The Colour of August

Canadian growing seasons were very short, and as a consequence, certain fruits were only available fresh, for a very short few weeks during the year. They were very precious indeed.

Long about August , our thoughts would quite naturally wander into the woods, and begin to think of blueberries, as August was the season of blueberries in Eastern Canada. Not those big grape sized ones you can get in the grocery stores over here, but those delicious tasty little pea sized morsels…wild blueberries…that you can only get after spending back breaking hours in the hot sun to acquire.

The first week of August the ice cream buckets would appear on the kitchen counter. It was then that we children knew it was blueberry picking time, a time we both dreaded and revered all at once. We would spend hours in the blueberry bush, choosing and picking the dainty delicious berries and filling those plastic four litre buckets, until our backs were aching and our arms felt like they were ready to fall off, the time only made longer according to how many actually made it into the buckets and how many made it into our tummies! The warm summer sun and humming insects helping us to feel all cosy and, well….a part of a family, lovingly coerced into partaking of this glorious labour. Compelled into participation by rose coloured memories and the anticipation of pieces of warm, fresh blueberry pie, it’s luscious blue juices dripping onto the plate, mingling with runny rivulets of melting fresh vanilla ice cream….beautiful puffy lemon coloured muffins, studded with those gorgeous purple berries and sprinkled with crusty sugar crumbles on top….light as a cloud buttermilk pancakes bursting full of the sweet luscious beauties, stacked three high on a plate, a golden pat of butter melting and gilding the edges, doused in beautifully sweet and rich Maple Syrup , the perfect foil….

We knew as children, that the more berries we picked, the more of these delights we’d be able to savour during the long winter ahead. Tired and hot at the end of the day, our fingers stained blue, with blue lips and teeth, we’d sit around the kitchen table with big bowls of tasty berries, sprinkled with sugar and covered in cream….Berries….still warm from the sun, cream …cold from the fridge, smiles on berry stained faces, knowing we had once again secured this little taste of summer for the winter ahead…



*Lemon Glazed Blueberry Bundt Cake*
Serves 12

I fell in love with this cake the very first time I made it. It is deliciously moist and studded with sweet berries. The Lemon Glaze is perfect on top, giving it just a little tang, which only helps to enhance the flavour of the blueberries.

2 ½ cups plain flour
1 tsp plain flour, for blueberries
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup soft light brown sugar, packed
1 cup caster sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla essence
1 cup dairy sour cream
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 TBS finely grated lemon zest
LEMON GLAZE:
The juice of two lemons
2 - 3 cups icing sugar, sifted

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Butter and flour a 12 cup bundt or tube pan. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, cream together the butter and two sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating until thoroughly combined. Beat in the vanilla.

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour. Gently toss the blueberries and lemon zest with the 2 tsp of flour. Fold them into the batter.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the cake tests done when a toothpick is inserted and it springs back lightly when the top is gently touched.

Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before removing and inverting on a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Place upright on a plate.

Make the glaze by combining the lemon juice and the sifted icing sugar, until the desired consistency has been reached and the mixture is smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cake. Enjoy!

Out on a limb, a delicious chocolate limb ...

Okay, I am going to go out on a limb here and enter a little competition. Competition is healthy and any competition that involves chocolate is even better. . . and when you throw brownies into the mix (no pun intended) then it becomes totally impossible to resist!



Myriam of Once Upon A Tart is hosting a fresh browniebabe of the month competition, and not being one to shirk my duty, especially when it involves chocolate of any description baked into lucious brownies, I feel compelled to throw my hat into the proverbial ring!

What is the perfect brownie? To some, they might have a slightly cakey consistency, to still other's they might be so fudgy as to verge on the edge of almost raw. Then again, a brownie might not even be brown at all, but a blondie! (stogged full of chocolate chips would be my choice) Nuts, or no nuts. White chocolate or dark chocolate. Cranberries, peanutbutter, marshmallows, mint .... brownies come in many shapes, sizes, colours and flavours. I am not prejudiced. If it says brownie in the title I am right there with my fork and tingling tastebuds, ready to dig in and enjoy!

These happen to be my favourite brownie. Slightly fudgy without going over the top into sludgy, still holding their shape, filled with a rich chocolate flavour. Baked with nuts, or not, these are my nemisis . . . these are the ones I find myself waking up and thinking about at two o'clock in the morning, and, being the weak person that I am, down in the kitchen digging into the tin for just one more ...




*Fudge Walnut Brownies*
Makes 24 squares

I wish I had a pound for every time I have made brownies in my life and for every new brownie recipe I have tried! I’d be a rich woman! This is my old standard that I return to every time. Moist and delicious with full on chocolate flavour, these are everything a good brownie should be! You can leave the nuts out if you wish, or you can add chocolate chips instead. They then become double chocolate fudge brownies!

1 cup butter
1 cup plain flour
4 ounces good quality bitter chocolate
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 TBS vanilla essence (YES 1TBS)
Pinch salt
½ cup walnut halves, broken into pieces

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Grease and flour the bottom of an 8 inch square glass baking dish. Tap out any extra flour.

