concord grape and melon pops

this was my first time splurging on concord grapes at the greenmarket. i wish i had not waited so long to try them! their concentrated and juicy flavor is a real summertime treat. they are delicious eaten fresh, frozen, or blended up with a sweet melon in my recipe for concord grape and melon ice pops!

i bought an adorable small melon called a sprite melon. it is very similar in flavor to honeydew, only a bit crunchier and without the green coloring.  if you don't have sprite melons in your area, a honeydew melon would work perfectly-it will just have a brighter green hue.

once i tried the concord grapes, i knew their flavor would be a sweet pairing for the melon.

start off by seeding the melon, and chopping the flesh into pieces. you'll be blending it up, so the uniformity of the pieces doesn't matter.

rinse the grapes and separate them from the stem. you'll need roughly 2 cups of melon and 1/2 cup of grapes for the recipe.

combine the melon with the juice of one lime, or about 2 tbsp. add 1 tbsp sugar (this will help the ice pops release from their molds) and blend well in a blender (i used an immersion blender).

once the melon mixture is smooth, reserve half to the side. 

add the concord grapes to the remaining half, and blend until the mixture is smooth except for some grape skin 'confetti' pieces.

if you are using the zoku pop maker, pour in the grape and melon mixture to fill the molds about halfway. let it freeze a bit, and then you can pour the plain melon mixture up to the fill line.

if you are using traditional pop molds, you can either keep the plain mixture refrigerated while the grape section is freezing, or you can just combine the two and make the pops in one color.

once the pops are done freezing, you can remove them from the molds. either enjoy immediately, or store them in a container in the freezer. depending on how much of each mixture you add and how firm the first grape mixture is, you can achieve a perfectly divided ice pop, or a more free form line.

melon recipe base inspired by zoku quick pops book
concord grape and melon ice pops
makes 6 zoku ice pops (about 1 1/2 cups liquid)

ingredients:

9 oz chopped sprite or honeydew melon (about 2 cups)
2 tbsp fresh lime juice (from one large lime)
1 tbsp granulated sugar
3 oz concord grapes (a generous 1/2 cup)

directions:

1.   combine the chopped melon, lime juice and sugar in a blender.

2.   blend until the mixture is smooth. reserve one half of the mixture and place it to the side.

3.   add the concord grapes to the remaining melon mixture in the blender, and blend until there are no more chunks of grape (pieces of skin are ok).

4.   fill the ice pop molds (either zoku or traditional freezer molds) halfway with the grape/melon mixture. let freeze completely.

5.   once the grape/melon mixture is frozen in the mold, pour the plain melon mixture into the molds, up to the fill line. let freeze completely.

6.   once the pops are completely frozen, remove from the molds and enjoy!


tips:

- if you refrigerate the blended mixtures before making the popsicles, they will freeze faster.
- if you don't want to wait for the mixtures to freeze separately, just combine them for a bright purple colored pop

classic basil pesto

fall has definitely hit new york city, bringing cold breezy weather with it. while i welcome the beautiful season and its changes, our window garden is one step closer to hibernation. we grow a variety of herbs, and our basil plants especially thrived this past summer. what's one to do with a surplus of basil that won't last much longer? try making a couple batches of classic basil pesto, and follow the added tips to freeze some for meals later on.

start with your basic ingredients: basil, pine nuts, a salty italian cheese, garlic, olive oil, and salt. simple and classic.

start with your pine nuts

 

toast them in a skillet until lightly browned, like this:

 

while the pine nuts cool slightly, pulse your cheese of choice until fine. i used pecorino here, but parmesan is also a good choice. 

 

 set aside cheese in a bowl, and pulse pine nuts until finely ground.

set pine nuts aside with the cheese, and add your garlic and salt to the food processor. pulse a few times to chop the garlic

add the basil to the bowl, along with half of your olive oil. pulse and then grind continuously to break up the leaves.

drizzle in the remaining olive oil, with the processor running continuously.

add the cheese and pine nuts that you set aside earlier to the work bowl and process about 10 times to blend. 

that's it! your pesto is done and ready to be mixed with pasta, spread on a sandwich, or any other possibilities.

to freeze your pesto for later, i recommend a silicone tray. divide your pesto up among the molds, leaving a little room for extra olive oil. drizzle a little olive oil on top of each mold.

freeze pesto overnight, or until cubes are solid. remove from the tray and store in freezer bags.

recipe from: cuisinart miniprep recipe book

classic basil pesto with pecorino cheese and pine nuts 
makes slightly over 1/2 cup pesto

ingredients:

1 oz pecorino cheese, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

directions

1.   rinse and dry 1 cup packed basil leaves. toast the pine nuts in a skillet for 3-5 minutes on low until lightly browned. set aside to cool.

