Simple Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Glaze

Lately all I've been wanting to eat is cake.  I daydream about cupcakes piled high with frosting, layers of chocolate and cream, caramel sauce, raspberries. lemon curd.  I've been firing up my oven at bedtime to make a quick batch of brownies and almost bought a box of crunch donuts from the grocery store last week.  I am pregnant.

Since I've been rather absent here for the last few weeks, it should come as no surprise that I really haven't been doing much cooking.  Nothing I really want to share with you, or even admit to.  But now I'm feeling better and more energetic every day, and I've even started stocking my fridge with vegetables again! 

Pregnant or not, most of us could stand to eat a little healthier.  I'm not saying that the following recipe is actually good for you, but it certainly is better for you than some of the alternatives.  The pumpkin makes the cake very moist and rich-tasting, despite the fact that there is less fat and sugar in there than in other cakes.  The glaze adds a sugary, buttery flavour without being piled half an inch thick.  The recipe makes enough batter for 1 cake and a dozen muffins to freeze and dole out in lunchbags.

If you're energetic, try roasting your own pumpkin or buttercup squash, it will make the very best cake.  You will note that this recipe uses a whole large can of pure pumpkin, rather than leaving you with leftovers. 

This time last year: Roasted Moroccan Carrot Salad

Simple Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Glaze
makes 1 cake and 12 muffins

2 C. Sugar (I use Just Us!)
1 C. Canola Oil
6 Eggs
1 T. Vanilla
3 C. cooked and mashed Pumpkin  (or 1 large can)
4 C. Flour (try 2 C. white and 2 C. whole wheat)

4 t. Baking Soda
2 t. Baking Powder
2 t. Cinnamon
1 t. Ginger
1/4 t. Cloves
1/2 t. Salt

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Butter a bundt or other large cake pan, and a 12 cup muffin tin (or use paper liners).  In a large bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.  Add the pumpkin and whisk to combine well.  In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, and whisk just until combined.  Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full, then scrape the remaining batter into the cake pan.  Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes and the cake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes clean.  Let cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan.  Make the glaze, then drizzle it over the cake and muffins.

for the Brown Butter Glaze

2 T. Butter
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
1/4 C. Milk
1 1/2 C. Icing Sugar

Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  Watch as it melts, bubbles, and begins to brown.  Whisk in the brown sugar, cook another 30 seconds, than remove from the heat and beat in the milk and icing sugar.

Pears

Pears are not my favourite fruit. I'm embarassed to tell you that the first time I enjoyed a pear, it was canned. In syrup. However, I have really come to appreciate pears, sliced raw alongside good crackers and cheese (That Dutchman's Dragon's Breath is my favourite right now), baked with apples in a crumble pie, poached in red wine with raspberries, and even roasted on a pizza with duck confit and bleu cheese. I've even gone so far as to come up with my own version of a Pear Upside Down Cake, baked in a cast iron skillet.

Pear trees abound in the Valley, and their early blossoms brighten up what can be a slow start to spring. In the cool of autumn, pears baked into warm desserts are homey and comforting. I'm waiting for a really nice cold day to try out an Apple and Pear Crostada. I'll ask Sean to build a fire and when the kids get off the bus, a warm treat will be waiting for them.

Beautiful local pears are available in stores and farmers markets right now. Noggins Corner grows 13 varieties including Bosc, Sheldon, Conferens, Bartlett and Flemish Beauty. Pears will ripen quickly if stored at room temperature, so store most of your purchase in the fridge and remove a few at a time for fresh eating. For baking, pears are fine straight from the fridge.

Roasted Pears

Serve these sliced with cheese and crackers, or with a drizzle of honey and a spoonful of vanilla yogurt.

They are also delicious with pancakes or hot cereal (and a weird but excellent pizza topping with bleu cheese).

