After a long day of pitching tents, cooking
food, and preparing
dessert, the gang at your
campfire fiesta definitely deserves a drink. No camping trip is complete without beer, so fill a cooler with plenty of ice and ask guests to bring their own brews. I'll also pick up a few bottles of red and white wine.
With the end of Summer fast approaching, I made a Popsicle inspired by Mexican
paletas, a mostly pureed frozen fruit dessert that's either ice- or cream-based. After
chopping up a cantaloupe last week, I wanted to combine it with a crisp cucumber and spicy jalapeño to create a refreshing yet snappy paleta.Zealous with my jalapeño, I chopped up an entire thing, seeds and all, and threw it in the blender. The result was too spicy for my taste, so I balanced the heat by adding a touch of sugar.
Cantaloupe is one of those things that I see a lot in salad bars and packaged fruit salads but rarely in bagged lunches or at friends' homes. Perhaps if more people knew the right way to cut this fragrant melon, it would be more of a household staple. View this slideshow to learn how simple cantaloupe is to prepare.
Are you
afraid of figs. If you've never tried one, I liken them to nature's candy, because they're so sweet and have a firm texture on the outside and a soft, crunchy inside. They are in season and delicious at this time of year — don't miss them.
