Eton Mess

This Sunday come to the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market between 10 am - 2 pm at the corner of Agate and 19th Ave for all your summer produce from Camas Swale Farm, pastured meat and poultry from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm, and wine from Summerfield Vineyards. 

Camas Swale Farm has lovely strawberries, which we used in our family's traditional Fourth of July dessert, Eton mess. I will admit that it is a bit incongruous to celebrate our country's independence from England with a thoroughly British pudding, first served at a cricket match in 1893, but this tradition dates back to a very patriotic Fourth of July we celebrated with ex-pat friends in Oxford. And it certainly looks patriotic.

It's also dead easy to make, consisting of just meringues, whipped cream, and berries. You can preassemble the parts in parfait glasses, but we like to serve the components separately so that everyone can create their ideal dessert with desired ratios and messiness.

Eton mess (deconstructed)

Fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or a mixture
Whipped cream, very lightly sweetened
meringues (recipe below)

Assembly as desired. For soggier meringues, crumble them and mix them into the whipped cream, or alternatively leave them whole on top.

Meringues (adapted from sugarspunrun.com)
4 large egg whites room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 225F (105C) and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Combine egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a large, completely clean, completely grease-free bowl.

3. Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer (with either the whisk), stir on low speed until mixture becomes foamy. Increase speed to high.

4. With mixer on high, gradually add sugar, about 1 Tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition until sugar is dissolved (about 15-20 seconds between each addition).

5. Beat until mixture is thick, shiny, and has increased in volume. Mixture should have stiff peaks and sugar should be completely dissolved (you can test this by rubbing a small bit of the mixture between your fingers, if it feels gritty, the sugar isn't dissolved).

6. Stir in vanilla extract and any other extract you may like to use.  If using food coloring, add the food coloring at this stage, too.

7. Fit a large disposable piping bag with a large tip and transfer meringue to prepared piping bag and pipe onto prepared cookie sheet. The meringue cookies can be pretty close to each other as they won’t spread, and you will want to bake all of the cookies at the same time, so make sure you make enough space.

8. Bake on 225F (105C) for 1 hour. Turn off the oven once the baking time has passed, and do not open the oven. Leave the oven door closed and allow cookies to cool completely in the oven (1-2 hours) before removing. Meringue cookies should be crisp and can be stored in an airtight container. Keep away from heat and moisture as it can soften your meringues.

Mason Jar Smoothies

This Sunday at at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you can look forward to a selection of pastured chicken, lamb, and pork cuts from Fair Valley Farm, handcrafted vegan hazelnut cheese from Avellana Creamery, and beautiful fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company. Good Food Easy at Sweetwater Farm will have the following offerings: 

Fresh
Shiro plums from SLO farm and some blackberries (make mason jar smoothies)
lots of tomatoes (flats and half-flats this week for salsa and sauce making)
fennel (delicious pickled or in this pasta sauce with sardines)
eggplants (try them grilled in Asian salad or Middle Eastern spread)
sweet red and orange peppers, cayennes, jalapeños, anaheim and poblano peppers 
baby beets and new potatoes
carrots and kohlrabi  (try this carrot and kohlrabi salad with harissa)
crookneck squash, summer squash, and cucumbers 
chard and kale (try these kale and pepper stuffed pizzas)
garlic and fresh herbs (cilantro, dill, basil, oregano, sage, thyme) and home-grown lemon grass
lettuce, including ready-to-eat bagged mix (try these beef lettuce wraps)

Preserves, Beans, and Grains
From Sweet Creek Foods:
Dill Pickles, Chili Dill Pickles, Bread 'N Butter Pickles, Pickle Relish
Blueberry, Strawberry, Blackberry, and Raspberry Fruit Spreads
Enchilada Sauce and Salsa
From SLO Farm: Applesauce
Assorted beans and grains from Camas Country Mill

With the sweltering summer weather we've been experiencing this week, I wanted to share a nifty trick for the high throughput production of personalized smoothies with little cleanup: turn a mason jar into your one stop blender jar and serving vessel. 

It turns out that standard mason jars have the same sized mouth as the bottom opening of standard blenders, so you can screw on the blade and base of your blender and whirl away. I've been a bit giddy about this mini-food processor hack and have been blending up salad dressings and marinades galore. But it really comes in handy when everyone in the family wants a slightly different smoothie concoction. You can create a smoothie assembly line with chopped fruit, frozen berries, yogurt, and add-ins (I like dried figs and chia seeds) and everyone's a winner*. 

*Quote from a saccharine sandcastle contest judge, which has become part of our family lexicon, and in this context should be taken as a subtle hint not to make your smoothie too sweet.

