It must be the season for figs! I've been seeing them everywhere! Good thing for me because we had some friends over for dinner the other night and I needed to make some sort of appetizer. I was inspired by the dates stuffed with goat cheese I had a couple weeks ago and thought, why not stuff the figs with goat cheese?
Here is what I did:
- Quarter the figs about 3/4 of the way down
- Stuff each one with goat cheese
- Brush each one with olive oil
- Broil on High in the oven for about 15 minutes
- Take them out of the oven and sprinkle with sea salt and black paper
- Drizzle them with honey
- Serve with balsamic vinegar for dipping
The sweetness of the ripe figs and honey complemented the richness and warmth of the goat cheese so well. The balsamic vinegar added the perfect amount of acidity to balance out all the mingling flavors.
I'm sharing with:
We
had a birthday party for Mr. H yesterday and instead of a traditional
birthday cake I thought it would be fun to make mango sticky rice for
his "birthday cake". It's a very popular dessert in Thailand and Laos and pretty easy to make.
The
key to perfect deliciousness is ripened sweet mangoes.
You will also need
glutinous rice. This is also referred to as sweet or sticky rice. It
is not the same as standard white rice. The rice on the left is the standard white rice which is cooked in water. The rice on the right is glutinous rice. As you can see, it's more opaque. It is cooked by steaming it over water. After it's cooked, it has a sticky texture.
Here is what you will need for 4 servings:
- 2 to 3 ripe mangoes (peeled and sliced)
- 2 cups glutinous rice
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup palm sugar (you can find this at an Asian grocery store)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Here is what to do:
- The night before, soak the rice in water. If you don't do this, it will not cook properly.
- After it's been soaked, cook the rice in a metal or bamboo steamer. Line it with something like cheesecloth so the rice doesn't fall through. Make sure the rice is being cooked over the water by steam, not in the water. It will take about 15-20 minutes for the rice to cook.
- As the rice is cooking, make the sweet coconut milk sauce. Heat the coconut milk, salt, and palm sugar in a sauce pan until the palm sugar dissolves. Lower the heat to a simmer to allow the sauce to thicken slightly then set it aside.
- Peel and slice the mangoes
- By this time, the rice should be done. Transfer the rice to a bowl and break it apart to allow the steam to escape. Shape it into 4 individual mounds on separate plates. Pour the coconut milk sauce over the rice and arrange the mango slices as you like. Top with sesame seeds and enjoy!
Summer! It is in full swing. This one has been a hot one for Denver which has been very good for the raspberries in our yard. This past weekend I went outside to discover that our raspberries seemed to have ripened overnight!
I ate some of them right off the bush but I was inspired to make something yummy with them and do it fast before they over ripened. Then I remembered we also had mint growing in the yard and I knew what to do! Raspberries + mint = cocktail!
I didn't want to run to the store so I just used what I had at home. I am far from being a bartender so I just put together what tasted good to me. It was a sort of raspberry-mint-lychee vodka drink.
Ingredients:
- handful of ripe raspberries
- about 10 mint leaves
- 1/2 cup lychee juice
- ice cubes
- 1 1/2 shot of vodka
- water
- flowered mint sprigs for garnish
- Muddle the raspberries and mint together in a glass
- Add in the lychee juice and vodka
- Add enough water to your desired level
- Add as many ice cubes as desired
- Stir and enjoy! (And of course you can always leave out the vodka)
And just for fun I thought I'd include this picture of raspberries and hops! The hops were a wonderful surprise that I discovered while hunting for more raspberries. Mr. H is a home brewer and he had wanted to plant hops. If these hops are good, he won't have to! I see some yummy framboise ale in my future!
All of these garden goodies were planted by the previous owners and we are reaping the rewards. It's one of the best gifts anyone could receive from previous homeowners!
