Sugar Snap Pea and Radish Salad

While wondering what I was going to make for lunch, I stumbled upon this recipe on Bon Appetit's website. Sugar snap peas? Radishes? A little mint? This was just the spring fix that I needed. Add a little crumbled cheese, and I am pretty much in heaven.

 I was surprised to see that the original recipe called for boiling the sugar snap peas. To me, snap peas are in their perfect state when raw, and nobody wants to turn on the stovetop if they don't have to, so that step was omitted. Now this dish is just spring perfection. Crunchy, a little sweet, creamy, radishy, fresh. So fresh.

If you have some hard-boiled eggs left over from Easter (and do I ever!), they go extremely well with this salad. We served this up for lunch, and modified it only slightly to put together an excellent kids' lunch for our 3 year olds. All it took was removing the offending radish slices, subbing in some orange pepper slices on the side, and these kids gobbled up their meals.

Sugar Snap Pea and Radish Salad

adapted from Bon Appetit

• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 1 Tb fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sumac 
• 1 1/2 lbs sugar snap peas, trimmed, stringed, cut in half on diagonal
• 1 bunch radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces feta, crumbled
• 2 Tbs coarsely chopped fresh mint 
• Freshly ground black pepper
• kosher salt

1. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and sumac. 

2. Toss together snap peas, radishes, feta, and mint cheese in a large bowl.  Pour dressing over, and mix together to coat evenly. Season with salt and pepper.

Crème Anglaise

Crème Anglaise is much more simple than it sounds – it’s a vanilla pouring custard.  That means it’s like a vanilla custard or rich pudding or the creamy layer under the crackly burnt sugar of a crème brûlée – but more pourable in consistency.  You know, so you can pour it over stuff.  Like so:


It’s made with egg yolks, cream, a little sugar, and vanilla bean.  Very simple, and very delicious.  Traditionally it’s actually made with milk, but we decided to go for something decadent and so used heavy cream.  Sue me!


The recipes for this one often sound intimidating – there are lots of warnings not to heat too fast lest you curdle the eggs and wreck the whole thing.  But don’t worry, it’s really a very simple recipe.  The key is to go slow, don’t rush.  Just put your burner on low, stir a lot, and don’t walk away from the pan.  It’s only 15 minutes…but you’ve got to try to make sure the toddlers don’t burn down the house or similar during those 15 minutes.  I recommend either straightjackets or giving them a lick of the crème so that they become addicted and are unable to leave your sight.
See how well it works?

We’ve got a pretty pink recipe coming up later this week that features our crème anglaise, but we can also vouch for it being delicious with fresh strawberries.  Or lemon thin cookies.  I’m sure there are many other applications, it’s just that I ran out of crème anglaise.

Crème Anglaise

• 2 egg yolks, in heat safe bowl
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
• vanilla bean seeds from about 2” fresh bean.  Or about 1 tsp vanilla extract

Crack the egg yolks in a heat safe bowl.  Set aside at the ready.
Combine cream, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds stovetop.  Heat until steaming but not quite boiling.  Now, whisk in hand, drizzle the hot milk mixture over the cool egg yolks little by little while whisking or stirring well.  Your goal is to slowly incorporate and heat the egg yolks without cooking them.  All you have to do is make sure you drizzle in the hot milk a little at a time (especially in the beginning).
Then, take the fully combined mixture and dump it back in the pan.  Put it over the heat, on low, and stir slowly but surely, as the mixture gently cooks.  It will get thicker and thicker.  When it coats the back of a spoon thickly, or when as you stir you feel a good drag and leave a dry path in your wake, you know it’s ready.  (picture of the “spoon drag” is shown above, in the action montage)
Take it off the heat and continue stirring for a minute or so to help it cool down aand stop cooking.  Pour through a strainer to capture any stray egg curds that may have formed (it happens) into a cool glass jar.  Store in the fridge (where it will become firmer as it cools).  Drizzle over berries, citrus curds (!!), lemon thin cookies, and much more.