Blueberry, Peach, and Fig Smoothie

serves one

1 handful frozen berries
1/2 peach or a couple plums
1/2 cup yogurt (I use Nancy's organic plain whole milk yogurt)
2 dried figs
1 ice cube (optional)
1 tsp chia seeds (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a pint sized mason jar. Place the blender blade on top and screw on the blender base. Invert the jar and fit the base into your blender. Blend on high until smooth. Invert the jar, remove the base and blade, and drink.

Transfer the blade and base to a new mason jar with smoothie ingredients ready for blending, and you have yourself an assembly line.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

This Sunday at at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, you can look forward to a selection of pastured chicken and grass-fed lamb cuts from Fair Valley Farm, handcrafted vegan hazelnut cheese from Avellana Creamery, and beautiful fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company. Good Food Easy at Sweetwater Farm will have the following offerings: 

Fresh
Blueberries by the pint, half flat, and flat (make these crumb bars below)
Lots of tomatoes (Romas and red, yellow, and orange slicers, make gazpacho)
Eggplants, bell peppers, jalapeños, anaheim and poblano chile peppers
Baby beets, new potatoes, and broccoli
Carrots, summer squash, and cucumbers (make some Pad Thai)
Chard, collard greens, and kale
Garlic and fresh herbs (basil, oregano, sage, thyme) and home-grown lemon grass
Lettuce, including ready-to-eat bagged mix (make BLTs)
Cherries and Blenheim apricots (from Washington)

Preserves, Beans, and Grains
From Sweet Creek Foods:
Dill Pickles, Chili Dill Pickles, Bread 'N Butter Pickles, Pickle Relish
Blueberry, Strawberry, Blackberry, and Raspberry Fruit Spreads
Enchilada Sauce and Salsa
From SLO Farm: Applesauce
Assorted beans and grains from Camas Country Mill

This is the height of blueberry season, and the time to undertake baking projects with big quantities of blueberries. With our last batch of Sweetwater Farm berries, I tried out this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, recommended by my sister, for blueberry crumb bars. 

The great thing about this recipe is that you make a big pile of crumbled buttery flour (I used a food processor for this) which serves as both the crust and the crumb of your bars. Then you just toss your berries in a bit of sugar (I used less than the recipe because these berries are so sweet), some lemon juice, and some thickened (I used tapioca flour, which I have for these), layer everything together, and bake.

These bars make a delicious afternoon snack for a hot summer day, accompanied by a glass of ice coffee.

Blueberry Crumb Bars


from Smitten Kitchen, yield 36 smallish rectangles

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Zest and juice of one lemon

4 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar
 (reduce to 1/3 cup for sweet berries)
4 teaspoons cornstarch (or substitute tapioca flour)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. This can also be done by pulsing in a food processor. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch or tapioca flour and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. (This took an extra 10 to 15 minutes in my oven.) Cool completely before cutting into squares. These are easiest to cut once chilled, and store even better in the fridge than they do at room temperature.

Fresh Blueberry Pancakes

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you can look forward to the following offerings from Sweetwater Farm and Fair Valley Farm:

summer berries! blueberries, marionberries, and strawberries

tomatoes (make a BLT for lunch)

celery and kohlrabi (try grilled with smoked trout)

squash blossoms, baby squash, zucchini, and fennel (make pickles)

cauliflower and broccoli (also nice grilled in a salad) 

lavender, Italian parsley, and 1 lb bags of basil (make some parsley pesto)

sugar snap peas (add some crunch to your salad)

cucumbers and carrots (make some spring rolls)

spring onions, fresh spring garlic, and lemon drop hot peppers

spinach, kale, chard, collards, braising greens mix, lettuce, and salad mix

dried beans and grains from Camus Country Mill

jams, salsa, and pickles from Sweet Creek Foods

pastured chickens (try chicken and saffron rice)

There are so many delicious things you can make with blueberries, like buckles, cobblers and cakes, but my all time favorite is blueberries pancakes. And rather than tucking the blueberries inside (reserve this for winter pancakes you make with your frozen berry stores), I like to pile the fresh berries on top of my pancakes and chase them around my plate as they roll away from my fork. Blueberry pancakes were my father's specialty, and for summer vacations, when we would pack our tiny Datsun B210 with two parents, two kids, two dogs, sheets, towels, beach towels, and inner tubes, the entirety of the kitchen supplies were devoted to my father's breakfast preparation necessities: coffee mill and espresso maker, and a pristine pancake griddle that could not be used for any other purpose. He always made Bisquick pancakes, but in my adult life I've diversified to many types. Right now my favorite are chia seed and buckwheat pancakes, at the top of the list below, but all of these would be delicious with some of Sweetwater Farm's fresh berries. 

