Pear Maple Crumble

 

 Filling:

5 1/2 to 6 cups peeled, diced pears
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons minced candied ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
 

Topping:

2/3 cup flour

3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
 6 tablespoons cold butter, diced

Heat the oven to 400°. Place the diced pears in a large bowl, sprinkle the cornstarch over them, and stir well. Add the remaining filling ingredients and toss gently, until the mixture is evenly combined.

Turn the filling into deep-dish pie tin and smooth the top of the fruit. Bake for 45 minutes.

While it's baking, make the topping. Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the butter until you have large crumbs. Refrigerate the topping until you are ready to use it.

Lower the oven temperature to 375°. Remove the fruit from the oven and carefully pour the crumbs in the center of the pie, then spread them evenly. Return the pie to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Transfer the pie to a rack to cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

German Macaroons

3 egg whites
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. almond extract
1/4 cup corn starch
1 1/3 cup finely chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 300 F. Warm egg whites over hot water, add the vanilla and almond extract, and best until soft peaks form. Slowly pour the sugar in while beating at high speed. Beat until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, mix together corn starch and nuts. Beat into the egg whites at low speed. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. They don't spread, so you can place them close together on the sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool on a wire rack.

Winter Salad

1 cup grated apple
2 cups grated carrot
2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 cup chopped pears
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 tsp. lavender buds
1/4 cup plain yogurt

Combine all ingredients and chill.

Beetroot Salad

1 pound beet roots
1/2 apple juice, or other fruit juice
2 Tbls. olive oil
4 Tbls. minced chives, mint, or parsley, or a combination
Salt
2 cups, packed, of chopped lettuce and beet greens

Scrub the beets and grate with a large-holed grater. Toss with the lettuce and greens. Combine the juice, olive oil, and salt to taste. Toss with the beets and greens.

Serves 4.

Cold Mint and Apple Tea

8 cups hot water
4 mint tea bags
2 apples, grated

Mix together and steep until cool. Strain. Serve chilled.

Mossflower Vegetable Stew with Dumplings

7 cups water or vegetable stock
6 Tbls. corn meal
3 Tbls. oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 1/4 pound potatoes, diced
5 carrots, chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
1 1/2 medium onions, chopped
1 1/2 cup peas
1 1/2 cup corn
3 cups beans, precooked

Dumplings:
2 1/4 cup flour (whole wheat, white wheat, or whole wheat pastry)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup milk or nut milk
1/3 cup minced parsley
3 egg whites

Whisk the corn meal into the water/vegetable stock. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Let it simmer, but not boil.

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and parsley. Beat in egg whites. Drop dough in spoonfuls into the stew. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Cover and cook for 10 more minutes until dumplings are done.

White Cheese with Sage

1 gallon milk
2 tsp. citric acid or lemon juice
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. rennet
2 Tbls. minced sage leaves

Pour the milk into a large pot. Dissolve the citric acid in a bit of cool water and stir into the milk, or stir the lemon juice directly into the milk. Stir well. Heat the milk slowly to 90 F (use a food thermometer). Try not to let it get above 90. Once it reaches that point, you can turn off the heat without the temperature decreasing.

Stir the sage leaves into the milk. If you are making yellow cheese, add the carrot juice or turmeric at this point. I haven't measured exactly how much is needed, but it really is just a tiny amount. But it also depends on how strong you want the color to be.

Dilute the rennet in a few tablespoons of cool water. My rennet is extra strength that says 1/8 tsp will work on 2 gallons of milk, so I try to approximate 1/2 of a 1/8 tsp. measure. If your rennet doesn't have a suggested ratio on the container, using 1/4 tsp. should be fine.

Stir the rennet dilution into the milk. Let sit until a curd forms, this usually takes 5-10 minutes. Check the curd by sticking in your finger and pulling it out horizontally. Your finger should come out mostly clean with the curd splitting apart around it. You can also check by pulling the curd away from the edge of the pot and having clear whey fill in the space.

Take a long, sharp knife and cut a grid pattern in the curd all the way to the bottom of the pot. Cut several more lines that slant through the depth of the curd. Let rest for a few minutes. The curd should be thick enough that you see the lines you cut, and the cuts will be filled with clear whey.

Line a large bowl with a large piece of cloth (in my experience the commercial cheesecloth is too gauzy, and normal muslin or light linen works better). Pour all the curd and whey into the cloth. Add salt to taste. Twist the cloth closed at the top, trapping all the curd inside. The whey will pour out into the bowl.

Set up your cheese press. You can have a real one or a makeshift one like mine, where I put a wire cooling rack over the sink, placed the bundle of cheese on that, then put a cutting board on top. On the board I used heavy cans of food as weights to press down on the cheese.

