Whether we’re home alone or expecting guests, we usually flavor a pitcher of water with fresh fruits (or add your own mint or lemon extract into tap water). The subtle infusion from the fresh fruit, in our humble opinion, is more delicious than any bottled water flavored with fruit extracts.

Plus, there’s lots of eye appeal.

> Check out the recipe for delicious spa water, below.

> Plus more infused water recipes, including ice cubes.
 
 
FOOD 101: FLAVORINGS

There are natural extracts, artificial extracts and essential oils.

• A natural extract (a.k.a. natural flavor) is derived from a fruit or vegetable, their juices, and other sources most home cooks don’t address (barks, herbs, flowers, roots, etc.). The plant may be cold pressed, macerated or soaked in alcohol
• An artificial flavor (a.k.a. artificial extract or favoring, as in imitation maple extract and imitation vanilla extract), does not come from a plant or animal source, and instead is generated in a lab by combining different food-safe components into a variation of the natural flavor. They are less expensive than natural extracts, and also used by people who avoid any type of alcohol (e.g., in halal cuisine).
• An essential oil is intensely flavored compared to a natural extract, and the production is more complex: it is obtained through distillation, to yield what is known as the plant essence—a very small amount of volatile liquid (the essential oil), which is why they are typically more expensive than regular liquid extracts. But you need to use less of them.

 
 
RECIPE: HOMEMADE FLAVORED SPA WATER INFUSED WITH FRUIT

At a minimum, use two items from the fruits and herbs lists, i.e., two fruits or one fruit and one herb. You can combine as many as you like: The basic recipe in our home includes cucumber, citrus, strawberries and an herb.

Ingredients Per Pitcher (64 Ounces)

• 50 ounces of water, tap or bottled spring water
• 1 cup seasonal fruits (see list below)
• Handful of herb sprigs, to taste (basil, lavender, lemon verbena, mint, rose geranium, rosemary, thyme—use only one of these)
• Optional: 1 large cucumber, unpeeled, sliced
• Optional spices: cardamom, cinnamon stick, cloves, sliced ginger root, vanilla beans

Preparation

1. SLICE the fruits into wheels, retaining the peels (berries don’t need to be sliced).

2. PLACE all ingredients in a 64-ounce jug or pitcher. Chill for at least one hour or overnight (much longer and the fruit will begin to break down).

3. SERVE. If guests are pouring their own, i.e. when grilling outdoors, it’s helful to use a pitcher with a lip that will catch the inclusions from splashing into their glasses. You can provide a separate bowl of garnishes.
 
 
SEASONAL FRUITS

• Spring and Summer Fruits: berries, cucumber, melon, pineapple, stone fruits (especially peaches).
• Winter Fruits: apples, berries*, cherimoya, any citrus (red grapefruits and blood oranges are our favorites, but lemons, limes, mandarins† and oranges† are always welcome), cucumber, dried berries (cherries, cranberries) grapes, kiwifruit, lychee (another favorite of ours), mango, papaya, persimmon, pomegranate arils.
• Fresh herbs are available year-round. Consider basil, cilantro, dill, fennel fronds, lavender, lemon balm, rosemary, sage, and tarragon. Lightly bruise or tear herbs to release oils and flavors. Chill for at least 1–2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

Tips:

 
 
WHAT IF YOU HAVE NO FRESH FRUITS AT HAND?

While there’s no visual impact, you can use extracts to flavor water. Experiment with a dropper and juice glass of water to see what you like.

• Use 1/2 teaspoon extract in a quart of water; taste and adjust as desired.
• You can combine two flavors, e.g. banana and strawberry, lemon and anise, chocolate and cherry. You can be as basic (e.g., lime extract) or as creative (e.g., anise and hazelnut, brandy or rum and cherry, lavender) as you like.

 
 
MORE INFUSED WATER RECIPES

• Cucumber Water
• Lemon-Cucumber Water
• Herbal Water
• Homemade Flavored Water
• Home-Infused Water
• Strawberry-Thyme Ice Cubes

[1] Lemon, lime, and rosemary water. Herbs are a great addition, especially basil, cilantro, dill, fennel fronds, lavender, lemon balm, rosemary, sage, and tarragon (photo © Anna Pyshniuk | Pexels).

[2] Cucumber, peaches and basil leaves, served at Olio | NYC.

[3] This combination of watermelon, blueberries, and carambola (star fruit) works for any patriotic holiday. Here’s a video recipe (photo © National Watermelon Promotion Board).

[4] The sophisticated flavors of cucumber-basil water make it a a non-alcoholic option to wine (photo © LAV Fonte.

[5] Pretty in pink, and exotic, too: dragonfruit and lime water (photo © Melissa’s Produce).

