A Fruitful Time
Pantry Tips & Tricks
Summertime brings so much deliciousness, and a big part of this is an abundance of fresh fruit. No longer do we have to make due with the paltry offerings of winter and spring because there are a cornucopia of options at the grocery store and farmers’ markets. The best part: it’s usually quite inexpensive.
Not everything will be on sale every week because that’s not how the supply and demand of food works, so you’ll have to be patient. Strawberries, for example, are normally $3.99 will be .99 for a few days each month in the summer. This is your chance to stock up and create a vertical menu for those weeks.
If you are unfamiliar with vertical cooking, the idea is to use one ingredient throughout a week to create all dishes great and small. This enables you to maximize on sale items in myriad ways until you’ve had enough or your kid’s begin thinking you’ve lost your mind. Tomatoes are also a great fruit for vertical tasting menus.
Let’s keep going with the strawberry example: you can easily use them in salads, desserts, and vinegars, and serve them fresh or freeze them for smoothies and a breakfast compote.
Not all fruit can or should be used in all ways—even though many have tried. But if you stay open to the sales that come along, and commit to cooking vertically, you will find this to be a truly fruitful way to save money.
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Strawberry Coconut Milk Popsicles (from Food 52)
Serves 4-6 (depending on the size of your molds)
Prep: 15 Minutes (+ overnight freeze time)
Ingredients:
2 1/2 C fresh sliced strawberries
1 13 1/2-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
1/3 C white granulated sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Combine strawberries, coconut milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Chill mixture for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Fill popsicle molds with chilled mixture. Freeze for about an hour, then insert popsicle sticks and freeze overnight. To unmold, let popsicles stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Carefully remove from molds and serve right away, or wrap each one in parchment paper and put back in the freezer for later consumption.
Note: Frozen strawberries can be used in place of fresh strawberries. If using frozen strawberries, skip the chilling step and instead just pour the mixture right into the popsicle molds.