Blueberry-Lemon Streusel Bars

I made these Blueberry Streusel Bars with Lemon-Cream Filling for an office birthday celebration.  It was the first time I had made the recipe, but it was in my files with a note that it is one of my daughter Lisa's favorites, and I almost always like her recommendations.  It also seemed like a good summer treat, pretty easy to make, and good for a group. I was a little nervous about how they would turn out, but I shouldn't have worried - everyone seemed to enjoy them.

When you make them use fresh blueberries and lemons, and make sure the blueberries are at room temperature.  You can multiply the recipe as long as the pan size increases proportionately.

Great dessert for that summer barbecue!

My First Attempt at Cocktail Cherries

I finally got around to cracking open one of those jars of my homemade cocktail cherries, and I'm pretty proud of how they turned out, especially for the first try.  No more of those bright red maraschino cherries with all the deadly chemicals. 

I made the recipe up after doing a lot of looking at different versions I found on the internet.  The only requirement I had in advance was that I wanted to use Luxardo maraschino liqueur, made from Marasca cherries the basis of the original maraschino cherries made before the current dayglo commercial version was developed.

I am sure I will be experimenting with the recipe over time.  I especially want to try using sour cherries instead of the sweet ones I used this time. 

These will be a great addition to those Manhattans and Old Fashioneds, but they may also show up in some unusual places for a cocktail cherry to be -- like this mojito (this weekend's cocktail of the week).  Isn't it pretty?  And no dye or chemicals added.

Brazilian Coconut Shrimp

I don't need to say a whole lot about this one.  If you love shrimp on the grill, you just have to try it.  This recipe for Brazilian Coconut Shrimp started with one by Steven Raichlen in his How to Grill.  But I don't like green bell pepper, and I like ginger more than he does, and it does not need any basting or extra lime at the end, so I changed the recipe around.  You should do the same.  This recipe idea is really flexible, and you should make it in just the way that sounds good to you. I would not have thought about marinating shrimp in coconut milk, but with the ginger and jalapenos, and just a touch of char on the edges, it really has a pleasant spicy, slightly sweet flavor that is perfect for summer.

Raichlen thinks his recipe would also be good with scallops, fish, or chicken, skewered or not.  I think this variation would, too.  If you don't want to take the trouble to skewer everything, just grill some chunks of onion and red bell pepper.

We had it with a salad and some leftover (!) potato salad. Don't remember for sure what we drank with it, but looking at this picture, it strikes me that your favorite ice cold beer would be perfect -- sit out on the back porch and watch the antelopes run around while you eat.

Coming Soon

This has been one of those busy weekends where it doesn't seem like much got done. We spent quite a bit of time doing exciting stuff like editing pictures and reorganizing contact lists, doing a Costco run (not a small thing since we have to drive 70 miles for that) and shopping for a new phone for Kathy (Droid!)  And I guess I did get a little bit done with Jim's Place for Food and Booze.  We got to experiment with Pomegranate Cosmopolitans (not our favorite, as I reported on Friday) and ate at a favorite area restaurant (The Grotto Grill in Bandara - see my Facebook post).  


But all that is just a bunch of excuses why I haven't told you yet about cracking open the cocktail cherries I wrote about a couple of weeks ago (awesome!), or about the Brazilian Coconut Shrimp Kebabs on the grill that I made today (one of the best ever grilled shrimp recipes!).  They will both be great additions to your summer grilling repertoire, so I'll get the recipes written up as soon as possible.


Side note:  If you like seafood, but are not near the sea, or BP has destroyed your normal supply, check out Costco.  Their frozen seafood section has all kinds of fish, scallops, and shrimp that are packaged without any of those nasty chemical additives like sodium tripolyphosphate that are found in much of what you often get at the grocery store.

Pomegranate Cosmopolitan

Kathy and I don't like this week's cocktail of the week so much.  We knew going in that vodka is not one of our favorites.  But we had some pomegranate juice that we got on special at our grocery store (it was free with our store's coupon), and we decided to experiment with it.  The resulting Pomegranate Cosmopolitan was very pretty.


I know, though, that several of my family and friends do like vodka, so I will keep this in our collection for them, and I'll be happy to serve it any time one of them comes to visit.


And if any of you decide to try it, I hope you will let me know if it is good.


As for me, I think I'll be having something made with rye.