In search of...

I love that crumbly, crispy, oatmeal-y, sugary stuff that goes on top of the gooey, sweet, syrupy fruit stuff that's underneath.  Do you know what I'm talking about?  Ever since I started cooking (mom got me started at age 12), I've been in search of the perfect recipe for that topping.  My grandma used to make an awesome topping.  Mom's was okay.  But, I kept searching.  I knew it had oatmeal, brown sugar, and something to give it a little interest - like cinnamon or nutmeg usually.  Each one I tried was good, but not "WOW"!

All that changed today.  I need search no further!  I looked through most of my cookbooks and many online recipes to come up with this concoction.  Half the secret was realizing that I want MORE topping.  The other half of the secret is the unusual ingredients that were parts of different recipes I found.  I gave it a test drive this afternoon on top of the rhubarb I picked up at Bi-Zi Farms yesterday.

So simple to make.  I chose short thin stalks of rhubarb and crosscut them into small 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch pieces.  Choosing consistently sized stalks and uniform crosscuts makes the baking much easier.  No need to worry about whether the large pieces are done.

I dumped the cut rhubarb into an 11"x7" corning ware baking dish.  Tossed in some granulated sugar and a little bit of flour (to help it thicken up).  Then went on to make the oatmeal topping.

Here's the best part!  Besides the usual ingredients, I added ginger as the spice (instead of cinnamon) and coconut (instead of nuts).  Oh my!  I really had to resist the urge to just get out a spoon and start eating the uncooked topping right out of my mixing bowl!  Okay, I confess...I did eat a little bit - for taste testing purposes, of course.

As mentioned earlier, the other trick was to boost up the quantity of topping.  I found the perfect amount was to not double the recipe (a little too much), but rather to 1 1/2 times the topping recipe.  It smelled so good while it was baking in the oven.  (I think this topping would go VERY well on apples, peaches, pears, apricots, blueberries, cherries, as well as rhubarb.)  Rhubarb never tasted so good!
 

 

 

 

Rhubarb Crisp

INGREDIENTS

5	cups cut rhubarb (¼ to ½ inch pieces)
½	cup granulated sugar
3	T all-purpose flour

Topping:

½	cup regular rolled oats
½	cup packed brown sugar
¼	cup all-purpose flour
¼	t ginger
¼	cup softened butter
¼	cup shredded coconut

Directions

1. Place rhubarb in an ungreased baking dish.  Toss in granulated sugar and all-purpose flour.  Toss to coat rhubarb.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine oast, brown sugar, all-purpose flour, and ginger.  Cut in soft butter with a pastry blender or your hands until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Add coconut.  Sprinkle topping over filling.
4. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes until topping is golden brown and fruit is tender.
5. If desired, serve warm with ice cream or light cream.

Do I have raspberries in my hair?

Loganberries

It may seem like an odd question.  But, it really wasn't that far out there when I asked it.  In fact it was a perfectly appropriate and legitimate question after an evening of making loganberry and raspberry jam.  The ruby-colored 12oz jars of loganberry jam were cooling on a towel at the end of the kitchen counter and I had just finished filling pint jars with freshly made raspberry jam.  The last jar was only about 3/4 full.  So, we decided to pour the hot jam into a 12oz jar instead.  I poured, it splattered all over, and I could feel something land in the hair on the top of my head.  That's when it popped out of my mouth, "Do I have raspberries in my hair?"



I ate this raspberry!  Huge!

You should have seen the look on the husband's face!  I think he wasn't sure if he had heard me right.  Then, he realized he had heard me right.  We started into one of those laughing spells that gets funnier the longer you laugh.  He'd get it together and I'd take off.  Then as I would wind down, he'd take off again.  When the gaffaws finally slowed down to a trickle of giggles, I asked him again, "Seriously!  Do I have raspberries in my hair?"  And, off we went again.

To this very moment, I don't know if I had raspberries in my hair or not.  Well, either way, the jam I licked off the ladle was really good!



Pint jars of Raspberry Jam

Raspberry Jam

INGREDIENTS

3	T Classic Pectin
3¼	cups crushed raspberries
½	t butter
2	cups sugar

Directions

1. Wash raspberries in cool, running water and drain.  Crush berries (not too much if you want raspberry chunks in your jam) one layer at a time using a potato masher.

