You’ve promised your body that you will adopt a healthier lifestyle — something just shy of a “diet” because you know yourself too well.  If what you’ve taken on is reduced to that, it’s probably not going to last because you don’t believe in diets — and for good reason.  You’ve seen too many people begin with all the motivation they can muster, then when they realize the pounds aren’t falling off as quickly as they’d like, or that after what is considered a good effort, they’ve plateaued, motivation dwindles and the “diet” is quietly ignored.  I can’t risk that because my knees will never forgive me for having to carry around 50 pounds they hadn’t counted on at their age.

Poor knees.

Last September when I began to think about more obsessively about my weight and lack of routine exercise (no coincidence since I’d just turned 55) I began to find reasons to avoid the kitchen.  Meals became food I could easily pick up and eat with little or no thought.  I stopped looking at new recipes and rarely used one to try something new for dinner.  And baking?  I stopped that almost completely because it seemed pointless to bake something, taste it, then try to find a home for it outside of mine.  I’ve never been a big sweets eater, but I thoroughly enjoy spending a morning in the kitchen baking something — especially if it involves a little thought or teaches me something new.  I miss that and know baking needs to be a part of my life — as does dessert.

Dessert is a food group, isn’t it?

I’m kidding, of course, but the point is I want to bake and enjoy dessert occasionally so have to find a balance with desserts that showcase a simple fruit without a lot of added sugar or an excessive amount of fat, for example.

Something classic, satisfying.  Elegant, but not fussy.

With apples.

Glorious apples.

Just a small slice?

Yes, please.

 Apple Tart Alsatian Style Recipe

Crust Ingredients

1-2/3 c. all-purpose flour

8 T butter, cold unsalted

1 whole egg

1 T sugar

pinch of salt

1-1/2 T cold water

Filling Ingredients

1/3 c.  blanched almonds

1/4 c.  sugar

1 T  all-purpose flour

2 egg yolks

1/2 c. milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 T Applejack or brandy (optional)

2 lbs. Honey crisp apples

apricot jam melted for glaze

Directions

1. Attach the metal blade and put all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor.
2. Pulse ingredients just until a ball begins to form on the blade.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and begin to lightly knead, using a pulling away action with the heel of one hand lightly pulling the dough away from the other.  Continue a few times until the dough is smooth.
4. Dust the dough with flour and make a flattened disk, cover well and chill while you make the filling.
5. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and position the rack to the lowest position.
6. Place the almonds in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and run until reduced to a fine powder.  Add the flour and yolks, then process until the mixture is paste-like.  Pour the milk in and process until mixed well.  Add the flavorings and mix well.  Set aside.
7. Lightly butter a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.
8. Remove the pastry from the fridge.  On a lightly floured surface, roll it into a round disk about 1/4″ in thickness and 14 inches in diameter.  Place it over the tart pan and remove the excess dough.  Gently press the dough against the sides of the pan and lightly prick the bottom with a fork.  Chill.
9. Peel the apples.  Position each apple with stems pointing upward.  Cut down through the apple on opposite sides, running parallel with the core.  Do the same for the remaining two sides.  Your apples will be quartered and cored.
10. Place each apple quarter cut side down and make thin slices across the width of each piece.  Slide an offset spatula beneath each quarter and gently press down with your hand to slightly “fan” the pieces, being careful to hold the general shape of the apple quarter.  Arrange in the chilled tart shell.  Once the sliced quarters have filled the ring and center of the tart shell, dice the remaining apples to fill in between the sliced quarters.
11. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the apples.
12. Place the tart on a baking pan and slide it into the oven.  Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 425 degrees F and continue baking until the crust and apples are golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
13. Remove from the oven and immediately remove from the tart pan.  After removing the ring, run an offset spatula beneath the tart to remove it from the metal bottom before allowing it to cool on a baking rack.
14. Heat the apricot jam and using a pastry brush, gently coat the top of the tart as it cools.
15. Once cool, remove to a serving platter.

