Yummy Hot Weather Dessert

We were struck with at least three blizzards this past winter.  I am NOT complaining that the Boston area has had a heat wave.  Bring on the heat!  This week I made another new recipe:

Roasted Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet

1 pound of strawberries, halved

1 cup of sugar

1 vanilla bean cut in half

1 1/2 c buttermilk

1/3 c sour cream

1/2 t kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  On a cookie sheet, lined with tin foil, place the strawberries, and then cover with sugar.  Put the vanilla bean halves into the sugar.  Roast for 20 minutes, but stir every 7-8 minutes.  Let cool.

Throw out the vanilla bean.  Put the strawberries, juice, buttermilk, sour cream and kosher salt into the blender and whip until smooth.  Then put the mixture into the ice cream maker and churn for 25 minutes.  Transfer to Tupperware and freeze for 24 hours.

Ready to eat!  Delicious!

LLC - Lovely Lemon Cake

Sometimes a good friend will share a great recipe.  This time a good friend shared a great recipe with book club!  We went to discuss a book in the spring, and we all went GAGA over the lemon cake.  We call is LLC, and for now, I will call it Lovely Lemon Cake.

It is VERY easy to make!

Lemon Cake

1 ½ c flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 C sugar
2 tablespoons butter softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract
⅓ C lemon juice
½ C vegetable oil

Icing
2 C powdered sugar
1 T and 1 teaspoon fat free half and half
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 T I fresh lemon juice

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
With mixer, blend eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon juice
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and blend until smooth.
Add oil and mix well.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes in a metal loaf pan.  Put it on a sheet pan, because it will leak over.
While baking make the icing.
Let the cake cool 10 minutes in the pan.  Flip out and cool completely and then frost.

While the kids are at camp

Dear Kids,

I hope all is well at camp.  I can see that you are having a lot of fun.  Swimming, arts and crafts, sports, trip day, mitzvah day and Israeli Dancing!  So much fun!

I have sent emails and letters nearly daily.  I have come home every day hoping for a letter from at least one of you.

But there are somethings I haven't included in the letters (and one day you will find this blog post.)

I haven't cooked one meal since you were gone.  That is right, your mom, the cook and the baker has had a 3.5 week vacation (except for one batch of brownies, two batches of cold gazpacho and one salad), I haven't cooked.  What a feeling that has been after 13 years of cooking meals.  Of course, the fridge is bare.  I have purchased fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, cream, coffee beans and cereal.  We haven't starved either.

We have been to:
Otto's pizza in Brookline
Bondir in Cambridge
Ana's Taqueria in Brookline
Boacado in Wellesley
Three Squares (I went with friends)
Barcelona in Brookline (I went with friends)
Carmine's in the North End
The Biscuit in Somerville
Vinebrook Tavern in Lexington
Farmstead Table in Newton
Besito in Chestnut Hill
Sweet Green in Chestnut Hill
The Antique Table in Swampscott/Lynn

I have stayed in bed past 7 AM on Saturdays and Sundays.  Even if I am awake, I watch TV.  In fact one weekend I watched a movie in bed, in my PJ's before breakfast.  It was decadent!  We have seen Jurassic World without needing a baby sitter!  We watched the entire season three of HOUSE OF CARDS.

We went to the SOWA market and ate whatever we wanted, and purchased really cool things.  We then ate at the food trucks (actually we ate at the same one, so we only had to stand in one line).  We then came home, and watched the World Cup of Women's Soccer.  And we ate dinner (lots of interesting things from the SOWA market) in front of the TV on the SOFA!

Of course, you also missed the time that the hot water heater broke, and we had to take a cold shower before the plumber could fix it.

You also missed the neighborhood BBQ, but there weren't that many kids there.  You missed a Red Sox game on July 4.  We went to the U2 concert in Boston without you, and had a great, great time.  You missed out on my car accident (when the person in back of me rear ended me twice at a RED light).

I have only done laundry once a week, instead of my usual every other night!  Of course, I had to bring out the trash cans and bring them back, since you were at camp.  I had to empty the dish washer myself.  Mark wasn't available to do laundry!

We missed you terribly, and we missed the daily conversation of BEST and WORST.  We missed hearing Mark's trombone playing.

I am looking forward to camp pick up/visiting day.  I know that you are both having a great time!  You are missed, but life is a bit different without two kids.

Love,
Mom

My Kids at Camp

Video from this week:
Week 3

Video from last week:
Week 2

Video from the first week:
Week One

As someone who did not attend overnight camp, I am thrilled that the camp started to do this on a weekly basis.  While I love the weekly photographs, I get the sense of camp.  I now know why my son LOVES camp!  The community, the fun, the love, and because we could never see Shabbat at camp, Shabbat!  What fun!

Camp came alive to me.  I looked forward to the weekly videos not just to see my own children, but to feel camp.  It reminded me of USY Pilgrimage to Israel, and it reminded one of my co-worker of his recent Birthright trip.

No matter what it is, Jewish Overnight Camp is a fun and safe place to be.

Things that have kept me busy

Just in case you were all thinking what a relaxing 3.5 weeks this would be . . . . . HA!  Reality check.  On July 3, I was driving the mini van, with my husband, brother, sister in law and niece in the car.  I was stopped at a red light, when we got rear ended. . . . . and then rear ended again!  It was quite a shocker.  No one was hurt, but we were all surprised.  The man that hit us, twice, was 90 years old and his foot slipped off the pedal (twice?).  So, I have been busy speaking with my insurance company (I love USAA), the appraiser and now the auto body shop.  Never a dull moment.

But, if that wasn't enough excitement . . . .  On Monday night, I went to use the bathroom before bed, and when I turned on the hot water, NOTHING came out of the faucet.  Tried the cold water, and it was fine.  Looked under the sink, and no leak.  Stumped.  Called Adam . . . . and he too was also stumped.

We decided to go down to the basement. . . . . and when we opened the door to the unfinished basement, there was a little puddle of water, just outside of the tray that holds the hot water heater.  The tray was full of water.  So, after watching a few online videos we turned off the water supply to the water heater, turned off the gas to the water heater and cleaned up.  We left a voicemail for our plumber . . . . please call as early as possible.

The next morning, I had an email and a replacement would be installed that day.  Amazing.  Federal Plumbing is the best.  Put me back in hot water!

Salted Caramel Brownies

Another to DIE FOR recipe by Ina Garten.

INGREDIENTS
2 sticks unsalted butter
8 oz chocolate chips (in one bowl)
6 oz chocolate chips (in a second bowl)
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
3 large eggs
1 1/2 T instant coffee granules
1 T vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 T sugar
1/2 cup of flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t kosher salt
5 oz caramel sauce
2-3 t flaked sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray Pam on a 9 x 12 inch baking pan.

Melt butter, 8 oz of chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler.  Allow to cool for 15 minutes.  In a large bowl combine the eggs, coffee, vanilla and sugar.  Stir the chocolate mixture into the eggs and cool.

In a medium bowl, stir the flour, the baking powder and salt.  Add to the chocolate batter.  Add in chocolate chips (make sure the mixture is not too hot, or else the chocolate chips will melt).  Spread into baking pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Take out of the oven, and put on wire rack, and drizzle the caramel sauce on top of the hot brownies (you might need to heat up the caramel sauce).  Sprinkle with sea salt, and let cool.