Strawberry Mania!

I haven't felt very bloggy, as I have been up to my ears in strawberries, ha ha! My sister & our friend, Cristy, went to Sauvie Island Farms last weekend & picked soooooo many berries. I got 24 pounds of them. :/ Somebody stop me! Here's what I did with most of them, besides eating them plain...


First off, lots of Strawberry-Honey Jam. I used Pomona's Universal Pectin, which is awesome because you don't need to use much, if any sweetener, depending on the fruit; in fact, it gels with calcium, rather than sugar. I've been avoiding white sugar, for the most part, & used 1/2 cup honey to sweeten each batch (per 4 cups mashed strawberries). The resulting jam is just right & won't give the recipients diabeetus.

There are 29 jars of this stuff---some pints, some half-pints, & some teensy-tiny ones. I can't wait to mix it into yogurt & slather it on toast throughout the year!


I also made some pseudo-ice cream. Since I don't have an ice cream maker, I just whipped some heavy cream, then folded in some strawberry puree before freezing. It's a little crystallized, but I wasn't feeling fancy enough to care. :)


If you're in a similarly non-fancy mood, here's how I made it:

Rustic Strawberry-Honey Ice Cream & Sauce

• 1/2 pint heavy cream
• 2 cups strawberry puree
• 3/4 cup honey (more or less, to taste)
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon arrowroot starch
  

Whip the cream until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over-whip, or you'll have butter (which isn't that shabby, actually). Fold about half of the strawberry-honey mixture into the cream. It will be somewhat runny, just so you know. Freeze until firm, about 6 hours or so.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by whisking the arrowroot into the remaining syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Simmer for about a minute, then pour into a jar to cool.

Drizzle the ruby syrup over your ice cream & eat it while basking in the sun!

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I also whipped up a couple treats for a dinner at Coral's house. Of course I forgot to take pictures of them until after I wrapped them up. By the time I realized it, I was running late & just wanted to head over, so sorry!


Luckily, I had set aside a cookie for Ethan, so I have a better shot of that. I made cookie sandwiches, filled with a little homemade peach jam. Mmmmmmm...


Brown Butter Shortbread adapted from My Madison Bistro

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour

Preheat the oven to 325*F. Brown the butter by melting it over medium heat, stirring it frequently until brown & fragrant, about 4-8 minutes. Chill it in the freezer until solid again.

Cream the butter, brown sugar & vanilla. Add the flour & mix until combined. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness. Pop into the freezer for a bit until it's firmed up.

Cut into desired shapes & place on a cookie sheet. Bake until golden on the edges, 15-20 minutes, depending on how large you made them.

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Black-Bottom Coconut Bars adapted from Martha Stewart

Base:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
  
• 1/2 cup organic sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
  

Topping

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup organic sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 3 cups unsweetened coconut (reserve 1/2 cup for garnish)
  

Preheat the oven to 375*F & butter a 9X9-inch pan; set aside.

Whisk together the butter, sugar & egg. In a small bowl, stir together the flour & cocoa, then stir into the wet ingredients. Spread into the prepared pan & bake for 10-15 minutes, just until it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

While that's baking, prepare the coconut topping. Whisk together the eggs, sugar & vanilla. Stir in the flour, then fold in 2 1/2 cup of coconut. Spread carefully over the baked base. It's pretty thick, so I just dolloped it on top, then carefully pressed it out. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup coconut. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into squares.

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On the crafty front, I've been in a crocheting mood, working on my granny square blanket & making a garland for my mom.

Here are all the little hearts, before weaving in the ends:


I made the small hearts from here, then made the garland according to here, except I only chained 4 on top of the hearts, rather than 6, since they were smaller. And here's the finished product:


Cute little hearts!

Late Birthday Mega-post!

So, my birthday was on the 4th of July, & I have a lot of catching up to do! I hope everyone had a safe & happy 4th, if you even celebrate it. I probably wouldn't, if it weren't my birthday. :)

I ended up having a sleepover at my sister's house, since all of her housemates were gone for the weekend. It was fun, since I got to see my great friend, Jeremy! (My sister even took me to birthday breakfast at Blossoming Lotus, where Jeremy works!) As per usual, I made a crapload of food & packed too much, but whatever. Here is a delicious recipe, slightly adapted & simplified, that I got from the July/August issue of Vegetarian Times.


