Today’s tip was inspired by The Strawberry Barbara, a sundae from McConnell’s Ice Cream in Santa Barbara.

McConnell’s marries strawberry ice cream, house-made rhubarb sauce (think rhubarb pie filling), and pie crust crumbles, topped with whipped cream.

You can build the sundae in a bowl or a sundae dish, on a dessert plate, or even in a large wine goblet.

You can also use the topping on puddings and yogurt.
 
 
RECIPE: PIE DOUGH CRUMBLES VERSION 1

Ingredients For The Pie Dough Crumbs

 
 
RECIPE: PIE DOUGH CRUMBLES VERSION 2

If you’d like crumbles with a deeper flavor, use this recipe, which substitutes some of the white sugar with brown sugar.

Ingredients For The Pie Dough Crumbs

 
Preparation For Both Versions

1. PREHEAT oven to 400°F.

2. MIX the ingredients together to form large, moist clumps form (we tend to like them in the larger size, about 1/2 inch diameter). If the ingredients stick together too much to make crumbs, add a bit more flour and sugar in a 2:1 ratio until the mixture becomes crumbly.

3. BAKE on a sheet for 10-15 minutes until golden (but not brown). Let cool; store in an airtight container until ready to use.
 
 
ASSEMBLING THE SUNDAE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SCOOP ice cream onto a plate. Top with pie crumbles.

2. ADD garnishes and serve.
 

[1] Strawberry ice cream with pie dough crumbles (photo © McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams).

[2] Key lime ice cream on a bed of crumbles (photo © McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams).

[3] You can also make cinnamon-accented streusel crumbs to top your ice cream (or cake, cupcakes, and single-crust pies. Here’s the recipe (photo © Frosting & Fettuccine).

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

A Great Juice Story

Deprived of their original resources, many Native American tribes have fallen into unfortunate circumstances, struggling economically and facing the ills that come with hardship.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida, through the careful leadership of their elders, managed to overcome such bleak circumstances. The Tribe became self-sufficient through economic development enterprises located on six reservations throughout the State of Florida, one of which is citrus farming.

Economic success has enabled them to reach out to help struggling Native Nations as well as local communities, through product donations, financial contributions and sponsorships.

Earlier this year, the Tribe teamed with the Roe family, fourth generation distributors and growers of the Noble brand of fruits and juices, to launch a new brand, Seminole Pride Noble. The line includes natural and organic juices in apple, blood orange, grapefruit, lemonade, orange, orange tangerine, red grapefruit, tangerine and tangerine clementine.

The operation is committed to sustainable citrus farming and to the environment in general; even the bottles used are 100% sustainable and are made at the juicing facility, keeping the total business carbon footprint environmentally friendly.

One of 10 Seminole Pride juices. Photo courtesy Noble Juice.

Look for the juices (here’s a store locator), and check out the delicious recipes on the website. A little bit of juice perks up the flavor in everything from salads and slaws to meats and sautéed veggies.

RECIPE: BLOOD ORANGE MERINGUE PIE

You don’t even have to squeeze oranges to make this splendid pie. Just buy the blood orange juice! Prep time 30 minutes plus chilling, bake time 10 minutes plus cooling.

Instead of a standard pie crust, we used this graham cracker crust recipe from Key lime pie.

Ingredients For 8 Servings

Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F.

2. MAKE the meringue: In a stand mixer or large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add 6 tablespoons sugar gradually and continue to whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

3. MAKE the filling: In a saucepan, whisk together the remaining cup of sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in water and blood orange juice, making sure to eliminate any lumps. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter and whisk until melted. Temper the egg yolks by slowly adding ¼ cup of the hot filling mixture to the egg yokes, whisking to combine. Whisk egg yolk mixture into filling mixture. Continue whisking mixture until thick. Remove from heat and pour into cooled pie shell.

Cover filling with meringue, making sure to seal the edges.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until the meringue is golden brown.

 
More about blood oranges.

No Margaritas today: Celebrate July 24th, National Tequila Day, with a different tequila cocktail.

Perhaps you’d prefer some tequila ice pops, too.

Here’s a cocktail suggestion from Tequila Avión, incorporating ripe summer papaya.
 
 
RECIPE #1: PAPAYA SMASH

Ingredients For 1 Drink

 
Preparation

1. MUDDLE a slice of fresh papaya and agave nectar in a mixing glass. Add the tequila Aperol and orange juice. Top off with fresh lime juice. Add ice and give it a good shake.

