It’s summer.  It’s hot.  And I’m all out of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream (always a sad event). At the grocery store, I was tempted to simply pick up another one of their cartoonish pints and call it a day… but I didn’t. What type of foodie would I be if I never make my own ice cream from scratch?  For the longest time I didn’t own an ice cream maker, so I didn’t feel guilty in turning to my friends Ben and Jerry or their buddy Breyer for my ice cream cravings.  Now that my machine finally arrived in the mail, I decided to get in the kitchen and give it a whirl.

I came back from the Middle East with lots of goodies that would make any foodie swoon. One of my greatest treasures is a small bottle of pure rose water that I had bought at an Aleppan souq. Although ice cream isn’t a traditional Middle Eastern dessert, Arabs make plenty use of their rose water. In fact, it isn’t uncommon for ladies to dab some behind their ears and use it as a fragrant perfume. I, on the other hand, knew exactly what to do with my rose water!

I aimed for an unadulterated rose flavor that wasn’t too overwhelming, but that left a note of intrigue with every bite. To achieve this, I made a very simple ice cream custard out of milk, cream, egg yolks and sugar and added a 1/4 tsp of rose water at the very end (before pouring the mix into the machine). Depending on the brand and intensity of your rose water you might choose to add a bit more or less.  Also note that the flavor will only intensify as the temperature drops, so make sure to add just shy of what your taste buds consider appropriate.

I don’t particularly like adding red food coloring to my ice cream because I feel that it gives it an unnatural look.  Sort of like that alien green color most brands use to distinguish their mint chocolate chip ice cream flavor. Hopefully this trend will change soon!

This ice cream hit home for me. Although the vehicle for the rose flavor was not traditional, the undertone of the rose water brought back memories of the delicate Middle Eastern sweets I enjoyed on my trip. With a bold flavor like rose, a small scoop is perfect for that post-meal indulgence or a refreshing snack. This is certainly not the type of ice cream you want pile into a massive bowl and eat your way through while watching a Law & Order marathon.

The texture, the freshness, the purity… all these qualities can never be matched by a product that has been produced in a factory, shipped across the country and has been chilling in the freezer for weeks. 

Granted, it does take some work time to crank out a homemade batch, but you will continue to reap the rewards for however long you can resist the ice cream sitting in the ice box. If you do make this flavor at home, consider sprinkling toasted pistachios or almonds on top. I tried it after having photographed these, and fell in love with the flavor combination.

As a blogger, I spend a substantial amount of time perusing other people’s blogs.  Being that I blog about food, I confess that I frequent the token food porn sites on occasion (read: tastespotting).  Who can resist?! Perfect scoops of ice cream,  decadent cakes, oh my!  This weekend, however, I did - I resisted.  I stepped away from my computer and celebrated the 4th of July with the rest of America.  

Once the 4th was over, I decided to continue enjoying the rest of my patriotic weekend outdoors.  In fact, just the other day Peter, at Kalofagas, posted an entry that showcased his garden and the stunning array of herbs that he has at his disposal.  Not only him, but Todd and Diane (aka White on Rice Couple) also have an outrageous garden that I swear has more fruits and veggies than my local farmer’s market. Drawing inspiration from two of my favorite bloggers, I decided that this weekend I would start my very own garden. And without even signing on to my computer, I set out to buy my new plants.

OK, so I don’t have a full garden just yet, but I did start my mini-paradise with some sweet basil and upright rosemary.  I’m not sure if using chemical plant food is absolutely necessary (or actually good for the plants), but the staff member at Home Depot convinced me that the plants wouldn’t survive without it. So if anyone has any opinions about this stuff, I’d love to know. 

The fragrance that was coming from the herbs was intoxicating.  Immediately after I finished my little project, my stomach was craving for some attention of its own.  Since this was the 4th of July weekend, I had extra hot dogs sitting in my fridge that were screaming my name.  And yes, I do eat hot dogs!  Or at least doctored-up hot dogs…

I gently plucked a few leaves off my new basil plant and went straight to the kitchen. I chopped up some onions, tomatoes, a clove of garlic and a spotty avocado I had laying on the counter. Everything came together with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil a tiny bit of lemon juice.  Some grated mozzarella completed the production and made for some killer dogs!

Click on the stamp to find out more information about this event and how to enter to win this month’s prizes!

event: A Taste of the Mediterranean

deadline: July 15, 2008

recipe: Hummus

We’ve officially completed the first leg of our Mediterranean excursion. During the first month of A Taste of the Mediterranean, bloggers from around the world submitted their own spins on the classic pesto Genovese.  The entries were creative and unique, all while keeping true to the concept of what an authentic pesto should be.  Choosing one pesto from the entire bunch was not easy (but it was an enjoyable process). Here you’ll find a list of all the pesto variations that were submitted.  

