Bite-sized raspberry cream tarts

My mother recently turned 85 we had a big party with the extended family to celebrate. I was planning to make little rapsberry glazed tarts using a pie recipe my mother really likes, but making the shells is really time consuming, so I decided to make something simpler. I bought premade mini fillo shells, filled them with lemony whipped mascarpone, and topped each with a glazed fresh raspberry. They were delicious--an airy bite of sweet cream, a crunchy shell, and a burst of fresh berry taste. They were simple, elegant, and most of all a snap to make.


Fillo Tartlets with Lemon Mascarpone and Fresh Raspberries


4 boxes of premade mini fillo shells
1 1/2 tubs mascarpone cheese
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Zest from one lemon
Powdered sugar to taste (about 1 cup)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 pints fresh rapsberries, the bigger the better
1/3 cup apricot jelly
Mint sprigs for garnish


Remove shells from freezer about 30 minutes before you begin preparing the filling.

Whip the mascarpone, lemon juice, zest, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. You can add a bit of light cream or milk to lighten it a bit. Fill shells with cream. I just used a teaspoon, but if you are inclined to pipe it that would looked beautiful. Top each tart with a raspberry.

To glaze, heat jelly with 1-2 Tbs. water (or Gran Marnier). Strain out any fruit chunks. Use a soft bristled pastry brush to apply the glaze to raspberries.  In lieu of the glaze, which gives a nice shine to the berries and adds another dimension of taste, these would look great with some mint sprigs and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

The Fleeting Forages of Spring

Photo from Vegan Yum Yum

The Vermont food scene is all about local and sustainable. Spring is a beloved time for foragers (I am not one, btw)—ramps (wild leeks), fiddlehead ferns, morels, and other things abound, if you know where to look. Nowadays, these items are available at local markets so even us non-foraging types can enjoy them.  Just last night Jim and I had some fiddleheads sauteed with onion, garlic, lemon juice and zest over a bed of rice. Fresh and delicious.

Photo from Flavors and More Magazine

I have only cooked ramps a couple times. Once I added them into mini korean pancakes (Pa Jeon) with great results. Last month when I saw the ramps at the co-op, I knew that I had to incorporate them into the Spring-themed brunch menu I was planning for Easter.  It turned out to be quite tasty—garlicky, with a little saltiness from the pancetta and a nice tooth-feel from the beans.

I used quinoa pasta because it has a great flavor and texture, unlike other gluten-free pastas. A larger pasta, like penne or spirals, is a nice shape to provide contrast with the other small ingredients.

Pasta with Ramps, Pancetta, and White Beans
1 lb. quinoa pasta
2-3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
6-8 cloves garlic, chopped or thinly sliced
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
6 oz. chopped pancetta
2 cups chopped ramps
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 can (14 oz) navy or other white beans
1/2 cup chicken stock or pasta water
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 medium onion, very thinly sliced in half rounds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated parmesan cheese

Prepare the pasta, cooking a little less time than the package suggests. If it is a little underdone it will be able to absorb more of the sauce flavors without getting soggy.

Saute the garlic in olive oil for 1-2 minutes with the red pepper flakes over medium-high heat. Add the chopped ramps and pancetta. Cook a few more minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the beans, balsamic vinegar, and stock. Cook down a couple minutes. Toss in the cooked pasta, parsley, salt and pepper to taste. At this point, I added a little extra garlic (I love the paste you can get in tubes) for some fresher flavor and a little more olive oil (or a little butter would be good). Toss in the onion after turning off the heat. Let the mixture set for 5-10 minutes or so so the flavors can come to together. Served topped with a little freshly grated parmesan.

Oh, the things rhubarb can do!

For our Easter brunch I felt compelled to incorporate rhubarb somehow, but already had too many desserts. Hmmmm? Well, how about salad dressing? I often use OJ or other citrus in vinaigrettes, so why not some sort of rhubarb liquid. I had some ideas about how to do it and found a few recipes online. Apparently, others had thought similarly and executed the idea with good results. That was all I needed to give it a go.

Here's what I did. I took about 4 cups of frozen rhubarb (1 1/2" long pieces), added a half cup of orange juice, another 1/2 cup, or so, of water and tossed it in a saucepan with about 1/2 cup honey. I threw in some candied ginger that I needed to use up. I simmered the whole mess until the rhubarb started to fall apart (10-15 minutes) then strained it well, pressing down on the solids. 

