summer Archives - A Calculated Whisk

Pineapple Peach Margaritas

July 18, 2017 By Becky 6 Comments

These creamy, frozen pineapple peach margaritas are just the thing for hot summer evenings.

Somehow a whole month has passed without me sharing a recipe, and it’s felt like no time at all! I didn’t intend to take such a break, and I’ve been sitting on these scrumptious margaritas for quite some time, but one thing after another kept piling up. I’ve been hard at work on some exciting freelance projects that I can’t wait to tell you about as soon as I’m able!

For today, though, I’m offering a simple, sweet, and creamy libation. These pineapple peach margaritas are made with ripe summer peach, frozen pineapple, fresh-squeezed orange and lime juice, and a splash of cream or coconut milk. I like a mix of sea salt and raw sugar for the rim, which helps strike an ideal and refreshing balance between sweet and salty tastes.

Bolognese Stuffed Zucchini with Pesto

June 14, 2017 By Becky 34 Comments

This post is sponsored by Uncle Steve’s Italian Specialties.

These bolognese stuffed zucchini with pesto are a satisfying and summery Whole30 meal made with organic tomato basil sauce, ground beef, and plenty of fresh pesto on top.

How is summer treating you so far? Here in Chattanooga it’s been nice and hot (just the way I like it!) and we’ve been getting in a lot of swimming. I’ve also been working on my tan while doing my farm share work, and loving the first rounds of summer produce showing up, like zucchini, basil, and even a few tomatoes.

I used my early squash to make these bolognese stuffed zucchini with pesto, which combine seasonal vegetables and a few pantry staples to make an easy but hearty paleo dinner.

And no, I’m not suggesting you make a true bolognese sauce that needs to simmer away for hours in this heat. This is a bit of a cheater’s bolognese, because we’re letting Uncle Steve’s do the hard work for us. Their organic tomato basil sauce is so flavorful that all we have to do is brown the ground beef with a little onion, and stir in the sauce. The resulting filling will fool all your lucky dinner companions into thinking you worked all day to handcraft an authentic Italian sauce.

Mango Jerk Chicken + How to Cook Rice on the Grill

May 22, 2017 By Becky 29 Comments

This post is sponsored by Cost Plus World Market.

Marinated Jerk Chicken + How to Cook Rice on the Grill

This mango jerk chicken is extra delicious thanks to mango juice in the marinade, and the whole meal is super simple because the rice is cooked on the grill, too!

While it technically won’t be summer for another month, it’s already felt like summer here in Chattanooga for several weeks. Ben and I got the grill set up at our new place, and I’m eager to cook as many meals as possible entirely outside. It’s so much easier to keep the kitchen clean and cool when you make your whole meal on the grill! For this dinner, we’re marinating chicken breasts in jerk seasoning and a generous glug of mango juice, and pairing them with rice cooked on the grill and then mixed with fresh mango, cilantro, and peas.

I always have so much fun shopping at Cost Plus World Market Hamilton Place–since there are so many gourmet food items, beautiful linens, kitchen essentials, and tableware all in one spot, it is pretty hard to get me out of there once I walk in. And of course, they have everything you need for grilling. They’re also often sampling something delicious to sip or nibble on while you shop. Thanks to the samples, I got to make sure this mango juice was super tasty before I bought it! You can find your local Cost Plus World Market store here.

15 Naturally-Sweetened Cocktails for Summer Celebrations

May 21, 2017 By Becky 16 Comments

These 15 delicious drinks are made without refined sugar to help keep your summertime soirées a little healthier without missing out on any of the fun. If you have favorite naturally-sweetened cocktails for summer, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Watermelon Gin Cooler from A Calculated Whisk: This refreshing drink is made with honey-basil simple syrup and botanical gin.

Grilled Mango Habanero Margaritas from Wicked Spatula: This sweet & spicy cocktail is sweetened with honey. Grilling the mango adds a little bit of smoky flavor!

Mango Curd Ice Cream

May 2, 2017 By Becky 26 Comments

This mango curd ice cream is rich and refreshing at the same time, and perfect for taking advantage of peak mango season!

Have you spotted any champagne mangos (also known as ataulfo or honey) in stores recently? They’re my absolute favorite. They’re the smaller, golden-colored mangos, and I find their flavor sweeter and cleaner than their larger, red-skinned counterparts. (I didn’t take a picture of the whole mangos this time, but you can see what they look like in the photos for my stuffed avocados with shrimp and mango.) Their flesh is also less fibrous than other mangos, which makes them an ideal choice for whipping up a smooth curd that will eventually become mango curd ice cream.

Making mango curd is easy, and it’s a wonderful addition to my relatively large collection of fruit curds. I start by pureeing mango chunks to yield the golden nectar you see below (an immersion blender makes cleanup super quick). The mango puree goes into a saucepan with raw sugar, a few egg yolks, a couple spoonfuls of lime juice, a splash of vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Next, I whisk it over medium heat until it’s cooked and thickened a bit. Since the mango puree is so thick to begin with, the change isn’t as dramatic as with other curds, so I like to use a thermometer to keep track. When the temperature is between 150 and 155°F, it’s done. If you don’t have a thermometer, watch for plenty of steam rising from the edges of the pan, but don’t let it actually start to bubble.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecakes with Figs and Raspberries

August 25, 2016 By Becky 8 Comments

These vanilla bean cheesecakes with figs and raspberries require no grains, dairy, eggs, or cooking! They’re the ideal cold sweet treat for the end of summer. Thank you to Rodelle for providing products for this recipe!