4 firm-ripe Pears, any variety

Canola Oil

Preheat oven to 350°. Peel the pears and cut in half. Using a melon baller or small spoon, remove the core neatly. Place the pears in a small baking dish and rub all over with a little oil. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until softened and beginning to brown around the edges. Let cool and serve right away, or refrigerate tightly covered until needed.

Pear and Ricotta Upside Down Cake

Ok, I only partly made it up. The cake part is really a recipe for “Vanilla Ricotta Muffins” from Sunshine Cafe, an excellent breakfast cookbook from Mollie Katzen. Therefore, eating this cake for breakfast is fully justified.

1 T. Butter

3 Pears, peeled, cored and sliced thickly

¼ C. Maple Syrup or Brown Sugar

1 ½ C. Flour

½ C. Dry Milk Powder

½ t. Salt

1 ½ t. Baking Powder

½ C. Sugar

¼ t. Cinnamon

1 C. Ricotta or Cottage Cheese

½ C. Milk

2 Eggs

1 T. Vanilla

¼ C. Melted Butter

Whipped Cream or Vanilla Yogurt for serving

Preheat oven to 350°. Heat a 9 or 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat and throw in the butter. When it melts, add the pears. Cook the pears, stirring gently and often, for 8-10 minutes, until slightly softened. Drizzle in the syrup or sprinkle in the brown sugar and cook another minute. Remove the pan from the heat. In a large bowl, combine the flour, milk powder, salt, baking powder, sugar and cinnamon. In a second bowl, whisk together the cheese, milk, eggs, vanilla and butter. Add the ricotta mixture to the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until just combined. Arrange the pears in the pan so they are in an even layer and pour the batter over them. Place the pan in the middle of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until firm and browned. Cut into wedges and invert each onto a serving plate, topping with whipped cream (flavoured with a grating of fresh nutmeg if you like).

Pumpkins and Squash

Last week I stopped at Forsyths's Farm Market just outside of Berwick to buy some pumpkins and gourds for decorating and was happy to see that Brice had grown some gorgeous Warted Hubbard squashes. Hubbards are huge and have a surprisingly delicious dark orange flesh. For $3.99, one could have all the squash a family could eat for months!

Large squash like these are a trick to break into, but a large knife and some care and patience will help. Once you've cut the squash into large pieces, discard the seeds and stringy pulp and cut away the peel with your knife. Pile the pieces into a roasting pan, cover with foil and bake at 350° until falling-apart tender. Pass the pieces through a food mill or process until smooth. Use some right away, and freeze the rest in 2 to 4 cup portions in freezer bags. I like to flatten the bags so they stack neatly in my freezer. Use your squash in “pumpkin” pies, in soups, cakes, or any recipe calling for squash or pumpkin puree.

Brice (King of Squash) Forsyth also had Sweet Mama, Ambercup, Acorn, Butternut, Buttercup and Sweet Dumpling squashes on display in bins, along with Pie Pumpkins. Many of these winter squashes store very well in a cool place for a few months, but they can also be frozen for longer storage. Simply cut in half, scoop away seeds and place face down on a baking sheet. Bake until very tender, then cool a little and scoop the flesh away from the peel. Process as above.

Sausage Stuffed Squash serves 4

My mom perfected this when I was a teenager. I loved it! I remember storing a squash in my dorm room closet and making this for my friend Mari. We were vegetarian at the time, so we left the sausage out and it is really good that way, too. You may want to add a little cooked bulgur or soy crumbles.

