- Hot-Sauce Glazed Tempeh (from Veganomicon,) mashed potatoes with my own version of very speedy gravy, and steamed broccoli again. Dan took charge of the potatoes and gravy -- I've never had butterier mashed potatoes . . . and he wanted to add olive oil, too! I have to draw the line somewhere??? ;)

After we got home from church on Easter, I made a rather untraditional Easter Dinner:

Who says you can't have falafel sandwiches for Easter Dinner? Homemade pita, cucumber, onion, tomato, and romaine lettuce rounded out the deliciousness, all covered in a sauce made from plain soy yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and some grated fresh garlic.

Sunday supper was a super-simple whole-wheat pasta with marinara and parmesan, green salad on the side, but I made a fantastic dessert:

I cleaned out my freezer and made a raspberry, rhubarb, and apple crumble, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Dan searched high and low for a store open on Easter selling ice cream, and came back successful . . . eventually! (It made it that much more worth it, right?)

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I got fun stuff in the mail today:

Since I completed the 31-Day Yoga Challenge, I rewarded myself with not two, but THREE new yoga DVDs! (Well, I guess techinically FIVE new DVDs, but three of them are a set, so . . . it counts as one, right?) I chose to skip a new pair of yoga pants in favor of some new challenges. I've been enjoying the sun salutes from Yoga Journal's "Step by Step Session 1," and will progress to Session 2 once I'm feeling stronger and more flexible -- maybe another month? "Yoga for Every Body" seemed very intriguing to me -- it's a highly-customizeable DVD, allowing you to choose your level (beginning, intermediate, advanced,) length of practice, and specific target areas, such as back or neck pain, improving balance, etc. "Stress Relief Yoga for Beginners" is an old favorite I had on VHS, that REALLY needed updating.

Between all of my new DVDs and the practices I downloaded at the end of last month, I'm going to feel challenged (at least in the yoga department) for a LONG time! Woo!

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Last, I'm pleased to report that I will officially mail away all of my paperwork to renew my teaching license TOMORROW! (I would mail it tonight, except that I don't have enough stamps -- that sucker is heavy!) Now that I've finished that project, I can move on to bigger and better (and more fun) things, like cleaning out my apartment to prepare for Dan moving in this summer. Woo!

VCON-athon, part I

I've been cooking like a madwoman lately!

Lunch last Sunday:

Green Onion Egg Drop Soup on the left, and fried rice on the right. (We had leftover rice from dinner out a day or two earlier.) The rice was excellent, but the soup was just okay -- I probably wouldn't make it again.

Yet MORE cobbler:

Straight rhubarb this time. YUUUM. I will be sad when rhubarb season is over for the year. :(

Dinner Thursday night:

Tempeh fajitas! I sliced a package of three-grain tempeh into sixteen slices, and marinaded it for a couple hours along with thickly sliced red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and half a red onion, in the following:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp chipotle chile powder
zest and juice of two small limes
3 cloves garlic, crushed (no need to peel or chop)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups water
After their soak, I pan-fried the tempeh and veg in a hot cast-iron skillet, and served them in homemade flour tortillas, (recipe from the Joy of Cooking), garnished with Chile-Chocolate Mole, (from VCON,) sliced avocado, and mixed baby greens.

P.S. I used a new kind of flour in the tortillas. My co-op carries all-purpose flour in bulk, but also something called "white flour," which is milled from wheat that has had the bran removed, but not the germ, so it has a better nutritional profile. This may be my new all-purpose flour from now on! It sure made heavenly tortillas.

I've been missing prepared breakfast cereals with my whole "five or less" rule, so I decided to try a new granola recipe:

I've been kind of displeased with homemade granola in the past, but this recipe did not disappoint! This is the best homemade granola I've ever made, the simplest recipe by far, and the closest-tasting to "commercial" granolas, in my opinion. (But without all that extra yukky stuff, of course.) I loosely based it on a recipe for Apricot-Almond Granola from Cooking Light, but with several modifications. Here's my version:
1. Combine in a mixing bowl: 2 cups quick oats, 1 cup puffed brown rice cereal, 1/2 cup sliced almonds, 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup dried cherries, 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, and 1/3 cup golden raisins.
2. Melt 1/2 cup agave nectar and 1/3 cup Earth Balance together. Pour over oat mixture and combine well.
3. Spread the granola in a greased 9X13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees Farenheight for fifteen minutes. Stir, and bake an additional 10 minutes. Allow the granola to cool in the pan before stirring again. Transfer to an airtight container for storage.

And here, finally, is the VCON-athon:

Sauteed chard, Shredded Parsnip and Beet Salad in Pineapple Vinaigrette (from VCON,) Broccoli Polenta (from VCON,) and Louisiana Crowder Peas from the Farmer's Market last weekend. Both the salad and polenta are incredible -- make them NOW, if you haven't already!

Here's the (vegetized) recipe for the peas, if you can get your hands on some:
1. Rinse 1 lb. peas, and place in a pot. Cover with water and soak for 30 minutes.
2. Drain the peas and return to the pot. Add 8 cups of water, 1 canned chipotle in adobo, 1 tablespoon adobo sauce, and 4 tablespoons Earth Balance. Bring the peas to a boil, then allow to boil for two minutes. Then lower the heat, cover partially, and allow to simmer for one hour.
3. Saute 1 large onion, chopped, in a small amount of oil. Add to the peas with 2 teaspoons salt, 1 tablespoon mixed dried herbs, (I used Fines Herbes,) a bunch of freshly-ground pepper, and 1 clove garlic, peeled. Continue to simmer the peas for 30 minutes, or until soft.

And, I finally, finally, broke out the ice cream maker:

Lemon-Buttermilk Ice Cream from Cooking Light. This is an unusual sorbet-ice cream hybrid, and is addictive and delicious! Sweet, tart, creamy, and refreshing, it sort of reminded both of us of lemon cheesecake. My only complaint is the yield of the recipe -- it made so much, I had to freeze it in two batches! I'll just cut the recipe in half next time.

Stay tuned, because I have more cooking planned for the remainder of the weekend!