Anna Sultana’s Blueberries: Pie, French Toast and Clafoutis / If I Name It, It Can Stay

Blueberry Clafoutis

 

In Manitoba Monday is Terry Fox Day.
On the first Monday in August we honour athlete and cancer research activist Terry Fox, who was born in Winnipeg in 1958.

Monday is also a holiday in a few other provinces, but they just call it August Civic Holiday.

Ah, well, a holiday is a holiday.
It’s time to relax and enjoy life.
And that means food.

A brunch dish adds a bit of dash to the holiday weekend menu.
Clafoutis is a French breakfast dish that is easy to prepare.
It has been described as a flan, pancake and soufflé in one, with a texture between a custard and a cake.

Prices have been crazy for the past couple of years, thanks to Covid-19.
Blueberries are in season, and are also available in the frozen food section.
Our Safeway has them on sale, so it’s a good time to use them.

These recipes also work with any other berries or stone fruit that are in season…
or in your freezer.
Whatever you have or observe, enjoy the holiday!


Hints:

About the Blueberry Pie…
You can also use a frozen pie crust.

Blueberry Refrigerator Pie is also easy to prepare
https://imturning60help.blogspot.com/2018/06/blueberry-refrigerator-pie-margaret.html


About the Blueberry French Toast…
You can use a one pound loaf of any type of bread.

Just a heads up - prepare this dish the day before you want it.


About the Blueberry Clafoutis…
If you don’t have buttermilk place 1 Tablespoon vinegar in a measuring cup and add enough milk to make one cup. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.

You can also use fresh blueberries in this recipe.

Clafoutis can be made up to one day in advance. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate, covered, overnight. 

It can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold. You can briefly reheat it in the oven at the same temperature it was originally baked. It's traditionally not served with any accompaniment.

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days. It does not freeze well.

If your clafoutis seems rubbery reduce the cooking time 5 to 10 minutes or turn the oven down by 10 degrees.

                        Easy Blueberry Pie
 
Preheat oven to 425º F          

Place in a 9 inch pie pan
1 1/2 Cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar         
3/4 teaspoon salt
Mix together.

Place in a measuring cup
1/2 Cup oil
3 Tablespoons cold milk
Beat together until creamy, then add to the flour mixture, stir together and pat in to fill the pan.
Prick crust, place in oven and bake 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and set aside.

Place in a medium saucepan
2/3 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup cornstarch
1 Cup water
Combine well.
Add
1 1/2 Cups blueberries
Cook over medium heat, 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture is thick.
Stir in
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons butter
Remove pot from heat and let cool in the saucepan for 1 hour.
Stir in
2 1/2 Cups blueberries
Taste and add more sugar if you wish a sweeter taste.
Pour into the baked pie shell and chill until firm.
Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if you wish.


                        Blueberry French Toast

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan

Remove the heels of
1 loaf Italian bread
Slice on the diagonal to create eight 3/4-inch thick slices.
Arrange bread slices in prepared baking pan.

Place in a bowl
4 eggs
1/2 Cup milk
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Stir together until well blended.
Slowly pour mixture over the bread, pressing down slices for full absorption.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Overnight is best.

Grease another 9 x 13 inch baking pan
Place in this prepared pan
5 Cups blueberries

Place in a bowl
1 Cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Stir together and sprinkle evenly over the blueberries.

Place oven rack in centre of oven.
Preheat oven to 425° F

Place the bread slices over the blueberries, wettest side up.
Brush bread with
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
Bake  for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Place slices of the toast berry-side down on warmed plates.
Scoop remaining berry mixture in the baking dish over the toast.
Sprinkle with
1/4 Cup confectioners' sugar


                        Blueberry Clafoutis

Grease a 9 inch pie pan with butter

Place in the prepared baking dish in an even layer
10 to 16 ounces frozen blueberries

Place in a small bowl
9 Tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Combine.

Preheat oven to 350º F

Place in a large bowl
1 Cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
6 Tablespoons white sugar
Beat together.
Add flour mixture to buttermilk mixture.
Stir until batter is smooth.
Add
1 teaspoon grated orange zest or 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Carefully pour mixture over blueberries in the baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with
1 tablespoon brown sugar, or more to taste
Return to the oven and bake until sugar is lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve warm or cold.

                                                             ~~~

This is a piece I wrote for my CKUW show in Spring, 2006.
The rhubarb plants are still with us, while the aspens were removed when they were in danger of falling over from old age. We now have milkweeds for the butterflies, and a basil plant near our tomatoes.
Gardening continues to be a learning experience for me.


   I'm trying to be a good Manitoban, but 20 centimetres of snow is not my idea of Spring.  In the movie Camelot they did not have snowball fights while singing The Lusty Month of May.  Who knew we could get travel advisories in the middle of May?  What the heck was that?  

   Okay, enough venting.  The snow melted.  It is Spring.  We have passed the Victoria Day Weekend.  It is time to get serious about gardening right here in River City.  Gardening in Manitoba is like being a Senior.  It ain't for wimps.

   My husband Paul and I are from New York.  People do garden there.  But it isn't as exciting as here.  Okay, New Yorkers get a hurricane or two, but for the most part it's just muggy in the summer.  Hydrangeas love it.

