Cantaloupe Sorbet

Hellllllo Summer!

While most years I feel like I greet summer with a bit of a scowl, I am beyond ready for it this year! I have been missing BBQs and bikinis and ice cream like nobodies business. I have even died my hair blonde to be more like the sun. Yes, that is correct. I am a ginger no more! So, what now? Am I blonde in the kitchen? The answer is no. I am ginger in my soul and in my roots (which are very visible thanks to the super cool dye job from Mary) and therefor, a ginger in the kitchen I shall remain. (Though Rich insists I be blonde everywhere else).

With the heat of summer on its way (who am I kidding... the heat is HERE), I figured there is no better time than now (after a slight 2 month vacay from my blog. Oops...) to start diving into some fun summer recipes! There is nothing that tickles my fancy more than homemade ice cream, but this is the first time I have made sorbet! Shocking, I know. It had just never even crossed my mind, but I am so glad that it did because holy hot weather, this sorbet is AMAZING and makes me so excited to start trying some new flavors. It is so easy to make and requires very few ingredients, so no sweaty trip to the market needed!

Cantaloupe Sorbet

Ingredients:

1 small cantaloupe melon

1/4 cup  sugar

2 tablespoons organic honey

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:

Remove the rind and seeds, and chop the melon into 1 inch cubes. Toss with sugar and honey and let sit for about 30 minutes. Place melon and sugar in a blender and blend until very very smooth. Add lemon juice to taste and freeze in an once cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions. Place in the freezer to finish freezing. 

Enjoy!

Zucchini Blossom and Burrata Pizza

I started writing this blog yesterday. 

I failed. 

I tried again this morning. 

0 for 2. 

8 Hours and 2 Hangover Curing Meals Later...

I'm finally making it happen. But, I have to be honest, sometimes I just don't have anything to say. Which is ok, because sometimes I think Rich thinks I am prettiest with my mouth shut. So, silence really can be golden. Or ginger. 

So here it is... short, sweet, and to the pizza. A basic recipe for delicious, healthy(ish), homemade pizza! You can, of course, add toppings (and calories) as you see fit. My two favorite toppings are zucchini blossoms and burrata cheese. You can find zucchini blossoms at your local farmer's market and burrata cheese (the creamy middle of mozzarella) can be found at most grocery stores. And, if you think it's weird to put flowers on your pizza, you should just shut your mouth and try it.

Simple Pizza Dough

Ingredients:
4 cups of all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp dry active yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Method:
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place a baking stone on the lowest rack to preheat with the oven for 1 hour.

Dissolve the yeast in warm water and set aside. 

Combine the flour,and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. While the mixer is running, add the water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and mix on medium speed until the dough forms into a ball.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth, firm ball. Divide the dough into 4 equal balls and rub a small amount of olive oil onto each ball to keep them from forming a skin. Place the dough balls under a dish towel, on a lightly floured surface and let them rise for about 45 minutes. 
While the dough is rising, make the pizza sauce.

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:
8-10 tomatoes, cut in halves
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp water
Salt and Pepper

Method:
Heat olive oil in a medium skillet.

Add the tomatoes, garlic, and water. 

Cover and bring to a simmer. 

When the tomatoes are beginning to cook down, about 20 minutes, remove the skins, they should slide off easily, and dispose. Once all of the skins are removed, remove and dispose the garlic cloves and crush the tomatoes until they are smooth. 

Continue cooking, uncovered for another 25 minutes until the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is a deep red color. 

Add salt and pepper to taste. 

To Assemble Pizzas

Roll out dough onto a floured surface to desired shape and thickness. I suggest rolling your dough super thin to get a nice, crispy, Italian style crust. 

Place rolled out dough on a preheated pizza stone** and quickly spoon pizza sauce onto dough and top with cheese. If you are using burrata, do not put it onto the pizza until AFTER the pizza is cooked or you will end up with a runny mess. 

If you are adding zucchini blossoms (or any other toppings) arrange them on the pizza and then place the pizza stone on the lowest rack of in the oven. 

