berry fine

wow, another weekend just whooshed by, gone in what feels like an instant; good thing we made the most of it. we ended our week with our usual friday afternoon date—bike errands (we really enjoy this getaway, hee-hee!). first stop: the post office, our saddlebags loaded high with the international mailing of our june BNK club club shipment (the USA shipment goes by car—too big for the bikes!). after that we biked to the grocery stores, bank, and library to complete our weekly errands and food shopping.

then, after a quick supper, it was off to the races—literally

i participated in my first glow run, a nighttime 5K race that started at 9:30 pm to raise funds in support of our local domestic violence project.

it was still just a little light at the start line, but the stars were beginning to pop out; everyone was enjoying the evening weather which couldn’t have been lovelier. we are all seriously still awed by nice weather; i don’t know if we’ll ever get over the winter we had, haha.

what a lot of fun this was! i had already signed up for the next one and so glad i did.

after the race, i got myself home to bed because i had to get up early the next day to run another one, this time a 10K . i didn’t take any pictures at that event, unfortunately; i got to the race just before start time and had to leave right after. i ran well in both events, however, which made me feel like i am finally getting used to doing these shorter runs. after all that training for the long races in april, i was out of practice for the short ones.

almost as soon as i crossed the finish line, i headed for my saturday yoga class which i hate to miss—it’s a great way follow up on the busy work week and at the same time, launch the weekend with some peaceful centering. back home i took a much needed nap to get ready for the rest of my weekend agenda.

i did a lot of knitting and pattern work this weekend, but all focused on a secret project, so i can’t share that with you, but hang on—i think you’ll enjoy what is coming.

i had a big afternoon of cooking planned because i’d invited a few friends over for sunday supper. i had a boatload of vegetables to cut up for the ciambotta i mentioned the oner day. never fear—you do NOT need to prep this much food for your ciambotta; this is just me cooking for an army as usual. i cannot help myself; i love having leftovers, preferably enough to freeze for another meal (or two).

and, cooking a big amount gave me a chance to finally use the big enameled pot my mom gave  us for christmas a few years ago. it was stored in the basement for a long while because we didn’t have room in our old kitchen cabinet for it. we finally unpacked it a couple of weeks ago and i’ve been itching to use it.

ciambotta is a wonderfully summery dish to cook with seasonal vegetables. though it’s not quite time to be picking those from our own garden, they are starting to come into the stores from the south and west. i think every mediterranean cuisine has a version of this dish—it is related to ratatouille, pistou, and possibly even some tanginess.

the essential ingredients are summer squashes, peppers, potatoes, onions, celery, garlic, and basil; carrots and eggplant are also used by some cooks (i like everything in mine, haha). it’s both light and satisfying; the root vegetables make a hearty base and all the rest create a fresh, summery flavor. it’s a great main dish or side dish; i served it with chunks of bread and a piece of fish atop for one-dish meal.

once the ciambotta was bubbling in its pot, i turned my attention to preparing for a dessert. it’s a little before our local berry season just now, but again, there are wonderful strawberries from the south available in the market and the price is good. i bought two boxes on friday to put together with this

to make my favorite early summer pie—strawberry rhubarb (every time i say strawberry rhubarb my mouth waters). i used the same recipe i made last year because it turned out so well—i especially liked the filling.

once you string the rhubarb, cut it into chunks and steam it in a syrup made from juice and sugar—just long enough to make the rhubarb tender

lift it out and thicken the syrup with some cornstarch.

blend the cooked rhubarb with the berries and syrup; add some butter and liqueur. at this point, i refrigerated the filling so i could bake the pie closer to our dinner time. i prepared the crust and put that in the fridge to chill as well.

by the end of the evening, i had everything cooked except to sauté the fish and put the pie together.

on sunday afternoon i put the pie together and got it in the oven. still trying to get there perfect gluten free crust, i tried a tip sent by a reader for adding extra water. i’m not sure i love the resulting texture, but it did make the crust easier to handle; food for thought in my next experiments. another note—while i like the flavor of a very fresh-baked pie, this one was very runny, so it might have been batter to bake it in the morning, chill it for a bit once it cooled, then warm it up for dinner. another thing to experiment with . . .

speaking of pie experiments and the impending berry season, have i got a book for you, thanks to our friend nathalie.

another winner from the culinary institute of america (or CIA), pies and tarts. i received this book about two months back and have been saving it for this very moment. i love the CIA cookbooks because they provide so much focused and practical information to read, as well as many options for beautifying my cooking and baking.

the book starts off with an introduction to equipment and tools—not that you need all this to make pie, but so that you’ll know what they are and whether you need them.