Notes:

• Having always been a lover of French cooking, I recently purchased French Classics Made Easy by Richard Grausman, thinking it would be nice to learn some new tips for making some of my favorite recipes less fussy.
• I tried this tart recipe first because I’ve always wanted to learn how to structure one in this Alsatian style, which can be used for any fruit such as pears, apricots, or plums.  It’s pretty easy as long as you have an offset spatula.
• What isn’t necessarily easy about making this tart is getting it completely out of the tart pan when it’s hot from the oven.  Not only is the ring hot — if the bottom of the crust isn’t done, then getting it off the metal bottom to cool on a rack is a challenge.  Mine wasn’t completely done, so I put it back in the oven (it was turned off, but still very hot) without the baking pan beneath it for about 5 minutes.  I was able to remove the bottom then.  I guess my worries about a tart pan sitting directly over the heat on the bottom rack of a 500 degree F oven even for 10 minutes should have been ignored.  If I’d decided to put the tart in there without the baking pan from the start, I probably would have been able to remove the tart from the metal bottom easily.
• If Honeycrisp apples aren’t available, try any apple that holds up well in the oven — Pippin, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Jonagold, Braeburn, Winesap, Gala, and many more.  Check your regional resources for what’s most available and when.
• So what about the diet?  Well, traditionally, this type of tart is make with a very rich custard, but this one is pretty much made of fruit.  The crust is very thin — you know where I’m going with this.  Moderation! Enjoy a small piece and share the rest.  And, I made this tart early last October, so it wasn’t a current temptation, but biting into it is all about the apple.  Nothing overly sweet, and definitely without any kind of eggy custard flavor that I know many don’t always like.  It’s a pleasant recipe easily made with whatever fruit you have available.
• I need another cookbook like I need another leg, but I’m glad I decided to get this one.

Apple Tart Recipes from Around the Web:

Beyond the Plate — Apple Tarts (Tarte Aux Pommes)

My Baking Addiction — Custard Apple Tart Recipe

Gimme Some Oven — Easy Apple Tart

Sprinkle Bakes — Easiest Ever Rustic Apple Tart

Years ago when I purchased my favorite cookbook, Baking with Julia, I began to steadily go through it, deciding which recipes to try.  This practice isn’t all that unusual, but at the time, baking was something I reserved for special occasions — birthdays, dinner parties, holidays — and always planned for on weekends, or when I had vacation time.  If someone had asked, I’d have said I was more of a cook than a baker, and not always confident that what I baked would turn out as I wanted it to, so kept things safe with the basics. Cake, an occasional bread pudding, and pie were the norm.

The dust cover of the cookbook is now worn and slightly torn in a few places with spots and spills on many of the pages.  Its sturdy binding has relaxed quite a bit, allowing it to comfortably lie open on my kitchen counter, sometimes for several days while I’m thinking about a particular recipe, glancing at it as I pass, wondering when the right time might be to indulge myself with a treat that doesn’t take a lot of time, or tackle something more complicated instead.

I think of so many different things when I open this particular cookbook, and most are not about the recipes.  I think of younger boys still at home, occasions celebrating a kitchen renovation, or springtime in all its glory and a back yard groomed to perfection with my mother’s love and sweat.  I think of a dinner party for six that lasted well into the night, meticulously planned for, each course paired with the perfect wine.  I remember all that was lovely about a very special house, no longer ours to enjoy.  So many things beyond recipes.

I don’t know that it matters which recipe I tried first from Baking with Julia, but of the 98 cookbooks I currently own, it’s the one I have baked more from than any other.  Of course there are quite a few recipes I haven’t tried, and several which continue to taunt me, all seemingly beyond my ability or perhaps patience to contend with– the Pain de Camagne, for example, which is made by a very old chef-levain method requiring one to “capture and nurture airborne wild yeast” for the dough.   But I have tried many more than once, like the Oven-Roasted Plum Cakes.

I’d waited forever to try the recipe, but when I saw a small bin of Italian prune plums at the market one day– something I’d not come across before — I knew they were destined for those plum cakes.  I sorted through the deeply purple oval-shaped fruit to collect a small bag, noticing their dusty skins and stems still clinging to most.  Some were quite firm, and others soft and fragile, like a ripe fig might feel.  Or persimmon.  I chose the firm plums finding that once sliced, the fruit easily separated from the stone unlike other plums such as Santa Rosas, which aren’t as cooperative.  The interior color is a beautiful mix of melon and chartreuse and the flavor not as sweet as I’d thought it would be, but pleasant all the same.

They would be perfect for a whole plum cake rendition and thoughts while baking about times fondly remembered.

