Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake – a classic summer treat in the USA.  When the strawberries are at their perfect pitch of sweetness and abundantly available, as they are now in many parts of the world as well as here in Finland, it’s time to gather yourself a nice big pile of them to pour over this shortcake.

It’s something that is often served up around this time of the year:  the days surrounding the Fourth of July and the related picnics, fireworks shows, grilling parties and other Independence Day celebrations. Add a few blueberries in with the strawberries and you’ve got a dish as red, white and blue as the good old American flag.

Typically, strawberry shortcake is served up on nice little plates with a cup of coffee or tea on the side and eaten close to a place that provides refrigeration and electricity because one of the key ingredients here is freshly whipped cream.

But…

…it’s summer, so I say take the fun with you in a jar and shake it up in a place more exciting than your dining room or backyard.  With a little prep in advance, you too can enjoy these treats in fresh air with sea views, and hopefully, with great company as well.

For the enjoyment of this treat, we planned an weekday evening trip to Suomenlinna, located on a group of islands just of the coast near Helsinki.  Built in the middle of the 18th century during the Swedish rule of Finland as a maritime fortress and a base for the Archipelago fleet, Suomenlinna is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of Finland’s most popular tourist destinations.  And with good reason.  Easily accessible from the city by water ferry, with a permanent population of around 800 people, it’s a delightful place to spend an afternoon or an evening enjoy the beauty of the Finnish archipelago.

For the shortcake part, I turned to my trusty Joy of Cooking and used the classic currant scones recipe there with minor modifications.  (If you are looking for an excellent, all-around cookbook that covers nearly everything, Joy of Cooking is definitely it.  I’ve used mine for years and years, adding notes in the margins and have been inspired over and over again.)

Cut the shortcake into triangles

Bake and cool

I washed, trimmed and cut the strawberries at home, and stored them in a tightly sealed plastic container for the ferry ride to Suomenlinna.  I chilled a 3/4 liter/quart glass jar, poured in a quarter cup of fresh whipping cream for two people, and sealed it tightly with a lid, popped it in a thermal bag along with ice packs and a little jar with coffee cream.  The shortcakes are prepped and baked in 15 minutes; cool them for 10 minutes on a wire rack in open air, pack them up in a breathable paper bag and you’re off.

If you live in Helsinki, get yourself, your friend(s) and your picnic down to the Helsinki harbor near Kauppatori.  If you haven’t had time to buy strawberries yet, you can pick them up from one of the vendors here before you head out.

Water ferry approaching Suomenlinna

You can ride the ferry for the price of a metro ticket, or just use your metro pass if you already have one.  It’s a beautiful 15 minute or so float out to Suomenlinna, a great place for a picnic all spring, summer and fall long.  The boat is typically full of people out to enjoy the scenery and peaceful atmosphere.  But don’t worry, the island is large and there are abundant walking paths out to a spot saved up just for you.  There is a new grocery store just off to the right of the harbor, so if you haven’t already picked up your cream, you can buy it here, along with most basics you might need for a picnic.

Viking Line passing through the archipelago

Enjoy an afternoon or an evening watching the boats come and go as you sip coffee from your thermos and satisfy your sweet tooth with this lovely summer treat.

For my American friends, dig into this as you wait for the fireworks show to begin.  Happy Fourth of July!

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake with freshly whipped cream
I used 2 of the scones for 2 people and brought along the appropriate amount of strawberries and cream.  The remaining scones are excellent the next day served up with a little jam – or of course, you can just make shortcake again!

You’ll need:
Whole wheat scones (recipe below) – makes 8
Fresh strawberries, washed, cored & sliced – 2 quarts/liters for 8 people
Freshly whipped cream – 1/2 pint/2 dl for 8 people

Grab your jar of chilled whipping cream, make sure the lid is tightly secured, and start shaking.  Shake vigorously.  Get that cream moving around in the jar.  Put some joy into it.  Check your progress every now and again – you want a nice, softly drooping whipped cream, not stiff, and definitely not butter.