   This area was once a dairy farm.  Paul and I have tried to make our 35 by 100 foot piece of former farmland beautiful.  Our home was only four years old when we bought it in 1988.  We'd heard about its first owners.  After they'd installed a lawn, the wife planted a small tree, the husband yanked it out and then they filed for divorce.

   We fought the Karma.  After a priest blessed our home, we went to the nursery and picked up three cotoneasters, six evergreens, a grapevine, three lilacs and three michaelmas daisies.  We also got trees: two chokecherries and two Swedish aspens.  They were the cutest little things - Paul was taller than the aspens.  How big could they get?  Yeah…  

   We also bought five rhubarbs, something for homemade desserts while our son was in the hollow leg stage.  The clerk assured me that they - the rhubarbs - only lived about ten years.  Perfect.  That's all we'd need.    
 
   I read books.  According to a best seller, The Postage Stamp Garden Book, I could become Lady Bountiful dripping with fresh produce.  My garden would look like a miniature rain forest.  I could grow it all in very little space by intensive gardening techniques.  Translation: ignore the cute little stickers and cram everything together.  I bought 24 tomato plants, along with baby onions and zucchini, carrot, green bean and lettuce seeds.  I intercropped - that's planting seeds among the plants.  When the seeds sprouted, they looked about as hopeful as the folks in steerage on the Titanic.  They survived about as well.  The tomatoes didn't do much better.  My garden looked more like compost than a rain forest.  I tossed the book.

 
   People on gardening shows are so happy digging and planting.  We need someone who'll say, You idiot!  Stop doing that!  One of our first gardening purchases was a hose reel.  It had a short hose to attach the faucet to the hose.  We thought there was a safety reason for that.  Paul nailed the reel to the fence near the faucet which was nowhere near the garden.  For 14 years we shlepped around half the perimeter of our house lugging 150 feet of hose every time we had to water the garden.  With all that hose around it looked like we were fighting a four alarmer.  Two years ago the fence board keeled over.  Finally, it hit me.  We're talking water.  Why can't the reel be near the garden?  We could use a longer hose to attach the faucet to the hose.  Why isn't there someone to help the gardening impaired?  Don't they know some of us are clueless?  
      
   When we became empty nesters I got buggy and bought a butterfly starter kit.  I believed: if I plant it, they will come.  I also picked up some lovely pastel pansies.  Well, the butterflies did come.  They pigged out on the liatris, echinacea, sedum and rudbeckia.  My pansies disappeared.  From a CBC radio gardening segment I learned that butterflies lay their eggs in pansies.  Basically I had created a butterfly cheap motel - they came, got drunk on the flowers, then had unsafe sex in my pansies which their rotten kids then devoured.  Of all the nerve!  

                          
   Last year I got another gardening book.  The author had been on a Canadian show.  He promised we could have beautiful CANADIAN gardens with no work at all.  Yeah, that sounded like jumbo shrimp,  but he was serious.  All we had to do was plant perennials.  They'd come back every year.  Isn't that nice?  So I got one of every perennial available.  I was so pleased.  The cerastium, asters, pearly everlastings, black-eyed susans, mallows and yarrows just took over the place.  The dozen creeping jennies filled in all the bare spots.  Our two dogs, Popcorn and Bobo, couldn't kill a single plant.  I'd gone to garden heaven.  Then a neighbour dropped by.  I poured coffee.  She got down to suburban business.

   Eh, Marg, when are you going to get rid of the weeds?

   Weeds?  Okay, our lawn had an occasional dandelion, but let she without a single dandelion cast the first stone.  I was miffed.  I pulled out the little stickers that had come with my perennials.  See, I'd actually paid good (Okay, Canadian) money for my perennials.  My neighbour pulled out a dog-eared Golden Guide for Weeds.  There, along with a page on dandelions, was a page for each of my perennials.  My beloved pearly everlasting, with the oh so proper Latin name gnaphalium margaritacea, was a cudweed.  I felt like John Cleese in the Monty Python dead parrot sketch.  I was stuck with a yard full of dead parrots.  Beautiful plumage my Aunt ZuZu!!

   I had to face facts.  One may be closer to God in a garden than anywhere else on earth, but the guy at the nursery just wanted to make a buck.  How else does one explain catering to 'zone denial'?  They're selling plants that belong in zone ten, not our own zone three.  They're selling magnolias.  Did Scarlet O'Hara just come waltzing in?  Of course they won't guarantee the magnolia's health beyond this summer.  It's a miracle the plant survived crossing the border.  Those rhubarbs which were supposed to live ten years are now old enough for learners' permits.  The clerk would've said whatever I wanted to hear.  

   Okay.  The garden gloves came off.  I got a copy of the weed guide.  Time for me to apply some Yankee ingenuity to my garden.  It has been a while since cows roamed my yard so I wasn't worried about yarrows tainting anybody's milk.  The yarrows, along with his buddies, are staying.  If I can name it, it can stay.  Since I didn't need pedigreed plants for a garden show I decided I'd help myself to nature's hardy perennials.  Along the roads where I walk our dogs the fields are alive with perennials.  Armed with spade and bucket I got perennials that are as hard as nails.

   I now have an herb garden of mustard, winter cress and anise.  There's chicory for coffee and chamomile for tea.  Who needs basil for pesto?  Daisies - English, fleabane, field and shasta - thrive where I once struggled with fussier plants.
       