Bake the pizza for 8-10 minutes until the crust is browned and the cheese is bubbly. I generally think that a properly cooked pizza looks a little over cooked. 

Remove the pizza from the oven. If you are adding burrata or fresh basil, sprinkle them onto right before serving!

Makes 4 pizzas

**If you do not have a pizza stone, no problem! you can bake the pizzas on a cookie sheet, just make sure to lightly oil the surface.

Ginger in the Kitchen Featured on RACKED LA

Boots and fall sweaters
And Pretty wool dresses
Slowly braised meats
And warm roasted beats
There are a few of my favorite treats!
Lalalalalala I catered this week!

If you were sitting next to my sniffly self on the couch right now (where I have been planted for a solid 48 hours now... damn you, awful cold!) you would hear me humming the above to the tune of "These are a few of my favorite things." You know, the song in The Sound of Music? It's the best. (The Nazi's were my least "favorite thing" in that movie.) Any who, you wouldn't actually be able to hear that song because tunes are not something that I am skilled enough to carry, but you get the idea.

Fall is the best. Fall clothes and fall foods, alike. And I was lucky enough to get to be a part of both on Wednesday evening. I had the pleasure of catering the ultra chic Autumn Soiree at Beckley's Boutique on 3rd street (with none of the foods I mentioned in my song because hey, rhyming his hard!) It was full of inspiring fall fashion and delicious seasonal bites from your very favorite ginger. It was a lovely night and I even got featured on RackedLA.

See more photos from the evening on the Racked LA blog below:
http://la.racked.com/archives/2013/09/27/26_style_snaps_from_beckleys_bloggerfilled_shopping_soire.php

Clamshell Mushroom Toasts with Goat Cheese & Fresh Thyme

Richard and I are creatures of habit.  Especially in the morning. We wake up at 7am. We walk the dogs. Rich makes a french press of coffee and turns on the Today Show while I make open faced breakfast sandwiches. Then we eat, drink our coffee and watch the news in perfect sync. (Unless we are hungover or have that rare "Vicky Christina Barcelona" morning of either passion or pugnacity. Though we still squeeze in the coffee and Today Show.)

But, this morning, I shook our world up a bit. You see, we got our CSA delivered as we do every Thursday, but this week, along with the end of summer/ beginning of fall produce, we were given a little package of very cute (and kind of weird) mushrooms. I swear they were alien fingers wearing turtle shells as thimbles, but apparently they are called clamshell mushrooms.

What the hell do you do with clamshell mushrooms? Other than laugh at and photograph them?

Nobody knows! So, as with most things that I don't know what to do with, I put them on toast.

Breakfast sandwich OUT... Cute mushroom toasts IN. (Routine broken. Mind blown.)

good day, sunshine.

Ingredients:
Clamshell mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
A few springs of fresh thyme
2 slices of whole grain bread
Goat cheese

Method:
Heat olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Sauté sliced mushrooms and onion until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toast the slices of bread and then spread goat cheese on them while they are still warm so that the cheese gets nice and melty. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper, and pile them on top of the toasts. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.

Have a lovely Thursday!

Summer Gazpacho & Summertime Lovin' Photo Blog

I was just looking through my phone trying to find some pictures from our garden this year. That way I could brag about how cute the Mr. and I are and how we (he) has such a green thumb and we pick our tomatoes while holding hands and blah blah blah. Then it hit me. "Sarah Keith...." I thought to myself because I always think to myself using my full married name.... "Sarah Keith.... why don't you just go outside and take some pictures of your garden for your blog?! Then you can show all four of your readers your beautiful and healthy plants and pretend that you made this recipe from them and them only... " 

But here's the thing. All of that super cute B.S. up above.... is exactly that. B.S. Our garden has been less than productive this year to say the very least. We had one amazing harvest mid June, but, unfortunately, our plants just couldn't hang this summer and all of the veggies that I used to make gazpacho from today are from Whole Foods. WHEW!!! It feels really good to get that off my chest. After all, honesty is the most important part of the blogger/blogee relationship. And honestly, sometimes my green thumb is well, just not. Even Rich's green thumbs (both of his are green... that's how good he is at plant stuff) couldn't keep up with the summer whirlwind that I have been this year. Who needs to water plants when you can pour another glass of rose down your beautiful wife's throat? (Yes, Gingers prefer rose, it's the ginger of wines.) What was I saying again? Oh right. I'm a distraction. Poor plants.

