[ Easter Brunch pt. 2. ] Agua Fresca from Over Easy

April 12, 2017 Plate Fete

At this point (many Easters ago) my siblings and I would have begged my mother to her breaking point and gone into full egg-stuffing mode.

A simple agua fresca made with fresh pineapple, fragrant mint, sweet cucumbers, and brightened with lime. The perfect springtime tonic!

We used to have quite the grandiose egg hunts on my family's humble two acres, and once the eggs were pulled out of the barn loft and the candy bought, we would not stop pestering my mother for the task of stuffing them. We would take solemn vows against eating the candy while stuffing, but our thrill in the job was by no means dimmed. My sister and I grabbed our favorite colors - hers purple and mine chartreuse - leaving the unwanted eggs for our compliant younger brother.

I took pride in matching the candy to the eggs and we would excitedly make "bonus eggs" that contained just shy of the number of jelly beans that would keep the egg from closing.

Easter was always joyous, but not because of the new dresses, or the thrilling hunts, or my grandmother's succulent, glazed hams, but because our parents never let us forget that those traditions were just that - traditions, and we were going to church that morning to celebrate something far greater.

Earlier this week, I shared the recipe for this quiche and suggested it as a possible Easter morning option.

Today, on this very fine Wednesday, I am giving you the perfect spring drink to serve alongside it!

This recipe also comes from Over Easy. One of my favorite parts of Joy's newest book is the beverage section. I love all of the fun and inventive beverage options she gives, and I especially appreciate the pairing suggestions. She does our thinking for us.

Up until last week, I had never made any form of agua fresca before, but when I saw the ridiculously simple ingredient list, I decided I had no excuse.

So, what is agua fresca? Well it is a little more than its translation would suggest. I mean, that would be a little boring.

Agua frescas are water-based, non-alcoholic drinks that have been flavored with fruits and/or herbs and sweetened lightly.

I have a very strong sense that you will be seeing quite a few of them this year so you may want to find your blender. Now that I know the simplicity there is nothing stopping me from spiking every glass of water with some herbaceous fusion.

This particular recipe called for cucumbers, pineapple, and mint. I added a dose of fresh lime for a bit more acidity.

I have recently realized that I prefer drinking cucumbers over eating them. Their flavor is so refreshing.

Let's pause to acknowledge the world's most adorable paper straws. The pom-pom tails make my heart skip a beat. I'm squealing as I type this.

This lovely spring tonic can be made the night before you plan to serve it and refrigerated. The flavors will actually improve and meld as it sits.

Simple, fruity, and perfectly refreshing. This is the ideal pairing for your hearty breakfast quiche, and a great way to pave the way for all those cadbury eggs.

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

Cucumber Pineapple Agua Fresca

serves 8 / recipe from Over Easy (slightly adapted)

- 3 cups fresh pineapple cubes

- 1/2 english cucumber, sliced

- 10 fresh mint leaves

- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

- 1/2 cup granulated sugar

- 5 cups filtered water

In the base of your blender combine pineapple, cucumber, mint, lime, sugar, and 2 cups of the water. Blend on high until very smooth. The mixture will be quite thick.

Transfer to a large pitcher and stir in the remaining water. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. This will give the flavors a chance to bloom and meld.

Give the agua fresca a good stir before dispensing. Serve over ice with cute straws and maybe a sprig of mint if you're feeling it. Enjoy!

{The 1st Meal} Easy Banana Bread Pancakes with Pecan Butter

October 2, 2015 Plate Fete

I am not completely sure when it was that my mother first fed me banana bread, but I know that I have been in love with it ever since. I cannot be trusted alone with a loaf of freshly baked banana bread. I’m serious. I can, and will eat the whole loaf, and likely polish off 3/4 of a stick of butter in the process.

If my brother and I are together? Gone. All of it. Yes, we did just buy all the bananas within a ten mile radius, bake 47 loaves of bread, eat every last one of them by ourselves. It’s how we bond. If you need us, we will be found sleeping on the kitchen floor in a beautiful banana bread coma.

What I am trying to say is that I really, really, really like banana bread.

Easy Banana Bread Pancakes with Pecan Butter {Pedantic Foodie}

In my mind, banana bread is breakfast fare. I like to enjoy a warm slice or two with a big cup of coffee. The only challenge is, I often lack the patience to wait an entire hour for my breakfast to bake.

By the time I crawl out of bed and mosey out to the kitchen I can only wait about 23 minutes for food to enter my mouth. Here lies my quandary. Sure, I could bake it the night before, but that would not necessarily guarantee banana bread for breakfast. The lateness of hour by no means lessens my ability to devour.

So, I have to get my banana bread fix in a slightly more timely manner. Hello pancakes!

These pancakes were the first thing I made in my shiny new Ninja blender. Pancakes are always the first thing people make when they get a new blender, right? Okay, maybe not, but they should be.

I have long loved my Ninja blender, so I was more than delighted to take their new Auto iQ model for a test run. Though I loved my former, more basic model, I do not know that I could go back to it after using the Nutri Ninja and all its fancy buttons. It not only serves as a blender, but also as a food processor, giving you extra room in your pantry by cutting down on your appliances.

