Sparkling Watermelon Agua Fresca

While your friends are sipping poolside margaritas you can enjoy this pregnancy-friendly spritzer. Watermelon is a diuretic, which helps relieve water retention in the hot summer months and the sparkling water makes this drink feel just a little more adult. Unlike the sticky sweet agua fresca de sandía which is popular in Mexico, the sweetness in this one is subtle and comes mostly from the strawberries that take the place of additional sugar.

2 cups watermelon cubes
5 frozen strawberries
1 lime
1 cup ice cubes
sparkling water
still water

Place watermelon, strawberries, the juice of one lime, ice cubes, and a sliver of lime peel to your blender and add enough water to just cover all ingredients. Blend until frothy. Fill glasses halfway with sparkling water and top off with agua fresca blend. Garnish with mint if desired. 

Makes 4 servings

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Years ago, while teaching 50 community college students a summer Spanish intensive, I discovered a great chocolate zucchini cake recipe. It helped use up my overabundance of garden zucchini and provided incentive for my students to stay focused when they would rather be enjoying a summer evening. I lost that recipe and have been looking for one as good ever since. I'll let you know if this find from Bon Appétit is a winner!  

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

• 2 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (about 2 1/2 medium)
• 1 6-ounce package (about 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Beat sugar, butter and oil in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Mix in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions each. Mix in grated zucchini. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts over.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan.

Zucchini Muffins

Our vegetable garden is overflowing with zucchini. This light, healthy muffin recipe used up three zucchinis, entertained my three-year-old helper, and satisfied a pregnancy craving! Kids might prefer a little extra sugar, but this is perfect for grown up taste buds. Follow the instructions closely and the result will be one of the lightest muffins you've tasted!

Ingredients

• 3 cups grated fresh zucchini
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup walnuts (optional)
• 1/4 c. cranberries or dark chocolate chunks (optional)

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Separate eggs and beat whites until frothy. In a large bowl combine the sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the oil and applesauce. Gently stir in egg whites. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the zucchini mixture and mix in. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and cinnamon. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts and chocolate if using.

2 Coat muffin pan with vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.

Bread with Chocolate & Olive Oil

You could open a shop in Park Slope selling nothing but this Ferran Adrià recipe and you'll have pregnant foodies lining up around the block!

Time: 15 minutes
6 thick slices country-style bread (about 10 ounces total)
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 60 percent cocoa), coarsely grated. (A Microplane is not essential, but it helps.)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt.
1. Heat the oven to 325. Put the bread on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown on both sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Spoon the chocolate over the toast in a thin, even layer. Drizzle the toast with the oil and sprinkle with the salt. Serve.
Yield: 6 servings.

Reprinted from the New York Times