Basil Infused Strawberry Sauce

If you're wondering where I've been for the past few weeks (okay, more like a month, eek!) I promise, I have a very good reason.  That fiance I've mentioned several times in posts is now my husband!  We were married May 5th in Napa, CA and then ran off to Kauai for a couple of weeks for our honeymoon.  Now we're back on the East Coast, and we're entering my favorite time of the year.  No, I am not referring to summer because, as my fellow Philadelphians will probably tell you, summer can be pretty unpleasant around here.  As a matter of fact, a quick glance at my weather app tells me the mercury is hovering around 92 degrees with 59% humidity.  It's still May, right? 

Back to why this is my favorite time of year.  For the past 7 months I've been at the mercy of the grocery store's produce offerings, but now we begin to embark on harvest season where fresh fruits and vegetables abound.  Seedlings I planted months ago are flourishing, and local farms are boasting the news of fresh fruits and vegetables for sale.  Up first is a personal favorite of mine, strawberries!  The recipe below is for a very versatile sauce and will be the foundation of the next two posts so stay tuned....


Basil Infused Strawberry Sauce (Yields approximately 1 cup)

Ingredients
2 cups quartered fresh strawberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup water

Instructions
1.  Rinse basil leaves squeeze excess water from them.  This will "bruise" them which will allow the flavors to release when combined with the berries.
2.  Combine berries, lemon juice, sugar, basil leaves and water in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat.  Once the mixture begins to boil, stir frequently and reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer for 5 minutes, remove from heat and place the pan in an icebath.
3.  Store in a glass container for use with icecream, sponge or pound cake or to liven up your lemonade.

Healthy Turkey Tacos

Sometimes I don't know what else to do with ground turkey except make chili or burgers, and right now it's not really the season for either.  So last week I went on a recipe inspiration hunt in search of something seasonal involving ground turkey.  I came up with this Turkey Tacos recipe inspired by Food Network's Turkey Tacos Picadillo.  As a note to those of you who might attempt this recipe yourself, we like these with a little kick.  If you don't like things spicy simply cut the jalapeno and chili powder amounts below in half.  Also, although the recipe yields approximately 12-14 tacos we each eat about 3-4 in a sitting, and then eat the leftovers for lunch on the weekend.  Enjoy!

Fresh Coconut Macaroons

"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts deedle-leee deeee..." Okay so I just had one coconut, but that song [from The Lion King, for those of you wondering] has been stuck in my head ever since I bought the darn thing (almost two weeks!).  Anyway, I was at the produce store, and in the middle of the fruit display was a box of coconuts with a sign "$0.99 each" hanging over it.  I bypassed it by on a mission to get lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and garlic thinking "That's interesting; I don't think I've ever seen coconuts for sale here before."  On my way to check out I walked by the box again, and I couldn't help myself.  I reached my right hand out and snatched one up.  It felt like a hollowed tree branch yet slightly imbalanced so I shook it and heard liquid sloshing around inside.  "Oh I'm definitely buying this now", I thought.  "I have to see what this is about."  So I headed home with my coconut.  I proudly showed Ryan my new find when he arrived home from work.  He mentioned that it wasn't going to taste like the store-bought coconut flakes.  "What do you mean?" I naively said seemingly forgetting that mother nature doesn't infuse insane amounts of sugar in her produce.  "What are you going to do with it?", he asked.  "I have no idea."...and so the search for a recipe began.  There are very few recipes using fresh coconut aside from those that suggest it be used as a vessel for fruity drinks.  I think I have a pretty good idea why, but I digress.  Back to the matter at hand, I settled on a recipe for macaroons thinking they would be a perfect spring dessert.  Naturally, I could just make the recipe as is; I had to tweak it.  So here's my version.  While I don't recommend this recipe for those in a rush or those with little patience I will say that I had fun with the project and I've received numerous compliments on these delicious treats.

Spinach and Cheddar Strata

We hadn't seen Ryan's parents in a while so I suggested he invite them over for a Sunday brunch.  I've always loved brunch.  In college, Saturday and Sunday brunch were the most tolerable of all the meals the dining commons had to offer.  In fact, I'd even venture as far as to say it was good, and that is a high compliment.  Over the years brunch has been relegated to a weekend affair, and occasionally I feel inspired to make a production out of it.  For this brunch I modified Martha Stewart's Spinach and Cheddar Strata and served a Lemon Yogurt Cake with blueberry sauce for dessert.  Ryan's mom brought a lovely fruit salad to round out the menu, and we enjoyed a delicious Prosecco which was a refreshing compliment to everything.