Monthly Archives: June 2014

A Fine Farewell

IMG_7432

I first made these rasta-style popsicles last year as a surprise farewell treat for my sweet roommate and friend, Gina, who was moving out of our Oakland abode for an amazing teaching job. The popsicles were devoured after we had yummy Shan Dong take-out while watching Cry Baby. (Perfect night in, right?) She and her circle of friends from college started photographing every collective red, yellow and green sighting on their Instagram accounts and hashtagging them with “#jahworksinmysteriousways.” (And it turned out that the clever man who coined that hashtag is now my current roommate, Brian.) So I thought it would be a cute (and tasty!) idea to make her these vegan “Jahsicles.” I later posted a pic of the popsicles on my personal Instagram account and it became the 300th #jahworksinmysteriousways post! Next level! (The hashtag has more than 500 posts to date.)

How fitting is it that while I type this, I find that this recipe has gone full-circle? Looking around my bedroom, it is now filled with my boxed-up belongings, as I, too, am in the process of moving out of the house. To new adventures! (And yummy popsicles!)

IMG_7424

Roasted Strawberry Base
Recipe slightly adapted from Joy the Baker 

INGREDIENTS
1/2 pound strawberries, stems removed and halved
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 lemon, juiced
7 ounces cultured almond milk yogurt (I used Amande)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

IMG_7423
METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place your strawberries in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Stir to fully incorporate. Place the strawberries onto a baking sheet tray and into the oven to roast till they’re softened, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the roasted strawberries into a food processor. Add the sugar and lemon juice and blend till smoothie-like. In a separate bowl, using a rubber spatula or spoon mix the yogurt and vanilla extract, adding the strawberry puree. Refrigerate.

IMG_7427

Mint Lime Coconut Base
Recipe slightly adapted from Kitchenette Blog

INGREDIENTS
7 ounces canned coconut cream
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 cup lime, juiced
1/2 bunch mint, picked
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

METHOD
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend till smoothie-like. Refrigerate.

IMG_7429
Pineapple Coconut Base

INGREDIENTS
1 cup (8 ounces) frozen pineapple chunks
7 ounces canned coconut cream
1 tablespoon light brown sugar

METHOD
Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend till smoothie-like. Refrigerate.

IMG_7431
POPSICLE ASSEMBLY
Once all of your bases are made, gather three liquid measuring cups (this makes it easier to pour) or cups (if you don’t have more than 1) and place each flavor into a separate cup. Pour a third of the strawberry puree into the bottom of each popsicle mold. Freeze the popsicles for about 30 minutes to an hour to set the puree before adding in the next base. Once set, pour in a third of the mint lime coconut base into the molds. Freeze for another 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until the base is set. Then pour a third of the pineapple coconut base into each mold. Freeze for at least 6 hours before serving.

IMG_7430

Fat Stacks

image-10

I dream of pancakes. Literally. I dream of all flavors: buttermilk, blueberry, chocolate chip, Bananas Foster, peanut butter and jelly, bacon-maple. I can totally emulate Bubba Blue from Forrest Gump and name off more combinations, but I’m sure you get the picture. I woke up one morning with the instant craving for oatmeal pancakes. Oatmeal is always in my pantry. And because I love me some strawberries (and they’re perfectly in season right now) I topped ’em with a strawberry compote.

==

Oatmeal Pancakes
Recipe slightly adapted from The Flour Sack
Yields 4 pancakes

FOR THE WET INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup old-fashioned strawberries n’ cream oats
1/2 cup water
Pinch of kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted (plus extra for the pan)
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 egg
1/2 cup strawberries, quartered (larger ones cut into 1/8ths)

FOR THE DRY INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup old-fashioned strawberries n’ cream oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

METHOD
Prepare the wet ingredients. Place the oats with water and a pinch of salt in a small bowl and microwave for 60 seconds or until cooked. In the same bowl, add the melted (but slightly cooled) butter, milk, honey and egg. Mix till well incorporated.

Prepare the dry ingredients. In a medium-sized bowl whisk all of the dry ingredients together. Using a rubber spatula, slowly and gently fold in the WET ingredients into the DRY ingredients. I always get asked by friends why their pancakes are always flat. The trick here is not to over-mix the batter. It’s perfectly OK to have flour clumps in the batter, you want a thick consistency. Get it? Got it? Good!

Heat a cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan over medium heat, butter the pan and when hot, use a 1/4 cup to scoop the batter and pour into the pan. Because there is a fair amount of oatmeal clumps in the batter, it may be hard to see the tiny bubbles that form on the sides of the pancake, indicating it’s ready to turn over. In this case, using a spatula gently lift the pancake and check to see if it’s golden brown and “flippable.” If you’re forcing the spatula on the pan to scrape it out, stop. Leave it be for another minute or two. When you start to see the bubbles start to form, sprinkle a small handful of the fresh strawberries onto the pancake. Then when the pancake gets to a golden brown color, flip it onto the side. This should take a total of 5 minutes. Watch your heat, though, to avoid burning the pancake. Continue scooping 1/4 cups of batter into the butter-greased pan till all batter has been cooked off.

=

Strawberry Compote
Recipe slightly adapted from Food & Wine
Yields 3 1/2 cups

1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Place all of your ingredients in a medium-size saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and serve warm.

image-11