The winner for this month calls herself a “newbie food blogger,” but she is certainly no newbie in the kitchen.  Erinn, a fourth generation Cali girl and blogger for Sunday Dish, shared her spin on the recipe by making a Basil, Sun Dried Tomato & Hazelnut Pesto.  It was out of this world!  For some reason I had never thought to use hazelnuts in pesto, but the flavor combination was spot on.  The nutty undertone from the toasted hazelnuts complemented the other ingredients, and presented a sophisticated take on the usual pine nuts or walnuts.  The tiny bit of lemon juice that she added was just enough to heighten the freshness of all the ingredients and tie all the flavors together.  I can continue to tease you with luscious descriptions of her recipe, but the best description you’ll get is by whipping up a batch yourself.  Erinn also went on to show how versatile pesto can be by making three different dishes centered around her ultimate sauce: Fusilli Lunghi Bucati Con Pesto, Grilled Chicken Marinated with Pesto and Pesto Crostini.

Congratulations again, Erinn!!

Cheers, 
Tony

Click on the stamp to find out more information about this event and how to enter to win this month’s prizes!

event: A Taste of the Mediterranean

deadline: July 15, 2008

recipe: Hummus

Special thanks to Kelly from Sass & Veracity and Ben from What’s Cooking? for hosting this month’s challenge!

Growing up in a Middle Eastern home, dates were something my family always had around.  The medicinal properties that my grandmother claims this humble fruit holds are endless (and albeit, perhaps a bit exaggerated); but I was never one who needed any sort of convincing to eat these sweet, chewy nuggets.  I did find out, though, that there is archeological evidence of date cultivation since 4000 BC,  to which my grandmother simply responded with the Arabic equivalent of, “I told you so.”  I want to dedicate this entry to my grandmother because I drew inspiration for this challenge from her date-stuffed semolina cookies that I grew up eating.

I didn’t tweak the recipe for the pastry too much.  I used the zest of a lemon instead of an orange because I thought it would go better with the lemony undertone of the ground cardamom.  I also didn’t use vanilla beans because, let’s face it, even though I already graduated, I’m still living on a college student budget. 

The recipe for the dough was great.  I loved that cardamom was already included in the recipe because I felt that it went well with my Middle Eastern theme.  

This is a shot of the dough after four turns and I absolutely loved how you could see the specks of cardamom and the laminated butter running throughout.   

Of course, the braid part of the challenge flew right over my head and so I opted to make individual portions by cutting out disks using the rim of a small drinking glass.  This was not a great idea when it came around to eating the little things because I never felt guilty about having one more piece.  In fact, as I’m writing this, I’m munching on a piece and telling myself that a visit to the gym will be necessary tomorrow.

Since I know that dates might not be everyones cup of tea, I used the scraps to make star-shaped pastries with a strawberry jam center.  Because I know EXACTLY how it feels to be that kid unpacking the “weird food” during lunch while Timmy gets to build his Pizza Lunchables and enjoy his chewy chocolate chip cookies. Anyway, I digress.

The star-shaped pieces tasted good, but I had my eyes set on the prize - the medjool date, Danish-inspired pastry.

The secret to the date filling is to throw in a couple teaspoons of butter so that the filling doesn’t dry out in the oven.  Other than that, the filling is nothing more than pure dates that have been pulsed in the food processor.

One of my best friends from high school, Yuliana, was visiting this weekend so I was happy to share the fruits of this challenge with her (and my roommates, of course).  Raquel also went to high school with us and so we all had a fun weekend talking about how OLD we all are and how crazy it is that high school was so long ago.

Click on the stamp to find out more information about this event and how to enter to win this month’s prizes!

event: A Taste of the Mediterranean

deadline: July 15, 2008

recipe: Hummus

Adjusting to the “real world” routine of waking up early, going to work and having no time for naps has been a painful transition.  I’m a believer of the nap, also formally known as the siesta.  There’s just something magical about eating a hearty meal (especially pasta) and napping immediately after.  Otherwise, the transition into the real world hasn’t been too bad.  I finally got around to unpacking most of my things and have had lots of fun reading through the pesto submissions for the first month of A Taste of the Mediterranean.  I even got around to making a quick video yesterday after work.

This month, A Taste of the Mediterranean is showcasing the unique flavors of the Middle East through one of its most popular dishes, hummus.  Traditionally, hummus is made with chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, tahini and is served with an abundance of freshly baked pita bread to dip with.  

(click here for a thumbnail version of the stamp)

Blog about your creative spin on hummus for a chance to win a $30 gift certificate to Dayna’s Market.  For the purposes of the contest, a hummus will be considered as any sort of legume processed with a citrus.  The rest is fair game and is up for culinary interpretation.  I look forward to reading and sharing hummus ideas with everyone.  Below are the three hummus recipes that I blogged about on my first post, Ode to the humble chickpea.