Plum Cake

Ingredients

4 oz. butter, room temp

2 T + 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

2 lg. eggs

1 tsp. lemon zest

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 c. buttermilk

8 Italian prune plums

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Brush butter on the sides and bottom of an 8″ round cake pan with a removable bottom.  Cut a piece of parchment that fits the bottom and place that inside the cake pan.  Butter that as well and set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar, and all of the granulated sugar on medium until the sugar is dissolved in the butter and the mixture is pale in color, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing with each addition until completely incorporated, about 1 minute.
5. Add the lemon zest and the vanilla and continue to beat about 1 minute.
6. Add the flour and baking soda and mix on low speed just to incorporate into the wet ingredients.
7. Add the buttermilk and mix on low for half a minute.
8. Give the batter a few folds with a rubber spatula making sure the sides of the bowl are scraped in the process.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
10. Press each plum half cut side up into the batter, pressing lightly, but not allowing the fruit to be covered with the batter.
11. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top of the plums and batter.
12. Bake on the center rack of the oven until golden brown and a tester inserted near the center is removed clean, about 25-30 minutes.
13. Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a baking rack at least 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.
14. Serve warm, if possible, with a lightly sweetened whipped cream mascarpone topping if desired.

Recipe Notes

• The first time I made this recipe, I did make separate plum cakes which I loved.  But you decide.  The convenience of a whole cake is always a good thing, but the individual cakes allowed the plums to show.  Ultimately, the taste is the same.
• The original recipe doesn’t specify a type of plum, so have fun trying different plums or whatever you have available.
• Evidently, I missed out on all the hooplah on the Plum Cake the New York Times published quite a few years ago.  It’s a holiday tradition from what I understand, and it’s very similar to the one I’ve shared here with differences being in the butter and sugar quantities.
• When I don’t have fresh buttermilk, I use a dry substitute and add water.  It works quite well if you’re in a pinch.
• You may have extra brown sugar.  Either sprinkle it all over, or just sprinkle it on the plums.  I went for it and the top is nice and crunchy.
• This is a perfect coffee style cake and it keeps well if wrapped.  To warm it up before serving, pop it in the microwave.
• If you’re not familiar with Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan, there is more information here regarding the PBS program.

More Plum Cake Recipes to Enjoy

Guilty Kitchen — Plum Cake Recipe

food52 — Late Summer Plum Cake

Always Order Dessert — Evolution of a Plum Cake

The Wednesday Chef — Dorie Greenspan’s Dimply Plum Cake

Lemons and Lavender — Italian Plum Cake

I love stone fruit, but haven’t taken advantage of it this season, waiting until now to wonder about new fangeled varieties of plums or pick up a few of the enormous peaches I’ve been seeing at the market.  The last four beauties I purchased sat around until my husband asked about whether he could put one in a smoothie he was making for us to share.  I couldn’t say no because if they sat on the counter any longer while providing me a visual reminder of what I was supposed to be planning to cook with them, they would be well past their prime– especially with the heat we’ve recently had.

And I was just waxing about Fall, wasn’t I?

You may not remember, but some time ago I promised a recipe for peach pandowdy and time has just slipped away while I’ve been cooking other things.  But I remembered, and as much as I was planning on putting these peaches in the perfect salad, they had pandowdy written all over them.

What’s a pandowdy, you ask?  It’s fruit tossed with sugar and whatever flavorings you’d like to add.  It’s tucked nicely under a simple biscuit crust and baked until it’s hot, juicy,  and full of the fruit flavor you’ve packed it with.  But there are other versions of this old-fashioned dessert.  I’ve heard that some may like baking the dough topper separately, then adding it while the fruit is baking.  Although I haven’t tried that version, I will say I’d probably miss the doughy underside of that topping which only happens when it’s placed on the fruit from the start and baked with it.

You may also wonder how a pandowdy is different from a cobbler, crisp, crumble, buckle, Brown Betty, grunt, slump or sonker, but I’m not an expert.   I grew up eating cobblers and crisps, and have heard of all but a sonker, which evidently, is taken quite seriously in some parts of North Carolina.

Have some fun with this simple recipe!

Old-Fashioned Peach Pandowdy Recipe

Filling Ingredients

1/3 c. brown sugar

2 T lemon juice, freshly squeezed

4 c. sliced fresh peaches, pitted (about 3 large)

Biscuit Topping Ingredients

1 c. flour

1 T sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

pinch of salt

3 T very cold butter

1/3 c. cream or whole milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and position a rack in the center of the oven.  Lightly oil a baking pan (an 8 x 8 or similar will do) and set aside.
2. Toss the peaches lightly with the other filling ingredients and then scrape them into the oiled pan.
3. Make the the topping by adding the dry ingredients to a medium bowl.  Whisk lightly to mix the ingredients.
4. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and pinch it into the dry ingredients until it resembles a coarse meal.
5. Pour the cream over the dough and using a fork, lightly mix it until the dough begins to come together.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle a bit more flour over it.
7. Knead lightly, 10 times to make a smooth dough.
8. Press or roll the dough to the shape of the baking dish.  It doesn’t not have to be exact, nor does it have to attach to the sides.
9. Place the dough over the peaches and cut a few vents in it.
10. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling, and the top is golden brown.
11. Cool on a rack to allow the juice to thicken.
12. Spoon and serve.

