Strawberry Season Recap

They came and went in a flash. Not gone entirely, I suppose, as late varieties still linger at the markets, however when I pulled up at my local U-Pick I was told the strawberries were finished. That was the beginning of my raspberry picking adventure, and another story altogether.


Before the season was over, I did manage to get a few berries tucked away for winter, with the help of Mateo, who washed and drained the lot. He is most enthusiastic about this summer berry, and couldn't care less about the rest.


Not all the berries went into the freezer; we made sure to feast on them along the way.

First up was a creamy, dreamy strawberry-buttermilk lassi: berries, ice, buttermilk, a sprinkling of sugar unless you like it tangy. Blend. Drink.


There must be roasted strawberries each season, jarred up in their own juices and frozen. For crepes. For cornmeal pancakes.


On they day the strawberries were roasted, I tucked several into a panini along with fresh basil and a few squares of chocolate. Summer lunch at its best.


Ice cream was made, strawberry-sour cream ice cream, at that. Two little boys pulled up stools and watched the pink cream freeze and take on shapes.

It was so good, I made two more batches that week.


And of course, jam. First a Honey-Strawberry Jam, then a Strawberry-Rhubarb Orange Jam from the new Food in Jars cookbook from Marisa. It will go down in history as the very best straw-rhub jam I've ever made, with its perfect consistency and balance of sweet and tart.


Strawberry season may be over, but I'm still canning. It's Canning Week over on Simple Bites, kicking off with Sweet-Cherry Plum Jam, and continuing with Marisa's sultry Peach Barbecue Sauce. Come join the party.


What are you doing with summer berries?

Yogurt Sheet Cake with Berries

Don't be surprised if I keep bringing back recipes from foods we enjoyed during our family reunion.

Make no mistake, good food abounded during that time, and while I wasn't about to take time away from family to blog everything as we consumed it, I will rewind and share some favorites over the next few weeks...


Like this yogurt sheet cake (which I had made before, loved, and never got around to sharing...oops!) and birthday cake for my brother's little guy, Jesse. The little sweetie turned two while they were here and it was my absolute treat to be able to bake his cake.

A sheet cake was perfect for this event; I didn't want to spend the whole afternoon in the kitchen, yet still wanted something that felt festive.

This recipe comes together quickly, and the frosting is poured over the top and left to run down the sides in the true unhurried fashion of lazy summer cooking.

For the simple decoration, I cut a 'J' stencil out of cardboard, lay it on the cake and generously doused it with sprinkles.

The kids approved.


Pair this cake with any berry you like, whatever is gorgeous and ripe at the market or in your backyard. It was strawberry season in June and we were bringing home a flat of 6 pints from the market every day.

The ripest ones got whizzed into a coulis along with some vanilla sugar and the rest were sliced up and served alongside the cake.


I love this cake, not just for its simplicity, but for its tender crumb, too. No doubt the cake's moistness is a result of the two cups of yogurt, and the cake flour certainly contributes to its tenderness.

Thanks to Gourmet magazine for this recipe. Can we just take a moment for my favorite magazine, please? This cake was featured in the August 2009 issue (to date, my favorite issue).

Try it!

Yogurt Sheet Cake
with sliced strawberries & strawberry coulis

Makes 1 9x13 sheet cake. Serves 12.

Ingredients

for cake:

• 3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, warmed in shell in warm water 10 minutes
• 2 cups well-stirred plain whole-milk yogurt (not Greek-style) at room temperature 30 minutes

for frosting:

• 3 cups confectioners sugar
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Scant 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method for Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9x13 cake pan, then line bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper and butter parchment. Dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, at medium speed. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and mixing until just combined. Spread batter evenly in pan and rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.

Bake until cake pulls away from sides of pan and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge. Invert onto a rack and discard parchment. Cool completely, about 1 hour.


Method for Frosting:

Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, cream, and vanilla until smooth.

Put cake on a platter and spread icing on top in a thick layer, letting it run down sides. Let icing set at least 15 minutes.