I tossed the pulp and returned the liquid to the saucepan, adding a little sugar, since it was quite tart still. I reduced the mixture by about half until it was a little syrupy. I added some powdered cardamom and ginger at this point. Next time, I would put some cardamom pods and slices of fresh ginger in the original mixture. I am thinking I will make and freeze some of this reduction instead of just freezing the chopped rhubarb.

To make the dressing, I took about 1/2 cup of the reduction and added a few splashes of raspberry vinegar, 1-2 Tbs. poppy seeds, a little more sugar (this is a sweet dressing), and about 1/3 cup canola oil. No measurements—this is a taste thing really.  I tossed the dressing with baby spinach, sliced strawberries, and slivered almonds. Very good. The next week, I tossed it over spinach, apples, and pecans. It was also good. Pears, beets, goat cheese, dried cherries, mint. There are still more combos to be tried.


The rhubarb syrup/reduction was also great for mixed drinks. On Easter, we added it to our champagne drinks. I am stilling pondering a name for my favorite combination: rhubarb syrup, pear nectar, champagne, and mint sprigs. Later that week, I also tried it with vodka and a splash of Rose's Lime juice, which made a lovely rhubar-tini. With mixed juices, rum, and seltzer—not so good.


A little sweeter and it would be terrific over pancakes or waffles. The possibilities seem endless from here, as does my expected bumper crop of rhubarb. Who knew?

A coffee cake double take

A couple of years ago, I had the best coffee cake ever at a holiday party in Samuel's class. Of course, I got the recipe from the mom who brought it and I have made it several times since then, to the delight of all who partake. The reason the cake is so delicious? It is loaded with butter, sugar, and sour cream.

For once, I remembered to take a picture. Doesn't look gluten-free, does it?

This year, Sam asked me to make it for Easter brunch. I decided to try to makeover the recipe without dairy or gluten so more guests could enjoy it.  Just to be clear, though. The remake did not make this cake healthy. It still has lots of fat and sugar, but now celiacs and people with lactose intolerance can enjoy the decadence too.


I used the gluten free flour mix suggested by Cybele Pascal in her cookbook (included in the recipe below), The Allergen Free Baker, and added xanthum gum. I subbed dairy- and soy-free shortening for the butter. For the sour cream, I thought of two alternatives: coconut milk or plain soy/rice yogurt to which I would add lemon juice. I ended up using light coconut milk.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

THE ORIGINAL BATTER THE REMAKE 1 cup butter 1 cup dairy- and soy- free shortening 2 cups sugar (a little less is fine) 2 cups sugar (a little less is fine) 2 eggs Use eggs OR 1 Tbs. Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 1/4 cup rice milk OR 3 Tbs. Flax meal whipped with 1/2 cup water 2 cups light or whole sour cream 1–14 oz. can light coconut milk, 2 1/2 Tbs. lemon  juice, and Rice milk to make 2 cups liquid 2 cups all-purpose flour 3 cups gluten free flour mix (2 cups fine brown rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch, 1/3 cup tapioca flour) 1/2 tsp. xantham gum 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking soda 3 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp salt Streusel: 3 tsp. cinnamon, 4 Tbs. brown sugar, 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts Streusel: 3 tsp. cinnamon, 4 Tbs. brown sugar, 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts (omit nuts, if desired)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease (well) and flour 10" bundt pan.


Cream together shortening, sugar, and eggs (room temp). If using soy free shortening, the texture will not be completely smooth.  Add cream/coconut milk mixture and vanilla.


Mix together dry ingredients and mix into batter.


In a separate bowl, mix together the struesel ingredients.


Pour 1/3 of batter into bundt pan. Sprinkle with streusel (try not to touch the sides of the pan with the streusel; keep it down the middle of the batter). Pour another 1/3 of batter over it and top with remaining streusel. Cover with remaining batter.


Bake for 55 minutes. Cool on a rack in pan before removing. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

A Spring Brunch

This Easter we invited over several neighbors and friends to join us for brunch. All together there were 11 children and 10 adults. Every now and then I just like to cook up a mess of food for a mess of people. Generally, I try to make at least some tried and true recipes, but sometimes my need to create drives things. That's what happened this Easter. I just had a lot of ideas about things to make using Spring ingredients, so I ended up making several sweet and savory items. The experimentation resulted in some tasty outcomes. 