Recipe Notes:

• This recipe was adapted from the lovely little book Biscuits and Scones by Elizabeth Alston which has been a favorite for years.
• Evidently, an authentic pandowdy was traditionally made with apples placed in a pan or skillet and has a topping which is pushed into the fruit as it bakes, giving it a broken, “dowdy” appearance — hence the name.  I’ve never tried breaking it up before, but it does sound interesting.
• If you can’t wait until the pandowdy is cool, then by all means, scoop away.  The juice will be thin, but it’s still great.  Just pour the excess over the biscuit topping.
• Try it with apples or berries, add some nuts or some spice, but try it!  It can’t get much easier than this.
• Here’s  information From Karen’s Kitchen about what makes one old fashioned fruit dessert different from another just in case.  I still have quite a few of them to sample!

For more old-fashioned fruit dessert recipes:

• Eatpress — “Blueberry Grunt”
• Hazel and ruby’s Vintage Kitchen and Garden — “Bring on the Buckle”
• Simply Recipes — “Blackberry Slump”
• Aesthetics & Gastronomy – “September and a Plum Crumble”
• Vegan Visitor — “Blueberry Peach Sonker”
• The Country Cook – “Apple Brown Betty”

When I created sass & veracity more than four years ago, it was to give myself a space to write about my life as it relates to food — with just the hint of a smirk on my face.  The chances of my being completely serious about it never occurred to me at the time even though I’ve always been someone who is passionate about food.   I wanted to be light-hearted about it all, never expecting that I would be writing precise directions for recipes or searching for just the right light to shoot photos of the food we ate on a day-to-day basis.

What I did expect was stories — stories connected to life’s often pivotal moments and weaving it all together.  Stories about pregnancy and Monday night post Lamaze class burritos.  Sunday morning hamburgers and Charlie Chan. Or stories about why cold yams and spilled milk will always remind me of one of my grandmothers.  Biscuits and old boyfriends, raw shrimp cocktails and romantic dinners at home, and an old, dear doggo who loved tortilla chips.  Stories just like that.  And in the process, I thought perhaps I’d keep myself (and my best friend) focused on a diet we’d promised ourselves we’d go on, thinking if it’s written down, then we’ll stick to it.

Right.  When pigs fly.

I also thought that considering the number of cookbooks I own and food magazines subscribed to, trying new recipes and talking frankly about them would be a fun diversion.  After all, it’s what I’d done for years minus a food blog.  With my youngest son just beginning high school at the time, and mulling over a stay-at-home-mom status for the first time in my life, I knew I’d look forward to that diversion.  There was no real hustle bustle in our small family of three, no school lunches for little kids to pack, and nary a picky eater in residence to cater to.  Instead, my life-long affection for cooking would continue to grow, fueled by new found time to experiment with flavors I’d not tried before, and techniques I’d been too busy to find time to learn.  So I rolled up my sleeves and got busy.

But something happened along the way.  As seemingly hundreds of millions of new food blogs have appeared — okay, thousands? –  I began to feel as if a current I hadn’t anticipated was pulling me along with it.  If discovery is in order — and it should be — then heading in an unexpected direction could constitute quite an adventure.  But there’s a huge difference between looking around and feeling as if one is on a freeway during rush hour in LA instead of a lazy river paddling a kayak, or on a mountain trail, hiking through the trees.

Give me the river or mountain trail on any day.

So it makes sense then, that I’d enjoy cooking from Simply Scandinavian:  Travelling in Time with Finnish Cuisine and Nature by Tero Kallio and Kimmo Saira.  It’s a breath of fresh air.  Although my husband and I enjoy traveling, we’ve never been to Scandinavia, so our knowledge of this area of the world and its cuisine is lacking.  If asked about what marks the region’s cuisine as being unique, I’d struggle to come up with an idea outside of the ebelskivers we enjoyed in Solvang, CA many years ago, the Finnish Pulla I once made, or more realistically, the food displayed in Marcus Samuelsson‘s beautifully photographed book, Aquavit.  It’s all new to me.

