SACRED GRAINS: Strawberry Fields Forever

SACRED GRAINS: Strawberry Fields Forever: Off to soccer tryouts this morning, my son loves soccer!  I am not sure that I am emphasizing that enough, my son LOVES soccer so all of us...

Strawberry Fields Forever

Off to soccer tryouts this morning, my son loves soccer!  I am not sure that I am emphasizing that enough, my son LOVES soccer so all of us, including my daughters boyfriend are going to support him for tryouts! Before he could walk, he would hold up his two arms in the air and say ball and we would walk him around the garden while he kicked the soccer ball.  Now he is thinking that maybe Gaelic Football is something to tryout for as well.  His strong connection to his Irish roots has him researching different things that he can participate in. 


A lot of people talk about music bringing them back to a place and time in their lives invoking memories.  For me, I think food has a bigger impact, strawberries always reminds me of my Grandmother.  I could be walking by a stand at the farmers market and instantly take me back to a place in my childhood.  

My grandmother would buy strawberries from people selling them on the side of the road who had spent their mornings picking them from their strawberry fields or maybe growing wild.  She would sprinkle sugar on them, whip up some cream and there it was, a perfect treat.  I think the strawberries had a much stronger berry taste years ago.  I keep buying different brands to see if I can find "that" taste. Driscoll's  brand is still my favorite.  I always prefer organic but they do not seem to be easily available.

I  love when both my children are home to cook a special meal that I know they will love.  I had bought strawberries earlier this week and some rhubarb and was going to make a pie ahead of time but he asked me to wait for him so we can do it together.  I know that there is a slight chance I will end up doing this on my own but the fact that my almost 12  year old is still wanting to bake in the kitchen with me is still a very comforting thought. I strongly feel that it is moments like this that make memories for our children, they may not think it is a big deal right now but when they are older it is this moment that they will cherish.  

 
 I will prepare the fruit ahead of time myself and really the rest is easy, I do plan on putting a lattice on top of the pie but I am sure he will enjoy doing that. 

 

 

PIE CRUST

 Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Pastry Flour  
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
•  3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup plus 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water

Method:
) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, and salt.

2) Cut in the shortening until it's in lumps the size of small peas.

3) Dice the butter into 1/2-inch pieces, and cut into the mixture until you have flakes of butter the size of your fingernail.

4) Add the water, two tablespoons at a time, mixing with a fork as you sprinkle the water into the dough

5) When the dough is moist enough to hold together when you squeeze it, transfer it to a piece of wax or parchment paper. It's ok if there are some dry spots in the pile. Use a spray bottle of water to lightly spritz these places; that way you'll add just enough water to bring the dough together without creating a wet spot.

6) Fold the dough over on itself three or four times to bring it together, then divide it in half and pat it into two disks 3/4-inch thick. 

7) Roll the disk on its edge, like a wheel, to smooth out the edges. This step will ensure your dough will roll out evenly, without a lot of cracks and splits at the edges later. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling. 

Now onto the ingredients that matter :)

Filling:

I cup white flour
1/2 cup flour
1 lb fresh rhubarb
container of fresh strawberries
2 apples
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar

Mix all of the ingredients together and let stand for 20 minutes.  I actually prepare this part before I prepare the pastry.  It is then ready to be placed in the pie dish once it is lined.

My son created this lattice work and called it tic-tac-toe :)

STRAWBERRY JAM

Ina Garten has a wonderful video for making strawberry jam, what I like about it the most is that you can make just small quantities.  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/fresh-strawberry-jam-recipe/index.html

Tonight, I decided to make a little so that we could be eating jam while the strawberries are in season.  I was very happy with the results.  I was thankful that a friend dropped by for canvasing, who I had not seen for years but was happy to hold the gadgets for me to be able to place my jam in their perspective jars.  He was rewarded with one of the half jars to go home with and came back after he had done his route for a slice of Strawberry Apple/ Rhubarb pie.  It was nice to catch up with him, he went home happy...

  I got 2 1/2 jars out of 1 1/2 lbs of strawberries.  I am happy with the outcome and glad that I made some Jam for my children to enjoy with some other goodies.  I will have to bake some biscuits of soda bread or scones to go with this :)...


The finished product...

   YUM! 

It was definitely time to make myself a quick dinner, something a lot less sweeter than all of these.  A quick salad to the rescue.  Roasted  and caramelized some walnuts, some mesculine greens, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced cucumbers,feta, and of course avocado.  I love this apple cider vinegar dressing that I have and it is supposed to be very good for my throat so I whipped it up as my kids had eaten earlier.  I quickly ate my salad and then....... we all sat down for pie and ice cream, yuuuuuuum!

A Gluten Free Delight

Every morning, I drop my daughter off at school and take a walk in a beautiful part of Cape Ann.  I am so fortunate to be living in such a gorgeous area.

 


The water this morning had a sheen to it that I had not seen before, it was such a wonderful place to be.  Unfortunately this image does not do it justice.  With summer just around the corner, it makes me think of strawberries, lemon curd and shortbread, YUM!