When your cream is properly whipped into a fluff…

Slice each scone in half and lay them face up on a plate.  Top with sliced fresh strawberries and spoonfuls of fresh cream.  Look out across the distance at the view.  Dream of spending days like this in Hawaii in January.  Breathe deeply.  Take another bite. Enjoy the summer and the moment while they last.

Serves 8.

Whole wheat scones
adapted from Joy of Cooking’s  Classic Currant Scones recipe

In a medium-sized bowl, combine:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add
6 tablespoons / 90g chilled butter, cut into pieces

With a fork or a pastry cutter, mix the butter into the flour mixture until butter pieces are the size of peas and are well incorporated.

In a small bowl combine:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream or buttermilk
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 

Pour the cream mixture over the flour mixture and combine with a fork until it starts to come together.  With your hands, fold and press the mixture together against the sides of the bowl until it forms a ball.

Turn the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Divide the dough into two equal portions.  Flatten each portion into a round disk and make a cross cut with a knife to form 4 equal triangles from each disk.  Separate the scone triangles so they are spaced at least 1 inch /2.5 cm apart.

Bake until they are golden brown; 12 -15 minutes.

Makes 8 scones.

Beluga Lentil Salad with Avocado, Apple and Summer Herbs

People, I have the salad for you and all of your summer expeditions!

It’s summer, so portable food is on my mind all of the time.  If we’re heading out the door for a day of adventure, I’m thinking about what we’re going to eat when we stop to take a lunch break.  I mean hey, a girl’s gotta eat, and I like my food to taste good no matter where I am.

When you’re packing food that’s going to be stuffed in a backpack or cooler and then hanging out and jostled for several hours before you sit down and eat it, you don’t want something that’s too fussy about temperature, nor something that’s going to fall apart.

A lunch of Beluga Lentil Salad with Avocado, Apple and Summer Herbs as the fog lifts

There’s another problem in the summer:  since we are on the go so much, I don’t keep the fridge full of ingredients, because chances are good that we won’t be home to eat them.  So on a recent weekend trek, while scrounging through the last dregs of raw ingredients in fridge, cupboard, and freezer, I came up with this salad that has since become a favorite.  It’s easy to make and can be served at room temperature or chilled, which means you can make it the day before and eat out of your fridge for lunch or dinner, or you can pack it in sealed container in your backpack, let it bounce along as you hike the trails out to the sea, and then dine al fresco watching the swans swim calmly and gracefully while the seagulls soar, dip, beg and squawk overhead.

Swans near Porkkalanniemi, Kirkkonummi, Finland

We took this picnic out to Porkkalanniemi, a natural reserve in Kirkkonummi on the edge of the sea about one hour’s drive from Helsinki.  There are 40 hectares of trails out there, and I would guess from the little green berries and bright flowers on the bilberry, raspberry, lingonberry and wild strawberry bushes, that those who like to forage will be well-rewarded in this area in a couple of weeks when everything is ripe.  If you want to take something to grill, there are covered grilling areas for public use.

Take a swimsuit and test the summer waters – it’s a lot warmer than it looks!

Time for a swim – Finnish summer at it’s finest!

If you are into bird watching, grab your binoculars and head out to the rocky shoreline of Porkkalanniemi – it’s a rewarding and peaceful place to watch your feathered friends at work and play.

Wild Roses bloom along the rocky shoreline

Back to the salad:  I used Beluga lentils here because they keep their shape when cooked and have a great texture and a beautiful color that looks good mixed in with the vegetables.  Apple adds a sweetness, Red Pepper a splash of color and flavor, Avocado a smoothness, and the mint and parsley add a summer freshness that plays well with the other flavors. The lemon juice and olive oil combine together to form a simple dressing with the added bonus of taking the biting edge off of the onion and preventing the apple and avocado from browning.

Take 20 minutes to make this salad, then head out the door for some more summer fun.  Let the good times roll.

Beluga Lentil Salad with Avocado, Apple and Summer Herbs

Beluga Lentil Salad with Avocado, Apple & Summer Herbs

In small pot combine:
1 cup Beluga lentils, rinsed
3 cups water
1/2 tsp salt. 

Bring to a boil; reduce to simmer; simmer 20 minutes, then drain in a colander and rinse with cold water.

