Converting Blog to a Website

Hello all, I have decided to turn this blog into a website http://cafejoely.com/. It’s a work-in-progress right now, but will eventually include a food glossary, master recipes, articles, how-to videos, a detailed guide to food tourism in North America and more. My blog will continue from the new website. Please forward the link http://cafejoely.com/ to anyone that might be interested. Thanks for the support! ~ Joely

Mora Iced Creamery on Bainbridge Island

Mora Iced Creamery on Bainbridge Island

Chocolate Walnut Cognac Ice Cream

Is it possible to fall in love with an ice cream? I certainly think so. I’ve had many ice cream “crushes” over the years – hand-cranked strawberry on a hot August afternoon in Mississippi, black walnut anywhere I could get it and Claudia Fleming’s recipe for brandied-fig lusciousness that stunned my dinner guests one night.  A few weeks ago however, I fell in love. The culprit was a Chocolate Cognac Walnut ice cream from Mora Iced Creamery http://moraicecream.com/  on Bainbridge Island. The flavors were so pure and intense that time stopped and all distractions receded to the background while I ate it.  Mora’s makes what they call “old world style” ice cream with flavors such as peanut brittle,  chocolate mousse, rose petals, and cream coconut. Trust me,  it’s well worth the ferry ride from Seattle.

Mora Iced Creamery, 139 Madrone Lane, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

tel: 206.855.1112 ext.301

Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 11:30am to 9:30pm
Friday: 11:30am to 10:00pm
Saturday: 10:30am to 10:00pm

Homemade Sugar Free Soda – Lavender Lemon

Lavender Lemon Soda with Fresh Mint

I love herbal and juice-based sodas, but finding low sugar or sugar free versions can be a challenge. Last night I tried a recipe for a lavender-lemon soda and was quite pleased with the results.  The simple syrup can be made with any herb. You can leave out the lemon juice or substitute it with another citrus fruit.

*Note: I have not listed serving sizes for this because the usage depends on your taste buds.

Ingredients List:

Truvia® or Splenda® – spoonable container

Fresh Lavender – make sure to buy lavender that’s for cooking

Lemon juice – from about 4 lemons

Sparkling water – Perrier and San Pellegrino are two of my favorites

 Make the Simple Syrup: 

1 cup of Truvia® or Splenda®

2 cups of water

2 – 4 tablespoons of lavender (or any other type of herb); you do not need to chop the herbs

Bring the sweetener and water to a boil. Remove from heat and toss in the herbs. Allow herbs to steep until the water is cool to the touch. Strain the syrup and discard the herbs. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Make yourself a Soda:

Put 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup of simple syrup* in an 8-ounce glass

Add 1/4 cup of lemon juice

Add chilled sparkling water

Add ice if desired

* I would start with the least amount of simple syrup and add more until the desired level of sweetness is obtained.

Suggested Variations:

Lemon with Mint, Sage or Thyme

Orange with Basil

Lime with Cilantro

Pizza Bob’s – North Shore Oahu

Pizza Bob’s is located in Haleiwa, HI on the island of Oahu. The area is known as the North Shore and it’s world famous for surfing. I wandered into Pizza Bob’s early one morning while waiting for my husband to finish his “Shark Cage Adventure”.  I didn’t try the pizza, but I had a fabulous avocado omelet washed down with mixture of guava/orange juice and macadamia nut coffee. After breakfast I walked over to  Haleiwa Beach Park and talked to a couple of surfers. The waves looked plenty scary to me, but the surfers kept going on about how much bigger they were yesterday. I wonder if wave sizes are like “One’s that got away” fishing stories?  Check out Pizza Bob’s if you are in the area.

Pizza Bob’s

66-145 Kamehameha Hwy, Haleiwa, HI

(808) 637-5095

http://pizzabobshawaii.com/

Lemon Cheesecake

Lemon Cheesecakes - Cherry & Blueberry toppings

This is an easy cheesecake recipe from www.kraftrecipes.com made with Keebler crusts.  The recipe makes 2 – 9 inch cheesecakes that you can dress-up or down.

Crust

2 – Keebler® Ready Crust® Graham Pie Crusts

If you make your own crust use 2-9 inch pie pans.

Cheesecake

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

Zest* and juice from one large lemon

4 eggs

HEAT oven to 325 F.

MIX – In a mixer or large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar together until well blended. Add sour cream, lemon zest and juice; mix well. Add eggs one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition. Pour into crust. Both crusts will be completely filled and you may have a few spoonfuls extra.

BAKE for 40 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

Topping Suggestions: this cheesecake is great without a topping, but it can be dressed up in innumerable ways with lemon curd; fresh berries, fruit compotes, or ready-made pie fillings like Comstock More Fruit Blueberry Pie Filling.

Spring/Summer Idea – slice fresh strawberries and toss them with sugar and a teaspoon of chopped fresh mint.

 Fall/Winter Idea – serve with a warm, spicy fruit compote

*Zest – refers to the colored part of the skin on citrus fruit. Remove zest with a citrus zester or a box grater. If using a box grater take care to remove as little of the white pith, which is very bitter, as possible.

Sunset Blush Pear Preserves

A couple of the pears used for the preserves.

My first ever batch of pear preserves made with the help of my mom and dad. The ingredients were simple:  pears from my parents’ trees, a 5lb bag of granulated sugar, vanilla beans, and a couple of liters of Sunset Blush Franzia wine. The wine gave them a lovely coral color. They were delicious and a great way to use on hand ingredients.

Sunset Blush Pear Preserves

This is my best guess at a recipe:

Peel, core and dice about 5lbs of pears

One 5lb bag of granulated sugar

3 Liter box (yep, I said it) of Sunset Blush Franzia wine, or any other off-dry wine

2 vanilla beans

Water as needed

Put the pears in a large cooking pot, add the sugar and the wine. Split the vanilla beans and scrap the seeds into the liquid. Add the beans to the pot.

Cook on low – medium heat until the pears are soft and almost starting to caramelize, stirring and adding water to the pot as needed. I cooked this batch for about about 4 hours.

Remove the vanilla beans before storage or canning. This is a link to an article on how to can jellies and preserves from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_07/pear_preserves.html

Cup of Crab Gumbo

Gumbo doesn’t have to be a lot of work. This recipe is from Gwen Mckee’s “Little Gumbo Book”.  I normally make it without the okra.  Purists may cringe about leaving out the okra, but I ate WAY too much okra when I was growing up in south Mississippi.

Cup of Crab Gumbo – Serves 6 – 10

1 cup chopped green onions

1 cup chopped celery

1 stick real butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup finely cut okra (optional)

1 (1-pound) can cream style corn

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1-teaspoon honey (or sugar)

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

1-quart water

1-pound fresh lump crabmeat – picked over for shells

Fresh-snipped parsley

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, sauté onions and celery in butter until soft.

Mix in flour and stir until barely brown.

Stir in okra (if not using skip to step four), cooking until soft, about 10 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients except crabmeat and parsley.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Add crabmeat and cook for another 15 minutes.

Turn heat off.

Serve over hot rice, if desired, with a sprinkle of snipped parsley.