   One man's weed is another's cash crop or freebie.  This summer I plan to read Harlequin romances in a little corner where I've sown my love lies bleeding, also known as pigweed.  I've sown my wild oats.  Life is good.

Anna Sultana's Lemon Berry Pavlova / Would Santa Ever Find Me? by Margaret Ullrich

      Happy Holidays, everyone.
Wishing you all the blessings of the season:
a Christmas filled with all you hold dear
and a New Year filled with all the best!
~ Margaret

Okay… we’ve been told to cut back on our socializing so we can ‘starve’ Omicron.
But that doesn’t mean we have to starve ourselves.

If the sight of the fruitcake will just remind you of how different this Christmas is going to be compared to what you had planned, well, then, it’s time to make something different that doesn’t have all the memories baggage.
Let the fruitcake age for another year.
 
Pavlova is something a little different for many, but it looks like you’re saying
Damn it all, we’re going to celebrate!
Pavlova is a large round meringue base which has a crispy, crunchy crust on the outside and a soft, sticky centre.
The centre is filled with fruit curd or yogurt or whipped cream or ice cream, and can be topped with fruit. 


Hints:

About the meringue…
Since plastic absorbs oil, avoid using a plastic bowl.
Consider wiping the bowl with white vinegar, rise and dry thoroughly.
If your bowl is even a little wet or has a trace of oil the whites won't aerate properly and the pavlova will sink in the middle like an omelet. Not good.

Avoid letting any egg yolk into the whites as a drop of yolk can also deflate it.

If you don’t want to make the curd, then you won’t need egg yolks.
Packaged egg whites is perfect for pavlova.
For substituting:
1 large egg white is 1 fluid oz = 2 tablespoons
2 large egg whites = 1/4 Cup
For this recipe you’ll need
4 large egg whites = 1/2 Cup

Just so you know:
1 Large Egg Yolk = 1 tablespoon
Two egg whites, or 1/4 cup fat-free egg substitute, can replace 1 whole egg

If you over-beat the egg whites it will not expand as much in the oven.
If the whites start to look lumpy instead of glossy and smooth, they’re over-beaten.

Some think you get a better meringue if you whisk it by hand.
You can use an electric mixer to make the meringue.
The main rule is to work quickly.
After you stop beating, try to get it in the oven within 5 minutes.

Meringue expands in the oven, so build the meringue upward, not outward.
Meringue has a tendency to crack, especially from shifts in temperature.
Avoid an abrupt temperature change by letting the meringue cool in the oven.
You’ll most likely get some cracks, but that's okay.


About the Lemon Curd Filling…
Use a rubber spatula to stir the filling as it cooks so you don't aerate the mixture.
You can pass the filling through a strainer if you want, but it's not necessary.


About the Blueberry Sauce…
After you’ve removed it from the heat you can pass it through a fine mesh strainer.
The fresh fruit is lumpy, too, so I don’t think it’s worth the bother.





                                                               Lemon Blueberry Pavlova
6 servings

Lemon Curd Filling

Cut into small pieces
1/2 Cup unsalted butter
Set aside.

Separate the eggs, placing the yolks in a heat-proof bowl that will fit in a saucepan, and the whites in a large mixer bowl.
4 large eggs
Cover the egg whites and set them aside to let them come to room temperature.

Add to egg yolks
2 Tablespoons lemon zest
1 pinch salt
1/2 Cup white sugar
1/4 Cup lemon juice
Beat until thoroughly combined.

Place 2 inches of water in a saucepan.
Bring to a simmer over low heat.
Place the heat-proof bowl of filling over the simmering water.
Cook, stirring, until the mixture is thick enough to coat a spoon, 10 to 15 minutes.


Stir in butter, 3 or 4 pieces at a time, waiting until butter has melted before adding more.
Remove bowl from heat and pour the filling into another bowl to cool, about 15 minutes.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the filling, pressing down so that it doesn't develop a skin, and place the bowl in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.


Meringue

Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper
Lightly spray with cooking spray

Place in small bowl
1 Cup white sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Mix and set aside.

With a large whisk, beat the reserved egg whites.
Continue until frothy, then add
1 pinch cream of tartar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whisk until very soft peaks form, about 3 minutes.
Whisk in sugar mixture, 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking about 1 minute between each addition, until all the sugar has been added.
Continue to whisk until stiff peaks form and the whites can hold their shape.

Preheat the oven to 250º F 


Spoon the whites onto the prepared baking sheet, forming a circle about 8 or 9 inches across, then add more meringue around the edges to form a bowl shape.


Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 1 hour, then turn off the oven and slightly open the door and leave it open.
Let the meringue sit in the oven until it is cooled completely, about 1 hour.


Blueberry Sauce

Place in a saucepan
1 Cup blueberries
2 Tablespoons white sugar
1/2 Cup cold water
Cook over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid thickens, about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and place in the refrigerator until fully chilled, about 45 minutes.


Carefully transfer the cooled meringue to a serving platter.
Fill the centre with the chilled lemon curd filling.
Place over the curd
1/2 Cup or more fresh blueberries, or mixed berries

Drizzle blueberry sauce over each serving 
Garnish with fresh mint (optional)

                                                            ~~~
In 2004 I wrote this story and read it on our CKUW radio show '2000 & Counting - Older & Wiser'. For a few years it was our annual tradition. 
I got a few e mails asking if I could post the original story.
Here it is… Merry Christmas!

