You-Pick Farms and Me- A Love Story With a Bonus- Chocolate Raspberry Sauce (Canning Cookbook)

My favorite pick-your-own farm opens this coming Friday! I'm so excited! It's still too early for the tomatoes we always pick there but it's time for all kinds of other vegetables- cucumbers, peppers, and early sweet corn, plus a few surprises when you get there. 

Even though it's too early for tomatoes, I still had that burning desire to get in the kitchen and can something so off I went in search of a different pick-your-own farm, one that offers fruits such as strawberries, raspberries and cherries. It was a bit of a drive from the lake but that's exactly what I found just outside of Altoona, Iowa, at Upstream Gardens and Orchard. 

Upstream is a very new pick-your-own farm that is expanding like crazy, and even though this is just their second year offering to the public they have quite a nice variety of items available. Of course, it varies by the season but they have just about every kind of berry that grows in Iowa, an awesome selection of vegetables and a growing orchard with apples, peaches, pears and plums. I visited today and got golden raspberries and mulberries, got to meet Chris, the owner, and play with the farm kitties- momma and babies. I paid a little extra for pre-picked so I wouldn't have to worry about being too short to reach the tree branches when picking mulberries.

So I now have this wonderful fruit, and my next dilemma is what in the heck to make with it. Jam as single fruits or make a combo? Use the raspberries for the chocolate raspberry sauce all my canning friends have been making and raving about? Cobbler? Pie? Ugh, too many decisions sometimes. After much agonizing and debating inside my head I finally settled on making the chocolate raspberry sauce. I have plenty of jam already and more raspberries will be coming in the fall. This recipe is originally from the Ball canning book. The mulberries got stashed away in the freezer for now. I'll make something delicious with them later.

Chocolate Raspberry Sauce

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 package regular powdered pectin
4 1/2 cups crushed raspberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 3/4 cups sugar

Combine the pectin and cocoa in a small bowl, using a whisk to ensure it's evenly mixed. Set aside.

In a large stockpot combine the raspberries and lemon juice. Gradually mix in the cocoa mixture until completely combined. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring frequently.

Add the sugar all at once and mix in. Return the mixture to a full rolling boil, then remove from heat. Skim off any foam. Ladle the hot mixture into prepared 8 ounce or 4 ounce jars. I like the 4 ounce jars since we are a family of two. 

Fix lids and rings and place in boiling water bath canner, Process for 20 minutes. Remove jars to a towel on the counter and allow to cool overnight before checking seals and removing rings.

This sauce is awesome warmed up and poured over ice cream, and makes a great sauce for unfrosted cake. It's so decadent and delicious you'll be glad you tried it. Also- if you like to make homemade gifts for holiday gifts, this is a great one- if raspberries are not in season and you don't have any tucked away in the freezer, frozen purchased raspberries work just as well. Just pour the frozen berries into a  bowl and crush them while still partially frozen, measure, and carry on!

NOTE: This recipe is tested and approved by Ball.

Easy Apple Galette- with a few cheats

Who doesn't love pie? The quintessential midwestern dessert, pie has fans of all ages. And what variety! Cool, creamy fillings, fluffy whipped fillings, custardy and spicy, fruity and delicious, all snuggled into a flaky pastry crust that shatters when you break it with your fork. I want some right now in fact!

Several years ago I came across a unique way to make pies. At first I thought it was the height of gourmet baking and expert pastry work but really, it's just a very attractive and super easy way to cheat and get pie on the table with minimal work and no special pans. Some call them galettes, others call them crostatas, but they really are a free-form rustic way to form a pie with your delicious filling piled in there. The pastry gets just as crisp and delicious and these must be pies that have a fruit filling- custards and cream fillings are a no go.

This particular combination is very very French, and as you know, everything French makes Monica very happy! Tart and sweet apples, crunchy walnuts, a gooey caramel-like sauciness, a pop of French Cognac and a very special surprise- dates! Anyway, to make this really pretty dessert you need to get your pastry ready first. Each galette uses a recipe of pastry for a single crust pie, so we will make that ahead and get it chilling. Please use BUTTER for the crust or if you must substitute- use vegetable shortening. Don't use margarine, it contains water and makes a dense crust, not a flaky crust.

Single crust pastry

1 stick butter (COLD!!!) 

1 1/3 cup flour, plus more

1 tablespoon sugar

pinch of salt

4-6 tablespoons ice water

I make this in a food processor but you can use a pastry blender if you like. Pulse, or cut the butter into the combined flour, sugar and salt until the mixture resembles rough crumbs. Add the water, a tablespoon at a time just until the dough forms. Don't knead the dough! Remove from bowl, wrap tightly in plastic and chill about an hour.

Sometimes I like to add a pinch of cinnamon or other spice with the flour- it brings a little bit extra flavor to the pie. Nutmeg is a great choice. Now let's work on our filling.

Caramel Apple Date Galette

2 Granny Smith apples

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup cognac

1/4 cup caramel sauce

pitted dates- cut up and loosely packed to make 1/4 cup

1/4 cup broken walnuts

A quick note- dates can be very very sweet so if you pack them firmly you will find they overpower the apples and get cloyingly sweet. It should take between 4 and 6 dates, depending on their size, to make the amount needed. One more thing- they can be sticky. Very sticky. Sometimes it helps to start with a lightly oiled knife.

I only needed 4 dates for one galette, so I have plenty
left for snacking!

