Fruits

Bunny wars (cont.)

| Green Card Gardener

I did not do my homework, or I was naïve, or both, thinking that the rabbits would leave my new strawberry patch alone. They are systematically eating their way through the rows. I should have known better – pet rabbits are given strawberry leaves as a treat. Fencing in the strawberry patch is out of the question because to really keep the bunnies out, the fence needs to be galvanized hardwire cloth, buried 6 inches in the ground and at least 3 feet high, like my vegetable garden. Even a stubborn gardener like me must admit that this is not economical for a strawberry patch, and very labor-intensive.

But I wasn’t ready to give up just as yet so as a last attempt (all products I have tried in the past did not work), I bought Plantskydd, an organic rabbit repellent from Sweden that is supposed to do miracles. With one leaf left on a plant, so I learned, the strawberries might survive the onslaught. If in a week or so, the new leaves are not chewed off, the stuff works. Until then, I am not getting my hopes up too high.

Fortunately, our neighbor, a part-time farmer, grows strawberries. He has supplied us with super-ripe strawberries twice this week. This strawberry cake was an impromptu operation so I used what I had on hand. For the lining of the crust, I made a small batch of strawberry jam of the ripest strawberries. Unless it’s top-quality or homemade, I find most strawberry jams nothing but sugary so this was more than a solution borne out of necessity.Strawberry Cake with Vanilla Custard

Crust:

¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (125 g) all-purpose flour

2½ level teaspoons baking powder

½ cup (100 g) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

3 tablespoons lemon agrumato olive oil (or lemon-infused olive oil)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 pinch salt

Filling:

1¼  to 1½ pounds washed and hulled strawberries

Strawberry jam for brushing

1 batch homemade vanilla pudding (recipe is on my other blog, Spoonfuls of Germany)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees Celsius). Line a 10-inch (25 cm) cake pan or springform pan with baking parchment and grease the sides.

2. Add all ingredients for the crust to a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until combined, then beat at high speed for 1 minute. Pour into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until firm and golden. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly then unmold onto a cake rack and let cool completely.

4. Brush the cake with jam.

5. Prepare vanilla pudding following recipe. Spread on cake while still lukewarm, leaving about ½ inch (1.25 cm) free all around to give the custard room to spread without dripping down the sides.

6. Wash and hull strawberries and arrange in an overlapping shingle pattern. Refrigerate and serve within a day.

Makes 1 cake 

Gooseberries: old ones out, new ones (almost) in

| Green Card Gardener

I used to treat gooseberries like other people treat a fine tablecloth or china – they don’t get taken out unless for special occasions. So all spring, I held onto the last bag of frozen gooseberries from last year: large light green, plump Invictas, perfect for cake or pie. But with the branches of my three gooseberries bushes loaded with fruit, which will ripen in late June/early July, all my restraint disappeared and I felt emboldened to roll it out. However, not for a cake but for chilled gooseberry soup.

Fruit soups are one of my favorite summer dishes. To give them more substance, I like them best with a little addition, like my Elderberry Soup with Farina Dumplings. For the gooseberry soup I wanted something lighter. I took my cues from floating islands and added bit of crunch by sprinkling them with toasted caramelized almonds. The soup should be eaten thoroughly chilled.

Many gooseberry recipes call for under-ripe gooseberries but for this soup they should be as sweet as possible, otherwise you will have to add much more sugar. As the gooseberries are put through a food mill, you can save yourself the effort to remove the tiny blossom ends and, if still attached, the stems, both of which are a bother in most gooseberry dishes. Please resist the temptation to puree the soup in the blender, as the crushed seeds will give the soup a coarse consistency and a slightly bitter taste.

Gooseberry Soup with Floating Islands and Almond Crunch

Soup:

1 pound 10 ounces ripe gooseberries

2 cups water

½ cup to ¾ cup sugar, to taste

Peel of ½ organic lemon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 thumbnail-size piece of ginger, peeled and chopped

3 tablespoons (3/4 ounce) cornstarch

Floating islands:

2 egg whites

Pinch of salt

Pinch of cream of tartar

A few drops of almond extract

2 ounces superfine sugar

Almond crunch:

1/3 cup unpeeled whole almonds

1 tablespoon sugar

1. For the soup, please all the ingredients except the cornstarch in a large heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until the gooseberries soften and pop, stirring occasionally. You may also crush them with the cooking spoon to fasten the process.

2. Pass the soup through the food mill (medium or fine disk). Pour the soup back into the pan.

3. Dissolve the cornstarch in a few tablespoons of cold water. Whisk it into the soup and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook until the soup turns clear again and thickens. Remove from the heat and cool, then chill.