Serve with plenty of fresh berries and a strawberry coulis.

Do ahead: Cake can be made and iced 1 day in advance. Cover and keep cool.

* * *

Don't Miss...Julie's profile of yours truly on The Family Kitchen, the family food blog of our friends over at Babble:
Master Your Muffins with Aimee Wimbush-Bourque of Simple Bites.

It's an honor to be featured!

Strawberries and stuff

I completely forgot about Meatless Monday this week. We were squeezing in a last-minute Ikea grab before my family arrives (tonight!) and I realized our impromptu supper of soft tacos with shredded cold chicken had been decidedly carnivorous.

Oh well, no one is checking up on me, are they?

This morning was spent setting up sleeping arrangements for 15 in my three-bedroom house and a final blitz to the market for decent bread, cheese and a bottle of gin, for my brother. He will be on holidays, after all.

I also picked up another flat of strawberries (my fourth in 2 weeks). My New Mexican sister is supposed to be bringing good tequila and strawberry margaritas will be consumed.

Speaking of strawberries, the kind Susan Schwartz from the Gazette interviewed me last week for an article she was writing on strawberries. What was intended as a few quotes for her article, turned into another, shorter article about Simple Bites, strawberries and me.

You can read the full article online here, or grab the paper today and check out the Arts & Life section.

If you're in the mood for a little baking, be sure to check out our recipe for Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie with Whole Wheat Crust on Simple Bites today. My contributor, Elizabeth, actually submitted the post to me while in labor with her daughter. Such is the dedication of my writers--and it tells you how excited she was to bring us this pie recipe!

I am admittedly going to be fairly M.I.A. for the next few weeks, what with hosting our family reunion and all. I am looking forward to playing with my nieces and nephews and rubbing shoulders in the kitchen with my siblings--all of whom are great cooks.

Undoubtedly, our house is going to be the best place to eat in town.

Freezing Strawberries: The Basics

Quebec strawberries are here! I picked up my first flat at my local market early this week and after we ate our fill, I turned them into all sorts of delightful things.

Find out some of my preserving methods over at Simple Bites today, where I share Four Simple Ways to Freeze Strawberries.

From the post:

"While you feast on a bowl of strawberries and cream, consider your options for freezing the berries. Why yes, there are options!

Please don’t lump the ruby jewels together in the bottom of a plastic bag, so that they freeze into an indistinguishable lump that is destined to become freezer burnt.

Your berries deserve more than that."

Head here to read the rest and get the recipes for a vibrant strawberry coulis and the refreshing strawberry-limeade concentrate.

Enjoy your weekend!

Returning to Wild Strawberries

My first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains from my seat at 35,000 feet always evokes deep emotion. It's a feeling of renewed wonder, childlike excitement, and a sense of homecoming so strong I have to duck my head to hide my tears. This quickening of my pulse and butterflies in my stomach almost make up for the last five hours of Mateo using my face as a motorcross course, my thighs as a trampoline, and my clothes as sponges for juice. It's been a long flight and I am returning to my hometown in Northern British Columbia.

The Bulkley Valley is nestled between three major mountain ranges, has several rivers that divide the rolling farmland, and boasts clear blue, glacial-fed lakes. I could write a whole travel brochure on how picturesque it is and still never do it justice; however, I have traveled a lot and declare this some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever known.

My parents property is a magical, overgrown 23 acres tucked under the shadow of a huge mountain and near a private lake. The setting effortlessly encourages a reversion back to childhood; for who wants to do grown-up things when one can chase ducks, climb trees, catch minnows, gather flowers and pick berries?

Ah, the berries.

I had barely dropped my suitcase on the front porch before I was out in the hillsides, on hands and knees, picking wild strawberries. They were everywhere and they were big. The first taste brought back so many memories of being a little girl, when I would pick handful after handful and eat them all myself, my hands stained with the juice.

