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Berry picking season: not so sweet

Yesterday I went berry picking, one of my favorite summertime activities. I love the peacefulness of the field, the beauty of the ripening berries and the meditative quality of picking-picking-picking until the bucket is full. I spend a lovely hour or so, joined by good friends, and the payoff is the sweetest, freshest fruit, free of pesticides and ready for my jam pot. But yesterday, I tried a new farm, where the owner had strict rules which included a set appointment, a minimum poundage requirement, and a no-tasting while you pick policy. You pick them, you pay for them, you eat them—in that order. The bushes were loaded with lovely ripe strawberries and my two buckets were full, totaling nearly 10 pounds in under an hour. After I paid I finally allowed myself a taste and… the berries weren’t very sweet. Ten pounds of not so sweet strawberries. I can’t bear to make jam out of these sub-standard berries, but with a tart lemon glaze, they made a fantastic fresh fruit tart. The rest are frozen, waiting to be made into smoothies. And next week, I will go to my usual farm source where I hope life will be sweeter.

This recipe involves a great deal of patschkieing as my mother would say—a lot of fussing. But I will make it again. It is an elegant, light and fresh dessert and makes a great presentation.

Strawberry Tart

For the crust:

  • 2 c. flour (I use part whole wheat pastry flour)
  • 2/3 c. confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2/3 c. cold butter
  • 2 Tbs. cold milk

Mix together the dry ingredients, place in food processor and pulse in the butter until it is the consistency of coarse sand (or cut together as you would for a pie crust, using a pastry cutter). With the processor running, slowly pour in the milk until just blended. Turn out onto a board and knead just until the dough balls together. Press the dough into a 12″ fluted tart pan, prick all over the bottom and sides with a fork, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow crust to cool.

For the cream layer:

  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1/4 c. flour
  • 2 Tbs. cornstarch
  • pinch salt
  • 1 Tbs. butter
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 c. warm milk
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

In a medium sauce pan combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Very slowly add the egg yolk mixed together with the warm milk, stirring continuously. After the mixture thickens remove from heat,  transfer to a bowl and mix in the butter. After it has cooled, stir in the vanilla.

For the lemon glaze:

  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 2 Tbs. cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 c. orange juice
  • juice from 2 lemons

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, stir constantly over a medium heat, until it is thickened. Transfer into a bowl to cool. If desired, thin more with orange or lemon juice.

To assemble the tart:

Spread the cream  over the crust, top with carefully arranged sliced strawberries, then gently top with glaze. Refrigerate until serving.

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Enjoy pancakes during the week: Make your own pancake mix

Our home in New Mexico sat at the top of a ridge, giving us an unobstructed view to watch things rise over the horizon: the sun in the morning, the moon in the evening, and the school bus in the afternoon. Max went to afternoon kindergarten and the bus would come right after lunch, which allowed us the luxury of a relaxed morning at home. Breakfast was an event, not just something on our checklist. No hurry-up bowls of cereal, or quick scrambled eggs on toast to eat in the car (as we often do these days) but it was a time for lovingly prepared, home-cooked breakfasts which were as much about the experience as they were the calories. Back then, nearly 100% of the time the answer to “What would you like for breakfast?” was “Pancakes.” Most often Joe, who was all of 18 months old, shouted this out. I always acted like this was new information, something special, and would set about preparing the batter. When the pancakes were ready we would sometimes take breakfast out to our front porch to “watch the world go by.” The three little kids would sit at their tiny little table on the deck, and I’d pull up the fourth teeny-tiny chair and join them.

Eventually, the excitement over mixing up pancake batter every morning grew tiresome. It was then that I decided to make up my own pancake mix.  My mother-in-law had given me the idea—it was something she had done when her three kids were little. It’s been many years since I got out my recipe, but this summer, now that Joe is 11-1/2 and capable of cooking, I made the pancake mix so he can enjoy fresh pancakes himself every morning, sitting on the front porch, watching the world go by.

Whole Wheat Pancake Mix

Blend together the following, using your hands to break up any clumps of brown sugar, so that everything is mixed together evenly:

  • 6 cups whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 c.  dried buttermilk
  • 8 Tbs. brown sugar
  • 8 tsp. baking powder
  • 4 tsp. baking soda
  • 4 tsp. salt

To make the batter, blend together the following (makes 6 pancakes):

  • 1 c. mix
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbs. oil
  • 3/4 c. water

Store the mix in an air-tight container, with the mixing instructions taped to the lid.

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Grilled Sesame Ginger Chicken

Don’t get stressed out about the word “marinade,” thinking that you missed the boat if you didn’t get the chicken sitting in it the night before. Yes, it will taste better and be moister if you can get the chicken in the marinade 4-6 hours before grilling, but truly, I’m lucky if it sits in the marinade for 20 minutes, and it’s still delicious.

Grilled Sesame Ginger Chicken

For 6 chicken thighs (or other pieces), prepare the marinade:

  • 1/4 c. each: soy sauce, olive oil, white wine
  • 2 Tbs. sesame seeds
  • 2 Tbs. grated ginger
  • 3 green onions, sliced

Marinade the chicken and place it on a medium hot grill. Brown and turn, then continue cooking until the meat is no longer pink (about 20 minutes total).

