Strawberry-Champagne Soup

Need an excuse to have strawberries and champagne? Try this "soup" for a picnic or party. I made this for a party and it was a hit. If you'd like it to be more chunky, consider adding chopped pieces of fruit or berries....maybe pineapple or blueberries. We drank it out of glasses, poolside.

Strawberry-Champagne Soup

5 cups of halved strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
mint leaves, chopped (optional)
1-2 cups champagne

Toss the strawberries with the sugar and salt. Puree strawberries and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Add champagne and mint leaves, if desired.

Green Beans with Brown Butter & Pecans

Grab some green beans at a farmer's market and try this easy recipe. For more, check out the In Season Recipe Swap at Tammy's Recipes. I served these with turkey kielbasa and baked sweet potato fries.

Green Beans with Brown Butter & Pecans

Kosher salt
2 lb. green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice; more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans; cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and reserve. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and pecans; cook, stirring, until the butter turns a light brown and begins to smell nutty; be careful not to burn it. Add the beans and toss to coat. Cook until the beans are warmed through, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Black Bean Asparagus Salad

This is a great recipe for get-togethers because it can be served at room temp. As with most recipes, adjust the seasonings to your taste...don't worry about screwing it up--cooking should be customized and it's usually difficult to totally ruin a recipe (except with baking...you should measure for baking).


Black Bean Asparagus Salad

1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium sweet red pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons olive oil (maybe could use less)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Dash pepper

Place 1/2 in. of water in a large saucepan; add asparagus. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain. In a bowl, combine the asparagus, beans, red pepper and onion. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, vinegar, cilantro, garlic, salt, cumin and pepper. Pour over vegetables and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Yield: 8 servings.

Calories: 100 Fat: 5 g Sodium: 252 mg Carb: 10 g Fiber: 3 g Protein: 3 g

Want more salad recipes? Check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom.

Chocolate Chipotle Brownies

These brownies are pretty amazing. If you aren't very familiar with chipotle chili powder, it gives a smoky-spice flavor, which goes great with chocolate and the cinnamon. Most grocery stores probably sell it, but if not, try World Market. I usually get it there in the bagged spice aisle for 99 cents. They also sell glass spice jars with the kitchenware for 99 cents to keep it in.
If you need to make a big pan of brownies, you can probably double the recipe and use a 13x9.

Chocolate Chipotle Brownies
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004
Serves: about 24 squares

Ingredients
1 teaspoon plus 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 tablespoon plus 1 cup all-purpose flour
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
4 eggs
1 cup chopped Mexican chocolate or semisweet chocolate morsels

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease and flour an 11 by 7-inch baking pan or dish with 1 teaspoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the flour. Heat the remaining butter and the unsweetened chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted. In a medium bowl, stir together remaining flour, sugar, cinnamon, and ground chipotle. Add sugar mixture to melted chocolate mixture, stirring to combine. Add eggs, mixing until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate or chocolate morsels.
Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan or dish. Bake until the center is set, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely and then cut into small squares. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

VolleyPark – New Sand Courts/Leagues

There's a new place to play sand volleyball in Columbus! The VolleyPark at Sequoia is located at 5501 Sandalwood Blvd. Columbus, Ohio 43229 between Worthington and Westerville just 2 minutes off of I-71. VolleyPark features 3 brand new sand courts, an outdoor bar, and large patio. To celebrate completion of the courts, they are having “Open Court” - anyone can stop by and play this week after 5 p.m., and it will be capped off by a Grand Opening celebration on Saturday July 18, 2009.

League sessions begin the week of July 19, so you must be signed up by this Friday, July 17th! Download your application at www.volleypark.com, and bring it in with your payment anytime after 5 p.m. There are all different formats of leagues, from co-ed to non-coed, 2’s, 4’s, and 6’s, and non-competitive to extreme league (for highly competitive players).

www.thevolleypark.com
Cell: 614.668.6594
Email: corey@thevolleypark.com

Bogey Inn Sand Volleyball

There are still spots open in several different divisions for the Bogey mid-summer session.
Registration closes soon, so enter asap!

Click on link below for league information!
Bogey Sand Volleyball League Information