June 21, 2012

"One lump or two?"

Ah, beverage sweetness. It's personal, isn't it? I like my iced tea with just a whisper of sweetness (unless I'm in the south and then pass the sweet tea!), my lemonade tart, and, I have to admit, my iced coffee fairly sweet. That's what tastes good to me. My husband, however, likes lemonade sweet and iced coffee with no sugar at all. Instead of making separate batches of summer beverages, I make simple syrup. This easy-to-make sweetener allows us to personalize the sweetness level of our drinks.

And the best part about simple syrup isn't how easy it is to make (it requires only granulated sugar and water) but how you don't have granulated sugar sitting at the bottom of your iced beverage. I hate that! A little--or a large--splash of simple syrup sweetens drinks without any grit!

Here's how to make it, ready?

June 15, 2012

Sunday is Father's Day. If you're celebrating, here are five delicious gluten-free desserts that Dad and the entire family will love. . . . keep reading

June 14, 2012

If I close my eyes, I can hear it: the call of summer berries. OK, maybe that's just my stomach talking but nonetheless it's berry season. And you know what that means--it's shortcake season!

Shortcakes are really just sweetened biscuits. Most traditional (read: wheat-filled) shortcakes, use white flour. I wondered how shortcakes made with a blend of whole-grain flours might taste. Would the mild, nutty flavor of the brown rice and sorghum enhance or overpower the delicate berries?

June 13, 2012

Ah, the radish. They are pretty, aren't they? At the farmers' market, my relationship with the radish was, "look but don't buy." It's not that I'm allergic to radishes, it's just that I wasn't sure what to do with 'em. Sure one or two on a salad are great but not so great that I wanted to buy bunches of them.

June 12, 2012

One morning, in an attempt to use some leftover ricotta cheese, I decided to make ricotta pancakes. My ricotta turned out to be well past its prime. Even though I ditched the ricotta, I didn't let the idea of a cheese-studded pancake go. Instead I grabbed some cream cheese.

Unlike ricotta, which melts gently into pancakes, dense cream cheese holds its shape and creates lovely little pockets of warm, oozing cheese throughout the cooked pancakes. Since pancakes are sweet enough, especially when topped with syrup, you don't need to add any sugar to the cream cheese. Simply cut cold cream cheese into cubes, place a few pieces on a cooking pancake, as you would do with berries or chocolate chips, and you're done! . . . keep reading