In Hindsight.

Welcome back. Last weekend was a long weekend, which was needed and thoroughly enjoyed. July Fourth is usually a festive event with a lot of grilled foods and fireworks. This year, however, felt different, both because of the pandemic and the cultural reckoning we are all experiencing. The focus of the holiday felt it needed to shift, from American’s freedom to the simple establishment of our country. We cannot celebrate freedom until everyone is truly free, but we can revel in the founding of our country. We can love our country while we continue our quest for equity, end of racism, and increased tolerance. I spent the weekend continuing to expand my understanding of systemic racism and finding causes to support. I encourage you to also take time away from cooking and work to continue to learn about our country’s history and find ways you can contribute to the social revolution.

Besides some reflection and learning, I also spent the long weekend trying out new recipes. And watching Hamilton, finally, which lived up to all of my expectations. I wanted to round up a few recipe’s to recap and review what I ate. I have some trusted sources for recipes and dishes that I always go-to for weekend inspiration. I do often modify recipes to make them more plant-based, use up products in my pantry, or overall healthier. Sometimes, I cannot find a specific recipe I am looking for and need to compile recipes from several sources and take what I like from each. As I have previously mentioned, combing the internet for the perfect recipe is very time-consuming, and making a recipe from an unknown source is a risk. It is very disappointing to invest time and money into a dish only for it to be a total disaster. I thought reviewing some of the recipes would be helpful to provide my thoughts and modifications. 

For reference, my go to, most reliable internet sources include: Half Baked Harvest, Kenji Lopez-Alt, Laura in the Kitchen, Joshua Weissman, Smitten Kitchen, Epicurious, Joy  of Baking and King Arthur Flour.

Let’s jump in. 

First up is Strawberry Limeade. This is a recipe I have made before, and it is not from one source. I searched for strawberry limeade, but most of the directions advised adding strawberries and ice to a blender. I decided to make more of a strawberry syrup so the base would taste richer and more flavorful. Macerating the berries ensured maximal flavor. I found a myriad of recipes on this and followed the general gist. My recipe is below.

1. Slice and prep one pound of strawberries and place in a small saucepan. To that, I added about 2 tbsp of honey (you can add any sweetener you prefer) and 2 tbsp of water. Let that reduce down for about 20 minutes. 
2. While the berries are reducing, slice and squeeze about 6 oz of lime juice. 
3. Once the strawberries are soft and slightly thickened, put in a food processor to blend. 
4. If you do not want seeds in the mixture, pass through a colander.
5. Combine the lime juice and strawberries in a mason jar. 
6. Add basil or mint for extra flavor. 
7. Creating a concentrate allows each person to control the strength and control sweetness. Add liquid and sweetener to concentrate to taste. 

Verdict: This was overall an easy, versatile recipe and a delicious treat to have in the fridge. I used the concentrate to make limeade and even used a splash in a smoothie recipe. 

The second recipe I followed was for a Key Lime Pie. Joshua Weissman posted a Key Lime Pie recipe, and it sounded like a delicious challenge mainly because he even made the graham crackers from scratch. Okay, okay, it’s more of a lime pie. I could not get my hands on Key limes, but could not resist after watching his recipe video. Is anything more quintessential summer than a tart Key Lime Pie? Perhaps it feels like a summer must because it takes me back to my Florida childhood. I should warn that I am quite picky about Key Lime Pie. I want a custard filling, crunchy crust, and tart flavor. Joshua Weissman always writes reliable and high-quality recipes, so I had high expectations. You can watch his video here. I will list the substitutions below.

Substitutions: 

1. I did not have whole wheat flour on hand. I used the AP as recommended, then used a combination of Spelt and white whole wheat. I have been using Janie’s Mill flour and really love their products; it is flavorful and easy to handle.
2. In place of sugar, I often use coconut sugar. 
3. Instead of milk, I used oat milk. 
4. When forming the crust, I used Miyoko vegan butter. 
5. For the filling, I could not get my hands on Key limes, so I used half of one lemon and the rest limes. I hoped it would provide some complexity to the flavor and make it more akin to Key Lime. I have no proof if that is true, but it seemed to work in this recipe. Other than that, I followed the directions. I use vital farm eggs because they have the highest quality and the yellowest yolks. The color of the yolks improves the final appearance of the custard, but I do not think it does much to taste.

Verdict: Amazingly delicious. I was so impressed and proud of the final result. Tart, balanced with a thick, crunchy crust. The homemade graham crackers formed a better crumb structure. Instead of the crust seemingly being a condensed find powder, there was some texture and hardiness to it. I highly recommend giving this one a go! 

Lastly I made biscuits on Sunday morning. Because we had not eaten enough over the Holiday weekend. My boyfriend would eat biscuits probably everyday if he had his way. I have tried different recipes almost every time I have made them. We had just ordered in some sharp cheddar and had grown some chives in our aerogarden, so were inspired by those ingredients.  I chose to follow King Arthur Flour’s Cheddar Biscuit recipe. It was three ingredients and came together in no time. No brainer for a Sunday morning treat. I made the cheddar version for him, and tried my hand at a vegan version for myself. 

Substitutions: 

1. I added some freshly chopped chives. 
2. Used whole milk instead of heavy cream. 
3. I changed how I cut the dough to bake them. I rolled out the dough to a thick square, then cut into four pieces and stacked them on top of each other. I pushed it down, then gently rolled it out again and repeated. Then I cut out the shapes I wanted, some square some round, and put on the sheet tray. This technique is from Half Baked Harvest and helps to create a layered, fluffy biscuit. Also, the biscuit’s height is more impressive! Alternatively, cut out the rounds with a biscuit cutter but stack up two of them for a layered effect. 

Recipe for the vegan version: I changed the cheese for Miyoko butter, and swapped the milk for oat milk. My favorite oat milk is Oat Planet. I followed the same process as above. Not pictured above.

Verdict: Both recipes were a success. My boyfriend really loved the biscuits. The vegan version left nothing to be desired. They were slightly more crumbly than the original. I ate with some fresh jam and could not be happier. The taste versus investment was a big win.

These are some of the recipes I tried out last week and the outcome. Overall a fun week of trying out new recipes. Until next weekend, when we repeat. Thanks for stopping by. Share below some recipes you have tried and some creators that share mouth-watering recipes.