Change follows us from the cradle to the grave. When I was five years old I was hit with a megadose of change - I moved to another town, got a baby sister, got to go to kindergarten and got Santa Claus.
     
Five years earlier my parents and I had emigrated from Malta to New York and settled in Corona.  We didn't have much choice.  Five of Pop's brothers and sisters lived in Corona. So, we had to live in Corona, too.  
     
Corona was a little slice of Italy on Long Island.  The store clerks were bilingual: English and Italian.  The grocery stores in Corona were stocked with Italian necessities.  Almost everything in all the other stores had been imported from Italy.  
Corona was where we learned how to be Americans.  
     
Nonni's children, Betty and Angelo, had married two of Pop's siblings, Joe and Helen.  So, Nonni was a double Grandma in my family.  Since all my grandparents were in Malta, Nonni treated me as a grandchild, too.      
     
Every Christmas Eve we gathered at Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty's home.  A whole corner of their living room was filled with Nonni's manger scene.  It was not just a shed with Mary, Joseph, three kings and one shepherd standing around Baby Jesus.  Nonni had a complete village with houses, trees, hills, paths, ponds and animals.  There were people walking around just minding their own business.  Some of the figures were really old and we couldn't play with them.  But each year Nonni added something new: a woman carrying a basket of eggs, a farmer carrying a head of cabbage, a man carrying a bundle of wood.  Nonni’s manger scene was better than any store window on 5th Avenue in Manhattan.
     
Dinner was a feast.  Fish was traditional - eel for the parents, bluefish for the children.  There was also soup, pasta and vegetables, followed by ricotta pie, anise biscotti, pizzelle and cuccidati cookies, strufoli, creamy roasted chestnuts and torrone candy.  My favourite was the huge golden mound of strufoli: tiny doughnut balls covered with honey and multi-coloured sprinkles.  After dinner we played games and our parents talked until it was time to walk to the Midnight Mass at St. Leo's.  After Mass we returned to Uncle Joe's for some panettone, a holiday bread made with butter, raisins, almonds and citron.

Then Nonni would tell us to look at the manger scene for the surprise.  The blessed Bambino, Baby Jesus, had suddenly appeared!
     
Christmas Eve was a wonderful night.  But the big day for us children was January sixth.  The night before we had hung our stockings and waited for La Befana to bring us toys.  
     

For those unfamiliar with the story, La Befana was a little old lady who had been sweeping her house when the Wise Men knocked on her door.  They were looking for Baby Jesus and asked La Befana for directions.  They then invited La Befana to join them.  The old woman refused, saying she had work to do.
     
When it was dark, a great light and angels appeared in the sky.  La Befana realized that the Wise Men weren't kidding about somebody special being born that night.  Broom in hand, La Befana tried to catch up with the Wise Men.  She never found them or Baby Jesus.  Every year she searches for Baby Jesus and leaves presents for good little boys and girls.  
     

La Befana took care of me for four years.  Then we moved to College Point so we could live closer to Lily Tulip where Pop worked.  Then it was time for my sister to be born.  While Ma was in the hospital I stayed with Aunt Betty, Uncle Joe and their daughters, MaryAnn and Carol Lynn.  It was nice living in Corona again.  The next day, Nonni diNoto took me to the local 5 and 10 and gave me a quarter.      
"Buy for sister."       
I didn't have any idea what a baby sister would want.  I liked westerns, so I grabbed a toy gun.      
"No.  Buy a rattle."    
A rattle?  That sounded boring, but I bought a pink plastic rattle.  
     
In those days children were not allowed to visit anyone in the hospital.  When Aunt Betty visited Ma, she gave the rattle to my new sister.  I waited outside the hospital and waved to the window of Ma's room.  When Aunt Betty returned she had a gift from my new sister for me: three pieces of chocolate.  
     
Well, wasn't that nice of her.  Not as nice as a toy gun, but maybe that was all she could get from where she'd been.    
     

After Rose was born we didn't go to Corona as often.  It was easier to walk to the local church instead of driving to St. Leo's.  I missed seeing my family.  
     
That September I started kindergarten in St. Fidelis School.  Some of the good sisters had wanted to travel and meet exotic heathens in far away places.  Well, they almost got their wish.  I was the first Maltese child they'd ever seen.  College Point had been settled by Irish and German families.  It was time for me to learn about America through their eyes.  
     
As Christmas approached, the windows of the German bakeries were filled with the most beautiful cookies I'd ever seen.  They were in all kinds of shapes: stars, angels, animals and wreaths.  They were decorated with coconut, jam, icing and tiny silver balls.  Some of my classmates brought in samples of their mothers' baking.  I brought some biscotti.  My friends were polite and tasted the dry, double-baked bread.  Then we ate the lebkuchen, pfeffernuesse, zimtsterne, and jam filled spitzbuben.  The stollen reminded me of panettone.     
I thought a German Christmas was delicious. I planned to eat German and Italian holiday food every Christmas for the rest of my life.

