i really love your peaches, wanna shake your trees.

my mama has been talking about grilling peaches for days and days. every time she brought it up i would start to drool. so, today i braved the heat (and just missed a downpour) to grab the few ingredients i would need.

i also wanted something to top these with. something light, because in this heat anything too heavy is just too much. i decided to try a strawberry syrup. while i had imagined it being thick, like bottled maple syrup, mine came out sans any viscosity. yet the flavor was spot on, and i actually enjoyed the lighter syrup.

Grilled Peaches

• peaches
• cinnamon (optional)
• nutmeg (optional)
• brown sugar (optional)

1. peel, pit, and slice your peaches. i peeled mine, but leaving the skin is just peachy keen. i would recommend slices on the thicker side. if they are too thin they will cook really fast and turn to mush.
2. if you choose to top your slices you can use any of the above mentioned or whatever pleases you. i just used brown sugar, which remember will start to caramelize and can make a heck of mess on a grill (foil could help here).
3. place on grill, i highly recommend the use of foil here for easy clean up. grill on each side until grill marks on visible. only a few mintues on each side. today since firing up my little outdoor grill was too daunting in this heat i used my george foreman.

Strawberry Syrup

• one carton strawberries
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/8 cup sugar
• zest of half a lime
• juice of whole lime

1. slice strawberries and toss in a pot. add 3/4 cup water. bring to a boil then lower to simmer. let simmer for 15 minutes. i used a potato masher to smash my strawberries a few times throughout the simmering. they should break down till it just a pulp. you can strain the pulp out or leave it in your syrup.
2. remove strawberries from heat, and in pot combine rest of water (1 1/4 cup), sugar, lime zest, and juice. bring to boil. left this boil for about 10 minutes. if you have a thermometer it should be around 220 degrees. but really just let it boil until sugar and water start to thicken.
3. combine sugar water mix with strawberry blend and bring to boil again for about a minute.
4. remove from heat and let cool.

plate your peaches, and top with syrup! my syrup was still warm when i plated this and with the warm peaches it was pretty great. a chilled syrup might be better in the hot sun at a grill out. also, you can replace the strawberries without fruit sounds good; raspberries, blueberries, anything! so, thanks mom! i did it, and it was delicious!!!

104 heat index, and i want french toast.

whew, baby. nyc is in the middle of a heatwave, and not the fun dancey sing songy kind. if you tried to dance now you would die of dhydration/heat exhaustion on your way up from your first "drop it like it's hot."

standing next to a stove to cook sounded like torture, but i still had one thing on my mind: french toast. sure, i had all the fixings for a nice cool summer roll, but i had to go for the fired up bread. of course.

French Toast

• bread
• 1 cup soy milk
• cinnamon
• 1 1/2-2 bananas
• vanilla

1. in a blender combine soy milk, cinnamon, bananas, and vanilla then pulse until smooth. the amount of cinnamon and vanilla is up to you, and what you like. since there aren't any raw eggs in the batter feel free to test it, and season to your liking. when i use banana as egg replacer in recipes such as cookies and pancakes i will first mash them separately with just a tad of lemon juice to get them at the right consistency. since i was tossing everything in the blender i knew it would get mixed properly, if you don't have a blender or food processor i would use the lemon method. these came out with a strong banana flavor; if that is something you want to avoid use the lesser amount.
2. on a stove heat large non-stick pan with oil or oil spray. or if you are lucky enough to have a griddle get that baby going.
3. dip bread into batter coating both sides. i used french bread, but you can use whatever suits your fancy. anything from sliced white bread to a thick whole wheat loaf.
4. cook on each side until they are brown and start to crisp on each side. try to flip as least amount of times as possible.
5. top with powder sugar, butter, syrup, fruit, nuts, apple sauce or nothing at all!

you can always add in whatever other spices and flavors to the mix. some coconut or pumpkin pie spice would be really yummy!!! i had to cook these with a fan pointed directly at me, but it was so worth it. make them after the sun goes down as part of a breakfast for dinner evening. enjoy!

when in doubt go for the hot sauce.

a few weekends ago i was at a bbq celebrating my friend cristin's graduation from her UCB improve class, and it was a blast. i did have some tequila leftover from a solstice festival i was at the prior day. i also had some orange juice so my first thought was "tequila sunrise!!!!" alas, no grenadine. as i was scouring the fridge for some other mix in my friend pointed out the hot sauce and i never looked back.