Corn-Quinoa Salad

*1 cup quinoa, rinsed & drained
*1 1/2 cups water
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
*1 1/2 cups halved cherry or grape tomatoes
*1 cup diced cucumber

dressing:

*1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
*1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
*3 tablespoons maple syrup
*1 tablespoon grainy Dijon mustard
*1 teaspoon salt
*fresh pepper to taste

Bring the water, quinoa, & salt to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover, & simmer for 15-20 minutes, until water is absorbed. Set aside, covered, to rest. If using fresh corn, blanch it for 1 minute, then rinse & drain. If using frozen, just wait a bit. Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Use a large bowl, so you can add the tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, & quinoa. Stir everything together & chill until serving time.

*The original recipe calls for blanching the frozen corn as well, but I've tried it both ways, & it seemed unnecessary. It also calls for 1 cup of finely chopped red cabbage, but I didn't have any on hand.

I also made some "lazy sushi" fixins, but didn't take pictures---nori sheets, sushi rice, sliced cucumbers, avocado chunks, pickled ginger, & wasabi...it wasn't pretty, but it was tasty, except for the gross pickled ginger I got at Fubonn. Not sure why, but it was cut too thick, & had lots of stringyness, not to mention chemicals galore. I only bought it because I couldn't find any other brands the day I went, but it was tossed out after failing in so many ways. Blargh.

I made my own birthday cake because it's fun & I love to bake! Sadly, not many of the people I hang out with on my birthday like cake, so I made a half-batch of my favorite, summery cake, printed years ago from the O Magazine website (It's no longer available, apparently).


Here's my adapted, mini-version of it:

Butter Cake with Lemon Cream Frosting

Lemon Curd:

*3 large egg yolks
*1/2 cup sugar
*2 lemons, zested & juiced
*1/4 cup butter, cut into several pieces

Cake:

*1 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
*1 1/8 teaspoons baking powder
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*6 tablespoons butter, softened
*3/4 cup sugar
*1 1/2 large eggs (I know, it's weird to divide an egg in half)
*6 tablespoons milk
*1 teaspoon vanilla

Frosting:

*3/4 cup heavy cream
*1/4 cup of prepared lemon curd

Filling & Topping:

*1/3-1/2 cup strawberry or raspberry jam
*1/3 cup or so leftover lemon curd
*fresh raspberries & strawberries


Prepare the lemon curd first. Bring a medium pan, with an inch or two of water in it, to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, put a metal bowl on top & reduce the heat the medium-low. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, & zest in the metal bowl. Whisk over the simmering water, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened & pale yellow. Remove from heat & add the butter, in pieces, whisking till combined. Pour into a jar or small bowl & set aside to cool. There will be more than you need, but I'm sure you can figure out how to get rid of the rest! :)


Preheat the oven to 350*F. Butter & flour a round cake pan, either 8" or 9"; set aside. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, & salt; set aside. In a mixer, cream together the butter & sugar till fluffy. Add the eggs & beat till fluffy again.


Combine milk with vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients, stirring till mostly incorporated, then add half the milk/vanilla, stirring till combined. Repeat, stirring just enough, but not too much. Pour cake batter into the prepared cake pan & bake till a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (mine took about 25 minutes, but it depends on your pan size & oven).

Cool about 5 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely. I put mine in the window sill & the smell was intoxicating!


Once the cake has cooled, slice it in half. Place the bottom half on a pretty cake plate, then spread the jam evenly across the bottom, before topping with the top layer. Spread about 1/3 cup of lemon curd on the top layer, if you desire; I did & it was tasty!


Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Fold in the 1/4 cup of lemon curd, then spread onto cake. Garnish with fresh fruit, or leave it simple. Refrigerate until close to serving time. Since it's a butter cake, it should be served at room temperature, or it may appear dry. The whipped cream is quite stable, due to the eggs in the lemon curd. I had my cake sitting out for a few hours & it was fine.


After being spoiled by everyone, I had another event to attend---my friend Scott is moving back to New Jersey, so there was a shindig at Ara & Drew's house yesterday. I ran around town all morning, hitting up the Joann's sale with Coral, & buying some cutesy fabric, a couple sewing patterns, & a pack of blank cards (for stamping with these cute stamps from Mom!).


