Blackberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

You guys...  Purple salad dressing!

I made purple salad dressing and there’s not a beet in sight.  This is cause for celebration. 

I was assembling a meal for a dear friend who had a sweet little human exit her body last week, and as I stood amidst the salad greens, all of my go-to dressings suddenly seemed very boring.  

I wanted to make my own dressing, with pretty berries and fragrant mint - a dressing that could make me want to eat salad. 

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I love blackberries.  They have a lot of critics, but I adore them - bitter centers and all!  They also turn a lovely shade of magenta when you blend them up! 

The sweetness of these berries pairs so well with the rich, molasses-like flavor of balsamic. 

I added several leaves of fresh mint as well as lemon juice, salt, and a bit of sugar to the berries before I drizzled in my olive oil.

If you prefer a sweeter dressing, or your berries are on the tart side, you can add a little extra sugar.  If you are not a huge fan of mint, you might start off with just 2-3 leaves.  It's all up to your own taste!

Your food processor is your best friend when it comes to emulsifying. 

The final dressing is sweet and tangy and so full of Summer flavor!

After delivering a simple salad of arugula and almonds to my friend, and snuggling her sweet baby, I realized that this salad could only be improved by a hearty serving of my love - burrata.

There is always a place for more cheese.

I am thinking of trying it drizzled over grilled peaches... 

I just really love this color. 

This makes me want to eat salad almost as much as I want to eat cookies. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Blackberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

makes about 1 1/2 cups

- 1 cup fresh blackberries 

- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 

- 4-6 mint medium leaves 

- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

- 1 teaspoon fine salt

- 1 tablespoon lemon juice 

- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In the work bowl of your food processor combine blackberries, balsamic, mint, sugar, salt, and lemon juice.  Pulse until smooth. 

With the food processor running, slowly stream in the olive oil, forming an emulsion.  When all the oil has been incorporated, transfer the dressing to a jar and store until ready to use.  Enjoy! 

Serving suggestion: Serve the dressing over fresh arugula, sliced almonds, whole blackberries, and burrata.  

Charred Corn & Bacon Guacamole

I spent the majority of last week on the sofa, overcome by a very, very unenjoyable virus.  I like to think I can handle sickness well, but this one beat all willpower out of me.  I really do not enjoy being sick, I hate how it forces life to come to a halt, and as nice as sitting on the couch watching Netflix all day sounds, I tire of laziness after about four hours.  

I forced myself up last Tuesday and made these popsicles in between bouts of sickness, and then crashed for another day and a half. 

The moment I could stomach normal food again, there was only one thing on my mind - bacon. 

I feel that it is necessary for me to provide some sort of disclaimer.  Bacon is overused, overdone, and overrated, in my humble opinion.  I roll my eyes when I walk into stores and see shelf upon shelf of bacon merchandise.  Apparently, Americans will buy and consume anything that either contains bacon, or some manner of sketchy bacon derivative. 

With that being said, bacon - true, quality bacon, is a thing of beauty.  It’s like butter, but in animal form.  Weird?  Maybe.  Delicious?  Absolutely! 

AND, it adds a deliciously rich, crispy texture to the otherwise mushy texture of guacamole. 

As with most edible things in this world, avocados are a hit or miss for me.  I go through seasons where I cannot get enough of their green, butter-like flesh, and then I hate them for six months.  This confuses my fiancé, and my mom, and pretty much everyone aside from my grandmother who understands because I get this perpetual-fickleness from her. 

Right now, I think I am slowly re-entering the infatuation stage.  For whatever reason, I was possessed to make guacamole, so here we are.  A big bowl of delightfully trashed up avocados just waiting to be smashed and slathered unto an obscene number of corn chips.

Are you a yellow corn or white corn chip kind of person?  Or are you my sister who insists that blue corn is best?  

I’ll always go for the yellow corn - all the way, all the time. 

Is it strange that we are loading up corn chips with more corn?  Nah, I’ll put corn on anything this time of year, even atop more corn.  

When it comes to guacamole-making, there are few secrets, but if there ever was one it would be this: you can never, ever, ever have too much lemon/lime juice.  

Avocados beg for acid.  It brightens up their flavor and cuts through the fattiness, so please do not skimp on the lemon juice.

I know lime juice is traditional, but I like changing things up.

I am a texture person.  When it comes to guacamole, I prefer a partially smooth/chunky (I do not like that word) texture. 

The corn to avocado ratio is nearly even, but in my mind that's just perfect.  If you do not love grilled corn as much as I do, you could back off a little.  I just really love the sweet bursts of flavor and texture that they bring to this chip and dip party. 