At first glance, Simply Scandinavian looks like something I’d expect to see on a coffee table instead of a kitchen — especially my kitchen.  I’m not the neatest cook. Its glossy pages of large photographs featuring seasonal flora and fauna mingling with those of fresh ingredients featured in recipes would need to be protected from my splashing and stirring to preserve its beauty.

As much as the book features dishes “faithful to the Scandinavian tradition,” influences from other regions are acknowlegded as are the effects of interesting times in history where ingredients were affected by war shortages.  With an open mind I scanned the ingredients lists to get an idea of just how different this cuisine might be, surprised by what I found.  Many recipes included ingredients I’ve never heard of and had to do a bit of research on to begin to consider what might be substituted.  Vendace, sal ammoniac, cloudberries, swede, and most unusually, beestings, were all ingredients I googled.  Other ingredients such as reindeer, moose, birch sap, treacle, and rose hips were more familiar, but perhaps not as easily found in San Diego for a home cook wanting to sample Scandinavian dishes.

Organized by seasons, each section of Simply Scandinavian provides recipes for appetizers, main courses, and desserts.  A simple vegetable “Summer Soup” caught my eye as did the “Strawberry Meringue,” both of which would be lovely to enjoy at this time of year.  The “Cep Pie” sounds fantastic, but I’ll have to substitute mushrooms available here, so I’ve tagged that one for another time.  “Karelian Stew” which includes beef sirloin and pork loin with vegetables in beer laced with allspice berries is also on my list of recipes to sample.  Many of the main course recipes include allspice as well as some sweetness provided by a syrup, or fruit, so I decided to begin with “Loin of Pork, Cauliflower Puree, and Dark Beer Gravy” which called for treacle, a syrup.  But I’ll post that another time.   “Blueberry Cheesecake” is perfect to try now since blueberries are so plentiful and the recipe required no cooking — something that appeals to many home cooks.

Blueberry Cheese Cake

Ingredients

Base:

200 g (7 oz) digestive biscuits

80 g (2.8 oz) butter

Filling:

1 litre (8.4 cups) blueberries — ***see notes below

100 ml (3.4 fl oz) water

5 sheets gelatin

600 g (21 oz/1.3 lb) cream cheese

400 ml (13.5 fl oz) double cream

200 ml (6.8 fl oz) (4/5 cup) sugar — ***see notes below

1-1/2 tablespoons vanilla sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

icing sugar

Directions

Crush the biscuits into crumbs using a food processor.  Mix with the melted butter into an even paste.  Press the paste into the bottom of a dish with a detachable base covered with baking paper.  The biscuit base should be approximately 5 mm (0.2 inch) thick.

Pour the water and blueberries into a saucepan.  Pulp the berries with e.g. a pestle  Boil for a while.  Strain through a coffee filter, this gives you a clear blueberry juice.  Pour the juice back into the saucepan.  Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water for about five minutes.  Squeeze the water out of them and add them to the blueberry juice at a low temperature.  Wait until the gelatin melts.  Allow to cool.

Whip the cream.  Mix the cream, cheese (*see notes below), sugar, lemon juice, blueberry juice and whipped cream.

Stir until the mixture becomes evenly purple.  Cover the biscuit base with the mixture.  Smooth over the surface of the mixture with a spatula.  Allow to rest in its dish in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight.  Decorate with blueberries and icing sugar.

Recipe Notes:

• If you’ve never cooked from an international recipe, then having a kitchen scale is invaluable for many reasons.  It makes it very easy to create the recipe without having to do conversions yourself, but more importantly, it provides a way to make sure that the English measurement and its international conversion is accurate.  There were some discrepancies printed in the original recipe.
• ***The recipe calls for 1 liter or “8.4 cups” of blueberries, but  1 liter = 4.3 US cups — about 50% less than what the recipe states.  And since this recipe is calling for the juice of the blueberries to be used, I immediately worried about ending up with a thin mess so went with the 1 liter measure for the whole blueberries.
• The recipe mentions that the blueberries should “boil for a while.”  I allowed the juice to boil just until reduced to 2 cups of juice.
• There’s a liquor store not too far from our house that has a convenient selection of British pantry items — like Mcvities digestives — but I went with the gingersnaps in my own pantry.  I’d used them in a cheesecake before and knew they would work out just fine. Most often, I bake the crushed cookies after they’ve been pressed into the pan before adding the filling.  But in this recipe, there’s no baking involved and the crust — although discoloring due to the intense color — holds up fairly well.
• On the gelatin sheets:  there are 10 sheets to 1 oz of powdered gelatin, so 5 sheets equal 1/2 oz of powdered gelatine.  I added water to it to soften it before mixing it into the blueberry juice.
• Once the gelatine had dissolved into the blueberry juice, I poured it mixture into a different container to allow it to cool to room temperature.  The recipe directions instruct “allow to cool.”
• ***I used extra fine sugar and did notice the recipe called for “fl oz” for what is normally a dry ingredient.  I used the ml measure and forged ahead.
• Instead of vanilla sugar, used 1 tablespoon of liquid vanilla.
• I allowed the cheesecake to set overnight before piling on the blueberries and sprinkling with powdered sugar.
• The flavor is fresh, fruity, and pleasant.  The texture is more like that of a chiffon pie, and although the cream cheese is tasted, it’s not as strong as what I’m accustomed to in a traditional cheesecake.
• Speaking of the cream cheese:  the directions include another typo, I believe.  There should not be a comma between “cream” and “cheese.”  At first I wondered about whether there was a quantity of cream not listed which wasn’t whipped.  A technicality, but an important one should someone think to add liquid cream to the filling ingredients.
• To release from the pan, apply a very hot, damp cloth to the exterior of the pan until light pressure on the bottom allows you to push it upward.  It stores nicely in the fridge, and even travels well should you want to share it with others.
• I’d love to try a mixture of berries or perhaps other fruit — like mangos — or if cloudberries grew here in San Diego, that would be perfect.
• Lovely recipe!
• I was not paid to review this book, and the opinions I’ve expressed about it are my own.

Notes on what I learned about the ingredients found in Simply Scandinavian:

• Beestings, a primary ingredient for the “Beestings Brulee” recipe is essentially colostrum, or the liquid mammals secrete before milk is produced.  Here is a great piece on cooking with colostrum from a New Zealand small farms website.
• Nettles are used to make a pesto sauce in one recipe, and although I’ve heard others in the food world discuss their favorite method for preparing nettles, I’ve only seen them while hiking in our local mountains with 6th graders who were cautioned about steering clear of them. to avoid a painful rash.  They’re called stinging nettles, and interestingly enough, are considered a noxious weed in California.  From what I’ve read, soaking them before preparing them removes the “sting.”
• Treacle is a syrup produced in sugar refining, much like Golden Syrup.
• Vendace, a fresh water fish found in colder regions of the world can be one of many varieties of whitefish such as this one, and is considered endangered in some areas.
• A swede is a rutabaga, or “yellow turnip.”
• I found a source for reindeer or caribou meat online, but would rather not link to it.  It’s amazing what one can find on line, isn’t it?
• Sal ammoniac has been used in baking to produce crispness in cookies as well as to make a salty licorice candy popular in Scandinavia.

 Other sources featuring recipes from this cookbook:

Melecotte — “Beetroot Burgers“

mommie cooks — “Simply Scandinavian:  A Cookbook Review”

Mastering Finnish Cooking – Finnaussity — “Simply Scandinavian”

cook your dream — “Simply Scandinavian and Rye Canneloni”

The Internet seems a vast space to some, but to those of us who spend time there each day doing whatever it is we do, it can feel quite small.  Unlike the neighborhood I physically live in, people actually greet one another and share aspects of their lives –  like photos of their vacations.  Recipes.  Stories about their loved ones.

It’s as if we know each other, yet most of us have never met. We follow pregnancies, cheer for children’s milestones, celebrate engagements or promotions at work, and pat each other on the back for jobs well done. And we mourn the loss of loved ones, quietly listening as the sadness unfolds across our community, each person touched by it passing it on to the next, condolences shared, offers of support given.

That’s what has been happening throughout this week.

Mourning.

I’ve not met Jennifer Perillo, but that doesn’t matter.  I’ve followed bits and pieces of her bright life for a while now as one of her many Twitter followers and fellow food lovers.  It was natural to be alarmed when I read something had happened to her husband.  Such a young couple.  They’ve got little children.

Oh my goodness.

I emailed my husband to share the link, telling him to take care of himself like I always do, then cried quietly, trying to imagine what such a staggering loss must feel like.

I can’t imagine.  I don’t want to know.

Jennifer reminds us, “today is the only guarantee we can count on” and at my age, I completely understand all too well. I’ll turn 55 next month, and although I don’t consider that to be anything more than it is, I have a healthy regard for it.