A future apron, once I can get past my fear of the sewing machine:


After Jo-Ann's crazy-sale-o-rama, I ran to Limbo (highly recommended for inexpensive, amazing produce---usually local/organic!!!) & Trader Joe's for some more party food fixin's & beer. Once home, I made a batch of pineapple salsa, which is always unique & tasty, but I forgot to take a picture. :(

But!...the main reason for shopping was to buy some lemons, raspberries, & Earth Balance, so I could make this cake for Scott, who's a vegan.


The recipe is adapted from How it All Vegan!, & I used it to bake a kinda-similar cake to my birthday one. No vegan lemon curd though, since I began baking this thing two hours before the bbq started. Whew!

Lemon Cake & Frosting

*1 1/2 cups flour
*2 teaspoons baking powder
*1/4 teaspoon salt

*3/4 cup sugar
*3/4 cup vegan milk
*2 teaspoons lemon extract
*zest of one lemon
*1/4 cup oil
*1 egg replacer (I use Ener-G)

Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease & flour an 8" or 9" cake pan & set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Beat in the dry ingredients, until just combined. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.

I sliced mine in half, similar to the birthday cake, then spread homemade strawberry jam on the bottom layer.

Prepare the frosting by beating together:

*1/4 cup margarine, softened
*2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
*2 tablespoons vegan milk
*1 teaspoon lemon extract

I was in a hurry, so I just went "rustic" on the cake's ass, by spreading the frosting over the top & letting it run down the sides, before placing raspberries & lemon slices on the top.

It was devoured by the people at the bbq before I could take shots of the inside. Scott was so thankful that I baked it for him. I'll miss you, Scott!!

Here are some random recent pictures...

$3 goes far at Limbo:


A hunk of fancy gianduja from Smels! Help me figure out what to do with it, before I eat it all!


A lovely sun hat from my sister.


The Grand Central cookbook, which I've been drooling over for months, also from Smels (she even got me wooden Portland Farmer's Market coins, so I can buy fresh ingredients for the G.C. recipes!!!!).


Ethan is taking me camping a.s.a.p. & got me a bouquet of sunflowers & a cheesy, singing, Twilight card, as sort of an inside joke. :)



The cute, vintage apron that Coral made me! She's amazingly crafty & sweet! And her boyfriend, Ryan, even fixed my car's leaky trunk (He also fixed my Gran's sewing machine a month ago. I feel so fortunate to have so many great people in my life!)


Gorgeous pink poppies that my sister & I saw in Northeast.


Has anyone else gotten one of these in the mail?! This came awhile back, but it was sort of funny. I thought someone had it sent to me as a joke, since I just turned 31, ha ha. Oy.


Sorry for the ginormosity of this one. Ruben thanks you for your time...snore!

Old Timey Preservation Fun

Last year, my super-talented, beautiful friend, Coral, taught me how to prepare & can jam & I've been hooked ever since! We picked strawberries, raspberries, blueberries & blackberries, from various u-pick farms, which were either turned into jam or frozen for later. I then tried my hand at pickling: spicy green beans & jalapeños. Salty goodness. Finally, I canned some unsweetened (to make up for the GOBS of sugar in the jam) applesauce & pears that we'd picked around the neighborhood.

This year, us ladies (my sister, Coral & I) headed to our usual strawberry spot, Sauvie Island Farms & this is the result...

Well, that is PART of the result. I canned 25 pints of jam, in all, some in pint jars, some in half-pints. So fun! I'm looking forward to making a TON of applesauce, since it's one of the healthiest things to can, plus peaches & maybe some weird pickled things. Luckily, I got a shit-ton of cheap jar at Goodwill when I was visiting Mom. :)

It's so amazing to take a bite of toast, laden with floral, Summer-y jam, in the middle of Winter, especially if the bread is home-baked!

Welcome!

Hello. I kept wanting to get back into blogging, but I'm no longer a vegan (still veg!) & the old site felt stale, so I decided to fire up another. I'll probably post an assortment of rants, recipes, squees, photos, & whatever crafty shenanigans I'm up to.

For this first post, I thought I'd share a glimpse of my garden space...


...as well as the first "harvest" from the strawberry plants...