Berry Shortcake

It’s berry season. My grandmother was famous for making a bang-up Strawberry Shortcake. In fact, she would make it every year for my mother’s birthday, until the year my mother finally requested a “real” birthday cake. Grandma felt that my mother is fortunate to have her birthday fall during berry season. That and it meant she got out of having to frost a cake. Wise lady, my grandma.

In any case, she made her Strawberry Shortcake with sponge cake.  Homemade of course. None of this supermarket nonsense. She was also known for making root beer from scratch, but that’s another story.

I like to make Shortcake with fresh homemade biscuits, for a nice buttery, salty flavor to balance the sweet whipped cream and assorted berries. Strawberry Shortcake is wonderful of course, but variety is the spice of life. I like to mix things up once in a while, which is why I like to use any number of seasonal berries in in Berry Shortcake.

Berry Shortcake - serves 4

1 pint of assorted  fresh blackberries, raspberries or strawberries
2 T – 1/4 C granulated sugar, depending on sweet tooth
1 C flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1 t sugar
1/4 t salt
1/3 C ice cold butter
1/2 – 3/4 C buttermilk (depending on the weather)
1 C heavy whipping cream
2 t sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Toss berries with the sugar in a large bowl and refrigerate for 1/2 hour, but no more than 2 hours. They start to get squishy and discolored after too long. We’re looking for fresh and bright, people.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Tip: When dicing the butter, I find that it’s helpful to coat the knife in flour and sprinkle the butter cubes with flour as you go. This way, the cubes are not fused together when they are dropped into the flour mixture.

Stir in the buttermilk until just moistened. Divide into quarters. Form each quarter into a ball and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 11 – 14 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops turn a lovely golden color.

Meanwhile, using either an electric beater, a counter top mixer or a whisk, combine the sugar and cream and beat until soft peaks form. Too far beyond that and it will end up as butter.

Remove the biscuits from the oven and allow them to cool. Carefully cut each in half, top the bottom half with a bit of whipped cream. Cover that with berries, a larger dollop of whipped cream and the top half of the biscuit.

Serve outside on a patio or deck after dinner, and watch the evening sky as the sun sets.

Chocolate Goat Milk Pudding

I somehow ended up with two quarts of goat milk this week. Funny how these things happen. While goat milk is great to drink on its own – the initial taste is similar to cow’s milk, with the tart finish of chèvre – it occurred to me that its salty-sweet, piquant flavor might work nicely mixed into a dark chocolate pudding.

A good amount of dark chocolate (85% cocoa) and a good amount of cocoa powder create a dark rich flavor. Egg yolks and cornstarch thicken the pudding as it simmers, resulting in a wonderfully dense pudding that’s as comforting served warm as it is refreshing served chilled.

Goat milk is said to be easier to digest than cow’s milk and is a good alternative for those with lactose intolerance. It is also a good source of calcium, vitamin B2 and tryptophan – an amino acid that is said to regulate appetite and decrease anxiety. Combine that with dark chocolate’s antioxidants and its blood pressure lowering cocoa phenols, and the benefits of this Chocolate Goat Milk Pudding almost make up for the calories. Almost.

While goat milk may sound exotic, it’s not so difficult to come by at most natural grocery stores and even some supermarkets.

Chocolate Goat Milk Pudding – makes 4 – 6 servings

3.5 ounces dark chocolate (85% cacao)

3/4 C sugar
2 T cornstarch
1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder
3 1/2 C goat milk
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten

Break the dark chocolate into pieces and place in a metal bowl or top section of a double boiler. Bring about a cup of water to a simmer in a small saucepan or the bottom section of a double boiler. Place the vessel holding the chocolate over the simmering water and turn off the heat. Allow the chocolate to melt gradually.

Meanwhile, blend the sugar, cornstarch and cocoa powder together in a large bowl.

Over medium heat, bring the milk to a low simmer in a medium saucepan. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir continuously with a whisk to break up any lumps. Continue stirring and allow the mixture to simmer for one minute.

Remove from heat. Stir in the melted chocolate. Add the egg yolks, stirring quickly with a whisk to incorporate. Return to low heat and, stirring constantly, bring to a very low simmer until the mixture thickens.

Pour into dessert bowls or ramekins and serve warm or chilled.

Green Market Quesadilla

Farmers Market season is back. Thank goodness. This time of year, there is an abundance of greens – young kale, chard, lettuces and cabbages – all so fresh and bright, they emit the aromas of spring’s sun and rain. You can taste the photosynthesis, they’re that fresh.