So to honor her request to make her husband’s favorite pie — something she’d been meaning to do, but putting off –  I’ve done just that.  I’ve spent this uncharacteristically grey summer day in my kitchen, quietly going through the soothing motions cooking requires and thinking about those I love.  Thinking about life and living.  Health.

Dreams.

Thinking I have so very much to be grateful for.

Here’s to Jennifer’s Mikey.

And here’s to Jennifer and her family who have my utmost respect.

I wish them much love and strength.

There are many beautiful tributes and Peanut Butter Pies for Jennifer’s Mikey…It’s truly amazing.

It makes my heart swell.

Twitter #apieformikey

food52

The FN Dish

Andrea Meyers

Gluten-free Girl

Brown Eyed Baker

Use Real Butter

Not Without Salt

Beyond the Plate

Love & Olive Oil

The Tomato Tart

Running with Tweezers

Food in Jars

Food + Words

Panini Happy

Dinner with Julie

Kudos Kitchen

Tastespotting

Twice this past week, I’ve been asked about our July 4 weekend plans and each time, I felt a bit awkward before responding we had none.  The feeling of awkwardness is more uncharacteristic than any worry of not having plans, because plans are easy to make if I’m interested, or prodded by those who are challenged in this area which is most often the case.

The feeling of awkwardness makes no sense.

It’s been forever since we’ve made a big hoo-haw over July 4th.  Having a child with a birthday on the 2nd has put the focus more on that for 18 years, and this year he’s at school, so we’re without that as well to have an excuse to party.  My extended family feels a bit strung about the country right now, my older boys always seem to work on busy holidays, and my husband’s family is in need of a cheerleader to rally them into one big get together for these occasions.

Before you have any thought of my gearing up for an all out whine, you have to know I’m the last person to feel badly about not having plans, which gets me back to the awkwardness.  I don’t get it.  But I’ve written a list for my husband of what we might do this holiday weekend because he loves having plans for any reason whatsoever.  Call him the original Party Man.

Party Man’s Fourth of July Weekend To-Do List:

1. Take the beach umbrella & book/iPad/beverage/munchies to the water either this afternoon, tomorrow afternoon, or Sunday afternoon. (Check — Friday evening)
   
2. Shopping.  There are lots of great sales on this kind of weekend, and maybe we can find a killer deal on something.  You know, because you always need something, right? (Party Man went by himself Saturday.  Check.)
   
3. Picnic dinner (packed in the picnic bag we never use) somewhere for the 4th.  Choose a spot we’ve never been depending on where the fireworks are — like the Embarcadero or something.  We could walk to the Cove again which would be fine with me.  Either pack the picnic bag, or pick a place in town to eat, then walk to see fireworks. (Looks like an impromptu BBQ with family on the 4th.  Check.)
   
4. You could rent a beach cruiser and I could finally use the bike Mom gave me to cruise all the way around Mission Bay from Crown Point Drive at the end. I need to figure out how to get that bike in my car anyhoo. (Does renting a sailboat count? Saturday with friends. Check.)
   
5. Do the “make like a tourismo thing” on Coronado, in Encinitas, Ocean Beach, or you name it which means “goose necking” in the shops, having lunch,  and enjoying the sunshine.
6. Choose a place tonight and go on an impromptu road trip up the coast like Malibu or something.  Stay one night.  Nothing fancy.  So, Saturday and Sunday.  It would be fun! (Not — Catsitting my brother’s cat)
   
7. Help me figure out how to build a fence for the patio, because I’m pretty sure I can do it.  Maybe. (Check — consulted with someone who had good ideas)
   
8. Choose a place in San Diego — like downtown — so I can walk around and take photos.  Balboa Park would even be okay. You can hold the camera stuff. (Does Mission Bay count?  Saturday with friends.  Check.)
   
9. Want to see the Padres?  Not high on my list, but relaxing.  I like the ball park. (Not — they’re in Seattle this weekend.)
   
10. Walk to the boardwalk when the holiday is in full gear just to gawk at all the crazy beach people.

This is what you get to do when your kids are grown and there are no invitations.  Make your own party.  Freeing, to some extent, and certainly nothing to feel awkward about.  Just different.  We’re not very good at it yet, but we’re working on it.  No sooner had I sent this list to him than he remembered Tour de France begins tomorrow.  Nice.

Because a summer holiday weekend calls for ice cream at some point, I say make it a smoothie instead — or an ice cream smoothie pie.  This one isn’t complicated, but does take a bit of planning ahead.

Happy Independence Day!

