Rasberry Peach Basil Water

Summer is at it's height in Michigan. We have had so many 90 degree days it makes it hard to get out of the house...and I need to stay hydrated.

I gave up soda a long time ago. If I have one, I consider it a treat, but it's certainly not part of my daily routine to drink. I stick to water but sometimes that gets to be a bit monotonous. Since I'm not a fan of juice (too sugary for me) I'm really running out of choices!

Then, the lightbulb went on. My husband and I take a yearly trip to Calistoga Ranch, where we were married almost 3 years ago. One of our favorite bartenders makes fruit water daily. All he does is takes fruit, blends it, tops it with ice, then fills the jug with water. It's fabulous and refreshing...and it contains no sugar (well except from the fruit itself). I also manage to get a bit of my fruit serving in there, too! I've spent the summer experimenting.

Now, don't expect an 'in your face' flavor here. It's meant to be subtle. But it's definitely the ultimate summer refreshment!

Enjoying our water at the pool!

Raspberry Peach Basil Water
Recipe by: Cafe Coco

Ingredients
1 peach, pealed, pitted and diced
1 cup raspberries
5 basil leaves, muddled
Water/Ice

Directions:
In a blender, blend the peach chunks and rasberries until blended. Add to jug. Top with water and ice. Top with the basil leaves. Stir. Keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. You can continue to top with ice and water.

Halibut Fish Tacos with Peach Avocado Salsa

When I became pregnant last year, I had sworn off fish for months. Not by my choosing but of by choice of my woozy stomach. Unfortunately that lasted well past 'fish season' so I missed out on nearly the entire thing. Fortunately though, my normal tastes and appetite have reappeared (probably times 100 these days because I'm nursing). But because of this, the choices I make are so much more important.

While wandering the market near my house, I decided I would make fish tacos. My first choice in the past would have been to make these with mahi mahi, but since I was told it was previously frozen (something that just don't do with fish), I settled on what was delivered and cut that day, halibut. I was skeptical because halibut, while meaty, is very flaky. I worried that it wouldn't really stand up in a fish taco.

I was proved wrong, very wrong. Not only was this the perfect choice, halibut was the perfect accompaniment to the peach and avocado salsa! It gave these fish tacos a very delicate bite!

You've got to try these things! Fish tacos are one of my all time favorite summer meals. It's fresh, it's fast, and it's healthy!

Halibut Fish Tacos with Peach Avocado Salsa

Recipe by: Cafe Coco

Ingredients:

1 lb halibut filet

1/2 avocado, diced

1/2 peach, diced

1 jalapeno, diced

1/2 lime juiced

1 tablespoon cilantro

2 oz. feta cheese

white corn tortillas

salt/pepper

canola oil

olive oil

lime wedges

Greek Yogurt (I use fat free)

To prepare the halibut: pre heat cast iron skillet on grill. Add a few tablespoons of canola oil. Season fish with sea salt or kosher salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Cook skin side up for 4 minutes. Flip and cook another 4 minutes or until cooked to desired doneness. Cover with foil for a few minutes. Then flake off the meat for the tacos.

To prepare the salsa:

Add avocado, peach, jalapeno, lime juice, and cilantro to a medium bowl. Toss lightly. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble tacos:

Warm tortillas (I just put mine in the microwave for 10 seconds in a damp paper towel.) Top with halibut, salsa, and feta. Garnish with Greek yogurt and lime wedge.

My husband and I are part of a co-op. Pre-baby I kept my own garden, but after last years poor yeild, we made the decusion that it would be best to let the experts handle growing while I focused my new role on motherhood, instead.

So far it's been great. All I have to do is put the baby in the stroller and walk a few blocks to pick up our share. For anyone not able to plant their own garden, for whatever reason, this certainly is a great alternative. Plus, you support your local farmers.

One of our shares had fresh Michigan strawberries. Whenever I have an abudance of strawberries I try to find creative ways to use them. I love putting berries in a salad because it's a great way to get your greens and your fruit, not to mention it gives the salad a sweet kick.

This strawberry poppyseed salad goes great with any summer main course. I think I served steak, but you could certainly serve it with fish or chicken or whatever you would like!!

You could always buy a poppyseed dressing but after reading the labels I figured it would be easier (not to mention cheaper) to just make it myself. Be careful, read the labels. Some claim to be 'all natural'....only to contain high fructose corn syrup. How is that 'natural' again?

Strawberry Poppyseed Salad with Chevre and Candied Pecans

8 oz. leafy greens or butter lettuce

1/2 cup- 1 cup strawberries, cut up

4 oz chevre cheese

1/2 cup candied pecans, for the recipe, click here.

Poppy seed dressing

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/3 cup canola oil

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard or 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

salt/pepper

Directions:

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, and sugar. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add poppy seeds and whisk again. You can also put in a small blender- just add all the ingredients together reserving the poppy seeds for after blending.

Tres Leches Cupcakes

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

I wanted to celebrate this year...with many things. Unfortunately, I was able to only make just one of them. Tres Leches Cupcakes.

The first time I had tres leches cake was the night I went into labor. (No, I don't think it was the cause, rather, a major coincidence!). I loved it so much, I devoured it as if it were going to be my last meal, little did I know, it would be the last I WOULD have for 3 LONG days!

I remember the cake as being tender, and very moist. Heaven.