Breakfast Pancakes and Waffles
Chia Seed and Buckwheat Pancakes
Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Swedish Oatmeal Pancakes
Teff Grain and Ricotta Pancakes
Apple Flapjacks
Fresh Fruit Crepes
Easter Egg Aebleskiver
Aebleskiver Filled with Chocolate and Hazelnut Stuffed Figs
Yeasted Buckwheat Waffles
Rye Waffles
Gluten-Free Waffles

Blueberry Snack Cake

We're in the midst of summer berry season and summer camp season. Although experts tell us parents to stop hovering, it's difficult to temper the trepidations that come with sending one's child off to her first overnight camp. My approach toward self-composure was to bake this blueberry snack cake with my daughter before she left.  

I soothed myself by thinking that the nutty top would fuel my daughter through her canoeing, zip lining, and archery, but really I just wanted the tender baked blueberries to burst in her mouth and taste like home.

Brooke Dojny's Blueberry Snack Cake with Toasted Pecan Topping

from food52's Genius Recipes

Serves 8
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar, divided use
2 eggs
1/3 cup whole or lowfat milk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 cups blueberries
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

3. Using an electric mixer or a food processor, cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla, and lemon zest and process or beat until smooth. Spoon the flour mixture into the processor or bowl and pulse or beat just until the flour is incorporated. If the batter is in a food processor, transfer it to a large bowl.

4. Sprinkle the blueberries over the batter and gently fold them in, just until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle with the nuts and then with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.

5. Bake until the nuts are deep brown and a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool. (The cake can be wrapped well and stored at cool room temperature for 1 day or frozen.)

6. Cut into squares or wedges in the pan to serve.

Plum and Berry Galette

This artistic spread of golden shiro plums and berries from SLO Farm inspired a fruit galette, in celebration of our twelfth wedding anniversary. My daughter had my husband look up official twelfth anniversary gifts, and decided that a good approximation of the recommended pearls was a selection of blueberries picked from our backyard bushes and presented in an elaborate handmade construction paper box. Some of them made their way into this tart.

I used a galette dough adapted from Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson. I mixed the sliced plums and their juices with a modest amount of sugar, vanilla extract (a vanilla bean would have been nice if I'd had one) and cornstarch. My daughter rolled out the dough and then we ladled over the fruit and crimped up the edges. My one mistake was to bake this on a baking sheet without a rim, because a fair amount of sugary juice seeped out and pooled on the bottom of the oven, where it proceeded to burn and fill the kitchen with smoke. Certainly not the first baking disaster in 12 years of marriage.

With a good airing out of the kitchen and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the galette was delicious.

Plum and Berry Galette

Galette dough
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (such as Camas Country Mill's Soft White Winter Wheat flour) 
1 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
8 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
3 Tbsp ice water, or more as needed
1 tsp fresh lemon juice


1. combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to mix.


2. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and add to the food processor. Pulse about 10 times until the butter is cut into pea sized pieces. Add the liquid and pulse again briefly. Feel the dough and if you can press it together into a clump with your hand, you are done. Otherwise, add a little more water. 


3. Transfer the dough onto a silicone mat or sheet of saran wrap. Pat it together into a ball, then flatten it into a disk, wrap it up and let it chill for at least an hour. You can make the dough a day in advance.


Galette filling
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 plums

1 cup berries, such as blackberries and blueberries

1. Adjust the oven rack to the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Use parchment paper to over a 12 inch wide baking sheet with a rim around the edge, or grease well with butter.


2. Mix together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, vanilla. 


3. Roll out the chilled galette dough to 13 or 14 inches in diameter and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of the sugar mixture on the dough, leaving a two inch rim bare.


4. Slice the plums into a bowl, collecting the juice. Toss with the remaining sugar mixture with the plumbs. Lift the coated plums out of the bowl and arrange on the galette dough, leaving a rim. Distribute the berries on top, then pour the remaining sugary plum juice over the fruit. Fold the outer edges of the dough over the outermost fruit. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before serving (if you can wait).

Berries for Breakfast

At tomorrow's Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you can look forward to fresh and smoked salmon from the Salmon People, local beans and grains from the Southern Willamette Valley Grain and Bean Project, and the following produce from SLO Farm and Songbird Farm:


Blueberries!!!
Blackberries
Plums


Green Beans
Garlic
Bietola
Zucchini
Beets
Cucumbers
Lettuce Mix
Parsley

Eggs
Honey

Here's my new favorite breakfast. Cook some wheatberries the evening before (1 cup wheat berries in 2 cups salted water simmered for about 90 minutes until tender). In the morning, warm up a half cup of wheatberries with a drizzle of maple syrup or honey. Top with a scoop of yogurt and some fresh berries. Enjoy.

