Bake Some Pies with Fannie Farmer - Fresh Strawberry Pie

If you have been following my Instagram, you will know I have been planning to work on something here regarding the Fanny Farmer Baking Book.  Originally I thought I might do it Julie and Julia style and bake every recipe, but when I planned it all out I realized how ridiculous that looked.

Pretty much impossible!

The Fanny Farmer Baking Book has a lot of practical instruction for those who may just be beginning their foray into the world of baking.  I have done a fair amount of baking in my life, but it has been sporadic recipes and I don't feel that I have a handle on what really makes it work.  I am excited to work though this book and I have decided for now just to do the pie section.  It is still a daunting task!  There are over 100 recipes!  To do it in one year would mean a pace of at least two pies per week.  We'll see how I do.  There are lots of interesting crust recipes, and heritage pies from bygone days (Shaker Lemon, Shoofly, and Vinegar to name a few).  I have to say that I do already have a favourite basic pie crust recipe, so we'll have to see how these stack up.

The first recipe I chose to do was 'Fresh Strawberry Pie'.  This is not the same recipe as is printed on my cute pie plate, but I thought I had to use it since I was making strawberry pie!  I had planned to do the first recipe in the pie section first (Basic Master Recipe: American Apple Pie) since it is an overall basic pie recipe and includes most of the overall pie instructions, but apples are not at all in season right now, and strawberries are!

Look at these beauties!  Since moving from Surrey I have mourned the loss of being near to Driediger Farms for their strawberries and blueberries (they do grow other things but those were our favourites).  I am ever hopeful that my garden will be able to supply me with at least close to the amount of strawberries we eat as a family, but that seems destined to wait for at least another year.  Last year I managed to make some trips out to the berry farm while visiting family, but this year I wasn't quite sure how I was going to manage it.  Thankfully Davison Orchards in Vernon is not that far away.  We went last year several times for their apples and pumpkins, but I was glad to realize that they also do strawberries!  Beautiful strawberries!  We always love our visits there.  The produce is gorgeous, it is great for kids, the cafe has delicious food, and the bakery and gift shop are always worth a visit.

It rained a little bit on us, but there are many uses for a ring sling so Little Forager stayed nice and dry!

Anyway, regarding the pie crust, it was not much different from other recipes I have tried, but I did actually learn something that made it come together easily.  It was recommended to add the water a tablespoon at a time and stir it lightly with a fork.  You stop once there is enough moisture for the dough to come together.  I had to use a couple more tablespoons than the recipe called for, but I live in a really dry climate, so that wasn't surprising.  The result was a really workable, light, silky dough.  I'm going to try that method out with my old recipe and see if it makes it even better.  In other news, I really need to up my pie crust crimping game!

To make the filling half the berries were crushed and cooked with some cornstarch and sugar and the rest were stirred into that mixture fresh.  The berries go into the pre-baked crust.  After that whipped cream is spread over the top.

The end result - delicious.  One thing for me was that the pie was a bit too sweet.  The berries were such a beautiful quality that they didn't need much sugar to help them out.  The other thing was the filling didn't quite set up as much as I expected it to so when we cut the pieces they looked pretty sloppy.  I think after the leftovers have sat in the fridge for a few hours that will solve that issue.

Weekend Getaway to Calgary

This past weekend we made a trip through the Rocky Mountains to Calgary.  The main reason for the trip was my cousin's wedding in Red Deer, so we tacked a few vacation days on either side of the weekend and made it a bit of a bigger trip.  We have family in Calgary - and many places there that we like to visit.  Red Deer is close enough so we thought we would make our base in Calgary and commute to the wedding festivities.

We always love driving through the rockies.  Even when the weather isn't amazing the view is spectacular.  When we passed through it was cloudy and thunderstorms threatened.  Looking up at the shrouded peaks makes me feel so small!  I often think about how the early explores must have felt when they first caught sight of these massive rocks.  It is easy to forget that before our roads were paved people had to make their way through here on foot or horseback.  They had to brave the weather, and find their own path. 

After the wedding we made sure to stop at the HUGE Bass Pro in Airdrie.  Little Forager found the fish in their aquarium captivating. 

I am really excited because our reason for going there was to see if there was a reasonably priced reel that I could add to my vintage fishing rod.  At first I was so excited to have my own rod, and I loved the fact that it was vintage (and green!), but it turns out the reel is broken, so for now I have been sharing with Mr. Forager.  This is not our favourite arrangement, so I am happy to say that we found one, and it looks like now we can finally go fishing without taking turns.

As I said, the main reason we come to Calgary is our family.  It is hard to be far from them, but we make our way out there whenever we can.  These two are major inspirations for my gardening efforts!  They have taught me so much and are ready for any questions I might have. 

Little Forager loved story time with his Grand Nana.

While we are primarily there for family, the fact that these amazing doughnuts from Jelly Modern Doughnuts are only available in Calgary doesn't hurt.

Or this hibiscus sorbet from Village Ice Cream.

