I knew that I was not being a good blog parent, but honestly, I did not realize that it had been a year. Which begs the question, where does the time go? It was a busy year - no doubt about that. I was handed a lovely day job, my daughter entered and completed her senior year of high school, and I continued writing, and yes, eating. But I didn't do much cooking. Hardly anything fancy or inventive. Perhaps that is why my inspiration for checking in with you got dampened, or drowned. But I'm back so here's some 'food for thought.'
We took a lovely vacation to a family cottage on the shore of Crystal Lake, Michigan in August.
That's where I took the pic of the fruit and vegie stand. This area is so fertile, so temperate, and best of all, so replete with orchards and farms, its tough not to eat your produce - smiling all the while. When we arrived sweet cherries were still available, as were plums, peaches, apricots and blueberries. A sweet feast.
This is also the land of smoked fish.
I had my first taste of smoked whitefish pate - really a dip or cracker topping - concocted of the smoked fish and mayonnaise, or if you prefer, sour cream or cream cheese. Recipe to follow. Both the fish dip and fresh fruits offer your character's something to do with their hands, but better than that, is the symbol of eating juicy cherry flesh only to discover that pesky pit. Isn't that a bit like the tension between your love interests'? It all starts out so sweet and fine, then *crunch* your teeth hit the pit. It gets rolled around and around, you suck off the fine fruit that is stuck to the seed. But what to do with the leftover offending orb. You can't swallow it. You must get rid of it, preferably in some polite way. Do you stick your fingers in your mouth and aim for a napkin, or just rear back and spit? How are you going to approach the kernel of wisdom that seed has imparted? How can you get it out of your mouth without upsetting the balance, ruining the sweetness.
And how long can you hold it in your mouth before something must be done? Must be said? Depending on the mood and demeanor of your characters, you could roll this seed around for a really long time, or just spit it out, get on with it. So who are your characters? What would they do? How they treat the sweet may be interesting and fun, but how they dispose of the seed makes your writing exciting.
Anyway - while you're considering that - let's make a cherry pie: Crumb Topping Fresh Cherry Pie
Cherry pitting -- this may be accomplished with a paring knife and your fingers (which will be stained!) or a cherry pitter. If you're going to do a whole bunch of cherries this is a good investment. Cherry juice splashes. Wear red just in case.
The Pie Crust: For a crumb topping you'll only need one recipe - but if you want to make a standard double-crust, double this recipe:
For each crust you'll want 5 T cold butter, 1 cup flour, (I always use whole wheat pastry flour) a pinch of salt. Cut flour into butter until the consistency of corn meal. I love my pastry blender and think every kitchen needs one. Knives will also work, but it takes a lot longer. Add ice cold water one tablespoon at a time, stirring with a fork until dough leaves side of bowl. Press to make sure it holds together. If it does, take from bowl, wrap in plastic wrap or put in plastic bag and refrigerate for half an hour or more while you prepare filling. When you roll out, put flour on a cold clean countertop if you have one. You may also roll out dough on a clean tea towel (no nap) or wooden board. Flour liberally to prevent sticking and have a scraper on hand to help lift any spots that stick.
The Pie Filling:
Pit the cherries. Each pie will require about 4 cups pitted cherries.
1/2 cup water
1 to 1 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
Place cherries, water, sugar and spices together in sauce pan. Cook on medium heat to boiling, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Dissolve cornstarch in water. Add hot cherry liquid to cornstarch bowl and stir until well blended - keep adding until a sufficient volume is achieved, then add to saucepan. Stir until well blended. Return pan to heat and stir continually until liquid is thickened and clear again. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out bottom crust and line pie plate. Put slightly cooled filling into crust.
Place in oven for 30 minutes. Remove, reduce heat to 350 degrees, put on topping and bake another 20 minutes.
Topping:
2 Tablespoons butter slightly softened
1/2 cup cut oats
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
chopped pecans
Allow to cool thoroughly before cutting or you'll have a mess.
We like our pie cold, but you can also cut and reheat this pie if you like it warm with cold vanilla bean ice cream.
Smoked Whitefish Pate
This dish is on the menu of every restaurant in Northern Michigan. I swear. You don't even have to like fish to love this!
3/4 cup smoked whitefish, deboned (you do this with your fingers) and shredded
1/2 cup mayonnaise, sour cream or a combination of these with cream cheese
4 to 6 green onions, whites and greens, chopped fine
salt & pepper
That's it. Mix these together, cover tightly and refrigerate. Serve with crackers as an appetizer.
Hope you are well, your characters are lively, and you'll come back to see me. I'll be back soon!
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