Home made Calzones

Hello, everybody! I have some pretty pictures from our first picking at the blueberry patch. We usually pick 100 lbs or more a season (which is about a month, so by the time we hit 100 lbs, the kids are protesting yet one more trip). This year, the season will be very short because of a hard freeze in November, so we aren't going to get our usual haul, which means there won't be so many frozen berries in the freezer! Sadness... but it is what it is. 

And I'm just glad we have these organic, deer/wildlife friendly, close and cheap (1.75 a lb) options. SO glad. Especially since our cherry season came and went... with nothing. That same hard freeze knocked our cherry orchards to the curb. As locavores (as much as we can), that hits us hard, too. We rely on those fresh fruits and veggies in the summer, and use them to put up stores (canning and freezing) for the winter. Again, it is what it is. 

Anyway, I was so proud of my crew! They picked 25 lbs of berries in 20 minutes in 90F+ heat. In and out. BAM. The woman at the weigh station was IMPRESSED. But it was hot and they sure didn't want to linger! Anyway, those 25 lbs are gone. In fact, they were gone in two days! We shared with neighbors, shut-ins, friends, relatives, and ate them by the handful. We also bartered with a friend for the loan of some old movies. Even though I'm sure she would have loaned us the movies for nothing, it was fun to have something to exchange. (That's a whole other story. Our summer project is classical movies. The kids are thrilled. LOL.)

We didn't even get any ticks, haha. 

 So, now for the dinner part, since we didn't really bake anything with the blueberries. mmmmm, calzones!
                                                               
OK, simple pizza dough recipe. But if this looks like a lot, IT WAS. I may be a teeny tiny bit distractable and there were a lot of people in the kitchen... which brings me to this bowl of yeast which is not quadrupled... but DECUPLED.  Yup... I multiplied the amounts by ten! We had a LOT of pizza dough.

 2 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup warm water
Set aside for ten minutes.
                                                             
Add 1 1/2 cups flour into a bowl, make a well, pour in the yeasty mix and start to combine. When it's all mixed together, knead for about five minutes and then put it in a bowl to rise for about 30 minutes. (I should have taken a picture of our bowl. It was hilarious. SO MUCH DOUGH.)
                                
Roll out as thinly as possible... We didn't do this and the calzones were delicious but pretty thick. The great thing? Everybody could make their own version. This one had sweet peppers, onion, pineapples, two kinds of cheese and sauce.
                                            
My math-loving child making a joke.
                                        
Fold and press the sides together.
                                                                
Mark the top so everybody knows which is which. Veggie lovers will not be happy with pepperoni, and vice versa.

 This one was supposed to say what was inside but it apparently it's "for Papa's Work". Meaning, one of the kids made this for his lunch the next day. I have no idea what was in it, but he didn't complain, so it must have been good.

 Inside shot. Mmmm.

These look gigantic on these tiny plates, but they were actually sort of small. That's the nice thing about a home made calzone- you can adjust the insides AND the size!

And my little guy with his creation that he shared with his brother. They were VERY proud of all the work they did, and it turned out perfectly! I love having kids in the kitchen... as long as someone else does the multiplication, apparently. 

Until next time!

Oh, I'm also putting this up approximately 1.5 hours later than normal, just to welcome Mary/Cate to Yankee Belle Cafe. Next time I'll try to upload giant pictures, or make it in a tiny font. We want you to feel at ease in this crazy place, lol! 

Easy Cream Cheese Brownies For The Chocoholic!

Hello, everybody! I have a delicious little recipe a friend passed on to me. It's probably the usual cream cheese-brownie recipe but this one has MORE chocolate. How can we go wrong?
You'll need to preheat the oven to 350F.
Ingredients are:
1 package cream cheese
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips, dark

1/4 cup butter
another cup of chocolate chips, dark
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
 2/3 cup flour
1/2 baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

 So, soften your cream cheese and blend with one egg, and a 1/4 cup sugar.

 See? Just so. (Ignore the lumpy cream cheese on the sides.)

 Blend 1/2 cup sugar and two eggs together/ Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together. Mix. At this point, I was a little skeptical. This did not look like enough for a batch of brownies.

 Melt the butter and cup of chocolate chips in a pan. When all mixed, add to the batter.

 Like so.

 Put the brownie batter in the pan first, then add the cream cheese mixture. Oh, so pretty!

 At this point, I review the recipe and realize I've forgotten to mix in the other cup of chocolate chips into the cream cheese batter. *SHHHHH* We will tell no one.

 Bake at 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

 Gratuitous random brownie shot. I knew most of my kids would not appreciate me messing with perfection so I actually made two batches.

 Here they are, living peaceably, side by side. Why can't we all just get along??

Close up of the cream cheese version and the chocolate chips inside. As of this writing, it's been 40 minutes and they're all gone. Having on ravenous husband, two teens, two preteens, and two preschoolers is good for my health. No leftovers to tempt me in the midnight hour!

 Until next time everyone!

Banana Rum Shuttles

Hello, everybody! I have a delicious dessert I first learned how to cook a few weeks before my15th birthday (just a baby!) in France. La voila, Banana Rum Shuttles! Of course, over there they called them "tartes bananes" and they didn't have the little arrow-head end that looks like a loom shuttle. But the recipe I found that was the closest was this "shuttle" version and I thought it was really pretty so... I guess my tartes bananes sont "shuttles" now!

 So, you'll need:
3 bananas
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tbs rum (or more, depending on what kind of day you've had)
puff pastry, frozen or home made (I've tried to make it many times... I just can't. So, I resolved to stop wasting time on the impossible and buy the frozen stuff.)
1 egg white for glaze

 Cut the bananas length-wise. No reason for this except it's easier to dip them in the rum.

 You can't see the rum, but it's there. Really.

 Mix the sugar, cloves, cinnamon. Roll the rum bananas in the sugar. Lick fingers after ever piece.

 You should end up with bananas coated with sugar and spices and rum. Taste test a few to make sure everything is going well at this point.

 Defrosted pastry. Looks bad. Will taste good.

 Put the banana mix on the puff pastry. Sample a few more pieces that fall off the side. Lick fingers again.

 Seal the sides with the fork, cut the ends at an angle and seal.

 Slice the top for vents. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425F. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Take them out, brsh with egg whites, and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
                                     

 I served these on plates I picked up in Poland when I attended the Warsaw School of Economics after I graduated from college. It was a little odd to serve something from my years in France on plates I bought ten years later during a sojourn in a completely different country. Then my five year old picked one up and proclaimed it "delicioso" and just like his abuelita's empanadas.  I had to smile at the intersection (collision?) of all these cultures in a small Oregon town.

Wishing you joy in the journey, wherever you are and wherever you're going! Until next time...