2 small or 1 large Buttercup Squash, cut in half and seeds removed

Pretty Little Pie Pumpkin from Waxwing Farm

1 lb. Sausage or ground pork

1 Onion, diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

3 stalks Celery, diced

1 T. Flour

1 can Tomatoes

1 t. Dried Thyme or ½ t. Sage

Salt and Pepper

¼ C. Toasted Walnuts or Sunflower Seeds

½ C. Grated Cheddar

Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the squash on a baking sheet cut side down. Bake for about an hour, until the squash is tender when pierced with a knife. Meanwhile, make the filling. If the sausage is in casings, remove them. Place the sausage in a large pan over medium-high heat and add the onion, garlic and celery. Cook and stir until sausage has browned and onions and celery have softened. Sprinkle in the flour, then add the tomatoes and their juice, squishing the tomatoes in your hands as you add them to break them up. Stir and cook another five minutes, until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove from the heat. Taste and add a little salt if necessary, and season with black pepper. Turn the squash over and press down on them gently to flatten the bottoms so they are stable. Spoon the filling into the shells (there may be some leftover) and sprinkle with the walnuts or sunflower seeds. Top with the cheddar and return to the oven for 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is beginning to brown.

Pumpkin Gingerbread

I love baking with pumpkin, and this recipe is the result of years of experimentation! It's a delicious combination of gingerbread with a pumpkin pie filling. Why not? Gingerbread makes a great “crust” for pumpkin pie, and the swirling mosaic of pumpkin and cake is as beautiful as it is delicious.

Well, maybe not beautiful, but beautifully delicious!

Spice Mix

2 t. Cinnamon

1 T. Ground Ginger

1 t. Freshly grated Nutmeg

½ t. Cloves

1 t. Salt

Gingerbread:

1/3 C. Melted Butter

1 C. Molasses

1 Egg, lightly beaten

1 C. Orange Juice

2 ½ C. Whole Wheat Flour

1 t. Baking Soda

4 t. Spice Mix

Pumpkin part:

2 C. Pumpkin, cooked and mashed (or canned)

1 ½ C. Milk or Blend

½ C. Sugar

2 Eggs

4 t. Spice Mix

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9x13 pan. Combine all the spices in a small bowl and set aside. For the gingerbread, combine the butter, molasses,eggs, orange juice, flour, baking soda and 4 teaspoons of the spice mix in a large bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined and pour into the pan. In the same bowl, combine the pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs and remaining 4 teaspoons spice mix. Pour the pumpkin mixture evenly over the gingerbread. Bake for 40-55 minutes, until the gingerbread is firm and springy and the pumpkin custard is set.

Apples

Just one of 6 Suprima Farm Apple varieties I tasted yesterday!

When I was eighteen, I announced to my parents that I was going to travel to British Columbia, to pick apples in the Okanagan Valley. This made no sense considering that I had grown up in one of the major apple producing areas in the world and had never once picked a bin. I didn't even know how to strap on the basket, which made it embarassing after telling our first farmer that we were experienced pickers. Apple picking is hard work, but it's fairly lucrative. It's gorgeous and cool in an orchard first thing in the morning, and you get to eat apples.

My favourites have always been the Cortland and Gravenstein, two older varieties that are best when freshly twisted off the tree. They are sweet and crispy with the sour bite that I love in an apple. The Valley grows a huge variety of apples, and hot new additions to the lineup just keep coming. This year our local growers harvested the first commercial crop of SweeTango. After the amazing success of the tasty and expensive HoneyCrisp, I imagine consumers will flock to the store for this newest trend in apples.

Be careful when shopping for apples in the Valley. Shockingly, despite all the wealth of locally grown fruit, apples imported from Chile, the USA and New Zealand are given ample shelf space in most grocery stores. Buy your apples at a market stand and your chances of landing local fruit improve dramatically. Apples are a great value when purchased in 10 or 20 pound bags, but if you can't stuff them in your fridge, you'll have to eat them quickly!

Better yet, visit a U-Pick. Boates even has organic apples in neat old varieties that you can pick yourself. Another favourite of mine is Dempsey Corner Orchards, where you can enjoy the beautiful view of the Valley as you pick from a tree halfway up the North Mountain. Noggins Corner has great apples and a wicked Corn Maze (try going after school rather then on the weekend, it's crazy-busy!). Although Richard Hennigar of Suprima Farms (the JuicePop Man) doesn't have a U-Pick, his was one of many farms in Nova Scotia that were open to the public September 19th during Open Farm Day.  This is a great way to get a behind the scenes look at farms that are not normally open to the public. 