*Raspberries and strawberries are available year-round.

†Here’s the difference between mandarins and oranges.

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Top: French Toast smothered in sautéed apples (photo courtesy Peapod). Center: French Toast Casserole: even easier than regular French Toast (photo courtesy Driscoll’s). Bottom: Savory French Toast (photo courtesy Castello Cheese).

Making perfectly round pancakes is not among our cooking skills. Long before we discovered the gadget known as a pancake batter dispenser, we’d switched to the easier and foolproof French Toast: eggs, milk, white bread or challah, and a pinch of cinnamon.

Even easier is Baked French Toast (center photo), also known as French Toast Casserole and French Toast Soufflé. Place slices of bread in a baking dish, pour the egg-milk mixture on top, and bake. The benefits: it’s neater (no soaking the bread by hand), all servings are ready at once, and it looks elegant when brought to the table.

Here’s a recipe that elevates French Toast, substituting brioche for regular bead and sweetened condensed and evaporated milks for whole milk. You can fry it in a pan or bake it in a casserole dish. Yummers!

Today we recommend two special recipes for Father’s Day: a sweet French Toast with sautéed apples (“Apple Pie French Toast”—top photo) and French Toast with a variety of savory toppings (bottom photo).

THE HISTORY OF FRENCH TOAST

The dish known in the U.S. as French Toast has roots at least as far back as ancient Rome, where it was a sweet dish. Pain perdu (lost bread), the modern French name for the dish, was once called pain à la romaine, Roman bread.

You may read elsewhere that that French Toast was a food of the poor, a way to scrape together a meal from stale bread*. However, recipes from ancient and medieval times denote that it was fare for wealthy people.

Those recipes used white bread, a luxury, with the crusts cut off (even more of a luxury). Costly ingredients such as spices (cinnamon, cloves, mace and nutmeg), sugar and almond milk are found in numerous recipes. The cooked bread was topped with costly honey or sugar. And cookbooks themselves were the province of the privileged: Only wealthy people and clergy learned to read.

Poor people ate brown bread, much cheaper because the wheat endosperm did not have to be milled and painstakingly hand-sifted through screens to create refined white flour. (Ironically, this whole wheat bread was more nutritious.)
 
RECIPE #1: COOKED FRUIT TOPPING FOR FRENCH TOAST

It’s easy to toss fresh berries onto French Toast. We also like diced mango.

But for an Apple-Pie-Meets-French-Toast effect, make a quick cooked fruit topping. You can make the topping a day in advance, set it on the counter to warm to room temperature as you make the French Toast, and give it a quick zap in the microwave.

You can substitute two cups of bananas, blueberries, cherries, peaches, pineapple, etc. for the apples.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

1. MELT the butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat; add the apples, cinnamon and salt. Cook for 5-6 minutes until tender, then stir in the maple syrup. If you prefer very soft apples, cook them for 10-12 minutes before adding the maple syrup.

2. COOK for 1 minute more. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
 
SAVORY FRENCH TOAST

Ditch the maple syrup or other sweet condiments. Even if you like sweet French Toast, you’ll like it savory, too.

Here’s the basic recipe, topped with sautéed cherry tomatoes and shaved Parmesan. Our favorite variations:

 
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*The poor used stale bread for crostini (toast) or topped it with soup (the dish was originally called “sops,” referring to the bread or toast used to sop up the hot food), stew or melted cheese (a “Welsh Rabbit”) to soften the bread and make a meal.
  

June 7th is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day. How will you celebrate?

 
We took a fruit route: We had a pint of fresh raspberries, which we mixed into a pint of Talenti Belgian Milk Chocolate Gelato (here’s the difference between gelato and ice cream).

> The different ttypes of ice cream and frozen dessert.

> The history of ice cream.
 
 
RECIPE: YOUR CUSTOM CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SOFTEN a pint of ice cream on the counter, until it’s the consistency of soft serve ice cream.

2. ADD your mix-in(s), totaling 1/2 cup per pint.

3. EAT soft, or return to the fridge for a half hour to harden.

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Chicken & Waffles, originally a hearty breakfast, can be had any time of the day in modern times. For a special celebration, August 8th is National Chicken & Waffles Day.

With counterpoints of crisp and soft, salty and sweet, it became a special occasion dish of Southern soul food cuisine.

It’s still a special-occasion dish: one that many people enjoy on Father’s Day.

 
Who created the first Chicken & Waffles? The exact origins are lost to history, but here’s what we know…

…and before we jump in, don’t forget to look at the Steak & Waffles recipe below.
 
THE HISTORY OF CHICKEN & WAFFLES

 
What’s next? We can only imagine.
 
 
> Here’s the full history of waffles.