On a more positive note, it is almost time to rip up all of our terribly disappointing excuses for plants and replace them with fall crops! Sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, brussels sprouts... you name it, it's getting planted and will be very well documented (dead or alive) for your viewing pleasure. I have the cutest gardening gloves (and freckles), so an excess of photos will be necessary. Which brings me back to where I started in this crazy, rambling mess of a blog post. 

Photos. I love them and thought this would be the perfect time to share some gems that have been lost in the summertime shuffle. 

 

Holy Instagram addict  What am I going to swoon over when summer is over?! Gah- love it. But alas, the days are unfortunately starting to get shorter and tomatoes starting to get a little less juicy and I am going to squeeze every ounce of summer in until I break out the Christmas decorations. (We decorate for Christmas the day after Halloween.)

Wow, this has seriously been the most rambl-y blog of all time. My brain may still be mush from the weekend. Ok. "Sarah Keith... get it together." It's time for a recipe. It's a summery one, so this blog kind of makes sense. (Richard Keith is going to edit this and quite possibly murder me.)

So, today I made Gazpacho. Gazpacho is one of my absolute favorite summer foods! It's healthy, delicious and super refreshing! And the longer you keep it in the fridge, the better it gets! So make a big batch and eat it for days!!! (If it can last that long.... I seriously ate it for dinner last night and breakfast AND lunch today.) 

This gazpacho is all that I ever want to eat again. 

Ingredients:
1 hothouse cucumber, seeded and chopped (not peeled)
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded and finely chopped (you can also use yellow or orange peppers for some more color)
6 plum tomatoes, chopped (if not plum, make sure to seed)
1 red onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups of tomato juice (more or less depending on how soupy you prefer your gazpacho!)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp tabasco sauce (do NOT omit this one, I promise it does NOT make it spicy; though if you like spice, add more!)
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

For garnish:
chopped basil 
chopped parsley
(optional.... but fresh herbs make everything 300% better!)

Method:
Sharpen your knives and get choppin! I like to chop everything really small (or make Rich chop everything really small while I sit at the kitchen table eating a popsicle. I am soooo good at being bossy.)If your veggies aren't chopped small enough it ends up looking more like salsa than soup and it's a pain to eat. So, listen to me like Rich does, I know what's up.

After your veggies are chopped, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, tabasco, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop and the more insanely delicious it becomes! 

Before serving, I add some chopped basil or parsley to brighten up the flavors even more! 

Summer Grilled Salad & Join a CSA!

Summer how I love thee. Let me count the ways:

Barbecues (Rich concurs)
Bikinis (Rich loves the even more than me)
Sun dresses (Rich may know what these are)
Self tanner (please note: not sun bathing. I am a ging after all.)

And of course peaches, plums, berries, watermelon, corn, 'maters (southern husband, I can say this) summer squash...... actually..... ALL SUMMER PRODUCE!!!

garden harvest!

Oh, summer produce. We are so lucky to live in California where our summer is year round and our produce is extra wonderful and easily accessible. However, if you love summer produce, but hate getting up early on Sunday morning, grabbing your hand woven reusable hemp bags, and braving the unkempt masses who keep trying to hand you a flyer so you'll "come check out their band, do what Richard and I just did... We joined a CSA!  And it has been seriously awesome. What is a CSA you ask? It is community supported agriculture. Every Thursday morning we wake up to a box filled with organic and seasonal fruits and vegetables right on our doorstep. Even better, the farmers know they can count on you to make a purchase, so you're helping lower the cost of seasonal organic produce, all without having to go see anyone's "band." The company that we go through is called Farm Fresh To You. Unlike a lot of CSA's there's no long term commitment, so can cancel at any time, let them know what you like, and if you are the tenth caller, we'll throw in a snazzy watermelon phone (Rich says that joke is funny to people who are old enough to remember the Sports Illustrated football phone. I am not one of those people). Seriously though, if you go to their website and enter the code 6164 you'll get $10.00 off when you check out! That's it. Infomercial over. (I'm obsessed.)