We helped Sister decorate the Christmas tree with sugar cookies which had been twisted into figure eights. Then Sister told us to gather around her. She was going to read us a story. Sister showed us the picture of Santa Claus and his eight reindeer. My friends were delighted.
     
I was confused.  
     
I had never heard any of this before.  Santa was supposed to slide down a chimney and land in a fireplace.  We didn't have a fireplace.  We had a huge, oil-burning furnace in the basement.  Ma hung our stockings, along with all the other wet laundry, on a clothesline near the furnace.  It made awful noises and had fire in it.  If Santa landed in it he'd fry like a strufoli.  That would end Christmas forever.  I didn't think Santa would take such a risk for a total stranger.  The lovely cookies felt like lead in my stomach.
     
Sister talked about Santa checking his list of good little girls and boys.  Santa had a list?  I knew we were on the Registered Aliens list.  Every January the TV reminded Ma to fill out green cards so we wouldn't go to jail or Malta.  How could I get on Santa's list?  Could Santa get my name from the Alien list?  Did I need to fill out another card?  
     
The afternoon went from bad to worse.  Sister told us we could put our letters to Santa in the special mailbox in the classroom.  A letter?  What language did Santa speak?  He'd never heard from me.  I wasn't on his list.  What could I say?  
     
"Hi, you don't know me, but I'd like some toys."  I'd never written a letter to La Befana.  She just gave me toys.  Would Santa shoot La Befana if she came to College Point?  Oh, boy… I was in big trouble.     
     
In kindergarten we learned about God the Father, about how we should pray to Him and tell Him what we needed.  I didn't need another Father.  I figured if my Pop was always busy working, this guy who took care of everything in the whole wide world would really never have time for me.
     
I needed a Grandma.
     
The next time we went to Corona I told Nonni about Santa Claus and that he was in charge of Christmas in College Point.  Nonni listened patiently as I explained the rules.
     
She repeated the main points, "Santa Claus.  A letter."     
I nodded.    
"I fix.  I write letter to Befana.  She give to Santa.  No hard feelings.  Christmas come."
     
I had my doubts.  Nonni had never been to College Point.  Maybe nobody ever had to change from La Befana to Santa Claus.  Maybe Christmas was lost forever, like some of the packages we never got from Malta.
     
On Christmas Eve we all gathered at Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty's home in Corona.  We had the Christmas Eve dinner.  Then we went to St. Leo's for the Midnight Mass.  Everything was familiar.  Latin and Italian.  Why couldn't we have stayed there?  
     
When we were leaving the church I saw a pale cloud in the sky.  It looked long and thin, with a sort of lump on one end.  For a moment I thought it looked like Santa and his sleigh with eight tiny reindeer.  I kept looking at that cloud.  It followed us from the church to Uncle Joe's house, where we had panettone.  When we left, the cloud was still there.  I watched from the car.  The cloud followed us from Corona to College Point.  
     
I never noticed clouds before.  Did clouds always follow people from one town to another?  Was it really a cloud?  Sister had told us that Santa had millions of helpers, tiny people called elves.  Could it have been an elf picking up the letter from La Befana?
     
Christmas morning, Pop was eating breakfast while Ma was cleaning Rose.  Ma sent me to the basement to get some dry diapers that were hanging by the furnace.  Being a big sister wasn't much fun.  I pulled down two diapers.  Then I noticed some lumps by the furnace.  I thought some clothes had fallen off the line.  I walked toward the furnace.  
     
But the lumps weren't clothes.  
They were boxes.  
They were wrapped.  
They were presents!  
They were for me!!

Santa had found me.

Anna Sultana’s Blueberry Lemon Upside-Down Cake

This has been a very different summer in Manitoba.
We’ve been surrounded by forest fires, which gave the sky a surreal hazy appearance, turning the setting sun and moon orange.
Day and night, it smelled like we were always gathered around a campfire.
Take my word for it… after a day that 'campfire smell' loses its appeal.
We’ve also had to endure 35 days of temperatures above 30º Celsius, matching the record set in 1988, which was another miserably hot summer.

We needed to get away.

After we got double vaccinated we joined McCarthy’s Party to tour Newfoundland and Labrador, a marvelous place to explore.
One of the places we visited was Auk Island Winery which makes wines from Newfoundland berries and fruits, as well as some specialty wines using Iceberg water.
It’s worth the trip.

They gave us lists of their products and allowed us to sample their blends.
A little hint if you’re with your spouse:
Choose ten drinks your spouse didn’t pick and share each sample.
Now you know. It never hurts to get a two-fer.

Auk Island has explored every way one could add a bit of a kick to their local fruits.
Newfoundland and Labrador will probably become the province with the healthiest, oldest Canadians.
Picture it. Seniors gathered together and enjoying wines blended with:
Partridgeberries (lingonberries) which increases the body’s red blood cells and liver enzymes, key factors in antioxidant protection.
Bakeapples (cloudberries) a juicy berry that fights infections and colds, slows the aging process and boosts the immune system.
Crowberries (Newfoundland Blackberries) which is an excellent source of manganese, copper and vitamin C.
Blueberries which are full of antioxidants, and has been one of the top ten health foods for the past decade.

