wondering what to make with the 20 apricots i just bought from the fruit stand on 96/lex....

ForbiddenFruit,

Do you have my book yet? Page 124, Apricot Galette, yum and really easy.

All the cherries that I bought yesterday at the farmer's market...yum!

chocolate! It's still cool here for part of the day, and gets rainy in the evenings, and I'm thinking of making small chocolate truffles. Or macaroons! (though my macaroons are always huge and mesy. I haven't perfected that delicate yet dense french macaroon)

half a tub of ricotta impending vacation. how should i use it up before i go?

it's too warm here for lasagna, but i would like to make something whose leftovers can safely freeze...

Thinkingwoman,
Try a version of the recipe for pasta with ricotta, fava beans, and bacon posted on this site on May 16. The sauce (which I made with lowat milk instead of cream) works with almost any kind of pasta. I used whole wheat pasta, lima beans and cherry tomatoes, omitted the bacon, and it was quite yummy. Can't comment on the freezability factor, though, since the results were eaten rather quickly.

Have a good vacation!

Ricotta and honey ice cream? Many recipes online. I don't think this would last too long in the freezer, but maybe it would be delicious enough to be consumed quickly!

Also for the apricots - Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries (which has a perfect track record at my house so far) has a recipe for poached apricots that looks delicious. Something to do with orange water and pistachios ...

well, i made a mushroom and pea kugel that didn't turn out very well because i didn't want to run out and buy sour cream (i tried to sub chicken stock, but it just came out kind of dry).

oh well. a valiant effort!

Eek, I just got a pair of black truffles for my birthday! I have no idea what to do with them - any suggestions?

ForbiddenFruit:
did you see the gloriously indulgent recipe for bear claws in the Times magazine? Stuffed with stewed apricots (easy to adapt for your fresh ones) and mascarpone.... I think I'll be making these over the weekend as boyfriend bribes.

Erin,

First of all, if you aren't going to use them right away you can store them in an airtight container with a few eggs or in a couple of cups of arborio rice for risotto, both in the refrigerator. This will extend the luxury a little further by giving you truffle scented scrambled eggs or truffle infused risotto because the eggs and rice will absorb all of that intense aroma.

Keep in mind that just a little bit of the actual truffle will go a long way. If you are going to use them sliced with a roasted chicken or on top of some fresh pasta shave them as thin as you can. If you are going to mince them to put into a reduced sauce or vinaigrette, mince them as finely as possible and be sure to scrape any little bits stuck to your cutting board and knife. Glazed carrots tossed with some minced black truffle right before serving would be nice.

Whatever you do, don't actually "cook" the truffle, just add it at the very end or raw and let the heat of the food or the sauce/vinaigrette draw the flavor from it.

Hope that helps.

My current obsession?

My new oven with rotisserie!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/sets/72157600128599909/