Strawberries, Smoked Salmon and Ginger Mint Tea

"The best way to keep good acts in memory is to refresh them with new." - Cato the Elder

This weekend was a trifecta of terrific recipes.

First was this amazing recipe for Iced Green Tea with Honey, Ginger and Mint from Ezra Pound Cake:

Green Tea infused with ginger and mint, with honey and a little lemon juice added. Serve over ice - possibly the definitive cold summer tea.


Next is this recipe for Eggs Norwegian from the Pioneer Woman Cooks webpage:

Eggs Benedict used to be my favorite breakfast - it has been officially ousted by this delightful fishy variation. I've always had an adventurous palate, and have been conducting an on-again off-again love affair with smoked salmon for years. This is perfect for a weekend brunch (unless you're having fuss-pots over who are too scared to try new, weird, and wonderful things. Honestly, if they are coming over, serve it anyway. Life is too short).
I do love the Pioneer Woman, but sometimes she gets things wrong. Here are a few notes/warnings about this recipe:

• For the Hollandaise sauce, she tells you to use the juice of "1 whole lemon" while failing to realize that not all lemons are created equal. So, instead of using her slap-dash Hollandaise recipe, use this one instead and make the sauce ahead of time.
• Even though she tells you to toast the English muffins first and only to "light golden," I recommend doing them last and until they have a bit of singeing on the tips of the crannies. That way, they're a bit more crunchy and warm when you serve.

Last and not least are these Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry frosting from the Brown Eyed Baker:

The frosting is pink, but the lighting really washes it out in this picture

These are delightful, and I was looking forward to make the original Strawberry Meringue Buttercream frosting in the recipe, but the humidity here has been out of control for weeks. So, after a valiant attempt with a copper bowl, cream of tartar and over 20 minutes of beating, the meringue was completely comatose and unresponsive, and the plug was accordingly pulled. I went with this deliciously simple Strawberry Buttercream frosting recipe instead.

*apologies for poor picture quality - my camera is dead and I'm stuck with my iPod camera for now*

Bon Appetit!