Vanilla Whipped Cream

This whipped cream has just three lovely ingredients – cream, sugar, and vanilla.  It’s just barely sweet, spiked with lovely flecks of real vanilla bean, and would be truly offended if you even tried to compare it with “real whipped cream” that comes in a can.

It’s so easy to make delicious whipped cream.  This makes an excellent topping for any cake, pie, tart, beverage, etc.  Please don’t buy canned whipped cream or – shudder – cool whip anymore.  It’s just not worth it.

You don’t need to whip up the entire pint of cream at one time.  It’s really simple to tweak this recipe in half (or less) if you’re just making a dessert for two, or if you don’t want to have thoughts like this running through your head for a few days: “I have a lot of delicious whipped cream in my fridge! How shall I eat it next?!”

Vanilla Whipped Cream

• one pint heavy whipping cream
• seeds of one vanilla bean (or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)
• 2 Tbsp powdered sugar

Pour cream into a large bowl.   Begin beating (I use a handheld electric mixer.  I’m sure it could be done by hand, but I haven’t attempted that yet!).

Tips on how to make great whipped Cream:

• Use a large bowl to minimize splattering.
• Make sure the bowl is completely clean – any greasy residue left behind will hinder the beating process and could prevent the cream from turning into whipped cream.
• For best and fastest whipping results, try freezing the bowl & beaters for a few minutes before getting started. The coldness helps the cream whip more quickly and easily.
• Powdered sugar dissolves more quickly and evenly into the whipped cream, but it is possible to substitute regular granulated sugar.

When the cream begins to form soft peaks (no longer totally liquid but can begin to hold its shape just a little), add the sugar and vanilla bean seeds.  Continue whipping until the cream becomes thick and easily holds peaks & valleys. 

Note that if you don’t beat the cream long enough, you’ll have a more soft and creamy final product that doesn’t really hold its shape (but still tastes delicious).  If you beat it too far past the point of when it is holding peaks & valleys, it will suddenly separate into butter & whey.  Which would be a bummer.

Homemade Raspberry Ice Cream

As I mentioned in our August dinner party post, I finally caved and bought myself an ice cream maker.  (Highly recommended!) I've already tried a couple recipes which were good, but this raspberry ice cream was truly great.

This recipe is a variation of the strawberry ice cream in Alice Waters' Art of Simple Food. I experienced a cooking math flub when I bought two half pints of raspberries instead of two pints. I went ahead and used half the amount that the recipe called for and was surprisingly happy with the result. It was undeniably raspberry, but you could really taste the creamy, custardy base of the ice cream. Yum.

Raspberries, as opposed to strawberries, required a bit of extra work: you need to remove the seeds. As I strained my raspberry puree, I was shocked at the vast amount of seeds! But it is just a few extra minutes, and totally worth it.

Raspberry Ice Cream

• 3 egg yolks

• 3/4 cup half-and-half

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 3/4 cup heavy cream

• 3/4 pint raspberries

• 2 tbs sugar

• a couple drops vanilla extract

• pinch of salt

Whisk the egg yolks briefly in a small bowl. Set a strainer over a heat-proof bowl. Heat the half-and-half and 1/2 cup sugar in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, until sugar dissolves. When hot whisk a little of the hot half-and-half into the egg yolks and then whisk warm yolks into the hot mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and quickly strain. Add the heavy cream. Cover the mixture and chill. Puree the raspberries in a food processor, and strain the puree to remove the seeds. (It will take some help from your fingers to press the raspberries through while the seeds remain in the strainer.) Stir in the 2 tbs of sugar, and once the sugar has melted, add the berries to the cold cream mixture. Add vanilla and salt. Chill thoroughly and then freeze according to your ice-cream maker's instructions.

I love the little intruder in this next pic.

Berry & Cream Striped Popsicles

Behold – beautiful berry and cream popsicles. The bright color and taste of fresh strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries alternating with sweet cream.  And they’re patriotic to boot.  We’ll definitely be whipping these out at our Fourth of July picnic!

We made the berry stripes with fresh strawberries and blueberries, blended and sweetened with just a little vanilla sugar.  The cream layer is delicious full fat Greek yogurt, sweetened with a touch of honey and then thinned to a pourable consistency with cream.  CREAM!  You have to try these. 

