Tonight’s bonus recipe is Key Lime Pie Gelato
The second week of August and many kids are heading back to school next week. For me, summer doesn’t end until the leaves turn.
Thank the stars JeffreyW has photos to match with just about every menu this week. Here’s his salsa.
This week, Tuesday features Fresh Garden Salsa to top some souped up Nachos.
Click here for the PDF of all this week’s menus: August Week 2 Menus
….and his Bruschetta
Thursday features a fresh garden Pasta with Marinated Vegetables and Bruschetta. And Friday has a ground lamb or turkey Curry Burger.
For the detailed and color-coordinated shopping list, click here: August Week 2 Shopping List.
Bonus Recipe:
Key Lime Pie Gelato
- Gelato Plain Base (recipe below)
- 1 graham cracker crust, broken into pieces and frozen (recipe below)
- 3 tbsps fresh lime juice, preferably Key lime*
- 2 tsp grated lime zest
Make the Gelato Plain Base and chill as directed. Make the graham cracker crust as directed and freeze.
To make Key Lime Gelato: Gently whisk the limejuice and zest into the base. Pour the mixture into the container of an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Just after churning quickly stir in the graham cracker crust pieces, reserving some for garnish. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.
*after you mix in the lime and zest, give it a taste and add more limejuice as desired. If you’re prefer it a bit more tangy, you can add up to 2 more tbsp without worrying about consistency.
Graham Cracker Crust
Note: You can substitute graham cracker pieces if you don’t want to make an actual crust. I just like the buttery flavor and texture of the actual crust in the gelato.
For the graham cracker crust: Mix 1/2 cup melted butter, 2 tbsp sugar and 2 cups graham cracker crumbs together. Press firmly onto the bottom of a well buttered 8×8 glass baking dish and bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. Cool and remove from the baking dish, break into bite-size pieces and freeze in a covered container.
This recipe is the base for most gelatos, it’s also good frozen by itself:
Gelato di Crema (Gelato Plain Base)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 large egg yolk
- 2/3 cup sugar
In a heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the milk and cream. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn’t form, until tiny bubbles start to form around the edges and the mixture reaches a temperature of 170°F.
Meanwhile, in a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Gradually whisk in the sugar until it is well incorporated and the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Temper* the egg yolks by very slowly pouring in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously. Return the custard to the saucepan and place over low heat. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and it reaches a temperature of 185°F. Do not bring to a boil.
*The best way to temper is to add a tablespoon at a time until you’ve added about 1/4 cup. Then you can add a full ladle at a time, slowly.
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What’s on your plate this weekend?
That’s it for this week. Hit the comments with any questions. – TaMara
debbie
Graeters used to sell Blueberry Pie ice cream with pieces of crispy cinnamon crust. Yum!
Lapassionara
Yum! These look great. Thanks.
Major Major Major Major
Now I want a lamburger.
Svensker
Key Lime Pie gelato? !!!! I’m making it.
NotMax
Made a cornbread loaf (not the usual flat pan cornbread, rather a regular shape/size bread loaf) in the super-duper bread machine. Added some red pepper flakes plus a pinch of coarse ground black pepper to the dough. Yumalicious.
@debbie
Different brand which I’ve only seen once at the supermarket. But dang it was tasty.
p.a.
Local establishment does their lamburger wrapped in filo dough.
@NotMax: Try the canned pickled serrano peppers (slice ’em) in cornbread of any shape.
@debbie: That sounds delish. I’ve had blueberry icecream (vanilla w/blueberries; Wyman’s I believe.)
Yarrow
I cooked lima beans straight from my garden tonight. Just boiled them and tossed with butter and lemon when done. YUM! They were so good. First time I’ve grown them so it was a bit of an experiment. I’m definitely going to grow them again. I’ve got plenty more to harvest so am looking forward to several meals.
I’m also inundated with black-eyed peas. I planted them in two places and they were supposed to be bush plants. They are not. They are climbing vines and are growing everywhere. I am overwhelmed with black-eyed peas now. I cooked the standard Hoppin’ John the other night but I have way more that I can eat up that way. If anyone has any suggestions for how to use them up I’d appreciate it. I guess I can let them dry but I’m enjoying them fresh.
p.a.
@Yarrow: Cape Verde black eyed pea recipe.
chopper
@debbie:
I make a mean gelato, plus I just picked 7 pounds of blueberries. may be worth a shot.
Villago Delenda Est
All this looks so good…
Glad dinner is in 15 minutes!
Mnemosyne
All right, cooking jackals, I need some advice:
I’m going to take another stab at getting this FODMAPs tummy issue under control, which means I’m going to have to cook EVERY goddamned thing I eat from scratch for at least a month.
I am following a dietician’s instructions here, so I don’t need recipe help — I need food prep help. What vegetables can I cut up on Sunday that will still be usable on Friday? Can I pre-cut things like raw chicken? How do I store pre-cut stuff so it doesn’t go bad or dry out? What other food prep can I do ahead of time so all I have to do at dinnertime is open up a bag or container and start cooking? Help!
Yarrow
@p.a.: Thank you! That looks delicious.
@Mnemosyne: I think you’ll be a bit unhappy if you cut up most vegetables on Sunday and want to use them Friday. The edges will dry out and it will make some of them go off, wilt or get mushy depending on what vegetable they are. You could probably cut crunchier vegetables like celery and carrots on Sunday and still use them on Tuesday and then plan to do another round of cutting vegetables on Wednesday for the next two days.
I’d recommend using frozen vegetables if you can in your recipes. You can find them pre-cut and just use what you need out of the bag. Saves a lot of time.