following that is a discussion of ingredients, both those you’ll want in your pantry and those you might want to shop for as needed. thereat e pages of discussion about flours, filling ingredients, and garnishes.

the next chapter is extremely important and a great read. while the recipe for the pie crust i learned to make at home is embedded in my soul and (fortunately) also pretty terrific in taste and texture, i have lately had detour from using wheat in my pie crust so i am once again a student of all things dough related.

while this book does not contain recipes or information specifically for gluten free users, it does contain excellent dough-making and baking information, which i’m sure will be useful to me in my quest for good gluten-free dough (not to mention the absolutely drool-worthy fillings and garnishes to come later in the book).

the way that you handle pie dough is really important, so i was very happy to see process demonstrated in step-by-step illustrations over several pages

with treatments for the edging at the end, which included photos of some i had not seen before, but will definitely be trying.

i was one of those kids that would, whenever my mom suggested baking a pie as a way to keep me busy, pore over the cookbook for ideas, finally settling on the most elaborately trimmed crust and beg to make THAT. naturally my mom, envisioning a whole day of messy, tedious futzing with too many tools, resulting in a less than artful finish, would suggest that we just do a regular fluted crust. later i would come to understand her reluctance for woven top crusts and rims of cutout leaves (can you spell T-I-M-E S-U-C-K?), but would continue to admire prettier trims in cookbook photographs.

and finally, i have a book that offers the best of both worlds—clever new-to-me ideas for trimming pie rims that don’t require special tools or lots of time. love.

once the subject of pie crust is exhausted, it is on to the recipes and what a parade it is, starting—naturally—with the fruits. oh my. i had to chuckle when i saw that the last recipe in this chapter is concord grape pie, over which we have shamed ourselves several times at nathalie’s table. hey, go US.

see what i mean? the crust in that last photo of the blueberry pie is just brilliant—both festive and so easy; perfect for fourth of july. i could do that (and so could my mom, even in the heyday of our household capacity).

after the fruits there are chapters on cream and custard pies—everything from pumpkin (my favorite) to coconut and so many more i never thought of.

that apple cider custard pie is SO going on my list. this is one of the best things about this book—getting new ideas for future baking. while david tends to like repeating recipes he knows he likes, i love variety, so i compromise by trying new  variations of old favorites (yes, sometimes it “backfires” and i’m “stuck” with a whole pie or cake that only i like, haha).

and then there are the chapters on nuts and chocolate—well of course they require their own space; they might even require their own kingdom, but you can’t do that in a book.

i never really thought about it much, but was surprised to learn that there actually IS such a thing as goober pie; i guess i thought that was just a silly food in a song . . .

in fact, these chapters are rich with recipes for nut and chocolate pies that i had not even considered, but which i’m sure will make david (and our dear kimkimkim) weak at the knees. time to start planning her next visit . . .

i was extremely happy to see a chapter devoted to savory pies. much as i talk about sweet pies and love to bake them, we really are not much for eating desserts when we’re alone. but savory pies are a favorite for us, especially when looking for ideas to use garden offerings. and i know for you and many other friends, a great chicken pot pie is never a thing to turn down.

but savory pies do not just include quiche (though there are several yummy recipes included for that)—featured also are empanadas, galettes, and tarts made with all manner of vegetables and legumes. definitely a chapter that deserves more exploration on my part.

the book finishes with a roundup of garnishes, toppings, serving ideas, and storage advice. this is not to be missed—many pies fail at the very last by being served too hot or too cold, wrapped too tightly, or with a less than edible meringue on top.  included here is plenty of great information to make the perfect presentation and do the right thing with leftovers.

as usual, many illustrations are provided so you can see what they are talking about and make your own choices accordingly. i love that photo comparing the various washes; i’ve never seen them displayed side by side and now i can really see the differences between them.

pies and tarts is a terrific book, just one of the many i’ve read from the CIA collection. if you don’t know anything about baking pie but would like to, this would be a wonderful volume to obtain; there is great reading AND great recipes.

now, here’s the real dessert—nathalie has graciously offered a free copy of pies and tarts for a blog giveaway—yay!! if you’d like a chance to win it, leave a comment at the end of this post by 9 pm EDST on friday june 13th, naming your favorite pie (don’t paste in a link or it will go to the SPAM folder).  we will announce the winner soon after.

as for our own strawberry rhubarb piece of heaven, it was very well received despite its appearance; the flavor was divine, if i might say so myself (i mean let’s face it, the berries and rhubarb did all the work!). and now i know that next time, a bit of chilling will help contain that little problem of runnyness.

 

ok, i gotta dash to an appointment; i won’t even proofread for now; please forgive any typos in advance!