The more stripes you manage, the more pretty they become. 

And of course, these are a major hit with the toddler set. All the things they like best, combined in a cool and portable (if a bit messy…) package.

Once they get the hang of how licking is done, they’ll be popsicle fans for life.  We strongly advise outdoor eating.  Seems like this will be critical for at least a few years?

Berry & Cream Striped Popsicles

Yield: about 8 popsicles, depending on the size of your molds

Berry Stripes:

• 1 quart (about 4 cups) fresh berries.  3 cups if you use frozen (but thawed) berries.
• 2 Tbsp vanilla sugar or honey

For the berry stripes we simply blended fresh berries with a little vanilla sugar.  We learned a few things over the course of our experimentation:

• The liquid available in the fresh berries made blending occur very easily. 
• If you choose to use frozen berries (which taste just as good), be sure to let them thaw before blending.  There are two reasons for this:  First, you want liquid to be available to aid in the blending process.  Second, you want the blended berries to be thin enough for pouring into the molds.  They’ll be too thick if they’re still frozen.
• Finally, we recommend your reduce the quantity  of frozen berries used (from 4 cups to 3 cups) because they tend to shrivel a bit and lose some of their volume during the freeze/thaw process.

Cream Stripes:

• 1 1/2 cups full fat Greek yogurt
• 3 Tbsp cream; basically just enough to thin the yogurt out to a pouring-consistency
• 3 Tbsp honey

The main thing you’re doing here is sweetening the Greek yogurt, and then thinning it out enough with cream so that you can easily pour it into popsicle molds.  We chose to use Greek yogurt rather than regular to make the cream strips as creamy as possible, rather than icy or grainy.

Assembly Notes:

For assembly, simple pour alternating stripes of berries and cream into your popsicle molds.  Allow each stripe layer to freeze for at least 30 minutes.
When you’re 2/3 of the way done, it’s time to add the popsicle stick.  Add a layer and freeze for only 15 minutes, or until slushy.  Stick the popsicle stick in and freeze completely, then carry on with the layers. I had the best luck inserting the popsicle stick into the cream layer – it’s easier to push into when semi-frozen.
If you’re doing thin stripes (like we did on the blueberry & cream popsicles), it is best to insert the stick when you’re only 1/2 way done rather than waiting till 2/3.  The thinner stripes have more of a tendency to come apart as the popsicle thaws, so it’s nice to have the popsicle stick farther in there to help hold things together.

Homemade Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt has been quite fashionable these days, and it is easy to see why. It is thick and decadently creamy, even in the low- or zero-fat varieties. It also has much higher protein than regular yogurt (making it my snack of choice all throughout my pregnancy.)

But while Greek yogurt has increased in popularity here in the U.S., it isn't always easy to find. Where I live, it is easy to find conventional and low-fat Greek yogurt, but nearly impossible to locate Greek yogurt that is both organic and made from whole milk. Fortunately, it is very easy to make your own Greek yogurt from store-bought (or homemade) yogurt!

Greek yogurt is much more expensive than regular yogurt, but when you strain the regular yogurt, it decreases by about half. I found that even with the yield being cut by half, I was still saving money (although prices vary by store and region). It was nice to save a couple quarters, but it was especially nice to get such a creamy, delicious, and all natural end-product!
We snacked on our fresh Greek yogurt mixed with local honey and raspberries. This might be our toddlers' new favorite food!

Homemade Greek Yogurt

1. Place a colander over a large bowl, ensuring that there is enough space below the colander for the yogurt to drain and not sit in the whey.
2. Fold cheesecloth four times and place into colander.
3. Place yogurt (store-bought or homemade) into cheesecloth, and then fold ends of cheesecloth over the yogurt so it is completely covered.
4. Place a small plate on top of the cheesecloth-covered yogurt, and something heavy (like a ceramic bowl) on top of the plate. This helps press the whey out of the yogurt.
5. Let drain in the refrigerator for about 6-10 hours, and then remove yogurt from cheesecloth and store in sealed container. You can save your whey for another use (like our Lemony Barley Salad) or discard.