Melt the butter along with the chocolate over low heat in a large pot. Allow to cool, then stir in the sugar, eggs (one at a time) vanilla, flour and salt, mixing with a wooden spoon and being careful not to over mix, no more than 50 strokes!

Pour batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out a little wet if you want fudgy brownies. Bake until it comes out cleaner if you want cake type brownies, about 40 to 45 minutes for the fudgy ones. Let cool a bit before cutting into squares.

AND, just because I can't do ANYTHING half way, here is my other favourite, one of the blondie versions, full of "caramel-like" fudgy goodness. In this case, Blondes definitely do have more fun!




*Butterscotch Blondies*
Makes 12

These bars are lovely and chewy and full of wonderful butterscotch flavour. I try to use the best milk chocolate possible and that is Green and Black’s organic (in my opinion). They small fantastic when baking and the taste, well, it’s out of this world! Bet you can’t eat just one, which also makes them very dangerous to have around!


140g butter, plus more to grease the pan
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Pinch salt
350g light muscovado sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla essence
250g self rising flour
100g milk chocolate, cut into big chunks
100g macadamia nuts or pecan nuts, coarsely chopped
Icing sugar to dust over the tops when done

Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/350*F. Butter a shallow pan, about 20 X 21 cm in size and set aside.

Melt the butter in a small bowl and set aside to cool. In the meantime chop up your chocolate.
Beat the eggs until frothy in another bowl. Add the melted butter along with the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Tip in the flour and mix only until combined. Stir in the chocolate and ¾ of the nuts. Try not to over mix the batter, you'll end up with tough brownies if you do.

Spread the batter into the prepared tin and scatter the remaining nuts on top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until done. Don’t overbake. You want them dry on the top with a slight resistance to the touch of a fingertip, but you also want them to be fudgy and moist.
Let cool, then cut into bars and dust with the icing sugar.

Country Ramblings ...

We found out Jess could swim yesterday, quite by accident I might add! It was actually quite a scary experience and not one I'd care to repeat! We had a gorgeous day yesterday, sunny and warm and relaxing. We had friends for dinner, and after having stuffed ourselves silly, we decided to work some of the calories off by going for a wander around the area.

There is something special about warm summer days and country ramblings. They make a body feel all comfortable and at ease. We are luckier than most...we wake up to beauty surrounding us every day of the year, even in the rain. I do love the country so ...

Part of the reason we were walking off our tea was this delicious Chocolate Tart. I haven't met a person yet that can refuse a slice, or two or three...



*Decadent Chocolate Mousse Tart*

Serves 8

Not only is this sinfully moreish, but it’s also relatively easy to put together. I’d call it a dawdle! There’s no real cooking involved here. I think this will become a fast favourite with anyone who tries it!

200g packet of butter shortbread biscuits

100g unsalted butter

1 TBS golden syrup or honey

100g bar of good quality dark chocolate (use one with a high cacao content, at least 70%)

100g bar of good quality milk chocolate

1 tsp pure vanilla essence

2 TBS of icing sugar, plus more for dusting

200ml of whipping or double cream

Give the biscuits a whir in the food processor, until they are quite broken down. You don’t want them too fine, but you don’t want big chunks of biscuit in them either. (You can also do this by putting them into in a zip lock food bag and giving them a good bash with the rolling pin!) Put the crumbs into a bowl. Melt the butter with the syrup or honey in the microwave and stir it into the crumbs, mixing it until they are all mixed together well. Pat the mixture onto the bottoms and a bit up the sides of a 12 X 36 cm rectangular loose bottomed tart tin or a 23 cm round one. Put it into the fridge to chill while you are making the filling.

Break all the chocolate into bits in a large bowl and melt it in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes on high. Check it after about a minute and a half, giving it a stir. You may not need any longer than that, depending on how strong your microwave is. Stir in the vanilla essence and then sift in the icing sugar. Mix it in well. You will think it is going solid on you, but it isn’t. Whip the cream just until it holds it’s shape and then fold it into the melted chocolate mixture. Spoon it into the prepared crust and smooth the top. Place the tart in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours or up to two days.

About half an hour before serving, remove the tart from the fridge. Let it sit and then remove the sides of the tin and place the tart onto aflat plate. Dust with icing sugar and then serve. You can serve it with a little bit of crème fraiche dabbed on top or a scoop of ice cream on the side. Delicious!

On these warm summer days Todd and I love to go walking with Jess through the Orchards that surround where we live. In the springtime it is all awash with the beautiful and fragrant blossoms of a sea of fruit trees, but now in these later days of summer you can clearly see the apples growing large and red, causing the branches to bow down in all their bounty. The hedgerows are alive with the humming of insects and beautiful blackberries that I know will be ripe for the picking in just a few weeks now. What glorious crumbles and jellies we have to look forward to.