2. Sprinkle pectin evenly over bottom of the pot fitted with the stirrer.  Add crushed berries evenly over pectin.  Add butter to help reduce foaming.

3. Press the “Jam” button and press enter.  Wait four minutes for the appliance to sound four short beeps indicating that it is time to add sugar.  Add sugar gradually while the stirrer continues running.  Place the glass lid on the pot.  (Now, go read a book for the next 18 minutes.)

4. The appliance will continue to automatically stir your ingredients while it cooks.  When it beeps again at the end of the cycle, press cancel and immediately remove the glass lid.  Remove the stirrer using a pot holder and load up your jars.

5. Process jars in the Electric Automatic Canner according to its directions. 

Let me guess, now you're wondering what the difference is between a loganberry and a raspberry, right?  I'll save you some Googling time.  A guy named James Harvey Logan (Lawyer and Horticulturist) accidentally created them in 1883 in Santa Cruz, CA.  He wasn't happy with his blackberries.  So, he tried crossing two different kinds of blackberries.  However, he planted them right next to his raspberry plants.  Everything flowered and fruited at the same time.  Mr Logan gathered and planted the seeds from those berries. Loganberries are less "seedy" than raspberries and it's stalks are less "thorny" than blackberries.  From his 50 plants came all things loganberry.  So, in a nutshell, a loganberry is a hybrid of a blackberry plant pollenated by a neighboring raspberry. By the way, the loganberry has been used as a parent for more recent crosses, such as boysenberries (loganberry + raspberry + blackberry + dewberry).  Aren't you glad you asked?  Next time you eat a loganberry, think fondly of Judge James Harvey Logan!

As long as it isn't sweet

I've never met a pickle I didn't love...as long as it isn't sweet.  Why is it that pickles are so polarizing?  Dill vs Sweet.  Seems like most people either love 'um or hate 'um.  Most of my "peeps" are dill fans.  But, I do have one cousin who prefers sweet pickles.  I love her anyway, but it is a serious character flaw (in my book).  My friend, Sheila, likes dills.  But, she doesn't like that they are crunchy.  So, she will add the pickling liquid without the actual pickle to her potato salad.  I think they only reason she keeps pickles in her refrigerator is because of friends who like them.

Because I'm such a huge fan of dills (my mouth just started watering when I type that), I was prepared to NOT like anything but dills.  All that changed one day when we were visiting my Aunt Faythe & Uncle Otto.  She pulled a jar out of her refrigerator and fished some round pickle slices out of the most interesting looking pickling liquid.  It was golden yellow and I could tell without even tasting that those pickle slices would be very crunchy.  They almost looked fresh.  When I asked, she told us they were refrigerator pickles.  I asked if the were dill or sweet. She smiled and said, "Try one."

You know that moment when you realize you've been "Had"?  Yup, that was the moment I experienced when I took that first bite of Auntie Faythe's refrigerator pickles.  They weren't dill and they weren't sweet.  They were kind of both.  I took another.  Crunch, crunch, crunch.  And, another.  And...  Well, we ate the other things she served for dinner, but mostly I ate those refrigerator pickles.  We polished off the whole jar.

To be clear, I still don't like sweet pickles - they're cloyingly sweet and mushy and *shudder* icky.  And I do still love my dills.  However, I made a new friend that day.  I had to have the recipe.

I have made these many times since then.  Along the way, I discovered that the secret to getting that super crunch is not in the pickling liquid.  It's in the cucumbers!  Auntie Faythe shared the best tip with me:  When buying your pickling cukes, be sure to pick the smallest, "wartiest" ones.  The more warts, the better.  It means they haven't soaked up a lot of water yet.  So, they'll be crunchier and they'll stay crunchier.

Rather than type out the recipe this time, I'm adding a photo of my recipe card.  These pickles should last for many months in the refrigerator.  Enjoy!

Summer's coming!

Last year I convince the husband that we needed to buy two more appliances.  If you know me, you're laughing right now.  I might have a little problem with acquiring too many gadgets.  That is NOT an admission of guilt...just a possibility.  To make matters worse, these appliances can only do one thing, which is a Cardinal Sin according to Miz Margaret.  I shall not apologize.