Wild strawberries can hardly be compared with domestic. They are intensely sweet, powerfully fragrant and so juicy it requires a delicate hand to gather them. They are probably among my top five favorite things to eat ever, and it's rare that I get a chance to eat a whole bowl of them.

So I had two.

There was even enough left over for Noah's cereal in the morning. How decadent!

We're off to a great start here in beautiful B.C.

Note: Excerps from this post were previously published on July 12, 2007

Strawberry-Peach Cobbler and a Father's Day Gift

Apparently, after a recent cross-Canada poll, it was stated that the majority of dads want a flat screen TV for Father's Day. I hope that's not what Danny wanted because I got him something a little different...


See that cute black fellow on the right?
In a few weeks he's going to be delivered to our place in brown paper packages tied up with string, namely as organic, free-range Angus beef! Yep, I got my hubby a cow for Father's Day--all the barbecue he could ever want. How's that for manly?

It's been in the works for a while to split this locally raised yearling with some friends of ours; their cousin raises them on a gorgeous farm that has been in the family for generations in (very) rural Quebec. We drove out on the weekend to meet the farmer, select our calf and see where it was raised.
Gee, I wish I had this view. It was quite picturesque!


The cows were practically knee-deep in buttercups and clover. I haven't seen Food, Inc yet, but I'm pretty sure that few beef cows have it as good as these ones.

Our little ones snacked on all the carrots intended for the cows and enjoyed the outing immensely; however, Mateo didn't like it when they 'mooed'. Cows can be pretty intimidating up close, especially the bull that stared us down.


We attempted the whole "...this is where hamburger comes from" talk with Noah, but abandoned it pretty fast. He's extremely sensitive (he wept over the shorn tomato plants that were eaten by unknown creatures in our garden) and is much too young to be troubling his little head over such matters.

Zipping along Quebec's rural roads, I kept my eyes peeled for a sign announcing 'Fraises du Quebec'. It wasn't long before we found a fruit stand and treated ourselves to a basket of the season's freshest fruit. We devoured most of them on the spot, but I managed to save a few for later. I stretched them with some fresh peaches I had sitting around and made a few of my favorite simple summer desserts. Perfect for bringing to a pot-luck!


I'm anticipating picking my own strawberries soon and the endless possibilities that await! For now, I'm perfectly content with my cobbler--and have 125 lbs of beef to look forward to in a few weeks.

Happy Summer!


Strawberry-Peach Cobbler
(adapted from Everyday Baking)

For The Filling:
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of fruit)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 pound peaches, halved, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices, and cut again in half crosswise
1/2 lb strawberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

For the Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

1. Make the filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Wash and prepare fruit; you should have about 4 cups of strawberries and peaches. Add fruit to cornstarch mixture and add lemon juice; toss to combine. Divide filling evenly among four 8-ounce custard cups (or one 2-quart baking dish); transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.

2. Make the topping and bake: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk; stir just until a dough forms. Drop dough onto peaches, using about 1/3 cup dough for each custard cup. Sprinkle dough with remaining teaspoon sugar. Bake until fruit is bubbling and biscuit topping is golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes; serve warm.

In Love With Berries & Cream Pavlova

See? I wasn't kidding before when I said that I had a parade of desserts coming up. I am trying to make up for those 6 or so pounds that I lost when I was sick. Kidding! I would love if they stayed away--I've got to go shopping for a bathing suit soon and am dreading it. Can't say I'm really trying very hard, though.

All kidding aside, my apologies if this post turns into a sappy love ode to pavlova, but you have to understand just how strongly I feel about this dessert. I hesitated before writing this, because it is probably going to come as close to labeling me as a glutton as I ever want to be; however, you need to know the facts.

This may possibly be the best dessert you'll ever eat.


What is so great about it? You ask. Well, how does a generous base of crisp sugary meringue with a soft marshmallow interior sound? Oh, no that is not all. It is then mounded--no skimping allowed--with velvety whipped cream, topped with fresh berries and lavishly sauced with a vibrant, tangy red raspberry sauce. It's magnificent. It's decadent. It's impossible to stop eating.