Fruity Ice Cream Smoothie Pie

Directions

1. Make one batch of this vanilla ice cream or use a purchased quart of your favorite.
2. While the ice cream is processing, make the pretzel crust.
3. While the ice cream is in the freezer, make the fruit purees.
4. Assemble the pie after the crust is completely cooled, the purees are chilled, and the ice cream has been in the freezer at least 1 hour post processing.

Pretzel Crust Ingredients

1-3/4 c. crushed sourdough pretzel nuggets
1/4 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the center of the oven.
2. Crush the pretzels in a food processor until coarse crumbs, no larger than the size of oatmeal.
3. Add the brown sugar and butter and pulse until  ingredients are evenly mixed.
4. Lightly spray an 8″ round pan with a removable bottom with oil, then pour the pretzel mixture into the pan.
5. Using your fingers or a rubber spatula, press the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan and up the sides about 2 inches.
6. Bake the crust 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and press against the crust lightly with a rubber spatula, then allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
   

Puree Ingredients

2 ripe mangoes, cut into chunks
8 oz. raspberries, fresh or frozen
3-4 nectarines, about 8 oz., chopped
3/4 c. sugar, divided into 1/3 quantities

Directions

1. Puree each fruit separately in a blender or food processor, each with 1/4 c. sugar.
2. Chill separately until ready to use.

Assembly

1. Divide ice cream into 3 equal quantities.  If it has been frozen for quite a while, allow to soften before continuing.
2. Add one flavor of puree to a third of the ice cream in 1/2 cup quantities.  Stir to blend well, add an additional 1/2 cup and blend again.
3. Pour into the completely cooled pie crust and place in the freezer about 30 minutes.
4. While the first layer is chilling, make the second.
5. Add 1/2 of the second flavor of puree to a third of the ice cream, blend well, then add an additional 1/2 cup and blend again.
6. Pour this mixture over the top of the first layer and smooth evenly with spatula.
7. Chill the two layers 30 minutes.
8. Follow the same procedure for the third puree, adding to the remaining third of the ice cream 1/2 cup at a time, mixing, then adding another.
9. Finish assembly by pouring the last layer over the other two and allowing to freeze at least 1 hour before serving.
10. To remove from the pan, run an very hot wash cloth around the exterior of the pan a couple of times, then gently insert a butter knife along the edge to loosen it.  You may have to do this more than once before you can release the pie from the pan.

If desired, make a caramel sauce which uses some of the leftover nectarine puree before serving.

Caramel Sauce Ingredients

3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. creme fraiche
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 c. nectarine puree

Directions

1. Cook sugar over medium heat until caramelized.
2. Add the creme fraiche while stirring, then the puree and lemon juice.
3. Stir until smooth.
4. Cool completely, then gently warm when ready to serve.

Recipe Notes:

• This recipe was developed for the Daring Kitchen.  Stop by to read about some of my summer memories — and if you’re willing, share some of yours below.
• If you think about it, the entire thing can be made from purchased ingredients, but the ice cream recipe is the best vanilla ice cream I’ve had with no egg base, and how can you go wrong with fresh fruit puree?
• It sounds like a lot of work, but it really isn’t.  It’s more about planning ahead.  Because the ice cream base needs to steep for 1 hour, and then needs to chill completely before and after processing, this takes the most amount of time.  You can take care of that a day ahead.
• You can also make the fruit purees ahead of time — one or two days in advance.  Keep them in the fridge in a sealed container and they’ll be ready to use.  About the purees — sweetness of fruit depends, so taste your fruit and adjust your added sugar gradually.  You don’t want to go overboard.
• I’ve been wanting to make a pretzel crust for a long time and it was worth it.  It’s sturdy and it’s a great texture/flavor contrast to the ice cream fruit layers.  It may be a bit puffy after the cooking time and the sides may shrink.  You can either use foil filled with dried beans or pie weights to hold the crust in place as it bakes for the first 10 minutes of cooking time, then remove it, or follow my directions above which worked just fine.
• If you decide to use a 9″ pan, it’s fine.  The ice cream layers will just be thinner.  In fact, you might decide to use a regular pie pan and mound each layer in the center to make it a “Mile High Frozen Pie.”
• On the caramel sauce — It’s not a smooth sauce like a normal caramel would be because of the nectarine puree, but that gives it an interesting flavor.  I adapted this sauce from this recipe which I made the first time exactly as written.  Either way, it’s an interesting sauce, and a great topping for this pie.
• If you want to get crazy, you might consider layering fresh fruit or berries between the ice cream flavors and finish with a whipped topping.