Let sit for about an hour, then check to see how solid it is. I added more salt at this point, molded it with my hands into a thicker shape, folded the cloth around it so it didn't make creases in the cheese, and let it press for another 1/2 hour.

This makes about 1 1/2 pounds of a soft cheese.

Apple Cider with Damson Plums

To make 1 pint:

1 lb of apples
1/4 lb of plums, with the pits removed

Run the apples through a juicer. Skim off the foam.

Put the plums in a blender with a bit of the apple juice, and blend until as liquefied as possible. Stir into the apple juice.

Squeeze the juice through a cloth bag to strain. (Squeeze into a bowl or serving vessel).

Serve chilled.


You can use what is called a jelly bag, or cheesecloth. What I find works the best is just to make a large, rectangular bag with muslin or fine linen. It's cheap and reusable, you can make it as big or small as you need, and works much better than cheesecloth, which is too loose of a weave.

Other notes. I tried this with two different methods, using apples and plums that were all from the same batches. (Got at a farmers' market, so they were literally each from the same orchards).

I wanted to see if cooked fruit or raw fruit would yield a better flavor. The raw fruit won. You can read all my notes on the matter below.

Ingredients: 1 lb. apples, cored. 1/4 lb. plums, pitted.

Raw method: Put apple through juicer. Skim foam. Liquefy plum in blender. Stir into apple juice. Strain.

Cooked method: Apple and plum in 1 cup water in pot. When water boils, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Apples will be soft. Liquefy in blender. Strain.

Results for raw method: Fast and easy. Easy to squeeze through the cloth. Only bits of plum skin remain from straining. Yields about 1 pint. Thick, but not as thick as the cooked. Sweeter than the cooked. Remained homogeneous after several hours. 12 hours later, slight separation. Top 3/4 was thick, bottom 1/4 was thin, but when drinking there was no discernible difference in flavor or texture between the two liquids.

Results for cooked method: Takes much longer to make, between cooking and cooling before straining. Difficult to squeeze through the cloth. Basically applesauce remains from straining. Thick, creamy texture--almost too thick, like it feels like it needs to be chewed. Yields just over 1 pint. Remained homogeneous after several hours. Mild applesauce flavor. Not as sweet. Can't taste the plums. 12 hours later, still homogeneous.

Pear Tart

1/2 cup flour (whole wheat pastry flour, white wheat flour, whole wheat flour, or oat flour)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
2 Tbls. cold water

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Mix flour, oats, and salt. Cut in the butter until it's crumbly. Stir in the ice water 1 tablespoonful at a time, then press together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze to make it harder.

Roll out the crust between two pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Press into a pie or tart pan. Prick bottom with a fork. Bake for 5 minutes, then let cool completely.

1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbls. flour
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbls. fruit juice
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
3 cups of pears, cored and sliced thinly

Reduce oven to 350 F.

Mix flour and sugar well. Stir in sour cream, fruit juice, and cloves. Mix well and spread most of it into the cooled crust, reserving about 1/3 cup. Lay pear slices over the cream, then spread the remaining cream on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes until crust is brown and cream is bubbling. Serve warm or cool.

Plum and Pear Pudding

2 Tbls. honey
3 or 4 ripe pears (whatever will fit in the pan)
1 cup chopped and pitted plums
1/4 cup butter
2 Tbls. molasses
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour or white wheat flour
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8 inch, round cake tin and line the bottom with paper.

Drizzle the honey in the bottom of the pan. Cut the pears in half and remove the cores. Arrange the pear halves with the cut side down, in a circle in the pan, leaving an open circle in the middle. Put the plums over the pears, concentrating them in the space in the middle and between the plums.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and molasses. Beat in the egg yolks on high speed until creamy.

Warm the egg whites in a double boiler until about body temperature. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until they form a mousse with soft peaks. Fold the egg whites into the rest.

Fold in the flour, ginger, and salt. Beat the batter on medium speed for about a minute.

Pour the batter over the top of the fruit, spreading it out to cover the fruit.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. It will look juicy and bubbly, but the cake part will be firm to the touch.

Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a serving plate and remove the paper.

Apple, Blackberry and Plum Crumble with Cream and Maple Sauce

2 1/2 cups chopped plums, pitted
2 medium apples, cored and chopped
1/2 cup blackberries
1/2 cup spiced apple cider
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, or white wheat flour, or whole wheat flour
2 Tbls. brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine the fruit and place in an 8" baking pan or pie tin. Pour 1/4 cup cider over it.

Stir together the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter and cream cheese until it is all crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, then sprinkle the remaining cider over the top.

Bake for 45-55 minutes.