Peel and slice the apples. Chop the dates in small pieces. In a heavy skillet, melt the butter; add the apples. Cook and stir over medium heat until apples are slightly softened. Add the dates and sprinkle with cognac. Raise heat to medium high and cook off the excess liquid. Remove from heat, add the nuts and let cool about half an hour.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with silicone mat or spray with baking spray and set aside.

Roll the pastry out into a circle about 11 or 12 inches across. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. I cheated and used a store bought rolled pastry sheet- and it works just as well, so feel free to cheat a little.

Almost looks like Apple Bacon Something- but it's dates!

Pile the filling in the middle and spread it out a bit, leaving at least 2 inches uncovered edge. Then start folding the edge over towards the middle, tucking and pleating as you go, until the entire galette has been "edged". Drizzle with half the caramel sauce. Brush the pastry edge with milk and sprinkle with a little sugar if you like. 

I cheated and had a little trouble with my edge, but it was
still flaky and delicious and no one cared it was't perfect

Bake for about 40-50 minutes until pastry is deep golden and filling is bubbly. Pour the remaining caramel sauce over while the galette is still hot. Don't worry if a little of the juice leaks out. Allow pastry to cool for a while, and serve warm, drizzle with additional caramel sauce if you like and whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

This is truly delicious and super easy, and if you keep refrigerated pastry on hand and fruit- frozen, fresh or even canned- in the pantry, you can whip up a quick dessert that looks like you spent hours in the kitchen.

Girl Time- Girls Night Out

Many of us have one of those friends- you know the one, they are family, but not technically, but you find a way to make them family, like their niece is married to my son so that makes us- sisters!! For me that friend is Jessica. Over the years we have enjoyed so many good times together. Concerts, road trips, wine tastings, baking days with a stack of CDs of 70s music, epic marathons of making apple butter, dinner in, dinner out, everything a couple of sisters would do. Like it has a way of happening, life sometimes got in the way. Kids, jobs, busy lives and before you know it you don't spend as much time as you once did. We decided to make time for sister time. Do all the things we used to enjoy so much and make it a point to make time to slow down, catch up and enjoy life. 

We picked a popular local restaurant for our inaugural Sister Date. Since we are both wine enthusiasts we wanted a place where we could get a really good steak, and a really good glass of wine. She suggested John and Nick's, a very nice locally owned restaurant in Clive. That's about the midway point for me driving in and her driving west so it worked out great. I had never been here before and was impressed by the dark woods and cozy atmosphere. Candles on the table warmed the feel of the room and we were seated under a picture of the Eiffel Tower- my dream vacation destination. I liked it already!

The wine list was really pretty good. Now, if you're used to Michelin star restaurants with a sommelier and wine attendants on staff you will not be impressed, but if you are looking for good variety and some really good house wine, the wine list is for you. Jessica chose the house Cabernet. It was big and bold and filled the glass with amazing jammy fruity aromas. It was the perfect wine for a cut of beef like prime rib and was one of the better Cabernets I have had in years. We did ask for the name of the wine, but.......I forgot !!!! Anyway, I chose a Riesling. Yes I knew I'd be having steak for dinner but I don't believe in those stuffy old "rules," I believe in drink what you like when you like however you like. So Riesling it is, and I chose the Kung Fu Girl 2013. I might be a little bit biased because Riesling is my favorite wine, but this one was the best ever. Light and fruity, the perfect blend of tart and sweet, I loved it so much I found a store that sells it and bought more for home!

Like all the old family-owned restaurants here, and maybe everywhere, John and Nick's has the old standby- the salad bar. Normally I stay away from salad bars but theirs was very fresh and inviting. Lots and lots of fresh choices, vegetables, salads, and of course the odd fruity fluffy things I've never quite figured out. But besides the fresh salad and great selection of dressings, I added cubes of cheese and some beautiful olives to my plate. Of course, fresh bread arrived at the table. Some of these old traditions I just really enjoy, and the warm loaf of bread is one of them.

Choosing our entrees was not as easy as I thought it would be. They have a great selection of steaks and prime rib. I chose a New York Strip with crab stuffed shrimp and Jessica went with the prime rib. She ordered hers in a way I had never heard of before- seasoned and seared. It was delicious! Apparently, they slice off your prime rib, season it with their house seasoning, I'm guessing salt, pepper and garlic, and sear it on the grill. Now my Chef says he hates it when people order it that way, but I thought it was absolutely fantastic. My steak was perfectly cooked medium rare and was juicy and expertly seasoned. The crab stuffed shrimp were very good, although I thought they could have used a little bit more of the stuffing. And Jessica's prime rib was perfect as well- I was leery of it being overcooked once it's seared but apparently these chefs make this often- it was the perfect doneness.

No girls night, in or out, is ever complete without dessert. I deferred to Jessica to make the choice- we were both so full (Seriously, us girls are meat eaters. We don't "do" doggie bags.) that we decided to share dessert and she chose the chocolate lava cake. It was as lush and delicious as it was beautiful and we devoured it in no time, of course with a second glass of wine. Dessert and wine just go together.

We have a full lineup of Sister Dates to look forward to- days, nights, even a slumber party! We have wines to drink, movies to watch, dinner to cook, pies to bake, Downton Abbey to watch (from the beginning- I have never seen it) and so much more. Brandy, sherry, port. Beautiful teas and froofy coffees. Our favorite wine movies. Laughs, tears, memories and the kind of love only sisters share.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."