At the restaurant, we'll be baking several varieties of apples into pies, crisps, and cakes. The best for baking include Northern Spy, Jonagold, Gravenstein, and Rhode Island Greening, esteemed by the Joy of Cooking as “perhaps the best of all for cooking” and available from Boates Orchards.

Bavarian Apple Torte serves 10-12

This recipe was one of our inheritances from the Apple Town Cafe, the Cafe we purchased that morphed into Union Street Cafe.  Is it really Bavarian?  I don't know.  But it is certainly delicious!

Shortbread Crust

1 1/4 C. Flour

1/3 C. Sugar

1/4 t. Salt

1/2 C. Butter

Preheat oven to 350. Pulse in food processor until crumbs form and press into a 10-inch springform pan.  Bake 15-20 minutes, until golden.

For the filling:

1 lb. Cream Cheese

2 Eggs

3/4 C. Sugar

1 t. Vanilla

3 lovely Apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced 

2 T. Sugar

1 t. Cinnamon

Blend cream cheese, eggs, 3/4 C. sugar and vanilla until smooth in a food processor and pour over baked crust in pan.  Toss apples with 2 T. sugar and cinnamon and arrange over the filling in a pinwheel pattern.  Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, until just set in the center.  Let cool, then refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Annette's Apple and Cheddar Focaccia serves 4

This open faced sandwich can be made on any decent, sturdy bread.

¼ C. Mango or any other Chutney

¼ C. Mayonnaise

1 T. Dijon Mustard

4 pieces Focaccia

½ lb. Shaved Ham

½ small Red Onion, sliced

2 Sweet and Crispy Apples, sliced (Red Delicious need not apply)

1 C. Grated Cheddar Cheese

Preheat the broiler and move the oven rack to its highest position. Mix the chutney, mayo and mustard. Lightly toast the focaccia and spread with the chutney mayo. Layer with the ham, onion, apples and lastly the cheddar. Place on a baking sheet and slide under the broiler. Watch like a hawk while the cheese melts, then bubbles, and finally browns.

Applesauce Cake serves 12-16
 This is a simple and nearly fat free cake that is delicious and homey. Try topping it with the leftover applesauce, lightly sweetened if you like, and vanilla yogurt or ice cream.

To make the applesauce, peel 3 pounds of apples and remove cores. Combine with ¼ cup water in a saucepan and cook, covered, over medium-low heat for thirty minutes, until falling apart. Let cool, then mash or process until smooth.

2 C. Applesauce

3/4-1 C. Sugar

2 C. Flour (can be whole wheat)

2 Eggs, lightly beaten

2 t. Cinnamon

2 t. Baking Soda

1 t. Salt

½ C. Raisins, optional

½ C. Toasted Walnuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9x13 pan. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk unitl just combined. Pour into the pan. Bake for 30 minutes, until springy to the touch.

Blueberries

I just want to say thank you to whoever dropped off the beautiful box of wild blueberries on my doorstep last week. An unexpected and anonymous gift of the season's best is a wonderful way of reminding us of the kindness and generosity of those around us. I love especially that everyone is suspect, making me feel a little more loving to all my friends and neighbours. I'm going to pass it on, and maybe at the farm market this week, you'll buy an extra bit of something to leave on your neighbour's doorstep too.

Fresh blueberries are a real treat, and this is the truly Nova Scotian way to indulge:

Blueberry Gumbo

2 pints Blueberries, wild or cultivated (we're loving Lazy Brook)
1/3 C. Sugar
1 T.Lemon Juice
1 T. Cornstarch
a pinch of Salt

Combine the ingredients in a large, wide pot and gently bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and let cook a minute while you make the dough:

1 1/2 C. Flour (Whole Wheat also works great!)
2 1/4 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Salt
2 T. Sugar
1 1/2 C. Sour Cream (Low-fat works very well)

Combine the dry ingredients. then stir in the sour cream to make a soft dough. Using a 1/4 C. measure, scoop up portions of the dough and place on top of the blueberries. Try to space them apart-they will grow together a bit as they cook! Cover the pot and let cook for about 25 minutes, until the dumplings are puffed and dry to the touch on top. Scoop out portions with a good measure of the sauce and serve with sour cream, whipped cream, or vanilla yogurt.