It will take a few posts to get to all my exciting food discoveries, but first here's the menu. Of course, I forgot to take pictures.


Besides having assorted coffees and teas, I set up a fruity drink station. Guests mixed their own concoctions from an assortment of juices and nectars, champagne, flavored selters, and garnishes of mint and blueberries. I included Triple Sec as well, but other fruity liqueurs (think Chambourd or Peach Schnapps) would be equally delicious. My favorite: rhubarb reduction, pear nectar, and champagne with a sprig of mint.


Coffee cake. Sam requested the sour cream coffee cake I occasionally make. I adapted the recipe, removing the gluten and dairy so that more guests could eat it. After finagling some with the batter, the end result was a delicious cake with a moist, delicate crumb, that noone could even tell was gluten-free. I will post the recipe for this in a separate post.


Hot cross buns. I like a nice sweet roll with tea, but I had never made these traditional Easter rolls before. I used a recipe with a brioche dough base from ArtisanBreadinFive.com with good results. Although time consuming, it was easier than I expected. Adults appreciated these while the kids, although seduced by the icing on top, were at times suprised by the spices, orange peel and currants inside. I used an oat/white wheat mixture for half of the flour. Very satisfying, especially warm.


Sugar cookies. The kids had fun decorating cookies in tulips, eggs, bunnies, and butterfly shapes. These are my absolute favorite type of cookie, with or without icing. Buttery, sweet, tender, with a mere hint of saltiness. I had to freeze the remainder to prevent myself from eating them all. 


Crepes Benedict. Poached eggs and an assortment of meats and veggies (guests picked their own combos), wrapped in a crepe and topped with creamy, lemony hollandaise sauce. Quite delicious. My favorite combo was ham, artichoke bottoms, tomato and scallion. Bacon, broccoli, and herbs were also available. 


I made a small batch of gluten-free crepes for folks who could not eat the regular ones. They seemed fine although perhaps not as tender. Since I needed the prepare about two dozen eggs, I cooked them partially the night before and stored them in a cold water bath in the fridge. The next day I popped them in simmering water briefly to heat through. It worked like a charm.


Asparagus with lemon-herb dressing (basil, parsley, chives, mint), pine nuts and goat cheese. It did not turn out to be what I had originally envisioned, but was tasty—even better the next day.



Roasted fingerling potatoes with pesto. I overcooked the potatoes a tad, but the concept was good and I would make it again. I love to throw pesto into all kinds of things.


Spinach and strawberry salad with rhubarb vinaigrette. I just could not omit rhubarb from a spring-themed menu, especially since my plants are already coming up and I still have some in the freezer from last year. I pondered making a rhubarb apricot filling for crepes and topping them with whipped mascarpone. I also considered preparing some kind baked french toast or bread pudding, but there were already too many sweet things. I stumbled upon the idea for dressing while perusing the internet. 


I began by making a rhubarb reduction then using it to make a sweet dressing with raspberry vinegar, poppy seeds, ginger, and cardamom. The dressing was quite good with the spinach and strawberries and topping of slivered almonds. The rhubarb reduction has many other uses. I'll do a post on this soon.


Quinoa pasta with ramps, garlic, white beans, and pancetta. Saw the ramps at the co-op and could not resist them. These wild leeks are really heralds of Spring for foragers here in VT. This made another great gluten-free entree. Quinoa pasta is quite nutritious and is far, far superior to other non-gluten varieties. Worth trying even if you can tolerate gluten.


Cheesy Grits and Corn Pudding. Saw a recipe for this in Country Living (which, incidentally I enjoy reading via iPad) and needed to try it. If you like creamy polenta you will like this. I added some chives and scallions. This needs to sit for 15-20 minutes before eating or the texture is weepy. Quite good at room temp.


Okay, I am looking at this and seeing the vastness of my limit-setting problem. But, hey I only go whole-hog like this once or twice a year. Tonight I am not cooking for anybody! Sam is in the kitchen as I write, making himself an egg and cheese burrito. He even offered to make one for me. Love it!