It's Not Always So Sweet

It's true of life, and of food pairings.

For those whose pancreases are calling out for mercy, here's a savory, cooling idea to accompany your next glass of iced tea: Italian guacamole.


It sounds blasphemous, but trust me, it's not. Remember, the Italians know about good taste- they started the Renaissance, after all. And there's nothing at all wrong with classic guacamole, but after staring at scoop after scoop at endless barbeques, you'll welcome this fresh twist. It's somehow more summery than the played-out lime-cilantro version.

I had it for dinner last night while finishing off my iced Dragonwell, and the crisp sweetness cut right through the rich, lemony flavors, enabling me to eat almost the whole bowl.

Speaking of which, if you do plan on making guacamole frequently, do yourself a favor and get a molcajete. This traditional lava-stone bowl and pestle allows you to get the best flavor out of all the ingredients, and produces that soothing, creamy-chunky texture effortlessly, every time. I got mine for Christmas a few years back, and it's one of the best gifts I've ever received- as well as the heaviest. I use it constantly, and it doubles as a weapon.

Italian Guacamole
Makes: 4 servings.

Juice of one lemon
Scant teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
3 small or 2 medium ripe avocados
1 cup (loosely packed) basil leaves, chopped
For serving:
Sourdough bread, sliced and toasted
1 head Belgian endive, leaves separated
2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed

1. In molcajete or medium-sized bowl, mix and pound together lemon juice, salt, garlic and scallions. Halve avocados lengthwise and discard pits and peels. Add flesh to molcajete and mash coarsely.

2. Reserve a pinch of basil for garnish, and mix remainder into guacamole. Sprinkle garnish on top.

3. Serve immediately with bread and vegetables, or press plastic wrap directly onto surface and refrigerate for up to an hour.

Cooling the Savage Dragonwell

The sweet, subtly fruity currents in Dragonwell tea worked so well with the sour-cherry pie from last week (if you haven't made it yet, you should be arrested), but I found mysef wondering how it would translate into iced.

Absolutely incredible, it turns out. It's vaulted to the top of my favorite iced teas of the summer list.

I didn't cold brew this time, but rather just used a decent-sized teapot with a large infuser, less-than-boiling water (as you should for all green teas), and steeped it for about three minutes. I let it sit in the refrigerator overnight, and a shimmering golden green liquid greeted me this morning.

Dragonwell, or Longjing, is a pan-fired Chinese green tea from the Zheijang province, prized by connoisseurs the world over for its soft, full and toasty flavor. The process it undergoes gives the leaves a characteristic flat, swordlike shape, which tickle your palm as they're surrendered to the pot.

And the taste is a Chinese green at its pinnacle: sweet, fresh and earthy. When cold, it conjures up water melted from a pristine glacier, winding through verdant summer meadows and blazing, sun-baked fields, picking up faint essences of grass and wheat along the way.

Go ahead: pour yourself a jar, and spend the rest of this sweltering Sunday afternoon relaxing in the shade of your backyard (or the most quiet, private park you can find in Brooklyn) with it and 27 magazines. That's what I'll be doing for the rest of the day.

Sparkling Matcha Diamants

A slightly frothy, emerald-green bowl of matcha is always delicious, and incredibly mood-enhancing, but not more so than these matcha diamant cookies.

An incredible jewelry designer I know spotted on one of most gorgeous food blogs I've seen in ages, Cannelle et Vanille, and we decided to combine blog forces and make a batch yesterday (she has not only a dishwasher, but also, thankfully, a more liberal hand with the air conditioning).

The cookies were a deep, rich green, and as buttery and delicate as shortbread. We paired them with a big pot of fragrant Chinese jasmine tea, which has a lingering floral taste but is still light enough to not overpower the subtle sweetness of the diamants.

Matcha is an ideal tea to cook with, as it mixes readily in its finely powdered state. I've used it in chocolate desserts, especially brownies, with much success, but I'd never tried it as the main flavoring. It's a Japanese tea, produced from steamed green tea leaves, and its pleasantly intense, vegetal taste is well suited to standing up to the holy trinity of deliciousness (butter, sugar and eggs).

Matcha is on the expensive side, but a little goes a long way- these cookies had only 2 teaspoons- and you can buy ingredient-grade to save yourself a bit of money. It's not of poorer quality than the traditional drinking-grade matcha; rather, it's made out of less delicate tea leaves. The subtlety of the high-quality matcha would be lost when there are so many other flavors going on, as in a dessert, so just save that type for your next Japanese tea ceremony.

And to stave off the inevitable clever comments, yes, I do know how to save money on occasion.

The Upper Crust

Because I can never leave well enough alone, here's one last reason to make that cherry pie right now: the resulting pie-crust cookie.

I always make sure to have enough dough left over after putting the pie together to make one delicious, sugary, buttery bite of goodness.


All you have to do is pat the leftover dough into a rough circle shape, lay it on a piece of parchment paper or foil, and sprinkle it with sugar (I used vanilla-infused). When you're ready to put the baking sheet under the pie, just slide the packet onto it first. The 30 minutes at 350 degrees are just enough to cook the dough to a golden crisp.

Plus, you can eat this right out of the oven, so there's no need to suffer through the hours-long wait for the pie itself. It also goes particularly well with any cherry filling that may have dripped on the kitchen counter (although you may, like me, feel a bit antlike as you hunt every last drop down and devour it off your finger).