Raspberry Blueberry Shortcakes

Well, raspberry fever continues. We found a u-pick right down the road from us with wonderful, huge berries. I'm not usually a berry picker, but I wanted my kids to experience the torture, and much to my surprise, they had a great time. While their boxes were nearly empty, their faces were smeared with red juice and they had the look of truly satisfied raspberry appreciators. At first I was concerned that they not eat too many, out of respect for the farmer and the fact that we pay for them by the full box, not the full belly. The solution is to guess how much they might have eaten and simply pay for it.
This recipe is so simple, but unbelievably good. If you live in the Valley, the some of the finest cultivated (and Organic!) blueberries are available from Lazy Brook Farm (year round, they freeze them). There are also dozens of blueberry u-picks open right now, and wild blueberries can be found growing all over the place...just look down! Collect your berries, make the Vanilla Cupcakes, whip up a little cream and make this tasty dessert in no time at all:

Raspberry Blueberry Shortcakes for 6

6 Vanilla Cupcakes (or use your favourite scone recipe instead)
1 pint Blueberries
1/4 C. Sugar
1 pint Raspberries
1 C. Whipping Cream
1 t. Vanilla
Sugar to taste

Heat the blueberries and sugar over medium high heat in a saucepan. When they are juicy and bubbling (after about five minutes), remove from the heat. Let cool about ten minutes, then fold in the raspberries. Whip the cream and add the vanilla and sugar to taste. Split the cupcakes, top with half the berries and cream, then replace the tops and spoon on the rest of the berries and cream. ahhhh...

Raspberries

I've always been obsessed with raspberries. Raspberry iced tea at the Coffee Merchant when I was a kid, raspberry sorbet (once!) at Chez La Vigne, raspberry tart baked from an old Harrowsmith magazine, raspberry soda on a road trip with my parents to the States. I can't seem to get sick of them. Finally this year, I've planted a little row of them in my garden, but until they can provide the 50 pounds or so a year that I eat, I'll be buying them frozen from Webster's, a farm a few miles from the Cafe that also supplies us with our baking beans. They pack them solid in tubs, which isn't totally convenient, but I'll tell you this: those berries, defrosted carefully, look and taste so much like fresh it's ridiculous.

Strawberries are very nearly done for now, though I look forward to eating more in August when the later-season berries are ripening. I love how, just as they slip away, the pints of raspberries start appearing at little tables and stands. My favourite spot to buy fresh raspberries is at Darlene's in Windermere, where the Grays also grow wine grapes to perfection. These are expertly converted into the luscious Windermere white wine by Jost Winery. Last year, the kids and I stopped there and I spent ten minutes in their driveway madly hunting my car for 3.50 in change (this is a good reason not to clean your car!) and we returned home with our prize.

Just this evening my son and I wandered down our driveway and picked two small handfuls of raspberries from wild canes. A taste was enough for my daughter to get her mind off her missing chicken for a second and smile (the chicken returned a while later). Oh, July! If only we could spread your sweet summer excesses over the entire year. Well, get your freezer bags ready. Nothing freezes quite as well, or is more welcome in January, then a Valley raspberry. Buy a few pints and spread them gently in single layer on a cookie sheet. After a few hours, when they're frozen solid, shake them into a bag. Hide them away. There are plenty of lovely simple ways to enjoy raspberries, like on top of your hot cereal with a good hit of maple syrup, or gently crushed into a Raspberry Shortcake, or with creamy goat cheese and greens. For that one, I suggest the following vinaigrette:

Raspberry Balsamic Dressing

1 clove Garlic
1/2 t. Salt
2 T. minced Red Onion
1 t. Dijon Mustard
1 T. Honey or Maple Syrup (omit if using jam)
a few good grinds of Black Pepper
1 t. dried Oregano
1/2 C. fresh Raspberries or 1/4 C. Raspberry Jam
1/4 C. Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 C. Red Wine Vinegar
3/4 C. Canola or Olive Oil
Combine everything but the oil in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a jar, add the oil, and shake until combined. This dressing will keep for at least 2 weeks, refrigerated and tightly sealed.

If you like your raspberry recipes a little more complex, this should keep you busy! It will also result in a memorable cake, one that you might think about more than you want to.

Lemon Raspberry Cream Cake Serves 16

You can make everything ahead of time and refrigerate, then assemble the next day!

The Cake:

2 C. sugar
4 eggs
1 C. oil
1 C. water
2 ½ C. flour
½ t. salt
2 ¼ t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla

Beat sugar and eggs, than add remaining ingredients and beat for 1 minute. Pour into two 8 or 9 inch greased and floured pans. Bake about 30 minutes at 350, until skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool on a rack.

The Lemon Curd:
3 eggs
1/3 C. sugar
zest of 1 lemon
½ C. lemon juice
6 T. butter
1/2 C. Cream Cheese
Whisk together in saucepan, then cook over medium heat until butter is melted. Continue to whisk until mixture is thickened, then strain. Set aside to cool. Beat cream cheese until smooth, then whisk in the lemon mixture.

The Raspberry Sauce:

2 C. raspberries
1/2 C. sugar
1 T. Lemon Juice
1 T. Cornstarch
Combine in a sauce pan and heat gently until mixture bubbles and thickens. Scrape into a bowl and let cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

12 oz. Cream Cheese
½ C. butter
1 T. vanilla
3 ½ C. icing sugar
Pulse in processor until creamy.

To Assemble: Split cakes into two layers. Top three of the layers with Raspberry Sauce and Lemon Curd, then stack together. Top with the plain layer. Frost all over with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Emergency Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Birthday Cake

Last Monday was my cousin Melyssa's birthday. At 6:00, I realized I hadn't planned to bring anything to eat to her celebration, and that wasn't gonna fly with the food appreciators and pregnant ladies expected to be in attendance. Also, I wasn't sure if anyone was bringing a birthday cake! I was due to arrive at the festivities an hour later. What to do?
I decided to go with a cake. I knew I had that Wacky Cake recipe somewhere, the one where you mix everything right in the pan and bake it, and it somehow turns into the most delicious chocolate cake ever. The recipe is weird because you don't even grease the pan and it calls for vinegar. Fortunately, it also uses oil instead of butter, which was good because I was fresh out. I threw the cake together (with love) in about 2 minutes and got it into the oven before dinner. As we ate our pizza, I contemplated how I would frost it. My standard in-a-hurry icing solution is to throw chocolate chips over the cake while it is still hot out of the oven, then smear it around a few minutes later until the cake is glazed. I still think this is a great way to go, but then I remembered that Melyssa loves sweet treats with a touch of salt. This is the recipe I came up with. By the way, it worked out really well because one of the guests was vegan and another was allergic to milk.

(Last Minute) Decadent Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Birthday Cake (that is Also Vegan)
1 ½ C. Flour
1 C. Brown Sugar
½ C. Cocoa
1 t. Baking Soda
½ t. Salt
1 C. Water
6 T. Canola Oil
1 T. White Vinegar
1 t. Vanilla (I'm not going to say it must be pure, because I cheat at home)

Mix the flour, brown sugar, cocoa, soda and salt right in an 8” round cake pan. Add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla and mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Smooth into the pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until cake tests done in the middle. While the Cake bakes, mix up the frosting:

½ C. Peanut Butter (Yum Bakery's is excellent)
3 C. Icing Sugar
1 T. Vanilla
Soy Milk (or regular)
1/3 C. Chocolate Chips
Fleur de Sel or some other fancy salt you spent too much money on and don't use enough

Cream the peanut butter, icing sugar and vanilla together, adding just enough soy milk by tablespoonfuls until the frosting is smooth.