 

Even my golden retriever was happy to be there, nothing like an early morning swim on a hot almost summer day!











When I was a child shortbread was not something that we ate in our family, it was something that came in a tin around Christmas time.  I remember not liking it very much. It was a little too rich and for heavens sake, where was the chocolate :).

One time while shopping in Filene's Basement of all places, I found the most beautiful mold for shortbread and I knew I could not leave it behind.  I purchased it and the amount of guests that have come through my home and have had shortbread, I cannot count.  It is always the go to dessert if I have friends coming over.  I know that I can make it quickly and clean my home and pull it off without too much stress :)... that is my kind of dessert. 


There are some desserts that need some good shortbread as a base, I want to be able to make a lemon bar and triple decker bar with a gluten free base and then the bar would work really well for my friends who love these bars but are deprived because of the base.  I have friend who helped me tremendously last year, I would not have been able to attend school without her generosity and big heart.  She  has always eaten my shortbread but is intolerant to wheat but would eat it anyway.  I decided that it was time to find a recipe for her so that she could enjoy this luxury guilt free!   

Research time:  I decided that it was probably best to find my recipe on an British Isle/ Irish website as shortbread is considered to be Scottish and celiac disease is prominent there. I found a lovely recipe online and collected all the ingredients...

Shortbread (Noun)

Type of biscuit (cookie), popular in Britain,traditionally made from one part sugar, two parts butter and three parts flour

I also decided to add some lemon rind

Rice flour, Corn Flour, 
Powdered Sugar, and Butter

Ingredients

100g cornflour

160g white rice flour

8 tablespoons icing sugar

175g butter

Method:

Mix all the ingredients and bake at 150 C/ gas mark 2 for 20-25 minutes

 


I dropped off the finished product this evening and she seems really happy to be my guinea pig today.  I think I am going to try the next batch savory and see how it comes out with sea salt and rosemary, yum!



 
We have decided that it is a little dry so it needs some 
work but overall the crumb was PERFECT!  and it held together lovely.  I just think it needs a little bit of moisture to make it more creamy.  A neighbor dropped by and suggested buttermilk.  I think that will be my next added ingredient.  




I had some for dessert tonight with lemon curd and strawberries and it was lovely.  It just needs that little something to balance it out... enjoy!

School's Out... this week! Memories of food and innocence...

Pack your favorite things, we are off to Skibbereen, Co. Cork, Ireland. Growing up in Cork City, we would spend our holidays every summer in the cottage that my father was born in. It is one of my fathers' most favorite places to go and for me it is a place I go to in my head to find solitude.  I remember the neighbors coming over in the evening for a visit and my parents serving some goodies and before the night was over there was a song to be sung, or a story to be told. My father was surrounded by his relatives and friends and that was very comforting to him. My mother of course had the kettle on and she would have brought a fruit cake with her from the city,"just in case someone popped in". 
My father had this cousin that was known for his dry witt and his famous expression was "When I am dead don't bury me at all, just soak my bones in alcohol" he is since gone but a wonderful man and story teller, oh what fun they used to have together.  I can remember my fathers' hearty laugh coming from the kitchen.  

Those who know me know that I have a lamp of this in my living room.

It was in one of the most beautiful settings on God's green earth.  One cannot imagine how lucky we were but being kids/teenagers of course we did not appreciate it.  I am lucky enough to go home now and be able to walk the land and soak it up.  When I was a child my brothers, sister and I would tell each other ghost stories as we fell asleep, all cuddled into the one bedroom.  The Fasnet Rock light house could be seen from the windows.  It is an incredible daunting statute...
My memories are probably different from that of my siblings but happiest ones are of picking blackberries with my mother and she would make Blackberry Apple jam.   They would grow wild on the side of the road.  The smells and rainy weather that we have been having over here in New England has brought me right back there.  You would literally be walking around the roads in your wellies and raincoat picking the berries.  

Blackcurrant Jam will always bring me back to West Cork :)

One other favorite of mine was of my neighbor who was this wonderful woman over the road. Her name to us was Mrs Driscoll. On the night that Elvis Presley died we were on "holidays" and we did not have any television otherwise known as "telly" so we had to walk to the neighbors house in the pitch black of night to find out what was the latest news. I was only 14 so of course I was devastated by it.  she did not mind us coming, take into consideration that there were no phones available like there are now so we just showed up.  Immediately she took out her enormous loaf of Whole wheat Irish Soda Bread, and when I say DELICIOUS! it does not do it justice.  She also had so many blackcurrant bushes outside in her garden that she made t.h.e. B.E.S.T blackcurrant jam there was or will ever be again. 

This was definitely the role I took on those hot summer days!