4. For the floating islands, beat the egg whites with the salt and the cream of tartar until they are very stiff, gradually adding the superfine sugar.

5.Bring water to a boil in a very large deep pan or a wide pot. The floating islands should not touch each other when they poach so you might have to do this in two batches.

6. Reduce the water to a simmer. Using two dessertspoons, place small mounds of egg whites on the water. Poach for 3 minutes, then turn them over and poach for another 3 minutes on the other side. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a large plate or tray lined with wax paper. Refrigerate.

7. For the almond crunch, lightly toast the almonds in a pan. Add the sugar and caramelize, making sure not to burn it. Remove from the pan and let tool. Chop the almonds in the food processor using the pulse function.

8. To serve, whisk the chilled soup well. Place the chilled floating islands on top and sprinkle with almond crunch.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Long shortcut

| Green Card Gardener


I had wanted to make the Deep-Dish Rhubarb Pie from Sarah Leah Chase’s Open-House Cookbook for a long time. Yesterday I finally did it – it took several years for my two rhubarb plants to be strong enough to harvest at once the amount of rhubarb the recipe requires.

Chase’s cookbook is from 1987 and yet another proof that good cookbooks do not need stylish food photography, in fact, there is not a single photo except for the author’s, with an unmistakably 1980’s sweater and hairdo. The book came to me through my husband’s trousseau (he doesn’t cook).  It was one of the cookbooks his mother must have given to all of her children because I have spotted it on the cookbook shelves of my husband’s siblings.

This rhubarb pie is an adaptation of the recipe.

For the lattice crust, I decided to take a shortcut. Or so I thought, because I am not really good at making lattice crust, and I wanted to avoid lengthy fiddling with strips of dough while there is so much weeding, planting and pruning to do right now. Instead I cut out small cookies and placed them on top. This might have taken just as long as producing a lattice! At least I could be sure of a decent result.

Rhubarb can make a runny pie so depending on the freshness and thus moisture content of your rhubarb, you need to increase the amount of cornstarch in the filling. My pie was a bit on the runny side but I thought the filling is yummy as is, so I wouldn’t want to cut back on the amount of cassis, and rather adjust the amount of thickener next time.

Rhubarb Pie with Cassis

Filling:

2¼ pounds diced rhubarb (about 8 cups)

¾ cup Crème de cassis (black currant liqueur)

Grated zest of 2 organic oranges

A little less than 1½ cups (10 ounces) sugar

¼ cup (1 ounce) cornstarch, more as needed

Crust:

2½ cups flour

6 tablespoons cold butter

1/3 cup (2¼ ounces) shortening

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon powdered ginger

Pinch of salt

About 4 tablespoons ice water, as needed

1. The night before mix the rhubarb with the cassis and the orange zest in a non-corrosive container. Cover and refrigerate.

2. Cut the butter in chunks and put it in the food processor with the shortening, sugar, ginger and salt. Process until the mixture is crumbly and pebbly, then gradually add tablespoons of ice water and pulse until the dough forms a ball. Place the ball in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

3. Drain rhubarb and pour the liquid in a saucepan. Set the rhubarb aside. Whisk the sugar and the cornstarch into the liquid and slowing bring to a bowl, whisking constantly. Cook until it turns clear and thickens. Add more cornstarch, a tablespoon at a time, until you get a very thick consistency. Cook to turn clear after each addition, and only then add more cornstarch.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

5. Roll out half of the dough to a 12-inch circle to fit a 10-inch cake pan. Lightly spray the pan with baking spray and fit the dough into the pan, trimming the edges.

6. Mix the rhubarb with the thickened liquid and pour it into the pan.

7. Roll out the remaining dough and cut out small cookies of your fancy. Place them closely together on top the filling.

8. Bake the pie in the preheated oven for 55 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool completely before cutting.

Makes 12 servings

Strawberry patience test

| Green Card Gardener

It made me cringe when I pinched off two handfuls of flower buds from the 70 strawberries I planted in the new patch in April. But that’s what you are supposed to do in order to get stronger plants and a good crop next year. Alas, no strawberries this year! For now I can only dream of Rote Grütze, one of my favorite German desserts. Later in the season I will make it with raspberries, red currants and blueberries. The recipe can be found in my cookbook Spoonfuls of Germany.

The word “Grütze” is anything but appealing in German, meaning something like “grits”. Hence as a kid because I loved the dessert so much but disliked the name, I renamed it “nostalgia pudding”, as it was a very old-fashioned dessert back then. Rote Grütze has since made a huge comeback in Germany and is now available in all types of weird concoctions such as Rote Grütze tea. I stick with the classic.