[2] A gourmet approach at Lazy Bear in San Francisco: Gaufres de Chasse, a Liège-style waffle cut into fingers, with fried game hen, Sauce Chasseur, maple syrup, nameko mushrooms and fines herbes (photo © Lazy Bear).

[3] Chicken & Waffles with a fried egg at Hearthstone Kitchen in Las Vegas. A chic layout of the chicken, waffle and egg is made possible by a wood plank (although we use our rectangular ceramic sushi dishes—photo © Hearthstone Kitchen).

[4] Does having your fried chicken on two waffles instead of two donuts cut the calories (photo © Kentucky Fried Chicken)?

[5] Chicken & Waffles with a side of peaches and cream (photo Arnold Inuyaki | Wikipedia).

[6] A break from chicken and waffles: How about Steak & Waffles (photo © The Beef Board).

[7] An example of demiglace, the brown sauce at the upper left of the plate. It’s gracing Wagyu brisket; the swath is made from corn and dried chiles (photo © The Beef Board).

[8] Ribeye cap steaks, also called rib crown steaks (photo © Fogo Charcoal).

RELATED FOOD HOLIDAYS

We found scant information on an International Chicken & Waffles Day: the first Friday following the first Thursday in October. It seems to have been established for fun in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and not exactly an official holiday.

And, it may have been abandoned: Founded in 2003, the website, ICAWD.org, has been abandoned; and the Facebook page, established in 2011, hasn’t been updated since 2014.

If you have any news about International Chicken & Waffles Day, let us know! You can plan your Chicken & Waffles celebrations around:

 
 
RECIPE: STEAK & WAFFLES

Ingredients

This recipe, from The Beef Checkoff, makes enough for a big party (24 servings). The waffles are stuffed with blue cheese. It’s a home run!
 
For The Batter

 
Plus

 
For The Demiglace

 
For The Steak

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all batter ingredients. Mix together and refrigerate, covered.

2. PREPARE the demiglace: In a saucepan, melt the butter, add the shallots and sauté until translucent. Add the vinegar and simmer for 4 minutes. Add the demiglace and bring to a boil. Whisk in the mustard, reduce the heat and simmer 3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.

3. COOK the steaks: Season with salt and pepper. You can then sauté or grill them. To sauté, heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a sauté pan until hot. Add the steak; sear on both sides until well browned. Place in a 500°F oven and cook to medium rare or desired done-ness. Carve across the grain into thick slices.

4. MAKE the waffles: Using a waffle iron outfitted with the mini waffle plate (4 waffles per plate), ladle ¼ cup waffle batter into 2 sections of the waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer’s directions. Remove the waffles and immediately push in the center of each waffle with a spoon, to create a small well. Fill with 1 ounce of blue cheese and sandwich the waffles together, making sure the waffle depressions line up so it fits back into the iron. Place the waffle sandwich in the waffle iron and cook 1 minute or until cheese is melted.

5. PLACE 1 cup of Swiss chard in the center of a plate; fan the sliced steak on top. Place a stuffed waffle on top of the steak; ladle the demiglace on and around it.
 
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*Our all-time favorite is the amazing blue cheese dressing from Kathryn’s Cottage Kitchen. But it’s hard to find (here’s the store locator) and expensive to ship. We buy a year’s supply at a time! If you don’t want to make your own (here’s a recipe), look for specialty brands like Marie’s Chunky Blue Cheese Salad Dressing. Among the supermarket brands, Wishbone Blue Cheese is the best.
  

In this Mediterranean medley, pasta combines with artichoke hearts and olives in a light dressing of extra virgin olive oil and lemon.

Or is it an artichoke and olive salad with pasta? Either way, this main dish, which can be served hot or cold, is layered with flavor.

 
We adapted this recipe from one created by Lightlife, which used a package of its vegan Smart Strips Chick’n as the protein.
 
 
RECIPE: PASTA WITH ARTICHOKE HEARTS & OLIVES

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. BOIL 4 to 6 quarts of water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add the pasta, stir gently and return to a boil. Boil uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 9 minutes (for al dente pasta). Remove from the heat, drain well and place the pasta in a large mixing bowl. For a hot dish, cover to keep warm. If serving a warm dish…

2. WARM the proteins Otherwise, leave them chilled or at room temperature. Add them to the mixing bowl.

3. ADD the remaining ingredients except the cheese. You can mix the herbs into the pasta, or sprinkle them as a garnish. Mix the pasta well and plate; sprinkle with grated cheese and serve.

[1] Serve this pasta dish hot or cold (photo © Lightlife.com.

[2] Top the pasta dish with freshly-grated parmesan cheese.

 
 
> THE HISTORY OF ARTICHOKES