This is the kind of dessert that I could fantasize about climbing in to and rolling around. I wish it came in the size of a swimming pool.
Honestly? Two of us ate this whole thing, and I licked my plate. It was amazing.

I'm realizing I have a thing for fresh berries and I'm convinced it comes from my deprived childhood. Living in the Yukon, a frozen northern Canadian province, it was too cold to grow much in the way of berries, and fruit was ridiculously expensive since it had to get trucked half way up the Alaska Highway. Berries have always been like the ultimate luxury and still are to me. If I can enjoy them bathed in cream and presented on meringue, I'm a really happy girl.

A few notes on the recipe:

• I don't sweeten my whipped cream. The meringue is so sweet, it would be overkill, even for a girl with a sweet tooth like me.
• Really, almost any fruit it good on the pavlova. I slice bananas on top of Noah's because he doesn't like strawberries or raspberries (I know, unbelievable. How ironic is it that I longed for fresh berries as a child and he turns up his nose at them.) Nigella dollops passionfruit and lychees on hers.
• The meringue base can keep for up to two days in an airtight container. Mine stayed nice and crisp, although I'm not sure if I would trust in in hot July weather.
• Nigella notes that the meringue can be made ahead and frozen for up to one month. It would never last that long in my freezer, but it's cool to know it works.
  

Berries & Cream Pavlova
adapted from Nigella Lawson's 'Prodigious Pavlova'

Base:
4 egg whites
250g sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
500 ml whipping cream (you'll have leftover for Irish coffees)
about 2 cups of fresh berries or fruit of your choice

Raspberry Coulis:
150 g raspberries (frozen work great)
25 g icing sugar

Preheat oven to 375F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment and using a 9 inch cake tin and a pencil, trace a circle onto the parchment. Whisk the egg whites until satiny peaks form, then whisk in the sugar, a tablespoonful at a time, until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

Sprinkle the cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla over the egg white, and fold in lightly with a metal spoon.

Mound the meringue on to the baking parchment within the circle and, using a spatula, flatten the top and smooth the sides. Put in oven and reduce heat to 325F. Cook for about 50 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave to cool completely. ( I leave mine for several hours)

Store the meringue in an airtight container until ready to serve. When you are ready to assemble and serve the pavlova, invert the cooled meringue disc onto a large plate or a stand and peel off the baking parchment. Whip the cream until thickened but still soft, and pile onto the meringue, spreading it to the edges in a swirly fashion. Dot the top with fresh berries or prepared fruit.

Puree the raspberries and icing sugar in a blender until smooth, (this can be done ahead of time, too) then drizzle the colorful sauce over the top and sides of the pavlova. Serve immediately.

Back indoors with Strawberry Galette

Spring is here! We've been spending as much time outside as possible, burying our toes in the sandbox, picnicking in the parks, and (with much less enthusiasm) digging dandelions. Cooking has taken a backseat to gardening, but it's that time of year right? I wasn't sure if I would have time to put the garden in this year, with a new baby and all, but it is promising to be a great season! Already poking up out of the ground are tiny radishes, beets, carrots, corn, turnips, zucchini, broccoli, onions, garlic and lettuces. Tomato and pepper plants are showing flowers already and the rhubarb is begging to be harvested and made into pies. I'm coming!I'm coming!

With the great outdoors calling, I tend to slip into the kitchen around 5 in the afternoon and whip up something quick for dinner. Of course with my sweet tooth, I can't go without a dessert too, and to satisfy that craving I tend to lean heavily on the fruit galette over the summer months. Seasonal fruit, flaky pastry? What's not to drool over?


I'm a big fan of the galette. I make mine with puff pastry (less time consuming than making a crust) and whatever fresh seasonal fruit I have on hand. When I saw this delicate strawberry galette in Martha Stewart Living May edition, I knew I couldn't resist it's prettiness and so here it is. It's worth coming in out of the sun to make!!

Strawberry Galette

adapted from Martha Stewart. Original recipe here.