My sister has been begging me to throw a taco party, so I figured this was a start.  Next, I'm going to conquer the drink.  I am dreaming up some sort of salted watermelon and lime situation... More to come. 

This is my "get back into life" food.  It's salty and creamy and crunchy and there's bacon.  

All good vibes here.  

I can't believe I just wrote that.  Ugh, what is happening to me?  

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Charred Corn & Bacon Guacamole

- 3 ears fresh sweet corn 

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 4 rashers good quality bacon, diced 

- 3 medium ripe Hass avocados

- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice (you may want to increase this amount if you like your guacamole on the more acidic side)

- 3/4 teaspoon fine salt 

- corn chips, for serving  

Set grill to medium high heat.  

Brush corn with olive oil and place on the grill.  Grill for 5-7 minutes, turning often, until all sides of the ears are evenly charred.  Allow the corn to cool while you cook the bacon. 

Place bacon in a nonstick frying pan and set over medium heat.  Cook until crisp and remove from heat. 

Cut avocados into cubes and place in a medium serving bowl.  Season with lemon juice and salt.  Use a whisk or potato masher to roughly mash the avocados. 

With a sharp knife, strip the corn kernels from the ears.  Add the corn and bacon*, along with the grease, to the mashed avocados; stir to combine. 

Taste and adjust the salt and lemon juice to taste.  Serve alongside corn chips.  Enjoy!! 

*You can make this guacamole in advance, but I suggest adding the bacon just before you plan on serving it so that it will stay crisp.  

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Mango & Mint Ginger Pops

I recently partnered with Cost Plus Word Market to create a Summery popsicle recipe perfect for these hot afternoons!

I spent many a Summer afternoon out on our family’s back deck with my siblings, playing with our puppy while licking dripping popsicles.  My mother would provide us with seemingly endless frozen sticks as long as we would keep our grassy feet and sticky hands outside for a couple hours.

My sister and I would always give our little brother all the orange and purple popsicles because nobody else liked those but our mom would not buy a new box until we had emptied the last one.  Thankfully four-year-olds are really compliant when it comes to frozen sugar.  

On a side note, he would "share" his popsicles with our dog.  Hmm.  Apparently she did not mind orange either.

While I would still happily unwrap one of the classically American “Rocket Pops,” we are grown-ups now and we can be a little fancy.

These popsicles are embarrassingly easy to make, especially if you have a food processor.

Mango juice, lime juice, and a hearty handful of fresh mint go into the food processor and are pulsed until the mint is finely chopped.

This Belvoir Fruit Farms Ginger Cordial adds an unexpected kick to the sweetness of the mango and fresh mint.

Though my tastes may have matured over the years, my patience has not.  The hours of waiting for the pops to freeze are still agonizing. 

In the past, making popsicles at home has been a challenge. After waiting four to five hours for my creations to freeze, I was always so disheartened when they would not come out of the molds. I have to say that this mold was pretty painless! And I love the classic, rounded shape, I am not into those square popsicles.

These popsicles are so refreshing and unexpected.  I am loving the combination of fruity mango, herbaceous mint, and spicy ginger on these hot June afternoons. 

Now I am dying to make everything into popsicles.  I'm thinking a watermelon-strawberry-lime number may need to happen soon... 

A freezer full of popsicles and not a single orange to worry about.  Adulthood seems pretty nice at the moment. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

Many thanks to Cost Plus World Market for sponsoring this post!  I really enjoy working with brands that I truly love, and their support helps me keep this site going.  As always, all opinions are completely my own.  

You can find more of World Market's Summery products along with delicious ice cream recipes here to help you stay cool and make this season extra special! You can also check out their Ice Cream Shop for ice cream molds and accessories!

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Mango & Mint Ginger Pops

makes about 14 popsicles

- 4 cans Philippine Mango Juice (8.4 oz each)

- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

- 1/2 cup fresh mint, packed tightly

- 1 cup Belvoir Fruit Farms Ginger Cordial 

- popsicle sticks

In the work bowl of your food processor, combine lime juice, one can of the mango juice, and the fresh mint.  Pulse until the mint is finely chopped.  Then, transfer the mixture to a large measuring cup or pitcher and stir in the ginger cordial and the remaining mango juice. 

Distribute the mixture evenly amongst your popsicle molds and cover with the lids.  Freeze for about one hour, then put the popsicle sticks in place and freeze for an additional 3-4 hours. 

When the popsicles are solid, fill your sink with about 4-inches of warm water.  Place the popsicle mold in the water for 20-30 seconds, then remove the popsicles from the mold.  

For long term storage, wrap each popsicle individually in parchment paper and place in zip-top bags.  Or you can just eat them now because Summer is short and these are delicious.  Enjoy! 

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