2. STRAIN into an ice-filled glass and garnish with a fresh slice of papaya.

Papaya and tequila: an inspired combination. Photo courtesy Tequila Avión.

RECIPE #2: TEQUILA & COKE

Those who enjoy a rum and Coke can celebrate with the tequila version. Coffee lovers can buy Avion’s Espresso Tequila and make this cocktail, “The Rally,” with 1 part Avión Espresso Tequila and 2 parts cola.

Find more recipes at TequilaAvion.com.
 

APEROL VS. CAMPARI

Like the better-known Campari, Aperol is an Italian apéritif, a dry alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. Other apéritif examples include champagne, gin, pastis, dry sherry (fino or amontillado), vermouth, and any still, dry, light white wine.

Aperol is milder, less bitter and much lighter in color. Its ingredients include, among others, bitter orange, gentian, rhubarb, and cinchona. Although it tastes and smells much like Campari, Aperol has an alcohol content that is less than half of Campari (Aperol is 11% A.B.V.), with the same sugar content.

The opposite of an apéritif, a digestif is an alcoholic beverage served after a meal, in theory to aid digestion. Examples include brandy, eaux de vie (fruit brandies), grappa (pomace brandy), liqueurs, and fortified wines such as cream sherry, sweet vermouth, Port, and Madeira.

We discovered these nifty grill combs from Fusion Brands at Sur La Table. What better way to get everyone to eat more veggies than to skewer and grill them?

Americans are woefully behind when it comes to eating the recommended 3-5 servings of vegetables a day; and no, spaghetti sauce and ketchup don’t count.

So make it fun by grilling skewers of veggies while you’re cooking your proteins. Aim to build skewers of 70% veggies, 30% protein; or make all-veggie skewers.

BEST VEGETABLES FOR GRILLING

Many different types of vegetables can be grilled, but start with a selection from these:

A fun way to cook and eat veggies. Photo courtesy Sur La Table.

 
GENERAL GRILLING

Karen Schultz and Maren Jahnke note in their book, Vegetarian Grilling, that vegetables contain far less fat than proteins. They thus require added fat so that they don’t dry out.

This is done both by marinating and by brushing often with olive oil or other oil. “Be heavy on the brush,” they recommend.

For more on how to grill vegetables, John Kennedy, in an article on SteakBytes, the blog of Omaha Steaks, offers these tips:

How to keep small veggies from slipping
through the grill: Use a grilling basket. Photo
courtesy Mr. Bar-B-Q.

VEGGIE GRILLING TIPS

1. USE skewers. Skewers are the best way to keep vegetables from rolling around on the grill, and to easily flip to ensure that each side is getting equal contact with the heat. If you don’t want to invest in skewers, you can wrap the vegetables in a sheet of foil, then place the packet on the grill. Use nonstick cooking spray on the foil before adding the vegetables to help prevent sticking.

2. BRUSH the vegetables with olive oil or canola oil to prevent them from sticking to the grill. Avoid the temptation of butter, to keep the cholesterol/saturated fat levels low.

3. SEASON with dried or fresh herbs instead of salt. You’ll add great flavor without increasing sodium levels.

4. SLICE the vegetables thickly since they will cook fast (unless you want thin, crisp slices). However, denser vegetables take longer to cook: Potato slices require a lot more time than zucchini slices, for example.

Even if you don’t need an air purifier for your home, you may need one for your fridge.

BerryBreeze is a 21st-century improvement on the open box of baking soda, left in the refrigerator or freezer to filter migrating aromas from raw and cooked foods.

But BerryBreeze does more.

The same process that neutralizes odors also preserves produce, by destroying harmful bacteria and mold that cause fruit and vegetables to decay. The manufacturer claims it will keep produce fresher for up to 10 days, or two to three times longer. The benefit: less waste of food and money, less to toss into the landfill.

BerryBreeze is a rebranding of a machine called the Ozonator, which you may have seen on TV.

It runs on four D batteries. The device converts the oxygen in the fridge to ozone (activated oxygen), a powerful oxidizing agent that destroys surface molecules of bacteria and mold. It also defuses ethylene, a gas emitted by numerous fruits (including apples and melons) which speeds up the ripening and rotting of foods.

BerryBreeze is available at retailers nationwide, including Bed, Bath & Beyond and Whole Foods Markets. You can also buy it online at BerryBreeze.com.

The retail price is $49.95; you supply the batteries.