Besides saving dishes, making pancakes in a blender also aerates the batter, which in turn, leads to fluffy pancakes. For this recipe, I took advantage of the new Smooth Boost setting and it created a perfectly smooth batter without overworking it and making the pancakes tough.

The batter is relatively standard. Ripe bananas are pureed first using the Smooth Boost setting to make them extra creamy. Then they are combined with eggs, butter, vanilla, and milk.

I let the blender do all the work here and she did a fantastic job. The best part? You still only have one dish to clean. Well yes, the measuring cups, but just work with me here.

My particular model comes with two different work bowls as well as two single serving pitchers. I used the Blend and Prep Bowl for this recipe. I was skeptical in the beginning, and I doubted that it would be able to replace my beloved food processor, but it did the job wonderfully. If you can only afford one extra appliance, I would certainly recommend this tool because it can serve as both a blender and a food processor and does both jobs wonderfully well.

As I said before, I have always slathered my banana bread with a generous dose of butter, and I had no intention of treating these pancakes any differently. However, I wanted to jazz my butter up a bit with pecans, brown sugar, and vanilla extract.

Oh yes, I did all of this in the blender too. While the pancakes were cooking, I rinsed out the work bowl and made the butter.

A couple of pulses later, you are ready to slather some pancakes with spoonfuls of sweet, nutty butter.

Here we are. At the end of another week, and ready to forge some meaningful moments. Let’s begin well.

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

This post was in partnership with Ninja Kitchen. As always, all opinions expressed were completely my own. I just happen to be pretty mad about their products.

Banana Bread Pancakes with Brown Sugar Pecan Butter

serves 2-4, depending on your appetite

for the butter

2/3 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup brown sugar

Add raw pecans to the Blend and Prep bowl fitted with the Chopping Blade, or in the work bowl of your food processor. Pulse several times, until finely chopped. Add brown sugar, vanilla, and butter. Pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed. When the butter is smooth, transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.

for the pancakes

1 large banana
8 ounces whole milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 ounces all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
softened butter, for frying

Sift to combine all purpose flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.

In the Ninja Blend and Prep bowl fitted with the chopping blade, or the work bowl your food processor, add 1 banana. Blend until smooth. Add whole milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla extract and pulse several times to combine.

Add flour mixture and blend on high for 1-2 minutes, until a smooth batter has formed.

Place a large frying pan over medium heat and coat with a small amount of butter. Pour about 1/4-1/3 cup(depending on the size of your pan) of batter into the frying pan and cook until the batter has bubbled and all the bubbles have popped. Flip the pancake with an offset spatula and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Continue with the remainder of the batter.

To serve, butter each pancake with the prepared brown sugar pecan butter and drizzle with maple syrup. Top with pecans and sliced bananas, if you feel so inclined. Enjoy!

{Thirsty Friday} Green Tea Summer Punch

August 28, 2015 Plate Fete

Friends, readers, faithful followers, I am sad to inform you that this is the last Friday of August, which means that it is also the last Thirsty Friday post of the year. Sniff, sniff...

Sometime within the next week I'll compile a comprehensive list of all the refreshing recipes I gave to you this summer, for your drinking pleasure.

(On a side note, the word comprehensive makes me twinge. It sounds like I'm talking about an exam... Blah.)

Green Tea Summer Punch {Pedantic Foodie}

I am aware that the summer season is not technically over, but it's almost September and in my mind Fall kind of begins on September first. My brain has already transitioned from slushies and watermelons to pumpkin lattes and apple cider doughnuts. I'm also having to exhibit a gross amount of willpower in order to keep myself from buying all the cute school supplies. It's an annual battle. Pretty pencils and lined notebooks just get to me.

This has been a good Summer. One of the best of my life, actually, and I am rather despondent to say goodbye -- especially to the slushies. However, we are going out with flying colors because that's the only right way to do it.

However, I may have been unfair to punch. Due to my past unpleasant encounters, I utterly disregarded its part in the beverage world. The whole idea of punch is not bad in and of itself.

So, in hopes that I could break down my own unfair misconceptions, I decided to make my own punch. A fruity, green tea based punch that would be a balance of bitter earthiness and sweet, summery fruit, without any of those artificial flavorings.

Our punch begins with green tea. Strongly brewed and lightly sweetened.

To be honest, I am not in the habit of drinking green tea straight up. There is just something about it that I do not find incredibly appealing. I think its grassy vibe steers me away.

However, green tea has some wonderful health properties and I have been eager to find a way to work it into my diet. I found the way, and it includes sweet berries and tangy orange juice.

I used a combination of frozen cherries and fresh blueberries for this punch but you could use whatever you have on hand. I think that frozen strawberries would be especially delicious.

The fruit is blended up with the fresh orange juice and strained through a fine mesh strainer to give us a clean, pulp-free consistency.

The fruit puree is stirred into our cooled green tea, creating a vibrant, purple punch.

I enjoyed this punch best when it was served over a full glass of ice and dotted with blueberries and cherries. Oh, and if your using frozen berries they can be edible ice cubes!

The sweetness of the berries perfectly balances the bitter earthiness of the green tea.