After an exhaustive search, I somehow found the link to the Gourmet S’mores Party segment that Tram shot in our backyard nearly two years ago.  You can watch it HERE or go to the “In the News” page over there on the left and watch it and many other TV appearances.

The other thing I’m doing today is having my dad over for an early Father’s Day celebration. He will be visiting my sister-in-law, Teresa, and my nephews, Joel, Ben, and David, in Idaho over the next week.  With classes starting up again tomorrow – today is our last chance to give him his cards, gifts, and a nice Father’s Day dinner.

I woke up early and made my rounds for cooking class grocery shopping.  When I got home, I packed it all into my fridge – there is no room for one more thing! I don’t think a tiny grape would even fit!  You can’t see the door shelves or the 6 produce drawers below – but take my word for it – they are packed to the gills!

Those blueberries and raspberries are left from last week, so they need to go! I’m going to use them for dessert tonight, but there are still so many.  What’s a girl to do?  You know me, I have the answer on how to make the most of them – I’ll make raspberry and blueberry vodka!

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Can you tell that summer is weighing hot and heavy on my mind? The last few posts have been Gazpacho, Panzanella Salad, Peach Pizza, Baba Ghanoush, Mojitos, etc. 

I know that for many of you, summer does not begin until June 21 (actually June 20th is officially the first day of summer this year – don’t ask me why).  But here in the Arizona desert, summer hit on the first 100-degree day, which was April 21st this year.  Yes, a full two months before it’s “official”.  And yes, that sucks royally! Today’s forecasted high temp is 108 degrees! UGGGGG!!!

But I can’t deny that I do love summer foods; tomatoes, zucchini, peaches, plums, radishes, watermelon, cherries, cucumbers, eggplant, corn, basil, and, maybe most of all… berries! 

“Boo” to 100+ Degree Days!
“Hip Hip Hooray” for Summer Produce!

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We are taking a one-day break from our “Take Your Lunch to Work Week” so that I can put up a recipe I made last night for the first night of my 3-week cooking class series at Les Gourmettes.  I want my students to have all four of the links to the homemade versions of several components of this beautiful salad, at their fingertips, and not have to search for them.

The salad includes lemon curd, vanilla extract, limoncello, and granola – all items that can be store-bought or made from scratch. Mind you, while the vanilla extract and limoncello are easy to make, both take time to ferment, so if you’re craving this salad and want to have it NOW, buy those two items for the time being. But also get them going so the next time you just HAVE to have it, you’ll be armed and ready.

Finally, remember that any one of the four would make the perfect gift. Any lucky recipients would love you for life if you handed them a bottle or jar of homemade lemon curd, vanilla extract, limoncello, or granola. At least I know that I would!

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Like just about everyone else I know, I love Mason jars! Check out my Mason jar Pinterest board to see just a few of the wonderful ideas clever people have come up with using these American icons. How about a little Wikipedia info on the beloved jars…

“A Mason jar is a glass jar used in canning to preserve food. It was invented and patented by John Landis Mason, a Philadelphia tinsmith in 1858. They are also called Ball jars, after Ball Corp., a popular and early manufacturer of the jars; fruit jars because they are often used to store fruit; “jam jars” or generically glass canning jars. While largely supplanted by other methods for commercial mass-production, they are still commonly used in home canning.”

I baked the cobblers for the clambake in wide-mouth (squat and fat) half-pint Kerr Mason jars and served homemade vanilla ice cream in regular-mouth (tall and thin) half-pint jars. Just as when using for canning, first sterilize the jars with boiling water – and when using for baking, place them in a water bath to prevent the jars from cracking.

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My sister and niece, Sloane and Raina, had a long-weekend getaway to Portland, Oregon last month. I had the task… I mean the pleasure… of dog-sitting for their pooch, Bubo. When I say that Bubo is a spoiled brat, that is just glancing the tip of the iceberg. Yeah, he’s cute, and that is the only thing that kept me from ringing his little neck. We (as in Dave, my dad, and I) can’t agree if he is deaf, stupid, or just a brat. Bubo will NOT come when you call him; Dave thinks he can’t hear, Dad thinks he doesn’t know his own name – making him an idiot, I know that my sister has just spoiled him to pieces and that Bubo loves to be chased after. Ugg!

I am pretty hardcore when it comes to spoiled brats … Bubo did NOT sleep on our bed as suggested by Sloane, or even in our room for that matter. No – since he is a dog – he slept on his little pillow on the tile in the gated-off area of the breakfast room/kitchen/laundry room, and he was just fine with that… no whining or complaining, just sleeping all night. Although my sister brought over a bagful of various doggie treats, he only received one a day, not one every single time he looked up wistfully at me. He was not allowed to bite at my toes and fingers or tear into my shoes… you get the idea – I straightened him out, but I’m certain he’s back to his old antics… right, Sloane?

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Flavored vodkas are easily found in every liquor store and are even easier to make at home.  All you need are fruits, herbs, and/or vegetables of your choice – plus some high-quality vodka… oh, and about 7 to 10 days (with the exception of the jalapeno vodka, which will be ready in 3 to 5 days).  I’ll be making four different flavors today and will follow up at the end of the month with a cocktail for each flavor.  So if you want to join me, run out and buy the ingredients today and we’ll toast each other in about a week!

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The lovely people at Pom Wonderful sent me a case of 8-ounce bottles of their wonderful Pom Wonderful juice and I want to share them with you. The first 3 people to comment and leave a recipe using pomegranate juice will receive 2 of those 8-ounce bottles. Mind you, it will not count if you use a recipe already posted here by me! If you use an already published recipe from a cookbook, website, or magazine – that is fine, just be sure to credit where ever you are using it.  To get you going… here is a little recipe from me to you.

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we’re friends and we’re neighbors! Lori, Ronnie, Amy, and me

Before you even look at this recipe, disclaimers all around! This is not an original recipe, this amazing cake was inspired by a recipe in the December 2007 issue of Bon Appétit. Since it was already not expensive, time-consuming, or impressive enough; I added in the toppings of vanilla pastry cream, whipped cream, and fresh berries!

Do you want to know what is really crazy– I made this cake 5 times! I needed to make a total of four cakes for two separate cooking classes that I taught back in December (four cakes so I would have the various stages of the cake for each class). I used two of those cakes to actually serve at the classes, two as prizes for students who visited my blog, and finally, the fifth one was for my dear friend, Ronnie’s, birthday. Unfortunately, the pictures do not show the cake with its toppings because I was too tired, broke, overbooked, and overworked to put those on Ronnie’s cake. Although, even without the extra work and calories of the toppings,  it is truly a showstopper and undeniably delicious too!

Ronnie not only got gypped by not getting the cake toppings but also was ripped off on my blog when I didn’t even mention that it was her birthday! You see, her birthday is December 23, so I’m sure that all her life, she’s felt slighted in the birthday department -always being upstaged by Christmas, and here I did it to her again. Sorry, Ronnie, I love you and dedicate today’s blog to you! xoxo

Consider making this cake for the next big birthday in your house or maybe even for Valentine’s Day, as long as there are at least a dozen of you celebrating together (kinky!) because, boy oh boy, is this thing rich!

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