Cambridge Cocina

I've been a bit distracted:
Welcome to my new kitchen!

Sour Cherry Clafoutis... so you don't have to.

Clafoutis seem to be everywhere this year. I finally broke down and made a whole-wheat version because I had these lovely sour cherries from the farmers' market, and I'd never had fresh sour cherries before, and every time I see a recipe for clafoutis it references the traditional Limousin Clafoutis using unpitted sour cherries.
It baked beautifully... but here's the thing: If you don't really know what to expect when some call it "custard-like" and others call it a "pancake dessert," what they mean is it's like a German pancake [which an Americanized apple kuchen]. I've never loved German pancakes, and it turns out I'm not a huge clafoutis fan either. It looks like it's going to be crunchy-crusty on top but texture's just... meh. The picture below isn't out of focus, the center is really... indistinct. I mean, it was fine and I'll slather the leftovers in maple syrup and call it breakfast, but it felt like a waste of my precious sour cherries.
Recipe: Whole-Wheat Sour Cherry Clafoutis for German Pancake Lovers
You can substitute spelt for a gluten-free clafoutis.

1 cup whole-wheat flour [or spelt]
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar (plus 1 teaspon for sprinkling over top)2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla or amaretto
2 cups cherries, whole
powdered sugar, to serve [I was out]

Preheat oven to 400F. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl then stir into the dry. Don't overmix, some lumps are okay. Pour into cake pan or skillet, drop fruit over the top and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake 35-40 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Mint Tea

This one is super simple and super refreshing.... well it was actually simpler when I had my own herb garden, but it still only takes a brief pause in the produce section next to the leafy greens. I've done it with many variations... lemon verbena is great [particularly if you throw in a bag of orange- or peach-enhanced black tea] and thyme and lavender are lovely in small doses... but mint is my favorite.

Recipe: Mint Tea
I usually use a tea pitcher, but I don't have one at the moment and the rinsed milk jug works just fine. You can use just a leaves [5-10ish?] in a smaller pitcher

handful of mint [~1/3 of a $1 bunch, 1/2 of a $.50 bunch]
1 gallon of water, filtered if your tap water has a funky flavor

Crush mint without tearing [or you'll end up with bits in you glass] into chosen receptacle. Fill with water and cover. Let stand at room temp until water takes on light color. Refrigerate.

You can refill the water in the pitcher or jug after pouring out a few servings and the mint will continue to steep more slowly in the fridge. After 3-5 days, the tea will get as strong as it's going to get and it's best to strain the tea into another container and dump the solids.