STEEP RAVINE

A few weeks ago we went camping in the most beautiful place we have EVER camped.  It is a site called Steep Ravine that is located in Mount Tamalpais State Park right on the Marin County coastline.  There are about 7 tents sites that you can reserve (we had the "Pelican" site), along with a few rustic cabins that can be rented.  The sites are so isolated that you feel like you are completely alone.  The coastline is right there you are completely surrounded by flowers, trees, and hills.  It is heavenly.  We had a great evening.  Erik grilled steaks and corn on the cob and potatoes and we roasted marshmallows for dessert, debuting our new rolla roasters (they were awesome...)  The weather was nice all evening and through the night, but we woke up to heavy rain that soon made its way into the tent.  We ended up breaking camp early and heading home.  I was so sad we had to leave early, but the trip was definitely still worth it.  The rest of the day was great too.  We holed up in our cozy house while the random June rain fell all day. It was the nicest day we have had together in awhile :)

KEY LIME PIE

Wow.  I haven't made a blog post in like, a million years.  The time just goes by too fast, or I forget to take pictures, or the pictures turn out bad, or I'm too lazy, etc. etc.  Anyhow, summer is here!  I made a yummy key lime pie a couple weeks ago.  It is a sure-fire recipe from the folks at Cook's Illustrated that I have been making forever.  One of the best things about the recipe is that it calls for regular limes instead of key limes since the people in the Cook's test kitchen actually preferred the (more affordable!) regular limes.  Oh, I loooove this pie....  It never gets old to eat tons of this ice cold beauty on a warm day.  Sorry there are no pictures of the finished product.  We ate the whole thing before I remembered to take any!

Ingredients:

Lime Filling:

4 teaspoons grated lime zest

1/2 cup strained juice from 3 or 4 limes

4 large egg yolks

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Graham Cracker Crust:

9 graham crackers, broken into rough pieces

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and kept warm

Whipped Cream Topping:

3/4 cup chilled heavy cream

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions

1. For the Filling: Whisk zest and yolks in medium bowl until tinted light green, about 2 minutes. Beat in milk, then juice; set aside at room temperature to thicken.
   
2. For the Crust: Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Mix crumbs and sugar in medium bowl. Add butter; stir with fork until well blended. Pour mixture into 9-inch pie pan; press crumbs over bottom and up sides of pan to form even crust. Bake until lightly browned and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
   
3. Pour lime filling into crust; bake until center is set, yet wiggly when jiggled, 15 to 17 minutes. Return pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 3 hours. (Can be covered with lightly oiled or oil-sprayed plastic wrap laid directly on filling and refrigerated up to 1 day.)
   
4. For the Whipped Cream: Up to 2 hours before serving, whip cream in medium bowl to very soft peaks. Adding confectioners’ sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, continue whipping to just-stiff peaks. Decoratively pipe whipped cream over filling or spread evenly with rubber spatula. Garnish with optional sugared lime slices and serve.

MANGO SORBET

I think I have found my new obsession.  Making sorbet!  We have had an ice cream maker forever (it was one of those wedding gift gadgets that seemed fun and useful at the time, but ended up getting stuck at the back of the cabinet from day one).  I think this was only the second time I've used it, but I pretty sure I'll start using it a lot more because this mango sorbet was so easy and so delicious.  We found a great looking recipe for chocolate sorbet I want to try next.  Also, can't wait for summer fruits to start coming in.  So many possibilities!

Mango Sorbet

2 large, ripe mangoes (2 lbs)
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
5 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more to taste
1 tbsp dark rum, plus more to taste (I used almost 2 tbsp of rum extract as a substitute)
pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients together and then follow the directions on your ice cream maker.

COSANTI

Making a visit to Cosanti was a huge highlight of our Arizona trip.  Located in Paradise Valley, amidst expensive houses and boring urban sprawl, Cosanti is the gallery, studio, and residence of the legendary Italian-American architect, Paolo Soleri.  Mr. Soleri is probably best known for designing the other-worldly Arcosanti; an "experimental town" built in the Arizona desert in the 1970s to showcase his concept of arcology (combining ecology and architecture).  The town is still there and is open for tours year-round (hopefully we will go next time we're down. I really want to see it!) The smaller Cosanti, however, was a great introduction to the work of Soleri.  We loved exploring the outdoor studios, seeing examples of the "earthcasting" method of architecture, and studying the handmade ceramics and famous Soleri windbells.  We liked the look and feel of everything so much we ended up buying a beautiful hanging ceramic planter that I LOVE.  I can't wait to find a plant and hang it up; it will be a great memory of a really fun afternoon with Erik and my awesome sister-in-law, Brittany.

ARIZONA

We took a fun trip to Arizona last week to visit Erik's parents and a couple of siblings.  The weather was so perfect, and the desert never felt so fresh and beautiful. Some highlights included; getting to spend some time with our little nephew, Wyatt (sooo cute), eating great food (Pete's Fish and Chips, Los Olivos, The Sugar Bowl, Erik's mom's cooking.....), taking a visit to Cosanti (a truly amazing place; I'm going to make a separate post on it), and just relaxing and watching Food Network.  It was too short!  Can't vacation be all the time?

LUNCH THAT IS NOT CANDY

After eating about 90 gallons of candy and sweets on Easter and the days (and weeks!) leading up to Easter, I decided on Monday to make a healthy lunch. I hardly ever make lunch, but Erik had the day off and we were just relaxing around the house, so I decided to go for it. I had seen this soup in the April issue of Bon Appetit, and it looked good. It was very good (especially considering there wasn't any chocolate in it).  The warmed tomatoes were particularly yummy, and it was great served with very dry toast.

Fennel and Zucchini Soup with Warm Tomato Relish

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 cups diced fresh fennel (from 1 large bulb), fronds chopped and reserved
• 1 cup trimmed diced zucchini
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 3/4 cup grape tomatoes, quartered

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add diced fennel, zucchini, onion, and fennel seeds. Sauté until fennel is translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add broth; bring to boil. Cover; reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Puree in blender until smooth; return soup to saucepan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes and sauté until just heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds; season relish with salt and pepper. Serve soup with relish.

HAPPY EASTER!