I strongly feel that the Driscoll family gave me a childhood that I would never have had otherwise.  We got to see newborn chickens been born and got to hold them when they were barely out of their mothers womb. I remember walking the roads in the wee hours of the morning to go to the local farmer to collect a gallon of milk, to this day I still cannot drink raw milk.  What a wonderful healthy way to grow up though.  If I was getting the milk, someone else was going to the well to get buckets of water, we did not have running water in the house at that time.


 I am seriously thinking of taking my children strawberry picking this weekend and we can make jam.  I really want my children/teenager to appreciate where things come from the way I did. Oh to be able to live the simple life again.  

Gluten Free in the Kitchen

The last few days have been busy baking for more thank you gifts.  It is wonderful to be able to experiment in my kitchen and know that I do not have to worry about all these calories :).  I have been wanting to experiment with Gluten free for years and always found a way to back out.  I love my bread that is wheat all the way but seem to feel guilty after I have devoured slices of it rich with Irish butter, Kerrygold of course :).

If you are going to indulge you may as well do it all the way with the  best butter around.  Delicious!


I am making a loaf of gluten free bread from  http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-japanese-milk-bread-the-softest-bread-ever/
When I was mixing it, it was very wet so I had to add a whole extra cup of gluten free all purpose flour.  These breads get expensive.



The beginning stages of making this bread...making a roux with flour and water.  I am still trying to figure out what purpose this has :)

Now onto the fun stuff, adding yeast to the flour.  The one thing I am learning with regard to making this bread is that with this and most gluten free bread it is not like making regular bread, four ingredients and you are done.  I cannot tell you how many ingredients I have used to make this one.  There are so many ingredients int the flour itself and then you need, vinegar, eggs, sugar, and cream of tarter which I always thought was only used for making the Irish Soda breads the old fashioned way.  I am excited to see how this loaf will come out... It really is for my daughter to try!






The bread is rising patiently in my warm bedroom as that seems to be the warmest room in the house.  I decided to leave it for a couple of hours as it seems very heavy.  I want it to be light and airy and more like a regular wheat bread in texture.  I had tried a different loaf of bread the other day and it was not successful.  It looked fine going into the oven and I thought it would come out well but in my honest opinion it really had too much yeast and too much water.  The two together just made it flop!

This is how it looked going into the oven... but I didn't even take a picture of it coming out of the oven.  

This is my very first successful looking loaf of Gluten Free Bread!  I am so happy that it at least came out looking that way, we of course will have to do a taste test.  Boil the kettle, find the butter and wolla!

I do want to update you on the brownies though, they were a huge hit.  I did make more today and I reduced the sugar by about half a cup and let them bake longer and the result was excellent.  A lovely cake-like brownie. Really, really  yummy!                                                                                                 

I want to share one of my favorite quotes with you and hope that you like it

Love is in the Air!

This morning I had to get up early and bake off 150 shortbread hearts for a wedding party tomorrow evening.  It will be shared by a woman's family whose son is getting married on Sunday.  This winter she tutored my daughter in exchange for goodies for a rehearsal dinner. 

We can do no great things;
only small things 
with great love.
~ Mother Teresa ~

Shortbread are really fun to make and tasty to enjoy.  I also put together almost 60 brownies.  Yum!  I think this wedding party will be very sweet :)

 These brownies are wonderful as they really hold their moisture and are really wonderful to make ahead.  Great for a rehearsal dinner!

One more thing I created this morning, a batch of Gluten free brownies for my friends daughter who is experimenting with gluten free.  Cleaned everything with hot soapy water and on I went.  So far in the pan they look great!  I will get the taster test from E-Rose when she tastes these tasty morsels...

Did someone say bread :)

                                              To thine own heart be True!
For the Love of Bread, this loaf makes me feel good about the world.  The whole loaf fell apart as I placed it into the oven and by chance when I opened it up it was the PERFECT heart shaped, I could not have succeeded as well if I had tried it. 

my friends were going to take great care of me so in return I made them... bread.  I love doing this for friends now

Some people get cake for their birthdays, I made bread for my 50th.  
Pesto,Feta and Sundried Tomato
Roasted Kalamata Olives and Garlic Cloves with Four Cheeses  

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging...

Welcome

I plan on using this site to share my love of baking.  I am hoping to bake all the regular things I have been doing for years and also experiment with some Gluten Free products.  I really feel it would be good for our family and also love to share the product with friends. In the past few months, I have need the support of my neighbors and thankfully my baking skills have saved me almost every time.  I do wish National Grid would take a loaf of bread for the electricity in my home, but alas, that is not the case. 

This morning I had to meet this wonderful woman who has helped me with my taxes every year and in return I needed to make her some scones.  What a wonderful way to start the day.  Here are some images of my product.

I love to get up early when my children are still sleeping and sometimes I play some wonderful music and enjoy mixing all these great ingredients together to create a product that will be enjoyed by other people. 
This mornings creation was Mixed Berry Scones with Gala Apples and honey topped. 
Yum!

Half an hour later the product was cooling and waiting to be packed while I ran out the door.  They were a big hit with my children also. 

Some homemade strawberry jam and we are all set.