Strawberry Shortcake

This recipe has been in my cards-to-do list for a long time.  It is a Martha Stewart recipe and so scrumptious.  I made shortcake last weekend (in a fit of defying the two feet of snow in my yard) and remembered why I love it so much--the cake is crumbly and biscuit-like, and complemented perfectly by the sweet strawberries and soft cream.

It takes a more time to make individual shortcakes, but I think it's a little more special.

  This photo above I made one big shortcake in my deep-dish pizza stone, which is 10" in diameter.  I baked it for about 30 minutes and it turned out perfectly.

You might also like my heritage shortcake recipe from my husband's maternal grandmother.

Triple-Berry French Toast Casserole

Every time I make this, I remember that it is actually easier than most breakfasts.  And even though the word "sugar" pops up many times in this recipe, I think it's probably healthier than regular French toast with syrup.  

First of all, it's baked instead of butter-fried on a griddle (which is how I make regular French toast).  It's got whole lot of whole berries--healthy, right?  And after we dust it with powdered sugar at the end, we don't add whipped cream or syrup or anything else--it's good with just a light sprinkle.  

Caveat: I let everyone dust their own, because it's so fun to use the powdered sugar wand . . . and they don't understand the word "lightly"--so maybe only my French toast feels slightly-healthier-than-regular-French-toast.

Maybe I am just justifying how often I want to make this breakfast, because no matter how you slice it (but you should slice it into 1-inch cubes), it's DELICIOUS.  And if you make more than one pan, it's an easy way to feed all your company.

Mini Thumbprint Jam Scones

I fell in love with this recipe when I read about the baker Alice Currah in a beautiful magazine called Where Women Cook (which was a delightful birthday gift from my BFF, Cori, whose own scrumptious recipes are sprinkled throughout this blog).

Okay, true confession . . . maybe I liked the article about Alice, but drooled like a French Mastiff when I saw the delectable photos of the scones in said magazine.  See for yourself:

I knew these would be the perfect dessert to add to my "summer harvest" spread when I hosted book club at the beginning of August.

Summer harvest book club fare . . .
I love cooking for the ladies I love!

And guess what?  Everyone liked them more than rhubarb-raspberry pie made with rhubarb and raspberries I harvested that day, more than huckleberry buckle made with HOURS OF MY LIFE that I spent picking tiny-but-precious huckleberries, and even more than the apple pie made with three types of heirloom early-ripening apples (Red Astraiken, Carroll, and Goodland) that I picked from my dad's orchard just three days before book club and peeled and cut by hand because each apple is too uniquely shaped and sized for the peeler-corer-slicer.

That's how good these scones are.

I used my mom's Nanking Cherry jam/syrup (I make jam, but add a little extra water so it's more like a really thick syrup) as the jam in these scones, and that combination of cherries and almond glaze is so heavenly (this from someone who does not like cherry ANYTHING).  But I think it would also be perfectly delectable with raspberry or strawberry jam.

The recipe said to cut the disks into fourths, but I
cut them into sixths and I think they were perfect

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

It stopped raining just for book club!
The scones were the first dessert to disappear.
{PS- I like how you can see Brenda working
on the book club binder in the background}

I thought a cute retro fox was the perfect clipart to compliment this quintessential British confection . . .

Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie

I have come a realization about my love affair with pie . . . no one is going to make it for me.  If I want pie, I have to make it myself.

Now that I have come to terms with this fact, I am not making pie mistakes in local restaurants and (shudder) grocery store bakeries--they just can't duplicate the taste I am after.  Since I have accepted the responsibility fully, I actually enjoy making it more.  2013 has been, for me at least, The Year of the Pie.  And the year isn't even halfway over!  To what pie-in-the-sky heights will I soar before the year's end?  (And to which buckle-hole will my belt be expanded?)

I have had a rhubarb plant for three years now, a transplant gift from my next-door neighbors, and have never done anything with it except enjoy it's exotic, rain forest-esque foliage every spring.  This year, I determined I would not let it go to waste, and so I scoured the Internet for a good rhubarb pie recipe.

Allrecipes has never given me a bum steer.  If a recipe has been reviewed by hundreds of people and it still has a 4.5-star rating, then it's a pretty safe bet.

Completely delicious.  I am adding this recipe to my favorites.

You can also substitute RASPBERRIES for the strawberries and
prepare the pie the same way.  I made this in November, my
favorite month to eat pie.  Oh, yummy.

The most important thing with any berry-based pie is to keep it from being runny.  The first thing you can do is allow the berry to macerate--that is, break down the fibers of the fruit you're using.  This brings out the sweet juices before you bake them, instead of during the baking time.  In addition to releasing flavor, it will help the fruit sort of "gel" as it bakes.  Macerating is simply stirring your fruit with sugar and allowing it to rest.

The second important step is to allow lots of steam to leave the pie.  Lattice crusts are pretty, but they're also almost essential to any berry pie, because the large holes all over the top crust help moisture to steam out during bake time.  I used my flakiest pie crust recipe for this one.

The third step is the hardest: you've got to let the pie cool.  You don't have wait till it's cold . . . you just can't dig right in when it comes out of the oven.  Pie Impatience often leads to burning the roof of your mouth, anyway.  I speak from experience.

Oops!  I forgot to scatter the butter over the top before I did the
lattice.  Better late than never, where butter is concerned.

