CELEBRATE SUMMER FRUIT

 

                        Celebrate Summer Fruit

           Fruit, one of nature’s most generous gifts to us takes center stage in the summer. Their sweet-tart flavors seems to embody warmth and contentment of our long summer days.  Possibly, those of us living in northern climes seem more appreciative of their appearance, having experienced the bleak aspects of other seasons. Somehow local fresh strawberries, cherries, peaches, blueberries and plums in gardens and markets bear witness to the continued lush richness of the earth.

          In Maine, we celebrate the gift of wild blueberries in August. A small dish of fresh wild blueberries at breakfast with a bit of milk is a perfect way to start the day. One cup has 84 calories, 4 grams fiber, relatively low sugar, high levels of antioxidants and other compounds with beneficial influences on heart health and brain function. My husband often jokes that eating blueberries cures his forgetfulness for the day. Wild blueberries also freeze well, which means a flat of wild blueberries in August, frozen in small batches will keep you in blueberry pancakes and blueberry pie all winter.

                                           Colossal wild blueberry muffins

Makes 6 very large muffins. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. For the topping: in a small bowl stir together ¼ cup flour and 1 tsp. cinnamon, add ¼ cup cold butter in slices and then cut it in with two knives or a pastry cutter until rice size.

Measure 2 cups flour, ¾ cup sugar, 1 tsp. salt and 3 tsp. baking powder in a large bowl and mix thoroughly at low speed with a hand mixer.  In another bowl beat 2 eggs with ¾ cup milk, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, grated zest of ½ lemon and 1 tsp. lemon flavoring.

Add the egg mixture to the bowl with flour and beat until thoroughly mixed and lumps disappear. The batter will be thick. Fold in 1 cup fresh* Maine blueberries and ½ cup dried cranberries. Grease thoroughly or spray with a baking spray a muffin pan with 6 big muffin cups and divide the batter among them. Cover each with a layer of topping and sprinkle with some Demerara sugar. Bake 20-25 minutes for fresh wild blueberries until a long toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Run a knife carefully around each muffin, lift it out and continue cooling on a rack or serve warm. These muffins freeze well. *Frozen blueberries (not thawed) or chopped fresh cranberries can be used but will require 10—15 minutes added baking time.

Red plums are plentiful this time of the year, are tart and juicy and make delicious and colorful deserts. Fruit cobblers are simple old-fashioned deserts, between a pie and a coffee cake in appearance. This takes advantage of prepared Crescent dough from the deli case in the supermarket. 

                                                         Plum-almond cobbler

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Unroll a sheet of Pillsbury crescent dough and gently stretching fit in a 9-inch pie plate. There will be a sizeable overhang on edges.

In a bowl toss together: 8 red plums cut in half, remove the pit and slice each half in 4-5 wedges, ¾ cup sugar, 2 tblsp. corn starch, 1 tsp. almond extract. Fill the dough shell in the pie plate, dot with 1 tblsp. butter and sprinkle with 1/3 cup slivered almonds. Gently fold the overhang over the fruit, leaving the center open. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for additional 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve warm or at room temperature.

                                                             Plum-apple compote

This is a quick and colorful hot weather desert requiring minimal time of preparation.

In a medium pot combine 1 cup cranberry juice with one cup water and juice of ½ lemon. Peel, core and dice a Granny Smith apple and toss in the juice. Add 5 red plums, pitted and each half cut in 5 slices. Bring to boil, cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. While fruit is cooking, stir ¼ cup tapioca in ½ cup water and allow to swell. After 15 minutes, stir in ¾ cups sugar and the hydrated tapioca. Bring the fruit again to a slow boil and cook occasionally stirring for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and refrigerate. The compote will thicken further upon cooling. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.

It is little wonder that the Swedes and Norwegians celebrate summer with strawberries and cloudberries. Living in the northern climes colorful fruit becomes a special reason to celebrate summer.

 (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)