So, what did I buy?  And, more important, have I used them?  Well, it's like this...  I stumbled across the Ball (think canning jars) website and discovered that they have come up with a painless way to make jams & jellies and they made an electric automatic canner.  Genius!

Remember helping your mom or grandmother (in my case, my aunt) make jams and jellies?  The kitchen turned into a hot steamy mess as you stood over the blazing stove for ages stirring and checking and stirring some more.  By the time you got a gazillion jars done, you didn't care if you ever saw another strawberry in your life.

I'll never do it like that again.  These two appliances take all the drudgery out of canning and leave you with the fun, satisfaction, and deliciousness.  Sounds a bit like a commercial for Ball, huh?  Well, it's not.  They don't have the faintest idea who I am and probably never will.  Despite that, I shall remain a loyal fan of their products!

To prepare the jam, add pectin, a dab of butter, your prepared berries.  The Jam & Jelly maker does all the rest.  You can sit down and read a magazine while it heats and stirs the berries for you.  While the jam is going, the Electric Automatic Canner pre-heats (and sterilizes) your jars for you.  When the Jam & Jelly maker is done, you just load up the jars, pop the lids & bands on, and return them to the Electric Automatic Canner.  It only needs a few inches of water and it works somewhat like a very low pressure canner.

We used those two appliances to make applesauce, can peaches, make raspberry, blackberry, peach, pear, nectarine, persimmon, and onion jams, salsa, spaghetti sauce, and I'm sure I've forgotten something.  The point is, I got my money's worth out of them last year.  And, the good news is, we just finished our first two batches of strawberry jam for this year.  I think one of the things I like best, is that you don't have to do a hundred flats of berries at a time.  We just did one or (sometimes) two batches in an evening with whatever fruit was ripe at the time.  For reference, one "load" of jam fills four little jelly jars (8 oz) and two "loads" fills four pint jars.  The canner will take four pint jars at a time (or three quart jars at a time).  It never felt like "work" and we enjoyed every minute - especially the tasting.

We are fortunate enough to live in the great state of Washington.  And, even more fortunate to live a mere 6-ish miles from the Columbia River, which divides Washington and Oregon.  And, everyone knows (or maybe you don't) that the best strawberries in the world are grown right here in this area.  Hood berries (as in Mt Hood) are one of the most sought after varieties, which are known for their outstanding flavor - melt in your mouth, sweet, delicate.

These berries are not Martha S magazine worthy (you know who I mean).  More often than not, they are a little pointy on top, small, misshapen, or just flat out ugly.  But, they are red all the way through and they smell and taste like "real" strawberries.  I think God made them funny looking so that people from other parts of the country won't want them, which leaves more of them for me!

Should you be lucky enough to find some Hood Strawberries, snatch them up and eat them quick.  They are wonderful on shortcake with a pile of whipped cream. They will happily swim around in the strawberry pie.  And, they do make the most delicious jam you can imagine!  Here's the recipe from the Ball Jam & Jelly Maker book.  You won't regret giving these two appliances a try!

Strawberry Jam

INGREDIENTS

3¼	cups crushed strawberries
3	T pectin
½	t butter
2	cups granulated sugar

Directions

1. Wash strawberries in cool, running water and drain.  Remove stems and hulls.  Crush berries (not too much if you want strawberry chunks in your jam) one layer at a time using a potato masher.

2. Sprinkle pectin evenly over bottom of the pot fitted with the stirrer.  Add crushed berries evenly over pectin.  Add butter to help reduce foaming.

3. Press the “Jam” button and press enter.  Wait four minutes for the appliance to sound four short beeps indicating that it is time to add sugar.  Add sugar gradually while the stirrer continues running.  Place the glass lid on the pot.  (Now, go read a book for the next 18 minutes.)

4. The appliance will continue to automatically stir your ingredients while it cooks.  When it beeps again at the end of the cycle, press cancel and immediately remove the glass lid.  Remove the stirrer using a pot holder and load up your jars.

5. Process jars in the Electric Automatic Canner according to its directions.

That's it!  Super easy!

PS  Photo credits for the first two appliance photos go to Ball.

They say it's amazing

I don't like onions.  Nope.  Not at all.  Not raw, not cooked, not baked, not boiled.  Never have.  The rule at our house, when I was growing up, was that you had to eat three bites of everything - whether you liked it or not.  The ONLY exception was onions.  Mom decided that onions were not nutritionally necessary and it was okay if I didn't eat any, ever.