1 pound strawberries, hulled
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon cold butter, cut into pieces
250 grams puff pastry

On a floured surface, roll pastry to 1/4 inch thick round. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cut strawberries lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Toss with sugar and cornstarch and immediately arrange in concentric circles on dough. Start 1 inch from edge, overlapping slices slightly. Fold edge of dough over berries. Whisk together yolk and water. Brush dough with egg wash and dot berries with butter.
Bake until pastry is golden brown, about 40 minutes.

Wild Strawberries

Under the High Chair Travels: Northern British Columbia

My first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains from my seat at 35,000 feet always evokes deep emotion. It's a feeling of renewed wonder, childlike excitement, and a sense of homecoming so strong I have to duck my head to hide my tears. This quickening of my pulse and butterflies in my stomach almost make up for the last five hours of Noah using my face as a motorcross course, my thighs as a trampoline, and my clothes as sponges for juice. It's been a long flight and I am returning to my hometown in Northern British Columbia.

The Bulkley Valley is nestled between three major mountain ranges, has several rivers that divide the rolling farmland, and boasts clear blue, glacial-fed lakes. I could write a whole travel brochure on how picturesque it is and still never do it justice; however, I have traveled a lot and declare this some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever known.

My parents property is a magical, overgrown 23 acres tucked under the shadow of a huge mountain and near a private lake. The setting effortlessly encourages a reversion back to childhood; for who wants to do grown-up things when one can chase ducks, climb trees, catch minnows, gather flowers and pick berries?

Ah, the berries.

I had barely dropped my suitcase on the front porch before I was out in the hillsides, on hands and knees, picking wild strawberries. They were everywhere and they were big. The first taste brought back so many memories of being a little girl, when I would pick handful after handful and eat them all myself, my hands stained with the juice.

Wild strawberries can hardly be compared with domestic. They are intensely sweet, powerfully fragrant and so juicy it requires a delicate hand to gather them. They are probably among my top five favorite things to eat ever, and it's rare that I get a chance to eat a whole bowl of them.

So I had two.

There was even enough left over for Noah's cereal in the morning. How decadent!

We're off to a great start here in beautiful B.C.

Vanilla Panacotta with Quebec Strawberries

They're here! The markets are full of these red jewels and they are small, sweet and affordable. I don't know about you, but I prefer it when my strawberries actually taste like strawberries, which they don't throughout the winter months. These are so tasty, they don't need much dressing up.
I don't think I'll make it berry picking this summer, I'm too busy planning for a trip out west. Yes, UtHC is traveling to beautiful British Columbia for three weeks in July! I hope you all will join us as it is sure to be an adventure.

Sometimes the simplest desserts compliment our Quebec strawberries the best. Here the berries are enjoyed with a plain vanilla panacotta which allows the strawberries to be the main feature of the dish.

Vanilla Panacotta

1 Liter 15% cream
150g sugar
7 gelatin leaves (2 grams each)
1 vanilla bean

In a heavy bottomed pot, heat cream, sugar and vanilla bean gently over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and let infuse for about ten minutes. Scrape vanilla seeds from pod and stir into cream mixture. Remove vanilla bean and return pot to heat. Gently bring up to a simmer again.

In a bowl of cold water, dissolve gelatin sheets. Squeeze out excess water and whisk into hot cream mixture. Whisk well to dissolve gelatin.

Pour mixture into a bowl and place in fridge to cool. (If you are using vanilla extract, you can pour the mixture right into the prepared dishes) Chill mixture in fridge until it is slightly thickened and can support the vanilla seeds. You want to have them dispersed throughout the panacotta, not gathered at the bottom of the glass!

Prepare 6 serving bowls, ramekins, molds, glasses, or whatever you desire to hold the panacotta. In the photo I used plastic cone-shaped molds, but I also like to serve it in martini glasses.

Scoop the runny panacotta mixture into the glasses and chill until set. Serve with fruit coulis and sliced fruit.