Welcome to My Kitchen

Summertime is berry time. Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are most common. Strawberry Shortcake is a favorite of many and was the GoOdessa Summer Recreation Cooking with Laura selection this past week. Some folks like pound cake or sponge cake for the base, but a sweet biscuit base is more common. The sweet biscuit base was the most common among the younger bakers.

Sweet Biscuit Shortcake

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

1/2 cup shortening

6 Tbsp milk

1 egg, well beaten

2 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal.

In a small bowl, combine milk and egg, mixing until well blended.

Add milk mixture to dry ingredients and mix only until all flour is dampened. Knead gently on a floured surface for a few seconds.

Divide dough into 6 equal portions and gently form each into a 3 inch disk about 1/2 inch thick. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush the tops lightly with the melted butter. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and pans to cool on wire racks.

While shortcakes bake, prepare strawberries or other fruit. For strawberries, remove stems and slice. Sprinkle about 1 Tbsp granulated sugar per each cup of sliced berries. Let stand about 30 minutes to let juices begin to run. If berries are very firm, crush lightly with a potato masher.

If you would like real whipped cream, use a cold bowl and mixer beaters to whip 1 cup heavy whipping cream into soft peaks. Add 1/4 tsp vanilla and 1 Tbsp granulated sugar and continue beating about 30 seconds to thoroughly incorporate. Chill until ready to serve.

Assemble shortcakes, by splitting the sweet biscuit in half, spooning berries onto the bottom half, covering with the top half and topping with whipped cream.

Merleen Smith shared a recipe for Lemon Blueberry Pie Bars, she and her granddaughter Roxy made. Lemon zest is optional in this recipe, but for full lemon flavor, be sure to include it. Zest is the yellow part of the lemon rind and can easily be removed with the fine side of a kitchen grater.

Lemon Blueberry Pie Bars

Crust:

1 cup melted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

Lemon zest (optional)

2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until just moistened. Pat mixture into a foil lined and greased 9 x 9 inch baking pan, reserving 3/4 cup of the mixture for topping. Place in preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 18 minutes.

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

Lemon zest (optional)

5 ounces plain yogurt or sour cream (almost 2/3 cup)

2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups of blueberries.

In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese on high until smooth. Beat in sugar, then the eggs, one at a time. Add lemon zest, yogurt and lemon juice. Mix until smooth. Combine salt and flour and mix in.

Reserve a few of the blueberries for topping and fold the rest into the filling mixture. Pour over the baked crust. Crumble reserved crumbs over the filling and scatter the reserved blueberries over the crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Note: I divided the zest from the lemon between the two parts.

Homemade ice cream was served at a recent gathering in Reiman Park. The recipe used by both Merleen Smith and Pat Estes is easy to prepare but makes a very large batch, so you may want to cut the following recipe in half if you don’t have a 6 quart churn.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

4 cups whole milk

2 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

3 cups half and half

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

5 cups heavy whipping cream

Scald milk until bubbles form around the edge. Remove the pan from heat. Add sugar and salt and stir until completely dissolved.

Stir in Half and Half, vanilla and whipping cream. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes so the mixture is thoroughly cooled when you start churning.

Freeze as directed in the instructions for your ice cream churn. Yield: about 6 quarts.

This recipe works well for adding strawberries, peaches or other fruit. 5 to 6 cups is about the right amount of fruit to add.

Creamy Parmesan Pasta Salad is a knockoff recipe I created to duplicate the boxed pasta salad mix. The person who asked me about this wanted to avoid the preservatives in the purchased mix.

Creamy Parmesan Pasta Salad

4 cups cooked pasta

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots

1/4 cup chopped red pepper

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 Tbsp vinegar

1/8 tsp Accent

14 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp crushed rosemary

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp minced parsley

Place cooked pasta, cheese and vegetables in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly to make dressing. Stir dressing into pasta mixture. Cover and chill at least 1 hour before serving. Yield: 4 servings.

We would love to have recipes from the wider readership of the Record Times. Share your favorite summer recipes by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA, 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office, 1 West First Avenue, Odessa, WA A light, thin much of grass clippings or fine straw will help hold moisture in flower beds and gardens as summer temperatures climb.