Mint Sugar

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Mint Sugar

Mint Sugar

As a food photographer, I find myself buying mint periodically, popping it into the occasional photograph for a bit of color. While I like to add a sprig to lemonade from time to time, mint rarely gets much use in my kitchen. The leaves are often left in the refrigerator until they are forgotten (a fate of which I am not proud). Though mint leaves are ubiquitous in Indian cuisine, my Midwestern roots have offered me fewer uses for them. I am pointed in the direction of mojitos and like minded drinks, but rarely elsewhere.

After filling my refrigerator with mint recently, I decided I wasn't going to allow this batch to go unused or uneaten.

Mint Sugar Mint Sugar

After scouring the internet for dessert ideas, I came up empty handed. While peppermint complements sweets well, its minty cousin has a little less love on its side. Despite this, I challenged myself to find a way to use up the leaves. Crushing mint leaves allows the oils inside to release, creating an aromatic scent and a bright flavor. With this in mind, I grabbed a mortar and pestle, grinding the leaves together with a little granulated sugar.

Mint infused sugar seemed like a great place to begin.

Mint Sugar

Truthfully, after licking off the sugar that found its way onto the tips of my fingers, mint sugar was not only the beginning, but the end. I grabbed a few strawberries and blueberries from the kitchen, sprinkled the mint sugar on top, and called it a fruit salad. The mint sugar, while subtle, elevated the salad into something special. Later, I macerated strawberries in the sugar before spooning them over shortcakes.

The mint sugar has a range of uses, from sweetening fruits and salad dressings to adding a bright pop on the tops of sugar cookies, making it a versatile tool in the kitchen.

Mint Sugar

Mint Sugar is an infusion of mint into granulated sugar. The ratio of mint to sugar is 1:2, which means that the recipe can be made as large or as small as you choose. While the mint sugar will keep in the refrigerator for a day or two, it is best when it is freshly made. Whether you rim it around your next cocktails or sprinkle it onto your next fruit salad, mint sugar is a quick fix that can help your next dish sparkle.

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Berry Cheesecake Tarts

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Berry Cheesecake Tarts

Berry No-Bake Cheesecake

The Fourth of July is one of those holidays that I hold close to my heart. It may not have the magic of Christmas or the table spread of Thanksgiving, but it has its own charm. Laughter, love, hot plates of grilled food, the boom of a good firecracker, and the glow of a flickering bonfire—these are things that define the holiday for me. During the long days of summer, taking a break, even for a day, to start up the grill or enjoy the warm sun with friends and family feels like a blessing.

This year I can't wait to lay beneath the stars and watch the fireworks explode brilliantly above.

Berry No-Bake Cheesecake Berry No-Bake Cheesecake

For celebrations and get-togethers, I like to challenge myself to come up with a new dessert to serve my loved ones. In the case of the Fourth of July, when potlucks and picnics are plentiful, the dessert should be portable and require no special dishes so they can be quickly snatched from the table and enjoyed on the run. While I debated between popsicles and pies, ultimately the decision made itself when I spied the red and blue berries at the market.

Though these do need to be kept chilled, these festive no-bake cheesecakes fit the holiday just right. The cheesecakes can be whipped up in less than an hour, making them an easy dessert to prepare (and an even easier dessert to devour).

Berry No-Bake Cheesecake

A note to those of you who subscribe through Google Reader: I know this is not the first time you've heard this (nor will it be the last), but Google Reader is shutting down on July 1st. I would hate for the 5,000 of you that subscribe to Pastry Affair through Google Reader to lose touch! Fortunately, there are several great alternatives you can use to resubscribe:

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  • Feedly (they make it very easy to transfer all of your subscriptions from Google Reader)
  • The Old Reader (it has a nearly identical layout to Google Reader, which can make for an easy transition)
  • Email (click on the link, type in your email address, confirm, and you're done!)
  • Or, if you already have a new RSS reader picked out, you can resubscribe by finding your reader on Pastry Affair's RSS page or manually adding a subscription to your reader by typing in /.

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Berry No-Bake Cheesecake

Berry No-Bake Cheesecake Tarts are a fantastic way to celebrate summer. A soft sugar cookie crust is filled with a heaping helping of vanilla cheesecake filling. The filling is whipped, which gives the tarts a light quality. Topped with fresh raspberries and blueberries, the tarts play between sweet and tart, never swaying too far in one direction. These tarts make for a lovely end to a vibrant summer meal.

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Sparkling Lemon Drop

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Sparkling Lemon Drop

Sparkling Lemon Drop

The sun has a longstanding history of becoming oppressive in late June. The humidity in the air swells as I walk outdoors in the afternoon heat, wishing I had something to fan myself. Living in the heart of the Midwest, I am continually astounded at the extreme cold and heat I experience each year, spanning a temperature range of 120 degrees between January and July. Perhaps that's why when summer finally arrives—heat, humidity, and all—I close my mouth against complaints about the soaring humidity and learn to embrace the beautiful weather instead.

Enjoying the summer heat would feel incomplete without a tall glass of fresh lemonade.

Sparkling Lemon Drop

Last Wednesday, after a long day in the middle of an even longer week, I decided that my glass of summer lemonade could wait no more. As I rooted around in the refrigerator, I came up with a single lemon, not nearly enough to round out the pitcher of lemonade I had dreamed of all afternoon. Instead of shutting the refrigerator door with a sigh (as I so often do), I found another use for the lemon. With a little club soda and liquor, the lemon transformed itself into a sparkling cocktail.

With the spirit of that tall glass of lemonade alive in my new drink, I put my feet up and gladly sipped it down, the evening sun shining brightly through the window.

Sparkling Lemon Drop

A note to those of you who subscribe through Google Reader: I know this is not the first time you've heard this (nor will it be the last), but Google Reader is shutting down on July 1st. I would hate for the 5,000 of you that subscribe to Pastry Affair through Google Reader to lose touch! Fortunately, there are several great alternatives you can use to resubscribe:

  • Bloglovin'
  • Feedly (they make it very easy to transfer all of your subscriptions from Google Reader)
  • The Old Reader (it has a nearly identical layout to Google Reader, which can make for an easy transition)
  • Email (click on the link, type in your email address, confirm, and you're done!)
  • Or, if you already have a new RSS reader picked out, you can resubscribe by finding your reader on Pastry Affair's RSS page or by manually adding a subscription to your reader by typing in /.

And remember, you can always catch up with Pastry Affair through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.

Sparkling Lemon Drop

Sparkling Lemon Drop takes the classic summer lemonade and turns it into an adult cocktail. A squeeze of lemon juice is mixed with a shot of vodka and a touch of orange liquor to round out the citrus flavor. A pinch of sugar brings out sweetness while the addition of club soda makes it bubble and pop. This cocktail is lovely on hot summer afternoons, when the day is long and the weekend is too far away.

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