Sauce:

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup nut milk
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Whisk together and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Plum Duff with Sweet Arrowroot Sauce

2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup cream cheese
2 cups pitted and quartered plums
1 cup flour, white wheat or whole wheat pastry
1/2 teaspoon salt


Warm the egg whites in a double boiler with a bit of the brown sugar, whisking. When they are warm, remove from heat and beat until stiff peaks form.

Beat egg yolks and a bit of the brown sugar. Cream in the rest of the sugar, cream cheese, and butter. Stir in plums. Fold in the egg whites.

Fold flour and salt into plum mixture. Pour into a well-greased 1-quart mold or bowl, and tie waxed paper loosely over the mold, or cover with foil scrunched around the edges. This is to prevent water from dripping onto the pudding when it condenses on the lid of the steamer. Place mold in steamer and steam for 1 hour or until pudding tests done.

If you don't have a steamer, you can place the mold in a large pot with water. The pot needs to be large enough that the pudding mold doesn't stick out the top. If it floats, that's fine, if not, use something underneath to stabilize it and keep it off the bottom of the pan. Place a well-fitting lid on top of the pan.

When done, remove from steamer and let cool slightly. Loosen the edges of the pudding by running a knife between the pudding and the bowl. Turn out onto the serving plate.

This batch of sauce was made with homemade grape juice.

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbls. fruit juice (or other sweet, non-dairy drink)
2 tsp. arrowroot powder
2 tsp. water

Mix 1/2 cup water and honey in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Boil steadily for 5 minutes. Add fruit juice to taste. Reduce heat. In a cup, mix the arrowroot with 2 tsp water until smooth. Stir into the hot liquid. Increase heat to medium-high. Heat gently for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly as the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat once the sauce has boiled.

Wildgrape Woodland Pie

Crust:
1 1/4 cup white wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
about 1/4 cup cold water

Filling:
2 1/2 cups seedless grapes, stems removed
1 Tbls. butter
2 Tbls. flour
1/3 cup honey

Stir together flour and salt. Cut in cream cheese and butter until it forms fine crumbs. Sprinkle in some of the water and shake the mixture in the bowl. Remove large clumps that form and continue until it is mostly formed into large clumps. Press the clumps and the remaining crumbly dough together, forming a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Place the grapes in a pan over medium heat. Use a potato masher to gently mash the grapes and separate the skin and pulp. Let cook until about to simmer, and the colors change.

Meanwhile, stir together the honey, flour, and butter. Add the grapes when done, stirring until the butter is melted.

Roll out the crust onto a piece of plastic wrap, waxed paper, or thin cloth. Roll into a thin circle and place into a pie tin. Cut off excess around the edges. Pour the grape filling in. Use extra pie crust to create a crumbled topping.

Note: The filling bubbles and expands while baking. Leave some room for it so it doesn't overflow and burn.

Bake for 25 minutes (or until the crust is done).

Shepherd's Pie

1 lb (approx) beef, cut into chunks
2 small pinches lavender buds
8 oz sliced mushrooms

Cook the beef and mushrooms with the lavender buds in a small amount of water. Add salt and pepper to taste.

7 red potatoes of variable size
2 Tbls. cream cheese
1/4 cup milk
salt and pepper

Cut potatoes into chunks and boil until soft. Drain the water; mash the potatoes with the milk, cream cheese, salt and pepper.

2 beets
3 carrots
1 onion
fennel leaves
2 Tbls. flour

Chop up the vegetables and place in a casserole dish (or in a large metal pot, if you are like me and have no casserole dishes). Put the beef in over the vegetables, it's okay if it's not fully cooked at this point. Sprinkle flour over everything.

Spread the mashed potatoes over everything.

Bake at 400 F for about 30 minutes. Broil it at the end if necessary to brown the top.

Lentil Sausage Casserole

1 lb ground sausage (any kind)
5 cups cooked and drained lentils (2 cups uncooked)
1/2 cup water or stock
1 cup onion, minced
2 cups spinach, orach, kale, or Swiss chard, shredded and packed
1 Tbls. barbecue sauce
1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Brown sausage in a skillet, stirring to make crumbly. Drain off grease. Mix together with everything but the cheese. Spread into an oiled 9x13" baking pan. Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Bake for 30 minutes.

Apple or Pear Cream Pudding

The original recipe appears in Pleyn Delit, and I made tiny changes.

‎

1/4 c corn starch

1/4 c chopped raw nuts
2 c milk, cream, buttermilk, or nut milk
3 apples or pears, cored and finely diced
1/4 c honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg

Mix the corn starch, nuts, milk, apples, and honey in saucepan and bring slowly to low boil. Boil, stirring for 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Can be served warm or chilled.