While on my hunt for a recipe, I pulled out several of my cake books (I think I have about 10). Two of these books had a recipe for tres leches. Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, and Cake Love. I researched both recipes and ended up going with Cake Love's. I think its because it had a ton of ingredients and I felt that if it had that many intricate details--it probably was the best bet. For most, I am sure, MORE ingredients would probably turn you away. Me? I have just about every ingredient imaginable in my pantry. It's a joke at my house that I have so much that if the grocery store doesnt have it...they call me for it.

Anyway, while these were actually pretty easy to make, I must say I was rather unimpressed. Actually, I was really disappointed. The cake turned out DRY and dense. Certainly not someting I look for in a cupcake, much less a cake that is known for being pretty wet in texture. This cake was so dry, it felt like it stuck in my throat. The only tres leches about this would be the 3 glasses of milk I would have to swallow just to get it down! ha! The problem I think was the method--the only milk the cake was actually soaked in was the sweetened condensed milk. Anyone who has worked with sweatened condensed milk knows how sticky it is. It just sat on the top of the cupcake instead of absorbing it. Such a bummer! I may have to try Martha's recipe next time. If anyone has tried it, let me know how it is! Sorry Cake Love, I just don't feel the love for these cupcakes. But I do still heart your frosting recipes! :)

I am not going to post the recipe--If you really want it after my review, email me at detroitfoodexaminer@gmail.com

Happy Cinco de Mayo anyway!

Chocolate Oatmeal Lactation Cookies

I think these cookies speak for themselves.

A friend recommended these to me after I gave birth to my baby girl in February. I think they work, although they aren't proven, I will use any excuse to eat a baked good.

The great thing about these cookies is that you can exchange many of the ingredients. I like to add chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, cinnamon and walnuts. You can certainly add any dried fruits or any kind of nut that you like. I think they taste a bit like the cake doughnuts I get at the cider mill--it's probably the cinnamon I put in them.

And don't worry--these aren't just for nursing mothers! My husband and father in law equally enjoy them!













The key to the cookies: Brewers yeast, Oatmeal, and Flaxseed Meal. I had a hard time finding the brewers yeast. You can find it in the vitamin section of Whole Foods. I would imagine any health food store would carry it also.













For the recipe, click here.

Alterations: 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, 1/4 cup white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

Chicken Piccata

Lately, my husband hasn't been the biggest fan of chicken. I'm not sure what brought on this new aversion, but I personally love chicken.

I think chicken is one of the most versatile things to create a dish, plus it's an inexpensive purchase at the grocery store. Since I am all about easy these days, I took my inspiration from Ina Garten's Chicken Piccata.

To save myself time and stress I prepped the chicken ahead of time while little "G" took her nap. So when dinner time came along, my hands on time was very minimal--with exception of standing near the stove to flip the chicken.

I pretty much followed Ina's recipe to a "t" with exception of the white wine. We don't drink white wine (only red), so I couldn't see opening a full bottle of white when I knew for sure it would go bad. So I used vermouth instead. Let me tell you, vermouth has been my best friend lately (no...I'm not drinking it). I've been using it to substitute white wine in a ton of dishes and it's worked rather nicely. I also doubled the recipe for the sauce. There just didn't seem to be enough with her recipe.

I served it with baby roasted potatoes* and steamed baby carrots. Turns out, my husband loved it despite his new found dislike for chicken. The bonus: the dish is super easy...with ingredients I always have on hand plus it's pretty impressive looking!

For the recipe, click here!
Alterations: Use vermouth instead of white wine and double the sauce recipe. I also added capers to the sauce. I added chicken/poultry seasoning, salt/pepper, and parsley to the bread crumb mixture.

*The baby roasted potatoes I just washed, and put on a roasting pan with olive oil, salt/pepper and put in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I must say, I've been lucky to have a baby who takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. It gives me enough time to cool my jets, throw in about 3 loads of laundry and possibly consider baking something (or prep dinner).

Just after bringing home the baby, Food Network had a pie special that had my toungue wagging. I for one, am not a pie person. I never really cared for it, therefor, I haven't really made many pies! For some reason every pie on this show, I wanted to try. So I printed off most of the recipes and vowed that they would not collect dust.

My husband made a Costco run last week and purchased a huge 5 lb package of strawberries. We eat quite a bit of fruit, but eating 5 lbs of anything in a limited amount of time is pushing it. So when I was leafing through my pie recipes I figured, why not try a strawberry rhubarb pie! I've never prepared rhubarb and I am pretty sure I've never even had a strawberry rhubarb pie. So when I put little G down for her nap I decided to get started. I worked in stages so that if I got interrupted I could work in pieces. Luckily, the filling came together in minutes.

Now when I say, it came together in minutes, I have to admit--I cheated and purchased a pie crust. I've made my own pie crust before, but I do need a bit of practice. And since I have very limited time for just 'practice', I had no other choice but to use the store bought in this case if I was going to get this pie completed during one afternoon. Has anyone ever tried Trader Joe's pie crust?? If you haven't...try it! It's soo good. It tastes homemade and certainly not the cardboard taste of the Pepperidge Farm brand.

Hey, I told you...I have a baby. I'm all into a short cut if it's good!

The verdict? Despite the very 'rustic' look of the pie it was sooo good! (I won't go into details as to why--lets just say I forgot to add something and had to rip off the top and surgically put it back together). The crust was flaky and buttery. I really loved the raw sugar sprinkled on the top. The filling was just the amount of tart and sweet. I couldn't resist and cut into it before my husband got home. He's lucky I didn't eat the entire thing.

I can't believe I never make fruit pies...they are so easy!

For the recipe, click here!