We enjoyed partridgeberries, bakeapples and crowberries in drinks and desserts.
But now we’re back in Manitoba and only have blueberries.
So it goes…
Blueberries are good, and available year-round in the frozen food section.
Good to know and good to bake in delicious desserts.
About seven years ago I posted the recipe for Anna Sultana's Blueberry Cake.
It’s time I posted another of Ma's blueberry cake recipe.


Hints:

Fresh blueberries work best.
You can add 1 teaspoon lemon extract to the cake batter for extra flavour.

If you’d like to use cranberries use 1 teaspoon almond extract instead of vanilla.
Don’t top with more cranberries.
You can have some on the side if someone likes a really tart dessert.

For that matter, the blueberry cake is delicious without the whipped cream.
Also a little bit healthier.

After you have covered the cake with whipped cream and berries, serve immediately.
If you’re having a slice or two at a time, add the topping to the cake slice just before serving.


                        Blueberry Lemon Upside-Down Cake

Preheat oven to 350° F
Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.

For the blueberry topping

Place in a small bowl
2 Cups blueberries

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Toss to coat.
Pour mixture into the prepared pan and spread the fruit into an even layer.

For the cake

Place in a medium bowl

1 3/4 Cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt
Whisk together.

Place in a large mixer bowl
1/2 Cup butter, softened

1 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup lightly packed brown sugar
Beat together until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Add, one at a time
2 large eggs
Add
1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Beat until combined.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, beating until just combined.
Pour in
3/4 Cup milk
Mix until well blended.
Add remaining dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Pour cake batter over the blueberries and smooth with a spatula.
Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
Gently run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan.
Carefully transfer the cake to a serving platter and allow to cool.

While the cake is cooling

Quarter
3 slices lemon
Set aside.

Place in a medium mixer bowl

1 Cup cold heavy cream

2 Tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
Beat until stiff peaks form.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Just before serving, spread the whipped cream over the top of the cake.
Garnish with

1/4 Cup fresh blueberries
The quartered lemon slices

Serve immediately.

Blueberry Refrigerator Pie - Margaret Ullrich

Yippee!!! It’s almost July!

Time for folks north and south of 49th parallel north to celebrate their home and native lands.

Holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas come with their own menus.

Skip an item and the family never lets you forget it.

New ideas don’t stand a chance against years of tradition. Really.

But the July holidays are a bit more free wheeling.

For starters, there’s the weather.

If you have nice weather, it’s time to fire up the barbecue.

If you don’t, it’s time to fire up the broiler, or oven.

And - yes, it finally happened - the kids have finished another school year.

Schedules, books and lists have been tossed out the window.

The mood is totally spur of the moment.

A friend calls and says she’s having a pot luck.

You laugh uproariously and offer to bring the dessert.

Yeah… What were you thinking?

Don’t panic.

Right about now blueberries are on sale, or in your freezer.

The other ingredients are usually on your kitchen shelves or in your fridge.

This recipe is easy. You can do it. Really.

Throw it together and par-tay!!

Hint:

In a rush? Use 1 1/3 Cups graham cracker crumbs.

A 9 inch springform pan is just as good as the tart pan.

This recipe also works with Saskatoon berries, or any other berries that are in season… or in your freezer.

Don’t like lemon? You can also use orange zest and juice.

Don’t have zest? Use another tablespoon of juice or a teaspoon of extract.

Thawed whipped topping is also good with this.

Taking this to a pot luck? 

Don't add the topping until you get there.

Or you can add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on each serving. 

Or leave as is. They'll never know.

                        Easy Blueberry Refrigerator Pie

Finely crush

50 Nilla Vanilla Wafers

You need 1 1/3 cups of crumbs.

Place in a medium bowl.

Melt

6 Tablespoons butter

Add the melted butter to the crushed wafers and mix well.

Heat oven to 350°F. 

Press the crumb mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. 

Bake 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool. 

Combine in a small bowl

2 Tablespoons corn starch 

3 Tablespoons water 

Place in a large saucepan

1 1/2 Cups blueberries

2/3 Cup sugar 

2 Tablespoons water 

Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium high heat. 

Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the blueberry mixture. 

Stirring constantly, simmer over low heat 2 minutes, or until thickened. 

Remove from heat. 

Add 

1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest 

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Stir until the butter is melted. 

Stir in 

3 1/2 Cups of the blueberries 

Pour the blueberry mixture into the crust.

Top with 

1 Cup blueberries 

Refrigerate 4 hours, or until firm. 

Remove side of pan before serving. 

Top with

1 1/2 Cups whipped cream (more or less)

Anna Sultana’s Orange Cranberry Bread and The Beaver Moon

During the holiday season it’s a bit tricky to know how much food to have on hand.

Bake too many cookies and you’ll be munching on gingerbread during Lent and, maybe even at Easter.

Don’t bake enough and you’ll be padding the cookie platter with oreos which nobody believes you baked.

It’s a tricky time, alright.

Managers in grocery stores also face the same problem.

If the meat department runs out of turkeys or hams, well, do you remember that scene in Christmas with the Kranks, when Nora can’t find the Honey Glazed Ham (Blair’s favourite) and has to settle for smoked trout?

It can get embarrassing.

If the manager ordered too much, well, there’s just so much turkey or ham that anybody can face.

Then again… one man’s mistake can be another man’s treat.

If your produce manager ordered too many bags of fresh cranberries and has to sell them at half price, take pity on him and grab as many as you can.