There are plenty of wonderful things to make with greens. Salads and sautés spring to mind. This quesadilla recipe is like baking them into a little present. Greens are sautéed beforehand to reduce their volume and remove some moisture.  Onion scapes add an additional layer of savory-sweetness, as well as texture.

I used Neighborly Farms Monterey Jack cheese and Grafton Cheddar, both from Vermont, but check your farmers market for local cheese artisans.

Green Market Quesadilla - serves 4 – 6

6 onion or garlic scapes, finely chopped
1 T olive oil
1 lb fresh young mixed greens – pepper greens, young kale, young chard, baby bok choy, etc
4 ounces Monterey Jack, grated
2 ounces Cheddar, grated
6 – 8 inch tortillas

Remove any tough stems from the greens. Loosely chop all greens. Combine the grated cheeses in a shallow dish.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium. Add chopped scapes and sauté for 5 minutes until softened and bright green.

Add greens, cover and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Remove the cover and cook an additional 5 minutes, allowing excess moisture to evaporate off.

Preheat oven to 375.

Sauté scapes in olive oil for 3 min over medium heat. add greens and cook down until wilted and some moisture evaporates off – about 5 minutes.

To assemble each quesadilla, lay tortilla on a work surface and cover one half with a layer of cheese. Cover the cheese with greens.  Top the greens with more cheese. Fold the tortilla in half so that the bare side covers the stuff side.

Helpful hint: In order to evenly distribute the cheese and greens for each quesadilla, it helps to divide the cheese and greens into 6ths (see pic).

Arrange quesadillas on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve hot as an appetizer or main dish. Great to serve while watching the World Cup!

Ingredient origins: scapes and greens – Massachusetts; olive oil – Italy; Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses – Vermont; Tortillas -Rhode Island.

Creamy Potato Salad

Potato salad is the obvious side for a barbecue. Sure you can buy a tub at the market, but it’s really not difficult to make at home. This recipe comes out thick and creamy. Red and green onions add color and flavor, and dill mellows out the mix.

It’s also a pretty fast recipe. The potatoes are peeled and cubed before simmering, so they cook in less than 7 minutes. It’s also great to make in advance, as the longer it sits refrigerated, the more the potatoes absorb the flavor.

Try it out. Then when your friends and neighbors come over to your next barbecue and say, “Yum! This potato salad is wonderful! Where did you buy it?”, you can smile proudly and say, “I made it myself, thank you very much!”

Creamy Potato Salad – serves 4 – 6

6 – 7 medium golden potatoes
3/4 C mayonnaise
2 t apple cider vinegar
1/2 C red onion, diced
3 T green onion, finely chopped
1 T dried dill
1 t sugar
salt to taste

Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes, about 1/2 inches wide. Drop into salted, boiling water, lower heat to and allow to simmer for 5 – 7 minutes. Take one out, allow it to cool and test to make sure the potato is cooked. They should be just soft enough for a knife to come out easily, but not smooshy. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes until cool.

Meanwhile, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, onions, dill and sugar in a large bowl. Add potatoes. Mix gently to avoid crushing the potatoes.

Transfer to a serving dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Barbecue Steamed Fiddleheads

Fiddleheads, a type of fern harvested before the plant has a chance to unfurl, are as much a harbinger of spring in New England – and as fleeting – as a migratory bird passing through. They come up in the middle of spring, around the end of April and into May, when the soil has thawed and early vegetation makes its presence known.

The flavor is fresh and grassy, and offers a good contrast to heavier meats.

The following recipe uses the grill, so that while you happen to have the barbecue fired up anyway, you can toss your fiddleheads on toward the end for a quick steam in a foil pouch. The fiddleheads absorb the butter as it melts, turning each into a little net of creaminess.

If it’s still raining where you are, this recipe works just as will in a pan on the stove.

Barbecue Steamed Fiddleheads – serves 2 – 4

2 dozen fiddleheads
1 T butter, cut into 1/8 inch cubes
1 wedge of lemon

Clean the fiddleheads by rinsing them with cool water and cutting off the stems to expose a fresher surface.

Place them in the center of a large piece of aluminum foil. Evenly distribute the cubes of butter over the fiddleheads.

Fold fold the two opposite sides together and fold and press the ends together to form a pouch.

Place on a 400 degree grill for 5 – 7 minutes, flipping once. To avoid overcooking, it’s a good idea to do this once any meats or fish are just finishing up on the grill, since the fiddleheads need very little time to cook.

Remove from foil, place in a serving dish and squeeze with fresh lemon.

Ingredient origins – Fiddleheads – Maine; Butter – Maine; Lemon – Mexico