For meat you could pre-cut it and then freeze it in amounts that you need. Would take a bit of planning but if you have specific recipes you’re following you should know the amounts you need for each one. Just put the frozen packet of meat in the fridge in the morning to use at night.
Good luck.
Ohio Mom
@debbie: After many years, I settled on Graeters Mocha Chip. That is all I ever get, and I am always happy with my choice.
@Mnemosyne: Aren’t any of your recipes freezeable? Would using a food processor speed up the vegetable chopping?
NotMax
@Mnemosyne
Pre-cut and stored veggies will lose nutrients (and texture) over time. That said, here are some tips. Making sure to use a very sharp knife will help alleviate the loss a bit.
debbie
@chopper:
I couldn’t figure out how the crust pieces didn’t turn mushy, but hope yours works out!
debbie
@Ohio Mom:
That’s a favorite, but their peach ice cream is awfully nice! ?
Mnemosyne
@Yarrow:
I don’t get the actual recipes until at least Sunday, so I’m not sure what I’m going to be able to get that’s already frozen. Diced fennel is a popular substitute for onions, but nobody seems to sell it frozen or otherwise pre-cut. Sigh.
@Ohio Mom:
It may turn into a big cooking fest on Sunday with re-heating throughout the week, but it depends on the recipes, which are currently pending.
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne: Hopefully it won’t be too complicated. How long are you on the restricted diet before they allow you to start adding things back in? Is that the month?
You might also find if you read labels really carefully that there might be some foods you can buy. Or maybe those will be on your list.
Betsy
@Yarrow: you can make black eyed pea hummus, falafel, and also mash and use as burrito filling or similar to refried beans. Mash and add to chili to thicken it.
A good filling supper is a nuked sweet potato, blackeyed peas, and sticky white rice with lots of butter – so deep South.
Yarrow
@Betsy: Thanks. I think I’ve had some kind of mashed black-eyed pea dip, now that I think of it. Sort of similar to hummus. I don’t have a recipe, though.
Mnemosyne
@Yarrow:
It’s about 4-6 weeks on the restricted diet since it’s an elimination diet, and then I do the “challenges” to figure out which foods cause the tummy troubles.
The reason it’s so hard to buy prepared foods is that you have to completely cut out garlic and onions, and those are in EVERYTHING savory that’s pre-made. If the package says “seasonings,” it has garlic and/or onion powder. ?
It will be a little easier this time because at least I can now get things like ketchup and salsa from a company called Fody so I don’t have to make them from scratch, but it’s still a pain and a lot of work.
JAFD
I live near a Portugese/Brazilian neighborhood, local supermarket has ‘digestive biscuits’ made by Spanish company called Gullon. Taste like graham crackers, seem to be made with less sugar, cost less than US graham cracker brands (at least in this store).
Worth a try if at local store at reasonable price – probably no sense getting them from Amazon.
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne: Oh, yeah, I’m aware of the mysterious “seasonings.” I’ve actually gone so far as to call a company and ask them specifics. I wish food packaging laws weren’t such that companies could get away with using “seasonings’ for things and instead had to tell us exactly what’s in something.
Well, good luck with everything. Elimination diets are tough and that also means you don’t get to eat out, which can be frustrating when you’re tired. Pre-cutting what you can and getting it ready to go in freezer packets can help, as can making extra so you can eat it up for a few days.
BlueNC
@Mnemosyne: In addition to prep, consider cooking in larger batches and freezing the result. Then reheat for dinner. Good luck!
Barry
@Mnemosyne: “I am following a dietician’s instructions here, so I don’t need recipe help — I need food prep help. What vegetables can I cut up on Sunday that will still be usable on Friday? Can I pre-cut things like raw chicken? How do I store pre-cut stuff so it doesn’t go bad or dry out? What other food prep can I do ahead of time so all I have to do at dinnertime is open up a bag or container and start cooking? Help!”
From my experience, for vegetables:
1) Thicker is better. Thin stuff will wilt quickly.
2) You can buy good frozen vegetables in large bags, and then rebag them in smaller, one-two portion bags. In the morning, pull a small bag from the freezer and put it into the refrigerator.
3) Start with thawed vegetables, so that you don’t have to cook them as long.
4) Learn to use your microwave on 50% and 25% power, for thawing and warming.
And as said above, look for recipes amenable to refrigeration and reheating. Or better, to freezing (in small containers) and reheating. You really want to spend one hour cooking a large batch of something, and then have 10 servings in the freezer. Do that twice a week, and you’ll have 2-3 dozen servings of 3-4 different meals.
Barry
@Yarrow: “Well, good luck with everything. Elimination diets are tough and that also means you don’t get to eat out, which can be frustrating when you’re tired. Pre-cutting what you can and getting it ready to go in freezer packets can help, as can making extra so you can eat it up for a few days.”
A local vegetarian restaurant in Ann Arbor (Seva) is quite used to people who want detailed breakdowns of their ingredients. Try vegetarian restaurants.
Mnemosyne
@ Sister Railgun:
That’s the kind of website I was looking for — thanks! I think her gluten-free or clean eating cookbook might work to learn the techniques.
Mnemosyne
@ Schroedinger’s Cat:
That’s the kind of thing I’m hoping to do, but I don’t start getting the shopping lists and recipes from the dietician until tomorrow (and possibly Monday — they were supposed to change my program start day from Monday to Sunday, but they have a small staff so I don’t know if it’s happened yet).
schrodingers_cat
@Mnemosyne: What are your dietary restrictions?