Cup of Cheer

 

 2 1/2 lb. rhubarb
2 qt. Water
1/2 c. honey

Cut rhubarb in 1 inch pieces. Cook in hot water until soft (not boiling). Strain out the rhubarb pieces. Stir in the honey. Chill.


You can add more honey to taste. I found that 1/2 cup was sufficient, as it sweetened it without overwhelming the rhubarb with honey flavor. However, you can add more honey if you want.

The rhubarb can be used again in recipes that call for cooked rhubarb. I made mine into a crumble, but it was more mushy than it would have been normally because it had already been cooked. A simple dessert is to stir honey or sugar and cinnamon into the rhubarb.

Apple Fritters Baked in Honey

 

1 cup pastry flour or semola flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 cup butter
1 egg

3/4 cup plain yogurt, or sour cream, or a mixture

1 Tbls. honey
 2 cups apples, diced small
about 1/2 cup honey

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Stir together the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter. In a separate bowl, beat the egg, yogurt/sour cream, and honey. Gently stir the wet mixture and apple pieces into the dry mixture.

Grease a muffin tin. Spoon 1-2 tsp. of honey into each cup. Spoon the batter into each cup, dividing evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Oat Scones

3/4 cup cold buttermilk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour (white wheat, whole wheat, or whole wheat pastry)
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup oats
1 small egg, lightly beaten
cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine the first three ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Combine flour and salt, in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the oats. Add milk mixture, stirring just until moist.

Place dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly until the dough is all together. Place on a baking sheet that is either greased, or lined with parchment. Form dough into an approximately 3/4" thick, 9-inch circle. Cut dough into 12 wedges all the way through.

Brush the small egg over the dough and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake until golden, 18-20 minutes. Serve warm.

Apple Tart

Crust:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 Tbls. powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup yogurt

Filling:
1 cup (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
2 Tbls. honey
1 large egg

Topping:
2-4 apples, cored and cut into 1/4" slices
cardamom
allspice
honey

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Grease 9 inch pie pan. For nicer presentation and serving, a springform pan is good, but a regular pie tin or cake pan is fine.

Crust: Stir together flour and sugar. Cut in butter and yogurt until the dough forms. Press the dough onto the bottom and one inch up the sides of the pan.

Filling: Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the honey and mix well. Blend in the egg. Pour the filling into the crust.

Toss the apple slices, a small amount of honey, and a sprinkle each of cardamom and allspice together, to coast the apple slices. Place apple slices in a decorative fashion on the top of the tart. You want it to be about double layered with apple slices.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees F and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown (apples are soft when pierced with a fork), and filling is almost set. Remove from oven and let cool before serving.

Wheat Flour

A note on the different flours I have in the recipes.

The goal is to use all whole grain flours. But there are different options for texture, color, and flavor.

Whole wheat flour: This is the basic whole wheat flour that we are all familiar with. It can be used in the yeast bread recipes, and other baked goods except for those requiring a lighter texture, like cake. Milled from red wheat berries, it can be ground to different textures, but it is the densest and heartiest flour.

White wheat flour: This is a whole wheat flour that has been milled from white wheat berries, ground to a finer texture and lighter flavor and color. This can basically be used to replace whole wheat flour in any instance, according to your desires. It's a softer coffee than red wheat for pastries. Sometimes I will specify white wheat flour in the recipe, if the book description specifies that the bread is white, but you can use it basically whenever you want.

Whole wheat pastry flour: Similar to the white wheat flour, it has a lighter texture and flavor. This has less gluten than regular whole wheat flour, so should not be used for yeast bread. This is used mostly in cake and pastry recipes to obtain a texture and flavor similar to using all-purpose white flour.

Other flours: In non-bread, non-pastry recipes that call for flour for the sake of making gravy or thickening soup or anything like that, it doesn't really matter what kind of flour you use. For simplicity I put whole wheat flour in the recipe, but you can use the other kinds, or even non-wheat flours like corn meal.

Felix Felicis

1" piece of ginger root
pineapple, canned or fresh (if using fresh, peel and cut into pieces)
apples
1/3 cup lemon juice (or a peeled lemon to juice)
1 cup water
1/2 lb. dry ice

Makes about 2 liters

Put the lemon juice in the measuring bowl (or run a lemon through the juicer into the bowl). Juice the ginger with the first apple, then continue to juice apples until you have 4 cups of juice. Juice the pineapple (you can use the juice in the can too) until you have 8 cups of juice. Transfer to a serving bowl or to a larger container if necessary. Stir in the water and stir around to help diffuse any foam that may have formed from juicing. Add the dry ice. You can start serving it after 15 minutes (to make sure it's all carbonated). Or, you can take out the ice after 15 minutes (or wait for it to all dissolve) and transfer the potion to an airtight container for storage. Store in the fridge.