I got this pie crust shield on Amazon, and I love it!  It's so much easier than using foil, and they're really reasonably priced.  Now I just need a 10-inch one . . . or you can buy these kind {Adjustable Silicone Pie Shield} that expand to fit any size pie pan.

Take the shield off for the last ten minutes of baking.  I think
that heaven must smell like a rhubarb-strawberry pie. 

My dad happened to call and say he was working in the area on the day I made this pie.  I couldn't hope for someone more deserving to share it with!  Dad has always told me  that rhubarb-raisin is one of his favorite pies.  That combination is nowhere near the top of my "must try" pies . . . but I know he was overjoyed when I told him what was in the oven.

I had also invited some friends over for late-night dessert (coincidentally, these friends were wondering that very day when I would be baking and sharing a pie next . . . faith precedes the miracle!), so I let the pie "cool" in the freezer for fifteen minutes to shorten the wait-time before everyone arrived.   I think that impatience might actually be the mother of all invention, rather than necessity.

Ahhhh . . . at last . . .

Raspberry Streusel Muffins

If you add the word "streusel" to any recipe, then I am a fan.  This particular streusel has oats in it, and it is deeeee-licious!

The very best possible way to make these muffins is with raspberries from your own garden that you picked that very morning . . . but let's be realistic, people.  We don't all have raspberries.  For those of us who do, they are only ripe in July/August.  For those of us who 1) do have raspberries that are 2) ripe in said months, then 3) our kids have probably already eaten them off the vine despite our repeated warnings and threats to leave some "for jam."  For those of us who 1) do have raspberries and 2) it is July or August and 3) our kids haven't eaten them off the vine . . . well, "we" might have gone outside in the morning with intentions of picking a few cups for muffins, only to make the mistake of popping one into "our" mouths and then ravenously eating 3 or 4 cups of ripe raspberries by ourselves and then 4) decide to let our kids have cold cereal for breakfast instead of homemade, hand-picked raspberry muffins from the heart.

I need to have my husband make a flow chart of these options.

And my point is really this: frozen raspberries are delicious, and all I have ever used in this recipe.  {But I have big plans for this raspberry season . . . } Enjoy the pictures.  I promise you will love.

STREUSEL!!!!!!

Gingham makes breakfast pretty . . .

Don't be jealous of my square muffin tin . . .

Wholesome American Goodness, people.

These muffins are easily in my top five favorite muffin recipes, along with Cinnamon Ripple and Huckleberry Cream.  Be sure to read all about kefir and conquer any recipe that calls for yogurt or sour cream or buttermilk.

Kefir Smoothies

I have a kefir smoothie (Click here for my What is Kefir? post) at least four days a week.  It's delicious and nutritious, and a great snack to help me curb sugar cravings.  It's also a perfect post-workout meal, because calcium after exercising = stronger bones, stronger heart, easier weight control, and faster muscle recovery.  I started my kefir smoothie drinking in April of 2010, the same time I started running four days a week.  I lost fifteen pounds in six months, and I feel like these smoothies were a big part of helping me to get in shape and stay in shape.

One of my favorite smoothie add-ins (a tip from my sister, Ali), is to add a handful of fresh spinach to any smoothie.  It doesn't affect the taste in the slightest, but adds all the great iron, vitamin C, and antioxidants that spinach provides.  If you don't like spinach or other leafy greens--sneaking it into a smoothie is the way to go.

This recipe card has my two favorite smoothie combinations.  The 5-grain cereal adds complex carbohydrates and fiber, which help to keep you full longer.  The nuts add healthy fats and protein (plus amazing flavor), and the flaxseed adds protein.  Each recipe makes about 32-ounces (4 cups)--enough for two people to enjoy a large, healthy, delicious shake. 

Huckleberry Cream Muffins

If you've never had huckleberries . . . I'm sorry. Just know that blueberries, which I do love and which you can substitute for huckleberries, pale in comparison. These muffins are in my top five favorite.

When I made these this morning, I had about a cup of very thick kefir (Click here for my What is Kefir? post) to use in place of a cup of the sour cream.  I did happen to have another cup of sour cream, but if I hadn't, I would have just used milk.  I've used kefir + milk several times and, though it makes the batter slightly less thick, it still makes a delicious muffin.

Want some kefir of your own?  Come on over and I'll give you some!

Huckleberries . . . mmmmmm.  They are so packed with flavor
that you use half as many as you would blueberries.

My friend Cori gave me this square muffin pan that she bought at Orson Gygi--don't be jealous!  It's one of my favorite cooking accoutrements . . . the shape is fun, of course, but the pan itself is so well-made and heavy duty.

I love this recipe because it makes so many muffins.  Today I got 33 muffins, and plan to freeze at least a dozen, so I can thaw a few whenever I need a little something extra to go with my oatmeal or Cream o' Wheat.

Grape-Berry Jelly

I can't resist getting the pretty handwriting of my friends-of-a-certain-age. Gloria told me to use this recipe when I pick chokecherries in the Fall (which grow profusely in the wild where I live). She said she raised her four kids on this jelly and they never knew it wasn't grape.

Blueberry Buckle

Best breakfast cake ever.  And if you have huckleberries instead of blueberries, so much the better.  I sometimes use butter instead of shortening for the cake, but you can't go wrong either way.  It's also great as a warm dessert with vanilla ice cream.