Flaming Mary/Cholula Sunrise

• tequila
• orange juice
• hot sauce

1. mix your poisons together to your liking. that's it.

Don't use louisiana style hot sauce with this. we tried some, and the vinegar flavor was way too overpowering. i would stick with cholula, valentina, or other south of the border sauces. now i love spicy things, but i definitely had to add more hot sauce than i thought i was going to. i think this would also be amazingly yummy with mango juice instead of orange. sip on this all summer.

lemon. rosemary. salt. done.

preserved lemons are amazing. i was watching a cooking show on pbs about moroccan food. everything looked and sounded so good! the one thing that i had to have were the preserved lemons that are a major ingredient in chicken tajine.

tajine is a very common, very tradtional moroccan dish. while i don't have a tajine cooking pot to cook a savory veggie tajine in i can use this wonderful flavors in other dishes. these lemons tossed in salads is a fresh mix in bursting with flavor. these in any other savory dish you are cooking are a wonderful additional flavor.

Preserved Lemons

• lemons
• salt
• rosemary

1. cut your lemons in to quarters.
2. coat them in salt.
3. put in air tight container with rosemary.
4. let sit for a few days.

you can also leave the rosemary out, or try different herbs like sage or thyme. these are nice just to have around at all times, and too easy not to!

who needs cheese when you have peanut butter?

my mom used to always give us bananas with peanut butter on them. i loved them. to this the day the mention of banana and peanut butter sends me into a tizzy. this recipe started when i actually wanted a pb & j sandwich, but had no j. then i remembered the bananas i did have! but i had no bread. i was finally saved by the flour tortillas i always have in my fridge. roller coaster of emotions.

Peanut Butter Quesadilla

• banana
• flour tortilla
• peanut butter

1. spray your skillet with some vegetable oil.
2. on half your tortilla spread peanut butter. i just so happened to have some white chocolate wonderful from the peanut butter company. so good.
3. add your sliced bananas, and fold over other half.
4. heat in skillet over medium high heat for about 2 minutes each side. just until they are golden brown, and you pb is melted.
5. cut and serve!

this could be fun and easy to make with kids. i don't make these with big tortillas that would be too much, unless you were making them for a dinner party and serving slices. this is a great snack, or as part of a lunch. enjoy!

one meal's leftovers is another meal's entrée.

this was all just from things i had in my pantry, and leftovers in the fridge. i would say that all these ingredients are foods i try to keep in my house. they are common, easy to store, and can be used in lots of different recipes.

Tacos from Leftovers

• tortillas
• brown rice
• black beans
• corn
• avocado
• onion
• tomato
• lime
• scallions

1. drain your corn, and toss it in a skillet with a little bit of oil. add some salt and pepper. cook up until they start to brown. set aside on plate.
2. in that same skillet with a tad more oil heat up some black beans. i like to add lime juice to my black beans.
3. my rice was some i already had made in my fridge. brown rice will take longer to cook than white rice. so, if you are looking for quick go with white. if you make white rice don't forget to rinse your rice first. keep rinsing until the water runs almost clear. i like to cook my rice in broth at 1 1/2 cup broth for 1 cup rice. the broth gives the rice a great flavor. sometimes i'll chop some cilantro in my rice as well.
4. chop tomatoes, onion, avocado, and scallions.
5. heat up your tortillas on the stove. you can do this in a skillet or if have a gas stove just put the flame on and cook it directly on that.
6. create and enjoy!

these were all ingredients i had around. you could do this with whatever veggies are leftover, or a staple in your kitchen. of course i coated mine in hot sauce, and lime juice. i squeeze the lime over everything. that is a lot of food in my pictures so i even had leftovers from this! it's a viscous, but delicious cycle.

i'm sweet on sweet potato fries.

well, i guess i never actually fry these soooo are these bakes? either way they are good, and i guess you could fry them if you wanted to. very simple, and very yummy.

Sweet Potato Fries

• sweet potatoes
• olive oil
• salt

1. peel and cut your tats.
2. put them in a bowl with a little olive oil and salt to taste. if there is too much oil on them they won't crisp up. toss them together.
3. spread them on an aluminum foilcovered baking sheet. when i made these all i had left was an oddly shaped piece of foil, but i made it work.
4. bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes. you'll be able to tell when tey start getting slightly brown on the edges.

these are a great side or just a snack. i dipped mine in of ketchup, and also bbq sauce. yum yum yum.