What Did You Eat?

Mixed Berries With Grand Marnier Whipped Cream

I haven't the slightest idea how much iron is in this dish of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries, topped with Grand Marnier whipped cream.  Sometimes a person has to take a break.  Tomorrow I'll be back to my battle with anemia, yelling "Sparta" as I take my iron supplements.   Actually, berries contain vitamin C, which helps iron absorb into the body.  (Sorry, couldn't help sharing iron trivia.) 

You don't have to put Grand Marnier in your whipped cream, vanilla will do nicely.  But, the orange liquor certainly  made my day.  By the way, please notice the lovely heirloom bowl that my fabulous mother-in-law, Bunty, gave me.  I treasure it.

WHB: Sweet Cherry Ice Cream

I promised a friend that I would make her some sweet cherry ice cream with the fruit I harvested and froze a few months ago.  This was my opportunity to use my Donvier Ice Cream maker, which is probably 15 years old.  Once a trendy device, it's been surpassed by newer ice cream makers.  But, as I don't make ice cream very often, I find that the old Donvier works just fine for my purposes.

The recipe is very simple, just cream, eggs, sugar, chopped sweet cherries, and vanilla.  Some people like almond extract with cherry ice cream, and that is a good pairing.  But, I prefer vanilla because it tastes better to me, and doesn't overwhelm the cherry flavor.  Vanilla pods are actually the fruit of an orchid, which is a pleasant thing to consider.  However, that wonderful vanilla taste and aroma happens only after the vanilla pods are cured for several months.  This salute to vanilla is perfect for Weekend Herb Blogging, which is being hosted by (drumroll, please) our fearless leader, the noble Kalyn herself, who created WHB. Go to her site, Kalyn's Kitchen, for a recap of herby recipes from bloggers around the world, probably on Monday.

PPN: Confetti Couscous, With Dried Cherries And Pistachios

Thanks to everyone for motivating me to stop complaining about the cherry harvest.  Your enthusiasm made me realize that this was a gift to be enjoyed.  I saw how inferior the cherries in the grocery store looked, compared to mine.  So, after giving away nearly 30 pounds to neighbors, I got busy drying, freezing, and cooking the rest. 

Years ago, back when I made my own yogurt and granola, my mother gave me a dehydrator to dry food.  A lot of dried bananas, pineapple, and apples were produced with that machine, but eventually I packed it away, where it sat on a shelf in the garage for years, lonely and unappreciated.  My husband once told me to throw it away, but I couldn't do that.  So, I was very happy to haul it down from the shelf and dry some of the cherries.  Naturally, I thought of my mother.  I wish she was still alive to see the cherries and eat this dish.  It tasted much better than I expected. The sweet cherries, crunchy pistachios, soft couscous, seasoned with mint and basil, created a most enjoyable meal.

Cherries, Cherries, Cherries: Cherry Syrup

Project Cherry, Day 2.   I made cherry syrup, which used almost five pounds of fruit.  It also meant I used the dreaded cherry pitter again.  But, it was worth the effort when the syrup was made and bottled. I love the sight of cherry, pomegranate, or raspberry syrup drizzled over ice cream, pancakes, or Greek yogurt.  Food should please the eye, as well as the taste buds, and a ribbon of bright red syrup usually makes a dish taste better.  But, not if it's one of those fruit syrups from the grocery store that contain little fruit, but lots of sugar and artificial flavorings.  This syrup may seem too high in sugar, but it's much less than many commercial brands.  Since this is a syrup, it contains as much sugar as fruit, which produces a good texture.  Some of the sugar could be reduced, if you don't mind a thin syrup that runs all over the plate.  I don't mind the sugar, as I generally only use a tablespoon of it at a serving.

Cherries, Cherries, Cherries

How did you spend your Memorial Day Holiday?  I've spent mine trying to deal with the best sweet cherry harvest ever.  For reasons I can't fathom, my dwarf cherry tree produces almost nothing one year, then huge amounts of fruit the following year.   But, I've never seen anything like this year's bounty.  At first it was thrilling to stand under the branches, yanking the cherries off, popping them in my mouth, and spitting the seeds out on the ground.  It's the best way to eat them, in my opinion.  But, eventually it was time to start some serious harvesting, or all that fruit would shrivel up on the branches.  So, I've spent the last three days picking cherries, with help from Bob. 

