Happy July!

Welcoming summer feels so good, right? All that's here, and all that's to come. ⁣
⁣
Long lingers on the patio. Bare feet. The smell of sunscreen, fresh cut grass and BBQs. Late night swims. Picnics. Campfires.⁣ Juicy peaches dripping down your arm. The sticky race between you and melting ice cream cones. Weather as warm as your company.
⁣
All of it.⁣ I’m ready to soak it all in. More being. More living.

⁣I’m also thinking about how much I love that my cooking gets to move with the seasons. I love how it's always changing with me. We're coming into the less is more time of year. Less time at the stove, more time being inspired at the market and not having to do much except focus on bringing out more of all the beautiful flavours. ⁣
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And that goes for seasons of life too, not just on the calendar. When you’re in a funk and the small effort of getting up, cracking a couple eggs to make an omelette makes things just that little bit better. Making meals for friends who need a little support. The satisfaction that comes from taking the time to make dumplings from scratch. Putting together a multi course meal to celebrate someone, or something special.

Comfort. Joy. Creativity. Love. And so much more. It’s all right there in a beautiful practice we call cooking. ⁣I wouldn’t have it any other way. Would you?

Now let’s really dive into that Summer vibe with some delicious words to set the mood shall we?

July

By Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz

The figs we ate wrapped in bacon.
The gelato we consumed greedily:
coconut milk, clove, fresh pear.
How we’d dump hot espresso on it
just to watch it melt, licking our spoons
clean. The potatoes fried in duck fat,
the salt we’d suck off our fingers,
the eggs we’d watch get beaten
’til they were a dizzying bright yellow,
how their edges crisped in the pan.
The pink salt blossom of prosciutto
we pulled apart with our hands, melted
on our eager tongues. The green herbs
with goat cheese, the aged brie paired
with a small pot of strawberry jam,
the final sour cherry we kept politely
pushing onto each other’s plate, saying,
No, you. But it’s so good. No, it’s yours.
How I finally put an end to it, plucked it
from the plate, and stuck it in my mouth.
How good it tasted: so sweet and so tart.
How good it felt: to want something and
pretend you don’t, and to get it anyway.

What’s Cooking This Week: Neapolitan Ice Cream Sandwiches

I love how Substack is always coming in hot with new ways for me to connect with you! This week there’s a new voice note option so I can shoot in here quick with some extra tips on recipes.

Listen now · 2:50

Ice Cream Sandwiches

• 1/2 pint strawberry ice cream

• 1/2 pint vanilla ice cream

• 1/2 pint chocolate ice cream

For the cookies:

• 2 2/3 cups (13 ounces) all-purpose flour

• 2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup (3 1/2 ounces) cocoa powder

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar

• 20 tablespoons (10 ounces) unsalted butter

• 2 egg yolks

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Line 3 square baking dishes with parchment paper, allowing paper to overhang the sides. Let each pint of ice cream soften slightly and then spread each one into a pan and smooth. Freeze until solid, at least one hour.

2. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350*. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

3. Sift flour, cocoa, and salt into medium bowl; set aside.

4. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream sugar with butter on medium speed until combined and slightly lightened, about 1 minute.

5. Mix in yolks and then vanilla. Mix in dry mixture until just combined. Divide dough into 2 pieces and pat each piece into a 5-inch square, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

6. On a lightly floured surface and working with one piece of dough at a time, roll dough into a 12 inch round or rectangle. Using a 3 inch cookie cutter, cut 24 rounds. Use flat spatula to place cookies onto prepared pans. Using the pointy tip of a thermometer, poke about 15 holes into cookies. Bake until cookies are firm, about 10-12 minutes, rotating pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Cool completely.

7. Remove one of the ice cream sheets from pan and using the same cookie cutter, cut 4 circles of ice cream. Place back into the freezer. Continue with the other two flavours of ice cream, cutting into 4 rounds. After all the rounds are cut and have been in the freezer for at least 15 minutes, cut each round into thirds. Place back in the freezer until ready to make sandwiches. 

8. To make the sandwiches, take one cookie round. Arrange one strip of chocolate, one vanilla and one strawberry on the cookie. Sandwich another cookie on top of the ice cream. Repeat with cookies and ice cream. Freeze sandwiches for a couple hours of overnight before serving. Makes 12.

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Happy Cooking :) 

love,

Krista  

Nourished & Whole
Eat well. Live well. Cook often.
www.nourishedandwhole.com