2.   pulse the cheese in the processor a few times on chop. process continuously for about 15 seconds until finely ground. remove cheese to a bowl and set aside. pulse the pine nuts in the processor a few times on chop. remove into bowl with cheese and set aside.

3.  add the garlic to the processor, and chop until minced. add the fresh basil leaves, salt and 1/2 of the olive oil (so about 1/6 cup). pulse a few times on grind mode, and the grind continuously until basil leaves are chopped up (about 15 seconds). run the processor on grind mode while you add the remaining olive oil slowly, through the holes on the lid of the work bowl. keep processing for about 10 seconds after all the oil is added.

4.   add the reserved cheese and pine nuts to the processor and pulse a few times, until all ingredients are combined. the pesto will develop a better flavor if you let it sit for about 30 minutes before using.

5.   to freeze pesto (optional), portion the pesto into a silicone ice cube tray, leaving some room on top. top off each mold with olive oil. wrap tray in saran wrap and freeze tray overnight, or until the pesto is frozen solid. remove cubes from tray when ready, and store in freezer bags until use.

tips:

when ready to use, either thaw the pesto in the fridge, or throw it into some hot pasta and stir.

don't use your regular ice trays for the pesto freeze process. my molds retained some of the scent after washing. don't want to dedicate a tray to savory uses? try freezing your pesto in a log and cutting off portions as needed.

this recipe is perfectly sized for the miniprep, but feel free to scale up if you have a bigger processor!

beet and berry smoothie

today i am reintroducing beets, but in a very different type of recipe. if you missed the beet and arugula salad, check it out while arugula is still at the markets. this new recipe today is for a smoothie with beets, using their earthy flavor to tone down the sweetness and make for a refreshing drink. the beets don't take a dominating role here, it just enhances the taste of the berries. if you really like beets you can certainly amp the amount up to your liking.

for this recipe, i steamed the beets instead of boiling them. either method is good, but i found steaming them makes the process a little less messy.

start by scrubbing the beets well and trimming off the ends, so they no longer have a dirty exterior. cut them in half (or more pieces if you have large beets) and place them in your steamer tray. let them steam for 20 minutes or until you can pierce them easily with a fork.

a good tip for making smoothies is to overbuy berries when they are at their peak, and thus cheapest at the market. i lay them out on a baking sheet and freeze them for maybe 15-30 minutes. once they are cold and getting hard, you can dump them all in a tupperware for easier storage. pre-freezing them on a sheet means when you go to use them, they won't stick together into one big frozen clump as they would if you just put them in the tupperware first thing.

you'll start with just a 1/4 cup of chopped beets. add it to the blender with the apple juice and frozen mixed berries. add in about a handful of ice (about 4 cubes for me) and you are ready to blend!

Blend for a few minutes, pausing occasionally to stir with a long spoon (with blender off) if necessary to get your blender going.

heres the before and after:

Pour it into a glass and you are ready to serve!

If you are in the mood for a creamier smoothie, you can add a tablespoon or two of plain greek yogurt. It makes for a slightly lighter color (on the left in the picture below).

beet and berry smoothie
makes about 2 cups

ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped, steamed beets
1 cup frozen strawberries
3/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup apple juice or apple cider (i used a fresh one from the farmers market)
handful of ice (about 4 cubes)
1-2 tbsp plain greek yogurt (optional)

directions:

1.   to steam the beets, scrub thoroughly until clean and cut into halves, or quarters if you are using large beets. place in a steamer tray in a large pot with about an inch of simmering water and let steam for 20-25 minutes, until beets are tender. remove from pot and let cool.

2.   combine 1/4 cup beets with the rest of the ingredients in a blender, and blend until no lumps or chunks of frozen fruit remain. pour into a glass to serve.

notes: i recommend using a cold pressed apple juice or apple cider, the kind you would find either at a farmer's market, or in the supermarket with a label from a nearby orchard. if you aren't in an area with local apple juice, 100% apple juice