Cranberries have vitamin C, manganese and quite a few vitamins and minerals.

The cranberries can be frozen in the bag, as is, and will keep for nine months.

They can also be used, without thawing, in a few baked desserts.

Hints:

This recipe also works with blueberries.

Don’t have chopped walnuts? Chopped pecans or almonds would also work.

Want a milder orange flavour?  Use vanilla instead of the orange extract.

Almond extract would also work, especially if you are using almonds.

Did a great job of stocking up on cranberries? Here are two more cranberry recipes:

Anna Sultana’s Lemon Cranberry Scones

Cranberry Crumb Bars

Wondering what to do with you Halloween pumpkin? Why not make a pot of soup, as Ma would:

Anna Sultana's Pumpkin Soup, Maltese Style

                                                Orange Cranberry Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Grease 2 9x5x3-inch loaf pans

Combine together in a large bowl

4 Cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

Add

2 Cups sugar

Stir together.

Preheat oven to 325º F

Place in a 2 Cup measuring cup

4 tablespoons vinegar

Add enough water to make 1 1/3 cup

Place in a bowl

2 large eggs

2/3 cup orange juice

the water/vinegar mixture

1 Tablespoon orange extract

1/2 Cup oil

Stir to combine.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the liquid mixture.

Stir just enough to moisten. Do not overbeat.

Fold in

1 Cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

2 Cups fresh whole cranberries 

Divide the mixture between the 2 prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 1 hour, until golden brown and a tester inserted in the centre of the loaves comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes, then remove loaves from the pans.

Place the loaves on a wire rack and let cool completely.

Slice and serve as is, or with butter and/or jam.

About the sky this week and next, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

November is the month of the Pleiades star cluster, which will shine all night long on November nights. 

November 2 - Look for Algol, the demon eye, winking this month. Read more about this celestial event here!

November 2-4 - Southern Taurids Meteor Shower peaks. Best viewing anywhere in the sky, from 1-3 a.m. EDT. Unfortunately, the bright gibbous Moon will making viewing difficult. There’s a good possibility of catching 5-10 meteors each hour. The Taurids are actually two annual meteor showers created by the comet Encke. They are named for constellation Taurus, where they are seen to come from in the sky.

November 4 - The full Beaver Moon at 1:23 a.m. People have asked us: Isn’t the Moon following the Harvest Moon always the Hunter’s Moon? The short answer is no. When the Harvest Moon comes late (as was the case this year in October), the usual procedure is to by-pass the Hunter’s Moon and go straight to the Beaver Moon in November. Why is it called the Beaver Moon? Find out in this short Farmers’ Almanac video: November's Full Beaver Moon

November 5 -  “Fall back!” Daylight Saving Time ends: Don’t forget to set your clocks back 1 hour.

During the early evening hours, a nearly full Moon will cross in front of the orange 1st-magnitude star Aldebaran in the constellation of Taurus, the Bull. This occultation will be visible anywhere to the east (right) of a line extending roughly from Inuvik (Northwest Territories of Canada) to Pensacola, Florida. To the west (left) of this line, Aldebaran’s disappearance will be unobservable because the Moon and star will be below the horizon and either only the star’s reappearance will be visible (just after moonrise) or the occultation will be missed because the Moon and star will be below the horizon for the entire event. Visit this link to see a map of the visibility zone, as well as a listing of nearly 1,200 locations providing times of the immersion (disappearance) and emersion (reappearance) of Aldebaran.

Anna Sultana’s Lost Bread & Berry Compote and Other Lost Things (French Toast)

Monday is Thanksgiving Day here in Canada.

Ladies, I fell your pain.

Today I went to the grocery store and we housewives had that “Here we go again…” look.

The woman in the bakery section said she had scheduled her vacation to start next week.

Smart woman.

In the United States it will be Columbus Day.

All you have to do for that is shop the bargains.

Much better.

Autumn can be a bittersweet time.

The leaves are falling and the days are getting shorter.

Here in Canada the geese are leaving.

The big plans we had… all those things we planned to do this year… 

Well, we’re now facing the holidays and all that they involve.

Reality and responsibilities have trumped plans.

There isn’t time to do everything we’d like to do.

Well, sometimes loss is a good thing.

It makes us grateful for what we have accomplished.

And, if we’re honest, grateful that not all of our plans worked out.

Sometimes the surprises were better than the original plans.

There’s a recipe that’s a salute to the good that can be found in something that once was thought to be lost.

French toast.

It is also known as eggy bread, German toast, gypsy toast, and Spanish toast.

Yes, everyone has had to cope with things that haven’t quite worked out as wished.

Or were past their prime.

The earliest known reference to lost bread is in the Apicius, a collection of Latin recipes dating to the fourth or fifth century.

A fourteenth century German recipe called it Arme Ritter (poor knights). 

Also, at about that time, Taillevent had a recipe for tostées dorées.

There are fifteenth century English recipes for pain perdu (French for lost bread).

Trying to avoid carbs?

Frittata is an Italian dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche.

And it’s nice for a dessert or a brunch, too.

Hint:

Day old bread is better because the stale bread will soak up more egg mixture.

Stale or fresh - do not let the bread sit in the milk / egg mixture too long or the bread will get soggy and start to fall apart.

If you’d like it a bit sweeter, add a teaspoon or two of vanilla.