Mom, on the other hand, loved onions.  In fact, she used to brag that when she was little, she would hide under the farmhouse table (with its long flowing tablecloth) and sneak Walla Walla sweet onions from the 50 lb bag that was stored there and eat them like apples.  (I just can't imagine anything worse!)  Of course, everything came to screeching halt when Grandma figured out where mom was hiding and what she was doing under the tablecloth.  That also solved the question of what was happening to her Walla Walla Sweets.

Mom's love affair with onions never faded.  So, when Mom & Dad's 50th anniversary came around it just seemed appropriate that we should have an onion dish.  I did my usual search through recipe books and food magazines.  But, I just couldn't find "the" recipe.

About that same time, we were given a gift certificate to eat at a restaurant "Caprial's" owned by a local chef/cooking show host.  They had a wonderful, delicious menu.  We loved it immediately.  And that gave me an idea.

A quick search on the internet got me to their restaurant's website.  Miraculously, they had posted loads of their recipes (from both the restaurant and the cooking show) on the website.  I went to town, picking out the menu for the anniversary party.

This caramelized onion gratin immediately grabbed my attention.  Of course, I had no intention of eating any of it.  And, I didn't.  But everyone else raved about it.  So, if you like onions, give this one a try.  They say it's amazing!

Caramelized Onion Gratin

INGREDIENTS

2	T olive oil
4	lg onions, julienne (Walla Walla Sweets)
2	cups heavy cream
4	eggs
3	cloves garlic
1	cup bread crumbs
¼	cup grated parmesan cheese
1	t cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil in a very large sauté pan over high heat until smoking hot.  Add onions and let brown well before moving – about 2-3 minutes.  Onions should be caramelized, but not burned.  When caramelized on all sides, place onions in a greased casserole dish.

2. In a small bowl whisk together cream, eggs, and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour over onions.

3. Sprinkle onion and cream mixture with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

4. Bake in a 350° oven for 30-40 minutes.

Just like the real thing

Homemade pizza is tricky.  The dough’s texture is never really right, the sauce is never zing-y enough, and the cheese doesn’t melt right.  At least that has been my experience.

 

I’ve solved the dough problem by going to Trader Joe’s and picking up TJ's Fresh Pizza Dough and using a pizza stone in my oven.  And, I’ve found a pre-grated package of three-cheese “pizza” blend that solves the stringy cheese problem.  It was the sauce that I could never get right.  My pizza sauce always tasted like spaghetti sauce.  And that’s just wrong!  Pizza sauce has a unique flavor and all the experimenting in the world wasn’t solving that problem.  I tried about fifteen different tomato sauces.  I added tomato paste.  I added Italian Seasoning.  I switched that out and used just Oregano.  Nothing worked.

 

Then one day, my husband’s best buddy shared a recipe he got from a co-worker for pizza sauce.  The recipe is called “Gary’s Pizza Sauce”.  I had tried everything else I could think of, to no avail.  And, I’ll admit, I was intrigued by the directions on the recipe.  (It caught me off guard and made me laugh.)  So, I figured “why not?”

 

It is too profound to say that pizza sauce changed my life.  So, can we just agree that this pizza sauce recipe changed my pizza life?  It tastes like the real thing!!!  And the secret ingredient that makes it taste just right?  It's vinegar - who knew?!  One little tablespoonful of magic.  What a difference it makes.  My sauce went from ho-hum to woo-hoo! with that spoonful of tangy goodness.  Besides, who doesn't want the green palms of a gourmet pizza sauce maker?

 

Gary’s Homemade Pizza Sauce

INGREDIENTS

2	8 oz cans tomato sauce
2	6 oz cans tomato paste
4	T oregano
4	T sweet basil
1-2	T minced garlic
	freshly ground black pepper
¼	cup minced onion  – OR
1	T onion powder
1	T (or more) vinegar – it adds tang!

Directions
1. Heat tomato sauce and tomato paste in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Grind the dry herbs between your palms while adding to the sauce.  It makes a finer grind and brings out the flavor – it also gets your palms green and gives you the feel of a gourmet sauce maker!  J

3. Add remaining ingredients.  Cook for 15 minutes over medium-low heat.