PPN: Spring Asparagus And Sugar Snap Pea Penne Salad

Yes, here it is again, asparagus. I can't resist it.  The price is right and the quality is excellent.  This refreshing salad combines the asparagus with sugar snap peas, penne, and orange segments.  Pasta salads can sometimes be a little boring, but I thought this one was quite interesting.  And it's perfect for a party, where it could safely sit out at room temperature for an extended period.  I long for summer to arrive, with vine ripened tomatoes, basil and peppers. But beautiful spring vegetables, such as these, make the wait bearable.   

This simple but delicious salad is my submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was started by the wonderful Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. Each Friday Ruth has a recap of wonderful pasta recipes from bloggers from all over the world.  So, do stop by and check it out.

Never Throw Away Your Pastry Scraps.

Maybe some of you remember the last Daring Baker Challenge with the Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart?  I saved my scraps of leftover chocolate shortbread crust and stashed them in the freezer.  Since then, each time I got ice cubes, the scraps seemed quite forlorn, pining to fulfill their culinary destiny.  So, today I used a small amount to make two tartlets.  I like this shortbread dough because it tastes very good, and can be pressed into a tartlet or pie tin with your fingers, like Play Dough. No rolling required.   After baking them for about 30 minutes at 325 degrees, I filled them with Greek yogurt (after they cooled, of course).  Then I scattered some berries and sliced nectarines on top of the tartlets.  They seemed a bit healthy, with the yogurt and fruit. Although the crust does contain butter, it required barely two tablespoons of the dough to make each tartlet.  Most important, they were delicious.  Greek yogurt, which I adore, makes a good substitute for pastry cream. And making just two tartlets kept the calories under control.

Note to self:  Buy some of those fancy fluted tartlet pans.

Fourth Of July Rebellious Plum And Cherry Johnnycake Cobbler

  This seemed like it would be the world's easiest cobbler, when I first began making it.  The recipe is simple and looked interesting, with a johnnycake topping. Johnnycake is the name white cornmeal was given in the early days of this country before the United States won independence.  So, I thought this might be a nice dessert to celebrate July 4th.   Unfortunately, the cobbler suddenly rebelled (like the American colonies) and refused to bake as ordered.  Instead of taking only 16 minutes, as the instructions called for, it took almost 40 minutes.   The resulting cobbler tasted very good, but the extended baking time made the biscuit topping crisp, not light and fluffy. Still, I enjoyed a dish of it with ice cream.

Light Waldorf Salad

I made this salad nearly a month ago when my mother-in-law, Bunty was here. We were eating a lot of fatty food and all of us were feeling the weight of it. So, I made this lightened version of Waldorf Salad. Instead of mayonnaise (which I dearly love), it uses a yogurt dressing. I told my Official Taster, Nancy, about this salad and she has been asking me to post it ever since.

I'm not always fond of yogurt on salads, because it can be too tart. But, this dressing surprised me. It was a very good compliment to the sweet fruit, a bit tangy, but muted by the honey.  This was a good tasting, healthy, and refreshing break from heavy eating.  And it was perfect for the summer heat. 

Simple Things

Today we picked the cherries from our dwarf cherry tree. Well, it was a dwarf tree when we planted it, but grew taller than I expected.  It's still not a huge tree and we often have a meager harvest.  This year the tree was full of beautiful fruit, a sight that made me feel so happy I did a little dance.  I ate all the fruit on the lower branches, then watched the crows and scrub jays feast on the cherries high in the tree.  At first, I felt generous, but then decided we needed to get serious about cherry picking. So, Bob hauled out the ladder and we picked about 3/4 of the fruit today. I left the rest for the birds, because I don't want my harvest next year to be jinxed by greed.

When I offered some cherries to my neighbor, he gave us freshly picked strawberries. These were small, sweet berries, totally unlike the bland monsters sold at the store.  Some were as small as raspberries, with an intense sweet odor that clung to my fingers.

I still have plenty of cherries left and I may bake something with them.  But, today we had strawberries and cherries, unadorned, straight up.  It was so simple.  And I felt grateful.