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Pink Slaw (the secret is beets)

I can’t decide if I like the flavor or the color more in this vibrant slaw made with raw, grated beets. Make your favorite coleslaw recipe, and add in a grated beet—it’s just that simple. Here’s how I make mine:

Beet Slaw

  • 4 cups grated or thinly sliced green cabbage (about 1/2 of a small to medium-sized cabbage)
  • 1 medium grated beet
  • 3/4 c. mayonnaise
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 Tbs. sugar
  • 2 green onions, sliced thin

Mix it all together, chill and serve.

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Garlic Oven Fries

Try these the next time you’re grilling hamburgers.

Garlic Oven Fries

  • 4 large russet potatoes
  • 2 Tbs. crushed garlic
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the garlic and oil into a 1-gallon zip lock bag, or into a large bowl.  Let the garlic visit happily with the oil while you cut the potatoes into fry-shaped slices. Toss the potatoes with the garlic oil, spread on a pan and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until browned. If you want a little extra browning, turn on the broiler for a minute or two.

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A socially responsible fish shopper’s solution: Garlic Crumb-Topped White Fish

White Fish served with wild rice, broccoli shoots and cantaloupe.

Standing next to the fresh fish case at Sam’s Club, I phoned my socially aware sister, Maralee. “Is it still okay to eat talapia? I heard that deep fishing methods kill off coral reefs and dolphins, but this talapia is farm raised.” Maralee advises me to look for wild-caught salmon. But Sam’s salmon was from a farm in Norway (This would not be slow food.), the pink trout was farmed in Chile, and there was cod from Columbia. The white fish, however, was wild caught from relatively nearby Canada. These days, when purchasing fish, one must consider fishing practices, mercury content, distance transported; frankly, it gives me a headache. To be socially responsible while purchasing fish, concerned about impacting the environment and being safe, is about as much fun as buying a new car. At the Sam’s fish counter, admittedly not the ideal place to be responsible, the White Fish was the best choice. So tonight I made white fish, something that I’ve only ever used before as part of a gefilte fish recipe.

Garlic Crumb-Topped White Fish

  • 1 pound White Fish fillet
  • 3/4 cup crumbs (I used half panko and half matzo meal)
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
  • 2-3 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • fresh lemon

Place the fish, skin side down, in a greased baking dish. Blend together, using a fork, the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of the fish, and press it down into the fish. Bake 1t 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the fish flakes off and the crumbs are slightly browned. Serve with fresh lemon.

The White Fish, just coming out of the oven.

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Raspberry Vinaigrette

This is the time of year that I try to use up the berries that have been stored in my freezer all winter. Most of them go towards jam, but I keep some on hand to use in muffins and pancakes. Since berry-picking season is approaching, it’s time to clear out the freezer. Tonight, to dress up some cold green beans, I blended up some raspberry vinaigrette.

Raspberry Vinaigrette

  • 1 cup frozen, or fresh, raspberries
  • 1/4 c. olive oil
  • 1/4 red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 c. cilantro
  • 2-3 Tbs. sugar
  • juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 1/2-1 tsp. salt
  • freshly ground pepper

Keep out 1/4 cup of the chopped cilantro. Blend together all the rest of the ingredients, then stir in the 1/4 cup of reserved cilantro. Store in the refrigerator.

Use the vinaigrette as a sauce to pour over steamed green beans, or as a marinade.

To use as a marinade for green beans:

Steam the green beans until just tender and not too soft, then immediately cool under running water. Put the beans in a ziplock bag with about 2 Tbs. of the marinade. Refrigerate for an hour or more. Serve cold.

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Pasta Salad with Sausage and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Not only was it much too hot to cook, I really didn’t know what to make for dinner! My brilliant son, Max, reminded me that it’s pasta night so I forced myself to think up something to make out of the dish of unappealing, cold, leftover, plain bow tie pasta. Combining the bow ties with a few other leftovers led to tonight’s main course, Pasta Salad with Sausage and Sun Dried Tomatoes.

To the bow tie pasta, I stirred in some thinly sliced, browned chicken sausage (okay, a little stove-top cooking was necessary), tossed in some chopped parsley and chopped sun dried tomatoes, and seasoned with some salt and lots of ground pepper. We’ll have this, served cold, with a side of cantaloupe and some cold green beans with raspberry vinaigrette.

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Three summer salads: Chicken salad, Fish salad, Egg salad

Trying something new with traditional favorites such as egg salad, chicken salad and tuna salad takes a little courage; a willingness to experiment with spices, herbs and textures. Wanting to please all the palates in our family, Molly and I concocted these tonight:

Curried Egg Salad

Mix together chopped hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, chopped parsley and curry powder. Use more or less mayo and curry, plus salt, to taste.

Chicken Salad

Combine shredded chicken with mayonnaise, cilantro, toasted pecans or almonds, sliced tart apple, and sliced celery. Season with seasoned salt, to taste.

Fish Salad

Combine equal parts canned or fresh flaked salmon with canned tuna. Add in mayonnaise, chopped green onions or a small quantity of chopped sweet onion, dill weed, and salt, to taste.