plum popsicles

The temperature has been averaging 102 degrees for a week now and everything I've wanted to eat  and drink has been light and cooling- ratatouille last night, a Hendrick's gin and tonic with Sabine on Wednesday and today, roasted red plum popsicles.

A nice man was sitting outside my local farmers market last night with a cooler of plums, offering free samples. I tried one and  "it was a very plum plum". I bought a bag and was faced with the pleasant problem of figuring out what to do with a large bowl of plums. My mom recently sent me the People's Pops recipe book so the answer was clear: popsicles!

I opted for the roasted red plum popsicles which could not be easier to make:

1 1/4 lbs plums, halved

1 cup simple syrup (I flavored mine with 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla- you can also use cardamom, cinnamon, or nutmeg

Prehead the oven to 350 F. Place the plums cut side down on a cookie sheet, then roast until the skins and flesh are soft (about 30 minutes). Remove from the oven and cool. 

Once the plums are cool enough to touch, remove the pits and whiz the plums, skins and all, in a food processor. Transfer the pureed plums to a bowl or measuring pitcher with a spout and add the simple syrup. Sitre until the mixture is well incorporated and taste. The mixture should be sweet, yet slightly tart. 

Pour the mixture in ice pop mold and freeze 4-5 hours. 

(recipe via People's Pops)

The best soundtrack for popsicle making on a hot Saturday? Beachwood Sparks new album "Tarnished Gold" on NPR First Listen.

June Lady Dinner

Sabine did a very nice job of writing about our June Lady Dinner at Haus. Haus only serves three things- sausages (from Local Pig, natch), beer, and french fries. Perfect. 

Suffice to say the sausages were good, the conversation was better, and I'm so happy to resume our monthly dinners!

via

Royals Baseball (and happy Fathers Day!)

I grew up mostly in New Jersey and Connecticut, close enough to Yankee Stadium for my dad to attend many, many games of his beloved New York Yankees. He almost always brought my sister and I along, and we always each got one souvenir (most of which are now in the dedicated Yankee room at my parents house) and sandwiches from Court Deli.

Because of this, I still like going to baseball games and I was very happy to be invited to a Kansas City Royals game to celebrate my friend Angie's cover on this weeks Kansas City Ink Magazine. Especially when I was told we'd be tailgating. What in the world could be better than grilling sausages and drinking beer in a parking lot while listening to Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen? For some people, I guess a lot of things but for me (at least on a gorgeous summer night) not much.

We stocked up on essentials- Coors Light, Leinenkugels's Summer Shandy and sausage from The Local Pig.

Vintage Abercrombie cooler and a Bodum grill I'm coveting

Grilling

Half of me and our neighbors playing washers in the lot

It was a good night for baseball

Just a postscript: I spoke to my dad in the middle of writing this and he told me the greatest baseball game he's ever seen in person was the Yankees versus the Royals in the fifth game of the 1976 World Series. The teams were tied six-six until the bottom of the ninth inning when Chris Chambliss (who apparently was our neighbor in New Jersey) hit a home run. My dad was freezing his tucus off in the bleacher seats. So there you go.

Delicious! Ice Cream

Ice cream is my biggest food vice.

I simply cannot get enough of it. So I was very excited when my mother sent me the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker stand mixer attachment for my birthday. I chose the most simple recipe I could find out of the Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream At Home book (backyard mint) and dropped by Sabine's to harvest her herb garden.

The result was delicious! An earthy, minty, incredible ice cream. You can use any herb in the recipe- I'm thinking next time will be rosemary with candied ginger.

In her book, Jeni recommends making a boozy float- whisky and soda with a scoop of ice cream. Of course the following night, I had to have some friends over for a tasting.

They were very good.

A fashion show in the Paris of the Plains

Each year, the West 18th Street Fashion Show takes place in Kansas City. 18th street in the Crossroads District is shut down, a runway is built and a fashion show filled with up and coming designers takes place.

Some of the clothes were good (no models stopped in front of me, or I would have shown my favorites) some of the accessories were very good, and some had me puzzled. That's not really what matters though- what's important is that Kansas City has more events like this one.

Yes, a horse opened the show. 

Saturday was also my birthday, and I had some friends over for drinks and bits before the show. More than celebrating my birthday, throwing a cocktail party was an excuse to make the best party cocktail you'll ever have and serve it to some of my favorite Kansas City-ans.

I kept the food simple- Union Square Cafe bar nuts, Easter egg radishes with sea salt, olives and an eggplant dip with pita from my brand new Fresh & Easy Cookbook (which Matt sent to me for my birthday along with...new pans!).

A friend brought monster cupcakes

The view from the kitchen

Baby Harper was the tiniest and sleepiest guest.
She kept it festive with a cupcake onesie and a bow. 

We ended the night at Westport Cafe where I allowed myself a birthday indulgence: Spring pea ravioli and a side of french fries.

Sweet Visit: South Florida

It took a year of daydreaming (Italy? Palm Springs? Miami? Kansas City?) but Matt and I finally found the most perfect location for our wedding- a villa (complete with a resident peacock named Sir Winston) in Coconut Grove.

Our chuppah will be set up between the arches.

My family scoped out the location first, and told me to come to Florida as soon as possible- there was only one date available in 2013! So this past weekend, I took a quick trip south and it's true- the venue is  perfect for us. We'll be married in the courtyard (fingers crossed for no rain) April 27, 2013. Matt and I are beyond excited.

It was just ladies this weekend- my father was riding his bicycle through Georgia (and perhaps that was a good thing for him- last time I was home he very gamely went wedding dress shopping). After seeing the venue we had a lovely lunch at the Peacock Cafe.

Then it was on to Sasha's Bridal to place the order for my dress and a quick trip to Saks for preliminary MOH dress shopping for my sister. It was a truly delightful day.

So many dresses!

Since there are lots and lots of wedding blogs already, I'll keep wedding-related posts to a minimum unless I feel there's something particularly newsworthy or lovely...