RECIPE: Blackberry Cheesecake

In the U.S. Blackberries typically peak in June in the South, and in July in the North. Crops are ready at various times of the month depending on which part of the state you are located. In order to produce good local Blackberries, producers depend on ideal spring and early summer weather conditions. In this…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Fresh Fruit & Toast, a.k.a. Breakfast Tartines

Many people spread jam on their toast. But in the summer season, why not use fresh berries instead? Pair those berries with your favorite dairy spread: cottage cheese, cream cheese, crème fraîche, fromage blanc, fromage frais/quark, goat cheese, mascarpone, sour cream, yogurt. In France, these would be called tartines: open-face sandwiches. You don’t have to…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Make Fruit Punch

A recipe for summer: fruit punch. Photo courtesy QVC.   Have you made a bowl of fruit punch yet this summer? Our mom never planned a cookout without punch. Her recipe: equal parts of grape juice, lemonade and orange juice, from frozen concentrate. Among the hundreds and thousands of punch recipes out there, here’s one…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Fresh Lychees

A peeled lychee. Photo courtesy Baldor Food.   Lychee is a a tropical evergreen fruit tree native to southern China. The evergreen grows wild in southern China, northern Vietnam and Cambodia, although there is evidence that it has been cultivated since around 2000 B.C.E. Today it grows throughout southeast Asia, notably in southern Japan, India,…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Olive Oil Cake With Your Choice Of Citrus

Our first encounter with olive oil cake came at a trattoria in our neighborhood. It sounded strange to us: We were raised in a butter culture, with a palate trained to recognize buttery goodness over margarine and cake mixes made with salad oil. But, this olive oil and basil cake (also made by the restaurant…
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