Between our CSA and our garden we have been super spoiled this summer. And with all of this bountiful produce we've had to get creative with what we eat so that it doesn't all go bad! This grilled salad is perfect for that! You can pretty much take whatever veggies you have in your fridge and add them to my super simple (sibilant) salad recipe!

Summer Grilled Salad

Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
 2 ears of corn
1 onion, sliced
1 zucchini
1 yellow summer squash
A few leaves of kale
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup of cooked quinoa
Goat cheese (optional)
Chopped basil
Salt and pepper

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice and zest from 2 lemons
3 small garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 small shallot, minced
Salt and Pepper


Method:
Preheat your grill to medium high heat and prep your veggies! Slice the onion and squash. I kept the squash in large pieces for easier grilling. I left the peppers, corn, and kale whole. Toss everything with a little bit of olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper.

Grill your veggies until everything is slightly charred. The kale grills super fast, the corn will take 10 minutes or so. Once everything is grilled, set vegetables aside until cool enough to handle. This is a good time to make your dressing.

To make the dressing, combine lemon juice, zest, shallots, garlic, and mustard. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Once the veggies are cooled, chop the squash, bell peppers, and kale. Remove the corn kernels and toss all of the veggies together with the cooked quinoa and the dressing. To serve, top with chopped basil and goat cheese if you like.

Pickled Nectarine Salad with Arugula and Burrata

Oh, Monday- how I am never happy to see you. What a lame day of the week. It comes after a weekend usually filled with a few too many cocktails and indulgent food choices (if you couldn't tell by my previous post....) and by the time the weekend is over, Rich and I are usually scrambling to find a way to give our bodies just a little bit of nourishment after the three days of abuse they have been through. We're worn out, cranky, and going through carb withdrawals. If we had real jobs we probably would have killed each other by now. Can you imagine the two of us heading out the door Monday morning with our to-go coffee cups and a newspaper. In another lifetime, maybe.... but hopefully not.

Really, Monday's only redeeming quality is that the mail comes again (you know how I feel about the mail- it's the best.) Between all of my ridiculous monthly subscriptions (see: glossybox, birchbox, barkbox) the fact that I am a pretty devoted online shopper, and Richard and I both crossing our fingers for commercial residual checks.... the mail is a pretty exciting part of my day. Especially when Bon Appetit comes. Lucky for me, and my post weekend, salad craving, body, this month's issue had a recipe for the most delicious summer salad!!! Nectarines, arugula and burrata... some of my absolute favorite ingredients and they paired together absolutely perfectly. I switched up the recipe a bit and it turned out super yummy!

summer lunch. kale smoothie and this delicious salad.

Ingredients:

1 nectarine, thinly sliced (can be replaced with thinly sliced peaches)

1/4 small onion, thinly sliced

Kosher salt 

Freshly ground pepper

2 cups arugula

1/4 cup hand torn basil leaves

1 tbsp olive oil

4 oz burrata torn into 1 inch pieces (can be replaced with burrata's less creamy, less delicious cousin, mozzarella, though I wouldn't recommend it.) 

Method:

Toss nectarines, onion, vinegar, salt and peppers in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes to get a nice pickled flavor. 

Remove the nectarines and onions from the vinegar and toss them with arugula and basil. Place the salad on plates, top with burrata and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and enjoy!

Wine & Cheese. Happy Sunday

It's that day. The best day of the week. Happy Sunday everyone! Thank you DomaineLA for another fabulous tasting!

This post is worth 1000 words......

why yes, those are homemade pickles

advice.

domaineLA = the real deal.

rose for days

This bitch.....

the loves of my life (I am talking about their glasses, obviously....)

Cheers!

xx