Or, if you're feeling a bit more civilized, try it with some tea. I had it with some iced white tea, Silver Tips, whose snowy, light taste complemented with the delicate cookie. Any tea would do, though- I think these could be a surprise best-seller in my imaginary tea shop.

Dragonwell and Cherry Pie: The World's Most Perfect Breakfast

I've been getting some flack lately about my choice of breakfast foods, but today's lineup will win over that eggs or pancakes-only faction.

There's a special time here every June that makes me happy, for just a minute, about the heat, the humidity, the stench of a city under the sun: the appearance of sour cherries.

As I was breezing through the farmer's market two days ago- I already had enough fresh produce to feed a small nation, so I wasn't planning on buying anything- something small, round and fire-engine red caught my eye. Could it be? Those luscious, dark sweet cherries have been out for a few weeks now, and will be throughout the summer, but their more petite, tart and delicious cousin is far more elusive.

Sour cherries don't travel or keep as well as the sweet variety, and due to their high acidity, can't be eaten straight out of the fridge. Most people don't bother with them, but they're making a grave mistake. The season only lasts for a few tragically short weeks, and then all you're left with are fading red stains on your fingertips, a lingering taste of heaven in your mouth, and a tear of longing in your eye.


So go out, now, and get some sour cherries. Make this pie. Then pour yourself a nice cup of tea- nothing goes better with a slice of cherry pie than green tea. I paired it with Dragonwell, a smooth Chinese green with subtle fruity notes and a mild, round finish. I think a delicate Japanese green, especially an Uji, would be an excellent match as well. Unfortunately I just ran out of that, so I'll have to get some more soon and try it- if only the pie lasts that long.

Cherry Pie
Makes: 8 servings.

1 double-crust pie dough (pate brisee), chilled, separated into equal-sized disks
5 cups sour cherries, pitted
1 1/4 cups sugar
3-4 tablespoons cornstarch or tapioca
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1. Roll out half of pie crust to fit in 9-inch pie dish; gently drape in dish, not stretching the edges, and form a rim.

2. Roll remaining half into 9-inch circle and cut into 8-9 strips. On a piece of parchment paper or cookie sheet, form lattice by laying down 4 strips vertically and weaving remaining strips in horizontally. Refrigerate both halves for at least 30 minutes.

3. Place cherries in large bowl, and mix with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, water and almond extract. Let mixture sit for 15 minutes.

4. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Pour cherry mixture into pie crust and dot with butter pieces. Cover with lattice, tucking edges under rim.

5. Bake pie for 30 minutes, then slip a baking sheet underneath the dish. Lower temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 25 to 35 minutes more, until thick juices are bubbling up.

6. Let pie cool for several hours before slicing, or refrigerate overnight and eat for breakfast.

Blueberry Chill

If green-tea ice cream before noon isn't on your schedule, this rich but healthy cold treat should be.

I've written about fruit smoothies with matcha (powdered green tea) before, but recently, a massive recipe reorganization led me to discover some other drinks that I've been holding onto for over a decade. How something that seemed so essential to my daily intake managed to be filed away for that long is a bit of a mystery. Well, I can ponder it while sipping this creamy, antioxidant powerhouse brew.

It's a good anecdote to yesterday's decadence, and with hope, today's (making matcha cookies are the plan for the afternoon). Drink this every morning, and you may just live forever.

Matcha-Blueberry Shake
Makes: 2 8-ounce servings.

1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup vanilla or plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons honey
Dash of vanilla extract (optional)
2-3 ice cubes
Pinch of matcha

Place all ingredients except matcha in a blender, and process until smooth. Pour into glasses, and sift matcha on top. Serve immediately.

What Is This Iced Cream?

It's green-tea flavored, topped with some Italian hot fudge sauce, and it's lunch today.


I dropped the first scoop right on the floor in my eagerness to fill my little trough, but after I got that straightened out, pure deliciousness. The pleasant bitterness of the green tea blends so well with cream and sugar, and the grainy, dark chocolate sauce on top just amplifies the happy mix. If only people could be so well-balanced.

My younger sister, the most serious ice-cream connoisseur (or consumer) I know, actually introduced this new Haagen Dazs flavor ($4.99 for a pint) to me about a month ago, on one of the very first sticky city nights we had. I was surprised that she had found it in the limited selection at a bodega right down the street.

Could it be a sign that tea is making more headway in this country? I'd say so. The main conduit to American palates, for green tea at least, are the health benefits.

Placing it in ice cream may appear to counteract any salubrious qualities but hey, at least the company is trying. And the ingredient list is short and sweet- cream, skim milk, sugar, egg yolks and green tea- which as a very rough guideline, translates into not as bad for you (case in point: check out the list on a bag of Doritos, not that I have anything against those little triangles from heaven).

Regardless, it's heartening to see tea used in such a widespread format. I just hope it stays on the market. Better whip up some hot fudge sauce and try it before it disappears. And please, make the sauce yourself- even if you've never cooked anything before, I promise you, you can make this. Everyone you live with will thank you.

Salsa di Cioccolato
Makes: 1 cup.

2 1/2 ounces high-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 heavy cream

1. Melt chocolate and cocoa powder in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over extremely low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and difficult to stir.

2. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Return to low heat and stir until sugar has dissolved and sauce is thick and smooth. Add cream; stir until smooth.

3. Remove from heat and let cool. Sauce can be refrigerated for up to two weeks.