Sour Cherry Pie

For my dad's birthday.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I went strawberry picking yesterday and came home to discover half a chocolate bar in my pantry just waiting to be melted down and used for dipping berries. Yum!!!!

Coconut-Cashew-Banana Smoothie

My friend Erik came up with this one (he adds cacao nibs and cocoa powder to his too!), and man is it decadent- almost like a milkshake! After my cleanse I was so excited to make this. I made some fresh coconut milk in my juicer (but you could also just put young coconut meat and its water in a blender for a similar effect), mixed that with one banana and a big tablespoon of raw cashew butter, and added a little vanilla bean, some freshly grated ginger, and a pinch of cinnamon and cardamom. YUM!

Lime Yogurt Sorbet with Toasted Almond Topping

I've been trying to come up with new ways to use all the limes from my father's tree. This recipe came from Martha Stewart and was deliciously tart! I used about four times the amount of lime zest, and only half the yogurt, which may have had something to do with that. The topping is just leftover chopped almonds with sugar and butter that form the crust for the truffle cake from River Cafe.

Yogurt with Persimmons and Honey

Pear Clafoutis

When I was in Paris a couple of years ago, I had the most amazing clafoutis in a tiny wine bar near the Louvre. It wasn't on the menu, but the woman behind the bar brought a slice out for another patron and I pointed and somehow managed to order one myself. This recipe was Julia Child's, and it wasn't quite as custardy as the one in my memory, but it was still a delicious way to use up more of my dad's pears and the perfect finish to a French themed picnic dinner this weekend.

Roasted Autumn Fruit with Custard

Our friends from Seattle were in town so Erik and I made this to take to a lovely dinner in their honor. We used two kinds of figs and two kinds of pluots, cooked with a little lemon juice, orange zest, sugar, and vanilla bean.

Tarte Tatin with Creme Fraiche Ice Cream

I wanted to make something using my dad's current crop of extra tart apples, and as it happens, apple pie is a favorite of the dinner guest I was having over this week. Instead of an American apple pie, I decided to try my hand at the classic French version- tarte tatin. I've made banana tarte tatin, and tomato tarte tatin, but never the traditional apple. I followed Jamie Oliver's recipe, which was very simple, but I got impatient waiting for the liquid from the apples to reduce before adding the puff pastry, and it got a little soggy. When I reheated the tarte for this photo, it got a little close to the broiler, so my apologies for the unsightly burnt edge. Either way (soggy or burnt) it still tasted great, and the ice cream (for which I used David Lebovitz's recipe) was fabulous and the perfect tangy accompaniment to this sweet dessert.

Fig and Basil Salad with Goat Cheese

Inspired by yet another recipe in Plenty, with Genovese and Thai Basil, Arugula, and a pomegranate molasses dressing.

Charentais Melon, Buffala Mozzarella, Basil, Sea Salt, Olive Oil

I guess this is just a fancier version of cantaloupe and cottage cheese, but boy is it good...

Strawberries with Creme Fraiche and Sugar

Roasted Plums with Baked Ricotta

My dad has an abundance of Satsuma plums and has been offloading them onto me regularly. I baked these with some honey and spices (vanilla bean, cloves, cardamom), and had them for breakfast. They were a bit tart (the skin can be very sour on this variety of plum and that comes out when they are cooked) so next time I would add a good handful of brown sugar as well.

Peaches with Greek Yogurt

Summer Sangria

I am a sucker for Moscato d'Asti and as great as it is on its own, it also makes an amazing sangria. Here I used a combination of peaches, plums, and a handful of cherries, but really any summer fruits will work. I also added some green apple and grapefruit to give it an authentic sangria feel.

Ricotta with Peaches and Acacia Honey

Strawberries and Cream

One of the best things about living in the UK (in my opinion) is the amazing variety of dairy products; your average grocery store has at least four kinds of cream to choose from, and when I lived in London I loved to buy double cream to pour over the incredible strawberries that were available in the summer. The heavy cream one can buy here in the States is much thinner but makes a decent substitute when I have freshly picked berries in my kitchen.

Roasted Rhubarb over Yogurt

I roasted the rhubarb with lemon zest and juice, finely minced ginger, and brown sugar. Best breakfast ever!

Citrus Salad with Avocado

Cherry Custard Tart with Anise

This came from the Moro Cookbook- the cherries (which I had frozen from last summer) are cooked in anise liqueur, and then you make a syrup with the juice to pour over the finished tart. Please note that due to the low lighting, this looks much more yellow and eggy than it really was!

Pluot Galette

Inspired by a tart I had at Chez Panisse last month, we served this with rosewater whipped cream, which really brought out the fragrance of the pluots. (Pictured below with our favorites from the River Cafe books: Chocolate Walnut Torte and Pear Almond Cake)