Fresh from the Garden: Raspberry Bars

We grow the Heritage variety of red raspberries. Heritage produces two crops of berries, one in June and one in September. If you cut the canes back in late fall/winter, however, it will produce one, larger crop in the fall. That is our preferred method of management which means that we are still in the midst of our raspberry harvest.

I've used a lot of our raspberries to make the following recipe for raspberry bars. Beware! The recipe makes a large amount of these very rich, completely irresistible bars. There's something about that tang you get from the fresh raspberries that makes these bars addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you if you find your pants a little snug the day after you make these!

Raspberry bars

Raspberry Bars (slightly adapted from this recipe on allrecipes.com)

1-1/2 c. sugar
1 t. baking powder
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1/2 c. coconut oil (You can substitute shortening for this, if you wish.)
1/2 c. shortening
1 egg
4 c. fresh raspberries
3 t. cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 13x9 inch pan.

Combine 1 cup of the sugar, the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in the coconut oil and shortening and then blend in the egg. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan.

Combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch and berries. Place mixture over dough in pan. Crumble the remaining dough over the tops of the berries.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes or until the top is slightly brown.              

Fresh from the Garden: Tomato-Jack Salad

This recipe couldn't be easier, and yet it is one of my family's favorite ways to eat vine-ripe tomatoes. My mom came up with this combination 20+ years ago and we've been consuming it in mass quantities ever since. The zesty dressing, sweetly acidic tomatoes, and the creamy spice of the cheese are wonderful together.

I'm happy to share with you one of my family's secret recipes. Just promise me you won't try this with bland, grocery store tomatoes, OK? That would be a sacrilege. :)

I used Roma-type tomatoes because that is all I had at the moment. Slicer-type
tomatoes are much better, but, trust me, this was still pretty good. 

Tomato-Jack Salad

Ripe tomatoes
Pepper Jack Cheese
Italian dressing (If I'm using bottled dressing, prefer to use one that is labeled "zesty" or "robusto". It enhances the spicy kick.)

Alternate slices of tomatoes with thin slices of pepper jack cheese. Drizzle dressing over the top. You can serve immediately, or let it sit for a bit to increase the lusciousness.

Fresh from the Garden: Basil Pesto

It's the world's klutziest woman checking back in. :) I got a new accessory today - an arm sling.Turns out I separated my right shoulder and I get to have my arm in a sling for a month while it heals. And, yes, I am right-handed. Thankfully, I have plenty of Advil in my stockpile (that I got for free with coupons, thank you very much!) and I still have a sense of humor about the whole thing. Sometimes if you don't laugh, you'll cry.

With that out of the way, here's the latest edition to my "Fresh From the Garden" recipe collection - pesto. I know, I know. Pesto isn't exactly new and innovative. But when it is made with garlic and basil from your own garden - oh. my. gravy. So delicious! My kids practically lap it up. 

This pesto recipe is the best one I have found. The simple step of blanching the garlic keeps it from being too strong and overpowering. The spicy basil and pungent garlic are in perfect balance with the creamy pine nuts. Dang it. I've made myself drool just typing this.

Pesto fresh from the food processor

Basil Pesto
Adapted from The Best Recipe  (An A+ cookbook that I highly recommend.) 

3 medium garlic cloves (unpeeled)
1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted (In a pinch, I've used almonds, walnuts, or even pecans)
2 c. packed basil leaves
7 T. extra virgin olive oil
Salt
1/4 c. finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Thread the garlic cloves on a skewer. Lower skewered garlic into a pot of boiling water. Boil for 45 seconds and then run garlic under cold water to stop the cooking. Remove from the skewer, peel, and mince.

Place basil in a freezer bag. Pound with something heavy (I use the flat side of my meat tenderizer) until the leaves are bruised. This step really intensifies the basil flavor.

Place all ingredients except cheese in work bowl of food processor; process until smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in cheese plus salt to taste.

Yield: Enough pesto for 1 lb pasta

Note: If you are using this pesto on pasta, save back a cup or so of the pasta cooking water and add it to the pesto. This loosens up the pesto just enough and the starch in the cooking water helps the whole thing "meld".

Penne alla pesto - yummers!

Fresh From the Garden: Cucumbers in Dressing

This is a recipe my mother-in-law makes frequently during the summer for family get-togethers. It's sweet, creamy, and has a nice zip from the vinegar and dill.

I used green onions, dill, and cucumbers from our garden. Hubby Dear teased
me that I was a slacker for not making the mayo from scratch, too! 

Cucumbers in Dressing

1 c. mayo
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
4 t. white vinegar
1 t. chopped fresh dill
3 green onions, chopped
4-6 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced

Mix together the first four ingredients in a large bowl. Gently stir in the remaining ingredients and chill for at least an hour before serving.

Fresh From the Garden: Blackberry Cobbler

I apologize for the formatting issues you may see on this and other recent posts. I'm having issues with Blogger working, period, much less formatting correctly.
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I'm starting a new category of posts - Fresh From the Garden. These posts will feature recipes that are based on seasonal garden produce. Many of them will also be food storage-friendly.





Blackberries! We're getting inundated and I love it!


Now that I've canned 24 half-pints of blackberry jam*, I've started freezing pint containers of blackberries for cobblers. Here is a quick and easy cobbler recipe that my family really enjoys.




Fresh out of the oven and ready to devour



Blackberry Cobbler
Slightly adapted from this Betty Crocker recipe

2 1/2 cups blackberries
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. milk
A dash of vanilla extract
A stick of butter, melted


In a medium bowl, stir together blackberries and sugar. Let stand about 30 minutes or until fruit syrup forms. My firm, fresh berries needed a little help releasing their juice, so I had to gently press a few of them to get the syrup going. If you are using frozen, thawed berries, you may not need to do that. Preheat oven to 375°F.

In another medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, milk, and vanilla. Stir in melted butter until blended. Spread in ungreased 8-inch square pan. Spoon blackberry mixture over batter.


Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until dough rises and is golden.



*If you want to track my progress, check out the "Harvest 2011" box in my sidebar. I'm keeping a tally of what I add to my pantry or freezer from our garden.