Week 8: What's in our Basket?

If you don't know what's going on with this basket stuff catch up here:
Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7

September has been off to a busy start! I'm back at school once again and I can already feel my social life slipping from my fingers as I try to balance six classes, work, hobbies, the blog and not to mention making a few changes to my room this week! But! I am glad it is finally the weekend and even though I'll be doing some homework it's also TIFF - my favourite time of year. I'm seeing quite a few movies this year but still holding out until Monday when Meryl Streep will hopefully hire me as her personal assistant after seeing me go crazy at the red carpet (dream big right?). Anyways, our baskets our winding down in the next couple weeks and it seems they're packing them full of our all-time-favourites - more watermelons, juicy grapes, and corn on the cob! Here is what's in our basket:

Vegetable Half Share

1 bunch of romaine, 1 bunch of leafy greens, tonnes of potatoes, a few yellow tomatoes, 5 red tomatoes, 3 corn on the cob, 1 bunch of beets, 1 bag of salad mix, 1 mini watermelon, 1 English cucumber, 1 green pepper, 1 bunch of broccoli. 

Fruit Share

1 bunch of grapes, tonnes of apples, 2 oranges, 2 lemons, 1 mini watermelon.

Their Potential

Of course Mexican flavours would make grilled corn taste better, Mexican food is the best.

I love hummus and this beet and goat cheese variation sounds fantastic.

I really don't need to say anything more than this - lemon raspberry swirl cheesecake bars.

Grilled romaine is the hero in this balsamic and shrimp salad.

Apple provolone? BLT? These pizzas sound good to me!

Fall weather means fall soups! How a bout this tomato zucchini one for starters?

Baked apples scream fall (and an even easier way to make apple crisp).

Quick and Easy Tea Biscuits

So remember when I went strawberry picking while visiting my Poppy a couple months ago? What a great day. One thing you can always count on at Poppy's house is an abundance of baked goods made by his wonderful wife, Diane. Diane never fails to have food ready for unexpected guests - whether its salads, cakes, pies, cookies, or my favourite - her scones. Diane has been baking long enough that she could probably make most of the family favourite recipes with her eyes closed, and the scones were no exception. When I asked about them she listed off the ingredients without question, and I quickly made note of them on my phone. These scones are made without butter giving them a much lighter texture, and are great either plain or with any mix-in your heart desires. I finally got around to making them the other day and thankfully it's not a family secret so I can share the recipe with you!

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup 1% buttermilk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup (approximately) of your mix-in

(I chose dried cranberries)

Preheat the oven 350 F and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Stir in the mix-in of your choice. Add in the buttermilk and vegetable oil and gently fold until just combined, don't over work it. Spoon drops of the batter onto the baking sheet (about six biscuits) and bake for 10-15 minutes until crusty and brown on the bottom.

Even though these tasted great, I don't think they'll ever compare to Diane's, there's something about a visit to Poppy's house that makes everything taste better, even his toast is better than mine! Either way these are so easy to make, the perfect compliment to a cup of tea. They are best served warm out of the oven with a little butter or with some homemade strawberry jam.

Strawberry Rhubarb Oat Squares

Another trip to the cottage calls for more dessert! Since I had the afternoon off before heading up, I dedicated my time to whipping up some well deserved treats. Knowing I had rhubarb and strawberries in the freezer, I was looking for recipes that weren't pie but would still incorporate both ingredients. Having pinned plenty of strawberry recipes in June (in preparation for the picking season), I found this recipe on a Pastry Affair. Though the recipe calls for strawberry jam, I didn't want to use up my precious supply on squares so I substituted it with my beloved frozen fruits. It turned out great! We ate them as squares with tea, and also warmed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. It was the perfect pie replacement for summer - not to heavy, but still sweet-tooth-satisfying.

Ingredients

6 tablespoon salted butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup honey

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped rhubarb

1 cup chopped strawberries

4 tablespoon sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray an 8 inch square pan with cooking oil. In a small saucepan on medium heat, add the rhubarb, strawberries and sugar and reduce until a jam-like consistency, stirring occasionally. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg and honey. Mix in the oats, flour, baking soda and cinnamon until combined. Press approximately 3/4 of the batter into the bottom of the pan until it is covered. Pour the strawberry-rhubarb compote overtop and spread evenly. Crumble the remaining batter on top until it is well covered. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

They are definitely best served warm, and if you're in cottage country hunt down some Kawartha Dairy Ice Cream and you'll be in heaven. I would also try this with blackberries, raspberries or apple - or all three for bumbleberry!

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry shortcake is my all time favourite dessert, no question. On most birthdays I've requested it over birthday cake, I've deemed it the perfect Canada Day dessert (red and white!) and if I'm ever asked for my opinion on what should be had, it's strawberry shortcake, always. So remember how I went strawberry picking a couple weeks ago? Well not only did we make some homemade jam, but we also had tonnes left over to freeze and use for future desserts - strawberry shortcake being one of them.

There are a few variations of this dessert, from layered cakes to mini angel food cakes but I decided on the classic layered biscuits - I'm also a big fan of individual portions. I first tried this recipe from Martha Stewart but it was a huge fail and I ended up with what seemed like gigantic pancakes. After scrounging through the internet some more I settled on adapting this recipe from one of my new favourite food blogs, Pastry Affair. They are dense and wholesome and were the perfect base for strawberries and cream.

Ingredients 

2 cups slice strawberries

1 tbsp sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup cold salted butter

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup 2% milk (or half and half cream)

1 cup whipping cream

To start, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400 F. Sprinkle the sliced strawberries with 1 tbsp of sugar, and set in the fridge until needed. Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes and cut into the flour mixture until it is crumbly. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, vanilla and milk. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and combine until just mixed and a dough begins to form. Knead the dough together a couple times to bind it and then roll it out onto a floured surface. Cut 3-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter or glass and transfer to the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown. While the cakes are baking, whip the cream using an electric mixer on high speed until firm peaks form. Wait for the cakes to cool slightly, cut the in half and layer with strawberries and whipped cream. There isn't much else left to say other than enjoy! I could eat these biscuits plain with butter or jam even, but of course everything is better with strawberries (and much better) with whipped cream. You could also try adding in some chopped rhubarb or diced strawberries to the biscuits for even more flavour. Excuse me while I go feast...