In the meantime, I have been busy where I work as the cook, sorting out the larder. Yesterday I discovered an infestation of weevils and it seems that all the cereals, rice and grains were loaded with them, and so I had to pitch the whole lot out and disinfect all the shelves and containers. It was alot of work, and was quite disheartening, as it means I will now have to go out and replace the lot. Never mind though, the larder is looking quite nice, clean and organized. Tidy.

I was quite tired when I got home and so made us a simple dish for our tea. Todd always loves it when I make this. Not quite as modest as Beans on Toast, but just as tasty. This is comfort food, plain and simple. With a delicious salad on the side, this was anything but ordinary ...



*Beans and Wieners Under Cornbread*
Serves 4

This makes a delicious and simple supper. Hearty and family pleasing. Todd really enjoys this when I make it and I can say with a certainty that the leftovers taste even better the next day, so it’s worth making the whole recipe, however you can quite successfully cut the recipe in two if you wish.

1 package of smoked frankfurters
2 (415g) tins of baked beans
1 heaping dessertspoon of tomato sauce
1 TBS Dijon mustard
1 TBS dark soft brown sugar
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
(You can cut this down if you don’t like your food too spicy)
1 TBS dark molasses (in the UK you can use a combination of dark treacle and golden syrup)
Cornbread:
1 cup flour
¼ cup caster sugar
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal (polenta in the UK)
1 cup buttermilk
2 TBS olive oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 ounces roasted diced green chilies
¾ cup grated strong cheddar cheese
1/3 cup diced red onion

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/375*F. Cut the frankfurters into 1 inch pieces and brown them in a large hot skillet. (There is no need to add any fat to the skillet). Once they are browned add the beans, tomato sauce, mustard, sugar, molasses and pepper sauce. Stir it all together really well and bring to a simmer. Let cook for about five minutes, on low heat, while you make the cornbread mixture.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the cornmeal and ½ cup of the grated cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil and egg. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry just enough to combine, without over mixing. Fold in the roasted chilies and red onion.

Place the hot bean mixture in a lightly buttered casserole dish*. Pour the cornbread mixture over top. Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup of grated cheese. Bake in the heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cornbread is well risen and nicely browned. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

*Note- You can also bake this in individual casserole dishes as I have done above.

Summer Sunshine

Well, these past few days have seen us making up for all the recent rain and having glorious sunshine to enjoy, although to be honest, the mornings have still been quite chilly! I have noticed a fresh crop of wasps making their presence known around the gardens and yesterday, up at work in the big kitchen, I killed no less than three of the little monsters that were threatening my safety and trying to get at my fresh Banana Loaf! We have a big problem with wasps here as we are surrounded by fruit orchards. I guess it's a small price to pay for having all those lovely drops to pick up in the autumn!

Hot August days always meant one thing when I was bringing up my family. Preserving time! Every year I put up jars and jars of pickles, jams, jelly's and preserves. Those days my kitchen would be full of the smells of vinegar and spice and the sweet delicious smell of boiling fruits. Now that there is just Todd and I, there is not the requirement for all those lovely pickles and relishes. Not only do I not have the storage space, but we would never get through them in a million years, ahhhhh ... but I do miss them.

We can use up a bit of this jam though, and so yesterday I made some fresh strawberry preserves. I know we are still trying to use up the raspberry ones I made last year, but with the price of berries so low in the stores right now, I just couldn't resist! It was especially lovely last evening, spread onto two halves of a freshly baked scone ... a dab of clotted cream on top, it's delicious finishing touch!




*Classic Strawberry Jam*
Makes 6 pints

Simple and delicious, this jam recipe doesn’t use any pectin to help it jell. Instead, you must rely on your own talents for judging when it is done. Don’t worry, it’s not really that hard to do!

9 cups fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
4 cups white sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 TBS unsalted butter (optional)

Put the strawberries into a large saucepan. Bring them to a simmer over medium low heat, mashing them roughly with a potato masher or the back of a large flat spoon. Stir in the sugar and the lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the butter, if using, and then bring it to a vigorous boil, stirring often. Cook for ten to twenty minutes, measuring the viscosity of the jam periodically by dropping a spoonful onto a glass plate and tipping the plate. Once the jam slows it’s drip down the plate and no longer runs like a syrup it is done.
Remove the jam from the heat and skim off any foam that rises to the top carefully with a metal spoon.

Make sure you have six pint jars waiting that have been washed in good clean soapy water and rinsed really well. I like to sterilize mine in a hot oven by placing the jars on a baking tray and popping them into a moderate oven for about 10 minutes. Fill the jars with the hot jam to within ¼ inch of the top. Make sure the edges of the jars are clean from any jam, wiping them clean if needed, with a clean damp cloth. Place lids on the jars and close tightly.

Place the jars in a pot large enough to hold them, and cover with boiling water, making sure the jars are completely submerged. Boil for 15 minutes. Remove jars with tongs and cool upright on a wire rack. Check for secure seals on jars (lid should not spring when touched) and store in a cool place away from light for up to a year. Any jars that do not seal should be refrigerated and used up first.