In a medium sized bowl combine:
3/4 cup loosely packed parsley, chopped
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
1 medium-sized red pepper, chopped
1 ripe avocado, chopped
1 medium sweet, firm apple, chopped (fresh pineapple would be excellent as well)
juice of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

Stir to combine and allow the mixture to rest while the lentils cook.  When the lentils are done, add them to the vegetable mixture and stir well to combine.

Serves 4.

Great for picnics, hikes and day trips.  Can be easily doubled or tripled.

Kicked-up ketchup goes really well with burgers, and with new potatoes too

Here’s what summer means to me:  Sun, warm weather, beach days, cabin days, lazy days, volleyball, hiking, kayaking, berry-picking, fresh garden vegetables, grilling, burgers, ketchup.

Ketchup.  A lot of you have a bottle of this stuff in your fridge this time of year, I would guess, particularly if you own a grill and ever choose to fire it up to grill up a burger.  Just in time for the Fourth of July celebrations in the USA, and before your summer grilling thrills are over, I bring you a new way to enjoy ketchup.  Make it yourself, and add a kick.

America’s, and perhaps the world’s favorite ketchup is Heinz.  As one of my favorite writers Malcolm Gladwell describes very well in his 2004 article for the New Yorker Magazine taste tests have shown that while people’s preferences differ on many types of food, for some reason, this isn’t true with Ketchup.  Most people prefer the same flavor in ketchup and studies have shown that this flavor is epitomized in a bottle of Heinz.  Further research has indicated that this is because of the level of umami in Heinz – the little extra something that satisfies the palate and keeps us dipping our french fries and slathering it on our burgers, sometimes eggs, occasionally potato chips (yes I’ve seen it – who am I to judge?  There are even ketchup-flavored potato chips available in some parts).

Kicked-up Ketchup and a summer burger

Ketchup has a wonderful and familiar flavor that is a part of summer for me.  I’ve used as part of a BBQ sauce for BBQ pork ribs as well as in the traditionally way to dress a beef burger.   And I’ve always used Heinz.  So why would I bother to make my own ketchup?   It’s just that I like to make my own food if possibly because I enjoy the fun of the challenge.  And I like to know what exactly goes into my food, and making my own allows me to choose organic over non, and honey over sugar, etc.

This time I started with tomato sauce, not raw tomatoes, and added an extra happy kick using chili flakes.  The hot bite here is noticeable, but not overwhelming, and becomes quite addictive after a few bites.  The sauce takes a while to cook down to the desired consistency, but requires very little attention, so it’s great to put on some evening after dinner while you enjoy some relaxing time and let this sauce bubble and do it’s thing for a couple of hours.  The recipe below makes 4 cups / 1 liter, which ought to last you a little way into the summer at least.  It will keep well in the fridge for 2-3 months.

If you don’t like the flavor or heat of chili, you can still enjoy this ketchup without the kick by reducing or omitting the chili flakes.  If you think this will make more ketchup than you need, feel free to cut the recipe in half.  As it is, it makes for a pretty addictive condiment.

You can judge for yourself if you like this stuff, or whether you prefer to stick to your bottle of Heinz.  As for me, I’ll be pulling out this jar to dress up burgers and fries all summer long.

Enjoy every delicious bite.  Add a little more Kicked-up Ketchup with a spoon.  Take another bite…

Kicked-up Ketchup

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 – 680g jars or 6 cups organic Tomato Passata or tomato sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon soy sauce, optional (preferably Tamari)
1/4 cup packed honey or brown sugar 
1 teaspoon ground coriander

In a medium, heavy-bottom pot, heat the olive oil and then add the garlic and onion.  Saute until the onions are translucent and tender – 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients, stir well, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cover with a lid, but keep the lid ajar so that steam can escape.  You are trying to reduce the moisture in the pot so that you get a thick sauce, but the ketchup likes to splatter and the lid helps keep splattering to a minimum

Cook at a simmer for 90 min – 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches your desired consistency.  Taste.  Add more salt and pepper if desired.  Strain through a fine-mesh sieve or food mill to remove the chunks.  Store in glass containers, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Makes 4 cups / 1 liter.