For the Love of Berries (and Summer)

Can fresh berries from the garden make up for months and months of cold and snow? Lately, I am beginning to think yes. Winter was particularly cruel this year, and summer has been rainy and cool, but the berry crop has been absolutely fantastic. We spent the weekend at the cottage and when we came home the canes were laden with berries. After picking I weighed the berries--the total was 6 1/4 pounds! That was enough for 8 jars of jam and a cookie sheet worth of berries for the freezer.
This year we are also enjoying wild blueberries. Last year the birds harvested the berries before I could, but a strategically placed net has thwarted them this year. I only have a small patch in the backyard that yields about 1.5 cups of berries every week. The first crop went into some pancakes, the second into some banana hemp muffins. Speaking of pancakes, I tried the slow-rise pancakes from Vegan Yum Yum. They are totally awesome and worth the extra planning it takes to make them.

I will be back soon with an actual recipe and less gloating about summer berries.

Raspberry Syrup

Did I mention that I am drowning in raspberries? Not a bad thing, I suppose. I thought I would try my hand at a raspberry syrup, mainly for flavouring lemonade this summer. This is pretty serious stuff and little goes a long way as you can see by the deep red colour--a spoonful or two will flavour a tall glass of lemonade. It is not too sweet and still maintains the punch of a fresh raspberry. It is rather thin, so if you want to drizzle it over pancakes, cook some of the syrup with water, sugar, and a thickening agent (arrowroot, perhaps). I made a lot, so half the recipe if you so desire.

INGREDIENTS
Makes 4.5 cups
- 6 cups raspberries
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cups sugar

METHOD
1. Crush berries in a saucepan, add water and lemon juice. Bring to bubbling over med-hi heat and cook for 1 min, stirring constantly.
2. Pass mixture through a fine sieve, using the back of a spoon to get all the liquid out.
3. Place liquid back in the saucepan and add sugar. Bring to boiling and cook for 1 min, stirring constantly (be careful not to over boil).
4. Transfer into a glass jar and cool.

NOTE: if you pour the syrup into a sterilized canning jar and seal, it is hot enough to create a vacuum seal. You might want to seal several smaller jars to use throughout the summer.

Raspberry Ripple Ice Cream

One of the things I love about my house is the plethora of raspberry canes in the backyard. I really am not a very good gardener (and the cool northern summers don't help either) which is why I love raspberries. They thrive in our sandy soil and never need watering or fertilizing. Every year the canes provide hundreds and hundreds of raspberries, and we thank them for it. After making 12 jars of jam, I turned my attention to ice cream. The ripple here is actually an old-style jam; the kind people made before commercial pectin. Boiling the fruit activates the natural pectin and turns the sauce into jam. This is a pretty intense jam which does not freeze solid, which I think helps deliver more raspberry flavour.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 recipe vanilla ice cream (cheaper version), made with 1/2 the vanilla
- 1 cup mashed raspberries
- 1/2 cup sugar

METHOD
1. Heat crushed raspberries in a saucepan over med-hi heat, until bubbling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pass though a very fine sieve, using the back of a spoon to mash the pulp and squeeze all the liquid out.
2. Place liquid back in the saucepan and add sugar. Heat to boiling over med-hi heat. Cook for 8-10 mins, stirring constantly. You want the mixture to thicken and coat the spoon you are stirring with. You will notice that the bubbles will begin to bubble within the mixture, rather than bubbling up the sides of the saucepan (if that makes sense). If you are a jam maker, the mixture should "sheet" off a cold spoon.
3. Cool mixture overnight in the fridge, covered.
4. When making the ice cream, drizzle raspberry mixture in for the final 3 churns, or so. You want the ice cream to be solidified before you add in the jam.

SIDE NOTE ON FREEZING FRUIT
Are you burdened with bushels of extra fruit this summer? More than you can possible eat? Freezing is a great idea and makes for a great addition to smoothies throughout the year. When freezing fruit, lay it out on a cookie sheet and stick in the freezer. When frozen, transfer to a container or bag. This way the fruit freezes as separate pieces (instead of one solid mass), making it easy to get just a few pieces out when you need them.

Grilled Portabello and Onion Sandwich

The only thing better than sourdough bread is toasted sourdough bread. The crispy and crunchy outside contrasting with the soft inside just makes for a perfect sandwich. Tonight's recipe is nothing special, but it sure is tasty. And, it is a meal you can make on the BBQ on one of those hot summer days when you want to stay out of the kitchen.

INGREDIENTS
Makes 4 sandwiches
- 4 large portabello mushrooms
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/3 cup marsala, or red, wine
- salt and pepper
- 1 large sweet onion, skin on
- 8 slices sourdough bread, lightly brushed with olive oil on one side

METHOD
1. Remove stem and wash mushrooms. Mix together oil, garlic, and wine in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place mushrooms in a shallow dish, cap down. Toss mushrooms in marinade, and spoon excess into the mushroom's gills.
2. Heat BBQ to med-hi. Place whole onion on the grill and cook for about 15 mins, turning regularly.
3. Grill mushrooms, cap down, for about 10 mins, until softened. I grill mine cap down until marinade cooks down inside then gills (8 mins, or so). Then I flip and grill for about 2 mins.
4. When mushrooms are done, thickly slice. Peel onion using tongs, and thickly slice.
5. Grill sourdough, oiled side down, for a min or so over high heat, until nicely toasted. Assembly sandwiches (I added some Vidalia relish and a splash of Vegenaise).

Italian Sub, Veggie Style

I decided to make some submarine buns today (or hoagie rolls, whatever you want to call them) but wanted to steer away from the rather obvious seitan route when filling them. Instead I went with a "bruschetta meets grilled veggies" route for a different spin on an Italian sub. If you have leftover sandwiches, wrap them up tightly in waxed paper and refrigerate--the flavours will meld together and the veggies really do taste great cold. Perfect for lunch at work.

INGREDIENTS
Makes 2 foot long sub sandwiches
- 2 foot long submarine buns
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1 tsp basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 small eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/8" slices
- 2 small zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/8" slices
- 1 red pepper, roasted
- 10 cremini mushrooms
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- sliced tomato
- shredded lettuce

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for 5-7 mins until softened. Add vinegar and tomatoes and stor well. Cook until liquid has cooked off. Season with basil and salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. While tomato mixture is cooking, toss eggplant and zucchini in some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on a BBQ over medium heat until soft, turning regularly. Roast the pepper at the same time. Skin, seed, and slice when done.
3. Toss mushrooms in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. BBQ cap side down until water has been released. Remove from grill, thickly slice, and mix with smoked paprika.
4. Assemble sandwiches. Spread a thick layer of the tomato mixture on the bottom bun. Top with red pepper, then eggplant, then zucchini, then mushrooms. Top that with tomato slices and lettuce. Top with bun and enjoy!

ON SUBMARINE BUNS
The buns are Peter Reinhart's Italian bread recipe (p. 172). I subbed the biga with 180z of sourdough starter, then reduced the liquid by about 2 tbsp (add slowly until dough forms). I brushed the final buns with soy milk and baked for 15 mins at 450 degrees.