Baking with Blueberries: Blueberry Cobbler

With blueberries at the height of their season and a 7 year old eager for more baking projects, I decided to try out the blueberry cobbler from Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson Rustic Fruit Desserts. The cobbler called for 6 1/2 cups of blueberries that were tossed in sugar. cornstarch, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

For the biscuit, I used a cuisanart to pulse cubes of butter with flour, cornmeal, sugar, and baking powder.  Then I mixed in a cup of buttermilk (the recipe calls for cream, but I had buttermilk in the house from the buckle baking).  We divided the dough into 9 biscuits that we arranged over the fruit and sprinkled with a generous 1/4 tsp of raw sugar.   

The crumbled came out of the over after 45 minutes golden brown and bubbling, and was delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Blueberry Cobbler with Cornmeal Biscuit

Adapted from "Rustic Fruit Desserts " by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson

Fruit filling

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 pints (6 1/2 cups or 2 pounds) blueberries, fresh or frozen

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Biscuit dough

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup fine cornmeal

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 cup cold heavy cream or buttermilk

turbinado (raw) sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.

2. To make the fruit filling, rub the sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a large bowl. Add the blueberries and toss to combine, then gently stir in the lemon juice. Spoon the fruit mixture into the prepared pan, being sure to scrape the bowl well.

3. To make the biscuit dough, whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Add the butter and toss until evenly coated. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the size of peas. Pour in the cream and stir just until mixture comes together.

4. Divide the dough into 9 pieces and pat each piece into a 3-inch biscuit. Evenly distribute the biscuits atop the fruit filling, then sprinkle ~1/4 teaspoon of the turbinado sugar on each biscuit.

5. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden and the filling is bubbling in the middle. Serve warm. 

Baking with Blueberries: Blueberry Buckle

The SLO farm stand at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market offers succulent, plump blueberries. We eat blueberries by the bushel in our household, sprinkled on pancakes or cereal for breakfast, submerged in yogurt for snacks, and on vanilla ice cream with a sprinkle of chocolate shakings for dessert. Recently I've been inspired by the cookbook Rustic Fruit Desserts to try baking with blueberries. This cookbook by the Portland chef Cory Schreiber and Portland baker Julie Richardson, is full of recipes for all sorts of baked delights that I'd never head of such as buckles, betties, pandowdies, and grunts. Here is a recipe for a blueberry buckle, which is apparently a cake looking for an excuse to be a fruit crisp.

The lemon-flavored cake batter for the buckle was quite simple to prepare, with half the blueberries mixed in and half layered on top.

The crumble involved mixing together butter, sugar and flour, which I did with a pastry knife.

This got layered on top and baked for 50 minutes.

The final step was to drizzle a lemon syrup over the baked buckle when it came out of the oven.  The final cake was delicious with a nice balance of tart blueberries in a lemon scented cake with a crunchy, sugary crust on top.

Lemon Blueberry Buckle

Adapted from "Rustic Fruit Desserts" by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson

Crumb topping

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cubed, at room temperature

Cake

6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

Zest of 1 lemon

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Lemon syrup

Juice of 2 lemons (about 6 tablespoons)

1/3 cup sugar

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch baking pan.

2. To make the crumb topping, ix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter, using a fork, pastry knife, or your fingers to cut in the butter until it is reduced to the size of peas. Loosely cover the bowl, and place it in the freezer while you mix the cake batter.

3. For the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer or cuisanart, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, three-fourths cup sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

5. Stir the flour mixture into the bowl, a third at a time, alternating with the buttermilk, until both the flour mixture and buttermilk are evenly incorporated into the batter. Gently fold 1 cup of the blueberries into the batter.

6. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and distribute the remaining blueberries evenly over the top of the batter. Remove the crumb topping from the freezer and sprinkle it over the berries.

7. Bake the cake until it is lightly golden and firm on top, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through for even baking.

8. While the cake is baking, make a lemon syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the remaining one-third cup sugar with the lemon juice and whisk until blended. Heat the pan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid thickens to a syrupy consistency, 6 to 8 minutes. (The glaze will bubble while cooking and may need to be removed from the heat to check that it is the proper consistency.) Remove from heat and set aside in a warm place.

9. Remove the cake from the oven and drizzle the warm glaze over. Cool to room temperature.