I’m back, and I brought mini cheesecakes! Vanilla bean mini cheesecakes made with cashews and topped with fresh figs and raspberries, that is. And you don’t even need to cook or bake anything! These little cheesecakes are so satisfying on a summer evening. The no-bake crust is just sweet enough, with a hint of chocolate and an almondy crunch, and the cheesecake layer is super-smooth and studded with vanilla bean seeds. On top are fresh raspberries and figs sitting like frosted jewels. The combination is so addictive that I know these will vanish from your freezer just as fast as they did from mine!

Here’s how these vanilla bean cheesecakes come together. First, you need to soak your cashews in hot water for an hour and soak the pitted dates in hot water for at least fifteen minutes. (Want to soak all your stuff the same amount of time? A little extra won’t hurt the dates!) Then, you’re going to pulse dates, almonds, and a little bit of cocoa in the food processor to make the crust. The chocolate isn’t a dominant flavor, but gives the crust a little extra something. I don’t like it when my desserts taste too much like dates, and the cocoa also helps mask that flavor a bit. You grease a muffin tin, line the cups with a little parchment paper handle like in the photo below, and pat a dollop of crust right into each cup.

Ribeye Steak with Chimichurri Butter + FREE Grass-fed Ribeyes

August 8, 2016 By Becky 8 Comments

Grassfed ribeye steak with chimichurri butter is the perfect easy summer dinner to throw on the grill. Thank you so much to ButcherBox for supplying the grassfed steaks for this recipe!

If you’re on a summer oven-free streak like me, I have just the meal for you: grilled ribeye steaks, sweet corn, and summer squash, all slathered with a delectable chimichurri butter. This meal is super quick and easy to put together, and if you don’t like or have corn or squash it’s easy to sub in other summer veggies. The chimichurri butter is a creamier version of the world’s best steak condiment, featuring fresh parsley, garlic, oregano, and just a hint of a vinegary tang. You’ll want to melt a pat of it on everything savory that comes off your grill for the rest of summer.

Oh, and the best part? You can get the grass-fed ribeye steaks for this meal for free!

The delicious grass-fed ribeyes pictured here are from ButcherBox, a company that searches high and low for the best grass-fed, grass-finished beef, heritage pork, and organic chicken, and delivers it all right to your door in a convenient subscription box. You can choose between an all-beef, beef and chicken, beef and pork, or all three box, and each one contains 7-10 pounds of meat, or enough for up to 20 individual meals.

Watermelon Cooler

August 5, 2016 By Becky 4 Comments

This refreshing watermelon cooler has a hint of basil and cucumber and stays chilled thanks to frozen watermelon balls. Cheers to summer!

Big news: the popsicle stain came out of my pants, and I made us a watermelon cooler to celebrate!

A couple weeks ago Ben came home with a really pretty bottle of something called Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin. He tried it at a bar in Nashville and enjoyed it, so he hunted down some to bring home. I was excited because gin and tequila are my spirits of choice, but Ben usually only buys whiskey and I just can’t stand it. I tried the gin and in addition to the expected piney juniper flavors, I noticed hints of cucumber and sage. It’s such a unique flavor, and really refreshing for summer. I suspected it would pair perfectly with fresh watermelon and decided to create this watermelon cooler.

A watermelon cooler is just what you need on a summer Friday. If gin is not your spirit of choice, this is also delicious virgin and I bet it’d be great with tequila, too. It’s basically watermelon juice amped up with a bit of subtlely herbal honey syrup and tangy lime juice.

Cardamom Coffee Fudgesicles

July 25, 2016 By Becky 18 Comments

These cardamom coffee fudgesicles are like the perfect iced mocha in creamy popsicle form. The cardamom gives them a uniquely enticing flavor.

I finally got a popsicle mold! I’ve been trying to avoid single-use kitchen gadgets, but I just couldn’t help myself. Since getting the mold about a month ago, I think I’ve made these cardamom coffee fudgesicles five times. I had to make sure the recipe made just the right number of popsicles and had just the right amount of cardamom. Also, they kept getting eaten before I could get them photographed!

By the way, photographing popsicles in the summer is not easy! I didn’t plan ahead, so we didn’t have any ice made to set up a cold plate like this. I decided I’d just go for it and be super quick, but the pops were melting even faster than I expected. I freaked out a little because I didn’t want to lose all five of the ones I was snapping pictures of, so I stuck four of them back in the freezer and left one out to photograph.

Summer Kale Salad with Peaches and Candied Pecans

July 18, 2016 By Becky 8 Comments

This refreshing summer kale salad is packed with seasonal superfoods and topped with creamy goat cheese and crunchy candied pecans.

Kale salads. How do you feel? I was a little suspicious back in the day, but if I give the kale a good massage and add a lot of different toppings, I can now get pretty excited about them. If you’re not into kale salads yet, let me see if I can sell you: we’re adding juicy peaches and blueberries, creamy goat cheese, and perfectly salty-sweet candied pecans. CANDIED PECANS! Sorry to shout, but they’re so good, and they’re super easy and quick to make on the stovetop in less than ten minutes. No fuss, no oven. And you may want to make a double batch, because it’s hard to stop snacking on them. I ate a lot of mine before the salad even got dressed!

In other news, I have a serious peach problem. Last summer, we got down to Chattanooga at the end of peach session, right after The Peach Truck had left town. I was so mad I had missed out. All year I waited and checked the schedule. And when they came to East Ridge a little over a week ago, I was there. I bought a 25-pound box of peaches and a one-pound bag of pecans.

Since then, it’s been all peaches all the time. In addition to eating an embarrassing number of them out of hand, juice dripping everywhere, I’ve made a peach dutch baby, peach margaritas (I shared the full recipe on Insta–they’re so good!), peach muffins, and peach ice cream.