In the Garden Today

It's no secret that I love gardening and think the world should take it up as its next great move toward sustainabilty. I recognize that not everyone has the means to do it, though, and I'm OK with that. This is why I share my garden so often on my blog.

I check my garden daily, usually twice, to water, weed and just look at it. I'm never less than amazed at how things grow and get a real thrill from growing things from seed. Plants are good, especially in colder climates where it may be harder to start from seed, but I like watching the first seed leaves pop out and enjoy witnessing the whole plant mature from the first pod to the last fruit on our plates. That goes for flowers, too - food for the bees. It makes our harvest a little later than others, but I think it's worth it.

Here's what I photographed this morning:

Cantaloupe flower.

Zucchini flower.

Kiwi-Lime Sorbet

There is quite possibly nothing easier or more refreshing than sorbet. Traditionally served to cleanse the palate between courses, I think this one is perfect on its own served as a light dessert.

I learned to make sorbet in school using a slightly complicated method of floating an egg (in shell) in the liquid mixture, adding sugar, and stirring until it dissolved, until a dime-sized portion of the egg was the only part exposed above the mix.

This method is far easier and almost foolproof.

Kiwi-Lime Sorbet
Serves 4 for dessert or 8 as a traditional sorbet

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
6 medium-size kiwi - peeled
1 cup freshly-squeezed lime juice

Make a simple syrup from the water and sugar: Combine sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and cook, stirring continually, over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. Simmer for another minute and remove from heat.
Puree kiwi in a blender until very smooth - add lime juice - this should make 2 cups of kiwi and juice. Add simple syrup and stir well.
Pour the mixture into a shallow pie plate or 9x9 pan. Freeze for 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes, scoop the frozen outer ring of the mixture into the center of the plate. Freeze again. Check every 30 to 40 minutes, stirring and scraping each time, until frozen. Freeze for an additional hour before stirring one last time at service time.

Ile de France Cheese of the Month: Shrimp and Brie Quesadillas

The cheese of the month for July at Ile de France, is Brie. Traditionally, I am not a lover of brie. I've had some that just didn't taste right to me and left me feeling rather funny.

I was a bit apprehensive, then, to try the brie from Ile de France. I was very pleasantly surprised to find it quite agreeable and altogether delicious. I paired this delicate cheese with shrimp in a delectable quesadilla that was consumed with abandon by all who sampled it.

Shrimp and Brie Quesadillas
Serves 4

8 flour tortillas - 6-inch size
1/2 pound shrimp - shelled and cooked
1/2 pound Ile de France Brie - rind intact - sliced
4 Tablespoons sliced green onion
salt to taste

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add a tortilla, turning often until heated through. Add shrimp and top with 1/8 pound cheese slices and 1 Tablespoon green onion and salt as desired. Top with another tortilla and cook, turning once, until cheese is melted and quesadilla is lightly browned. Repeat with remaining tortillas and cut each into quarters to serve.

Another Reason to Love Etsy

Have you been to Etsy? If not, you need to take some time to have a look. It's like a clearinghouse for all things retro-handmade-antique-quirky-fun. Make a cup of tea and find a relaxing chair first, because once you get started you'll be browsing for hours.

I admit to only buying 2 things from Etsy, but not for lack of wanting - more a lack of funds. The first thing I bought was an adorable Wonder Pets cape for Ian's Christmas a couple years ago. It was handmade with love by another mom and something I wasn't able to find anywhere else.

I also found something else wonderful and it came in the mail yesterday:

I spied this at Sassydoggs' shop and fell in love with it immediately. I have my own family cookbook that I write recipes in to save for my kids, but it had started to look rather pathetic and it wasn't quite what I'd been looking for anyway. Enter this little gem. The cover is an oilcloth of sorts and it's never been used even though it was made in 1964. I also appreciate that the seller and I have so much in common, both having fathers who sold antiques and both having a desire to reuse and recycle. A perfect match, really.

My next feat will be to find more filler paper in that size, which I know I can do at any local stationery store, but the real feat is to find old paper, slightly yellowed at the corners and ready to fit in with the retro feel of the book.

Georgia Cheesecake Pie

Somewhere about 20 years ago I had a bunch of very ripe peaches that needed to be used up and I wasn't sure what to do with them. Thinking along the lines of peaches and cream that my Grandma Foster served, I found them to be too ripe for that, but perfect to put into the bottom of a cheesecake.

I added a regular pie crust and dubbed it 'Georgia Cheesecake Pie'. We've loved it ever since. This recipe first appeared on my Family Favorites page and I've revamped it since then to use egg whites and more cream cheese. The egg whites make the cheesecake nice and fluffy. Please don't use canned peaches, part of the flavor of this comes from the fresh peaches cooking as the pie bakes and infusing the cheesecake layer with peachy goodness.


Georgia Cheesecake Pie
Serves 8

1 9-inch single crust pie crust-unbaked
5 large very-ripe peaches, pitted and sliced thinly - peeling is optional
1 pound cream cheese - softened
1 c granulated sugar
3 egg whites
1 t. vanilla
2 T. flour

Flour bottom of unbaked pie crust with 2T. flour.
Add peaches to crust.
Mix remaining ingredients and pour over peaches.
Bake at 350 degrees F until top is set and partially browned ~ about 35 min.
This is absolutely delicious served warm or cold.