When the cake comes out of the oven, don't even take it out of the pan. Spread the frosting over it, breaking all the rules about waiting for a cake to cool completely, blah blah blah. You're in a hurry, right? Sprinkle with the chocolate chips, then a pinch or two of salt. Rush to the party with the hot cake, which will cool on the way and be a big hit. Don't forget the candles!

Strawberries

I will admit it.  I've been known to buy strawberries in the winter.  I've even convinced myself that they taste good.  But they don't. 
Not compared to the lightly sugared local strawberries I ate last night on a pillowy little vanilla cupcake with whipped cream.  Not compared to the quart of strawberries I ate in the car on the way home to make the strawberry shortcake.  I love driving up the mountain from Morse's in Somerset, doling out one perfect berry at a time to the little strawberry lovers in the backseat.  By the time we get home, there are stems and stains everywhere, and we really don't care.  It helps that my car just reached the 300,000 kilometer milestone and that we live on a road so dusty that no one who lives there bothers to wash their vehicle.  Right about this week, strawberries will be everywhere in the Valley.  They will be lined up for sale from the back of pickup trucks and farmstands. They will be available, cheap, for those willing to spend the morning at one of the great U-Picks. But they may not be in your local grocery store.  All last season, our store had California berries for sale.  Wahhhhhhh.
I suggest totally pigging out on strawberries while they're at their best because frozen or imported just ain't the same. I love seeing the hand lettered posters advertising a "Strawberry Supper" at local church halls.  I imagined that it would be all-you-can-eat strawberry shortcake when I was little, but have since learned that a more sensible meal usually precedes the dessert.  That doesn't mean that I won't be making a meal out of it at home, though!  At the Cafe, we'll be offering them in fresh salads, in a beautiful little Strawberry Cream Pie, and in Strawberry Shortcake. 

Vanilla Cupcakes for Shortcake
Usually I make biscuits or scones for shortcake, but these are easy and delicious! 
1 C. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 C. oil
1/2 C. water
1 1/4 C. flour (go ahead and use whole wheat if you like!)
1/4 t. salt
1 1/8 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Beat sugar and eggs, than add remaining ingredients and beat for 1 minute. Evenly divide between 12 muffin cups. Bake about 15 minutes, until skewer inserted in middle comes out clean.
Split each cupcake in half and top with lightly sugared sliced strawberries (how many is completely your call) and a little whipped cream. Repeat the layers, lick the spoon and serve!


Strawberry Cream Pie
Once you've eaten your fill of strawberry shortcake, try this. It's a little more complicated, but it's worth it. It's inspired by a recipe from the now-defunct Gourmet magazine.

1 baked graham crust in a pie pan
2 lb strawberries, hulled
1/3 cup sugar (use Just Us!)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 C. whipping cream, lightly whipped

Select 20 large strawberries as close to same size as possible and set aside. Cut remaining berries into 1/4-inch dice and toss with sugar and lemon juice. Let stand, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Drain berries in a sieve set into a large glass measuring cup. Add enough water to measure 2 cups. Transfer liquid to a medium saucepan and reserve berries.
Sprinkle gelatin over strawberry liquid and let soften 1 minute. Bring to a bare simmer, stirring until gelatin has dissolved. Add diced berries, then transfer to a metal bowl set into an ice bath and stir frequently until mixture begins to mound, 20 to 30 minutes. Fold in the whipped cream.
Spoon 1/2 cup filling into piecrust and arrange reserved whole berries, stem ends down, on filling. Spoon remaining filling over and between berries. Chill pie until filling is set, at least 4 hours.