Eating Foraged Food - Lilac Ice Cream

So for some of us gathering lilacs can be either a wild, urban, or backyard foraging project.  In my area they are finished, but I think in some places - in Canada at least - they are still blooming.  If I am too late feel free to try this with other edible flowers.  I am going to be collecting some wild rose as soon as possible and trying this recipe again.  Where I live, it seems like everyone has lilacs in their backyards, but the plant has also naturalized to some extent and you can find the purple blossoms of syringa vulgaris dotting the ditches along roadsides.  Their fragrance is sweet, but their beauty is fleeting.  I think the blossoms only last for a couple weeks in their full glory. 

Our friends have the most lilacs I have ever seen in one yard and they grow so many varieties.  I almost missed out, but before all the blossoms were gone they sent us home with three shopping bags full of them!  I posted earlier about some of the things I made with them, but I felt this ice cream deserved its own special post. 

I had a dream to make some lilac ice cream.  I am not sure where I got the idea, but it was probably when I realized I had way more lilacs than I knew what to do with and I started madly googling what I could do with them.  I have been experimenting with my own ice cream recipes for quite a while, but with limited success.  It is so hard to get the consistency right!  I read up on message boards, checked other recipes, and troubleshooted until finally I stumbled upon David Lebovitz's recipe for vanilla bean ice cream.  I had seen a few specific recipes for lilac ice cream, but they didn't look like they would solve my problems so I gave this one a try, but instead of infusing the milk with a vanilla bean, I used about a cup of lilac blossoms. 

Finally!  Success at last!

I think I have found my new go-to ice cream recipe.  My next plan is to try some other flavours.  I won't post the recipe since it isn't mine and the only alteration I made was very small, but I seriously recommend trying this one if you are looking for a good basic ice cream recipe.  It is so important to have good ingredients though.  I am grateful to have access to good milk and cream in our local supermarkets, and gorgeous backyard hen eggs from a neighbour.  That seriously makes all the difference.  Don't skimp on the quality when it comes to eggs and dairy - you'll notice right away!

Do you have a favourite ice cream recipe or flavour?  Let me know in the comments!

Garden Salad and a Tip About Growing Root Veggies

On the first sunny day since our rainy long weekend it seemed right to eat a salad for lunch.  It also gave me an excuse to do a garden chore I hadn't quite got around to yet - thinning the beets!

My favourite thing to do when growing root veggies with edible greens is to purposefully plant them crowded.  Like super dense. I should have taken a photo.  Actually what I did was drop entire seed packets (in this case: radishes, beets, and some spinach) in a 3'x3' garden bed, rake them around, and cover with dirt.  Now that they are grown up a bit I am forced to thin them.  Normally I feel a bit sad thinning out my plants, but in this case I am excited because it's almost like getting a bonus crop.  Today I threw them in a gorgeous salad.  Tomorrow I might wilt some in scrambled eggs.

These radishes were getting on the larger side so I would likely sauté them or throw them in soup.

So many delicious options for something that would have otherwise been thrown in the compost heap (not that composting is ever a bad thing)!

Now about that beautiful salad.  I threw my beet greens in there, along with some lettuce from the Kamloops Farmer's Market.  Some walnuts, candied salmon from Haida Wild,  and a boiled duck egg from a neighbor went on top.  Here's my basic salad dressing recipe:

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HOW TO MAKE THIS

1. Combine roughly equal amounts of oil and some sort of acid (vinegar, lemon juice), in a bowl and whisk until emulsified.  For this salad I used olive oil and chive blossom vinegar (chive blossoms infused in white wine vinegar).
2. Add a blob of jam or jelly until you think it tastes right.  I used redcurrant jelly this time.
3. Add any other flavours you think might be good!  I taste and see what I think it needs.  You might want to add mustard or some fresh chopped herbs!  

Springtime is for Lilacs

In my area I am just about to be able to harvest a few things from my garden, but until then I am making do with other people's abundance.  Upon learning that a friend had copious amounts of gorgeous lilacs I asked if I could have some to experiment with as lilacs are in fact edible.

There are several things I have been working on in my experiments - some of which really deserve a blog post of their own, but here are a few things you can do with your lilacs:

• Lilac sugar
• Lilac syrup
• Lilac jelly
• Lilac ice cream
• Dried lilacs
• Candied lilacs
• Lilac meringues

Some of these are as simple as cramming some (dry) lilac blossoms in a jar with some sugar and some - like the ice cream - are more complicated.  In other news I have found my most favourite ice cream recipe and will be sharing that in the days to come!  Stay tuned!

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LILAC SUGAR HEARTS

1. Remove lilac blossoms from stems.  The stems are not poisonous, but get do not have a nice taste so you don't want that in your sugar.
2. Put large heap of lilac blossoms in mortar and grind with pestle into a juicy pulp.
3. Add white sugar until mixture is a damp consistency.
4. Press damp lilac sugar into molds and wait a few days until completely dry before removing.

I'm not totally sure where I will use these, but aren't they adorable!