Busy with Berries

I haven't been keeping up with my blog posts very well lately, and for that I apologize, but we've been fairly busy around here. Strawberry picking time has passed, and at one point last week we had over 13 pounds of strawberries in the house. I put about half of them in the freezer, and with the rest I made strawberry sorbet, my favorite raw peach cobbler only with fresh strawberries, and the same blueberry pie recipe I made multiple times last summer, again subbing the strawberries for blueberries.

I didn't take any photos, and since the recipes are essentially the same, just with strawberries instead of the intended fruit, I don't think separate blog posts are necessary. The sorbet being the exception, as I haven't featured a sorbet recipe on here yet, but that batch is long gone so it's too late to take pictures of it now. I will share the recipe, though. I found it on epicurious.com, and it's super easy. Remembering to put your ice cream maker bowl in the freezer the night before is really the hardest part.

Strawberry Sorbet

2 pints strawberries
1 1/4 cups simple syrup (2 cups water + 2 cups sugar, boiled and then simmered about 5 minutes)
2 tablespoons orange juice

All you do is purée the strawberries with 1/4 cup of the simple syrup in a food processor or blender until smooth, and then stir in the remaining syrup and the orange juice. Pour the mixture into the bowl of an ice cream maker and freeze until ready. I think mine took about 20 minutes, but time will vary depending on your machine. Store in airtight container in the freezer. It will firm up in there, so I let it sit out for a few minutes before serving.

I may try playing around with subbing maple syrup or another slightly healthier option for the sugar. I'll let you guys know if I have any luck with that.

Speaking of strawberries, did you know that June 14th is National Strawberry Shortcake Day? I know, it seems like everything has its day, or week, or month nowadays. But, the exciting thing is that Driscoll's (you've most likely seen their berries in the produce section of your local grocery store) is hosting a live Question and Answer session on their Facebook page with Cooking Light Magazine Contributor David Bonom on June 13 at 6 pm EST. So, pop by with your questions and ask away!

Plus, you'll also find promotions for National Strawberry Shortcake Day on the Driscoll’s Facebook and Twitter pages:

On Facebook: Driscoll’s is giving away Driscoll’s coupons, an iSi Whipper, and a Wilton round pan to four lucky winners! For more information, check out the Sweepstakes tab on their Facebook page. Winners will be announced on June 14th.

On Twitter: @Driscollsberry is giving away $200 worth of Driscoll’s coupons, an iSi Whipper, and a Wilton pie pan. To enter, follow @Driscollsberry and retweet "Celebrate Strawberry Shortcake Day and enter to win $200 in Driscoll’s coupons and baking tools! RT and follow @driscollsberry #DriscollsSSC." Winners will be announced on June 14th.

I'm planning on trying my luck with making gluten-free strawberry shortcake to honor the occasion, so if you have a favorite recipe you'd like to share, please feel free to post it (or a link to it) in the comments.

Summer is Almost Here!

This post is mainly for the locals, as it pertains to my cake decorating class schedule and some camps I'll be offering in June. Nothing like a little shameless self-promotion on a Thursday, right?

As you may know, I recently started teaching Wilton classes at the Hobby Lobby in Franklin. Right now, those classes meet on Saturday afternoons, and I'm working towards adding an evening class option at that location. I will update my Upcoming Class Schedule page once that's all finalized and official.

I still teach Wilton classes at the Brentwood/Cool Springs Michaels store. At the moment I only have classes scheduled there for Sunday afternoons, but there's another Wilton Instructor at that store who teaches night classes. I'm happy to offer weekday classes at that location if there's enough interest.

The really exciting news is that next month I'm teaching two different cake decorating camps at the Rec Center. These are for ages 12 and up and will meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons from 1:00 - 4:00.

• Essential Skills Camp meets on June 13, 15, and 17. We will focus on cake decorating basics and working with buttercream icing. Students also learn how to use color flow and royal icing, in addition to more advanced piping techniques.
• Rolled Fondant Camp meets on June 20,  22,  and 24, and it covers all the basics of working with rolled fondant. This fun and versatile icing is the perfect medium for expressing creativity. Students will learn how to cover and decorate a cake with rolled fondant, as well as how to make simple, hand-molded decorations and flowers. We'll also use a variety of tools to create stunning effects and realistic flowers.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about the classes or camps. Also, if there is something you're interested in learning how to do, but it isn't listed, let me know.

Blueberry Picking Time

Probably one of my favorite things to do in summer is to get fresh local berries. This morning we went to the pick-your-own blueberry farm and brought home just over 6 pounds of yummy summer goodness. Want to see our bounty?

Actually, that's only about half of our haul. I had to use two colanders to wash them all. So then I just needed to decide what to do with all those berries, while enjoying some as a snack, of course. I really wanted to try a gluten-free almond pie crust recipe I stumbled across several months ago, and the blueberry farm gave me a recipe for "Double Good Blueberry Pie" so I used that recipe for the filling.

All nut crumb crust (from my Whole Foods Recipe iPhone app):

2 1/4 cups finely ground blanched almonds

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup melted butter

2 TBSP pure maple syrup

All you do is mix everything together well and then press into a 9-inch pie plate. 

This pie required a pre-baked shell, so I baked it at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I don't know exactly how long because I forgot to set the oven timer when I first put the pie in, but it was more than 15 and less than 20. Once the shell is cool, then add the pie filling.

For the filling:

1/2 cup sugar (the recipe called for 3/4 cup, but these berries are plump and sweet)

3 TBSP cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

4 cups blueberries (1 1/2 pounds), divided

1/4 cup water

1 TBSP butter

1 TBSP lemon juice

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in saucepan. Add water and 2 cups of the blueberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and butter. Set aside to cool.

To assemble pie, Place remaining 2 cups of berries in cooled pie shell. 

Top with cooled cooked berries. Chill. Eat and rejoice!

Oh, and I also made some gluten-free blueberry mini muffins, but I'm not at all happy with how those came out. That recipe is going to need a bit more work, or perhaps I should just look for a better one.

Don't worry, I have plans for raw, or at least slightly more healthy, blueberry treats to share!

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