French toast can also be served with jam, honey or maple syrup; or, if you're serving it as a light lunch, with ketchup or another sauce.

Don’t have time - or berries - to make compote?

No problem.

Melt in a nonstick skillet over medium heat

2 Tablespoons butter

Add

1/4 Cup dark brown sugar

1 can of peach slices, drained

Stir the peaches until they are warmed through and the sugar has melted.

Serve on the French Toast.

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar (optional).

Both the quickie and regular compote recipes would work with thinly sliced fresh apples, peaches or pears - or a mixture of the three.

Compote is also good on waffles, pancakes or chicken.

                        Berry Compote

Melt in a nonstick skillet over medium heat

3 Tablespoons butter

Add

1/4 Cup light brown sugar

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Stir until the sugar has melted.

Add

3 Cups berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries or all of one)

Toss gently and cook for 3 minutes, until the berries are warm. 

Serve on the toast.

                        French Toast

Place in medium bowl and mix together

2 large eggs

1/2 Cup sugar

2 to 3 Tablespoons cinnamon (optional)

Stir in 

2 Cups milk

Beat until blended. 

Melt in a skillet or griddle over medium high heat 

3 to 4 Tablespoons butter

Do not burn the butter.

Dip in milk and egg mixture

8 slices bread- dip 2 or 3 at a time

Place slices on hot skillet.  

Cook bread 3 or 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. 

Serve warm with your favourite toppings or Berry Compote.

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar (optional).

A dollop of whipped cream would also be nice.

About the sky this week…

According to the Farmers Almanac:

Starting on October 11and for the next two weeks, you can view the Zodiacal Light, or “False Dawn.” Look to the east.

On October 11before Dawn: you can see the tiny crescent Moon in the east very close to Mercury low in the horizon.

On October 12 there will be a New Moon. You can’t see it, so I hope you are enjoying the “False Dawn.”

On October 13 after midnight you’ll see a multicolored star in the southeastern sky.  It’s Sirius, sometimes called the Dog Star, in the constellation Canis Major. 

On October 15 after sunset look to the western horizon to see the tiny waxing crescent Moon, Saturn and the star Antares!

On October 16 – The gang’s all together!! In the sky before dawn, look for Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Mercury (Mercury will be closest to the horizon).

Baked Finnish Pancakes / Pannukakku (with and without Apples)

I recently posted the recipe for Finnish Pancakes.

They are a speciality of Hoito Restaurant in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

I got an email asking if there is a baked version.

The Finns are like us Maltese.
They have variations in their best recipes.
A few years ago we sampled a baked Finnish pancake in the Upper Peninsula, which has a huge Finnish community. 

Baked Finnish pancakes isn't like the pancakes served at the Hoito Restaurant.
Finnish Oven Pancakes puff up like a Yorkshire pudding.  
They have a bit of a crust, but they’re still soft inside. 
And they are easier to make and are a nice alternative for breakfast.

Hints:

Here are some topping ideas…
If you added the sugar to the batter top with:
Powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice
A handful or two of fresh or frozen berries
A sprinkle of brown sugar and / or a drizzle of maple syrup
A dollop of fruit jam
A drizzle of caramel sauce over apples sautéed in butter  
A dollop of sweetened whipped cream and / or Nutella

If you didn’t add the sugar, top with:
Sausage gravy and chopped green onions
Beef or chicken stew
Cooked mushrooms and / or Gravy

                        Baked Finnish Pancakes

Serves 4-6

Preheat oven to 400 F

Beat together
3 1/2 Cup milk
1 1/2 Cup of flour
6 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar (optional)

Melt in a 9 x 13 inch pan
1/4 Cup butter
Add the mixture and spread in the pan.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.
Serve topped as desired.

                        Baked Finnish Pancakes II

Serves: 4

Place in a medium bowl
4 large eggs
1 Cup flour
1 Cup milk (whole milk works best)
1 pinch of salt
4 Tablespoons sugar, optional
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Beat together, until the mixture is smooth.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 300 F

Place in an 8- or 9-inch cake pan or 10-inch pie plate
4 Tablespoons (1/2 of one stick) butter, cut into four pieces
Place the pan or pie plate in the oven.
After the butter has melted, remove the pan from the oven.

Preheat oven to 400 F

Pour the batter into the hot pan.
Return the pan into the oven. 
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.
The oven pancake will puff up and be a deep golden brown. 
Test by quickly inserting a knife in the centre of the pancake. 
If the knife comes out clean, the pancake is done.
Remove the pan from the oven.
Cut the pancake. It will deflate some.  It’s supposed to do that.
Serve topped as desired.

                        Baked Apple Finnish Pancakes

Serves 4-6

Preheat oven to 425 F

In a small bowl combine
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons sugar
Set aside.

Place in a 9 x 13 inch pan
2 Tablespoons butter
Place in oven to melt the butter.
Remove pan from oven and add
4 Cups apples, peeled and thinly sliced
Toss to coat.
Bake in the oven for five minutes.

While the apples are baking, place in a medium bowl
6 eggs
1 Cup milk
2/3 Cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Beat together until smooth.
Remove the pan from the oven.
Pour the egg mixture over the cooked apples. 
Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the pancake.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pancake is puffed and browned.